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Plane and Tourist Helicopter Collide; Sotomayor Sworn in as Supreme Court Justice
Aired August 08, 2009 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Tragedy in midair.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We heard a loud crash. A small plane collides with a tourist helicopter.
It looked like half of the wing was missing. And it was corkscrewing into the river. And we saw the helicopter drop like a rock into the Hudson.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
LEMON: People along New York's Hudson River watch in horror.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASMINE PAN, CRASH WITNESS: It's like in the movie. And they start, it was turning, and then the head went down first. About three, four second later, I thought it was the wing of the helicopter, probably the rotor blade.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Within minutes. Divers combed the murky waters. But, sadly, Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivers the bad news. There appear to be no survivors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK CITY: This has changed from a rescue to a recovery mission.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: What went wrong? We investigate right now on CNN.
We start with breaking news, everyone. I'm Don Lemon.
A pleasant sightseeing trip on New York City -- over New York City ends in tragedy. You're looking live at New York's Hudson River where divers and investigators are desperately looking for bodies and wreckage from a midair collision. It happened just about noon Eastern Time. Right now, nine people appear to be dead in all of this, including a child -- a child that was on board the plane, an Italian tourists that were on board the helicopter. And you can see, it is a very clear day in New York City. The sun is going down.
At the time of the crash, thousands of people were out and about in both New York and New Jersey, and they were watching all of this stunned at the time. A small plane and a tourist helicopter in a death spiral right into the dark, deep waters of the Hudson River.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN RICH, CRASH WITNESS: Over in this area by this park over here, halfway basically where that barge boat is out over there. There was a plane, small plane, like a Cessna, cutting back towards New Jersey side; the helicopter heading southbound, about 1,100 to 1,200 feet.
The plane rolled into the helicopter, hit the side of it. The helicopter went straight down the water, there was like a poof of smoke, and like a bang. And the plane went further down, hit the water over by W. Hotel, and come down in a couple pieces. So, pretty bad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
RICH: Tragic, you know, he fact that it happened here -- but, I mean, you look up and you see all the planes going around here, it's just, you know, kind of hectic. So, yes, surprised that -- you know, unfortunately, you know, this thing happens, but, you know, the fact that it does happen -- it doesn't happen more often. It's just kind of just crazy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did you happen to be watching it?
RICH: I was just sitting and I'm waiting for my girlfriend to gel her haircut. So, just sitting in the park down there, over the -- in one of those benches and, you know, I just happened to be, you know, sitting there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just getting out?
RICH: Pretty much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you see -- did they seem like they were close, were you worried about it?
RICH: That's why I looked up in that direction because, you know, obviously, you see planes and helicopters getting pretty close to each other out here, but in that particular moment, I looked up and they looked really close. And, you know, I thought, you know, the perspective, you know, they might have been going right underneath each other, but unfortunately, right when they hit, there's a big cloud of white smoke, they came out and there was the collision.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What have you seen since then? Have they pulled any people out?
RICH: I don't know. You know, I've seen them -- initially, they had been concentrating on the airplane wreckage over here. The helicopter went straight down. And, initially, nobody went over that. I think that's what they're doing right over here right now with the barge.
But, I know, initially, people were talking about two airplanes or one airplane going down, but, you know, unfortunately, everybody was concentrating on the debris over here. I don't know what the status of the other people are over here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What were the colors (INAUDIBLE)?
RICH: The plane, I believe, is white and red, and the helicopter, it was like, I think it was white and blue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The accidental collision happened just about six hours ago. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the accident not survivable. Both aircrafts are now under about 30 feet of water between Pier 40 in lower Manhattan and Hoboken, New Jersey. The stretch of the Hudson River is just down river from where U.S. Airways Flight 1549 crash-landed last January.
CNN's Susan Candiotti is in New York City. She has been covering this story since it broke shortly after noon Eastern Time. She joins us now live from the banks of the Hudson River.
Susan?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don. Yes, I covered that incident, as well, obvious a far happier outcome than this.
There is a rescue operation or rather, a recovery operation going on at this hour. As you see off into the distance as long as we still have light, you can see boats with the New York Fire Department, the U.S. Coast Guard is also been on site, the police department -- all trying to help, as well as officials and authorities represented from New Jersey, as well.
As you indicated, the conditions are fairly rough. Wind isn't too high, but divers can barely see in front of their face. Visibility is limited to two feet. So, you see those boats out there, that is a platform for four teams of divers who are taking turns going down into the depths of the Hudson River only 30 feet deep, but it is extremely murky down there. And they are trying to seek out the wreckage.
As of about an hour or two ago, New York City's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, said that they thought that they had found the wreckage of the helicopter, but they were not 100 percent sure about that. And that is where they believe that they saw -- or recovered, rather, one of the victims, one of the two that has been recovered so far. They've had a hard time trying to find the plane -- wreckage of the plane, as well, again, because of the very difficult conditions under which they're working.
One of the things we heard from the police commissioner is that there was an off-duty New York City police pilot who was working for a sightseeing helicopter company, as well, and he was up in the air and evidently saw this accident either as it was about to happen or just as it happened and immediately called in help.
It is a horrific day. I know that New York Governor David Paterson said that it was a beautiful blue day, the skies have been darkened by this terrible tragedy. And, or course, this recovery operation will be going on for quite some time. The National Transportation Safety Board has also sent a team of investigator who will be participating trying to get down to the bottom of exactly what happened -- Don?
LEMON: And also, the police commissioner, Susan, talked about the radio traffic and the communications there. What did he say about? It's very interesting that he spoke out about that.
CANDIOTTI: It is. Something that we often don't think about here, but with all the traffic, you see helicopters taking off from heliports here along the Hudson River and on the East River, as well. And evidently, there are distinct frequencies, radio frequencies used, one for the East River, one for the Hudson River. And according to authorities, when pilots go up in the air or as they are about to, they use that frequency to communicate with each other to try to make sure that they know where all the other air traffic is around. It is a voluntary air frequency that they use -- voluntarily participate in it to let others know where they are.
It's unclear at this time whether both pilots had been on the radio and talking. As the mayor said, perhaps that pilot that just took off from the private airport, Teterboro, in New Jersey, may have only been getting situated when this accident occurred. The helicopter pilot as a matter, of course, normally do use that radio frequency, and also, it was clear, sunny day, so you could look up and down and have a pretty good idea of what was going on.
But, again, if someone came at you from the opposite direction, it is entirely possible that you might not have seen that. But all of this is very sketchy, very preliminary. No one knows exactly what happened. And that's why investigators need to take a close look at it and it will take some time to sort it all out.
LEMON: All right. Susan Candiotti, on the banks of the Hudson River -- thank, Susan. And, again, nine people are believed to be dead in all of this, including a child who was on board the plane and then -- and then, there were Italian tourists on the helicopter, as well.
Again, live pictures we're looking at from the Hudson River.
I want to speak to someone now -- introduce you to someone really who witnessed all of this. His name is Hernan Martin. And he saw the crash as it happened. He was visiting New York City with his wife and family.
You were on the Hudson River, I believe, and you were from Los Angeles, right? So, you're just in New York on vacation. What did you see?
HERNAN MARTIN, CRASH WITNESS (via telephone): Yes, that's right. Yes, that's right. Hello yes, do you hear me?
LEMON: Yes, I can hear you. What did you see, Mr. Martin?
MARTIN: Well, we're having lunch at, (INAUDIBLE) and my wife, and all of a sudden we just -- we just were walking by riverside and by Pier 40, and I said, "Hey, honey, look at those two helicopters and that airplane getting so close." And all of a sudden, the helicopter's propeller just went out and the small airplane hit the back of the helicopter and the helicopter went down first in the water and then the small plane went down and I said, "Oh, my gosh, this is like breaking news" and we contacted my cousin's apartment and that's when I called you guys.
LEMON: Did you -- you didn't happen to get pictures or anything of the crash or, you know, moments after when it happened?
MARTIN: No, because I didn't have my cell phone or my camera. We were just -- we were just having lunch over here.
LEMON: Were there people with you at the time?
MARTIN: Nobody was around but some people were taking pictures, but that was it.
LEMON: What was the reaction from the few people? You said no one was around, but what -- give me reaction from people you saw.
MARTIN: Everybody was saying, "Oh, my God, that was an accident." Probably a movie they were shooting something. But they said, "Oh, my God, that was an accident, breaking news, breaking news," and that was it.
LEMON: How long before you saw the emergency crews arrive?
MARTIN: Pardon me.
LEMON: How long was it before you saw emergency crews arrive on the scene? Did you see that?
MARTIN: Oh, it was like right away. I mean, right away, like four, five minutes after it happened, and police and the helicopters were going around and that was it.
LEMON: Yes. Hernan Martin, probably something you will never forget, I am sure.
MARTIN: Oh, I never will.
LEMON: All right. Thank you very much. So, we're talking to eyewitnesses here on CNN of that horrible crash over the Hudson River. People are sharing their experience and what they saw about what happened.
Also, someone who is an expert on aviation, someone who knows all about it joins us here in the CNN NEWSROOM to help guide us through where this plane took off. We're going to show you the exact flight pattern -- we're ready for it but we're going to show it in just a little bit. We're going to talk about this plane, did it follow a flight plan, which we shall see. What are the nuances, what were they supposed to do, what went wrong.
Also, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com, if you have any information or comment on this story, you can send it to us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: If you're just tuning in to CNN, nine people were apparently killed today when a small plane and tourist helicopter collided over the Hudson River. It was in an area between Pier 40 in lower Manhattan and Hoboken, New Jersey.
IReporter Robert Wagner shot this photo from Hoboken, New Jersey. The object on the street is believed to be a tire from one of the aircrafts. He also took this photo, one of the police boats as it patrolled the river looking for crash debris and possible bodies.
Liberty Tours operates the sightseeing helicopter. No comment from them so far, but two years ago, one of their helicopters dropped 500 feet with seven passengers, and the pilot was credited with safely landing in the Hudson and evacuating all of her passengers. And in 1997, a rotor on that Liberty helicopter clipped a Manhattan building, forcing an emergency building. No one was hurt in that one.
And, of course, you remember this one -- on January 15th, 2009, United Air Flight -- U.S. Air, I should say, Flight 1549 piloted by Sully Sullenberger landed safely in the Hudson River and he became a hero to everyone, pilots and people who fly all over -- all over the country and all over the world.
Joining me now is John Wiley. He is a former Airbus pilot with 19,000 hours of service and he also writes for "Aviation Weekly" as a contributing editor.
Nineteen thousand hours, that's a lot of experience.
JOHN WILEY, FORMER COMBAT PILOT: I've been around for a while.
LEMON: You've been around for a while.
Before we got to that, we're going to take you through what possibly happened, where the plane took off from, where it was supposed to go and what-have-you. But I want to ask you this -- have you ever been involved in a mishap in midair, well, not collision, but a mishap or a close call? WILEY: I've had the windshield fall a couple of times, yes. It will get your blood going. In fact, about only three or four weeks ago, I was climbing out of a small field in my own personal aircraft and fortunately, we were all on frequency and somebody was calling, coming into the pattern and I happened to look up and sure enough to the left, I'm pretty close to another airplane.
LEMON: I have a lot of friends who are pilots and whatever -- from time to time, they have to go back for retraining or whatever, and nothing, they're completely devoted to whatever time they have to go back for training and what-have-you because they need to be focused, focused, focused. They all take this very seriously.
WILEY: The problem that you have anytime that you've been in the community for a period of time is business as usual. And I never went into and I hate to say the word "never," but certain airports like Washington and LaGuardia and some of those, you're always just a little bit jacked going in there because you knew that those were high intensity airports.
LEMON: So, so you're going to have your wits about you all the time.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: OK. So, if we're looking at this, and we're bringing -- and we're going to -- and you're going to help me through it. Teterboro would be somewhere up in this area, right?
WILEY: Right.
LEMON: So, we'll just say -- just -- we'll say here. So, if it left Teterboro, if we come down, it's coming down the river this way, right? En route as they say to going to Ocean City, New Jersey.
WILEY: Hugging the west coast.
LEMON: Hugging the west coast. And then about here, when it got here, this is where the particular accident happened. And you can show us, if you will, all you have to do is -- I'm not sure if you're used to doing this, let's just draw on the screen and tell us and tell us...
WILEY: Well, you're going to have traffic that's going to be coming up the river, as we say on the east hand side. The problem that you've got is that you're going to be flying basically in level flight or maybe some slight turns, and that's going to inhibit your ability it to clear the area that's in front of you and the area that's beneath the nose of the aircraft. That's going to be one of your blind spots.
LEMON: OK.
WILEY: And since we're operating on the see-and-avoid premise, as we said earlier, if you don't see it, you can't avoid it. LEMON: Yes. Let me redraw this, because I would imagine when we said Teterboro, I imagine the plane was going here and you said, so that would be this way, right?
WILEY: Yes.
LEMON: And then the other aircraft going this way. This is where the helicopter.
WILEY: Well, northbound aircraft would be obviously proceeding on the east hand side, but from what we're hearing is, the helicopter itself had come out of somewhere on Manhattan with the passengers. And would have been coming down also...
LEMON: So, the helicopter would be coming this way, as well?
WILEY: Would be coming this way, as well.
LEMON: And when they got here, that's where the problem happened.
WILEY: We're getting reports that the small aircraft was overtaking and apparently did not see the helicopter, struck the helicopter at some point, took the rotor off of the helicopter, and when it took the rotor off the helicopter, the helicopter goes in the water, we've lost the wing on the airplane and it goes in the water, also.
LEMON: So, that would be in this -- right in this area where we have the circle here. But here's the interesting thing. When you look at between here, between Teterboro and here, Pier 40, when it happened, do you know how many miles do you think we're looking at here?
WILEY: We're not talking about five to seven miles. I mean, the PA-32 probably did not take off more than five to 10 minutes earlier before he's coming down the river. The flight plan that we think we have seen is he was going to go a small field in Ocean City, New Jersey. He's coming out and that direct line is a flight of less than one hour.
LEMON: Right.
WILEY: So, for him to be on the river coming down south, he probably within the first 10 minutes of his flight.
LEMON: Wow. OK.
Man, oh, man, and then, all of a sudden, you have a -- you have the tragedy that happened. And so, with the currents of the river and you have all of this, we're looking -- I mean, they're looking at from here because, you know, the currents are so crazy here on the Hudson River, you're looking here anywhere from to 14th to 23rd Street here in Manhattan, all the way down to the harbor here where all of this -- all of this debris can go. WILEY: They're going to be concentrating in the area that they think the impact was first obviously, but because of the currents of the river, yes, there's a possibility that the debris is going to be scattered down the river, making recovery more difficult.
LEMON: You know, it's obviously a tragedy. But anything that comes out of this when you're dealing with this sort of situation, anything that comes out of this will be -- maybe some better restrictions and better guidelines for people who are traveling this corridor.
WILEY: Well, we have to remember that accidents are always the exception to the rule. Most of this stuff works 99.9 percent of the time. It's that one-tenth of 1 percent that catches our attention and rightfully so. What we got to make sure is that our response to this -- our actions after this are both measured and accurate.
LEMON: All right. Thank you very much, John Wiley. He's going to continue to join us here on CNN to help guide us through this.
Who were the people aboard this plane? Why were they on the plane? Who were the people on the helicopter? Why were they on it? And what about the eyewitnesses in all of this?
We'll have details for you after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We're following breaking news happening in New York City over the Hudson River. A plane and helicopter collide.
But there's also other news to report, including this story. From now on, it is Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS, SUPREME COURT: I, Sonia Sotomayor, do solemnly swear...
JUSTICE SONIA SOTOMAYOR, SUPREME COURT: I, Sonia Sotomayor, do solemnly swear...
ROBERTS: ... that I will administer justice without respect to persons...
SOTOMAYOR: ... that I will administer justice without respect to persons...
ROBERTS: ... and do equal right to the poor and to the rich.
SOTOMAYOR: ... and do equal right to the poor and to the rich.
ROBERTS: And that I will...
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: And with her mother holding the Bible, Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in this morning as America's 111th Supreme Court justice. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the judicial oath during a public ceremony in the high court's conference room. It was the first time the court has allowed TV coverage of the swearing-in ceremony.
And in New York's Spanish Harlem, there was an enthusiastic viewing party. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROWD CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Sonia Sotomayor is the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice in U.S. history and she's only the third woman to serve on the nation's highest court.
Coming in in October, CNN will present "Latino in America," a look at how Hispanics are reshaping politics, business, schools and culture. "Latino in America," only on CNN, coming this October.
"Evil can't function any other way than in the dark." Those are the words from the priest who conducted Betsy Gannon's funeral today outside Pittsburgh. Meantime, vigils were held this week for Gannon, Heidi Overmier and Jody Billingsley, all shot to death at an area gym on Tuesday. Nine others were wounded.
Witnesses say 48-year-old George Sodini walked in to a room inside the gym, shut off the lights and started shooting. He then killed himself.
Heidi Overmier's funeral also took place this morning. A visitation for Jody Billingsley happens tomorrow.
Here's new surveillance camera video from outside the gym. And you can see women dressed in their gym clothes running out of the building and into a restaurant next door. They pleaded for help and had an employee call 191 to try to help out.
New York state police are retracing a mother's road trip up to the moment when she veered in to traffic, killing herself and seven others. They're narrowing the time line for when Diane Schuler may have begun binge drinking. She was reportedly sober when she began her drive on July 26th. And officers say Schuler was fine an hour late when she stopped at a McDonald's. But the autopsy report says she had more than 10 vodkas and was high on marijuana when she crashed just north of New York City, killing herself, her 2-year-old daughter, her three young nieces and three men in an SUV. Schuler's 5-year-old son survived that crash.
A cocaine controversy in the death of TV pitchman Billy Mays. The official autopsy report says the drug contributed to the heart disease that suddenly killed the outspoken salesman in June. But Mays' family is saying, wait a minute, they never saw signs of cocaine use, and now, they're thinking about getting an independent review of the autopsy. The 50-year-old Mays began -- became a pop culture icon for hawking electronic gadgets and cleaning products. His wife found him dead in their Tampa, Florida home back on June 28th.
A multimillion-dollar insurance payout for Michael Jackson's concert, well, it may be void. The policy covers the pop star's London shows. A provision says that $17 million payout could be denied if Jackson was found to be taking drugs illegally. Now, whether or not a check is cut will depend on the results of an autopsy that has already been delayed twice.
Anonymous law enforcement sources say Jackson's doctor gave him a cocktail of sedatives and anesthetics hours before the singer died on June 25th.
There's much, much more news ahead here on CNN, including the very latest on what's happening over New York City's Hudson River.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Following breaking news here on CNN. And the New York City's mayor is describing that crash over the Hudson River as not survivable today. Nine people, including a child, are believed to be dead after a small plane collided with a tourist helicopter plunging both into the Hudson River near Pier 40.
Two bodies have been pulled from the water so far, and right now, recovery crews are canvassing the river and swarming both banks, pulling out wreckage and looking for more victims.
As mentioned, part of the issue is a lack of air traffic controls around parts of the Hudson. Well, today's collision happened in a busy corridor often filled with sightseeing aircraft. It is something Michael Bloomberg, the mayor there, talked about just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLOOMBERG: I think it's really anyplace you see a lot of traffic together that's not possibly controlled, you have to be careful. So, and it's not for me to prejudge whether anybody did anything right or wrong, the only definitive answers to your questions will come from the National Transportation Safety Board. That's why air transportation is so safe because they don't jump to conclusions, they very carefully work to establish with a long investigation of what exactly went on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: We'll check in now with CNN's Josh Levs, keeping a close eye on all the social networking sites where you, our viewers, have been really helping us tell this devastating story about the collision here.
Josh, what are you hearing? JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From the beginning, Don, we're hearing so much from Twitter and Facebook, including from some eyewitnesses on the ground. Let me show you something, quickly, I got a message here from Keith Nye who was there right nearby. He said, "Many thought it was a bomb." We got a chance to speak with him earlier and we asked exactly what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEITH NYE, CRASH WITNESS (via telephone): Well, we were -- we had just finished playing soccer and we were hanging out on the field when we heard that this incredibly loud crashing noise. I've never heard anything that loud in my life ever. I flinched, I looked up and the helicopter had broken in two and the plane was going down into the water. Everyone's initial reaction was just terror because the helicopter came down close to the New Jersey side and a few people thought it would actually hit pedestrians on the side of the river.
LEVS: And, Keith, I actually show everyone where you were. Let's zoom to the screen behind me. I'd pull up a map. You were in Sinatra Park at Hoboken, right?
NYE: That's correct.
LEVS: So, here's the Hudson River. And then over here, you got the Hudson and you have Frank Sinatra Park right there. So, that's where you were playing soccer.
Keith, I got to ask you, you're standing there in a park, playing soccer, you look up, and you see an aircraft splitting in two. What did that look like? What did you physically see in that distance?
NYE: Well, it happened extremely quickly, like a lot of people have mentioned. But there was just a ton of debris in the air. The tail section was completely separated from the cockpit or the front of the helicopter. The front just took a nose dive from there, from what I saw and went straight into the water. The plane kind of embarked into the water further, into center of the river.
LEVS: Keith, it's such a tragedy for these people. We're all thinking of them. Before I let you go here, was there pandemonium on the ground, did people scatter and scream, did people come together and say this is what we're going to? What happened with those of you who are outside enjoying the park?
NYE: There were a few people that were screaming and were having trouble with it. For the most part, a lot of people, their immediate reaction was to call 911, which was great.
LEVS: And other than that, you saw mostly order, you saw people doing the right thing?
NYE: Yes. Everyone did the right thing. They gave the emergency services all the room they needed. It was pretty calm on the ground.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: And you can hear that from him, the drama that led up to it especially being in New York, and hearing what you think might be a bomb, especially that's coming, you know, from the sky. It was obviously a powerful moment for a lot of people.
I'll tell you, I know Don has a lot of people writing in. This is my Facebook page right here, Josh Levs CNN. We're hearing from a lot of people right here, too. We're also getting tons of iReports, helping us tell the story throughout the day. There's a whole special section on it now at iReport.com.
If you're in a place and safe to send us videos, photo, stories -- definitely keep those coming.
Don, as you were saying, we have told this story today from the beginning with a lot of help from people via all the social networks online. It's been terrific.
LEMON: All right. Josh Levs, thank you very much.
LEVS: Thank you.
LEMON: We're going to continue to follow that developing story happening in New York. But there's also other news, including an American icon is ill. We'll tell you about her. And also, Iraq, a bombing there today. And in Iran, there are reports that executions are escalating.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Capitol Hill may have cleared out for August recess, but the president isn't taking a break from his health care pitch. He's saying health care reform is the right medicine for the ailing economy.
Elaine Quijano is at the White House with more -- Elaine?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, there had been some really heated confrontations at this town hall meetings recently over health care. And today, in his weekly address, the president tried hitting back against what the White House says is misinformation. Without naming names in his weekly radio and Internet address, the president went after those who he said are trying to exploit differences for political gain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And let me start by dispelling the outlandish rumors that reform will promote euthanasia or cut Medicaid or bring about a government takeover of health care. That's simply not true. This isn't about putting government in charge of your health insurance. It's about putting you in charge of your health insurance.
(END VIDEO CLIP) QUIJANO: The president also argued again that reforming health care is going to be key in getting the economy back on solid footing. He sounded cautiously optimistic in noting the latest unemployment figures better than expected at 9.4 percent.
Republicans though maintain that the Democrats' health care plan will be too costly and they say that unemployment figure, 9.4 percent, is still too high. They point out that translates to 247,000 Americans who lost their jobs last month alone -- Don?
LEMON: All right. Elaine Quijano at the White House -- thank you, Elaine.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver is it in critical condition today. She is at a Cape Cod Hospital. Her children are at her side, including Maria Shriver, the first lady of California. The 88-year-old Shriver is the sister of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Edward Kennedy.
Her children, including California first lady Maria Shriver, are at her side. Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded the Special Olympics in 1968, inspired by her sister, Rosemary.
A bombing today in Baghdad killed six people, it happened outside a bakery in a Sunni Muslim neighborhood. Officials say the bomber arrived on a motorcycle loaded with explosives and set the bombs off as a police patrol passed by. Three police officers were among the dead, 30 police were -- people, I should say, were also hurt.
Amnesty International says there's been an alarming spike in Iranian executions. The cause is unclear, but it seems to have coincided with the disputed re-election of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Amnesty International says there have been no less than 115 executions in Iran in the past 50 days. It says 24 of them occurred in one single day. Now, we haven't been able to reach the Iranian government for comment on this.
Indonesia's elite anti-terror forces may have won their biggest battles in their ongoing war with insurgents, a series of missions ending successfully. Police say one raid stopped a planned assassination of the Indonesian president. But their bigger get is in central Java, where Indonesia's most wanted terrorist is believed dead after a long standoff and gun battle.
CNN's Dan Rivers reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(GUNFIRE)
DAN RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was the last hideout of Indonesia's most wanted terrorist and the focus of a ferocious firefight in central Java 18 hours.
(GUNFIRE)
RIVERS: Indonesia's elite Detachment 88 anti-terrorist unit peppered the flimsy building with bullets. Eventually, it was clear the men inside were dead and the victims included Noordin Top, a major victory for the police as ambulances came to collect the bodies.
Noordin Top was originally part of a regional terror group, Jemaah Islamiyah, that later split from them, embarking on his own campaign of violence.
The authorities say he was behind a series of deadly bombings, including the huge blast in Bali in 2002. Almost every year, he's brought a renewed attack in Indonesia from hotels to embassies, mimicking with targets picked by al Qaeda.
The most recent attack came just three weeks ago, a double bombing on two hotels in Jakarta, leaving seven dead, plus two suicide bombers.
SIDNEY JONES, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: I think the fact that Noordin Top is dead is a huge step forward in the fight against terrorism, not only in Indonesia, but in the region. The problem is, we still don't know how big his network is and we don't know how many other arrests will take place. So, it's too early to conclude that the threat in Indonesia of future attacks is automatically going to go down.
RIVERS: In 2005, the police came tantalizingly close to capturing Noordin at this apartment above a restaurant in Semarang, Indonesia. He'd used it as a propaganda studio, recording chilling messages warning of further attacks.
In other videos, his cell is showing training with firearms, learning unarmed combat as well as detailed bomb-making techniques.
His decade-long reign of terror appears to be over, but experts warn there may be other followers willing to take Noordin's place. The police also found explosives at another house this time near Jakarta.
CHIEF BAMBANG HENDARSO, INDONESIA NATIONAL POLICE (through translator): We found 100 kilograms of explosives, two booby traps and three plastic containers of explosives at the house in (INAUDIBLE). We also found a car that has been prepared for a car bombing in two weeks time.
RIVERS: After this weekend's dramatic firefight, the question now for police: how widespread is Noordin's network and will his disciples have the capability to wreak revenge?
Dan Rivers, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, Dan.
What caused a helicopter and an airplane to collide over the Hudson River? We're digging in the investigation into this.
Lost in the debate over health care reform, fraud that is costing all of us billions of dollars a year. How bad the problem really is?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We want to update you on our breaking news here on CNN.
Nine people were apparently killed today when a small plane and tourist a helicopter collided over the Hudson River. It was in an area between Pier 40 in lower Manhattan and Hoboken, New Jersey.
One iReporter -- our iReporter Robert Wagner shot this photo from Hoboken, New Jersey. The object that you see there on the street, there it is, right behind the police tape, they believe it is a tire from one of the aircraft. Now, he also took this photo of one of the police boats as it patrolled the river looking for crash debris and also possibly for bodies.
It is a time-honored American tradition, the town hall meeting. But when it comes to health care reform, some gatherings are turning in to free-for-alls as noisy protestors hijack the debates. Still intelligent and passionate discussion manages to rise above the fray.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DONNA EDWARDS (D), MARYLAND: I'm going to be respectful of you -- I'm going to be respectful of you whether you agree or disagree with me. And I'm going to ask you to do the same with me and the same with each other.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have one question. We're talking about savings. As soon as you read this monstrosity and you know that there is thought one word in this or anything about tort reform. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
REP. KATHY CASTOR (D), FLORIDA: Thank you all very much for joining us tonight. We're making historic progress on an issue that has alluded us, fundamental to our families, to our seniors, to the wellbeing of our community.
(INAUDIBLE)
(CHEERING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the rest of the people in Congress and the Senate, are they going to be willing to be on the same plan they're asking us to be on?
(CHEERING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody's talking about setting up putting 47 million people in a public plan. We know that's going to be part of the bill. What we're talking about is giving people who don't have health insurance options.
(APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a direct assault on our personal liberties, our personal freedom, our personal privacy. You need to open it up to the free market. You need to get the government the hell out of our way.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And a reporter became the story at a town hall meeting in Missouri. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know why I can't sit here though.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I'm telling you to leave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Game's over.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where are we going? Wait, I understand...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One more time, I'm going to tell you you're leaving or you're going to jail with me this evening. Which one would you like?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That was St. Louis reporter Jake Wagman. He was arrested Thursday night while covering protests at Congressman Rush Carnahan's town hall meeting at a local school. Now, Wagman says he was asked to move off private property, as you just heard. And he says he complied, but was still arrested, across the street on public property.
Well, there is one aspect of health care that's virtually lost in this debate. And ignoring it could take on billions to health care costs.
CNN's senior correspondent Allan Chernoff reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The problem is fraud. Tens of billions of dollars is lost to health care fraud every year. It's a major reason our health insurance premiums keep rising, and Medicare and Medicaid are draining the treasury. Yet, for all of the talk in Washington of controlling health care costs, the issue of fraud is getting little attention.
(voice-over): Theresa Langlois knew her podiatrist was cheating Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan when she read her insurance statement. Dr. Jeffrey Cook had build thousands of dollars to surgically remove dozens of warts when Theresa only had a discolored toenail.
THERESA LANGLOIS, FRAUD VICTIM: It was like robbery. I mean, they were overcharging for a procedure that wasn't done.
CHERNOFF: Theresa called Blue Cross, which investigated, ultimately leading to the arrest and imprisonment of podiatrist Jeffrey Cook.
Health care fraud perpetrated by doctors, pharmacists, even organized crime gangs, is rampant. Senate investigation found Medicaid in recent years paid nearly half a million claims to people posing as doctors who were dead. Such fraud costs every American. It drives up prices for medical insurance, treatment, and drugs.
DOUGLAS FALDUTO, HORIZON BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD: I think it's a domino effect that ends up with the consumer. Somebody's got to reimburse for it, somebody's got to fund that. And ultimately it gets passed down.
CHERNOFF: That's why major health insurance companies have special investigations unit to weed out fraudulent claims.
FALDUTO: We want to get that money back.
CHERNOFF: Falduto and other investigators estimate fraud accounts for a minimum of 3 percent of all health care spending, $72 billion a year. Other experts say the figure is more than three times that, topping $200 billion.
OBAMA: If we do not reform health care, your premiums and out- of-pocket costs will continue to skyrocket.
CHERNOFF: President Obama warns health care reform is needed to get medical costs under control. But one of the biggest culprits, fraud, gets little mention in the congressional reform effort.
PROF. MALCOLM SPARROW, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: They are certainly aware of this problem. They don't seem to know the magnitude or the seriousness. They don't seem to be acting with the kind of urgency that I would like.
CHERNOFF: The health reform bill approved in the House, 1,018 pages long, devotes 40 pages to the issue of fraud. Even bills in the Senate would add $100 million to combat fraud, waste and abuse. That's the amount of health care fraud occurring in this country every 12 hours, using the most conservative estimates.
(on camera): That level of corruption is one of the big reasons our medical bills rise steadily every year. Yet the big push in Washington has been to provide health coverage for more Americans. Experts warn if fraud isn't addressed more aggressively, American taxpayers will be paying billions more than needed to provide health insurance for those who don't have it.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, Allan.
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the iconic Abbey Road picture of the Beatles crossing the street. And we still don't know why Paul was barefoot.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Forty years after the magic. Look, I love that picture. We are talking about the Beatles at Abbey Road in London. It's a great picture. Look at the clothes. I like the white suit.
Earlier today, fans and followers marked the occasion with a walk across the street and they were recreating one of the most famous photos ever.
CNN's Errol Barnett has more on the iconic shot and what it meant to music history.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
ERROL BARNETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "Come Together," the first track from the last album recorded by the Beatles. And it was put together here at Abbey Road Studios in London four decades ago. Today, you can find the exterior walls of the studio affectionately marked up with messages from fans.
Bill Harry worked with the Beatles and says they called their last recorded album "Abbey Road" because this was their second home.
BILL HARRY, BEATLES ASSOCIATION: At Abbey Road Studios, well over 90 percent of all the Beatles music was recorded. The real heart and soul and call of old Beatles music have its birth in Abbey Road.
BARNETT (on camera): With most of the album complete, August 8th, 1969, the Beatles stepped outside of the recording studio here on Abbey Road to shoot the album's cover. It would become one of the most iconic images in music history.
(voice-over): George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and John Lennon, and one of London's zebra crossings. The album became the Beatles most successful, making the cover world famous. Some artist whose have imitated the walk include the lesser known soul band Booker T and the M.G.'s, and even the children's program "Sesame Street."
And as you can imagine, tourists the world over have made the trip to this famous black and white stripes to have their own steps in history.
RICHARD PORTER, BEATLES TOUR GUIDE: Abbey Road Studio has recorded about 125,000 people a year who cross Abbey Road. I think it's more than that. So, I think we are talking 3,000 a week, easily if not a lot more than that, a lot of people.
BARNETT: Richard Porter is a Beatles fanatic. He owns the Beatles coffee shop, founded the Beatles London fan club, and created a walking tour of milestone Beatles' locations. On this day, he welcomed 55 tourists from around the world.
PORTER: This is number three (INAUDIBLE) from 1968 to the mid- 1970s, this building was owned by the Beatles.
BARNETT: It is a testament to the impact the Beatles had on music, popular culture and musicians for decades to come. So, although it adds a few second to a driver's commute, even the crew and I couldn't resist.
Errol Barnett, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, Errol, thank you very much.
You know, a lot of you are weighing in on some of the things that we're putting on the air here. Some people are talking about the helicopter and plane crash in New York City. Others are talking about those town hall meetings.
Here is what N20863 says, "Man, seems like the country's new favorite pastime is busting up town hall meetings." Dunkhall says, "I am alarmed by what's going on in Iran, but the news in America -- is in America right now. Town hall rallies taking place in a city near you."
LuciferOS says, "Yes, it's bad. They want to get rid of as many people as possible. Worst is that he is still just a puppet, a puppet with a blood thirst." He's talking about the executions increasing in Iran.
Brinkeguthrie says, "Have you called Sully to get his take?" Yes, we did. And we're waiting to hear back from him. MI2Atlanta says, "Watching your coverage. This is so sad. I send my blessings to the families of the lost. This is just awful." I agree with you on that one.
Thank you so much. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com -- we'll get your comments on the air.
