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Funeral Procession Held for War Hero; Getting the Pulse of the People on Healthcare; New Troubles for Colonial Bancgroup; Michael Vick Back in the NFL; Surprises About Arlo Guthrie
Aired August 14, 2009 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Here's a look at stories happening right now. The funeral of Eunice Kennedy Shriver is just getting under way in Massachusetts. Singer Stevie Wonder and Oprah Winfrey arriving just moments ago. Shriver who was the founder of the Special Olympics died on Tuesday. She was 88 years old.
Crowds, they are lining the streets of Jacksonville, Florida, this morning for the funeral procession of Navy Captain Michael Scott Speicher. 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 dessert. Speicher's funeral procession will drive pass several significant places in Speicher's life, including his high school and former church.
Well, thousands of people are being forced from their homes along the central California coast where a wildfire has already scorched 2,800 acres. It is burning in an area between Santa Cruz and San Francisco. The hundreds of firefighters on the ground right now are expecting a little more help today with helicopters and firefighting airplanes on the way.
Our Bonnie Schneider has been watching the story for us, especially when it comes to the weather and if they're going to get any relief as they're trying to fight this fire, Bonnie.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, there was a slight marine layer building at 1,000 feet, but that's really it. This is interesting. It's google earth showing the heat reflectivity of the fires. That's why it looks like there's so many fires when it's really just one large one in and around this area near Bonny Doon and you can see it reflected on Google earth.
You can also see the terrain and notice the rigidity of the terrain. Really, really steep and that makes it more challenging to fight this fire by land and by air a because of the mountains in the region and how tall the trees are. But we are looking at some changes in the forecast in terms of wind and a little bit in terms of cloud coverage.
This is a look right now as you can see of the satellite perspective for the region. That marine layer would be nice to be coming in, but not really seeing it as much as we'd like. So we are going to see sunshine in the forecast and the high temperature of 74 degrees for the region. But really what we're watching the winds because the winds make all the difference in terms of what's going to happen with this fire and, unfortunately, they are going to pick up today in the forecasts.
The gusts, Betty, could get as high as over 20 miles per hour and maybe even 25 miles per hour and that is not good news for firefighters and what's worse is they are going to pick up again tomorrow afternoon. So we'll talk more about that. Plus, we're going to look at the tropics a little later this hour.
NGUYEN: All right. We'll be checking in. Thank you, Bonnie.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
NGUYEN: And we have a live report from Santa Cruz County, California. That is coming up in just a few minutes. The latest on the ground there. Stick with us for that.
Later this hour, President Obama will hit the road, again, pitching health care reform at another town hall. This time he'll be in Belgrade, Montana. Our White House correspondent Ed Henry is in big sky Montana, talking to people ahead of the president's visit. So, Ed, tell me what is the mood there?
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, I can tell you, this is not necessarily friendly turf for the president. He ran pretty hard in the mountain west and won some states that the Democrats haven't won, like Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada but he came up short here in Montana and I spoke to several people who did vote for the president back in November, but, nevertheless say that while they believe there is a crisis in health care, they really got concerns about his approach right now.
(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 pushing big problems in big sky country, even from those he's trying to help.
SONJA MCDONALD, HOUSEWIFE: We 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 just kind of turns black.
HENRY: A common sentiment here where a second Obama voter told us government is too big.
DAVID LEWIS, PUBLISHER, "THE MONTANA PLANNER": We've just spent so much money on the stimulus and the T.A.R.P. and 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 are 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 are able to provide health care to someone who walks through the door regardless of their ability to pay.
HENRY: Which brings us back to Sandra 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 travels across the country. Convincing people, look, the federal government is already heavily involved in health care. Clinics like here in Montana helping people who are poor and don't have insurance, also obviously Medicare, very popular federal program for senior citizens.
But when you talk to top White House aides, they say, look, we understand that given all the federal bailouts, people are fatigue with the government. They don't trust the government right now and that makes this sales pitch that much harder but they insist the president is determined to push ahead and that he's going to continue making his case, Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. And we will be watching. Ed Henry, thank you so much for that.
HENRY: Thank you.
NGUYEN: Staying on the topic right now of selling health care reform. The president's town hall meeting is schedule to kick off this afternoon at 2:55 Eastern and you can watch it live right here on CNN.
A civil debate over health care is happening across North Dakota. Conservative Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan is hearing from both sides at a series of town halls and the tone is respectful. Diane Giscard D'Estaing of affiliate KVRR reports from Castleton, North Dakota, outside of Fargo. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANE GISCARD D'ESTAING, KVRR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's one of thousands of town hall meetings taking place across the country. Hundreds gathering to express a major concern, what to do with the U.S. health care system.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The question is, why do we spend more on health insurance than anybody else in the world by far and rank 41st in life expectancy.
D'ESTAING: Castleton's fire house was packed with people holding signs, applauding and cheering in support of ideas they like.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are we willing to take the best health care system in the world and throw it out the window and start off fresh new. That there makes sense.
REV. MERNIE MANOR, WAHPETON, NORTH DAKOTA RESIDENT: My son, the father of two, the husband of a wife who just had surgery, signed up there the National Guard and went to Iraq, in part, so he would get health insurance. This is the best health care system in the world?
D'ESTAING (on camera): Senator Dorgan and other concerned citizens are proud of North Dakotans for respectfully disagreeing on health care issues in today's meeting unlike other states.
(voice-over): Increased national debt and rushing to get the plan in place have citizens worried, but some want change now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My whole world revolves around paying hospital bills. I had back surgery because of a birth defect. I am 30 years old and had to have a hysterectomy because I had cancer, possible cancer. You know, it's not my fault that those things happen to me.
D'ESTAING: Passionate people made for heated discussion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody should have that right. Not a privilege, a right to have that.
D'ESTAING: And hundreds came with ideas, but only one can make the final decision that can revamp America's health care system.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All right. So, what are your thoughts on this? Are you looking for more about this issue? All you have to do is check out cnn.com/healthcare. The site features ongoing coverage of the health care debate, as well as a list of town hall meetings from across the country and explainers - there's a whole lot on that site. Be sure to check it out.
Well, the nation's financial crisis. 72 banks have failed this year alone and a federal judge warns that the biggest collapse of the year may be looming. We're talking about Colonial Bancgroup. The regional bank with 355 branches, mostly in the southern U.S.. The five states 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.
All right. Time to check out the numbers on Wall Street today. Whew, the Dow not looking so good today. Down 105 points and it's still early though at 9,200. We'll stay on top of the numbers for you today and bring you the latest.
Right now, Bonnie Schneider is staying on top of the weather outside. It's a Friday. People looking forward to the weekend, but should they be?
SCHNEIDER: You know, it depends on where you are. We're certainly going to see some more hot temperatures in places like Texas for today. In fact, take a look at the National Forecast and yes, the heat is building, once again. A little bit of rain though coming in from west. Stormy for areas in the north, I'd say into the upper midwest, northern sections of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and into Wisconsin and certainly for the Dakotas. This is getting to be an area where we're tracking quite a bit of stormy conditions as we go through much of the day.
And in terms of our temperatures, it's going to be pretty hot out there, as I mentioned, in many locations and not getting our readings out west but certainly getting them across parts of Texas. 95 degrees there and 90 in Memphis and 82 in Boston. Actually, in New England, the weather is going to be pretty nice this weekend. So we're looking forward to that.
We're also tracking lots of activity in the tropics. Tropical depression two didn't really turn out to be too much. However, if you take a closer look at this screen. I'm going to open it up and you can see a little bit of cloud coverage kind of coming in here at the tail end. This area here, there it is. Right there. This area is something to watch for high potential from the National Hurricane Center.
This one that is way, way off, actually closer to Africa than it is event to the Caribbean Islands could develop into something in the days to come. We're tracking it closely. We're monitoring any computer model output that comes through. So while one depression fizzles, another one may turn out to be a lot more active even though this tropical season has gone off to a quiet start, don't rule out activity yet by any means.
The peak of the season isn't until September 10th through the 12th. That's when we usually get the most named storms on the map and even though the season gets off to a late start, it could still be a very memorable one.
Betty, if you remember back in 1992, Hurricane Andrew, well that came in the middle to end of August and that was letter "A," the first storm of the season.
NGUYEN: A lot of people today still can't forget Andrew and what it has done. All right. Bonnie, thank you for that.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
NGUYEN: Well, the Pentagon tells us that the U.S. may send amphibious warships, helicopters and humanitarian aid to Taiwan to help people there recover from last week's devastating typhoon. Just look at this video, raging rivers swollen up by 83 inches of rain are making rescues extremely difficult.
The Taiwanese government says more than 31,000 people have been pulled from villages hit by floods and mudslides and the official death toll is 118, but, a presidential spokesman says that number could triple.
A second chance for Michael Vick signing on with the Philadelphia Eagles. So, what do they really think of this in the city of brotherly love? We're going to take you there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. Michael Vick has a second chance. The disgraced former star quarterback has signed a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles and that deal puts him back in the NFL for the first time since his conviction on dog fighting charges.
CNN's Larry Smith joins us now live from Philadelphia. We have Larry up? Larry, are you there? Hey there, Larry, what is the reaction?
LARRY SMITH, HLN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, I am.
NGUYEN: Good to see you. Good to hear you.
What is the reaction there in the city to Vick being signed on with the Eagles?
SMITH: Well, you know, we really don't really know what the fans are saying right now, but we do know that there are some football fans who are excited to get a chance to see Michael Vick back on the field. In fact, (INAUDIBLE) Eagles' web site list his number as the same number seven that he wore for all those years in Atlanta.
It's a surprise signing for the former convicted felon who served his 23-month sentence on dog fighting charges and now he comes back. And he can begin practicing immediately though when he will begin playing, we just don't know. Now he'll be introduced to the media here at the top of the hour here in Philadelphia.
Head coach Harry Reid of the Philadelphia Eagles is expected to be here as well as former Indianapolis coach, head coach Tony Dungy who has served as mentor for Vick in recent weeks, as he made the transition from prison back into regular life. Also, Donovan McNabb, the Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback says that he supports Michael Vick being a part of this team.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONOVAN MCNABB, EAGLES QUARTERBACK: I think for a guy who has, I mean, spoken the truth in front of the nation and has served his time and for a guy who is just looking for an opportunity to come and get his feet back on the ground, you know, I think he deserves it. I look forward to him joining us the next couple 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)
SMITH: Well, certainly, Donovan McNabb (INAUDIBLE) starting quarterback will remain a starting quarterback here, and Michael Vick comes in really only as potential backup in case McNabb is injured but don't be surprised to see him on the field in a number of ways. He is still an electrifying player at age 29. The question now is how fast can he be, get ready into football shape.
I do want to show you one thing from one of this morning's newspaper headlines. You can see this. This is one of this morning's headlines in the "Philadelphia Daily News" that says, warns everyone here to "Hide your Dogs." They know here that fans here can be very harsh, the media can be very harsh, even the players that they like. Let's go back to you.
NGUYEN: Wow, that's from the City of Brotherly Love, huh? OK, thank you so much. We do appreciate it, Larry.
And you are sounding off, as well, this morning. We have been asking you, what do you think about this move and here is what some of you are saying. Let's go to the blog, first of all.
Sarah says "I have been watching the Patriots' game since I was in the womb. It is in my blood to watch football, but I will never watch another NFL game as long as I draw breath." Wow. That's a strong comment.
Let's see who says this one. We have another one from M. Lewis, who says "Give Vick a break. He made a mistake and paid his dues. Let's wish him the best and move on."
I want to take you to my Twitter site, real quick. Barkley says, "even as an animal rescue person I think Vick paid his dues and served his time and shouldn't be denied his livelihood or second chance."
So, you are sounding off today. We do appreciate it. Keep those thoughts coming and we have got this on the blog and on Twitter and Facebook and also have your thoughts on Woodstock 40 years later. What do you think? Will there ever be anything else like it? Let us know what you think, we'll be sharing them on the air throughout this hour of the show.
All right. Back to our top story right now, thousands of people are being forced from their homes along the central California coast where a wildfire has already scorched 2,800 acres. It's burning in an area between Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Now, the hundreds of firefighters on the ground right now, they are expecting a little more help today. So that's some good news and that help comes by way of helicopters and firefighting airplanes. They are on their way. So let's get the story from the ground there, in Santa Cruz County.
Joining us live is Kraig Debro, from affiliate KTVU. Craig, what's the latest right now when it comes to those firefighting efforts?
KRAIG DEBRO, KTVU REPORTER: Good morning, Betty.
Well, firefighters are still on the line this morning. You mentioned some of the air support. They had air support out here before, but the problem is I want you to look at this behind me. The problem is all this smoke. So when you have helicopters trying to go in and douse a fire that they can't see, they simply can't use the helicopter for the hot spots.
What they can do is try to put the water, try to put the fire retardant around the perimeter of the fire and hope to contain it that way. But so far, there's zero percent containment. This fire started on Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. in the town of Bonny Doon and since then firefighters have not been able to contain just one percent of the fire.
The cause of the fire is unknown. But as you mentioned, thousands of people displaced. 2,400 people displaced from two towns, Bonny Doon and Davenport. From Bonny Doon alone, 2,000 people. We were up in that area yesterday as sheriff's deputies were going door to door, knocking on doors telling people they had to get out and they had to get out now.
The remarkable thing so far, hundreds of structures threatened and residences and businesses. But we've only had reports that just two had been damaged and we're not even sure if those were homes or out buildings. Sometimes in rural areas like this they people will have not only their houses but outbuildings, sheds and things they put their tools or artwork in.
The town of Bonny Doon is located about 10 miles north of Santa Cruz. In Santa Cruz right now, there is a shelter down at a church there. Red Cross had set up a shelter. Some people are taking advantage of that and other people are spending their time with relatives or staying in hotels or simply sleeping in their car.
We are along the coast, so if you have to sleep in your car, this is not a bad place to be. Later today, they're expecting to switch out those firefighters on the front line with new resources, new firefighters and that's going to be a big help. Another big help, according to the Cal fire, is getting the cooler weather. We're having cooler weather today. We're having light winds and that could play a major role because Cal fire is expecting those conditions to change by Sunday.
NGUYEN: OK. Thanks so much for that update. Kraig Debro of affiliate KTVU. We'll stay on top of that story for you, as well.
Meantime though, not seeing eye to eye with your health insurance company? An advocate could help you bridge the divide and find out where though you can find one of those and what exactly they can do for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, this just in to CNN. A woman convicted of pointing a gun at President Gerald Ford back in 1975 is free. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons says Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was released from the federal medical center in Ft. Worth, Texas, earlier today. Fromme was a follower of Charles Manson and there is no immediate word on her whereabouts.
All right. It is "Empower Friday" when we answer your questions on health care and CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now live.
All right. Today, let's get to the question and this being from Leonard and here's what Leonard has to say today. "Please advise on how and where I might find an advocate to deal with an HMO that always refuses to pay my claims. Are there fees involved and under what circumstances is use of an advocate helpful?"
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We have some advice for Leonard and I'm sure that many people can sympathize with Leonard.
NGUYEN: Yes.
COHEN: You know, it's very hard -- people always end up arguing with their insurance companies and certainly in many cases, it can be very frustrating. It is basically a David-Goliath situation. So to get someone on your side, we have places where you can go to get someone to stand up for you.
For example, Billadvocates.com, they will help you with your insurance company, with people you owe money to, patientadvocate.org, healthcareadvocacy.org and npaf.org. Now, don't worry if you didn't get a minute to write all those down. That's OK. You just want to just go to cnn.com/newsroom and you'll see on our blog we have links to all of those different places. So that it's one stop shopping.
NGUYEN: I love that. It's all right there for you. OK. I want to get you back to another part of Leonard's question where he was asking how expensive is this kind of help and when do you know you need to really step in and get that help?
COHEN: You know, sometimes these advocacy services are free. They don't charge anything.
NGUYEN: Oh, that's good.
COHEN: And sometimes they do charge a fee. So you have to go on their web sites and really look through it. And let's talk a little bit about what they can do for you because they offer a variety of services.
First of all, they can help you when you have a really complex medical condition and you're getting bills from all sorts of different places. It can really be overwhelming. Also, if you're having difficulty paying medical expenses, they can help you negotiate those costs down.
Also, if you're confused about what your plan pays for and doesn't. And who isn't? I mean, my goodness, it can be very, very confusing. They can help you work though all of that. These people are trained to help you work through all that crazy language.
NGUYEN: I love it. It's out there, you just need to know where to find it and it's on our blog.
COHEN: That's right. Cnn.com/newsroom.
NGUYEN: Elizabeth, we do appreciate it.
All right. Let's talk about town hall meetings now. Long lines, short tempers and the views from within. We will talk to people who actually attended the forums around the country and hear what they have to say.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Hello, everybody. Welcome back. It is a make or break month for health care reform. Lawmakers, they're back home and they're hearing lots of talk from their constituents about this hot button issue.
Senators have faced the amount of yelling that has followed Arlen Specter from forum to forum. The recent Republican defector has even joked about the hostile reception that he's received.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (D), PENNSYLVANIA: That was a sophisticated argument. They were firm in their views.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, Republican Senator Jeff Sessions also took it all in stride during a spirited debate at this town hall meeting in Huntsville. About 800 people turned up for that one.
And in Oklahoma, an overflow crowd gathered to hear Republican Senator Tom Coburn. He also happens to be a medical doctor. Coburn says his meetings have been lively, but well behaved.
All right. So, you've seen the video of the town hall meetings and now we want to take you inside through the eyes of people who actually attended some of those forums and there they are in today's snapshot across America. We have Lawrence Plunk in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with the Led Zeppelin shirt on today. Charlie Brown in Memphis and Terrence Wall in New York. And we appreciate all of you for being with us today.
First of all, let me start with you, Lawrence, because you basically support the current health care reform proposal. Tell us why.
LAWRENCE FUNCK, ATTENDED TOWN HALL IN PENNSYVANIA: Because it has options. It -- it covers a lot of people who I've seen as a case worker that were ineligible for Medicaid and it does make sure that those people have some kind of medical insurance.
NGUYEN: Okay. Charlie, let me get to you. You, in fact, an insurance broker, and you have serious reservations about the current health care reform proposal. What are some of those concerns you have?
CHARLIE BROWN, ATTENDED TOWN HALL IN MISSOURI: My concern -- I didn't get a chance to ask this question at our town hall meeting is how will it help my clients who have insurance? Everybody wants to pay less, and how is it going to help them? I don't see the current plan doing that. So, I think there are some things in there that we need to do, but I don't think that the public option will help Americans in the long run.
NGUYEN: You say some things we need to do, like what?
BROWN: Specifically, we need to have guaranteed issued coverage for everybody. We need to have pre-existing conditions and we need to have coverage for children through age 25 at least on their parents' plans. Those are positive things we need to do to change our current landscape of coverage.
The other thing I think is really important is we need to do those things that we all agree upon. We need better medical technology. It is a shame that our doctors and hospitals can't share that information and reduce the costs for everybody.
NGUYEN: Okay. Terence, let me get to you because you're our middle-of-the-roader. What do you like about the current proposal and what don't you like about it?
TERENCE WALL, ATTENDED TOWN HALL IN N.J.: Well, part of the challenge in general is you can't bulletpoint health care. It is a 1,000-page document that most folks haven't read and most folks don't understand. And with that vacuum of information, most folks fill that with fear.
The town hall meeting I attended was exceptionally well managed by Congressman Rothman in New Jersey, but the irony is many of the reform proposals mirror what is happening already in the state of New Jersey. We have guarenteed issue. There is no pre-existing conditions exclusions currently. You can't be canceled with your coverage.
NGUYEN: So, you're saying there's nothing new?
WALL: For the state of New Jersey, many of the reforms -- it's not new news, it's old news. And that's where I think you're finding some confusion because most folks haven't read it, but they still remain concerned about elderly and also protecting developing children. By the most recent Gallup poll showing that the country is pro-life. They want to make sure those children are protected inside the womb.
NGUYEN: Well, Lawrence, I want to get back to you, too, because we want to take our viewers inside the town hall meetings. All of you have been to them. A lot of drama at the Senator Specter town hall meeting you attended on Tuesday. Did you walk away feeling like your concerns were addressed?
FUNCK: No, I believe that a lot of people that wanted to get in to talk about their pro-health care reform didn't get an opportunity. It was -- I was told early that you better hurry up or you will not get in line. So, there are a lot of people who were for health care reform did not get their voices heard.
NGUYEN: Yes. Charlie, what was it like with you? You were Senator McCaskill's town hall on Monday. Little less dramatic. Did you feel like your questions were answered?
BROWN: I think she tried to and, unfortunately, I think the debate is so polarizing and there's also so many issues that you get into -- the issues of abortion and things that take us off the subject. And that's the hard thing about this issue is that it encompasses so many facets of everybody's life, it's hard to have the debate.
I was happy to see that our crowd that was there was respectful because I think all of our elected representatives deserve that kind of respect, and we need open, honest debate. We need to air this issue out. You know, as it was said before, it is a large document and there's a lot of other -- there's a lot of other competing bills out there. We need time to really look at the issue and study it and make the right decisions. That's what I'm probably the most concerned about is that I don't want to see us put something in place that totally changes the landscape and that we can't reverse.
NGUYEN: All right, and Terence, I want to get to you. Were you concerns addressed during the -- Congressman Rothman's town hall meeting on Monday? Did you feel that you got the answers that you needed?
WALL: I think that the congressman and staff conducted themselves exceptionally well. They stayed an hour and a half over to listen to the various concerns that folks have. The challenge that people have is that this can't be done in time for congressional folks to go to the beach. It's necessarily a deliberative process, and the other folks on your show today are quite right, Betty, in their thoughts. It's a very important topic that deserves the time required to make a thoughtful, rational decision.
But from the town hall perspective, you had folks that were polarized on either side. That's true. But there was a vast group of folks in our town hall and other town halls from what I've seen that are simply, truly concerned. Health reform is definitely something that folks want, although I fear that the different plans, because there is no one plan, are ending up being canaries in a coal mine and faught with peril at this point because there's a vacuum of data, which most folks when they don't have the information, they would feel and go with their own fears and worries about their own future.
NGUYEN: All right. Terence, Charlie, Lawrence, we appreciate all of your insight today and sharing what you experienced and your concerns and if any of those questions were answered at the town hall meeting. Sounds like a lot of them weren't, but some of them might have been. Thanks, guys. We do appreciate your time today.
WALL: Thank you.
BROWN: Thank you, Betty.
NGUYEN: So, looking for more of what you have been seeing here on CNN. Check out CNN.com/healthcare. We have ongoing coverage of the town hall meetings, plus, information about the plans and key players.
Also, a final farewell to Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Want to give you some live pictures right now. A private funeral service is taking place right now at a Roman Catholic Church in Hyannis, Massachusetts. Vice president Joe Biden among the dignitaries attending that and Shriver's son-in-law, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, is giving one of the eulogies today.
A spokesman said Senator Edward Kennedy is not attending his sister's funeral. As you know, he has been battling brain cancer. Shriver, though, was the founder of the Special Olympics. She died Tuesday at the age of 88.
All right. This just in to CNN. We understand a Colonial bankshares (ph) have been halted. We want to take you to Susan Lisovicz in New York with the latest on this. Explain to us what that means and what this means to people overall who have their money in Colonial Bank.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Betty. Good morning. That's right, Colonial Bank shares opened at 9:30 and were halted two minutes later, the last share price on Colonial, 41 cents. This was a stock that it traded at $10.50 over the past year.
Why is that? Well, because a federal judge said that Colonial is on the brink of collapse. That is a quote. Colonial is a bank that will be recognized by many of our viewers in Florida. Has nearly 350 branches. Also in Alabama, as well as Georgia, Nevada and Texas.
Why did the federal judge say this? Because usually what we hear of when a bank collapses, usually after the end of trading Friday, as you go into the weekend, it came in a ruling for Bank of America. Colonial Bank owes Bank of America a whole lot of money. Bank of America was trying to hold on to it or transfer its assets, and the judge in its ruling for Bank of America noted its precarious state and also the fact that Colonial is suspected of criminal accounting irregularities.
Just last week, Colonial said it was the target of a federal criminal probe related to its mortgage business, as well as its accounting and earlier this month, it was one of two banks rated by federal agents. As I mentioned, Colonial Bank shares trading under a dollar. This is really distressed state, and overall we're seeing a pretty broad-based sell-off.
Betty, we've been saying that there's this euphoria that things are getting better in the economy. At 10:00 at the top of the hour, we've got a consumer confidence report which unexpectedly fell off and you saw the sell-off escalate after that. Betty?
NGUYEN: All right. Well, we do appreciate it, Susan, thank you. Again, Colonial Bank, the latest bank failure. What does it mean to you? What does it mean to investors in that bank where they put their money and trust it will be safe? We'll get to that with Poppy Harlow right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. Shares of Colonial Bank have been halted. Here's the question. If Colonial is your bank, what do you need to do at this point? Poppy Harlow has our "Breakdown" from the CNNmoney.com newsroom. Poppy, what is some advice you can give to people out there?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Well, first of all, the biggest word of advice is, do not panic. Let's be clear here, this bank has not failed yet. Regulators are obviously looking at it. Shares are halted at the New York Stock exchange, so be aware news can come soon.
But if regulators, Betty, shut this bank down, all the FDIC- insured deposits are protected. Your ATM card is still going to work. You have up to $250,000 per account at each bank that is backed up by the FDIC that you will not lose. That limit was raised from $100,000 last year during the height of the banking crisis to increase protection for consumers as the health of banks became more questionable.
Now, it's important to note there are situations where you can get more insurance. For example, if you have an account that's your own and you also have a joint account at the same bank with your spouse, both of those insured by the FDIC, and you can also have more insured accounts at different banks. You need to know all of that.
Let's look at some tools you can use right now if you're a customer of this bank or other banks that are in question. You can go online and use the FDIC's online calculator. Myfdicinsurance.gov. You can also type in your account there. Make sure you're under those limits. There's a call center and you see the number right there. 1- 877-ASK-FDIC.
And if you have a mortgage with Colonial or one of these banks -- keep in mind no official word on Colonial yet, keep paying that mortgage exactly as you do. The terms of your loan there won't change. If you need to change anything, you'll be notified by the FDIC in the case of a bank failure. Again, not the case yet with Colonial. Betty?
NGUYEN: All right, Poppy, let me ask you this. If Colonial does collapse and it appears it is on the brink of it right now, how big of a failure are we talking about?
HARLOW: That is why this is getting so much attention. It would be pretty sizeable. Colonial has more than 300 branches. Susan Lisovicz explained it well. And across five states in the south, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Nevada and Texas. They have about $25 billion in assets. Pretty big bank.
Take a look at the list there. That's look at the biggest bank failures in U.S. history. This would be the biggest so far this year. It would be the sixth largest in U.S. history, coming right after the American Savings & Loan back in 1980. So, what you should know too is if we see a bank failure here, it could cost the FDIC billions of dollars.
So far this year, we've seen 72 banks fail in this country. Add that up, that has cost the FDIC more than $16 billion, but that's not unnecessarily costing the taxpayer that money. This comes from what the banks, Betty, paid the FDIC to get that insurance. We're on top of this story, and we'll bring you the latest.
NGUYEN: All right. Yes, we are. We'll try to get CNN's Susan Lisovicz back up she is in New York at the New York Stock Exchange and get the latest on what that means for the markets. Actually, I am told she is ready and available.
Susan, let me ask you this, shares have been halted right now. What does this mean to the investor and what does this mean to the markets?
LISOVICZ: Well, you know, to the investor, this is really a tragic time, because this is a stock that is trading under 50 cents right now, and it has been halted for trading. Typically when a stock is halted like this, it's pending news.
Now, there is already information out there with this judge's ruling. The judge said in his statement, in his ruling favoring Bank of America, that the bank was on the verge of collapse. As well, noting that the bank is suspected of criminal activities regarding its accounting. So, these are things that investors don't want to hear, and they're bailing out of the stock.
But we should mention that the stock has already been under tremendous pressure earlier this year, actually, when it hit its all- time low. Believe it or not, below 41 cents. So, it's not like this regional bank has had an easy time this year. But the fact that it's -- in addition to mortgages that went bad, that its accounting is questionable is just something that is -- makes investors extremely nervous.
NGUYEN: Right. LISOVICZ: And I just wanted to add one more thing because there has been a lot of talk about these stress tests on banks. This is a regional bank, and while it's one of the larger ones, this was not exposed to the stress test. So -- so, that is not something that, you know, we saw this bank undergo. And where we really got this information from was from this particular ruling, and that's where you saw the bank really come and go into -- I would have to describe as a death spiral on its share price.
NGUYEN: Got you. Okay. Susan Lisovicz joining us live. As always, we appreciate it.
Want to get you to another story we're following. A woman goes for an evening walk and then she never returns home. The last call on her cell phone may be the key in helping investigators figure out what happened to her.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, hundreds of people 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. Her boyfriend told police he heard screams and other noises that sounded like she was being kidnapped.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While they were conversing on the phone, he overheard her tell him that, "I have to step off the road, there's a vehicle approaching." Then he hears what he believes to be a struggle and losing contact with her at that time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Police say they found some of Corwell's belongings near the scene and indications of a struggle. So far, they have not found her or her cell phone.
All right. So, my partner right here T.J. Holmes joins me now because we have a lot coming up tomorrow morning on CNN Saturday morning.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: July 18th. Does that mean anything to you?
NGUYEN: July 18th?
HOLMES: That's the last time you and I anchored our show together...
NGUYEN: Oh, it's been so long!
HOLMES: It's been a while. You had your humanitarian trip. I had a conference last weekend. Good to see you again...
NGUYEN: Nice to know you, T.J.
HOLMES: ... this weekend, yes, we'll continue with the town halls, of course. Who knows how these will be? We have to cover a few of them this weekend. Democrats and GOP. We'll let you know where they agree on some things. A lot of back and forth. They actually do agree on some things. We'll talk about that. And I've been waiting to bring this story to folks.
NGUYEN: It's been in the works for a little while.
HOLMES: It's been in the works. Fantasia, the American idol winner -- there she is. She is back in another run of "The Color Purple." She was in it for a while back in 2007, 2008, and then disappeared. People wondered what had happened to her. Well, she had a very serious health condition that people didn't know about. We'll ask her why she didn't tell people about it. And then we've got a couple more with Medal of Freedom recipients.
NGUYEN: Medal of Freedom recipients. We got them on the show as well. It's a great show. A lot of great stuff coming up tomorrow morning, starting at 6:00 a.m. going all the way to noon. So, don't want to you miss it. I will see you bright and early, T.J.
HOLMES: Looking forward to working with you again.
NGUYEN: Nice to see you.
All right. Let's get back to this. He calls it the performance of his life. A 22-year-old Arlo Guthrie at the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival. Well, now, 40 years later, he looks back and also reveals something surprising about politics.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Festival organizers were expecting 50,000 people. They got about a half million and a defining moment in American cultural history. If you're above a certain age, you know a lot about the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival. But 40 years later, you may be surprised to learn the man who sang about coming to Los Angeles with a couple of tees (ph) is a Republican. Here's CNN's Carol Costello.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Woodstock 40 years ago now, when hundreds of thousands immersed themselves in mud, music, and many of them drugs, hoping their shared experience would change the world.
COSTELLO (on camera): What do you remember from those days being at Woodstock?
ARLO GUTHRIE, FOLK SINGER: I remember getting there.
COSTELLO (voice-over): In the movie "Woodstock," 22-year-old Arlo Guthrie seemed a bit overwhelmed.
COSTELLO (on camera): How did it change you? GUTHRIE: I never participated in anything or indulged in anything before a concert again.
COSTELLO: Why? GUTHRIE: Because at the same time that it was wonderful double- edged sword where I was in no shape to be performing, and at the same time, it was the performance of my life. That's freaking Shakespearean to me.
COSTELLO (voice-over): He calls Woodstock a single unifying icon that's come to symbolize bigger, more important movements of the times, like the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement.
And Guthrie is perhaps more well-known for his anti-war anthem in film "Alice's Restaurant" than he is for "Woodstock."
And yes, this is the Alice's Restaurant, really a deconsecrated church. Guthrie bought it and has turned it into a spiritual community center.
If his life sounds like one long stereotypical hippie trip, you're wrong.
COSTELLO (on camera): You know, when I told people that I was going to come up and talk with you, the first thing people said was, oh, my god, isn't he a conservative now?
(LAUGHTER)
Are you?
GUTHRIE: I'm never a conservative.
COSTELLO (voice-over): But he is a registered Republican.
COSTELLO (on camera): Did you vote for John McCain?
GUTHRIE: No. My political sort of voting record is not up for public discussion.
COSTELLO: Sarah Palin?
GUTHRIE: I think she's fun.
COSTELLO (voice-over): Guthrie admires her anti-elitist spunk. You could say it mirrors his own. He's actually a family values kind of guy, married to Jackie for 40 years, plays in a band with his own kids, lives in the same house he bought with profits from "Alice' Restaurant" back in 1969.
And as a Republican, he fears a Democrat-controlled country. Besides --
GUTHRIE: I have always been more comfortable being a loyal opposition than a rah-rah, yes, let's go get them, we're in power now kind of guy. COSTELLO: That said, Guthrie is still a child of the '60s, still vehemently anti-war, anti-establishment, beliefs born at Woodstock that have not changed with time.
GUTHRIE: It revived your faith in human beings. It made you feel like you could trust your buddy even though they were telling you you couldn't.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Guthrie also told me watching Barack Obama's inauguration was a validation for the Woodstock generation. It is a large part of what they fought for. As a Republican, though, he doesn't like the president's stimulus package or health care reform.
Carol Costello, CNN, Washington.
NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen. CNN NEWSROOM continues with Tony Harris.
