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Tentative Deal on Table for Health Care Reform; Sending the Homeless Back Home; Remembering a Symbol of Protest in Iran; Is Your Child Overmedicated?; Summer Jobs Being Paid For By Stimulus; Many Make Working at Ford a Family Affair; Expanding the Mission in Afghanistan
Aired July 30, 2009 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Alina, thank you. In the next hour of NEWSROOM, the view from Orlando as one of the top tourist destinations in the country and now it is dealing with a lot of homeless people who are being shipped south.
The health care debate in Washington, after weeks of arguments and years of talk, Democrats say there now appears to be progress on reform. House leaders say there is a tentative deal on the table, based on concessions made to the so-called Blue Dog Democrats. CNN senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Conservative Democrats unhappy with their party leader's health care plan didn't get everything they wanted, but enough.
REP. MIKE ROSS (D), ARKANSAS: We got significant concessions in two weeks of very long talks that lasted day and night.
BASH: Concessions like delaying a full House vote until the fall.
Ross: We believe that every member of Congress should have the opportunity to not only read the bill, but to spend the month of August visiting with their constituents about it.
BASH: Not all conservatives, so called blue dog Democrats are onboard but four did reach a deal with democratic leaders and the White House chief of staff that lifts the brakes they put on committee action. Some specifics on the deal, first, there's overall cost.
ROSS: It cuts the costs of the bill significantly by over $100 billion.
BASH: Conservative Democrats say they have trimmed the price tag of the healthcare bill to just under $1 trillion, much of that savings comes from shaving health care subsidies for low-income Americans.
Another issue? Many conservative Democrats say their parties plan mandating businesses provide or help pay for health coverage would hurt small businesses, so democratic leaders agreed to exempt small businesses with payrolls of $500,000 or less. And there's this, many conservative Democrats say a government-run health care plan in their party's proposal would have an unfair advantage over private insurers because it ties payments to hospitals and doctors to Medicare rates, which tend to be lower.
Democratic leaders agreed to change that and allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate rates for a government-run plan. And conservative Democrats say party leaders agree to allow state-run, non-profit cooperatives to offer health coverage in addition to a government-run plan.
(on camera): But this deal doesn't even come close to ending the ugliness and division among House Democrats. Some conservative Democrats say it doesn't go far enough to control health care costs and some liberal Democrats say it cuts too much. And everyone is watching to see what happens in the Senate where bipartisan negotiators are reporting progress. The one of three republican negotiators under GOP pressure to bail from talks Bristol(ph) reports that a deal is imminent. Republican Senator Mike Enzi emphatically insists there are still a lot of outstanding issues. Dana Bash, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Well, the health care debate is, in fact, often, like one step forward and one step back. If you please one group, you may anger another. I want to get the very latest from Capitol Hill now and CNN congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar.
So Brianna, despite this agreement in the House, there's still a lot of Democrats who are not on board with the healthcare reform plan. I mean, it's like four Blue Dogs, right, out of 48?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're looking at the committee specifically...
COLLINS: OK.
KEILAR: Because that was the next step for healthcare. We needed to move beyond the energy and commerce committee and there were seven Blue Dogs, Heidi, that were holding it up in this committee and yes, only four of these seven signed on. So you can see there are at least a few Blue Dogs on this committee and certainly many more in this group of 52, who are having issues with it, but not only are there some of the Blue Dogs really from the right side of the democratic party who are taking issue with this, Heidi.
But as you heard Dana mentioned there, there are some liberal Democrats who are taking issue and they look at those concessions that the Blue Dogs got in these negotiations...
COLLINS: Yes.
KEILAR: And they have serious worries, for instance, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, is the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. She looks at that $100 billion that was pulled out of there by Blue Dogs and she worries, as of course, do many other liberal Democrats that that's going to mean not enough Americans are covered or really covered to the extent that members like Lee want.
COLLINS: All right. so, if we turn our attention to the Senate then, as in the House, there will be no vote before Congress takes the month of August off, which we've all been talking about for a while here. But is there at least some chance that a deal can be struck?
KEILAR: That's really been the hope, of course, of congressional Democrats. That these key negotiators, that these gang of six, that we've been talking about -- the three Republicans, the three Democrats from the Senate Finance Committee who have been meeting now for weeks that at least maybe they can come to some agreement.
Well, last night, we heard from two of the Republicans in that gang of six, Heidi. Mike Enzi of Wyoming, Chuck Grassley of Iowa and they said to CNN, off camera, basically throwing cold water on the idea that they will reach a deal before the Senate leaves after next week. They said they didn't really think it was possible.
That said, Chuck Grassley was on CNN's AMERICAN MORNING this morning and he said that it's certainly impossible that there's going to be some sort of agreement by tomorrow. He did leave the door open for working towards next week. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHARLES CK GRASSLEY (R), IOWA: There's no way we can get all the compromising that needs to be done by an artificial deadline of Friday of this week. So, we're going to continue to work together this week and next week, but we're getting close.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Senator Grassley laid out the sticking points as they remain. Exactly how do you pay for it, Heidi? Because it's going to require tax money. So where does that come from? And then the big issue of just what is this going to look like? They said -- Senator Grassley said there's a lot of details to work out there.
We do know, Heidi, of course, this plan they're going to put out from the Senate Finance Committee is expected to include that nonprofit health cooperative and you think of maybe, one of those rural electricity cooperatives, credit unions, something like, you know, a co-op apartment in New York City based loosely on that model. We are expecting that instead of the government-run insurance plan that we're seeing on the House side.
COLLINS: OK. So everybody waiting to hear more about that potential opportunity, too. Brianna Keilar on Capitol Hill following the very complicated and long story. Thanks, Brianna.
KEILAR: Thank you.
COLLINS: She became the symbol of a protest movement in Iran. Neda Agha-Soltan was shot dead 40 days ago as she stood in the sidelines of an election protests. Today, the situation is tense, once again, as thousands of people have gathered to remember her with riot police pushing back. Reza Sayah is following the developments over at our Iran desk.
Reza, I understand we're getting even more video in and all these people, something like 3,000, I think, we've been hearing who have gotten together to remember Neda.
REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, an estimated 3,000 people showed up at her grave site. But new information in to the Iran desk, sources in Tehran telling CNN that security forces are firing into the air and using tear gas in an effort to disperse the crowd. This during more clashes this morning in Tehran between security forces and opposition supporters.
New video coming into the Iran desk over the past hour. This is Behest-e-Zahra, Tehran's main cemetery where opposition supporters had gathered to mourn Neda Agha-Soltan, the 26-year-old who was killed on June 20th, along with several other people eight days after the disputed elections. The opposition had asked permission from the government to hold a mourning ceremony at a main mosque. They were denied permission. They showed up to her grave site anyway.
Sources telling us about 3,000 people, many of them wearing green wristbands and arm bands and they also say Mir Houssein Mousavi, the opposition leader showed up in an SUV and right there you see what appears to be the SUV with a couple of people on top with a camera person. Sources telling CNN, Mir Hossein Mousavi was not able to get out of the car, but his wife was.
Also on the scene, Mehdi Karoubi, the other opposition leader. What's very interesting is state-funded Press TV, the English language television station in Iran rarely broadcasts these images as they are happening. But today they did. They had a reporter on the scene. Let's take a listen to the report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FEREYDOUN SADEGHZAD, PRESS TV, TEHRAN: A crowd of 2,000 to 3,000 people showed up here to pay respects to Neda Agha-Soltan on her 40th day of passing and the crowd was making some (INAUDIBLE) regarding the post-election events and Mr. Karoubi and Mr. Mousavi showed up here along with other clergies and, apparently, police showed up and dispersed the crowd.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAYAH: In the past, when these protests and these demonstrations have taken place, we have never seen a reporter from a state-funded, state-run television station in Iran report from the scene. This is a very rare instance where this has happened. I'm not sure what this exactly means, but it's an interesting observation.
Also on Mir Hossein Mousavi's Facebook page, he is reporting -- the Facebook page is reporting a couple of prominent filmmakers and an actress arrested during the protest. Sources telling CNN the crowds have been dispersed from grave site and now they are moving to the main mosque where they had hoped to have a mourning ceremony. So this thing is continuing at this hour in Tehran. COLLINS: Yes. Absolutely. All right. Once again, let us know if we need to come back to you to get more pictures and information. Thank you, Reza Sayah, over at our Iran desk this morning.
Now I want take you to Iraq. The Iraqi government says six Iranians are dead in clashes with Iraqi security forces at a camp north of Baghdad. The camp is home to about 3,500 Iranians. It was set up in 1986 for Iranian fighters helping Saddam Hussein in the Iraq-Iran war. Thirty-five people at the camp have also been arrested during two days of clashes.
More bloodshed in northeast Nigeria where a fundamentalist Islamic sect is trying to impose its strict laws. Government forces say they killed more than 100 rebels today and searching for others. The militants launched their attack Sunday and at least 400 people, civilians, rebels and soldiers have died so far.
Police say a baby girl cut from her mother's womb has been found alive and seems to be in pretty good health at a hospital this morning. Police arrested a 35-year-old woman in New Hampshire after getting tips from acquaintances who became suspicious when she turned up with a newborn girl. The suspect has been charged as a fugitive from justice and is due in court today. The baby's mother was eight months pregnant when she was found dead in her Massachusetts apartment on Monday.
Some residents of the Pocono Mountains are sifting through what's left of their damaged homes and farms today. You can see it there. A powerful tornado ripped through that area of Pennsylvania late yesterday afternoon leaving hundreds of people without power. The winds estimated at more than 110 miles per hour. Rob Marciano standing over -
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: How about that, huh?
COLLINS: -- at the weather center for us. Yes, pretty incredible, 110, right?
MARCIANO: That's not a shabby tornado -
COLLINS: No.
MARCIANO: Especially for this part of the world at this time of year. Poconos, you know, that's kind of a little romantic get away for the folks in New York City. I remember the campaign back when I was a kid, so, if they were, you know, folks were out there doing their thing, they got a little bit of a rough wake-up call.
COLLINS: Yes.
MARCIANO: 16 reports of tornadoes yesterday, Heidi, and we'll see some rough weather again today. We had tornado warnings out for Dallas, Fr. Worth area early this morning and those - that line of thunderstorms has since been allowed to chill out just a little bit. So, that's good news. Here it is on the radar scope. Dallas down to Houston, this is not going to get far enough south to where the drought is, which is pretty much Austin and south towards San Antonio. So, unfortunately, the rain continues to fall in places where they don't really need the rain so much anymore. They need it here for certain.
Seattle to Portland, another day of probably record-breaking heat although today will be a little bit cooler than yesterday. Check out some of these numbers from yesterday's heat. 108 in Medford, Oregon. That broke a record. Vancouver, Washington, 108. That's an all-time record. Ironically, Vancouver, B.C., also broke a record. And you have to think, eight, nine, 10 months from now they're hosting the winter Olympics. So that's kind of cool.
COLLINS: Yes.
MARCIANO: Portland and Seattle, they have one of their snowiest winters on record and they're setting all-time records today or at least yesterday, today probably not so. 98 degrees in Seattle. That will break a record and won't be an all-time record, but it certainly will keep things rather toasty. KIRO, there's the Emerald City. Boy, that looks something like Atlanta would look this time of year. Doesn't it just look hot, Heidi?
COLLINS: Except for the water and that big thing in the middle there.
MARCIANO: That's the Space Needle. Puget Sound just to the west of there. And they'll get a cooling breeze from the Puget Sound later on tonight and then more of that marine push. KIRO, thanks for that shot.
COLLINS: Yes.
MARCIANO: Speaking of shots, check this out.
COLLINS: You have something special?
MARCIANO: A little something special for you. D'backs-Phillies game last night. Little foul ball. Is that baby in the right hand...
COLLINS: Wow. Baby got drink.
MARCIANO: And baby's got like the jumbo drink and then daddy makes some a nice snag with the left hand, bare handed.
COLLINS: That's good.
MARCIANO: That is all over the highlight reel, you can imagine.
One more time.
COLLINS: OK.
He was getting that ball for his son no matter what. That's what that is. How about the smack on the hand, you think that hurt?
MARCIANO: It hurt but it's one of those euphoric-type of fans that will hurt the next day more so. You know, my dad took to many Yankees games and I can't say that he made that highlight reel, but he's still my hero.
COLLINS: I was going to say, don't bash your dad now because he didn't get a ball for you like that.
MARCIANO: The balls never came where we were sitting.
COLLINS: All right. Hi, Mr. Marciano. All right. Rob, thank you so much.
MARCIANO: All right.
COLLINS: We'll check back later on.
MARCIANO: See you later.
COLLINS: A Boston police officer on leave for using a racial slur to describe Harvard Professor Gates. Now, his job is in jeopardy and he's apologizing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN, the most trusted name in news. Now back to the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Well, it's not often people get to throw back a couple of beers with the president of the United States, but Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates and Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley are heading to the White House today, happening two weeks after Gates' arrest at his home, which started a national dialogue on race relations. I want to check in with our White House correspondent Ed Henry now. Ed, good morning to you.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. It's quite interesting, as you note, it is a rare occasion for sort of what they're calling the beer summit here at the White House, 6:00 p.m. Eastern time.
It's interesting, just in the last couple of moments, Robert Gibbs was briefing reporters off camera and really seemed to be trying to lower expectations for this summit saying that the president is not going to announce anything and they're not going to have any big initiative or plan moving forward. The president is not going to get involved in this conversation about ascertaining what happened on that night a couple of weeks back. That this is not in Robert Gibbs' words, an after-action report.
He also said really what the president's goal tonight is to foster a dialogue. To take a step back, try to lower the tension. You mentioned some of that tension heating up, once again, now with this Boston Police officer inserting himself into this whole story after the president had sort of tried to calm things down late last week by acknowledging his own involvement. What he had said by calling the Cambridge Police saying they had acted stupidly and that he had not calibrated his words properly.
Now, we see it flaring it up again. So what the White House is saying, the president really want to do tonight is bring everyone together. calm the situation down again and we even learned from White House aides that both Sgt. Crowley and Professor Gates will be bringing their families here to the White House and they're going to do it out on the picnic table on the south lawn right that is right next to the swing set that the president bought for his daughters. So it's kind of a family laid back, loose, casual setting, trying to get the temperature down on this whole situation, Heidi.
COLLINS: Is there talk about what the president hopes to accomplish here?
HENRY: Well, I think the clear goal is to try to get everyone to take a step back and stop the he said-he said and you know, the 911 call. That popping up yesterday, as well. And just pull back from all of that and make sure these racial tensions are diffused. This is obviously the first African-American president and he has an opportunity, a unique opportunity, perhaps, to try to bring not just the two parties here together, but bring the nation together on what has been a very difficult and sensitive subject for so many decades in this country.
And, so they're trying to tamp down any expectations. There's going to be some new initiative or something, some announcement by the president on racial profiling, some anti-racial profiling initiative or something like that. Instead, they're saying he wants to start a dialogue in this country, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, it was never determined, was it? That there was racial profiling even going on here, right?
HENRY: Well, look, as the president himself said, when he first jumped in, he didn't know all the facts at the time and to this day we still don't know all the facts about all whether it really was racial profiling or not. And that's why, again, it's very clear when you talk to senior White House aides, the president doesn't want to get into the facts of what happened that night.
He wants to take this and as the president said in the White House briefing room last week, turn this into a teachable moment and maybe something for kids to learn moving forward but also adults about how to interact because it's not just about the alleged potential racial profiling but also how police officers are treated in a situation like this. That's something the president, perhaps, was not as sensitive to at the beginning of all this, but certainly in the last week has made clear that he is sensitive to it.
COLLINS: And very quickly because they are yelling at me. Ed, are cameras going to be allowed and the media going to be there for this?
HENRY: There's going to be a cameras. Cameras are going to be let in very briefly. We're now getting guidance that the president may not even speak and that we're not going to hear from the professor or the police officer either. This is going to be a very quick moment, essentially a classic photo op. We're told the president is going to have a Bud Light, Blue Moon for Sgt. Crowley and potentially Red Stripe for the professor. But interesting that even now some people are complaining that these are not American beers and that...
COLLINS: Oh, Lord. Come on!
HENRY: One Congressman from Massachusetts, Richard Neil, saying look, why not Sam Adams? It's the biggest American-owned company. Get them at the table. So you can see you can get controversy about just about everything.
COLLINS: That's right. I say have wine and call it a day. All right. Ed Henry at the White House for us. We appreciate it. Thank you.
HENRY: Thanks, Heidi.
COLLINS: A Boston police officer's job is at risk for calling Professor Gates a "banana eating jungle monkey." Officer Justin Barrett who is also in the National Guard, made the comment in a mass e-mail sent to fellow guard members and to the "Boston Globe." He was venting about a column on Gates. Barrett now says he's sorry for the e-mail and is not a racist.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN BARRETT, BOSTON POLICE DEPT.: I am sorry that I wrote that. I'm sorry that my family has to deal with this selfish motivation and feelings that I had. I regret that I used such words. I have so many friends of every type of culture and race you can name and I'm not a racist.
PETER MARANO, BARRETT'S ATTORNEY: Justin Barrett didn't call Henry Gates a jungle monkey to malign him racially. He stated his behavior was like that of one and it was a characterization of the actions of that man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Barrett is now on administrative leave pending a termination hearing.
The professor's arrest has spurred a passionate discussion in the media over race relations in America. And we want to hear from you. Have you been a victim of racial profiling or if you work in law enforcement, what are the challenges you face while policing diverse communities? Share your personal stories on video and you can be featured on CNN.
Are doctors prescribing too much medicine for children? We'll tell you about a new warning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: Here's a question for you parents out there. Is your child overmedicated? More than 4.5 million children are diagnosed with ADHD every year. Doctors often prescribed drugs for that but is it really necessary?
CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here with some questions you should be asking. I love this, because a lot of people they listen to their doctors and they want to do the right thing for their kids, but there are definite ways to go about the questioning to make sure it's right.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. And what I heard from parents is that sometimes doctors are too quick to say oh, your kid has ADHD, here's a prescription for some drugs and sometimes that really is the right approach. Drugs are really the answer but other times it's not. So I talked to some child psychiatrists, Heidi, about what questions that empowered parent ought to be asking when their child has ADHD.
First of all, they should ask, what can expect from this drug you want to prescribe me? Will my child get better grades? Will my child have an easier time making friends? You want to be clear what will happen if your child takes these drugs. Secondly, ask if there are alternatives to drugs. Some children do just beautifully if they're just thought better study skills, thought how to concentrate better. And third, we ask what are the downsides of the drugs that you're prescribing me.
Some ADHD drugs can cause some psychiatric issues. It can cause sometimes kids to become sort of less like themselves and sometimes kids get aggressive and also sometimes kids lose their appetite. So for more on the questions you need to ask if your child has ADHD, you can go to cnnhealth.com and you can read my column, does my child need ADHD drugs?
COLLINS: Yes. And apparently, I mean, obviously, we see free samples sometimes at the doctor's offices but even for drugs like these, some doctors are giving out the free samples for ADHD drugs. Should parents be taking those?
COHEN: You know, you really want to think twice before accepting a free sample. "Consumer Reports" actually have an interesting article about this recently. They said look when your doctor gives you a sample for free drugs, really for any illness, chances are that that's an expensive drug. That's why the drug company is giving out free samples. So that then you'll have to buy that expensive drug.
So you get a free sample for let's say a month and then you're going to end up shelling out the money. So you want to think twice and you want to say to your doctor, maybe we should start on something less expensive. So you might want to say no thanks to those samples. Now the pharmaceutical industry disagrees with "Consumer Reports." They say free samples have help improved the quality of life for millions of Americans.
COLLINS: OK. Now, tomorrow, we want to remind everybody is "Empower me Friday." So, we are taking their questions so that you can answer.
COHEN: That's right. We're taking your questions, any question that you have about dealing with the health care system, any problems that you have. We want to help you. So please, send me an e-mail at empoweredpatient@cnn.com.
COLLINS: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you. Appreciate that.
And we are going to take a quick check on the markets, coming up in just a few minutes. What do the numbers mean today? Hey, they're up about 150 points or so, Dow Jones industrial average. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The recession has forced millions of people out of their homes and a new report shows it's a trend that is continuing. But it comes amid very recent signs of hope in the housing market, so it gets kind of confusing.
Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange to save us all with an overview of that and the numbers today, because we want to mention, Dow Jones industrial average up about 154 points right now. But still, it's like this wonky information about the housing market.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Heidi. It's a huge market. Let's face it. You know, one of the oldest expressions about the housing market, "location, location, location." It's not always apples to apples when you talk about different metro areas, and the bottom line, it's still troubled but a new report out today from RealtyTrac shows foreclosures are easing in some of the worst-hit areas.
But cities in just four states, California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada accounted for 29 of the top 30 cities with the highest foreclosure rates in the first half of the year. Foreclosure rates in some other metro areas may have peaked, for instance, in New York. Same period, down 23 percent in the first half of the year compared to a year ago. Boston saw 40 percent and Cleveland was down 30 percent. Even Detroit fell 16 percent.
So, as they said, Heidi, it's not an even recovery. We're seeing some improvements, but it's still troublesome. No question about it.
COLLINS: Yes. We're not out of the woods yet. Some areas still in trouble we should probably mention, too.
LISOVICZ: That's right. Cities that were not considered foreclosure hot spots, Heidi, are now seeing increases. RealtyTrac blames unemployment. Areas where foreclosure rates doubled, for instance. Provo, Utah. Boise, Idaho. Two cities in Oregon, Eugene and Salem.
And there is big concern -- we've had, like, three waves with foreclosures. First with subprime mortgages and then with all the layoffs, and now we have a big wave of adjustable-rate mortgages about to reset. So, there's concern that that will lead to more foreclosures over the next several months because we do have a rising unemployment rate.
But that, actually, the job's market is actually one of the reasons why we're seeing a big rally today. Stocks boosted by a drop in continuing unemployment claims. Check out that Big Board. The Dow industrials up right now 166 points above 9,200, Heidi Collins, for the first time since November. The NASDAQ composite, S&P 500 each up two percent as well. Nice rally.
COLLINS: Yes, very nice. We'll take that. Why not? All right, Susan Lisovicz, thank you.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Summer jobs, a common rite of passage for teens and younger Americans, but in this economy, those jobs have been tough to find. That is, unless you know where to look. CNN'S Kate Bolduan looks at thousands of jobs that you're paying for in the stimulus package.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twenty-year-old Sean Branch searched eight months for a job with no success.
SEAN BRANCH, STIMULUS JOBS EMPLOYEE: I go everywhere from big- time places to just mom-and-pop shops and nobody's hiring.
BOLDUAN: Fifteen-year-old Kenese (ph) Terry said she needed to keep herself busy during the summer break.
(on camera): If you hadn't gotten this job, what do you think you would be doing this summer?
KENESE (ph) TERRY: Getting into trouble.
BOLDUAN (voice-over): Now, at least for the summer, both are hard at work for Richmond, Virginia, businesses. Terry at a radio station, Branch at a community outreach program.
BRANCH: I'm hoping that this job can beat me into just the realm of being a businessman.
BOLDUAN: All thanks to the economic stimulus package. $1.2 billion targeted to job training for disadvantaged youth. President Obama has promised the money would create 125,000 summer jobs.
ROBERT BOLLING, WILLIAM BYRD COMMUNITY HOUSE: Provides another opportunity for us to help young people.
BOLDUAN: Robert Bowling helped Branch and Terry find work. His organization, the William Byrd Community House, received $439,000 from the stimulus for its summer employment program. Bowling says that money means he can put nearly 200 young people to work this summer compared to 137 last year.
BOWLING: But it is very difficult for a young person with no job skills at all to compete in the marketplace where individuals are losing work all the time.
BOLDUAN: But these are temporary jobs, which is why some, like Virginia Congressman Eric Cantor, are questioning whether summer employment is the most effective use of stimulus money.
REP. ERIC CANTOR (R), VIRGINIA: I think the American people are just frustrated seeing their taxpayer dollars wasted, and when you say that you want to see a stimulus bill work, they, the American people, expect that stimulus bill will be focused like a laser on creating jobs.
BOLDUAN (on camera): Are they wrong?
BOLLING: To say that this summer program does not work doesn't really hit the point. The point is, you're training young people towards the future.
BOLDUAN: Sean Branch, at least, already views this stimulus project as a success.
BRANCH: Somebody like me, I'd never think in a million years that I'd have the opportunity to just sit in a beautiful office, air conditioned, and you know, just file papers. I'd never think that.
BOLDUAN (on camera): Here in Richmond, they estimate each summer job costs $1,000 and $2,000 in stimulus spending. It's a one-time cash infusion, so come next summer, programs like this across the country will need to look elsewhere to maintain this level of funding.
Kate Bolduan, CNN, Richmond, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: A Midwestern town ravaged by unemployment gets welcome news and maybe a lot of jobs. In Connorsville, Indiana, a startup company says it could hire more than 1,500 people to build high-tech police cars. Carbon Motors says it will spend $350 million to transform a vacant auto parts plant into its first factory. Last month, the Connorsville area had an unemployment rate of almost 16 percent.
For some Americans, working in the auto industry is a family affair, but the story has taken a sour turn as thousands of autoworkers have lost their jobs now. But for others, the tradition does continue. CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow met with one family trying to ensure Ford's future is as bright as its past.
What did you learn, Poppy?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: That's exactly right, Heidi. We talked to a family, the grandfather worked there, the father, and now the son is there at Ford. This is one of the positive stories that we don't hear much about. Let's introduce you to that family. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Lino Woodman worked as an engineer at Ford from the 1960 until the early 90s, following his father's work at the automaker during the Great Depression.
LINO WIDMANN, FORMER ENGINEER AT FORD: For me, it has provided a great living and provided an opportunity to send all my kids to college. It's provided a satisfactory income and my retirement.
HARLOW: It was Lino's first and only job out of college. Three decades later, his son, Carl, followed in his footsteps.
CARL WIDMANN, FORD VEHICLE ENGINEER MANAGER: Probably the first thing that interest me about it is Ford, we have like, family days and I always remember as a kid what was there (INAUDIBLE) and then even then as a kid, just the sheer breadth of what was there. And even then, the engineering or the intuition of all the interesting parts and stuff like that.
HARLOW: Carl has been an engineer at Ford since 1991. In fact, all three of Lino's sons have worked at Ford, something you see a lot of here.
BILL FORD, JR., EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, FORD: I think it's the most defining element of this company. It's a family company. I can't tell you the number of places I can go in our company where people come up to me and say, "I'm fourth-generation also or my aunt and uncle knew your father and your grandfather."
HARLOW: But times have changed and layoffs have mounted. When Lino worked at Ford in the 1960s, the automaker had more than 29 percent of U.S. market share. Today, that number has fallen to 15 percent.
L. WIDMANN: What has happened to the industry? People have found a great desire to buy foreign cars, I guess. If we want to become country that assembles parts, that's one thing. If we want to become a country that not only assembles but also designs and innovates the parts, that's another story.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: You know, Heidi, when you talk about that -- Heidi, we talk about that's another story, you look at the son, and he is one of the chief engineers on the new Ford Taurus coming out next year. And this is one of those examples where Ford is banking on their cars to make them cooler, revamping their image, trying to bring buyers back to these American brands.
So, it's really interesting, and although we look at Ford as sort of a winner in the U.S. that hasn't gone through bankruptcy like its competitors, General Motors and Chrysler, unemployment there still shocking, Heidi. Let's show you the latest numbers out of Michigan. They just came out this week. Unemployment still on the rise in Detroit. New numbers showing Detroit metro area at 17.1 percent unemployment, Heidi, in June of this year. That is up from nine percent from a year ago. Statewide by far the highest unemployment rate in the country for Michigan, where, of course Ford and the Big Three are headquartered. 15. 2 percent, Heidi. So, a bright spot in a very, very dour story as it is for Michigan, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. How is the family feel about the future of Ford?
HARLOW: They are optimistic. As the son put to me, says "I'm foolish (ph) on the outlook for Ford. We're going to do this." And for the father, you look at him, and he says, "I'm just banking on this because it's my livelihood. They pay my pension. I depend on this company to be there for me." So, they're optimistic, but at the same time, they realize the industry has changed dramatically from when the grandfather and the father were there, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow. Poppy, thank you.
HARLOW: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Dealing with the homeless. One city is buying them one-way tickets. We'll visit one place where many of them are now arriving.
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COLLINS: Last hour, we told you how some cities are trying to reduce their number of homeless people. They're buying them one-way tickets back home. Now, the view from a city that has become a popular destination. We get the details from reporter Donald Forbes of CNN's Orlando affiliate, WKMG.
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DONALD FORBES, WKMG-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): By train, by plane or by bus. They're coming to Orlando. The ticket to get here is free and courtesy of New York City. And we're not talking tourists or businessmen. We're talking the homeless. Some who live downtown say it's not the best idea available.
RYAN MCKEY, ORLANDO RESIDENT: I just got back from Manhattan a couple of weeks ago, and I was there about a week. And not a single person bothered me for change or anything. I come back here. Within a couple of hours of getting off the plane, I've got people asking me for change, money for food, money for booze. It's -- I don't want to say it's epidemic levels, I don't know an exact count, but it's pretty bad here.
FORBES: The program is run by the Department of Homeless Services in New York and called "Project Reconnect." It's aimed at homeless families, now filling shelters in the Big Apple, who have relatives elsewhere in the U.S. who are willing to take in their down- on-their-luck family members. Those homeless then given a one-way ticket out of New York.
TREY KILLINGSWORTH, ORLANDO RESIDENT: I think it's kind of a good idea if they're going to be near family and they're currently dislocated somewhere and it's not just kind of like an excuse for panhandling. I think that's a pretty good idea.
FORBES: While it may seem like an expensive solution to New York's homeless problems, it actually saves them money when you consider it costs roughly $36,000 a year to house a family in a shelter. And while the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida applauds the goals of reuniting families, the program doesn't address the real problem.
BRENT TROTTER, COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS: On the downside of it, I don't think that this is a good way to really address the homeless issue. Moving them from one corner to the next corner or from one city to another city is not really addressing the issue of homelessness.
FORBES (on camera): Now, obviously, all of those folks are moving just to the Orlando area. We haven't got the exact figures, but we know that more than 100 families have moved to Florida since the program began. Moving from Jacksonville all the way to Miami, to the City Beautiful.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: In Florida, the homeless numbers are only likely to get worse. Each winter, the season sees a big rise in people escaping the colder temperatures and harsher weather in the North.
Well, tomorrow, we want to let you know that we are turning our attention to U.S. troops and the challenges facing them on the battlefield and back here at home.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first problem is, actually getting recognition as being...a human, alive.
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COLLINS: And, you know, we would really like to include some of your stories in our show tomorrow. Tell us about your experience if you're a veteran. We'd love to hear it. Or if you have a loved one who has been in the services and you know their story, we'd like to hear that as well. The way you do that is to get on our blog, you can see it here. This is the page. It gives you some information, too, because we got the idea from the new G.I. bill that's going to be taking effect on Saturday. So, there's some really interesting things in there for veterans. We want to share with you how they are feeling about it.
Make sure to go to cnn.com/heidi. We will take all of your stories as veterans or loved ones of veterans. Coming up tomorrow. We'll be back in the CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: This just in to CNN now. The Associated Press is reporting Tennessee senator Lamar Alexander is backing the Supreme Court nomination of judge Sonia Sotomayor. Alexander is the Republican party's number three leader in the Senate. Alexander announced his decision today on the floor of the U.S. Senate. He becomes the sixth Republican to line up with majority Democrats to support Sotomayor. Her confirmation is set for next week.
Jury deliberations underway in the trial of former congressman William Jefferson. The Louisiana lawmaker accused of taking more than $400,000 in bribes. Prosecutors say he also solicited millions more in exchange for helping to broker deals in Africa. In closing arguments, his attorney says while Jefferson's behavior may have been unethical, it was not illegal.
New developments involving the custody of Michael Jackson's children. Reportedly, the mother of his two oldest children will not fight for custody. A Jackson attorney has told CBS News Jackson's ex- wife, Debbie Rowe, has agreed not to challenge the singer's mother. In his will, Jackson requested Katharine Jackson raise his three children. Her attorney, (INAUDIBLE) McMillian, told CBS this is not a money deal, and terms of the tentative agreement will be announced soon.
Expanding the mission in Afghanistan. U.S. troops facing more than mortar fire as they try to build partnerships in Taliban territory.
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COLLINS: An uphill battle in southern Afghanistan. U.S. troops are gaining ground, but gaining the trust of the people can be an even bigger challenge. CNN's Ivan Watson has been embedded with U.S. troops in the treacherous Helmand province.
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IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In an old fort at the southern edge of Afghanistan, an experiment in nation building is under way. In makeshift offices where music from a laptop provides the only distraction from the scorching heat. Behind the crumbling walls of the citadel, nicknamed the castle, a coalition of Americans and Afghans are trying to build a fledgling local government in a dusty town long controlled by the Taliban.
CAPT. GERARD DEMPSTER, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Every morning at 7:00 we conduct a meeting with the personnel that are here in the castle.
WATSON: The commander of the marines, Captain Gerry Dempster, welcomes the recently arrived Afghan police chief and his scruffy group of officers. Moments later, tempers flair.
WATSON: "Since I arrived here last night, your men won't allow me to bring police trucks into the castle," the police captain says. "You don't trust me."
DEMPSTER: Use the vehicles and drive them down here, unload them and take whatever you want. But the vehicles can not stay inside the castle.
WATSON: It's an uphill battle overcoming cultural barriers between allies while fending off deadly attacks from enemy insurgents. The morning after rebel mortars killed one Marine, Marines and police head out on their first joint patrol.
WATSON (on camera): Today is Friday, it's supposed to be the busiest day of the week. And the bazaar is all but deserted. These shops are boarded up and around the corner even, the bakery, which sells the staple food for Afghans is closed. We're hearing that somebody in the baker's family has been kidnapped.
(voice-over): The new police chief tries to reach out to the locals, but they're scared and angry after last night's battle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The situation is bad now.
WATSON: "People are afraid in fleeing the area," these men say, "because of you Americans." The Marines are also tense. Every passing motorcycle could carry a suicide bomber.
CAPT. KORVIN KRACE (ph): This war is very frustrating. Sometimes we have a lot of lives lost on our side.
WATSON: Back in the castle, Captain Korvin Krace (ph) tries to teach mostly illiterate Afghan security forces the laws of war.
KRACE: You want to take every opportunity to make sure he's not an innocent civilian before you kill him.
WATSON: The campaign to win hearts and minds in Kandashin (ph) includes hiring boys to clean the bazaar and offering health care to a town with no hospital.
(on camera): Dr. Juma Hann is from the Afghan Ministry of Heatlh and has come here with the U.S. military. He's treating this little boy, Akbar Jahn (ph), who doesn't even know how old he is. For burns received yesterday when a pod of hot, scolding water landed on his leg. This is the only Afghan doctor in this town.
(voice-over): Akbar Jahn limps away, one small victory, perhaps, in a war in Afghanistan that has been going on for eight long years.
Ivan Watson, CNN, Kandashin, Afghanistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins. CNN NEWSROOM continues now with Tony Harris.
