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Key Vote on Health Reform; Why More Forces are Needed in Afghanistan; Where the Stimulus Jobs Are

Aired October 13, 2009 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get started. Time for your top of the hour reset. I'm Tony Harris in the CNN NEWSROOM.

It is noon on Capitol Hill, where a Senate committee is working towards a major vote today on health care reform.

It is 8:30 in the evening in Afghanistan, where U.S. troops are wondering if and how many reinforcements they'll get.

And it is 9:00 a.m. in California where heavy rain is falling and fears of mudslides are rising fast.

So, let's get started. The push for health care reform reaches a potential turning point today. The Senate Finance Committee set to vote on its version of a health care overhaul. The vote would be a step forward for President Obama's top domestic priority.

Live now to Capitol Hill and congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar. And Brianna, we talked last hour about how health care reform still has a long road ahead. But this is a key vote. Explain to us why it is so important.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For so many reasons, Tony.

One, it is the fifth and final committee to move forward with a bill on health care reform. There's that.

And there's also, this vote today is going to be a key look into whether or not Democrats will be able to get some Republican support, because they haven't been able to do it. And we're keeping an eye on Senator Olympia Snowe, that Republican who hasn't said that she's not voting for it. So, we're waiting to see if she will.

And not only that, Tony, this is the only bill. This one that the Senate Finance Committee will vote on today, the only bill without that public option, without the government-run insurance plan, so it's the most conservative of all of the bills as well.

HARRIS: Yes. And take a moment and explain why this bill is so unique.

KEILAR: Well, the price tag, first off, $829 billion. It's the only bill that falls underneath that $900 billion threshold set by President Obama. Also, it includes health care cooperatives, those nonprofit health care co-ops, instead of that public option. And there is an individual mandate which would require all Americans to get health insurance. This is not unique to this bill, but what is, is that it lacks an employer mandate, a strong employer mandate, forcing employers to contribute to their employees' health insurance, as the other bills do. And it's also important to highlight, Tony, like the other bills, this one includes making sure insurance companies can't deny you coverage because of a pre-existing condition and cannot cap your benefits over the course of a year or over your lifetime.

HARRIS: You mentioned Olympia Snowe. Any chance at all of Republican support?

KEILAR: There is a chance, but we don't know the answer yet. We caught up with her as she went into this hearing, and still she two not be pinned down. But she did slam a report that came out from the insurance industry that says this plan here today would increase health insurance premiums for Americans. So, certainly a sign that Democrats should hold out hope that they can get her support. But we're waiting and watching.

HARRIS: Yes. OK.

Brianna Keilar on Capitol Hill for us.

Brianna, thank you.

Today's vote sets the stage for the largest debate on health care reform. Here's a look at what happens next.

The bill the Finance Committee votes on today has to be merged, melded with a bill passed by the Senate HELP Committee. The full Senate then debates and votes on that bill. Three House bills must also be combined. The House then debates and votes on its bill. Finally, the Senate and House bills have to be merged, and both chambers vote on the final bill.

Reverend Jesse Jackson says just adding more police won't solve the teen violence problem in Chicago. The beating death of 16-year- old honors student Derrion Albert shined a national spotlight on the problem.

Today, Jackson rode the bus with students to the high school Derrion attended. He said he wanted to highlight the problems the students face.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. JESSE JACKSON, RAINBOW/PUSH COALITION: This is a state of emergency given the patterns of violence and the patterns of killing. They have to get up earlier to go to school, go to a zone of conflict, and get back an hour later. They need more access to school and guaranteed passage, and laptops, not just merely more police.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for two hours today. The talks took place in Medvedev's home outside Moscow. Clinton met earlier with her Russian counterpart. Key issues -- arms control, missile defense and Iran's nuclear ambitions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: Iran's nuclear program remains a matter of serious concern. And we're working closely with Russia, through the P-5 plus 1 process. We had a constructive meeting in Geneva on October 1st, and we are working to ensure that Iran moves forward with us on this engagement track.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Well, the Pentagon has pushed up its deadline for a new 15-ton bomb capable of destroying hidden weapons bunkers like the kind in Iran and North Korea. Officials say they do not have an intended target, but they want the bomb ready sooner than originally planned. The new non-nuclear bomb will be the United States' largest. It is said to be 10 times more powerful than the weapon it will replace.

More political turmoil in Afghanistan. President Hamid Karzai now being accused of meddling in his country's election fraud investigation.

The camp for Karzai's top rival says the incumbent pulled strings to force an election investigator to resign. He was part of a panel looking in to fraud allegations in the country's August 20th vote. The probe has delayed official results.

Karzai's camp rejects the accusation. The Afghan leader yesterday acknowledged irregularities, while insisting the overall vote was good and fair and worthy of praise.

Meanwhile, in Washington, much of the focus regarding Afghanistan is on the military's request for 40,000 more troops. Our Pentagon correspondent, Chris Lawrence, looks at why that specific number of troops is needed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One hundred thousand American and allied troops are already fighting in Afghanistan. To understand why it's believed General Stanley McChrystal wants 40,000 more, you need to look at a map the way military strategists see.

KIMBERLY KAGAN, ADVISER TO GEN. STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL: What 40,000 does is fill in the gaps around Kandahar, around Khost in Helmand province. It does not, however, cover the entire country.

LAWRENCE: Kimberly Kagan is an adviser to McChrystal. She says it's the minimum number to root out the Taliban and identifying and protect potential Afghan partners. But the military's own counterinsurgency ratio dictates it takes well over half a million troops to secure Afghanistan's 33 million people.

(on camera): But General McChrystal is not applying this ratio to all of Afghanistan. He feels certain parts of the country are peaceful enough like the north or just not as important like the west that they don't need the same number of counterinsurgency fighters as these areas do.

KAGAN: And that's what gets him from a figure of hundreds of thousands of troops down to a figure such as 40,000 or 60,000 troops.

LAWRENCE (voice-over): Kagan says McChrystal would use those troops to turn the tide so the Taliban doesn't control every other town. She says 10,000 or even 20,000 troops just aren't enough.

KAGAN: It's not as though we can simply plug half as many holes with half as many troops and somehow seize the initiative from the enemy. On the contrary, half as many troops will probably leave us pinned down as we are.

LAWRENCE: The problem is roughly 25 million Afghans live in thousands of small rural villages scattered all over an area the size of Texas. Up to 80 percent of the population could still be out of reach for coalition troops.

(on camera): So, when 30,000 American troops surged into Baghdad, that's where one out of every four Iraqis lived. Even if you take the top 30 most populated areas of Afghanistan, you still only account for 20 percent of the population. That's how rural and spread out it is.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Storm warnings along the West Coast. Chad's in the weather center tracking developments. We will speak with him in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: The owners of an Arizona sweat lodge where two people actually died over the weekend did not have the proper building permits. That's according to officials who are trying to figure out whether criminal negligence played a role here.

The sweat lodge, which is like a giant sauna, was put up specifically for a spiritual retreat hosted by self-help expert and author -- are you familiar with James Arthur Ray? Nineteen other people were hospitalized, some with kidney failure. One person is still in critical condition.

Stimulus dollars are turning into jobs in at least one sector of the economy. We'll look at who's benefiting.

That's next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Governors are working on a homework assignment that's due in a couple of days. You could call the reports "How the Stimulus Helped My State." The early look shows teachers have been big stimulus winners. That's a good thing.

Let's get the numbers from CNN's Christine Romans in New York.

We need to value these teachers. We certainly need to keep them in place. We can't be losing them.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I guess the governors could be calling it "How I Spent Your Stimulus Money," because that's what it's all about.

Look, in many cases, it looks as though, Tony, that the quickest and most efficient way to use this state money, tens of billions of dollars pumped into the states to help them close their budget gaps, was to keep teachers in place. This is about retaining teachers, not hiring new ones, but retaining teachers where they could.

Let's talk about California -- 62,000 teaching jobs saved there. In Michigan, 14,625 jobs. In Missouri, 8,500. In Minnesota, 5,900.

In Utah, 2,594. An official in Utah telling us that was the most efficient way for them to get the money to work quickly in the economy, was to try to keep teachers in the classroom. They said it was also in the best interest of the population of their state.

HARRIS: Right.

ROMANS: The biggest driver of stimulus for the states are these teacher jobs. And that's what you're seeing.

I was just recently in Florida, where there were 2,000 teachers who were kept on board at the Miami-Dade School District. And many of those teachers that I talked to, Tony, didn't even know that it was stimulus dollars that were going to keep them in their jobs for another couple of years. But that's an important point.

In a couple of years, the stimulus money runs out. And so, already, you've got administrators trying to figure out exactly what they're going to do next.

Another quick point as well is you're probably watching this going, wait a second, they're firing teachers in my school district where I live. That is true. We know that there are school districts that are still firing teachers.

We know that according to one survey, that 85 percent of school districts have had to lay off either bus drivers or nurses or librarians or cooks or music teachers, simply because of the budget cuts. So, it is still tough out there, but we do know that the stimulus dollars that we can count here are going to keep teachers in place.

And, Tony, as you pointed out, the states have to report back. We're going to have a national picture of how this money has been spent in the days and weeks ahead, so we'll have a good chance to see how it's been put to work.

HARRIS: And the real issue here is that these states have just been hit so hard by the downturn, they just can't collect the taxes.

ROMANS: Exactly. I mean, at the same time, you had tourism revenue that fell.

HARRIS: Yes.

ROMANS: You had real estate taxes and all these sorts of things. You know, state retail taxes and sales taxes.

HARRIS: Sales taxes.

ROMANS: All these things just plummeted all at the same time. And there are different ratios for different states, but all those things can feed into the budgets for the schools, so they really got hit on all fronts all at the same time.

HARRIS: And if you can keep teachers on the job, they can stay in their homes and they can buy food, and consumer spending. And maybe that keeps the state afloat until they figure out what to do post-stimulus dollars.

ROMANS: Yes. But in the meantime, you do have schools that are closing their pool, they're getting rid of some of their sports that are having...

HARRIS: Yes, that's true.

ROMANS: ... 35, 45 kids in a class. I mean, it's been tough out there, but you can see that the states are putting a priority in trying to keep teachers in where they can.

HARRIS: Yes.

Christine, good to see you. Thank you.

ROMANS: Sure.

HARRIS: A critical day in the fight over health care reform. The Senate Finance Committee votes today on its reform legislation drafted by Chairman Max Baucus.

Just getting you caught up on the day's top stories.

One big question is whether Olympia Snowe of Maine will become the first Republican to support any of the health reform bills.

Talks with Russia's foreign minister, then a visit with President Dmitry Medvedev at his suburban Moscow home. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Russia today, focused on missile defense, arms control and Iran's nuclear program.

A lawsuit involving the children of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. will not -- will not -- go to trial. Bernice and Martin Luther King III agreed to a settlement with their brother Dexter. They were suing him for what they said was mishandling of the family estate.

We will get another check of our top stories coming up for you in 20 minutes.

The Obama administration is trumpeting its mortgage modification program, but there are some shortcomings.

National political correspondent Jessica Yellin reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): After CNN first reported on problems with the president's mortgage assistance program...

MARK KOLLAR, HOMEOWNER: Now I feel like we have been -- what's the proper word? Screwed?

YELLIN: ... we were flooded with iReports, like this one from Joe and Jill Woods (ph), trying to hang on to their Ohio house. They say the bank kept losing their paperwork, finally approved them for the program, then came back and denied them.

Now Timothy Geithner's Treasury Department says the program has hit a milestone -- 500,000 Americans now have lower-cost trial mortgages through the program. If those homeowners stay current for three months, the offer could be made permanent.

A financial industry lobbyist is optimistic.

SCOTT TALBOTT, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, FINANCIAL SERVICES ROUNDTABLE: We're confident that a vast mortgage of these trial mods will turn into permanent modifications and be able to stay in their homes at the end of the three-month program.

YELLIN: So, how are the banks that got big taxpayer bailouts doing? Citibank, 33 percent of their eligible customers have the trial mortgage payments. JPMorgan Chase, 27 percent, not bad. But Bank of America, they have struck the deal with only 11 percent of their eligible customers. And Wachovia, which is owned by Wells Fargo, also a huge bailout recipient, only 3 percent.

DIANE THOMPSON, NATIONAL CONSUMER LAW CENTER: I think so far the program has been a disappointment.

YELLIN: Attorney Diane Thompson has given congressional testimony about the program. She says plenty is still going wrong.

THOMPSON: Some people are still being asked to sign waivers of all their legal rights. We have lots of examples of people being put out of their homes while they're waiting to hear back on the status of their modification, lots and lots of cases of people being wrongly denied without any explanation.

YELLIN (on camera): As for the banks mentioned, Bank of America insists it's taking the problem seriously, even sending some employees door to door to reach customers who haven't responded to offers. Wells Fargo says overall, the company has dramatically increased the number of its customers participating in the president's program in the last month alone.

Bottom line, the banks insist they're doing what they can to make it easier for Americans to stay in their homes.

Jessica Yellin, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: The insurance industry is warning that passage of health care reform could cost you thousands more a year. We're fact-checking that claim to see just how valid it really is.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's do this -- we love to remind you to visit our Web site, CNNMoney.com, at this time of day just because the money team does such a terrific job of getting you the latest financial news and analysis. So, once again, just go to CNNMoney.com.

Let's swing you over to the Big Board now, the New York Stock Exchange, coming up on three hours into the trading day.

And the Dow has been flirting with 10,000 for a couple of weeks now. Flirting with it again today. But as you can see -- let me take a look at the numbers here -- we've got a bit of a sell-off. A modest sell-off.

The Dow down 10 points. The NASDAQ up three. So, a mixed day so far.

We will follow these numbers throughout the day, of course, with Susan Lisovicz, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

A crucial vote on health reform happening today on Capitol Hill, but a report by the health insurance industry takes aim at the legislation, saying it will increase your premiums. Democrats call the report a hatchet job.

CNN's Jim Acosta checks the facts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the eve of a critical vote in the Senate Finance Committee on health care reform, the nation's health insurance industry offered up a big dose of skepticism. Unleashing a reported commission with the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, the industry predicts the Finance Committee bill will drive up premiums 111 percent in 10 years, versus 79 percent under the current system. The industry blames the bill's taxes targeting insurers, telling reporters in a conference call those taxes would be passed on to consumers.

KAREN IGNAGNI, PRESIDENT AND CEO, AHIP: Imposing new taxes and fees on health care services and on insurance flies in the face of the goal of reducing health care costs.

ACOSTA: A spokesman for Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus called the report a "health insurance company hatchet job, plain and simple."

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Karen represents America's Health Insurance Plans.

ACOSTA: The report came as a surprise to the White House, which had invited the industry to help crack health care reform earlier this year.

LINDA DOUGLASS, WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF HEALTH REFORM: What they did here was exclude all of the features of the Senate Finance Committee bill that lower costs for all Americans.

ACOSTA: So, what are the facts? Last month, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said quantifying the bill's effects on premiums would be difficult. The CBO added overall premiums would be higher because future policies would cover pre-existing conditions. The budget office also pointed a finger at the industry noting that 23 percent of some premiums go to administrative costs.

RICHARD KIRSCH, HEALTH CARE FOR AMERICA NOW: If the idea that the insurance industry would complain about high premiums is like the Yankees complaining that they're hitting too many home runs. It's totally preposterous.

ACOSTA (on camera): You think they're showing their cards?

KIRSCH: They're showing their cards.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Not surprisingly, the insurance industry's report also takes a swipe at the public option, the idea of giving the uninsured the choice of a government health care plan. Something now backed by the nonprofit group behind Consumer Reports.

JAMES GUEST, CONSUMERS UNION: We're very strongly in support of the public insurance option as an option because we think that you can't get health care costs down unless there really is true competition in the health insurance marketplace.

ACOSTA (on camera): The insurance companies argue the Baucus bill weakens the requirements that Americans get insurance, hurting the nation's overall ability to lower costs. But critics of the insurance companies say the industry's report is just one more shot in the arm in favor of the public option.

Jim Acosta, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Fifty-four billion dollars, that's how much the government could save if it limited medical malpractice lawsuits, according to that new report.

Well, how did they decide that? How did they come up with that number? Our Josh Levs is here to show us.

Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, look, this is something we hear about a lot, right?

HARRIS: Yes.

LEVS: The need for tort reform. And what happened here is you heard Jim ,refer to the CBO, which is the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. They looked at an idea that's been floated a lot. It's been done in Texas. Here's what the proposal. I'll show this to you in a graphic.

The idea is, what if you limited, for punitive damage in all these medical cases $500,000 maximum, no matter what your situation, and for pain and suffering, another $250,000, Tony. So if you put that maximum on it, right, so that people -- doctors knew that that's the most they needed to be insured for, here's the effect it would be on the next screen. They say that it would save Medicaid and Medicare $41 billion over 10 years.

And then, on top of that, the next screen, they say it would also save $13 billion because people out there wouldn't have to pay as much for health insurance, employers wouldn't have to pay as much. There would be more taxable wages in America. CBO saying you put that together and, Tony, you end up with $54 billion.

So, they're saying that if that idea were enacted, that's what the effect would be. But we should note, it's not like that idea is super likely to happen anytime soon. As you know, there are some Republicans who support this. Very few Democrats are supporting this. It's not likely to push through, but it is a big talking point. We wanted you all to know the facts.

HARRIS: You started it with a big "what if." And that's a huge "what if." All right. How often do we see these multimillion malpractice judgments anyway?

LEVS: Yes, not that often. And this is something else to keep in mind. Doctors have a lot of fear of these happening and doctors feel, in many cases, the need to be insured for the incredibly rare instance where that might actually happen.

But we were looking for stats today. Let's just go straight to this screen. I'll show you. The DOJ, Department of Justice, looked at this in 2007. They said, very simply, in most cases, the plaintiffs get no compensation. And you know what, Tony, as we look at that, keep in mind, most people who experience a problem with a doctor, maybe even malpractice, don't even go to court in the first place.

HARRIS: Don't even bother.

LEVS: So, within that subset, the people who choose to go to court, most of the time get nothing at all. And I've got some numbers for you on the next screen here. That the DOJ looked at a bunch of states that basically have the best records to use. In Maine, Missouri, and Nevada, about one in three plaintiffs got any money at all. In Illinois, 12 percent of the people who took any action to sue their doctors got any money at all.

And this last screen, I'll show you some numbers. They said, you know, these multimillion dollar things, the million dollar payouts, very rare. Less than 10 percent of the cases in these states that they're showing here had payouts of $1 million or more. So, the big payouts are extremely, extremely rare. It doesn't mean it's not an issue for doctors, but we hear about them, but they're very rare in reality.

HARRIS: Yes, and the push-back is probably that, you know, you're talking about a lot of frivolous lawsuits and any lawsuit has to be defended and that's going to cost you. And there's a reason that more people don't get money, judgments, it's because it's frivolous and, again, you still got to put in the time and the effort and the money and lawyers' fees to defend those as well.

LEVS: You've got to make a certain amount of money even in order to make that back, that's right, and that's another things that a lot of these groups point out.

HARRIS: Josh, appreciate it. Thank you.

LEVS: You got it, Tony.

HARRIS: You know, just days after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, President Obama's hopes for peace in the Middle East may be falling short. A Palestinian memo says hopes in Obama have evaporated. The Fatah party document accuses the U.S. of backing off demands that Israel freeze settlement construction and failing to set a clear agenda for talks. The internal document was obtained by the Associated Press, and it's not clear if the criticism reflects the views of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Pakistan's military is apparently setting up for another major ground offensive against militants. Pakistani jets are conducting air strikes against suspected Taliban hideouts. A senior military official tells CNN, the bombings are centered on the country's lawless tribal area of south Waziristan. Civilians fear the impending ground offensive and a fleeing of people in large numbers.

Militants in Pakistan have launched several new deadly attacks and that's prompting new security concerns. Details now from CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four bloody attacks in eight days. In the latest, a suicide bomber targets a military convoy passing through a bazaar in northwest Pakistan. More than 40 killed. It was a weekend standoff at army headquarters in Rawalpindi that has shaken Pakistan deeply and has Washington worried. Pakistani Taliban, disguised as soldiers, stormed this compound, seizing hostages. Eleven Pakistani troops and nine militants were killed. The Pakistani army spokesman tried to defend the massive security breach.

MAJ. GEN. ATHAR ABBAS, PAKISTAN MILITARY SPOKESMAN: Can anybody guarantee today that 100 percent, any organization for that matter, any army or any outside party can prevent a single act of terrorism? It's not possible.

STARR: But for the U.S., a potentially more frightening concern about growing Taliban capabilities was expressed by a key Republican senator on CBS' "Face the Nation."

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R) KENTUCKY: We also know that Pakistan has nuclear weapons. The Taliban taking over a country like Pakistan would be completely and totally unacceptable. Destabilizing not only in that area of the world, but all around.

STARR: The Taliban's goal may not be to take over the country, just to wreak havoc. Experts believe the attacks are revenge for the recent killing of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in a U.S. missile strike, and an effort to blunt an upcoming Pakistani military offensive in south Waziristan, an al Qaeda and Taliban stronghold.

The Taliban's boldness underscores the group's ability to maintain its influence even after their leader was killed. Robert Grenier, the former CIA station chief in Pakistan, says al Qaeda has a growing partner in the Taliban.

ROBERT GRENIER, FORMER CIA STATION CHIEF IN PAKISTAN: If they're asked for support from -- by al Qaeda, they cannot and they will not say no.

STARR (on camera): Why is all of this so important? Well, U.S. intelligence believes that Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader who gave sanctuary to Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks, now in Pakistan, is planning a major strategy session in the coming weeks with other Taliban and warlord leaders. A meeting U.S. intelligence hopes to target.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: You know, we've all heard the news about how Detroit schools have been hit hard by the economy, but some students have been able to find inspiration to succeed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: Let's get you caught up on our top stories right now.

The push to overhaul the nation's health care system on the verge of taking a major step forward. The Senate Finance Committee is meeting right now and is set to vote on its reform plan today. This is the last of five congressional committees to act on health reform.

Talks with Russia's foreign minister, then a visit with President Dmitry Medvedev at his suburban Moscow home. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in Russia today, focused on missile defense, arms control and Iran's nuclear program.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal from former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling. Skilling was convicted, you'll recall, of fraud, conspiracy and insider trading and says he did not get a fair trial. He is serving a 24-year sentence.

The headlines out of Detroit's public school system have been grim. A dismal graduation rate. A massive budget deficit. Even a possible bankruptcy filing. But there are places where kids are finding the inspiration to excel. Poppy Harlow visited one of those places for cnn.com's "Assignment Detroit."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Detroit may be trying to reinvent itself, but when it comes to educating its children, the word "struggle" only begins to describe the situation.

PROF. LEONARD BOEHM, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, MATH CORPS: Almost every kid has to walk through a metal detector just to walk to school.

GENAL (ph) STUDENT TEACHER (ph): One of my students said he and his friends mentally prepare themselves for what to do if somebody puts a gun in your face.

HARLOW: Only 58 percent of Detroit public school students graduate from high school. And the school system right now is battling a $259 million budget deficit.

BOEHM: Let's start it off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three plus three . . .

HARLOW: But as desperate as the situation may be, two Wayne State University professors have found success inspiring Detroit kids. At of all places, a math camp.

BOEHM: Remember, you want to play mathematics up here, you better keep it simple, OK? You've got to keep it down . . .

HARLOW: In 1991, with just a few kids at first, Professors Leonard Boehm and Steve Khan started Math Core, a free six-week program for youngsters grades seven and up. What's different? Complex and often scary math problems are transformed into team challenges. BOEHM: That's perfect.

HARLOW: The curriculum creates an environment for supporting others is central to learning.

LASHONTE LUKE-OWENS, STUDENT, MATH CORPS: We have a support system. We support people like this. And then, like, when they get it right, we agree, so, like, makes them feel happy when they turn around and see all these people agreeing with them.

HARLOW: Math Core now accepts 500 students per year. They come from different backgrounds, with different abilities. Not only to learn, but also to teach.

PROF. STEVE KHAN, DIRECTOR, MATH CORPS: Kids teaching kids works so unbelievably well because it's not kids teaching kids. It's kids caring about kids.

HARLOW: And the proof is in the numbers. Ninety percent of students who complete Math Corps graduate from high school. And 80 percent go on to college.

BOEHM: The fact that you have them on a college environment, at a young age -- I'm sorry. I'm going to lose it. But that plants that seed in others (ph). You're worth something. You're worth 100 points.

KHAN: We believe we can not just change the school system, but change, you know, the city in a fundamental way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And Poppy Harlow joining us now from New York.

Poppy, that's pretty strong stuff. Good to see you.

HARLOW: Good to see you.

HARRIS: So the founders clearly think the program can change Detroit for the better. But here's the question -- how?

HARLOW: You know, and that's a great question, Tony, right, because how do you touch the 100,000-plus kids in Detroit? This program has helped 2,500 kids since it started in 1991, but it's so important now because the school system is in such dire straits. What the founders told us, the teachers, you've got these kids on the college campus, so they think, hey, I can go here. I can do this as well.

A lot of these kids come from broken homes, very tough environments, outside of this program. They say they feel safe here. It's a totally different experience than they've had. And one girl told us, well, now I open doors for other people because I've learned what it means to respect other people. The simple things that come from, of all places, a math camp. Before we started looking that story, I would never have believed it, Tony, but it's really doing wonderful things. It's just one of the stories on "Assignment Detroit," I'll point you to the page, cnnmoney.com/detroit.

Tony.

HARRIS: Boy, keep it coming. That's good stuff. Poppy, appreciate it. Thank you.

Three hours without a heartbeat. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has a story of a woman who literally cheated death.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Back from the brink. A woman falls into icy water. Her heart stops for three hours. Incredibly, she survives, becoming the coldest person to ever live. Her story's among those featured in a new book by our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta, "Cheating Death."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: One of the things about this book is that a lot of the stories in here simply couldn't have been written a decade ago. That's how fast science and medicine is moving. And in this case we're not talking about $1 billion drug or some fancy new procedure or technique, we're simply talking about cold and how it could save you instead of kill you. Take a look.

DR. ANNA BAGENHOLM, SURVIVED AFTER THREE HOURS WITH NO HEARTBEAT: We first worked, three doctors, and then we went for a skiing tour in the afternoon. The problem is that when we it comes down to this frozen lake, it's a bit steep. So, I hit some stones and then I turned on my back and started to slide down the ice on my back. And then Turin (ph), he was a bit lower and Maria (ph) was a bit higher. And then they kind of got rid of their equipment and run to me, because what I actually did was that I -- I kind of hit a hole in the ice so that head went under.

GUPTA: In fact, this is the exact spot where this all happened. Two of the men involved in Anna's rescue showed us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was where the water was most deep. It's now most eager (ph) over the cliff here.

GUPTA: At the time, most of the stream was covered with this thick layer of ice. You can only imagine the desperation her friends must have felt as the moments started to tick by. She struggled for a while and then she stopped.

It took more than an hour, and this pointed shovel, to free Anna from the ice. Maria and Turin immediately began CPR. As the clock was ticking, the helicopter flew Anna to the university hospital of North Norway. It's an hour away in Tromsa (ph), where she was taken straight to the operating room. DR. MADS GILBERT, UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL OF NORTH NORWAY: She has completely dilated pupils. She is ashy, flaxy white. She's wet. She's ice cold when I touch her skin. And she looks absolutely dead.

GUPTA (on camera): And what they're talking about there is the fact that she has no heartbeat. She has no spontaneous respirations, no measurable blood pressure. Her pupils are dilated. The reason that's important, it's an indication for brain swelling.

For three hours, she's this way, and doctors sort of sit back and wait to rewarm her, recognizing that the cold can sort of be putting her in this protective coon. And that's what this is really all about, a woman like that. She is now a practicing physician in the same hospital where she was once declared dead.

This is what they do in "Cheating Death." You know, that area north of the Arctic Circle, and Norway as well, they do training exercises teaching paramedics and doctors what the water really feels like, what hypothermia is all about. I got in the water myself there and you can see, even with that protective suit, after about 10 minutes I became hypothermic, dizzy, nauseated, confused. Imagine being in that water for three hours and still surviving.

Back to you.

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HARRIS: Oh, boy, Sanjay, appreciate it. And don't miss the primetime debut of Dr. Sanjay Gupta's special series "Cheating Death" this Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.

Very quickly we want to take you up to Capitol Hill right now and a key Republican, Olympia Snowe, is speaking now before the Senate Finance Committee as that committee considers health care reform.

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SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE, (R) MAINE: ... and they also rightly question as to whether or not this is the appropriate point in time given our state of the economy to take this undertaking. They also question Congress' ability to get it right. And that's why I have argued vehemently, consistently and persistently, as the chairman knows, against arbitrary deadlines and I've communicated that to the president as well because I think that we understand that these issues are complex.

And most certainly the American people intuitively understand that this issue is not only complex, it's costly. And given the enormity of the task, that it should take time. And that's exactly what we should give it. And if there's anything that I've learned over my more than 30 years of legislative experience, that the best way to allay people's concerns is to systematically address these issues, their views, their viewpoints and the alternatives.

Now the mark before us produces some bipartisan, landmark reforms, which is to end the unfair, flagrant insurance practice policies that have devastated Americans for decades. We're familiar with them. And rescinding policies when people get ill, or rating premiums on the basis of health status or gender, or not providing coverage to Americans and denying that coverage so that not every American . . .

HARRIS: There's Olympia Snowe, a key Republican senator, on the Health Finance Committee, seemingly asking for just a little bit more time to consider health care reform. It's something she has asked for consistently. I'm just wondering in the context for this statement at this critical moment, just maybe hours before the Senate Finance Committee votes on its reform package, is she asking for more time in exchange for perhaps her vote? Maybe that's a bridge too far. But we'll continue to follow the debate.

We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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HARRIS: You know, Rush Limbaugh's bid for the NFL's St. Louis Rams is stirring a whole lot of chatter. Some controversy, too. Civil rights activist Al Sharpton and the NFL players association are calling on the league to block the potential sale. The conservative radio host is on the record with a number of comments regarding race. Some directed at NFL players, Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick.

Again, it stirred up a lot of controversy. I want to get to some of our blog responses. You were good enough to go to our blog page, cnn.com/tony, and leave us some comments as to whether or not you think the NFL should block a bid from Rush Limbaugh to own the St. Louis Rams. Here's what you had to say.

BHG writes, "I believe it is a free country, so Rush should be able to pursue whatever he wants. The players should be able to refuse to play for him, and the NFL should be able to consider Rush's history and its impact on the NFL brand."

Kathy -- boy she certainly didn't hold back. She writes, "I, for one, will not watch any game involving the Rams if this blow-hard, racist, hate-mongering propagandist has anything to do with them."

Reggie sends us this. He writes, "Rush is getting the same if not worse treatment than Michael Vick in his return to the NFL. In the Major League Baseball when they had this issue with Marge Schott, they just waited for the issue to resolve itself."

And John from Tahoe says, well, "It's this simple. Words matter."

Again, here's our blog question of the day -- let's go show you the blog page again at cnn.com/tony. If you would, have your say.

In the age of elaborate multiplexes, you know, there is an art to keeping an old-fashioned drive-in movie theater running. The story now from CNN photojournalist Bethany Swain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) .D EDWARD VOGEL, OWNER, BENGIES DRIVE-IN: It is very important to keep these heads clean.

Not much has changed in the operation of the Bengies Drive-in Theater. Being raised in the movie business, third generation, it went from Uncle Hank, to me, just to drop every night. I was taught starting when I was nine.

There's an art to projection. That's the heart of the machine. That what makes it stop every four sprockets.

I was always fascinated with this business.

Bengies Drive-in was built in 1956. I tried to make it run the way it did.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, how many? It's going to be $8.

VOGEL: So I struggle to keep this venue alive so that it is here for future generations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the only one that's left around here.

VOGEL: It is a very hard-earned dollar.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm old enough that I remember when they were everywhere.

VOGEL: At one time, drive-in theaters carried Hollywood. There were more drive-in screens than indoor screens.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of fun.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was the big thing every weekend with your parents, piled up in the car.

VOGEL: If I'm walking through and somebody spots me as the owner, they'll say, I just want to thank you for keeping it open. And sometimes it comes right at a moment when I really need to hear it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whatever he's doing to keep it open this long, it must be working.

VOGEL: We want you to have a great time, and I welcome each and every one of you to my house. Bengies is blessed with the biggest movie theater screen left. We are 52 by 120 feet. One car or 100 cars, I'm going to light that screen, and you're going to see the best show possible. If I have my way, it will be here for a very long time.

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HARRIS: Man, that is so cool. That was photojournalist Bethany Swain reporting. And you can find more information about "Americana in Focus: Jobs That Last" online at cnn.com/americana.

All right, let's do this, we're pushing forward now with the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM with Kyra Phillips.