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Obama Holds Town-Hall Meeting on Health Care; Grocery Employees Share Views on Health-Care Plan; House Committee Nears Deal on Health Care; Terror Suspects Wife Defends Him, Sons; Woman Killed, Fetus Removed; Pregnant Women Endangered by Flu Virus; Push for Nationwide Ban on Texting While Driving; Lawmakers May Have Come to Initial Compromise on Health Care
Aired July 29, 2009 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get you back to the president's town hall meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Medicare has cost taxpayers, even though seniors have high satisfaction rates with Medicare.
Now, having said all that, it's all relative. Medicare still needs to be a lot better and more efficient. And there are examples of how we can make the entire health care system more efficient.
We know where these examples are. The Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic, Guessenger (ph), Kaiser Permanente. There are health systems around the country that actually have costs that are as much as 20 or 30 percent lower than the national average and have higher quality.
And so the question is, why is that? What is it that they're doing differently than other systems? And there's some patterns that start coming in to place.
For example, number one is that they have a patient-focused practice where instead of worrying about how they're getting -- how they're billing, so how many tests they're ordering or how many procedures they're ordering, all they're focused on is the patient. And they -- part of what helps is their doctors are all on salaries, so they don't even know what the economics of any decisions that they're making are. Then it turns out you also have a group practice, so that when you come in, the family physician, your primary care physician, has already coordinated with all the specialists.
So instead of having to go to four different doctors and four different tests, you go take one trip and you see all of them all at once and they all help diagnose you and coordinate your care throughout the process. They've got health information technologies so that when you take a test, it actually gets forwarded to the next doctor and the next doctor and to the nurse and the pharmacist so that there aren't any errors. So there are a whole range of, you know, practical things that they're doing that are improving quality and lowering costs at the same time.
Now, there's no reason that we can't duplicate that in both private and public settings across the board. But in order to do that, we're going to have to change how we reimburse, for example. So, we've got to say to doctors and hospitals, we're not going to reimburse you for the number of tests you provided. We're going to reimburse you instead for the quality of the outcome.
Here's another example. Right now, we just reimburse hospitals no matter how many times they re-admit you. Now, if you took your car to the shop and they fixed it, or you thought they fixed it, and then two, three weeks later you go back in and they're having to do the same thing, you wouldn't feel good about paying twice for the exact same thing that you thought had been fixed. But under Medicare there is no penalty to hospitals for having very high readmission rates compared to their peers. So those are the kinds of things that can be changed.
Now, your broader question may just be, I don't have confidence in government. But as I pointed out, I just want to go back to my original point, Medicare costs have gone up more slowly than private- sector health care costs. That is documented.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sorry. If you do say that we know Medicare has this problem, that they're paying for re-admittance, why don't we reform that now? That's a government program. Why are we allowing that?
OBAMA: That's exactly what I want to reform. No, no, I mean, maybe I'm just -- I don't understand your question. I mean, that's exactly the changes that we want to make. That's exactly -- those are the exactly the changes that we want to make. That's what we're proposing.
And what happens when we propose that is, then people start trying to scare you by saying -- I mean, I've got seniors right now who are writing to me -- let me address the seniors in the audience. I've been getting letters, people saying, I hear that you're going to take my Medicare away. I've received letters that say, I don't want a government-run program. I don't want socialized medicine. And, by the way, don't touch my Medicare.
No, I do. Because -- because, you know, what's happened is in this debate, on the one hand, people are worried about change. They're nervous that even though they may not be satisfied with what they have, what we create might be worse, and every proposal that you make, it's very easy to use scare tactics to make people think that you're going to lose your Medicare, we're going to ration your care, et cetera, this is going to cost way too much. And so part of my job is just to try to get the facts in front of people. I want to make these reforms that you just talked about as part of the overall change in health care.
And, by the way, here's an important point. You've been hearing these figures that say, it's going to cost a trillion dollars for this new health care program. So then, of course, people think, well, we can't afford that. A trillion dollars, that's a lot of money.
First of all, just to keep it in perspective, it's a lot less than we spent on the war in Iraq, but that's -- but it's still a lot of money. Two-thirds of the costs to cover everybody in America, two- thirds of it, could actually be paid for by money that's already in the health care system that taxpayers are paying that's being wasted.
So, let me give you an example. $177 billion over 10 years is spent on subsidies to insurance companies under something called Medicare Advantage. There's no showing that seniors are healthier using Medicare Advantage than using regular Medicare, but taxpayers, you fork over an additional $177 billion to them over 10 years. You take that out, that right there helps pay for millions of people who could get coverage.
So we've already identified $500 billion to $600 billion worth of savings that are already being spent by taxpayers that would help pay for the reforms that we're talking about. But you wouldn't know that from watching the news. And, by the way, that -- so $1 trillion is over 10 years. So that's $100 billion a year. $600 billion of it already paid for by money that you're already using -- that's already being used, but just not used wisely in the health care system. That's what we're talking about.
And for that, we can have 40 million people who don't have health insurance get health insurance. And small businesses, if you're already paying health insurance, so you're already paying, you would get a tax credit. We're putting $43 billion on the table to help reduce your costs directly for your care. So, small -- 95 percent of small businesses would benefit from subsidies if they're already providing health insurance for their employees.
And if they're not providing health insurance for their employees, the problem is small businesses typically have a much tougher time getting health insurance and they pay higher premiums because you've got a smaller pool. You're only 20 people. It's not like, you know, some big Fortune 500 company with 1,000 people, they can drive a harder bargain. You'll be able now to join and access health care through a health care exchange that we set up so that you're able to be part of a pool that can leverage lower prices.
This is not something that's -- this is not something that is impossible to do. But we've got to overcome the understandable skepticism that somehow Washington can never get anything right. I mean, that's the biggest challenge we have right now, is just people sort of generally have skepticism about Washington. And, look, I under that. That's why I ran for president, because I was skeptical about what was happening in Washington.
All right. It's a man's turn. This gentleman right up in front here. He's got a -- he looks quite popular. Everybody was pointing at him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much, Mr. President.
My name is Bill Purcell (ph). I'm one of those primary care doctors you were talking about. A pediatrician. I also have a little job in the North Carolina senate.
But I can see in my practice a patient and make a correct diagnosis and prescribe the right medicine. But if the patient can't afford the medicine, they don't get treatment. What can we do about the high cost of prescription drugs in America?
OBAMA: Since I gave a very long answer on the last, I'll try to keep this one short. We pay 77 percent more for prescription drugs in America than any other country does. Seventy-seven percent more than any other country.
Now, if you talk to the pharmaceutical industry, they'll say, well, you know, a lot of the research and development is done in this country and that's how we're developing the great new drugs. That accounts for maybe 25 to 30 percent of the difference in the cost. The rest of it has to do with marketing. It has to do with the fact that basically the pharmaceutical industry can get away with it.
And what happened when the prescription drug bill was passed several years ago, under Medicare, they specifically prohibited you negotiating -- they prohibited Medicare from negotiating with the drug companies for the cheapest available price on drugs. Specifically said you cannot negotiate. So what we've said is, in this reform process, we are going to turn that around.
And to the pharmaceutical industry's credit, they have sat down and started negotiating. And they've already said -- they've already put $80 billion in deep discounts and rebates on the table that would help to close the so-called doughnut hole that a lot of seniors are suffering under Medicare. They've already committed to that. That would cut the costs of the doughnut hole in about half. So, that's a significant savings. I think we can obtain more savings.
One other thing that's being debated right now in Capitol Hill, though, that people need to keep an eye on, one of the ways to lower prescription drug costs is to move to generics. And the problem right now is, is that the drug companies want -- after they've come up with a drug, they want to keep that patent for 12 years. And there's a debate about, can we lower that to seven years before it goes generic so that people can enjoy lower prices on those drugs.
Those are some of the debates that will be taking place alongside the health care reform debate. But overall, there's no reason why we should not be able to at least pay in the ballpark of what other countries are paying for the exact same drug. And that will be a major focus in this health care reform legislation. All right.
It's a woman's turn. Young lady right there who's on the rail.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good afternoon, Mr. President.
OBAMA: Good afternoon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First I wanted to thank you for your Supreme Court nomination. I mean, appointment.
OBAMA: She's going to do well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And all the hard work that you've been doing on the economy and with the health-care reform.
I had the opportunity to, with my family, last year to meet you in Bristol, Virginia. My father gave you the cane to help you out during the health-care reform.
But my current question is, I consider myself an average American. I work for a corporate 500 company for 25 years and been unemployed for the past two years. And I'm prepared to teach mathematics in the middle-school system in my hometown in Virginia, which I haven't gotten an opportunity to do that yet. But I volunteered in the school system and on your campaign.
So, my question is, I believe that most average Americans are for the health reform, but they are afraid of change. So, what -- what would you say to the average American? What do you believe the impact or the cost impact is, to the average person that needs health care?
OBAMA: All right. If -- if you already have health care, if you've already got health insurance, then I can't guarantee that immediately you'll have -- you know, your premiums will go -- be cut in half. But what I can guarantee is, is that your costs will be lower than if we don't have reform. I believe that strongly.
So, if we can just get to the point where your premiums are going up as fast as your wages or your profits or your income, that would be a pretty good deal. Most people would take that. And I think that we can start bending the curve on our costs.
I can definitely guarantee, if you've already got health insurance, that you won't be barred from getting health insurance because of a pre-existing condition. You won't lose your health insurance if you change jobs or you lose your job. You'll have more security in the health insurance that you have than you do now. That will be written into the legislation. That will be part of the overall reform process.
I can also say with some certainty that, if we pass this health- care reform proposal, that not only will millions of Americans who don't have health insurance be getting insurance, but it will be much easier for small business owners to provide health insurance for their employees and to get health insurance for themselves. Because a lot of small businesses, it's not just a matter of getting insurance for your employees, it's also just finding insurance yourself. If you're self-employed, good luck trying to find insurance right now.
And by being able to buy it through a health-insurance exchange, you will then be part of a broader group that has leverage over the insurance companies and will be able to get a better deal for you.
So, bottom line is, your costs certainly will not go up, and they very well could go down, depending on the kind of insurance that you have right now. And if you've got health insurance, we're not going to ask you to change it.
Now, it is true, just, you know, full disclosure here, that remember I said two-thirds of this can be paid for through savings in the system already? If we're going to cover everybody, then we've still got to pay for that one-third. And that's not an inconsequential amount. That's, you know, somewhere around $30 billion a year, over the next 10 years.
And there are a bunch of different ways of paying for it. I've suggested that we could pay for it just by reducing the itemized deductions for people who make over $250,000 a year, like myself. And that right there would -- that would pay for it. There are other suggestions that are out there, and we are still debating those in Washington.
The one thing that I've said is, we're not going to have middle- class folks bear that burden. They can't afford it right now. So, for the -- for the average American, you stand to gain significantly if you don't have health insurance. If you do have health insurance, you will have more security. And if you're a small business, you will be in a better position to provide health insurance for yourself and your employees over the long term.
All right, I've got time for one more question. And this gentleman right here has been waiting a long time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How you doing, Mr. President?
OBAMA: I'm good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for everything you're doing.
OBAMA: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really, from my heart.
OBAMA: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is more a political question than a technical question. I wonder, I hear a lot, especially the opposition, complaining that they don't have time to read the thousands of pages for your health plan. And I was wondering, on one hand we've been in this old system for a long time. What difference does a couple of months so we allow them to read it? And we just, you know, we just don't hear that anymore.
OBAMA: Well, let me just say this about sort of the politics of health-care reform.
First of all, this bill, even in the best-case scenario, will not be signed -- we won't even vote on it probably until the end of September or the middle of October. We're just trying to get all these different bills out of committee. So, that means that any one of these senators, if they wanted to take this bill home with them during the August recess, they would have more than enough time to read it.
So, second point. We've been debating this for 40 years now. So, some of the folks -- some of the folks who sincerely want to get it right, and we want to give them enough time to get it right. We just don't want to do it quickly; we want to do it right. But some folks have specifically said on the other side, "The more we can delay, the better chance we have of killing the bill." Because what happens in Washington is the longer it takes, the more the special interests can start getting in there and try to knock it down.
But -- well, we did give them a deadline, and sort of we missed that deadline. But that's OK. We are going -- here's -- here's my promise. And, by the way, I've been keeping my promises since I got into office. We will not sign -- I will not sign -- a health-care bill that is not deficit neutral, that is not paid for. I will not sign a bill that does not have all the reforms that we need to lower health-care inflation over the long term. We will not sign a bill that isn't right for the American people. And I'm for the public option.
So -- so, I just want everybody to know, Congress will have time to read the bill. They will have time to debate the bill. They will have all of August to review the various legislative proposals.
When we come back in September, I will be available to answer any question that members of Congress have. If they want to come over to the White House and go over line by line what's going on, I will be happy to do that.
We -- we are not -- we are not trying to hide the ball here. We're trying to get this done, but the American people can't wait any longer. They want action this year. I want action this year. And with your help, we're going to make it happen, North Carolina. Thank you very much, everybody. God bless you.
KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Well, summer school seminar in health care. Otherwise known as a presidential town hall at Broughton High School. Yes, you see right there, in Raleigh, North Carolina. It's one of many such events in President Obama's campaign to make health care a right and an obligation for all Americans.
But, first, back in Washington, big signs, we're finding out now, of progress on both sides of the Capitol. On the House side, CNN has now learned that the logjam arising from resistance by so-called blue dog Democrats is easing. While over in the Senate, behind closed doors, the so-called Group of Six, three Democrats, three Republicans, don't have a done deal yet, but we're being told they're pretty pleased with what they've done so far.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D-MT), CHAIRMAN, FINANCE COMMITTEE: 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. It 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)
PHILLIPS: OK. And Republicans and quite a few Democrats say that reform plans pitched by the White House and pending in Congress would do more harm than good. We're going to talk more about that, as our Ed Henry joins us live, as he's been following the president's town halls for the past couple days, getting both Republican and Democrat response.
And presidents don't spend a lot of time in grocery stores, as we now know, but that's where President Obama is going next, believe it or not, to the produce department of a Kroger's supermarket in Bristol, Virginia, right on the Tennessee line. And I mean that literally. Part of the store is actually in Tennessee.
Our Ed Henry is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN 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: 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 Kathy (ph) Montgomery, assistant produce manager, voted for the president, and is pumped up he's getting tough with Congress.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like the fact that he's stepped up and he's being aggressive. I really do. I think -- 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 MEDIC: 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's supermarket, produce manager Steve Shiplett gets generous health benefits. Despite being an Obama voter, he's nervous those benefits may be taxed to cover the uninsured and is demanding more specifics from the president.
STEVE SHIPLETT, PRODUCE MANAGER: He's going to have to spit out some numbers. And -- and let the public know exactly what it's going to cost them and what they're going to have to give up.
HENRY: Shiplett says if the president steps up and sells it, then he's willing to step up himself.
SHIPLETT: We've got to do something, and if it means me paying those taxes to get this reform through, then -- 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 half to pay for it, one way or the other. I just hope we can come up with a plan that's worth paying for.
PHILLIPS: I think there's a lot of people hoping that a plan that comes forward.
And our Dana Bash is following all the fast-moving developments right now. She's got more on the House deal.
Dana Bash joining us on the phone -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Hi there, Kyra. That is definitely the news now, that we first brought you, and that is, coming -- we should say coming from our crack congressional producers, Deirdre Walsh (ph) and Evan Glenn (ph), and that is that the rebellious conservative Democrats who have been holding up the president's priority, they have struck a deal with House leaders and the White House that allows this process to move forward in a committee that has been stalled.
However, they also, as part of this deal, have gotten, you know, confirmation that the full House will not vote on health care until the fall. The there will not be a House vote on health care until the fall. However, having said that, that is both something that Democratic leaders and conservative Democrats are touting as important movement, because it has been delayed.
And we have just a few more details of part of what they -- the conservative Democrats got. And that is, for example, they have been able to reduce the total costs of the near trillion-dollar health care plan by about $100 billion.
The other thing that they were very concerned about, these conservative Democrats, is the impact on small businesses. There has -- there's a mandate that employers must have health care for their -- for their employees. Well, what these conservatives were able to do is get a compromise that small businesses with payrolls under $500,000, they would be exempt. So, they think that they're going to be able to protect small businesses a bit. And there are some other details that we're still waiting for. But those are some of the initial headlines out of this deal.
Now, what's going to happen now, Kyra, is the full energy and commerce committee is going to start to meet and begin to actually hash this out and put pen to paper. That's going to start at 4 p.m. today. And they are hoping that, at least in the committee, they'll be able to finish it by the end of the week. But in terms of the full House, the president's initial deadline of getting the House and the Senate to actually vote on his top priority, we now know that is not going to happen, because neither the House nor the Senate will vote now until the fall.
PHILLIPS: OK. So, bottom line, there will be no movement until the fall. And this is basically what Republicans wanted, Dana, right? I mean, I remember talking to RNC chair Steele and also yesterday Eric Cantor saying the same thing, that they wanted more time, they wanted to delay this, and that rushing to a vote would be detrimental. So, Republicans very much getting what they wanted with regard to a later vote.
BASH: Republicans, and not just Republicans. We're hearing that more and more from Democrats, it's these conservative Democrats who have struck this deal with their leadership. They were the ones who told us over and over again, "What's the rush? We want to do this. We agree." Many of them got elected to try to reform the health-care system. But they said, "We want to do it right."
And that's why they are, as part of this deal, getting an agreement from their own leadership that this won't happen. At least there won't be a full vote until the fall.
However, you know, they are still trying to chip away at some of the problems that they've had with their leadership's health-care plan: the impact on small businesses, the overall costs. They feel, at least in the short term, they've been able to do that, and that's why at least in this key committee that has been stalled that's really been holding everything up in the House, they're going to move forward today.
PHILLIPS: Got it. Dana Bash, appreciate you calling in.
BASH: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: The wife of Daniel Boyd tells CNN that her husband isn't a terrorist plotting holy war overseas. The federal government? Let's just say they're not on the same page.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Terrorism grown in the homeland. A manhunt under way this hour for one of the eight alleged terrorists based in North Carolina. He may be hiding in Pakistan.
A new twist in a story that we told you about yesterday. The wife of the alleged terror group mastermind defends her husband, Daniel Boyd, in an interview with CNN. Also homeland security secretary, Janet Napolitano, speaking out about the Obama administration's new strategy for preventing terror attacks right here at home.
So, just who is Daniel Boyd: a law-abiding drywall contractor, as or the feds claim, a terrorist determined to kill people in foreign countries? CNN's Jeanne Meserve is in Raleigh with the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, prosecutors say Daniel Boyd, a U.S. citizen, the son of a Marine, conspired to wage jihad overseas. They say he recruited, among others, two of his own sons. Now, the mother of those boys, Daniel Boyd's wife Sabrina, is offering explanations for the accusations being made by the government.
(voice-over) Willow Spring, North Carolina, seems an unlikely place to find terrorists. But on Monday, a SWAT team swept down on this house to arrest Daniel Boyd. Two of his sons and four other suspects were also picked up.
STEVEN EMERSON, INVESTIGATIVE PROJECT ON TERRORISM: They had all sworn to be martyrs. They had all sworn to be -- carry out jihad operations. And they had all sworn their hatred of the United States.
MESERVE: In the early 1990s, Daniel Boyd fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan. More recently, the government alleges he used his street cred and experience to recruit young men in the Raleigh area to wage jihad overseas. According to court documents, they amassed a cache of weapons and trained with them in rural North Carolina.
TOM FUENTES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I would compare this potential in this case that they could have conducted another Mumbai-type attack. They could have traveled to a more populated area in the United States, and in using that tremendous arsenal could have killed hundreds of people before being stopped by the police.
MESERVE: But they did not target the U.S. The government alleges members of the group traveled to Gaza, Jordan, Israel, Kosovo and Pakistan to wage violence jihad without success.
A friend of Boyd's wife, Sabrina, read a statement on her behalf.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Charges have not been substantiated. We are ordinary family. We have the right to justice. And we believe that justice will prevail.
MESERVE (on camera): Authorities are still looking for an eighth suspect in this case. Law-enforcement sources say he may be in Pakistan, where he allegedly went to wage holy war.
Kyra, back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Jeanne Meserve, thank you so much.
Now, the eighth terror suspect is a mystery, at least based on what the feds are saying, and that isn't much. What we do know: he is a U.S. citizen, resident of North Carolina, and might be hiding out in Pakistan. He went there a year ago, allegedly to engage in violent jihad. And a dire warning from the nation's homeland security chief, Janet Napolitano says that almost eight years after 9/11, the country needs a lot more public involvement to fight terrorism. And, she says, the federal government needs to do a better job sharing information. Her comments during a visit today to New York City. And among her stops, Ground Zero and a meeting with the Council on Foreign Relations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANET NAPOLITANO, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: While the terror threat is ever changing, it is critical to reiterate that the threat remains. The consensus view of the intelligence community, of which DHS is a member, is that the terror threat to the homeland is, quote, "persistent and evolving."
In my daily briefings and as a member of the president's national and homeland security councils, this is something I discuss with the president and the rest of the security team on a regular basis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And as part of the Obama administration's anti-terror plans, Napolitano plans to expand a pilot program to train police to report suspicious activity and she wants better cooperation between her department and state and local governments.
Straight ahead, a sad and shocking story in Massachusetts. A fetus that might have survived after being cut from the mother's womb. We'll find out the latest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, the Pacific Northwest, another brutally hot day, so when's the cool-down coming? Hopefully soon, right, Chad?
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: OK, we'll keep tracking it with you. Thanks, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You're welcome.
PHILLIPS: Texting while driving, you know that you do it. And do you know just how dangerous it really is? Well, we've got an eye- opening demonstration that might convince you that you're playing with fire.
But, first, grabbing a bottle or picking up a pencil could be tough if not impossible for some amputees. But a new type of prosthetic arm could change all that. Gary Tuchman looks at a new technology you have to see to believe in today's "Edge of Discovery."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chuck Hildreth (ph) lost his arms 28 years ago in an electrical accident. He hadn't used a drill since. Now, he can. And unlatch a door chain. And even play Jenga. He can do all these amazing things thanks to the DEKA arm, a sophisticated prosthesis created by famed Segway inventor Dean Kamen.
It all started when the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, called DARPA, wanted something new for troops who lost an arm on the battlefield.
DEAN KAMEN, INVENTOR: The very first time we met with DARPA, and they described, "We want an arm that can do this and this and this and this and this," we told them, "You're nuts."
TUCHMAN: But he delivered.
KAMEN: Until we started this project, most people would have said this was the state of the art. Basically a plastic tube with a hook on the end of it. And our goal was to replace that technology with something that has a full hand with an opposed thumb and all the fingers.
TUCHMAN: The DEKA arm is still in development. The most recent design weighs about the same as a human arm and can lift up to 20 pounds. The wrist and fingers are controlled by electronic monitors worn on the user's shoulder, and sensors inside the shoes. Cayman thinks he's only a few years away from delivering the device to veterans and other amputees. And, of course, Kamen's most valuable volunteer, Chuck Hildreth (ph).
KAMEN: OK. You can let go now.
TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: A shocking crime in Massachusetts. A baby who might have survived after being cut from the mother's womb. The woman's body was found in her apartment. She'd been dead for several days, and police don't know who committed the crime. Details now from Dan Housely (ph) with our affiliate WHDH in Boston.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN HOUSELY (ph), WHDH-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two small dolls are hung on the fence. Neighbors say the shaken investigators left the dolls there for the missing fetus of the murdered mom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's horrible, yes. Guess they've got a revengeful crime, I feel, you know? It's horrible.
HOUSELY: Police say 23-year-old Darlene Haynes was last seen Thursday, eight months pregnant. Monday the landlord investigating a heavy smell found Haynes's body in a bedroom closet wrapped in blankets. Investigators say the mother's fetus was cut out of her and may still be alive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it was planned out. I mean, no one heard her cry. No one heard anything? I mean, someone took that baby. I mean, I just don't know who it could have been or why they were doing it.
HOUSELY: Liz Hipson (ph) said Haynes was being evicted and had a restraining order against her boyfriend. But she said she could see Haynes coming into contact with strangers.
LIZ HIPSON (ph), KNEW DARLENE HAYNES: She's so kind-hearted, though, that she would let anybody into her home. She was very lonely, very depressed, and anybody that was willing to come sit and talk with her, she'd let into her home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Wow. Well, police say that the infant would have needed immediate medical attention in order to survive. We'll stay on top of this story.
And she won't be joining the boys for beers tomorrow at the White House, but I'm thinking Lucia Whalen is fine with that. It was her 911 call about a possible break-in at professor Henry Gates's home that set a national controversy in motion. Reporters staked out her home, strangers called her a racist, even threatened her. Well, last hour, Whalen made her first public comments about all of this. She addressed the 911 call, the incorrect report that she pointed the finger at two black men and the very painful backlash for bad information.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUCIA WHALEN, CALLED 911: I am proud to have been raised by two loving parents who instilled in me values, including love one another, be kind to strangers and do not judge people based on race, ethnicity or any other feature other than their character. When I was called racist and I was a target of scorn and ridicule because of the things I never said, the criticism hurt me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Just to point out, if you heard that 911 call, you would have understood what she was talking about, that she never said there were two black men breaking into a home. Those words were never said, despite what reports had said that Whalen had reported to 911. And despite all that has happened, if she had to do it all over again, Whalen says that she would still make that 911 call.
Well, this case of the professor versus the police has folks from all walks of life talking about racial profiling now. Even a former secretary of state, Joint Chiefs chairman and national security adviser. And he said he's not been immune to this at all. Here's Colin Powell with "Larry King Live" last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, CNN HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Have you ever been racially profiled? COLIN POWELL, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Yes, many times.
KING: And then you ever bring anger to it?
POWELL: Of course. But you know, anger is best controlled. And sure, I got mad. I got mad when I, as the national security adviser to the president of the United States, I went down to meet somebody at Reagan National Airport, and nobody recognized -- nobody thought I could possibly be the national security adviser to the president. I was just a black guy at Reagan National Airport. It was only when I went up to the counter and said, is my guest here who's waiting for me, did somebody say, oh, you're General Powell. It was inconceivable to him that a black guy could be the national security adviser.
KING: How do you deal with things like that?
POWELL: You just suck it up. What are you going to do? It was a teaching point for him. Yes, I'm the national security adviser, I'm black, and watch, I can do the job.
So, you have this kind of -- there's no African American in this country who has not been exposed to this kind of situation. Do you get angry? Yes. Do you manifest that anger? You protest. You try to get things fixed. But it's kind of a better course of action to take it easy and don't let your anger make the current situation worse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS; And if you'd like to watch more of that interview with General Powell, you'll find it at CNN.com/video.
The arrest of Professor Gates has set off a passionate discussion in the media over race relations in America, and we want to hear from you. Have you ever been a victim of racial profiling? If you work in law enforcement, what are the challenges that you face policing diverse -- yes, diverse areas? You can share your personal stories on video, and you could be featured on CNN.
Police and DEA agents hauling boxes of stuff from the office of Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson's personal M.D. They spent nine hours going through his papers and another three hours searching Dr. Murray's Las Vegas home. The warrants are sealed this time, so no official word. But Murray's lawyers say that they were after more of the singer's medical records. And as we reported Monday, a source close to the investigation telling CNN Dr. Murray did administer Diprivan to Michael Jackson, the drug police think caused his death.
Next hour an up close and personal look at how the strong sedative works. Dr. Sanjay Gupta taking us right into the O.R.
And new worries about the swine flu. When it comes to getting the vaccine, why doctors want to move pregnant women to the front of the line.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is holding a special meeting focused on the H1N1 virus, and a new study by the CDC that reveals some frightening information about swine flu and pregnant women. CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here to tell us exactly what's in the report.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The report is frightening because it shows that H1N1, or swine flu, seems to be hitting pregnant women harder than other people. Let's take a look at some satistics that spell this out.
When it comes to complications, in other words pregnant women getting more sick than other people from H1N1, pregnant women who are infected with H1N1 are four times more likely to land in the hospital than people who aren't pregnant. And when you look at deaths, there have been 266 deaths from swine flu in this country since it began. Of those, 15 were pregnant women, which means that 6 percent of the total deaths were pregnant women.
Now, 6 percent doesn't sound like a lot, but that is more than the percentage of pregnant women in the population. So, in other words, they're dying at sort of a higher rate than nonpregnant people.
PHILLIPS: Well, why are pregnant women more at risk?
COHEN: There's a couple of reasons. One is that when you're pregnant, your lungs are sort of compromised. That baby gets bigger and bigger and sort of squishes the lungs, so it affects the entire respiratory system. Also, pregnant women, their immune system is less (sic) compromised. They're not as good as fighting things off. So, that's another thing. And in addition to the pregnant woman being at risk, fetal distress is also happening when women get H1N1. So, it affects not just the moms, but also the babies.
PHILLIPS: So, where do we stand on the vaccine?
COHEN: The vaccine they hope will come out in October. It's possible it'll come out in September. And a couple of interesting things have come out of the CDC meeting that Kyra mentioned is happening today. What they're saying is that pregnant women will be at the top of the list when it comes to getting the vaccine. Because if there isn't enough for everyone, pregnant women will be among the first to get it. And so, that's an important thing for people to know that if you're pregnant, you are supposed to get the swine flu shot, and you should be at the front of the line.
PHILLIPS: I bet you a lot of pregnant women will be resistant to the vaccine.
COHEN: I think they will. I think pregnant women, and rightly so, are sort of suspicious about taking any kind of a drug when they're pregnant. And actually, some studies have shown that even doctors are hesitant to give flu shots to women. I know, for example, when I got in line to get a flu shot when I was pregnant, I had to talk the nurse into it. I mean, this was just a seasonal flu shot. She thought that I wasn't supposed to have it because I was pregnant. so, I think the CDC does have their work cut out for them in convincing doctors, nurses and patients that pregnant women should get a swine flu shot, especially because we learned today that it looks like the vaccine will contain thimerosal. This is a preservative that some people worry is associated with autism. Studies have shown that it's not, but still people are worried.
PHILLIPS: That was my -- another follow-up question. There's been so much talk about all these various vaccines causing autism. Nothing's been proven, but, boy, there are a lot of strong arguments on both sides.
COHEN: Right. There are still concerns out there. I mean, all you have to do is get on the Internet, and you can see that people are still concerned about what happens when you give a vaccine to a baby, so there's certainly going to be some concern about what happens when you give a vaccine to a pregnant woman, even though all the studies have shown that it's safe and that vaccines do not cause autism either in a baby or in an unborn child.
PHILLIPS: Got it. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks.
COHEN: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: Well, getting that healthy glow of a suntan by a machine could shorten your life. Tanning beds are now being classified as dangerous as cigarettes, arsenic, even asbestos. For years, scientists have said that the old fake and bake is a probable cause of cancer. But now, they're upping the ante and moving them into the high-risk, cancer-causing category. Researchers it increases your risk of deadly melanoma by 75 percent and boost your chances of getting eye cancer.
They melt in your mouth, but can they mend a broken back? Researchers are excited about a new study using a chemical that's similar to the dye in blue M&Ms. It's called brilliant blue G. When injected into recently paralyzed rats, the critters could walk again with a limp. The chemical blocks ATP, which keeps cells aleve, but in spinal cord injuries, it floods the damaged area, killing off cells that help us move. There is one side effect. The rats temporarily turn blue.
Well, we know you have a lot of questions for lawmakers working on health care reform in Washington. And tomorrow, Rick Sanchez will help you ask them. Tune in 3:00 Eastern. Rick will be joined by three people just like you and me: a small business owner, a student and a woman with pre-existing conditions. And they will get face time with two U.S. senators during Rick's "National Conversation."
And don't forget, Rick always gets your comments and questions from Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and more. That's 3:00 Eastern right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A highway sign that will really make you do a double take. Can you spot the problems? What the heck is going on here? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: From San Antonio, Texas, come for the Alamo, stay for the Toyota plant. The place where they make Tundra trucks. And you can hop on the tram, take a tour of the place, watch the magic happen. It is kind of like an "It's a Small World" with parts and lug nuts instead of singing children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To see up close and personal how a truck is made, it is a really great opportunity, especially in south Texas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Keep on trucking. The tour is free, by the way. You have to wear a hard hat, safety glasses and no pictures.
This wasn't just a highway sign. It was a train wreck. Check it out. It actually greeted drivers along a Wisconsin highway. Now, get your red pen out. Rothchild is misspelled, Scofield wrong and look at business, pronounced buis-ness. What a doozie. If you can find a way to misspell numbers, you would think the sign maker would find a way. At least they got the exit right. The private company that made the sign has fixed the errors. Not quite like this, but you get the idea.
Do you text while driving? If you do, you might end up in the hospital or six feet under. We will show you how five seconds of texting behind the wheel could be the last five seconds of your life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: You could have die-hard texters typing OMG. New York senator Chuck Schumer leading a drive for a nationwide ban on texting while driving. A new study found that truck drivers who are texting as they are trucking are 23 times more likely to crash. Last night on "ANDERSON COOPER 360," CNN's Tom Foreman gave an eye-opening demo about the eye-opening dangers of texting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These researchers have found that the six seconds before an accident is the critical time in which you might be able to avoid it. But texting requires so much thought and action, it takes up almost all of that time. That's why this is a problem. Researchers say people who are texting routinely take their eyes off of the road for nearly five seconds. That's not to complete it. That's just at a time.
Watch what happens. Once again, here we go, 25 miles an hour, right here. I start texting, I do it for 4.6 seconds and by the time I hit the brake, look where I wound up.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": Yikes.
FOREMAN: I effectively drove this entire way blind, Anderson. Look at this. There is the mark from where I was talking on the cell phone, trying to dial the cell phone. Back here is where I passed the one -- this is where we started. Right along in here is where I passed the one for loading the CD. So you get a sense of how terribly far you can go with this. That's traveling at 25 miles an hour.
COOPER: Yes, that is the interesting thing. You are only driving 25 miles an hour. Obviously, on the highway, you would be going much faster.
FOREMAN: Oh, yes. At highway speeds, in five seconds, if you take your eyes off the road, look at this. It is just mind-blowing. If you take your eyes off of the roads at highway speeds because you are texting, and you keep going, in the five seconds that you are not looking at the road, you could drive the entire length of a football field and both end zones, and again, you are essentially driving blind the entire time. Think of how much could happen in that space.
COOPER: Five seconds. That's incredible.
FOREMAN: It is unbelievable. That's why these researchers at Virginia Tech are making some very strong recommendations, which we have right in the window of our truck. They think that there should be a ban on all texting at all times for all drivers. More than a dozen states have already started to do this. They believe cell phone use should be banned for all newly licensed teens.
I will tell you this, Anderson. This was a simple test, but it really made a believer out of me. I thought before I could get away with flicking my eyes up. They said, everyone believes that, but the statistics prove we all think we are better at it than we really are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Wow. Any state that doesn't adopt the planned ban could lose federal highway funding. Right now, 14 states and D.C. ban texting while driving.
We begin now on Capitol Hill where the standoff pitting Democrat against Democrat may be over. The issue is health care. The Dems in question are Blue Dog conservatives who defied party leaders and held up committee work on a reform bill that the White House wanted passed this week. They now say they will let the Energy and Commerce Committee move the bill to a vote, though the full House won't take it up until after the August recess. Here is Arkansas Blue Dog Mike Ross.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE ROSS (D), ARKANSAS: There are some people that are never going to be for health care reform, and they like the role we were playing, because it was stopping health care reform. Although I think I made it very clear from the beginning that we were never about stopping health care reform. We wanted to play a constructive role in the legislative process.
Having said that, those that don't want to do health care reform, they will use the rhetoric and say we have caved. I think I just announced that we got significant concessions in two weeks of very long talks that lasted day and night and allows us to move this bill toward reconciling five different bills. Hopefully, at the end of the day, we will have a bill that provides health care that's affordable and accessible for the American people while holding down costs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Now, on the Senate side, the so-called group of six, three Democrats, three Republicans, are inching closer to a bipartisan consensus. It is still a work in progress, but their plan is said to be deficit-neutral. That is, fully paid for while covering 95 percent of Americans.
