Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Obama to Speak at Montana Town-Hall; Air-Traffic Controllers Suspended after Hudson River Crash; Freerunners Use City as Playground; New Cash for Clunkers Promises More Selection, Faster Pay; Germany a Model for U.S. Health Insurance Debate; Some Parents Wary of HPV Vaccine; Organization that Aids Former Gang Members is Strapped for Cash
Aired August 14, 2009 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Jacksonville, Florida, never forgot Scott Speicher. Welcoming home the first U.S. casualty of the Persian Gulf War, saying a fitting farewell.
Collision over the Hudson. The FAA suspends two air traffic controllers and pores over shocking new video. We're pushing the investigation forward.
And if you can't be a Falcon, an Eagle will do just fine. Michael Vick picks up his NFL career pretty much where he left off.
Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Arkadelphia, Arkansas; Wild Rose, Wisconsin; Belgrade, Montana, small towns light-years from the corridors of power, so today the power comes to them. Members of Congress and President Obama holding health-care town halls in those states and more as we near the halfway point in a make-or-break month.
The big event of the day starts an hour and 45 minutes from now. President Obama in Big Sky Country, pitching reform to what may be the toughest audience yet. You'll see it live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
"I just hope he rests easy finally. I hope it gives his family some peace." Captain Scott Speicher's Navy buddy speaking for the entire country, really, as the Gulf War pilot is honored and laid to rest.
Early this morning thousands of people began lining the streets of Jacksonville, Florida, for Captain Speicher's funeral procession. After a public memorial at the city's veteran wall, the motorcade slowly driving by his church, his old high school, bound for a private family burial.
This final salute coming 18 years after he was shot down over Iraq and disappeared. His remains found by U.S. Marines last month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC: "America the Beautiful") (END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Captain Michael Scott Speicher was 33 years old when he was shot down on the first night of the first Gulf War.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver is being tearfully remembered as a humble woman who spent her life in service of others. A private funeral mass was held today for the Special Olympics founder and presidential sister, who died Tuesday at the age of 88.
Daughter Maria Shriver and son-in-law, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, crowded into pews alongside hundreds of other mourners. Among the invited guests, Vice President Joe Biden, Oprah Winfrey and Stevie Wonder.
Ms. Shriver's only living brother, Senator Ted Kennedy, was not at the Cape Cod church. You'll recall he's battling brain cancer. His wife attended in his place, though.
Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, a notorious name in American history, and now a free woman. The 60- year-old left a combination Texas prison and mental hospital today after spending more than 30 years behind bars for trying to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975.
Fromme was 26 when she pointed a gun at Ford in Sacramento, California, a year after he became president. Secret Service agents grabbed her, and she got a life term. Fromme was eventually granted parole, despite a 1987 escape attempt in which she said she wanted to be closer to Manson.
Manson is serving a life term in California for the murders of actress Sharon Tate and eight others.
An airport hangar in Belgrade, Montana, not a town hall, per se, but next hour it will be the center of the health-care debate in America. President Obama is on his way to a very small town in a very big state with a pretty low regard for government.
Our Ed Henry joins me now from the neighboring big -- or the neighboring town of Big Sky.
So, Ed, why Montana?
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, look, this president realizes, that as you noted, in Big Sky Country, a lot of people do not trust the federal government. I talked to very top White House aides who say, look, in private they'll admit that the president's critics have gained a lot of ground by -- by really harping on this argument that this is a federal takeover of the health-care system.
And the president's aides say in private, look, after all the federal bailouts, the auto industry, banks, et cetera, people are fed up with the federal government getting involved in their lives. They realize that at the White House. And so they're trying to push back on that. And the president coming to what might not be that friendly of territory. He certainly made a strong run here in the mountain west. Won some of the states like Colorado and Nevada, but did not win Montana. He came close.
But he tried to show in the campaign last year he was not afraid to go to states like this that many Democrats have given up in recent years on. And he wants to show that he can -- he's willing to take his critics head-on. You know, though we've seen some of these arguments become quite heated, that he can have a passionate but reasoned debate, his aides say, with some of his sharpest critics.
So we can expect -- I talked to some people who waited on line for tickets for this town hall, Democratic allies of the president, who said they were talking to people online who were clearly conservative Republicans, who said they wanted to give the president a piece of their mind. They got tickets, as well. It depends on who gets called on.
But the bottom line is that he may hear a lot more tense remarks than he's heard at other town halls.
And what's important about this, is this is a pivotal moment in Barack Obama's presidency. He's laid so much on the line with this health-care reform debate. If he can pull out victory against the odds now, it will show, obviously, he's got a lot of clout.
On the flip side, if this effort fails, it's going to be very difficult for the rest of his first term to sort of get his legislative agenda back on track here.
PHILLIPS: Well, Ed, you bring up a really good point. As we've been watching all these forums, we've seen so many -- well, a lot of people step up to the plate and really confront their congressmen, Congress women, senators, and some of them have gotten pretty ugly. I mean, there's -- there's been a number of arrests at a number of these forums.
I mean, what do you think? Do you think it could turn into something like that with the president of the United States?
HENRY: Anything's possible. I doubt it, though, because my expectation -- and I just got off the phone a short time ago with the Democratic governor of this state, Byron Schweitzer, who said, "Look, I get that there are critics out there. You found some of them in your interviews the last 24 hours or some in some of the stories you've been doing," but he said bottom line is that people here in Big Sky Country are going to be polite, respectful to this president. The governor, who will be there with the president, expects that it will be a reasoned debate. We will see obviously.
Some of the people I've been speaking to on the ground, these are Obama voters, people who said, "Look, we voted for change." They may have voted Republican in previous elections, but they wanted to give the president a chance. They say he's doing, by and large, a good job. But several of them told me, "We're just really worried that, while there is a crisis in health care, that he might be pushing this too hard," and that maybe the government is just taking on too much on top of the bailouts, on top of the stimulus, $787 billion, the TARP Money, $700 billion. Many, many Obama voters I talked to, not McCain voters, were saying they've got real concerns. This is the president's chance to meet those critics head-on, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, we look forward to it. Ed Henry, thanks so much.
And if you want to know more about the health-care debate and what reform might mean to you, check out the brand-new "Health Care in America" Web site on CNN.com. You can see town-hall highlights, fact checks, iReports on demand. Just go to CNN.com/healthcare.
Well, he says he wants to be part of the solution, not part of the problem, but lots of folks still have a problem with Michael Vick, and the newest Philadelphia Eagle says he knows it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: A tragic crash in the air, fallout on the ground. A small plane and helicopter collide over the Hudson River. Now, two air-traffic controllers are in the FAA's sights. We've got new video and new details.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Michael Vick says that we are a country of second chances, and he should know. The convicted dogfighter and former Atlanta Falcons star will be coming to a stadium near you this fall. The Philadelphia Eagles signing the quarterback for at least a year.
At a news conference this morning, Vick talked a little about his personal growth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL VICK, NEW PHILADELPHIA EAGLES PLAYER: We all use the excuse it was part of our culture, and, you know, I don't think that's an excuse. You know, I was, you know, kind of a, you know, abiding by that rule at the time.
And, you know, as I grew older and as, you know, things kind of started to transpire, and then once I went to prison, you know, I had plenty of time to think about what I did.
And, you know, I've seen people's reactions, and, you know, up until that point, I never really cared. I won't say I didn't care, but I never thought about it. Now I understand that people care about their animals. They care about their health, you know, the welfare, the protection of animals. And now I do, so that's why I say if I can, you know, help more than I hurt, then I'm contributing. I'm doing what I need to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, what he needs to do, according to his new boss, Jeffrey Lurie, come through on his promises to work with the community and the Humane Society. The Eagles owner warning, quote, "There's no third chances. And if it isn't fulfilled the way we expect it to be, then it will be the end."
Eagles fans are notoriously hard on their team, their opponents, their refs, pretty much everybody, actually, and there's some strong feelings on both sides of this particular issue.
Ryan Smith is a sports attorney, BET panelist and Philadelphia native, and he broke it down on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN SMITH, SPORTS ATTORNEY: We've got players in the NFL right now who have, you know, been convicted of manslaughter and got less time than Michael Vick got.
I do think that there's an element here of people saying, "You know what? It's not as big of a deal. He served 18 months of his life."
But you will always find people, including me, that say, "You know what? Every life is important." You've gotten dogs that were abused, beaten, electrocuted. That's never going to be forgotten by a lot of people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
SMITH: But if he -- I'll tell you what about Philly. If he goes on that field and he performs, I'm not saying every fan will forgive him, but a lot of people are going to say, "You know what? He's a great player, and that's what we care about."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Ex-fellow players largely looking forward to his return, if you can go by their Twitter accounts. New Orleans Saints star Reggie Bush tweets, "I think it's great that Mike Vick has signed with the Eagles! Everyone deserves a second chance! The only person who can judge us is God."
And from 49er Takeo Spikes, "Congrats to Mike Vick for landing on his feet in Philly. He deserves to play, period."
Two air-traffic controllers are under suspension -- are in suspension, right now, actually, and under investigation, as well, after Saturday's deadly crash over the Hudson River. Also we're seeing the first images of that collision that left nine people dead.
CNN's Susan Candiotti has the new details and the new video. And I just want to warn you, also, you might find these images pretty disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As investigators study this amateur video to find out what led to the terrifying midair crash over the Hudson, there is 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. There's 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's already saying, "Well, maybe it didn't," but the FAA stands to lose millions and millions of dollars, or the taxpayers do, if the FAA's wrong.
CANDIOTTI: The FAA says the two employees are now on administrative leave. The investigation's not over. Ultimately the two could be fired.
(on camera) The National Air Traffic Controllers Association supports the investigation, but adds no one should rush to judgment about what, at the very least, could be described as bad behavior.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: It's an emotional day in Jacksonville, Florida, as the city honors fallen hero Scott Speicher. The Navy pilot was killed during the first Gulf War in 1991. Speicher was one of 382 U.S. service members who died in that war.
Now we'd like to remember some of the final good-byes of those others that died in action, as well.
The mother of Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Byron Walker holds a flag in her lap. Walker was 20 years old, and the first Texan killed in the first Gulf War.
Marine Major Eugene McCarthy is honored by his fellow Marines during his funeral in Brooklyn. McCarthy was killed when his chopper crashed.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, step aside Spider-Man. There's a new breed of gravity-defying urban acrobat. The world's best freerunners are hitting the streets of London, and our Zain Verjee is jumping right in.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Real-life superheroes, spinning through the air in style, owning the streets.
STICKY, FREERUNNER: Exhilarating! Yes. It's just -- it's just the biggest buzz ever.
VERJEE: They're not looking for the bad guys, but just looking for a good time. And a good workout.
ASID, FREERUNNER: I like to keep my mind blank and just focus on something I'd like to achieve, you know, and just work on getting there.
VERJEE: It's called freerunning: jumping, sliding, slipping, using the city's concrete jungle as their gym.
(on camera) You thought you could never be like Spider-Man? Well, you can. Check out Kelly, who climbed this pole. These guys are judged on technical difficulty, execution, creativity and fluidity. It's pretty amazing, right?
Wow, Kelly, come back down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Try to land on your toes, as well.
VERJEE (voice-over): I was up for a lesson. I was a bit nervous.
ASID: Being scared is a part of what we do, obviously. If you're not scared, you're not human.
VERJEE: A simple jump.
STICKY: Yes?
VERJEE (on camera): Yes!
STICKY: Not bad.
VERJEE (voice-over): And a ground roll. That was easy, but I know I'm not quite up to their standards just yet.
KERBIE, FREERUNNER: Accidents do happen. They do sort of happen to sort of professionals. They happen to beginners.
VERJEE: The professionals are heading to London to compete.
EZ, DIRECTOR, URBAN FREE FLOW LTD: There's 27 athletes competing, 16 different nations. We have countries as far as Australia, Mexico, Brazil, America.
VERJEE: The freerunners say they feel like 21st century adventurers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's cool about freerunning is the freedom it gives you. You know, it lets your mind scan the horizon, and you can actually sort areas. You know, you can go anywhere you like.
STICKY: The way it pushes you -- pushes you to do stuff in which you wouldn't normally do, to go outside your comfort zone.
VERJEE (on camera): Safety is really important. You have to start slow and stay low. All you really need is a pair of trainers and an open mind. And then the world is your playground.
Zain Verjee, the Freerunner, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: All right. We've got a newly-named hurricane to tell you about, and I know that's really serious, but it's really hard coming out of that piece with Zain Verjee doing summersaults, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: What I wanted to do, I wanted to take the map here. I wanted to turn it upside down, and then turn the camera upside-down and -- but, yes, you know. We'll put the world back where it belongs. We'll be all right.
PHILLIPS: Thank you. Exactly. We've got enough summersaults going on within the weather system.
MYERS: I don't have my trainers on, like that would help anyway.
Back out here to Mexico. There's Cabo San Lucas. There is the next storm. It is called Guillermo, with the two "L's," Guillermo. But I do believe that, just like the other storm that we had out here, because there's Hawaii, I do believe that this storm will travel to the north of Hawaii. We're getting into much colder air here. Even though it is a hurricane now, it probably won't be one for very long.
Watching the Atlantic Ocean. That was Tropical Depression No. 2. It really died yesterday. There was nothing left. Trying to flare back up right now. But I believe the bigger storm is back out here, just coming onto the screen right there. That would be Tropical Depression No. 3, if it gets a number, and I do believe that it will.
Here's our StormPulse.com guys. Let me drag this up here. We're going to move it on and make it much bigger for you so that you can see the storm. There, way out here, there's the storm. Africa, still over here. I mean, so we're still very, very far away. If I touch, let's say, Grand Turk and look at the number, still 2,915 away from the Turks and Caicos, still 2,300 miles away from St. Martin. But I do believe this storm does have some potential. There's Africa. There's the middle of Atlantic, and right here, that would be Miami, Jacksonville and the like.
So let's just touch Miami because we can, 3,990 -- 3,996 miles away. But this storm, you can even see it. You can see the cloud cover of this, compared to what that was, No. 2. That may be our first named storm. We still don't have one. Still looking for, Ana, A-N-A.
We are still looking for the winds out west to die down tonight, but for now they are still pretty gusty. Not so much this morning. There's San Jose. There's San Francisco. That right there would be Santa Cruz. Do you know the first thing I'm going to do? I'm going to zoom in right to this area right there, because I can.
And then I will take you to the True Viewer and find out what the winds are like. Let's find out what the winds are like in Santa Clara. There you go, weighing at 15 miles an hour.
A little bit down here, closer to Santa Cruz, pretty calm, 1, 2, 5. And this is really where the fire is.
So, we will try to get these fires under control today, with an awful lot of air support. But later on this afternoon when the sun comes up, the canyons start to heat up, we could see winds to 20, and that's going to make the fire start jumping -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK. We'll follow it with you, Chad. Thanks.
MYERS: You're welcome.
PHILLIPS: Well, actually, I have one more thing. And I'm not talking about you when I say huge, bloated, gassy, and all mixed up. I'm actually talking about Ed Perry (ph), our writer over there. But that's a whole other story.
That's actually how astronomers are describing this pretty freaky planet beyond our solar system. Are you up on this?
MYERS: Isn't this amazing?
PHILLIPS: Oh, my gosh. A planet called Wasp-17. All right, now should we get technical here, talking about 1,000 light years away?
MYERS: It is forever away.
PHILLIPS: Thousands of trillions of miles away. And it's pretty odd. For one thing it's just, you know, so darn big and it's about twice the size of Jupiter, right?
MYERS: Right. PHILLIPS: So...
MYERS: Way bigger than that, even.
PHILLIPS: Even bigger than that?
MYERS: Yes, yes, yes. But look at the distance between the earth and then look at one light year and all those numbers. That's like the national debt. I mean, it's the national debt away.
PHILLIPS: I never learned how to count that high. I just want to make that perfectly clear right now. It took me a while to look at those numbers.
MYERS: And it's actually going the wrong way in the solar system, but it's so far out there past Pluto, there might be something brand new here. Wasp-17, Google it; you will find out kinds of new things about this newly-discovered planet out there.
PHILLIPS: Pretty cool.
MYERS: Yes.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, we should track it. So scientists think it's had a close call with a larger planet as well, by the way. And I guess it threw its orbit out of whack, and that's why this is happening. Does that make sense?
MYERS: It does. And it's the same reason why, when you -- when you're trying to take the big spaceship, remember we sent these lunar things and these orbiters out to other planets? We'd always launch them out around the moon, because the moon would give them a little bit of a swing and the whole thing would make it go faster.
And so they think that this -- that's why it's going the wrong way, because it had enough of a swing from something else that -- there it is, right there, 4,000 light-years away. Look at the size of that thing. I mean, and then you have to compare to it Earth and Jupiter, and actually, Jupiter's considerably bigger than that than the Earth.
So just go online and look at it. It's an amazing new find, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Meteorologist/astronomer Chad Myers.
MYERS: I try to do it all.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Chad.
MYERS: I wear many hats.
PHILLIPS: I know. You are pretty amazing.
All right. Well, changes in the cash for clunkers program. What it means for you if you're thinking about cashing in and trading up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Some new rules in the government's cash for clunkers program that could make it easier to get the car of your dreams. CNN's Susan Lisovicz joining me now from the New York Stock Exchange with more on that.
We're also checking back with our favorite Florida car dealer, Earl Stewart, who says Uncle Sam still owes him a lot of money. He's waiting on that.
So, Susan, let's start with you, though, and just kind of give us the update on the program.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me set the table for you, Kyra and Earl. This program, Cash for Clunkers, is not even one month old, and already we've got a new and improved program on the way. For consumers, Uncle Sam will offer us a voucher program, which will give us more choice because it will allow to us buy cars that are not yet on dealer lots. Previously, or I should say presently, you could only buy what was available, and many dealers are running out of cars due to their popularity.
For dealers, well, they're just not being paid quickly enough. And I think Earl has plenty to say about that. One of the problems is that the NHTSA, the government, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, has 225 workers processing these reimbursements. There are reports that that will be greatly expanded, and a lot of the problems are simply with the paperwork. So, it has to come back and forth, and hardworking dealers like Earl aren't getting paid fast enough, and the bills are racking up -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And so, Earl, how much money does government owe you right now, because you've been pretty successful with this Cash for Clunkers, right?
EARL STEWART, OWNER, EARL STEWART TOYOTA: Kyra, we've been too successful. I've got a lot of clunkers on the ground and no cash in the bank. We've got 169 clunkers. I've -- the government owes me right now, round numbers, $700,000.
I've got -- remember also the salvage value of these clunkers is not something I can collect until I deliver it to the salvage company, and I'm afraid to have those cars scrapped until I get some payment from the government. So, I'm really caught between a rock and a hard place on this thing. It's a serious situation.
PHILLIPS: Now, let me ask you, with $700 that the government owes you, are you in trouble or are you still doing OK?
STEWART: Well, it's $700,000. Let's get that straight.
PHILLIPS: Yes, it's a lot of money.
STEWART: It's a lot of money. Fortunately, I'm well capitalized, and we're going to continue to sell cars. And I will continue to sell cars and believe in the full faith and responsibility of the United States government to pay money that they owe me. But there are some dealers out there, I'm sure, that are thinly capitalized, and at some point, a dealer just can't afford to make a clunker transaction, because each one is a negative cash flow.
Average profit on a new car is about $1,000. If the government owes you $4,500 every time you make $1,000, that's $3,500 cash in the hole. So, the arithmetic says that a lot of dealers are going to have to stop doing transactions.
LISOVICZ: You know, Earl...
PHILLIPS: Susan, were you going to ask a question? Yes.
LISOVICZ: Yes. I mean, I think that is really telling, Earl, what you just said. The average profit margin for this program, $1,000 when you're supposed to get paid up to $4,500. That is very different than just a few years ago, right, for the average profit margin -- was, I would imagine, a lot higher.
STEWART: Well, the average profit on a new vehicle varies from franchise to franchise, and, of course, it does vary during economic times. During tough economic times, especially now, the average profit that a dealer makes on a car is only about $1,000. Some profits are much less than that.
The average dealer has several departments he operates from: parts, service, body shop, used car, new car. The new car department typically is a very low-profit department, and during economic times like this, we see them losing money. So, $1,000 sounds like a lot of money, but it's not really a lot. And when you lose $3,500 in cash on the swap-out between the $4,500 that is owed you and the $1,000 that would you normally make, it's a pretty precarious situation.
LISOVICZ: Well, especially -- oh, I'm sorry, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: No, that's OK. Go ahead.
LISOVICZ: Especially when, I mean, a few years ago when consumers were buying much bigger cars, more expensive cars, there were bigger profit margins. But let me ask you this. Is one of the reasons, Earl, that you are in a better position is because not only because you're a bigger dealership but that you offer financing to consumers?
STEWART: Well, I basically -- you know, I've been in business a long time. I sell a popular product, Toyota. I'm 35 years in business. And I have -- all my departments are quite profitable. So, you know, this economic situation has not affected Toyota and Honda, for example, as severely as it has some of the Dodge stores, Chrysler, GM and some of the marginal import franchises, too. So, I'm fortunate to have the capital.
But a lot of dealers don't. I mean, it's a serious problem. And dealers are reluctant to come forward and complain about it, because what dealer wants to get on CNN and say, you know, I'm undercapitalized, it looks like I'm going to go out of business and I can't sell cars under Clunker. You don't want to hear your -- you don't want your banker or your customers to hear that statement, but it's happening.
PHILLIPS: All right, something that had caught our attention, you guys mentioned a couple of things, and I wanted to ask you both about this. Susan, I know you know your music. And Earl, I know you know your cars. Let's see if you guys can name this tune.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(LAUGHTER)
LISOVICZ: I know where you're going.
PHILLIPS: You know exactly where I'm going, right?
LISOVICZ: It's the Maserati that's being clunked, right?
PHILLIPS: Exactly. Earl, I want to get your opinion on this. We couldn't believe this. We saw -- we're looking at pictures of it right now. Apparently, this is a 1985 Maserati bi-turbo. The guy that turned it says it's in immaculate museum-quality condition, and the dealership is saying, I can't do this. I can't dismantle this. This is not a clunker. This is a classic. Are you seeing that there at your dealership?
STEWART: Kyra, I am. It really saddens me. And I don't have any Maseratis or Ferraris that I'll be scrapping. But I've got, out of 169 cars that I'll be scrapping -- 159 cars so far that I'll be scrapping, I'd say probably 25 or 30 percent of those are really nice transportation. Cars that could be bought for three, four, five, six thousand dollars in normal times, and there are a lot of folks out there that would love to have that.
You know, a lot of people in today's economy don't have the credit to buy a new car or even a high-priced used one. They save up $3,000 or $4,000. These cars are going off the market. They're being scrapped. And I think it's a shame.
PHILLIPS: It's a shame.
STEWART: Yes.
PHILLIPS: So, do you think somebody could make more money just selling that then, versus turning it in in Cash for Clunkers?
STEWART: Well, there's a line there. If you can get $4,500 from the government, and you can only sell it for $4,000, you know, then obviously...
PHILLIPS: Yes, it's an obviously.
STEWART: ... take the $4,500. But you're taking a $2,000 or $3,000 car and you're scrapping it because you could get more from the government. Meanwhile that car could be bought for $2,000, $3,000, $4,000 even if a dealer marked it up. And you take someone that has no credit, what choice for transportation do they have?
And also, charities are oftentime getting contributions of cars like this, and the charitable contributions of cars have virtually dried up during this program.
PHILLIPS: Oh, wow, that's -- boy. Susan, I'm seeing part two to our segment here. We should work on the charitable part of things.
LISOVICZ: Well, hopefully, this new improved Cash for Clunkers will settle a lot of the problems that we've seen in the first few weeks of the program.
PHILLIPS: Well, we'll keep talking about it, that's for sure. Susan Lisovicz and Earl Stewart, thanks, guys.
LISOVICZ: Good luck, Earl.
STEWART: Thank you. Thank you very much.
PHILLIPS: Well, August is a make-or-break month for health care reform in the U.S., and we're also looking at how other nations stack up. Germany's universal health care plan is lauded is one -- or as one for the United States to emulate, actually. CNN's Frederick Pleitgen takes us on a visit to his doctor's office.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERICK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The most important thing if you want to go to the doctor in Germany is your health insurance card. I am publicly insured, which is not a problem here. Hello. How are you doing, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fine, thank you.
PLEITGEN: Thank you very much, sir.
(voice-over): Germany has two strands of health insurance, public and private.
(on camera): All the way to the top?
(voice-over): Under any plan, visits like my routine physical with Dr. Prziwara are covered.
DR. DANIEL PRZIWARA, DOCTOR IN GERMANY: They are treated -- doesn't matter if they're private or they are normal patients.
PLEITGEN: Universal health care. Germany has one of the oldest systems in the world. Founded in 1883 by the first German chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, with a principle that remains unchanged until today: Everyone must be covered, and ideally, everyone should get equal treatment.
Most Germans are insured under the public plan, which is not funded by taxes. Employees pay half the premium, while employers pay the other half to insurance companies that are heavily regulated by the government. Here at Berlin's Charite Hospital, the director says that means world-class health care for everyone.
DR. ULRICH FREI, CHARITE BERLIN: If you go to the emergency room or if you go to an outpatient doctor, you can get as a child vaccination and as an adult liver transplant without difference between people.
PLEITGEN: And Dr. Frei says even with universal health care, the cost per patient is lower in Germany than in the U.S. Sound too good to be true? Well, it is. At least if you're a doctor. They make much less here than physicians in places like the U.S., Sweden or the UK.
So, many German doctors like Jan Hickmann travel to Sweden or the UK on weekends to better their paycheck.
"I make about six times as much here in the UK as I would in Germany," Hickmann says.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First I try to get a general impression of the tension of your body.
PLEITGEN: My public health insurance card won't pay for, like osteopathy.
(on camera): I don't have to come to you with this thing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Those who want special treatments like osteopathy can opt out of the public system and buy private insurance, which can cost more. But the main principle stays the same: Everyone must be insured.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: If you want to know more about the health care debate and what reform might mean for you, check out the brand-new "Health Care in America" Web site on CNN.com. You can see town hall highlights,fact checks, iReports on demand. Just go to CNN.com/healthcare.
It's meant to lower the risk of cervical cancer, but a lot of parents are saying the HPV vaccine itself is too risky. Elizabeth Cohen is here to help us sort it all out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: As parents send their kids back to school, vaccinations are probably on a lot of to-do lists. But one shot that's being refused -- or has parents confused is the HPV cervical cancer vaccine. Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is here with more details on why parents are so concerned right now.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's interesting because when you go to the pediatrician, and you say, oh, I don't want the meningitis or the polio shot, your pediatrician is probably going to say, no, your child really needs that. However, what we've been finding is that some parents are concerned about Gardasil, the HPV shot that Kyra just mentioned, and that many doctors are allowing their patients to delay the shots, which are supposed to be given to girls at age 11 or 12.
Here's what the concern is about. There have been reports that after getting Gardasil, some girls and women have what are called adverse events, which is a fancy way of saying bad things happen after the shot, including neurological disorders, blood clots and death.
Now, to make a couple of things clear, just because something bad happens after a vaccine does not mean the vaccine caused it. Merck, which makes the vaccine, and the CDC have been extremely clear that it could just be a coincidence that these things are happening. Second of all, there have been 24 million doses of Gardasil and only about 13,000 reports of things going wrong. So, when you look at it, it's really a tiny percentage.
But, still, reading about these kind of adverse events makes people nervous. Plus, Kyra, I think people are nervous because this shot's only been out for a little over three years, and some parents said to me, I don't know what the long-term effects are. You know, I just don't know what they are. It hasn't been out that long.
PHILLIPS: And your column, it's getting a lot of chatter on this issue. How can folks get directly to this on CNN.com?
COHEN: You want to go to CNN.com/empoweredpatient, or you can also go to CNNhealth.com, and you'll see, "Should You Get Your Daughter Gardasil?" And you'll notice that at the end of it, there's a sound off, so you can make your comments. Are you getting the shots for your daughter? Have you decided not to do it? Have you decided to wait?
You know, what makes this even more interesting is that this is a sexually transmitted disease, so you're supposed to get it for your daughter at age 11 or 12 before they become sexually active. But some parents are saying, why should I do it that early? Why don't I wait until she's closer?
PHILLIPS: Why not just have a better conversation with your kid so they just don't have sex? OK, that's another story.
COHEN: That's another story.
PHILLIPS: All right, pediatricians, what are they saying about the parents that don't want to use this?
COHEN: You know, it's very interesting because I thought what they would be saying is, you know, absolutely, you've got to get it, the CDC says you have to. But that -- a lot of them are saying, hmm, you know, if you want to wait, that's an OK thing.
So, take a look at what three pediatricians are telling parents. You can go to an interactive that's up on our Web site at CNNhealth.com. We have three patients -- three parents, rather, talking about what they want to do with Gardasil, and then three pediatricians giving advice to those parents.
PHILLIPS: Appreciate it, Elizabeth.
COHEN: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: All right.
Well, nice going, Oreo Collins, way to get that high school diploma. What's next for you, college? Entry-level job, internship, maybe take a year off, backpack through Europe? One question, though -- how on Earth does a cat get a GED?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: And pushing forward to our next hour, get on board. Next stop, health care reform. When will it come, who will manage it, who will pay for it? Ali Velshi and the CNN Express are in America's heartland.
Plus, we're going to take you on a different kind of trip. Forty years after Woodstock, does it still matter, even to the people who weren't even there, who weren't even born yet? You bet, man.
A cute baby doll holding a cute stuffed animal -- why would anyone be offended? Well, here's why. The "Little Monkey" doll sold at Costco stores nationwide until now. Costco pulled the doll after a North Carolina shopper complained it was racially offensive.
"Lil' Monkey" is written on the African American baby's hat. There's also a banana and a stuffed monkey thrown in. The dollmaker, Brass Key Keepsakes, says it didn't mean any offense. It also has a white and Hispanic version of the same doll.
And Oreo the cat awarded a GED from jefferson High School online. Her owner works for the Better Business Bureau in Macon, Georgia, and took the test for Oreo -- in other words, cheated -- to expose just how worthless some of these online diplomas are.
This one's so worthless, the litter box might be too good for it, although the diploma cost 200 bucks. So, where's Jefferson High online based? St. Kitts in the Caribbean. Where else? Join us next week when a chinchilla goes for his master's degree.
Dire straits on L.A.'s meanest streets. The country's biggest anti-gang charity is about to go belly up. We want you to join in and try and help a hand to homeboys that need your help.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: For 20 years, the nation's largest anti-gang program has operated under the motto "Nothing Stops a Bullet Like a Job." But nothing stops a job like a recession, and Homeboy Industries runs out of cash today. Thelma Gutierrez spent time at the Los Angeles charity back in May, and she shows us what's on the line.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALBERT ORTEGA, SOLAR TECHNICIAN: I was a gang member. I was a drug dealer.
RICHARD REYES, SOLAR TECHNICIAN: I turned out the worst out of all of my brothers, you know. Gangbanging, jail.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There was a time these men couldn't be together on the same Los Angeles street corner.
(on camera): Two years ago, could you have seen yourself working side by side like this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
GUTIERREZ: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We come from different backgrounds.
GUTIERREZ: Different gangs?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Different gangs.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Today, former gang rivals Richard Reyes, Cesar Cruz and Rudolpho Marquez carpool together to their job and work side by side installing home solar systems.
RUDOLPHO MARQUEZ, SOLAR TECHNICIAN: We treat each other like normal human beings. We get along great.
ORTEGA: Are you guys going to run it all the way up?
GUTIERREZ: Albert Ortega learned the trade by taking solar installation classes paid for by Homeboy Industries, a community organization that's been working with parolees and former gang members for more than 20 years. The classes offered Albert a chance to break into alternative energy programs.
Homeboy Industries, led by Father Gregory Boyle, pays the class fee, about $130, and $8 an hour to attend the 10-week program. He says it's a lot cheaper than incarceration, which costs taxpayers $45,000 a year.
REV. GREGORY BOYLE, HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES: What's your alternative to not trusting them? You know, I mean, on the one hand, this is a thing that actually helps keep our streets safe. This is what you call smart on crime.
ORTEGA: It just opened my eyes, you know, to so many things, you know, that man right here believes in us so much. And, I mean, if you see his logo, I mean, his motto is, you know "Guns, not jail. Nothing Stops a Bullet Like a Job."
REYES: Which one do you think is easier?
GUTIERREZ: After spending 10 years behind bars and missing the births of his daughters, Valerie (ph) and Vanessa (ph), Richard Reyes now has homework duty and says he is finally learning what it means to be a father.
REYES: I just thought making babies was being a father, but that's not a father. A real father is somebody who takes interest in their kids.
GUTIERREZ (on camera): How hard is it?
REYES: It's hard. That's one of the hardest things in life, being a parent.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before, he was more immature. Now, he knows what his responsibilities are.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Now, Richard says it's all about his kids.
(on camera): What do you want for your daughter's future?
REYES: I want her to become somebody in this world.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): He says for the first time, he's looking to the future with confidence. He's up for a promotion at work, and Richard says he knows he can sport his family.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And Thelma said the family is doing really well, by the way. So, Homeboy Industries needs your help. And you don't even have to leave the house. Check this out. It's homeboy- industries.org. The nonprofit is hoping to clean up through a virtual car wash and a pretty creative video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLIE BECK, CHIEF OF DETECTIVES, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT: I'm Charlie Beck. I'm the chief of detectives for the LAPD, and I gave $10 to Homeboy, and you should, too.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I gave $10, and I'm unemployed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I gave ten..
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't even pay my taxes, and I gave $10.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I gave ten bucks, and I just had a baby. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I donated $10 today to Homeboy Industries to make the streets safer for my children and yours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: So, there you have it. Your ten bucks can help keep Homeboy Industries from heading a dead end.
Belgrade, Montana is a long, long, long way outside the Beltway. And that's precisely why it's on the radar for President Obama for the health care debate and for us in the CNN NEWSROOM. We're pushing forward on a make-or-break month with small towns looming large all across America. Lawmakers are still holding what some are calling listening sessions, while the president travels to Big Sky Country and what may be his toughest pitch yet for reform.
Senior White House correspondent Ed Henry is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (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.
MEG ZIMMER, PHYSICAL THERAPIST: 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 is some, sure, some discomfort.
HENRY: But they're comfortable with the federal government at that local clinic, known as Community Health Partners.
