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Biggest Bank Failure Yet; FAA Suspends NYC Air Controllers; President Pitches Health Care Plan; Typhoon in Taiwan Cuts Off Towns; Kids Enrolled in Vaccine Trials; Gates Assesses the Mission in Afghanistan; Ross on the Battle for Health Care Reform; Fortieth Anniversary of Woodstock; Afghanistan Preps For Key election
Aired August 14, 2009 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: A wildfire out of control, thousands of residents evacuate in northern California.
And her family says please just let her come home safely. A Georgia woman goes missing as her boyfriend hears a struggle from her cell phone. Police think she may have been abducted.
And back in the NFL, yes, his dogfighting sentence done, Michael Vick signs with the Eagles.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Heidi Collins. It is Friday. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
All right, we've got lots to talk about with the health care debate. Here's a look at the map right now. Lots of meetings, not much agreement. Will we see more face-offs at today's town hall meetings? We'll be checking for that.
Also, CNN's Ed Henry with the president in Montana today as the president continues to push his health care plan. We'll be checking in with him and we're going to take you to Arkansas with Brianna Keilar as she talks to a Blue Dog Democrat who is seeing pushback from both sides of the divide.
But first, this developing story for you. The nation's financial crisis. Seventy-two banks have failed this year, and a federal judge warns that the biggest collapse of the year may still be looming.
Christine Romans is part of the CNN Money team and she joins us now from New York.
All right, Christine, what is the latest with Colonial Bank? Because that's what we're talking about today.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right. We're watching developments in Colonial Bank. It's a company for whom trouble has been brewing for sometime here. And indeed yesterday a federal judge issued a ruling, essentially a restraining order, barring any asset transfers in response to a Bank of America lawsuit.
This is what the judge said. The judge said, "Viewing Colonial's contractual breach in conjunction with the fact that Colonial is on the brink of collapse and is suspected of criminal accounting irregularities, the potential for immediate substantial injury to Bank of America is clear."
Well, the part that a lot of folks are zeroing in on is Colonial is on the brink of collapse. That's the part of that judge's ruling that people are talking about this morning. We'll tell you a little bit about what that company does. Colonial Bank at a glance. It has some 355 branches in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Texas. Some $25 billion in assets. So this is a big group. $24 billion in liabilities.
It was a very aggressive lender to real estate developers in Florida in particular in the mid to late 2000s. As you know that has been a problem for many of those loans. This would be -- if it were to fail and it has not at this point, but if it were to fail it would the sixth largest bank failure in U.S. history. So that's why so many people are watching it here.
A reminder -- we have seen 72 banks fail this year. A reminder the FDIC insures your deposits up to $250,000. That's incredibly important. You have to continue to pay your loans and your payments. That doesn't change.
It's a seamless transition. All of these have been a seamless transition if the FDIC has to step in. You can go to FDIC.gov for more information, but you can expect operations as usual.
Basically, we're just waiting to see what is the position of this bank. It's been, again, yesterday, some move in the courts, the federal judge borrowing -- barring any kind of asset transfers in response to a Bank of America lawsuit because B of A was concerned about the assets.
NGUYEN: Yes, but 72 so far this year, my goodness. All right. Christine, thank you for that.
ROMANS: Sure.
NGUYEN: I want to give you a closer look at Colonial Bank Group which is the parent company of Colonial Bank. As we said, it has 355 branches, mostly in the southern U.S. The five states again are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, and Texas.
Now, if Colonial fails, the FDIC insures up to $250,000 per person per account. The FDIC says those account holders can expect to be reimbursed within just a few business days.
There's also a stunning new twist in that fatal midair crash over the Hudson River in New York. Here is what we know at this hour. The Federal Aviation Administration has suspended two air traffic controllers who were supposed to be safeguarding the crowded air space.
The FAA says the controller handling the flight was involved in apparently inappropriate conversations on the telephone. The agency says the supervisor was not in the building at the time as required. The FAA also says the employees' actions don't appear to have contributed, though, to the accident itself. All nine people aboard the two aircrafts -- a helicopter and a plane -- were killed in the crash last weekend.
All right. So what exactly happened? Well, there are new details that are emerging from the investigation and new home video that shows the moment that the crash happened.
We get the story now from the CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As investigators study this amateur video to find out what led to that terrifying midair crash over the Hudson, there's more stunning information.
An air traffic controller who was handling the Piper airplane was on the phone with his girlfriend at the time of the crash according to a source with knowledge of the investigation, what the FAA in a statement calls, quote, "inappropriate conversations." And there's more.
The FAA says the air traffic controller's supervisor was not in the building at the time as required.
JUSTIN GREENE, AVIATION ATTORNEY: They're put in the tower to do a job. And if they're not doing the job, people can die. And in this case, apparently, they weren't doing the job.
CANDIOTTI: Our source says the air traffic controller had already cleared the plane for takeoff from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey before talking with his girlfriend. The NTSB says the plane had been handed off electronically to the next tower down the line in Newark and then the plane disappeared from radar.
The FAA calls the conduct of the controller and his boss unacceptable, but says, quote, "We have no reason to believe at this time that these actions contributed to the accident."
GREENE: We have somebody missing in action. We have someone else who's not doing their job. So the negligence is there. The only question is whether that negligence had a role in this accident.
The FAA is already saying well, maybe it didn't, but the FAA stands to lose millions and millions of dollars, well, the taxpayers do, if the FAA is wrong.
CANDIOTTI: The FAA says the two employees are now on administrative leave. The investigation is not over. Ultimately the two could be fired.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And Susan Candiotti joins us now live from New York.
Susan, what's been the reaction from air traffic controllers, that association?
CANDIOTTI: Well, there is an association that represents them and they're saying that they support this investigation and they're asking the public just don't rush to judgment too soon until this administrative hearing is over.
NGUYEN: OK. What about any possible changes for how pilots are regulated in that air space over the Hudson?
CANDIOTTI: Well, I've learned that only yesterday the head of the FAA said at its research facility in Atlantic City that they may soon be reissuing advisories to pilots who fly over that Hudson River air space.
The current advisories call for pilots to use a radio frequency that is assigned to that area, to fly at speeds that are under 140 knots and to turn on their lights as they take off from areas along -- various heliports along that river.
Again, these have been voluntary in the past. And at this time they still are, but naturally those things might possibly become mandatory in the future.
NGUYEN: OK, Susan, we do appreciate that.
And I want to tell you about this. President Obama, he is hitting the road again, pushing health care reform in a conservative Montana suburb. There's a pretty safe bet that he is going to hear pushback from some critics.
Our White House correspondent Ed Henry is there finding out what people are thinking ahead of the president's visit. So selling health care reform, been talking about it a lot. We're going to bring you the president's town hall live right here on CNN.
But first, I want to bring up Ed Henry. There he is. So, Ed, what are you expected to see today? Could it get heated?
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, it could get more heated. We talked to some of the people who waited online to get tickets to this town hall in Bozeman area. They were fans of the president, Democrats, but they told us that there were other people on the line who are conservatives.
It was an open process and there are a lot of people online saying that they wanted to ask the president some pointed tough questions. And I can tell you the people we've been talking to on the ground here the last couple of days are saying they really don't trust the federal government and they've got deep concerns about the president's approach.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY (voice-over): Spend a day in the tiny town of Livingston, Montana and you quickly see why the president's health care push is facing big problems in big sky country, even from those he's trying to help.
SONJA MCDONALD, HOUSEWIFE: We've got two kids and then my husband is the only one working.
HENRY: Sonja McDonald is uninsured so she gets discounted dental work at a local clinic. She voted for the president and agrees there needs to be reform, but is worried about the details.
MCDONALD: I believe that there is a health care crisis. I really do. Do I believe that the government needs to be more involved? No, because I think that they just -- whenever they get their fingers in the pot it kind of just turns black.
HENRY: A common sentiment here where a second Obama voter told us government is too big.
DAVID LEWIS, PUBLISHER, "THE MONTANA PIONEER:" We've just spent so much money on the stimulus and the TARP, then we're going to add another huge entitlement in the form of the public option.
HENRY: The movie "A River Runs through It" was filmed near here so people love their fly fishing, all part of the rugged individualism.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the west is all about independence and do it my way and I don't need anyone to tell me what and how to do, and I think when government gets too involved in our lives, there's some sure some discomfort.
HENRY: But they're comfortable with the federal government at that local clinic known as Community Health Partners. Taxpayers pick up 50 percent of the $4 million annual budget.
DR. MARK SCHULEIN, FAMILY PHYSICIAN: We're able to provide health care to someone who walks through the door regardless of their ability to pay.
HENRY: Which brings us back of Sonja McDonald who wants more of these clinics around the country, even when we told her the feds pick up much of the tab.
MCDONALD: The government being involved is fine. It's just that when they try and overstep, when they try and say no, this is what needs to be done.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: So that's part of the challenge for the president as he continues to make this sales pitch, especially in this part of the country. A lot of people distrust the federal government. He needs to try to convince them, look, federal government's already involved in health care, helping people at some of these clinics like here in Montana, helping them with Medicare, of course, a very popular program for senior citizens.
But when you talk to top White House aides, they say they realize that there's such distrust for the government. It's a very tough sell right now. The president determined to continue making that pitch. Today in Montana, then tomorrow in Colorado for a town hall, that's why I'm trying to get ready for all of the action here.
NGUYEN: Hey, that looks pretty good on you. It suits you. All right, Ed...
HENRY: I know Ali Velshi has one.
NGUYEN: Yes. All right, thanks so much, Ed.
All right. Talking about selling health care reform. Let's stay on the topic because I want to bring you President Obama's town hall live right here on CNN. And to find a town hall near you, all you have to do is head to our Web site, CNN.com/healthcare. Got a complete list of locations and times for you. So don't want to miss that.
In the meantime, though, I want to tell you about this. More firefighters are on the way right now to fight an out-of-control wildfire along the California coast. Here's the area that we are talking about around Bonny Doon, which is just north of Santa Cruz, California.
More than 2,000 people have been told to get out so far. And more could still be ordered to evacuate. The fire is burning in hard- to-reach areas, which has made it especially tough for the firefighters on the ground. More helicopters and firefighting planes are expected to join the efforts today.
Let's get to the latest on the weather outside. Bonnie Schneider joins us now live.
Bonnie, they could use a little relief from Mother Nature.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, unfortunately, Betty, we are not looking at that, and we're also looking at the potential for winds to pick up this afternoon and Saturday afternoon, as well.
I'm going to talk more about that and weather. Plus maybe tropical depression sort of fizzling out in the tropics, but there's a new low, and this one looks promising for more development. I'll have a look at that and your weekend weather forecast coming up.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you.
And robbery interrupted. A mass gunman walks into a convenience store, but he does not walk out. Look at that video. The owner actually wrestles him to the ground. Wait until you see what happens next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. Well, a man suspected of making threats against the White House is in custody right now in California. Police and FBI agents surrounded 56-year-old Joseph Moshe as he drove near a federal building in Los Angeles yesterday.
Moshe refused to get out of his car even when officers tossed chemical agents inside the vehicle. The standoff lasted eight hours, and it ended when police broke Moshe's car windows, Tasered him and then pulled him from his car.
I want you to check out this surveillance tape from a Virginia convenience store. A masked man, right there, pulls out a gun on the cashier, but he quickly, man, tackled by the owner whose husband was also there.
The fight spills out into the street. The owner wrestles the robber for 10 minutes until police arrive. The store already has 12 security cameras, but the owners say after this encounter they will install several more.
Looks like they already had it handled, though.
Well, Michael Vick is headed back to the football field as the newest member of the Philadelphia Eagles. The disgraced former star quarterback signed a deal with the team that will reportedly pay him at least $1.6 million this year.
The agreement puts him back in the NFL for the first time since his conviction on dog fighting charges. Fans in Vick's hometown, well, they're pretty happy with the move.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean it's good for him. I'm proud of him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) You all need something to be proud about.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's just going to be terrible.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Rusty?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Definitely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Glad that he's back working. I'm glad that he's back with the team, back on my team and I think he'll bring something -- you know, something exciting to it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's really neat and I'll try to get his autograph.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, she's wants his autograph. But what about Vick's new teammates? Quarterback Donovan McNabb said he lobbied for Vick to get a second chance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONOVAN MCNABB, EAGLES QUARTERBACK: I think for a guy who has spoken the truth in front of the nation, THAT served his time, and for a guy who is just looking for an opportunity to kind of get his feet back on the ground.
You know, I think he deserves it. I look forward to him joining us in the next couple of days. For all who, you know, are dog lovers and I have dogs myself, I've looked past it and I think everybody else should, as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, the NFL lifted Michael Vick's suspension last month and he can practice and play in the pre-season, but he may still have to sit out up to the first six games of the regular season.
All right, we want to know about what your thoughts are concerning Michael Vick going back into the NFL. All you had to do is go to our blogs here on CNN NEWSROOM. Here's Heidi's page, it's also on my page, as well. And you can also reach me on Twitter and Facebook.
Basically we want to hear from you. We're going to be sharing some of your comments. Let us know what you think about Michael Vick signing with the Philadelphia Eagles. We'll be sharing those responses a little bit later in the show.
All right. Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, he was actually involved in a traffic accident in his hometown of Baltimore last night. Police say Phelps' Cadillac Escalade collided with a Honda Accord. The driver of that car was taken to a hospital as a precaution. Phelps was not injured. Police say Phelps was interviewed and alcohol was not a factor.
A woman goes for an evening walk and never returns home. But the last call on her cell phone may be the key in helping investigators figure out what happened to her.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Hello, everybody, welcome back. Hundreds of people, they are helping with the search for a missing woman in north Georgia. Police say 38-year-old Christy Cornwell disappeared Tuesday night while taking a walk near her home.
She was talking on the phone to her boyfriend when she said something to him about a car pulling up. Well, her boyfriend told police that he heard screams and other sounds that sounded like she was being kidnapped.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE AYERS, SPECIAL AGENT WITH THE FBI: While they were conversing on the phone, he overheard her tell him that I've got to step off the road. There's a vehicle approaching. Then he hears what he believes to be a struggle and loses contact with her at that time.
(END VIDEO CLIP) NGUYEN: Police say they found some of Cornwell's belongings near the scene and indications of a struggle, but so far they have not found her cell phone.
Well, more than 30 countries are offering money and supplies to help Taiwan recover from last weekend's devastating typhoon. Rescue work is ongoing, but washed out bridges and roads and raging rivers are making that effort dangerous.
CNN's John Vause has the latest now from outside one cut-off village.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On the other side of this valley is the village of Shinkai. There was once a bridge here, but that was washed away by the typhoon and the mudslide.
Officials have been using a harness system with ropes and pulleys to get the villagers out, to get rescue crews and supplies in. Bull earlier today, they noticed that the cables were starting to slack, they were worried it would become weak. So that harness system is no longer in operation.
I made an (INAUDIBLE) earlier, there is no power there, there is no electricity, there is no running water. But there is a lot of mud. In some places, mud, which is waist deep. The town is practically deserted.
There's still about a dozen people who have decided to stay behind. And until they repair this harness system, the only way out of Shinkai is to climb down the side of the mountain and risk going across the river.
It is swollen, it is moving very quickly. There are concerns about flash flooding because of these mud typhoon lakes which have formed further upstream. And so, for all of the people who live here with their homes and their lives which they've left behind, it will be a very long time before they can ever go home.
John Vause, CNN, Shinkai, Taiwan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: All right. So would you allow your child to be a guinea pig? Well, a number of parents are doing just that, signing their children up for clinical trials for a swine flu vaccine.
Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the main reason to have a vaccine trial like this is so that it can help other children. There are several sites around the country where the vaccine trial is already underway. All of it with the hopes that a vaccine could developed -- be developed by October when school season is in full swing. Now we're hearing there are still some spots available for children, but a lot of those spots have already been taken up as parents are volunteering their time and their kids.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): It's a typical summer day for Andrew and Nathan Stein. But what they plan to do for the rest of their school vacation is anything but typical. In a couple of weeks, both boys will enroll in a human trial of a vaccine to prevent the H1N1 or swine flu virus.
Although both admit they aren't looking forward to being poked with needles, their decision to join the trials is personal.
ANDREW STEIN, TRIAL PARTICIPANT: One boy that I knew at our school died from a type of the flu. So I wanted to prevent that as much as I could.
GUPTA: The boys' mother, Christy Stein, supports their idea. She was involved in a trial of a pediatric vaccine to prevent swine flu back in 1976.
CHRISTY STEIN, TRIAL PARTICIPANTS' MOM: I trust the people who were running the study. And I'm not concerned about it at all.
GUPTA: Why enroll children into an H1N1 vaccine trial? Well, it seems young people age 6 months to 24 years are more susceptible to the virus. And because young people are different, trials also need to be tested on youngsters.
DR. KAREN KOTLOFF, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: We can feel in the younger population, groups that may need a higher dose or two doses of the higher dosage, et cetera. And these studies will answer those types of questions.
GUPTA: The Centers for Disease Control has also warned pregnant women are at high risk. But for now, adults, young people, and those over the age of 65 will be tested in different groups to determine dosage.
Scientists say it's extremely important they complete their pediatric trials so they have a proven vaccine to protect kids if the swine flu begins to spread rapidly in the United States. Even the Steins' grandfather who happens to be a pediatrician believes his grandsons can make a difference.
DR. WAYNE CROWDER, GRANDFATHER/PEDIATRICIAN: The H1N1 influenza has potential for causing a severe pandemic. So I'm very interested in doing anything I can to protect my family, my patients, and the general public health.
GUPTA: Nathan Stein agrees.
NATHAN STEIN, TRIAL PARTICIPANT: (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: Well, like any shots, you could have some side effects from this. You might have some pain, some redness. What we're hearing is that at least those symptoms seem to be going away within the first couple of days. But there is the possibility, the rare possibility of having severe allergic reaction, as well.
Parents are being asked to sign informed consent saying that they acknowledge the possibility of these sort of side effects.
Take a look at this map here, 11 sites around the country, nine states. This is where the vaccine trial is undergoing, again, with the hope that a vaccine will be developed by October. They're testing all sorts of things, including the two-dose vaccine. Having not just one shot but two shots, but also looking at how H1N1 vaccine does as compared to the seasonal flu vaccine, at least in terms of safety. Back to you.
NGUYEN: All right.
Well, years ago in the fight against the Taliban. That's what the defense secretary is saying about the mission in Afghanistan. But that assessment may not mean more troops are headed to the war zone.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, it has been a rocky week on Wall Street. On Wednesday, the Fed says the economy is leveling out. But yesterday, retail sales unexpectedly fell and the jobless claims, they rose.
Well, will today's reading tell us the world's biggest economy? Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with a preview of the trading day and we just heard the bell ringing.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Perfect timing, Betty.
NGUYEN: Yes.
LISOVICZ: And happy Friday to you.
NGUYEN: Happy Friday.
LISOVICZ: We've got a new reading on consumer prices. That matters to all of us. It shows that consumer prices were flat last month, but over the past year, prices tumbled more than 2 percent. It may not sound a lot, but it is the biggest annual drop since 1950, and a lot of you can guess why that huge decline in energy prices since peaking last July, energy has tumbled nearly 30 percent.
Meanwhile, we have another headline from another troubled bank. A federal judge says Colonial Bank is on the brink of collapse. If that happens, it would mark the 73rd bank failure this year. Shares of its parent, Colonial Bank Group, right now are down 12 percent.
We now know the fate of bankrupt carrier, Frontier Airlines. Regional airline Republic Airways won an auction for Frontier with a bid of more than $100 million. Southwest Airlines put in a bigger bid, but it came with some strings attached while Republic's offer had already received federal anti-trust approval.
Checking the numbers at the open, pretty flat, Betty, but I should mention that the Dow and the S&P 500 closed at the highest levels of the year, Thursday on the sense that things were getting better. But not for Abercrombie and Fitch, and the retail, the youth retail sector. Abercrombie shares right now up three percent, but the retailer lost $26 million in its last quarter. Abercrombie suffering because it has not cut its prices like a lot of its competitors. Abercrombie says now it's beginning to plan more sales.
You know, Betty, Abercrombie was able to get by for a long time on the cool factor. But, you know, in this recession, value is pretty cool, too.
And just one other note, you know, Christine has been talking about the top ten CEOs, paid CEOs. Abercrombie's is number ten on that list with about $72 million in pay for 2008. Not bad at all. That's according to The Corporate Library.
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: Come on, that's great. We'll see how it goes, though, especially with the way that they're selling is taking place right now, not dropping those prices and people aren't actually going in as much as they used to.
All right.
LISOVICZ: That's right.
NGUYEN: Thank you, Susan. Appreciate it.
LISOVICZ: See you later.
NGUYEN: OK. So we're going to take you now to Jacksonville, Florida, saying a final farewell to a hometown hero. Some live pictures coming to us right now. This is the funeral procession for Navy Captain Michael Scott Speicher. It began just about a half hour ago. Very poignant. You see right there the flag being flown. People lining the streets. Speicher was the first U.S. service member to be shot down in the first Gulf War. His remains were identified 18 years after his jet crashed in the Iraqi desert. And we're going to continue to watch these pictures and have more of the emotional funeral procession in just 20 minutes.
In the meantime, though, an assessment on the needs of the mission in Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says don't expect the upcoming report to include a request for more troops.
CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us now live.
All right, Barbara, so what can you tell us about this assessment? BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you, Betty. You know, General Stanley McChrystal, the new commander in Afghanistan, getting set to report back to the president about the state of the war in Afghanistan. A big strategic assessment, that's what they call it, is underway and is to be delivered to Washington soon after next Thursday's presidential elections in Afghanistan. The big question on the table -- will all of this result in even more U.S. troops going to Afghanistan to fight that war?
Defense Secretary Robert Gates spoke about it just yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: General McChrystal is assessing the security situation in the context of the president's goals and strategy. And will submit his assessment to us and to NATO sometime between the Afghan election and early September. That assessment will not include specific recommendations or requests for more forces. However, we've made clear to General McChrystal that he is free to ask for what he needs to complete the important mission that he has been given.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: But what's the reality, Betty? What's the real bottom line here? There are many indications, in fact, that General McChrystal will ask for more capability, more equipment, more troops, specifically to deal with the growing threat of roadside bombs, IEDs.
Let's look at some of the statistics that have come out just in the last few days that we can show our viewers here about the growth in the number of IEDs being laid in Afghanistan.
You see right there, the skyrocketing trend. That is something that is now a top priority to deal with. U.S. casualties as a result of these IED attacks are at an all all-time high.
Betty?
NGUYEN: All right, Barbara, I want to change subject, because I understand a little bit of breaking news. You just got some new information from the Pentagon about the typhoon in Taiwan?
STARR: Absolutely, Betty. You saw my colleague John Vause. Of course, just a few moments ago on the scene at the total devastation of the typhoon that hit Taiwan over the last several days leaving as many as 500 dead and thousands homeless.
U.S. military sources now tell us that the Pentagon is making some very quiet preparations to possibly send an amphibious warship and some troops with helicopters and humanitarian relief to the scene in Taiwan if the Taiwanese government in the coming hours makes the request for aid which is expected.
Now, this is a very sensitive matter, of course. The devastation in Taiwan, as you see, is really overwhelming. The Taiwan government looking for aid. But, of course, China looms over the horizon and any U.S. military presence in Taiwan, even one that will clearly be for humanitarian relief is likely to be very sensitive and upset the Chinese. So our understanding from our sources is all of this is now being worked behind the scenes to try and make clear to China, to make clear to the Chinese regime that any U.S. military presence in Taiwan would be solely for help in this disaster.
Betty?
NGUYEN: As you were talking, we were looking in just some of those pictures out of Taiwan. The flooding is just devastating there so indeed, there's a lot of need.
Barbara Starr, thank you so much for bringing us up to speed on that breaking news. We do appreciate it.
All right. Back to what Barbara was originally talking about, that being Afghanistan. It holds its presidential election in less than a week and anticipation is high. Security, very tight. We're going to tell you who wants to take Hamid Karzai's job just ahead.
But right now it is Friday. People looking forward to the weekend. But they may have to get past some of this weather, and Bonnie Schneider has been following all that. In Alton, California, though, they got to get pass those wildfires.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right. And the reason that firefighters are having so much trouble containing -- at least one of the reasons is the steep terrain. Another has to do with the way the wind is blowing the fires.
And what's happening is we're seeing kind of a phenomena known as spotting according to the firefighters out there where the wind blows the fire and it hits the trees, of course. But then what happens is the sparks jump off, fly ahead of the original fire and new fires get started. This was the big problem back in Malibu, California, in 2007, back in October, when we had tremendous fire there. So spotting a concern for firefighters making it very tough to get ahead of the fire line. And that's one of the reasons we're having so much trouble with it.
Now, the forecast for today and for the weekend is not so great, because we are going to see the winds pick up. They're not so bad right now, but as we look towards the weekend, you can see the winds coming in and in the afternoon intensifying, that is not good news for firefighters there.
Now, we're also tracking some other interesting weather happening in the tropics. Tropical depression two, no problem no more. It kind of fizzled out. However, there is a brand new system that we're going to keep a very close watch on here. It's all the way out. There's Cape Verde. You can see just off the Coast of Africa. As we see the computer models are showing that this storm system right now just a low has potential for development. High potential, actually, so even though we've got a quiet start to the season, Betty, we could get very active in the weeks to come. NGUYEN: All right. Well, I know you will be watching it and so will we.
Thank you, Bonnie.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
NGUYEN: Living with a pre-existing illness and without health care. The challenges families face in our "Health Care In Focus."
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NGUYEN: Selling health care reform. For a Blue Dog Democratic Congressman Mike Ross, it is an uphill battle that he says has people mad at him on both the extreme right and extreme left. Here's CNN's Brianna Keilar.
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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hope, Arkansas, the hometown of the last president who tried to reform health care and of Congressman Mike Ross, a prominent member of the conservative Blue Dog Democrats. Ask folks here, and they'll tell you, it's not easy being Mike Ross.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
KEILAR: Concern the House of Representatives was rushing health care reform and that it costs too much, Ross and other blue dogs forced Democratic leaders to pair down their bill and delay a full House vote until September. Something he frequently points out to constituents in his conservative district.
REP. MIKE ROSS (D), ARKANSAS: I'm the guy that led the charge in standing up and stopping this thing from a floor vote before August 1.
KEILAR: That move put Ross at odds with Liberal Democrats. While his support for much of the Democratic plan also makes him a target for Republicans. The RNC is running this radio ad in his district.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mike Ross did exactly what Nancy Pelosi wanted him to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He caved in, he buckled.
KEILAR: Feeling the squeeze, Ross says he's right where his constituents want him to be.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's rare that you get both the extreme right and extreme left mad at you all at the same time. And that tells me that maybe we've found the right balance here.
KEILAR: The balance, he tells more 6,000 people on a telephone town hall is simple. Slow down and do it right.
ROSS: You know, we have been trying to get this done since Harry Truman.
KEILAR: An hour and a half on the phone, no outbursts. His next health care event, answering questions face to face.
ROSS: Say a prayer for me tonight for a town hall meeting in Arkadelphia tomorrow.
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NGUYEN: And speaking of Arkadelphia, Arkansas.
Brianna Keilar joins us now from there live. OK, Brianna, you've been travelling around Ross's district, talking to folks, what are they saying about his prominent role in the health care debate?
KEILAR: You know, there are mixed reviews, Betty. Some people are really supportive. They do think he is striking the right balance. But we've also spoken with some folks to and particular, who are not in favor of the Democrat health care reform push and they say they think that Mike Ross is really a fence sitter and he's not making up his mind.
But I think what's really struck us about the voters in this district, in Arkansas' fourth congressional district is that they seem to be really informed and engaged. They know exactly what Mike Ross is doing on Capitol Hill. You know, they're following the details.
And when they find out that we're here to cover these health care events, they'll ask us, where are they? What time are they, because they're interested in showing up. I mean, 6,500 -- I think more than 6,500 people on that tele town hall last night and this venue today where Mike Ross is going to be holding his actual town hall at Henderson State University. It holds 900 people, Betty, not sure -- Mike Ross says he's not sure if they're going to get that many people. But certainly there's room for them if they do, Betty.
NGUYEN: Yes. And if they show up, you know, they're going to pack in there. So, Brianna Keilar, you'll be watching and so will we. Thank you so much for that.
Health insurance with a pre-existing illness. That is our topic right now. If you can get it, though, the premiums, they can be downright outrageous. So, in today's health care in focus, photojournalist Eddie Cortez gives us a look at the challenges facing families with pre-existing conditions.
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SANDY NEUENSCHWANDER, HAS CROHN'S DISEASE: About nine years ago, I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease.
Sit, good boy.
Without my medication, it could -- it gets bad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's very hard to live with when this Crohn's is flared up.
NEUENSCHWANDER: I can't eat. I don't sleep. My weight starts to drop.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even the kids when it would flare up, they would -- can we go somewhere? You know, we just need to get away from Mom for a little while.
NEUENSCHWANDER: I'm without medical insurance. I cannot even get prescriptions that I'm supposed to take every single day. I've got doctor's orders right now for different tests that I can't do, because there's no way to cover it. You know, we're making ourselves here with the business trying to just stay above float, and it's like the water's at the nose, that's how close it is. So, we don't know where to turn. We don't know what to do.
These are Asacol 400 milligrams each. These are $450 to $500 a month depending on where you go. None less than $450 anywhere except for Canada. I'm supposed to take 12 a day, and this keeps my Crohn's under control.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With her having Crohn's disease, it does make it impossible for us to buy insurance that covers anything.
NEUENSCHWANDER: It's voodoo. It's like Crohn's is voodoo. They don't want to touch it, it's pre-existing. When I call to get a quote, they say, OK, we won't cover Crohn's, but once they find out you have Crohn's, even though they don't cover it, they rate the policy extremely high, because you do have a disease.
It's the one thing we need coverage on, and it's the one thing that we can't get. It's just a vicious cycle. It's like a merry-go- round that you never get off of.
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NGUYEN: Well, want to know more about health care reform? You can check out our Web site at cnn.com/health care, and see how the CNN Truth Squad separates the fact from the fiction.
The festival heard around the world. Can you believe it's been 40 years since about half million people gathered in Upstate New York for Woodstock? But what about the artists? They're talking about what it was like to play that stage.
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NGUYEN: Thirty-one bands rocking out since 40 years ago today. The music of a generation at a festival for the ages. That was Woodstock, and tomorrow, as I mentioned, it's going to be exactly 40 years since Richie Havens took the stage for what was build as three days of peace and music. It was so much more than that.
CNN's Ted Rowlands talked to some of those who played Woodstock to find out if it was really as great as they remember.
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TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Woodstock, the most famous music festival of all time. But it wasn't even held in the town of Woodstock, New York.
BOBBY COLOMBY, BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS: It could have been called the best music festival. I think they started in Woodstock, but never -- I don't think they got the approvals, you know, to play there or permit.
ROWLANDS: Bobby Colomby headlined the closing night of Woodstock with his band, Blood, Sweat and Tears. He says the 500,000 people who attended had a different experience than the actual performers.
COLOMBY: You're impatiently waiting to go on stage, but there's not a, you know, kind of gathering of, how you feel? Yes, peace, men. Isn't this love, brother.
ROWLANDS: Grace Slick played Woodstock with Jefferson Airplane. Now a visual artist, she's painted a picture, literally, of who was there.
GRACE SLICK, JEFFERSON AIRPLANE: Janis, Richie Havens, Crosby, Stills and Nash and Young, Joan Baez.
The people who put on the festival contacted everybody they could. Probably someone thought, oh, that's stupid, they don't know what they're doing. Or some probably thought no, I can't be over there because I have a commitment for something else.
ROWLANDS: The Who made it to the festival, but Roger Daltrey reportedly called it the worst gig they had ever played. Rain and mud were plentiful, but food and facilities were not.
SLICK: I didn't go to the bathroom all night, because there wasn't a bathroom on stage. That's OK for guys, they can lean off the side, but a woman, it's a little tricky.
ROWLANDS: For many of the artists, Woodstock was just another engagement. And in 196, a descent, paying one, at that.
COLOMBY: The top pay as far as I know was $15,000.
ROWLANDS: But for half a million concertgoers, the experience was priceless. In Hollywood, I'm Ted Rowlands.
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NGUYEN: All right. So, there were music festivals before Woodstock, music festivals after Woodstock, but will there ever be anything that even compares to Woodstock. That's our question to you this day, this Friday. We have it on our blog here at cnnnewsroom/blog.
As Woodstock 40 years later, any idea if there's going to be anything like this? Let us know what you think. You can go to Heidi's blog. You can also go to my blog. You can also reach me by Twitter and Facebook, but we want to hear from you. So sound off. Let us know. Woodstock, what did it mean to you, and will there ever be another one like it?
NGUYEN: All right. In the NEWSROOM, though, we do have a lot going on today, and we've got crews covering all of this. One big story, that being health care reform.
So let's begin in Big Sky, Montana, and senior White House correspondent Ed Henry joins us with that hat of his.
Hey, there, Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, a lot of people here, even Obama voters that we talked to in Big Sky Country said they've got big problems with this health reform push. They say they believe there is a crisis, but they've got deep concerns about the federal government getting more control. We'll have that story at the top of the hour.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: All right, and you know this morning, a lot of talk about the health of Colonial Bank. Will it or won't it be taken over by regulators? We don't know yet, but what we do know is how you can protect your money if that's your bank.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Elizabeth Cohen here in Atlanta. Having trouble paying your medical bills? Who you going to call? We'll tell you the advocates who can stand in for you and fight your fight. I'll have that at the top of the hour.
NGUYEN: All right. And in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM, you've seen what's been going on at those town hall meetings, now hear from some people who were actually there because we are talking to them.
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NGUYEN: Well, Afghanistan's presidential election is less than a week away. More than 40 men and women trying to beat incumbent President Hamid Karzai. The vote is a historic one with a lot at stake, and CNN's Ivan Watson reports now from Kabul.
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IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been the bloodiest summer yet since the overthrow of the Taliban eight years ago. Despite the violence, candidates for Afghanistan's top office are out on the campaign trail, among them, incumbent President Hamid Karzai, making rare trips from the safety of his presidential palace. Reminding supporters that after three decades of war, ruin and disaster, 5 million refugees have returned from exile to live and work in Afghanistan.
After seven years as president, Karzai is Afghanistan's most recognizable politician.
Why do you like Karzai? SHAMS MUTTAK, KARZAI CAMPAIGN WORKER: Because Karzai is the only man that people believe him, and he serve to the country, to Afghanistan people.
WATSON: But Karzai refused to appear in this recent televised debate with two top opposition candidates.
JAHID MOHSENI, CEO, TOLO TV: It was a disappointment the fact that we ran an empty podium, at least hopefully make people feel like there will be some accountability if you don't come into reporting things to people.
WATSON: Opposition candidates like former foreign minister Dr. Abdullah Abdullah are slamming Karzai's record in office.
DR. ABDULLAH ABDULLAH, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Because of the failure of the current administration in losing support of its own people, there is a vacuum, in that vacuum, of course, has led to deterioration, and the security as well as in all parts of life.
WATSON: The (INAUDIBLE) of candidates also includes communists, Islamists and women and a former Taliban commander. Many of whom are trying to appeal to Afghans disillusioned by poverty, corruption and crime.
Candidate and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani has been telling his supporters, quote, "Let's get rid of this corrupt regime." He's warning Afghans to be on the lookout for fraud on Election Day.
Why won't it be fair?
ASHRAF GHANI, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Because this is the fifth most corrupt government on earth. How do you expect it to be fair?
NOOR MOHAMMED NOOR, INDEPENDENT ELECTION COMMISSION: These are sealed for security, too. Close the boxes.
WATSON: To make sure there's no cheating, right?
NOOR: Yes, yes.
WATSON: In the warehouses of Afghanistan's independent election commission, workers prepare ballot boxes for August 20th.
(on camera): Shipping as many as 95,000 election kits across the country with as few paved roads as Afghanistan has is a massive logistical challenge. Some of these are going out by trucks, others have to be shipped by airplanes, by helicopter and even by donkey.
(voice-over): But because of the Taliban insurgency, these ballot boxes aren't expected to reach an estimated 10 percent of the country's polling stations. A major obstacle that could undermine the legitimacy of Afghanistan's next elected president.
Ivan Watson, CNN, Kabul.
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