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Some Now Comforted That Obama's School Speech Is Sans Politics; Former First Lady on President Obama's School Speech; Kabul Airport Rocked by Suicide Attack; Four U.S. Soldiers Killed by IEDs in Iraq; Milwaukee Serial Killings Arrest; Bay Bridge Opening This Morning; Hospital on the Front Lines
Aired September 08, 2009 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Back to work on health care reform -- a group of senators looking at a plan right now that could be the last chance for compromise.
Suicide attack at the Kabul airport. The deadly explosion hit where U.S. and other NATO troops come in.
And a Georgia teenager captures hearts and wins at the U.S. open. Melody Oudin's coach tells us why she's succeeding when others are not.
Good morning everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. It is September 8th, and you are in the CNN Newsroom.
In fact, let's take a quick walk-through now of what we've got for you today. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is at the White House. After days of bitter criticism, the president will finally be speaking with school kids, but is his message still intact?
And also Josh Levs is going to be looking at some of that criticism. We're going to be talking about how schools and the classrooms are going to be handling it today.
And also, our Dr. Sanjay Gupta in one of the most dangerous places on earth. He's in Afghanistan and takes us inside a combat hospital.
Let's begin, though, this morning, with the president's speech. As you know, it's just a few hours from now. The White House posted those remarks on its Web site to mixed reaction. A lot of people are still critical of the speech. Others say they're now comfortable that the message is not political.
Among the main talking points are these. The president will stress the importance of education and encourage kids to stay in school. He'll also tell students, don't let failures define you.
There is a lot of ground to cover. Let's go ahead and get straight to the White House now and CNN's Suzanne Malveaux.
The White House has released the text of the speech. Suzanne, has this helped quiet any of the controversy? SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It depends on who you talk to, Heidi. Some people, it seems, to have lowered the temperature a bit here. We do have a copy of the speech. A lot of people have been reading this, teachers as well as parents.
One of the people that has read this is Jim Greer. Now he is the Republican chair out of the state of Florida and he's really the one who kicked off the controversy, if you will, one of the critics who said, look, I'm worried about my four children, sending them to school.
He said it's a socialist ideology that the president was trying to indoctrinate his children and he was encouraging people not to have their kids actually listen to the president's speech.
Well, I had a chance to talk to him and he's had a change of heart. He has listened to the -- he has read this text and he says he thinks that this is a speech that he can send his kids to school to listen to.
But I was really fascinated by the level of suspicion that he had, as well as many others, about what is behind this speech, what is behind this day. And here's how he responded, Heidi.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM GREER, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN PARTY OF FLORIDA: I believe that the speech that he was going to give, based on the lesson plans, is different. And, you know, Suzanne, we have Barack Obama the auto king, we have Barack Obama the banker, soon to be Barack Obama the doctor. We don't need Barack Obama the schoolteacher.
MALVEAUX: Why are you so...
GREER: And the White House should have stayed out of the classrooms.
MALVEAUX: Why are you so suspicious of the president's intentions?
GREER: Well, the president is very aggressive and very vocal on what he believes government's role is. Government should be involved in solving all of our challenges.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And so, Heidi, that's his explanation. He says he's taken a look at the speech, he doesn't mind the speech, he did object to the lesson plans which asked or called for children to...
COLLINS: Yes.
MALVEAUX: Talk about ways that they could help the president. The White House has since removed that lesson plan.
COLLINS: Right. MALVEAUX: Essentially he doesn't believe that this was the original speech that the president was going to deliver. The White House thinks that that is nonsense. But it does underscore, I guess, a sense of unease that some people are feeling about the role of government that the president talked about and part of that, obviously, is education.
COLLINS: Yes, because I think in the beginning when we first learned about this, there were some other plans, and obviously the lesson plan being the main thing, that it seemed like people were really concerned about. So clearly, some things have changed here and the White House has been listening.
The president, though, isn't the only one out and about on the first day of school, right, Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: It's full court press, Heidi. You've got so many cabinet secretaries that are out there fanning across the country, but you've got, you know, from state, from health, from housing, commerce, energy, you name it, they are out there today.
They're essentially going to middle schools, high schools, elementary schools with the same message here, to encourage students on their first day of school or if they've been in school for a little bit to stay in school, to work hard, not to fear failure.
Those are many of the things -- to take responsibility, essentially -- and help them. Help the students and the schools as well. This is something that the president says, in his own words and in his own speech, and it's something they want to reiterate by having members, high-level officials out there saying the same thing.
We've seen this time before when the president wants to make a point very strongly. He sends out his top guns. Heidi?
COLLINS: All right. Well, we'll be watching, certainly, throughout the day here. Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, thanks, Suzanne.
Former first lady Laura Bush is supporting President Obama's right to speak to students in an interview with CNN. Bush said there is a place for the president to talk with schoolchildren and encourage them. But she also said parents are free to keep their children from listening to today's speech.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BUSH, FORMER FIRST LADY: That is the right of parents to choose what they want their children to hear in school. But I think really what people were unhappy about were the guidelines that went out with the -- before the speech went out.
And I think those have been changed. And I think it's also really important for everyone to respect the president of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Mrs. Bush also says she thinks the president is doing a good job, noting he's had a lot on his plate in the early going.
So how are different school districts handling the president's speech today? CNN's Josh Levs has been checking in all around the country and joins us now with some details.
Hi, there, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Heidi. We're hearing from more and more schools all over the country this morning here in the NEWSROOM. And all this puts together a big picture for what is happening in U.S. schools today. We're going to show you the absolute latest, coming up this hour.
COLLINS: All right. Very good, Josh. We'll get back to you with that in just a moment.
Getting some breaking news here. Going to give it to you in just a moment. Of course, always want to remind you that we will have live coverage of President Obama's speech to the nation's schoolchildren. It is scheduled to begin at noon Eastern. You can find it right here on CNN.
Meanwhile, to this breaking news now coming to us out of Iraq. CNN has been able to confirm, according to the U.S. military, four American soldiers have been killed by roadside bombs, IEDs, to be specific, in northern Iraq and Baghdad.
Three soldiers with the Multinational Corps of Iraq died this morning as well when an IED exploded, and it was obviously targeting their patrol. Once again, happening in northern Iraq at approximately 11:40 a.m.
We will continue to follow this and if we get any more details, we'll of course bring them to you just as soon as we get them.
Clear evidence of fraud with Afghanistan's elections. That's the finding of an election commission. Now, earlier this morning, they ordered a partial recount of presidential ballots. Incumbent Hamid Karzai leads the count right now.
Also this morning, Kabul's main airport was rocked by a suicide attack. It happened at the military side of Kabul's main airport, which is used by NATO forces. At least two people are dead and CNN has learned American civilians are among the wounded.
CNN's Atia Abawi has more now from Kabul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIA ABAWI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A suicide blast occurred around 8:30 a.m. local time here in the capital of Kabul. It happened at the Kabul Airport. Kabul Airport used for both civilian and military purposes. The Ministry of Interior tells CNN that the bomber actually went to the eastern gate, which is the military side of the airport, killing two civilians and injuring six others. ISAF, the International Security Assistance Force, saying that yes, they did have troops there who were injured, but not severely.
And in the meantime, it's still the talk of not only Afghans, but also internationals, when it comes to the elections in Afghanistan. An election marred with fraud from even before the August 20th Election Day.
Now, the ECC, the Electoral Complaints Commission, stating they want an audit and a recount from various polling stations throughout the country. Primarily at polling stations that had more than 600 votes. Because according to ECC, there shouldn't have been more than 600 voters within each polling station.
And on the other hand, as well, if any polling station had over 95 percent of the votes cast for one particular presidential candidate.
Atia Abawi, CNN, Kabul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: And just as a reminder, our Anderson Cooper is in Afghanistan all this week bringing you a special look at life in the battle zone. Dangerous challenges for both U.S. troops and Afghan civilians. You can see Anderson's special reports every night, 10:00 p.m. Eastern on "AC 360."
A nightmare for commuters. San Francisco's Bay Bridge shut down this morning. Hundreds of thousands of people now trying to find another way to work.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. Tropical storm Fred gaining strength overnight. We'll give you the path, plus, the Carolinas getting soaked without tropical weather. That's coming up in just a little bit.
COLLINS: And as we count down to the president's back-to-school message today at noon, check out this stat. 56 million. That's the projected number of students to be enrolled in the nation's elementary, middle and high schools this fall.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Breaking news, revealing developments, see for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: The search for a serial killer is over this morning. Milwaukee police think they have found the man known as the "North Side Strangler." 49-year-old Walter Ellis was arrested at a motel on Saturday. Ellis is accused of killing nine women since 1986. Most of them prostitutes. Police say they picked up his trail through a combination of old-fashioned detective work and high-tech lab work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF EDWARD FLYNN, MILWAUKEE POLICE: A search warrant was conducted for DNA evidence on August 29th at his residence and that DNA was submitted to the Wisconsin state crime lab.
On September 4th, we issued a warrant for his arrest, after the state crime lab returned a result that linked Ellis' DNA to nine homicides. His name is Walter Ellis, age 49.
We're requesting that you not use his photograph as we still have to do possible witness identification.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Ellis faces two counts of homicide and more charges are likely.
Meanwhile, to this news now and actually some live pictures for you. Commuters in California's Bay Area are probably going to have to take another route or maybe even another day off this morning because the main artery for traffic is closed today.
Repairs on the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge will not be done until -- actually, we are getting some news that -- we are hearing a press conference going on right now, if I understand this correctly.
It is possible, and we are hearing, they may reopen the bridge this morning. Again, information into us right now, this press conference, that we are monitoring. We are also hearing that other sort of arteries, if you will, into the bay bridge might be closed. So it might be still be very, very tricky for the 280,000 cars that cross that bridge every day.
Let's go ahead, in fact, and listen in for just a moment here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably about 10 minutes now. So that's what's going to happen today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'd also like to ask C.C. Myers president, Dan Hemick, to come up and make a few comments.
DAN HEMICK, C.C. MYERS PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody. My name is Dan Hemick, D-A-N-H-E-M-I-C-K, and I'd just like to say last night was one of those nights where everything went perfect and the crews got it done really, really fast. It's amazing how fast they got it done.
Everything fit perfect, the fix is in place, it's really constructed well. As Randy said, it's been fully inspected and it's really a nice piece of work. That bridge is safer than it was last Thursday and we're fully confident of it. We're glad we got the bridge open for everybody. We're proud to be part of it. And on to the next item.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What time did you finish?
HEMICK: We finished -- well, it's still going on, it finished about 30 minutes ago? But everybody's just walking the bridge...
COLLINS: So if you have been able to listen into this, I just want to clarify for you because what we thought was going to happen is not happening and in fact, yes, the Bay Bridge will be opened, as you just heard, the representatives from Caltrans there talking about it, in apparently like 45 minutes from now. So that will be perfect for the morning rush except for those who had tried to get in a little bit earlier.
So there you see the shots for you and pretty soon it's going to be a very, very busy place as usual. Once again, that bay bridge reopening after some much-needed repairs and some work that had been done all day yesterday. So 7:00 a.m. Pacific Time is when it will reopen. We'll keep our eye out on that for you.
Meanwhile, the battlefield hospital. Doctors working under tough conditions and saving the lives of troops and civilians in the war zone 24 hours a day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is nighttime now here in Kandahar. You can see what's going on behind me, a couple of helicopters about the land. It's very windy. We don't have a lot of information. We just know there are patients on this particular chopper.
Over there, look over there, two ambulances, all the medics over here. They're starting to run out to the chopper to see what's going on. They just got the all-clear signal. We're going to go with them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Time for a quick check of our "Top Stories" now. Fire crews have stopped the spread of a massive wildfire north of Los Angeles. Firefighters expect to have it fully contained by next Tuesday. Seventy-eight homes are destroyed, but noting that 10,000 were threatened. A deputy fire chief says firefighters have done an unbelievable job. The fire is being treated as arson and a homicide investigation because two firefighters died.
Back in session, members of Congress get back to work today after the long August recess. First, on the agenda, health care reform, so did the R&R help for the big battle ahead? We're going to get more into this detail in just a few minutes.
Also, a slow count. 2,000 accusations of election fraud. Thousands of votes declared invalid and just this morning an order for a partial recount. It may be a while before Afghanistan finds out who will be its next president.
The Election Complaints Commission now says there is clear and convincing evidence of election fraud. A State Department official says the U.S. ambassador urged incumbent president Hamid Karzai to allow the investigation into possibly voter fraud.
Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is in Afghanistan this week. He's bringing us a special report on the challenges facing doctors as they work on the battle lines.
Today, he's got a closer look at Role Three. A trauma hospital in Kandahar, province where doctors work 24/7 to help troops and civilians.
GUPTA: Hey, Heidi. I'm reporting to you from Afghanistan, as you know, the Helmand Province. This is one of the most dangerous areas in Afghanistan, which is why the place that I'm standing in is necessary. It's a dusty, desert tent, which is also home to an operating room.
This is how they take care of people on the front lines. And I want to give you an idea of what battlefield medicine is really all about. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): Early morning, Kandahar.
(On camera): We've been here just a few minutes. We're already getting an idea of just how busy this hospital is. Out there is the busiest airstrip, supposedly in the world, flight landing all the time. Also get patients like this into the hospital. We're hearing this is a very urgent case. Patient with lots of bleeding, possible double leg amputation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He does have very weak radio pulses. (INAUDIBLE) pulses is all right and then the tourniquets were put on about 45 minutes ago. (INAUDIBLE) and tourniquets?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Few on the left above...
(CROSSTALK)
GUPTA: Dr. Hayes is communicating with the patient, translating, trying to figure out exactly what happened to him.
(Voice-over): We don't know much. Middle aged, Afghan national, but here's something. Only a quarter of the patients brought here are U.S. or coalition forces. The rest are locals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. We'll go ahead and give him some more pain medicine. Yes, please, 50 again. He can handle it. Compressions are good.
GUPTA (on camera): This is one of the keys here. You have no idea the severity of injuries here, so they've got to roll the patient, check his back, check his spine, make sure there's nothing else they've missed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not so contused. You can see the tourniquets are still holding.
GUPTA: Yes. They're putting big IVs in here. There are just a couple of tourniquets that are really holding all that blood from coming pouring out of his legs that's why they're going to take him to the operating room.
(Voice-over): 24/7, a battlefield hospital in the middle of a war zone. Like this. Surgeons working on a young soldier, IED, improvised explosive device attack. As you watch him wheeled out, his face is torn, his left arm terribly damaged, and underneath that blanket, one of his legs is gone. Surgeons tell me his mother received the awful call just a short time ago.
It's all hard to watch and a process. They are brothers, friends, neighbors, but here is where it gets worse.
That sound you hear is a drill being used to remove the skull of a child. A 2-year-old Afghan boy. He fell down a cliff while playing. His name is Malik and he has a massive brain injury. Almost dead. Doctors here are trying to give him a fighting chance. He is one of the cutest boys you'll ever meet.
It is nighttime now here in Kandahar. See what's going on behind me. A helicopter is about to land. It's very windy. We don't have a lot of information. We just know there are patients on this particular chopper.
Over there, look over there. Two ambulances. All the medics over here. They're starting to run out to the chopper to see what's going on. They just got the all-clear signal. We're going to go with them.
Thirty seconds later, the patient is inside. As you can see, there's a lot of triage going on right now. They're placing IVs, they have a breathing tube checked. A couple of things I've noticed right away he's moving both of his legs and he's moving both of his arms. Very good signs.
But there is a concern about head injury, but it's probably not that severe if he's able to do what he's doing now.
And keep in mind, in the midst of all this, a young boy, Malik, his life still hangs in the balance.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: And, Heidi, the story of Malik is something that I'm going to be following along all week long. And I can tell you, the way that he was cared for may carry some lessons for all of us.
Heidi, back to you.
COLLINS: Boy oh, boy, tough, tough stories. Many of them there. Of course, you can see more of Sanjay's behind-the-scenes reports from Afghanistan all week on "AC 360." That comes your way nightly at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
Switching gears for a moment because we cannot believe these pictures. Take a look at that. You can only see half of this fire truck because the other half is under ground. You're looking at Los Angeles here, north Hollywood, where a sinkhole has completely, almost completely swallowed up this fire truck.
Apparently, the fire truck was responding to a water main break, just gushing water all over the place. You can see by the flow of that water, it is clearly still gushing. Obviously, they're working very quickly to get things wrapped up there. I don't know if there are any injuries, but as far as we can see, it doesn't seem like a scurry of activity so we're hoping that everybody is OK.
Once again, north Hollywood there, major sinkhole sort of swallowed up this fire truck. We'll keep our eye on that one for you.
They went away, but our nation's health care problems did not. And now lawmakers are coming back to Washington today and finding one heck of a fight waiting for them on Capitol Hill.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Wall Street went into the holiday weekend with a rally and it looks like we could pick up right where we left off.
As we just heard the opening bell for this Tuesday morning, Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with some details.
Hi there, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. That's right, we can't call it a merger Monday, but it is the first trading day of the week and investors here are encouraged by some M&A activity overseas.
Deutsche Telecom and France Telecom plan to combine their British Mobile phone units. Meanwhile, Cadbury has rejected a $26 billion buyout offer from Kraft Foods. Kraft says it still plans to pursue the candy maker.
Wall Street loves to see mergers and acquisitions because it's a sign that companies are more confident. We have certainly seen them when they are paralyzed and they're starting to make some deals and that's why you're seeing a rally in the first minute of trading.
Still some worry signs, though, the U.S. dollar falling to a new low for the year against -- a year against the Euro. One Euro now gets about $1.45. It's expensive when you go to Europe and you use the greenback. We both know that, Heidi.
Finance ministers from the group of 20 leading economies say that a global recovery is not sustainable without continued government help. And when the dollar fines, investors turn to safe haven investments like oil and gold. Gold topped $1000 an ounce today for the first time in six months. And oil is up two bucks, trading above $70 a barrel. But stocks are higher too right now. We've seen the Dow, the NASDAQ, S&P 500, each up at least half a percent.
A nice start to the trading week, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes.
LISOVICZ: See you later.
COLLINS: OK. Very good, Susan.
Back-to-school day for many kids around the nation. And this year they're getting a welcome back from President Obama. He's giving an address specifically to school kids later on today. Some conservatives have been suspicious about the motives behind it, though. So the White House posted the transcript online yesterday. We are also carrying the speech for you live at noon right here on CNN.
Even up to the last minute, some schools have been working to decide whether to carry the president's speech live. And our Josh Levs is joining me now with a little bit more on what we are hearing from all around the country.
Because it's true, Josh, it seems like a lot of the schools are handling things pretty differently.
LEVS: It's really instructive to me, Heidi.
I was taking a look at what we were getting from our affiliates over the last 24 hours. There were some schools last night that were still having meetings, and I like numbers. We don't have any numbers yet, how many schools will take it, how many won't. But we're going to zoom in on a couple of cities here. Let's start over here.
We're going to go to Kansas City, Missouri. That's where one of our affiliates went to a school that is going to be showing it. They spoke with some parents there who are allowed to opt out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are you're not going to be any of those things.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER (voice-over): We went to a park near Shawnee Mission Elementary School that's been flooded with calls from parents. Now the school will give teachers and parents the option to opt out of Obama's school speech tomorrow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is an important thing to address.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that's a good message.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: I'm going to take you now over to Claremont, North Carolina. In fact, let's zoom out. I want everyone to see the broad picture of where we're heading.
Claremont, North Carolina, this is where our Gary Tuchman actually went to a school that's not going to be showing it. He spoke with the principal, and he asked him how that decision was made.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is what he's going to say in the speech.
"If you quit on school, you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country."
I mean, isn't that a message you'd want your kids to hear? Isn't that part of what education is all about?
UNIDENTIFIED PRINCIPAL: Most definitely. And we've asked our parents. Again, going back to responsibility. A responsible parent is going to sit down and talk to their kids about staying in school.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: And, finally, Heidi, let's zoom over to San Antonio, Texas. We're going to pull out here. Just because, again, this is one of the latest ones that we've got.
And here we're hearing about a district in which there are some schools showing it, but there are also several that are not showing it. And we heard an argument from someone about why she believes schools should not be showing this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not the message. No. The message, I think, is inspirational.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: For them, it's the way it was handled.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is how government is operating without the citizens being involved. It is more by edict. And that was really, really disturbing to a lot of citizens.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Northside ISD, Northeast ISD, and Comal ISD are among the school districts that will not show the president speech.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: Just a bit there. We showed you the cross section. We'll zoom back out to the country. And certain, I'll tell you, Heidi, it is interesting to see what decisions get made after the speech happens today. We'll keep an eye out for the numbers and maybe in the coming days or weeks, we'll have a sense of how many schools carried it live, how many offered versions later, how many got in touch with parents and decided later. Some schools are saying they might show it next week given what happens today. So we'll keep an eye on that for days to come.
COLLINS: OK. Sounds great.
Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks, Heidi.
COLLINS: A new school year, a new series of public service announcements hitting the airwaves during your favorite shows soon.
Here now, an exclusive first look at one of them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: I may only be a kid, but I'm already helping the government plan for the future.
Did you know that many states give third grade reading exams to predict future prison growth?
And more than 1 million kids drop out of school before high school each year. And that these kids are eight times more likely to end up in prison.
It's true. Sixty percent of America's prison inmates never finished high school. And now many states are spending more money on prisons, and less on public education.
(SOUND OF BELL RINGING)
That's the bell. I better get back inside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Isn't it time we ended the school to prison lifeline? We can do better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Some people call it a clever ad. But what's this campaign really hoping to accomplish? We're going to be asking the man who leads one of the groups behind it? That will be coming up in about an hour from now at about 10:30 Eastern.
Well, in case you haven't turned on the TV lately, we've been spending a lot of time on problems with health care in this country. A lot going on, especially now since today, Congress is back at work on the issue. But today is also the first day of school in lots of places, as you know, and that's reminding us that the education system is something that a lot of people are concerned about, too.
So our question for you on our blog today, just go to cnn.com/heidi, and you can weigh in. Which, do you think, needs more attention right now? Is it health care or is it education? Go ahead and write in your comments to us. We'll, of course, share some of them with you as we go along in the morning here -- CNN.com/heidi.
Students aren't the only ones back from summer vacation. As I mentioned, lawmakers back in Washington today, now that their recess is over. And they have to pick up where they left off in the health care battle.
Our congressional correspondent, Brianna Keilar, is live for us this morning on Capitol Hill.
So, Brianna, what is the latest that you're hearing right out of the gate this morning?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I should tell you, Heidi, that the hustle and bustle seems to be back here on Capitol Hill. It's been a very quiet month last month here, as you can imagine. Certainly not the case out in members' home districts and home states during this really contentious health care debate time, but folks coming back here to The Hill, members of Congress back here to get back to the grindstone on health care.
And I just spoke with Senator Chuck Grassley. He is the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, really seen as the best chance to get a bipartisan agreement on a health care overhaul. And he told me that he hopes that the three Democrats and the two other Republicans that he's been talking with for months and months now, he's hoping that they can strike a bipartisan deal on health care overhaul before President Obama's speech tomorrow night. He says even though to him, the time line there is not ideal, he understands that this is what Senator Max Baucus, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, what he is hoping to do, strike a deal with this -- these three Democrats and these three Republicans before the president's speech tomorrow night, and Grassley himself saying that he's hopeful.
So this group, Heidi, is going to be meeting today, 2:30 p.m. Eastern, and they're going to be talking over a proposal that Senator Baucus put out over the weekend. This first formal proposal for health care overhaul.
It does not include a public option, as we expected. What it includes is a plan for a health care cooperative. These would be non- profit co-ops that are governed by the patient that receive care from them.
And Grassley has said, generally, he has some few concerns about how the plan would be executed, but he says he looks upon it pretty favorably.
This is what he said on "AMERICAN MORNING" a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHARLES GRASSLEY (R), IOWA: They're consumer driven, and all the consumers benefit from it. They're organized by members. There's no federal government running the co-ops, et cetera. And that's the way that Senator Conrad has devised them, and I've been discussing that with him and along the lines of what he suggested, it's very favorable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: So we're paying close attention to this meeting at 2:30 p.m. Eastern, this afternoon, Heidi. Really the first chance for these key members, these six members, Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee to react to this formal proposal.
COLLINS: OK. Well, certainly, a lot going on, even though it's only been, I don't know, a couple hours since they've been there, running around the capital.
Brianna Keilar, sure do appreciate that.
President Obama will make his health care pitch to that special joint session of Congress tomorrow night. We, of course, will cover that live for you beginning at 8:00 Eastern.
Understanding America's health care system.
After the death of his father, how one man's grief turned into an obsession to get some answers. Hear what he found out.
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COLLINS: A major break in a series of serial killings around Milwaukee. Police now believe they have the Northside Strangler in custody. They arrested 49-year-old Walter Ellis at a motel, Saturday. Ellis is accused of killing nine women since 1986. Most of them prostitutes. Police say DNA evidence linked him to all of the crimes. He faces two counts of homicide and more charges are likely.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor will be welcomed to the Supreme Court this afternoon with a ceremonial swearing in. Sotomayor had her official swearing in last month. President Obama will attend today's events as well. The justices return to the bench tomorrow. They will consider whether to overrule earlier decisions on campaign spending restrictions for corporations and unions.
A health official at Washington State University says the school's swine flu outbreak may be easing. Doctor Dennis Garcia says 40 to 50 students a day contacted the school's health service over the weekend. That compares to 150 a day last week. The outbreak is suspected of making at least 2,200 Washington State students sick.
A local Georgia girl becomes the latest star born at the U.S. open. How little-known 17-year-old is using determination and a vicious backhand slice to beat down the competition.
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COLLINS: We are bringing you a number of views and opinions on health care. Certainly the topic of many discussions these days. And this morning we have the personal story of David Goldhill.
He wrote an article featured in this month's "Atlantic" magazine called "How American Health Care Killed my Father." His father died in a hospital from an infection almost two years ago. Goldhill's grief left him with a lot of questions about the health care industry, so he decided to make it his mission to get some answers.
David Goldhill is joining us now this morning from New York to talk about what he has learned.
David, our condolences to you, first off. I'm sure that was a very painful loss for you.
But, hopefully, from everything that I have read, including this article, you have really gained some knowledge and some insight into the health care industry, which is what we want to hear more about.
I would like to read a quote from the article, in fact, as you tried to understand your father's death. You came up with this. "There needs to be a business reason. Why an industry year in and year out would be able to get away with poor customer service, unaffordable prices, and even results -- uneven results, forgive me. A reason my father and so many others are unnecessarily killed."
How did you come to believe that this sort of all comes back to a business model?
DAVID GOLDHILL, MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY EXPERT: Well, I think -- thank you for the condolences, first of all, and for having me on today.
What I saw when my father was in the hospital was a series of things that as a business man and as a customer of any other service, I'd never seen. Endless numbers of errors, poor use of information and information technology. Extraordinarily sloppiness.
And I think what I became aware is that we're paying a very high price for this illusion that there's someone else paying for our health care. That having big intermediaries, insurance companies, Medicare, other government agencies may seem to have its advantages, but one of the big disadvantages is that the system lacks the type of discipline and accountability that to us patients as consumers that we see everywhere else in our economy.
My dad was one of 100,000 people estimated every year to die from an infection received in a hospital. That's a number that is regarded as a preventable death.
COLLINS: Right.
GOLDHILL: When you think of it what an extraordinary number that is and how little outrage, reaction, and fundamental accountability thus the patient there is.
COLLINS: Well, in fact, I'll tell you, we have covered this story many times here on this program regarding what you as the patient can do to feel empowered about telling your doctors or the other health care providers that are at the hospital to simply wash your hands before you touch my loved one.
All of these small things that you would really think are already happening in the hospitals, sometimes are not. In fact, you do talk a lot in the article about health insurance, as you were mentioning, and how it's overused.
Another quote I would like to put out there, "We can't imagine paying for gas with our auto insurance policy or for our electric bills with our homeowner's insurance, but we all assume that our regular checkups and dental cleanings will be covered at least partially by insurance."
So how are we using health care insurance less, actually, seemed to solve some of America's health care problems?
GOLDHILL: I think insurance is the most costly and distortive form of financing anything. Which is why out of health care, you only see it used for major and unpredictable events. Our reliance on it in health care has been very expensive, and dates from a time where health care was a very small part of our lives. Now it's almost one out of every $5 we spend. We've medicalized a very large portion of our physical lives throughout our lives, and that's going to require a different financing model.
Unfortunately, insurance, by creating a barrier between us as patients and customers and providers, has an enormous impact on overuse of care, excess care, poor pricing accountability, and we're seeing in our prices of health care for the last five decades --
COLLINS: Yes, and I wanted to, David, about malpractice insurance and this whole idea of doctors needing to practice defensive medicine, if you will.
Does that play in?
GOLDHILL: I'm sure it does. I think there are a lot of factors that play in. But what I'm arguing in the article is that there are fundamental problems with the way health care is organized. And that those fundamental problems drive poor access to the system, poor quality or an even quality in very high prices. And unless we start getting at some of those fundamental issues, we're not going to be able to create a real safety net for Americans, and we're not going to resolve the issues of quality. We're not going to get as much for the now roughly $2.5 trillion we're spending as we should be getting.
COLLINS: So when are you going to Washington? When are you going to be knocking on President Obama's door?
GOLDHILL: Well, I obviously would be flattered to help the administration anyway I could. I think we have to recognize that all politicians are limited by the 55 percent of Americans who are happy with their current health coverage.
What I say to them is if you're happy with your current health coverage, it's because you don't know what it's costing you. You don't know what it's costing you in terms of loss wage increases. I mean, I've run several companies. The average cost to a company of insuring an American is now $12,000. That comes out of potential wages. That's a lot of money.
COLLINS: Yes. Well, David Goldhill, it's a pleasure talking with you. It's a fascinating article for many different reasons.
So, again, in the "Atlantic" magazine this month.
We appreciate your story very much.
And we will continue to follow it here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Thanks again.
GOLDHILL: Thanks for having me on.
Nine women dead over a 21-year period in Milwaukee. The police say a break in the case means no more victims for the serial killer known as the northside strangler.
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COLLINS: Let's get you over to Rob Marciano now, standing by in hurricane headquarters, because we are watching yet another tropical storm, right?
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COLLINS: Yes, it's time, right? Because our kids have been back for like a month, but, anyway.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. We get that in Georgia. But, you know, get them in school. Why not?
COLLINS: All right. Thank you.
MARCIANO: All right, see you.
COLLINS: We'll check back later on.
Meanwhile, one man who is issuing his own challenge to America's school children and their parents. He says it's time we rethink education. You're about to hear a lot more about his campaign. You can see it right here first.
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UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: Melanie Oudin, the 17-year-old leads the way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Open for this very quick youngster from Georgia. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Love it. Melanie Oudin, the 17-year-old from Marietta, Georgia, definitely making a name for herself at the U.S. Open. Last night, she beat a third Russian player to advance to the U.S. Open quarterfinals now.
Our Larry Smith spoke to Melanie Oudin last month as she got ready for the open.
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LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's no surprise that Serena and Venus Williams are considered among the world's best tennis players sitting second and third respectively in the Sony Erickson WTA rankings. But to find the third best American, you have to go all the way down to number 67, and 17-year-old Melanie Oudin.
MELANIE OUDIN, 17-YEAR-OLD TENNIS PLAYER: It was my goal from last year's U.S. Open for this U.S. Open to be top 100 so I would be in the main draw.
SMITH (on camera): Melanie burst onto the scene this year at Wimbledon where she advanced to the round of 16 defeating the 6th rank player in the world, Jelena Jankovic along the way.
OUDIN: Realizing that I could actually win I think was my key thing. Realizing in the first set that she was no better than me, and that I was right there and whether I won or lost the match, like at that moment I knew that I was right there with her and I can compete with her.
BRIAN DE VILLIERS, OUDIN'S COACH: I think there's a little pressure on her now, and we have to maintain that. I mean, I've seen so many kids come and go and have a great tournament and then you never hear from them again.
Fire from the hips. Come on. Come on. Come on.
No, no, no, do that shot again. Make that. That's sloppy. Make it. And again. Make it. Very good.
SMITH: Brian De Villiers has coached Melanie for eight years, and has a theory on why there aren't more American players in the world tennis rankings.
DE VILLIERS: They're too soft over here. There are too many escaped clauses as in I can go to college. A lot of them come from affluent families and they basically have never had to really work for something for themselves, and the minute the going gets tough, they bail.
SMITH: At the U.S. Open, Melanie will be looking to dispute that notion, and make her first taste of success as a pro a lasting one. OUDIN: I'm still the underdog, again. You know, I'm not going to be seen or anything. There's going to some pressure, but I'm just going to go out there and play my game, and hope I can play like I did Wimbledon.
DE VILLIERS: Hit the line again. Extend.
That's better. Right.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Once again our Larry Smith reporting.
A very exciting stuff there -- U.S. Open.
I want to show you this, too. Unbelievable pictures we're getting out of Los Angeles. A sinkhole big enough to swallow -- yes, that's a fire truck. Officials there still aren't sure if it was spawned by a broken 64-inch water main that flooded parts of Studio City just miles away last weekend. No injuries reported. But they are still working feverishly to get that thing out. So we'll keep our eye on that for you.
Also, in Chile, a desperate search happening right now for a one- year-old who got swept away by mudslides. The little girl's mother and another man died in the same mudslide. Four other people had minor injuries.
A weekend of heavy rains flooded a major river in Santiago, and also triggered these deadly mudslides. One hundred fifty-six homes were destroyed. Fifty-seven others had major damage.
