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Northeast Socked Again; Lots of Talk, Little Action; Some Unemployment Checks May Stop

Aired February 26, 2010 - 10:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Checking top stories now.

New York Congressman Charlie Rangel getting a slap on the wrist. The House Ethics committee formally admonished him today. Some of Rangel's trips to the Caribbean were paid for by private corporations. Rangel said his aides were aware of it but he never was.

The body of actor Andrew Koenig was found by friends during a search at a Vancouver park. The 41-year-old Koenig had been missing two weeks. His father said that he committed suicide after being depressed for some time. Andrew Koenig was best known for starring in the TV series "Growing Pains."

And the divorce of a South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and Jenny Sanford will be a must-see TV today. It's going to be finalized in court this morning and it will be televised. Politico.com says Jenny is going to testify. Her husband doesn't have to be there though. Jenny Sanford filed for divorce in December after her husband confessed to an affair with a woman in Argentina.

Three life sentences? So what, here's the door. Don't let it hit you on the way out. That's exactly what happened in Baltimore. They're actually searching high and low right now for a dangerous inmate who just walked right out of prison. Brooke Baldwin joins us now with our top story at 10:00. So how the heck did he get out?

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It's a good question, right? Just about all of us have little work IDs, even prison inmates have IDs and they have ID numbers and what this guy did was he memorized someone else's ID number and got away with reciting it not once, not twice, but three times. Let me tell you about this story.

This happened just yesterday morning and into the afternoon. We're talking about 26-year-old Raymond Taylor. He was sharing a cell at Baltimore super max prison with another inmate who was scheduled to be released that day. You see that was the first mistake, according to the Maryland Department of Corrections.

Mistake number two, an officer actually believed Taylor when he recited the wrong ID number, the number of his cell mate again who was supposed to be released.

Mistake number three, he got away with it again.

Just listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL STOUFFER, MD. COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTIONS: The inmate was asked to verbally give his ID number as this officer checked the numbers against the ID card. Taylor recited numbers belonging to inmate Johnson and the officer removed the inmate from the cell and escorted this inmate to the control center. It was other three checks from the cell block to the sally port to the street that didn't work out very well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So you got it, three times, three different officers, got away with it. Right now a manhunt is under way. It's a whole joint team effort. I believe it's Baltimore police, Maryland Department of Corrections, obviously, Kyra, to track down this guy and get him back in the prison cell.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's take a look at his picture because obviously authorities need everyone's help to try and find this guy. What do we know about Raymond Taylor?

BALDWIN: We know he had been sentenced to life in prison essentially. He has been convicted of shooting his girlfriend and his girlfriend's two daughters that was back in 2004. So as a result of that, he was serving three life sentences for attempted murder. Baltimore Police, by the way, have been sent to the home of his ex- girlfriend. Imagine, she's terrified right now, wondering if he's coming after her or her children. Raymond again just walking out of prison, unbelievable.

PHILLIPS: All right. Do stay on the story for us. Let us know what happened.

BALDWIN: You got it.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Brooke.

We reached out to the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Corrections actually talk to us this morning and they said no. We're told that local and state police officers are assisting in that search right now. We'll stay on top of this story with Brooke and also bring you the latest as soon as we get it.

Guess what they're saying in Maine. You can't get from there to here. Different accent, same story in New York. You're looking at the pictures right now. In fact all of the northeast is getting dumped on for the fourth time this winter. So we'll probably get more seasonal snowfall records. Already parts of Massachusetts have around two feet of snow with a lot more to come too.

Hundreds of flights already cancelled in that region and you can't tell where the coastline starts in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, either. Waves up to 20 feet high washing over the roads right now.

And where were you when the lights went out? Tens of thousands of people in the northeast in the freezing cold inside their homes. Reynolds Wolf is there in Philadelphia. So Reynolds, there could be even more power outages coming?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Certainly. In Philadelphia there really have not been a great deal of power outages just yet. In fact, from our vantage point here on South Street, look over here we've got CNN photojournalist Ken Bowlen with us. You can see that we got plenty of lights on some of the buildings so no huge issues.

The problem though we have is something that can be seen by viewers at home. For everyone that's tuning in across America, you're seeing the snowflakes move right across your screen. Well, it's not the snowflakes that's going to be the problem but the stuff carrying it, the wind. We do expect to possibly intensify some gusts maybe up to 40 miles an hour.

And the reason why that's a problem, Kyra, is because as the snow is hitting some of the trees, it bonds kind of like cement. We're going to swing around and I want to give you a shot of these trees. What happens when you have that moisture that hits the trees and bonds, the trees get very heavy. The sap hardens in the trees and then when there's wind gusts begin to pick up, well the branches snap.

The branches hit the power lines and then that's where we could see more power outages. Earlier in the day Susan Candiotti was talking about some power outages that we had up in New York, in places like Orange and Rockland County, about 44,000. Some power has been restored, which is some great news, but it's the opposite situation here where we have few outages but we do anticipate more to come.

Something else we anticipate, possibly seeing more delays at the major airports. Already we've had Southwest Airlines cancel a bunch of flights here. There's no question we're going to see more of that activity in places like New York, all your major airports. Could see a cumulative effect in places like Washington, D.C., with the strong winds. That can be a big issue.

But in terms of roadways, these guys have been coming through with no major problems at all. A lot of people walking through, a lot of people shoveling the walks. And one quick bit of advice for people. You know, Kyra, we humans tend to be a little bit nomadic. We move from place to place. You know there's someone in the region who probably moved here from, say, like Phoenix. They don't have a great deal of experience in terms of shoveling snowfall.

Well, this snow I can tell you is kind of wet. It's very, very heavy. At first glance it doesn't seem that hard to move but after you've moved maybe 20 or 30 shovelfuls you can certainly feel it. So we urge people to really take it easy out there. Be careful. If you don't have the strength to move the snow, warmer temperatures are in the days to come and nature will take care of a good part of it.

Again, hard to believe, nature dumping the third big storm in this region in less than a month's time. Let's send it back to you in the studio.

PHILLIPS: But you're offering up your time for a small price to do some shoveling, right?

WOLF: Maybe if you have a good shovel. I want to show you something here, Kyra. Take a look at this.

PHILLIPS: Yes.

WOLF: When (INAUDIBLE) is our producer, quite possibly one of the best producers in the network. I love her very much. She got this shovel for us. Have you ever seen a more troubled shovel than this?

PHILLIPS: The troubled shovel. It sounds like an ad campaign. Yes, that's pretty lousy. How much did she pay for that thing?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, budget cuts at CNN.

WOLF: I can't answer that question for you.

PHILLIPS: Reynolds Wolf -

MARCIANO: (INAUDIBLE) you guys. I totally feel you.

PHILLIPS: Make sure you've got a good shovel. Rob Marciano, I would not want to have that kind of snow coming down and that kind of jacked-up shovel.

MARCIANO: No, that shovel that was jacked up and luckily for him snow amounts in Philly are low. But as he pointed out, very, very wet snow so a heavy snow. It just goes to show you that this storm, every snowstorm is different and this one certainly is different in many ways.

For one thing, it's huge. It really has expanded its cloud canopy. The low is right here. It actually came up in this direction. That's rate and it's going to be a loopy-loop and head out. So it's got some time to wind itself out and eventually eject out into the ocean but until it does that we've got some issues.

Check out some of these snow totals, this Tuxedo, New York, just north of New York by maybe an hour, 26.2 inches. West Milford, Jersey, that's north and west of New York, 18 inches. Central park, that's in New York, 16.9 and that was at 7:00 a.m.. So there, I think Central Park will probably hit 20 inches, no problem here. And already it's the 12th largest snowstorm for Manhattan proper, so this is going to go down in the history books quite possibly.

All right. Let's talk about the size of this thing and the amount of snow. It stretches all the way back to Cleveland. As you can see, it just doesn't want to leave. It looks like the satellite picture with the exception of - this is actually snow that is falling on the ground. So how much more snow do we expect to see? Probably four, maybe eight inches of it before it starts to finally get out of here.

Again, that's going to take snowfall totals upwards to about 20 inches in New York City. You know, even when I was a kid growing up in that area, Kyra, you know I'd like to say there were worse snowstorms, maybe one or two, but certainly no winters like this one that I can remember. Extraordinary stuff.

PHILLIPS: Yes, I know. I remember Illinois, Wisconsin, I've been there too. Boy, when they come down hard, it just paralyzes things. It's no fun, unless you get the day off school. That was fun.

MARCIANO: As a kid it certainly was fun. As an adult dealing with it -

PHILLIPS: Different ballgame.

MARCIANO: Not so much.

PHILLIPS: Exactly. Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: OK. See you.

PHILLIPS: We've got news. We actually led with this story right at the top of the hour, the search for Raymond Taylor right here from the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Service. He was behind bars and just walked right out. He just - he was able to memorize the code of the security system and walked right out of the prison.

Now we're being told, as you can imagine, police were after him as soon as they found out, because he was in jail for murder. They apparently have found him, captured him. We're going to update the story for you as soon as we get more information.

Lights, camera, in action. The televised debate on health care reform. Did it contain substance or merely sound bites?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: The America people care about what we did and how we did it and that's a subject that I think we should discuss and I thank you.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They absolutely do care about it, John. And I think that the way you characterized it, obviously, would get some strong objections from the other side.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: So we're going to look at the sound, and the big question. What happens now?

Celebrating their Olympic domination. Canada's golden girls may have gone just a little too far. The party on ice bringing a little heat from Olympic officials.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: You rely on unemployment benefits, need that helping hand while you're looking for work? That hand might pull away unless the Senate does something real soon. Talk about making a bad situation worse.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The debate over health care reform played out yesterday on live TV but there was little daytime drama in the outcome. As expected there was little common ground between Republicans and Democrats on the president's top priority.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: So, Lamar, when you mentioned earlier that you said premiums go up, that's just not the case according to the Congressional Budget Office.

SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER (R), TENNESSEE: Mr. President, if you're going to contradict me, I ought to have a chance to - the Congressional Budget Office report says that premiums will rise in the individual market as a result of the Senate bill.

OBAMA: No, no, no, no. Let me - this is an example of where we've got to get our facts straight.

ALEXANDER: That's my point.

OBAMA: Well, exactly. So let me respond to what you just said, Lamar, because it's not factually accurate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And senior White House correspondent Ed Henry joining us now. So, Ed, how do you think yesterday unfolded? What were some of the key moments? And were the flash points, you know, when they came through, did we really learn anything new?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's the big question. And I don't really think we learned very much new. I think it was probably a positive step for both sides, you know, to kind of make their points. We've heard of many of these before but they kind of do it in that open forum, which is rare and let the American people sort of make up their mind. That was important for each side.

The Republicans sort of laugh. When I spoke to them afterwards, they feel that they were able, as you heard Lamar Alexander do there, kind of raise more questions about the cost of this whole endeavor, but the Democrats insist, look, when you look at the facts on that particular exchange, you know, the Congressional Budget Office report suggested that the president's plan would probably result in more people's premiums going down.

They think the facts are on the president's side there. And so I think the big picture sort of moving forward is though that the time - time is really not on the president's side. When CNN first reported yesterday that what Democrats are targeting now is late March as the target date, the deadline, if you will, to get this done. That means the president only has a month left. We've heard about all these other deadlines last year that were missed by Democrats.

I'm not sure deadlines really mean that much anymore. But the fact of the matter is this time in 2010, you do have a midterm election in November and the Democrats, on the hill are very, very anxious to move back to jobs and the economy, something the president a few weeks ago said he wanted to do. But now all of a sudden health care is on the front burner and I think the Democrats are probably warning him.

You've got to fish or cut bait on this in the next month, otherwise it's just going to overwhelm Democrats. You've got to get back to the economy, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK. So where do we go from here? Besides wait.

HENRY: I think the bottom line is in that next month what the Democrats are going to be doing, probably Dana Bash reporting that Democrats are taking a close look at reconciliation. This maneuver where you need just a simple majority, 51, for example, in the Senate instead of 60 votes to push through the president's plan.

That's easier said than done. There are some potential roadblocks along the way. Just in terms of the process. But secondly and maybe more importantly, the bottom line is you need the votes in the end to win on any legislative struggle, no matter what procedure you use and right now it's not clear that democrats have a majority of votes for the president's plan in either the House or the Senate.

They're confident they can get there. But look, we've heard this before and here we are, they're still fighting it out. So I think the president - it's not done yet, but this may finally be the last gasp. He's only got really one more month to finally get this either way and then they're going to have to move on, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, Ed.

Well, there may be no place where the health care crisis is more evident than in the way the government cares for our military veterans. At the bottom of the hour we're going to talk to two folks. What are the problems and, more importantly, what are the solutions.

Some breaking news out of New York now. Word from the "Associated Press" that Governor David Paterson will not seek re- election. The "AP" is quoting Democratic officials on this. We'll follow it for you.

No shirt, no shoes, no service. Oh, yes, no tip, no service either. A woman told to pay up front or get out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We should hear more today about safety changes at Sea World like no more petting the killer whales. It's the reaction to the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau who died from multiple injuries and drowning after she was pulled under water by one of the park's whales. This is actually amateur video, right before the attack. You can see her on the right side. Sea World says that the Orca will not be put down.

Passengers kicked off a Delta connection flight because of a fistfight. The fight was between two flight attendants so the pilot cleared the plane. The passengers had to find another way home. It's unknown what started the fight but neither of those flight attendants will be back at work for a while.

And not so tasty treats. Some boxes of Girl Scout cookies being recalled because they stink. Normally they're not smelly, they also are having a bad taste as well. It's the lemon creams made by Little Brownie bakers. But while the cookies aren't good, they're still safe to eat we're told. But I guess, who would really want to eat it if it didn't smell that good. Bad cookies are only in Louisville, Kentucky, by the way.

The check's in the mail. Well, maybe not. That's the message some depending on unemployment are going to hear pretty soon.

Here's a tip, be good to your servers or else. One woman is learning that lesson the hard way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We found out about a restaurant that's refusing service to a woman. That's not really unusual. It's happening at a place in North Carolina. They're telling that woman that she's just not welcome. Not because of her no shoes or no shirt, but because of her no tip. She promises to pay 18 percent from now on. They said they can certainly find an open table.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONICA COVINGTON, BANNED FROM RESTAURANT: Before we could even be seated, weeding right into the little foyer area, it's where they came to me and they said if you aren't willing to pay the 18 percent gratuity, of course I had two other staff people with me, if you're not in agreement of paying that, then we can't serve you.

MICHAEL LAM, RESTAURANT MANAGER: Well, basically, yes, because we cannot continue to serve her anymore because all the servers, the chef, you know, they're not willing to serve her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Basically it was just a worker revolt over bad tips. Well, now Monica Covington is at her tipping point. She started a petition against the restaurant saying she's being discriminated against.

So we're talking tipping on the blog today. We want to know how do you decide how much tip that you're going to give when you eat out? Go to my blog, cnn.com/Kyra. Post your thoughts and I'll read some of them later on in the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Nearly 15 million Americans are out of work and a lot of those people rely on the government for help, but on Monday some unemployment checks could stop because the Senate hasn't passed an extension. Senator Jim Bunning, a Republican from Kentucky is blocking the extension saying that it will add to the national deficit and the debt. Moments ago Senator Dick Durbin, Democrat majority whip from Illinois attempted to change Senator Bunning's mind. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DICK DURBIN, MAJORITY WHIP: Now he's decided to make his stand not when it comes to tax cuts for the wealthy, but unemployment benefits for the poorest struggling families in America. It is a stark contrast. We have begged him to save this debt debate to a different day and a different issue and please don't victimize these helpless people who are struggling to get by.

SEN. JIM BUNNING (R), KENTUCKY: If we can't find $10 billion somewhere for a bill that everybody in this body supports, we will never pay for anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Darby Dunn is following this story from New York for us. Hey, Darby.

DARBY DUNN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra. Well, basically a debate over where the money is going to come from to pay for this. Right now unemployment is just under 10 percent so we all can understand why this is such a big issue. Senator Bunning's point is that this bill is about more than just unemployment.

He says it's part of a much bigger piece of legislation, that includes funding for highway projects, small businesses and Cobra insurance. Now, that bill comes with a $10 billion price tag. It will add to the deficit, which is already expected to hit a record high this year.

But on the flip side, if something is not done soon, more than one million people will lose unemployment benefits at least temporarily. Now, the Senate is not scheduled to vote again on this until Tuesday. The unemployment benefits will probably pass eventually, it's believed. Even Senator Bunning says it's eventually likely to pass. But in the meantime that lapse in the payments could hit people who are already struggling.

Now, as far as Wall Street, a bit of a struggle this morning. Stocks are basically flat after some mixed economic news. AID shares, they're down 7.25 percent right now. AIG, the big insurer, lost nearly $9 billion last quarter, reported that figure this morning. And this is after it had two profitable quarters in a row.

The Dow industrial average right now is up just about two-thirds of a point at 10,321. The Nasdaq composite, it is just barely higher as well. So we're pretty much hugging the flat line. Investors concerned about the legs of this economic recovery and also that AIG news. Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Darby, thanks.

The health care summit, an extraordinary event, rather an ordinary outcome. After hours of televised negotiations, neither party seemed to find much common ground or even room for compromise. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Both of us during the campaign promised change in Washington. In fact, eight times you said that negotiations on health care reform would be conducted with the C-SPAN cameras. I'm glad that more than a year later they are here.

Unfortunately, this product was not produced in that fashion. It was produced behind closed doors. It was produced with unsavory -- I say that with respect -- deal-making.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let me just make this point, John. Because we're not campaigning any more. The election is over.

MCCAIN: I -- I -- I'm reminded of that every day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And the problems aren't over either. How would you like it if your health care provider accused you of faking your illness? Ignored your questions, or falsely notified you and hundreds of other patients that you had a terminal illness? Believe it or not, those complaints plague one health care system. We're talking about the VA. The one department designed to care for our nation's military veterans.

You're about to meet two people who are on a mission to help fix it. Paul Sullivan is the executive director of Veterans for Common Sense. He joins us live from Austin, Texas. In Louisville, Kentucky, Bonnie Carroll, the founder of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors.

Paul, let's start with you. We have covered problem after problem after problem with the VA. I mean we listed just a few of them there in the introduction to you. If you were to pick one thing that frustrates you the most about the break in the system right now, what would it be?

PAUL SULLIVAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VETERANS FOR COMMON SENSE: Well, I'd have to pick two, I'm sorry, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: That's all right.

SULLIVAN: The first would be that one out of four veterans are waiting a month or longer to see a doctor at the Department of Veterans Affairs. And the second would be that there's a backlog of about a million veterans waiting for an answer on their disability benefit claim. They wait about six months for an answer. And that's unacceptable.

PHILLIPS: And so, okay, taking those two things into consideration, which, by the way, we've talked a lot here in the CNN NEWSROOM, do you feel like you're making any progress at all, considering we've got two ongoing wars and those numbers are rising? There are more claims being filed, there are more vets needing to see a doctor because the injuries are worse.

I mean, they're dying by suicide. They have got PTSD, they have got horrible brain injuries. Do you feel like you're making any progress in the brokenness?

SULLIVAN: Well, there's one good piece of news. And although VA may have some very serious challenges, it is a department that's under repair. I mean, last night, VA Secretary Sinseki did something great. He announced a new review of Gulf War illness benefits. That's great. He's going to start to address that. We want to thank the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for doing that.

However, there's a lot of challenges left. You are so absolutely right. And we want to make sure that VA is working with veterans groups to try to fix those as soon as possible.

PHILLIPS: Bonnie, you've got one of those amazing groups, TAPS, The Assistance Program for Survivors and, boy, have you stepped in to help sort of pick up where the VA has left off. Let's just take one example. You helped so many families, so many children. Most recently, you've been really touched by the Luke family. Tell me why.

BONNIE CARROLL, TAPS: Captain Samson Luke stepped forward to serve this country. He volunteered to defend our freedom. He served two tours in Iraq. He's a recipient of the Bronze Star. He died, however, when he came home. He died on a drill weekend. The Arkansas National Guard determined he was in a duty status, but the Army differed with that.

So, we're working with the Army, with the National Guard to really recognize the service and sacrifice and provide care for this family. So, it's a very important case, and a lot of our love and our prayers go out to Miranda and the children.

PHILLIPS: So let's get this right. This man died for our country, and his wife and his four kids are not getting the financial support that they need and that they deserve?

CARROLL: Well, it's kind of a bit of a gray area. I think the leaders in the Army that we're talking to now are on track to say, you know, let's really care for this family. Let's recognize, as Abraham Lincoln says and is on the front of the VA, to care for he who shall have borne the battle and his widow and his orphan.

Now is our time to step up for these families and to do what's right. To provide all the care that this nation can give in honor of their service and sacrifice.

PHILLIPS: Paul, it's so unfair. Why doesn't a family like the Luke family just get what they need? That's just plain wrong.

SULLIVAN: Here's the number one problem. There was no plan to take care of hundreds of thousands of casualties flooding home from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Right now, the Department of Veterans Affairs has treated almost a half a million Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran patients. That's right, 500,000. And an equal number of claims.

And VA wasn't ready. So what's happening is veterans, and that means their families, are falling not into cracks, Kyra, but into canyons. And we're glad that the VA is getting more funding from President Obama. He's added tens of billions of dollars. He's hiring tens of thousands of new employees.

I mean, right here in Texas, VA announced hiring 100 new employees to process claims. That's great. But VA has a lot of catching up to do.

PHILLIPS: It's not just the vets that are suffering, but it's the kids. Bonnie, once again, this is where you step in with TAPS, with the special camps and counselors and mentors and programs that you provide with volunteers for these kids.

I mean, their moms and their dads are dying by suicide, they're suffering depression, they're dealing with PTSD. You know, they're not getting what they need, either. Explain how TAPS is providing for that gap for these kids.

CARROLL: Well, we walk alongside the military and the casualty officers and do what the government can't, but we do it in partnership. The Marine Corps and the Army have really stepped forward to work right in sync with us. It really has become a wonderful connection that we make and with the VA as well.

But providing families with that hope, that connection to other survivors. The theme of our program is remember the love, celebrate the life and share the journey. It really is -- it's becoming a strong partnership and thanks to General Lynch and the Army and General Conway in the Marine Corps, we're doing good things for families.

PHILLIPS: Paul Sullivan, Bonnie Carroll, appreciate you both. You're tremendous advocates for our vets and their families. We really appreciate you.

SULLIVAN: Thank you.

CARROLL: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: He crashed into another car in 2006. Three people died. Guess what he was driving. Yep, you got it, a Toyota. If we knew then what we know now, would this driver have gone to prison?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Some big political news out of New York right now. CNN has just confirmed that governor David Paterson will not seek election to a full term. We're following that story for you and will bring you more information as we get it.

Also investigators still trying to identify more than 100 children allegedly abused by this Delaware pediatrician. They're hitting a roadblock, though. Some of the parents -- well, I guess the parents of some of his patients -- have become the roadblock. They're actually refusing to give photographs of their kids so they can be compared to the videos of the alleged abuse. Those parents say that their children seem fine and there's nothing to gain from doing that.

Jenny Sanford will be a free woman next hour. Her divorce from South Carolina governor Mark Sanford is being finalized in court today. Jenny Sanford filed for divorce in December after her husband confessed to an affair.

The Toyota defense, old crash cases getting a fresh look. Minnesota, 2006, a man crashes his Camry into an Oldsmobile at 70 to 90 miles an hour. Three people in that Oldsmobile dead. Prosecutors claim that the driver hit the gas, not the brake. Koua Fong Lee, now serving eight years in prison. He's always said he tried to stop, but his brakes just didn't work.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOUA FONG LEE, CONVICTED OF VEHICULAR HOMICIDE: I took my foot from the gas to put on the brake. And I stepped on the brake, but it's not working. Then I step -- pump again, and it's not working. So, I try, and at that time, I yelled to my family that the brake is not working. I tried to do everything I could to try to stop the car, but I can't stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now given Toyota's recalls and acceleration problems, Lee feels he's got a good case. His attorney wants inspectors to recheck that Camry. It's a 1996 model and not part of the current recall. The prosecutors say if there's evidence of a car problem, they will give that case another look.

So, are New Yorkers ever going to catch a break? Another monster storm has hit the city, and almost all this morning. Sixteen inches in all. That's what the snow count was in Central Park. Schools are closed, flights have been cancelled. A lot of people don't even have power right now.

Rob Marciano, is it going to get any better?

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: No kidding. Thanks, Rob.

Well, if you live in New York but health insurance is cheaper in Iowa, why can't you buy a policy from there? Maybe you'll be able to if health care reform goes through. Poppy Harlow is in New York. Poppy, is this a possible area of compromise?

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Can you believe it? It is --

PHILLIPS: No.

HARLOW: Actually even after -- I know, how can we believe in agreement in Washington, even after all that disagreement at the health care summit yesterday? There is a Republican idea that we want to point out to you, because this is something the president said yesterday that he's open to.

What that is, is letting people buy their health insurance across state lines. Currently, what insurers can do is only sell policies in the states where they are licensed. The difference in price can be astronomical.

Take a look here. Here in New York where I am, the average, according to a 2009 study for an individual premium for their health insurance over a year, is over $6,600. Go to Iowa, near my home state of Minnesota, the average is $2,600. A $4,000 difference just because you can't cross state lines to buy insurance. Some of that has to do with competition in the state, the cost of living.

But another key that we learned is that states have different laws that mandate what insurers can cover. In New York, there are 51 different mandates that your insurance policy has to cover. Take a look at Iowa. About half that, 26 different mandates. That's it.

So, the more mandates, the more expensive the policy. In New York, they mandate covering drug and alcohol abuse, chemotherapy and screenings for prostate cancer. Iowa, Kyra, doesn't mandate any of that. That's why you're seeing this difference in cost. What Democrats say is all right, if you want us to get on board with this, you have to have a minimum mandate, a minimum amount of what is covered across state lines for us to get on board.

But this is one potential place for agreement that would have a lot of consumers. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So, assuming this idea of buying insurance across the state lines goes through, how much could it save people?

HARLOW: Not that much, unfortunately. The most recent numbers we have, let's put them up here. This is a CBO study from 2005. What it found is that an individual can save about 5 percent on their health insurance if you could buy it across state lines. So, if you're in New York paying over $6,000, you'll save about $3,000.

Also, there are some that argue this could actually raise your premium. This is why you heard Republicans yesterday making this argument. Who is going to buy inexpensive policies that don't cover very much? People that are young, people that don't have health problems. So, that pulls them out of the health pool, the health insurance pool that the older folks that have more health problems are going to have to pay more for their coverage.

That's a fair argument. That's what you're going to hear time and time again from some Republicans on this issue.

So, Kyra, even when there's agreement in Washington, there's also some disagreement. But people are writing in to us, CNNmoney.com/Twitter, letting us know what they think. What do you think the health care summit accomplished? Anything, let us know. We'll see if they can agree on this one point. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Poppy.

So if I'm picking players for my basketball team, you better believe I'm taking Zack Hogkins. He's not just a great player, he's an inspiration. Zack's coming to you in just a minute.

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PHILLIPS: All right. Take a look at one of the top scorers at Woodland Middle School in Brentwood, Tennessee. That's Zack Hodkins. He can knock the lights out of the net, he can steal, he can pass, he rebounds like a fiend, he does it all. He's a star.

You barely even notice that he does it all with one hand, and that's what makes this star an inspiration too. Zack and his father, Bob, with me now live from nashville. Hey, guys.

ZACK HODKINS, ONE-HANDED BASKETBALL PLAYER: Hey.

BOB HODKINS, ZACK'S FATHER: Hi.

PHILLIPS: We wanted to get the music to get you juiced up a little bit. Sometimes it's a little nerve racking doing an interview on CNN. But, Zack, you know about attention. You get tons of that all the time and you take it in stride.

Z. HODKINS: I love attention.

PHILLIPS: Okay, I love it, great. Full disclosure here. You've never looked for sympathy. As a matter of fact, you never seek it. You don't want to talk about it. You just want folks to know, hey, I'm a good athlete, I'm out there, I can play, and it's true. We have watched you. You're a heck of an athlete.

Z. HODKINS: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Dad, your son not only inspires you, but inspires the entire family.

B. HODKINS: Oh, absolutely. You know, from the day he was born till the days he started climbing out of his crib, he's just -- he's inspired us a great deal and just amazed us with some of the things that he can do.

PHILLIPS: Zack, when did you realize that it didn't -- it just didn't matter that you didn't have two hands? That you still could surf, you could play baseball, you could play basketball, and you could run circles around people?

Z. HODKINS: Well, it's never occurred to me that I couldn't do it. I just go out there and play as hard as I can. It's never held me back at all.

PHILLIPS: Was there ever a point where you looked at your parents and said, oh, why me? Why does it have to be this way?

Z. HODKINS: No. There was never a time like that at all. I just love to go out there and play. It's not -- it doesn't hurt me at all to play. I'm just like anybody with two hands, and it's never held me back.

PHILLIPS: Does it come naturally, Zack, or do you think you have to work harder than other athletes?

Z. HODKINS: It comes naturally. I mean, I never thought I had to work harder. I just work harder. I just want to work harder, it's not that I have to. It's just that I want to.

PHILLIPS: Right. Well, how do other players respond to you, specifically other teams that may not know? Oh, by the way, am I seeing you giving flowers to your mom right now in the stand? Oh, Zack. I didn't know that we had that video. I love it. Talk about an inspiration. Oh, my gosh. And he loves his mom.

You know, how do other players respond to you, other teams? Is it like oh, my gosh, that's really cool or do they not say anything? Has there ever been an awkward moment where you've had to say hey, it's okay, it's no big deal.

Z. HODKINS: What I think is, when I step out on the floor before the jump ball, I think they're thinking that maybe I should lay off of him a little bit. But after I go down and knock down a few shots, I think they just want to get up in me and play like other players.

PHILLIPS: They want to get up in your are face. Now, I understand your best move is the spin move?

Z. HODKINS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: How did you learn that? Did you practice that? Tell me exacly what a spin move means.

Z. HODKINS: Well, my dad taught it to me when I was little because I had to work with it with just one hand, so I practiced it and practiced it and it became my greatest move. Every time I did it, there's oohs and ahs in the crowd.

PHILLIPS: I love it. And Bob, did you ever worry about him getting picked on or maybe having a harder time in school or harder time in sports? As a father you were probably thinking, okay, I've got to make sure my son knows this is not going to matter in life.

B. HODKINS: Well, initially we were worried a little bit, but after you get to know Zack a little bit, you know, you quit worrying. He can handle it. There's nothing he can't handle. There's nothing he can't do. That's what he's taught us all. He's been a great inspiration to us all. I'm just happy he's my son.

PHILLIPS: I don't blame you. So, Zack, what's your dream? Do you want to play college ball? Are you talking to scouts? I mean, tell us what the future holds.

Z. HODKINS: Well, of course I want to play high school and college. And definitely NBA. And I know that everybody wants to play in the NBA. So that's my greatest goal.

PHILLLIPS: Well, I know you're going to do it. We'll be rooting you on. I tell you what, you've inspired all of us. I just appreciate you so much coming and talking to us. We're going to track your career, okay. We'll follow you through high school up through college. I can promise you that, Zack, all right?

Z. HODKINS: All right, thank you.

PHILLIPS: Okay. We salute you and your dad. Thanks so much, guys.

Well, a woman is banned from a restaurant for not tipping enough. Could that be you? We're going to read some of your e-mails coming up next.

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PHILLIPS: Banned from a restaurant for being a bad tipper. That's what happened to a woman in North Carolina. That's what we're talking about on the blog this morning. We're asking you how do you decide how much you're going to tip. Here's what some of you have said.

Dan says, "Since when is it a requirement to tip to get service? Tipping should be based on the customer service the customer received. And if she received poor service, I don't blame her for not tipping."

This from Katrina. "I will always leave something, no matter how lousy the service. This is how these people make their living and maybe the server is just of an off day, like everyone has from time to time."

And Chris says, "I think if you can afford to eat out rather than cook at home, which is a lot more affordable, you should be able to tip 15 to 20 percent of what you consume."

Remember, we want to hear from you. Log on to CNN.com/kyra to share your comments. What about you, Tony, are you a big tipper?

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: yes. I worked in a restaurant, my first jobs was in a restaurant. Folks who work in restaurants need that money. I mean come on. So I am with Katrina, not Dan.

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PHILLIPS: And I'm with you too. How would we have paid for college if we didn't get those big tips?

HARRIS: Pay now! Have a great weekend, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right.