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Settlement Reached With 9/11 First Responders; President Obama Delays Trip to Asia

Aired March 12, 2010 - 14:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: OK. So as we have been watching the piece, I mean, everyone in the studio -- jaws on the ground.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR You hear it all of the time, ew, yuck, yeah.

BALDWIN: That is a tough story to cover. Emily is American, and she said she had dogs and cats growing up.

HOLMES: Yeah, it is a tough one to cover. And, of course, China is looking at perhaps changing the law and banning the use of dogs and cats as a meal. And so, you know, there is a lot of hope that it will happen, but you know, it is a conversation we have had. We eat cute sheep.

BALDWIN: We at pig, cow.

HOLMES: We eat a lot of cute things ourselves. Canadians eat seals. We're like ew to that as well. But it is a cultural thing. And who are we to say?

BALDWIN: That was an excellent story.

HOLMES: She is great. Emily is great. And she is going to do a lot of back stories, too.

BALDWIN: Michael Holmes, Back Story. You can always see the latest back story, CNN.com/BackStory.

HOLMES: Exactly. Plenty of pieces up there from our CNN International. We see the website right there. We do the videos of day. And yes, check us out.

BALDWIN: Awesome.

HOLMES: You stole our cameraman, by the way, Mark the cameraman.

BALDWIN: Now you get to walk out, just as you walked in.

HOLMES: Do I? Cool. Let's do that. Come back on.

BALDWIN: Do we get to see the walk? They're like, no. Oh, there is the walk. Nice. Bye, Holmes.

Take look at what we have got. Coming up on this hour rundown -- you know what? It's been a long -- it's been a painful wait, but now a settlement finally in store for thousands of Ground Zero workers who got very sick after 9/11. We are talking millions and millions of dollars here. But the question is, will they accept it?

Plus, pop quiz, who is the richest man in the world? Bill Gates you may think? Warren Buffett perhaps? Wrong, and wrong again. It is the guy you see right there. Who in the world is he and how did he get so rich? We will take a look at that.

Also, when you think football coach, what name comes to mind? Joe Paterno, Bear Bryant, Vince Lombardi? And I have a new name for you, Natalie Randolph. Wow. Natalie Randolph. We will be hearing her story.

Meantime, a big story out of new York today. More than eight years now since 9/11, a deal is near to compensate the rescuers, recovery workers, construction workers, firefighters, et cetera, really just sickened by all of the contaminants down at Ground Zero, some of them working days and hours on end.

There is this federal judge who has been holding this hearing right now on a proposed settlement worth -- here the number -- 657 million dollars. Let's take a closer look here at part of the graphic. It is not, though, up to just the judge. It has to be approved by at least 95 percent of the plaintiffs. By the way, there are 10,000 of them. So 95 percent of them have to agree to this thing or else it is null and void.

So if they all vote to approve, they will be splitting up the full amount. But it is in different variations, if you will. If the 95 percent approve, they will get 575 million dollars. Less than that, though, the deal is off.

So, the time line, they have 90 days to say yes, we will take the money, thank you very much, or no. A claims administrator will be sorting out the legitimate claims from the bogus claims, people just trying to make a buck out of it. The legitimate claims will get from a few thousand dollars to up to -- look at this number -- a million dollars. Of course, that depends upon the severity of the illness. That is really kind of tricky to take a look at.

What are the illnesses we are talking about here? Respiratory problems, coughing, asthma, things like that. But we're also talking about cancers. We're talking about cancers of the blood, esophagus and thyroid.

So, a lot of ailments, both current and future. So they have to take all of that into consideration when awarding these settlements to these 10,000 plaintiffs.

I want to bring in Jean Casarez. She is an attorney, and correspondent for "In Session," daytime programming on our sister network Tru TV. Jean, I just want first want to ask the question, which is -- we're talking about this massive sum -- let me check my notes. It was 657.5 million dollars, 10,000 plaintiffs. But they don't just divide it by 10,000. How does the judge ultimately decide who gets what amount of money?

JEAN CASAREZ, TRU TV CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is what is interesting, because first, you have to agree to the settlement. And then after that, it is going to take time to decide how much you should have. And that is going to be number one, how were you there? What is your documentation to show that you were down at Ground Zero.

Now, when you talk about emergency workers that were official, there is documentation. But what if you were just a volunteer, walked down and took your time. Do you have documentation?

Number two, when were you diagnosed? Did you have any preexisting issues that could interfere with what you -- the contaminants that were down at Ground Zero.

BALDWIN: Let me interrupt you. So if I was a smoker, let's say, that would come into this whole picture. I may not get as much money, because I may have issues with my lungs, let's say.

CASAREZ: Say. A preexisting condition or did you already have asthma, something like that. When were you diagnosed? That is something else that could be under consideration.

So maybe a plaintiff will not want to take the risk right now to say, OK, I'm in; I'm one of the 95 percent. But then, later on, what are they going to determine that I get?

Another thing to remember is the attorneys are going to get one-third of the settlement amount. That is a lot of money right there. So, if you are a victim in this case, your attorney may get more than you do. You may decide that is not fair and may want to go the trial with all of this.

BALDWIN: One question -- maybe this the obvious question that -- where does this money come from?

CASAREZ: Well, the money comes from a federally-funded insurance fund. So it is federal money. The legislature approved it. Remember, also included here are potential victims. Maybe you are not sick now, but you may be down the road. You can also be included as a plaintiff.

BALDWIN: Why did it take so long. This was two years in the making, was it not?

CASAREZ: Everything takes long. Yes, I think that the suit was filed six years ago. Then two years of negotiations. We now are down to the wire. We still don't know if there will be a settlement, because there has to be 95 percent of the 10,000 victims. But now is the time that it will be do-or-die, really.

BALDWIN: Final question: I know we have heard from Mayor Michael Bloomberg saying yes, this is fair, this is reasonable; any sense from any of these families that they agree?

CASAREZ: You know, a lot have said that they want the settlement because they want to go on with their lives. They don't want to have to endure a trial. Remember, the city is fighting it, saying this was a natural -- this was a disaster. It was beyond our control. We are not responsible. A lot of victims say we just don't want to endure that testimony.

BALDWIN: Want to put it entirely past them and move on. Jean Casarez, great sort of nuts and bolts of the story, if you will. But we really wanted to put a face on this story, and these 10,000 plaintiffs. So just ahead, we have been able to secure a Ground Zero demolition worker, who will be responding to this proposed settlement. Does he think it is fair? What happened to him? How is his health? What will he be doing moving forward? Hear from him on the other side of the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: He was a man's man who became a woman. Meet the person behind CNN's emotional documentary "Her Name Was Steven." We will take you inside the dramatic transition and extraordinary journey.

But, as promised, we want to talk a little more on this proposed 657 million dollar settlement for the rescuers, construction workers, demolition workers, firefighters, really, who were working down in Ground Zero since really 9/11 hit and beyond.

A lot of them were exposed to chemicals, toxins. A lot them are sick now. A lot of them could get sick later. A federal judge holding this hearing right now in New York.

I want to bring in John Feal. He is on the phone. He was a demolition supervisor at the World Trade Center site. John, correct me if I am wrong, you lost your foot to a steel beam. You later developed respiratory problem. You are now an advocate for first responders. You're on the phone from Long Island. Thank you for talking to me today. How is your health today?

JOHN FEAL, WORLD TRADE CENTER CONSTRUCTION WORKER: Well, Brooke, thank you for having me. I am a big fan of yours. Let me say, I only lost half my left foot.

BALDWIN: Only half, he says.

FEAL: I spent time 11 weeks in the hospital with gangrene. I have had multiple surgeries up until 2006. And while my respiratory -- like everybody else, I had respiratory and acid reflux, which are common denominators, for most first 9/11 responders.

I still donated a kidney in 2007 because I decided that I wasn't as sick as everybody else. I while my injury was gruesome, there are thousands who are sick and dying from their heroic actions. And I believe this lawsuit is an insult to the men and women who risked their lives without prejudice eight years ago.

BALDWIN: So you do think it's an insult. We've heard from the mayor. He's saying it's reasonable; it's fair. You say it's an insult. Let me put you on the spot, if you don't mind. Let me ask you how much you are being offered and are you taking the money?

FEAL: I am on my own physical injury lawsuit. I have yet to see a courtroom. I have yet to have been offered a settlement. And I am the worst injury at Ground Zero in the ten-month recovery. And I have yet to be offered anything. I can tell you, right now, that 95 percent of those 10,000-plus are not going to opt on to this

BALDWIN: They won't? So you want to continue fighting by yourself, with your private suit?

FEAL: Correct. And I have spoken to probably 200 or 300 9/11 first responders since late last night. And most of them are adamant that they would not sign. And they are insulted by the amount of money they would get.

The average person would get 65,000 dollars on the lawsuit. The average person, if they opted for the Health and Compensation Act in Congress right now, would get 350,000 dollars. That is a big disparity.

The best interest of the 9/11 responders was not taken into consideration yesterday when they were trying to settle it. While Mayor Bloomberg said this is fair, Mayor Bloomberg doesn't know what it is like to suffer, because he wasn't at Ground Zero.

While I respect the mayor, I don't respect his comment, because men and women who lost their life, their livelihood and health because of their heroic actions, once again, have to take a back seat to economics. And while the lawyers are going to get more money than the responders is another act of insult on us.

BALDWIN: John, it is hard, I think, perhaps -- and I wouldn't know. But perhaps your emotions are along with this. You were there . You were there from the very beginning. You were injured. You could have intangible injuries in the foreseeable future. Is there a magic number for you? Is there a number that if somebody came to you and said, I will give you this amount of money, you say, thanks, and walk away.

FEAL: No, ma'am. I want to see a courtroom. And I want to take my shoe off in front of everybody and say, this is what happened to me; this is what happened to me after dozens of surgeries. I don't want to be a millionaire, and I don't think that any 9/11 responder really cares to be millionaires. They want what they have earned and what they deserved.

But they are offering 3,200 dollars, on the low end, just to opt into this. I believe that is going to open the door up for fraudulent cases. And I believe that 3,200 dollars, you might as well give everybody a scratch-off ticket and say good luck; here is the World Trade Center Lottery ticket. I think it is an insult to us.

BALDWIN: Where do you go from here? You just continue fighting? You say no. If you were a betting man, would you say that 95 percent of the folks would say no, that this thing would be essentially null and void? FEAL: Well, no, Brooke, I can't speak for everybody, because I can't tell anybody what to do. Everybody's case is different. Some people are financially ruined and have to take that money, because they have a family to feed, food to put on the table. They have to pay for gas to get to the chemo. Some people have to take that, and I understand that. I don't hold that against anybody.

But I am advocating for HR-847, which is being marked up Tuesday in Congress, in the subcommittee. And if that passes, it has a chance to get to the floor within the next couple of weeks. If this bill passes, it will provide health care and compensation. The lawsuit does not provide health care. The lawsuit -- if you take money from the lawsuit, you will not be eligible for this bill.

BALDWIN: John Feal, we look at the pictures, and of course, we all remember exactly where we were on 9/11. And I really take my hat off to you and the thousands of other workers who were there that day and the days and the hours and the months beyond. I want to just wish you luck in moving forward. You want to see the inside of the courtroom. You say there is no magic number. I just want to point out for the viewers, you are an advocate for the sick first responders.

You run the Feal Good Foundation. If anyone wants information, that is F-E-A-L Good Foundation. John Feal, I appreciate you calling in. Best of luck t you.

FEAL: Brooke, you have a blessed day. God bless you.

BALDWIN: Wounded, American soldiers return to the home front now; one grateful American makes sure they have a home to return to. You are about to meet our hero.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: For the more than 30,000 US troops wounded in both Iraq and Afghanistan, coming home may be the beginning of a new fight. The enemy this time though a sputtering economy. One expert builder, our CNN hero of the week, is helping to rebuild their lives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Baghdad ended up being a hell of a ride. I sustained a very severe blast injury. My life just came to a complete halt.

DAN WALLRATH, CNN HERO: How are you doing? How's everything? You look sharp today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

WALLRATH: I've been building custom homes for 30 years. One of the most important things for a family is a home. I want you to read the sign for me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Future home of sergeant Alexander Reyes, united states army.

WALLRATH: Congratulations. Giving these folks a new home means the world.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just thank you. That's all I can say.

WALLRATH: My name is Dan Wallrath. We built homes for returning heroes from Iraq and Afghanistan. The houses are mortgage free. It changes the whole family's life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome home.

WALLRATH: It gives them just a new start so that they can move forward. These young men and women are doing this for you and me. How can I not help them?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So far, Dan Wallrath and his organization have completed the homes of four veterans, and have begun construction on five more. Each is built free of charge. OK.

So, to see how Dan found his inspiration while remodeling the home of a wounded veteran, or if you would like to nominate someone you think is changing the world, real easy, just go to CNN.com/Heroes.

Getting a check of the top stories now; health care reform trumps President Obama's overseas trip. He has delayed his trip to Guam, Indonesia and Australia by three days, so he can stay in Washington for what could a final Democratic push toward an overhaul next week.

More blasts have reportedly rocked the Pakistani city of Lahore, just hours after twin suicide bombers killed at least 43 people and wounded 100 others. A series of smaller explosions hit a different neighborhood, wounding several people there.

And the First Lady heading south of the border without her husband. Michelle Obama will be traveling to Mexico next month, in her very first solo trip since her husband became president. The White House says during the three-day visit, the First Lady will be speaking to officials and citizens, including some young people.

Battering winds, flooding rains, oh, yes, Reynolds Wolf working this one. He can tell you what you can expect about the lovely maybe -- maybe not -- lovely weather this weekend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

BALDWIN: Coming up her in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm familiar with the Bible. I guarantee you, he would want him terminated. You make no mistake about it -- (END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Wow, no words minced there, as we preview the CNN presents documentary "Her Name is Steven," a look at transgendered issues on the job and the challenges of everyday life.

Guess what, our next guest has firsthand knowledge.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Steve Stanton was a rough and tumble little kid, played with trucks, Army men, the whole nine yards, OK? But he grew into a husband, a father and respected public official, until he was fired, not for stealing or lying or committing a crime. No, Steve was fired because he wasn't comfortable in his own skin.

You see, he was a transsexual who eventually underwent sex reassignment surgery and his entire ordeal and transition are the subject of a very special "CNN PRESENTS" documentary. We're calling it "Her Name is Steven" which debuts this weekend.

Jamison Green has met Susan Stanton, but that is not why he understands the issues, the challenges -- you name it -- that she had faced. Jamison is a female-to-male transgender who now actually advises governments and corporations on trans-issues and civil rights.

Jamison, it's fascinating and let me just thank you for being on. Let me just give our audience just a quick chronology. You were born female in 1948. In '88, you began your transition from female to male. And in 1991, you were legally recognized as a male.

JAMISON GREEN, TRANSGENDER ACTIVIST: Right.

BALDWIN: OK. But before you were legally recognized and you're going through this transition, when you went to work and your colleagues knew you as a woman, how did they react?

GREEN: Well, actually, I have to tell you that I had applied to the sex reassignment program that was affiliated with Stanford University in early 1988 and when I actually started a job in August of '88 as a publications manager at Sun Microsystems. At that point, I was under evaluation. So, I knew that I was probably going to be starting transition any time soon.

So, on my very first day, when I filled out all of the paperwork, I actually filled it out as male even though I showed proof of identity and proof citizenship, nobody picked up the "female" -- the "F" in the box anywhere that was on any of my documentation. So, I just figured I wouldn't have to tell anybody if I got accepted to the program. And if I didn't get accepted to the program, I'd just go in and say, "I don't understand why I'm registered as a male here," and they would just fix it.

BALDWIN: So, what happened? Did you get the job? What did you do?

GREEN: I -- oh, yes, I got the job. I had already been hired. So, that was my first day on the job.

BALDWIN: Got you.

GREEN: My second day on the job, I said to my boss, who was very excited that I was there and who said, "You know, now, I can't wait to tell, you know, 7,000 people, you know, how wonderful you are." And I'm like, "Well, I'd really like to keep a low profile for a little while, because I may be a candidate for surgical sexual reassignment and I don't want to have to clean up the pronouns with 7,000 people."

And he just was stunned, and then he said, "How long will you be out?" And I said, "Really, it's no big deal. I'll -- in about six months, I'll be out for a week or two. And about a year and half after that, I may be out for two or three weeks, and that's it." And he goes, "Oh, OK." And that was it.

BALDWIN: That was it?

GREEN: Basically.

BALDWIN: That was it?

GREEN: Well, I went around to all my -- I had a staff of 12 people, and I had meetings with each one of my staff, and I also talked with the managers that I knew that I had close working relationships with, and basically told them that I was a candidate for surgical sex reassignment, once I had gotten the approval to start hormonal treatment, and that especially -- and they were mostly men, and I said, "You know, you're going to start seeing me in the men's room, and I need you to refer to me with masculine pronouns."

BALDWIN: That's exactly what I wanted to ask --

GREEN: And they were all very supportive.

BALDWIN: They were supportive and I guess it's kind of easy if you have 12 people you're working with, you can go through all of those people, but not everybody has that has -- has that ability --

GREEN: Right.

BALDWIN: -- with a much larger office space. But did you ever use --

GREEN: Well, this was a very large -- this was a very large company. I just didn't have -- I was new there so I hadn't had a lot of time to build up a lot of relationships.

BALDWIN: So, Jamison, did you ever use --

GREEN: So, it was easy in that sense.

BALDWIN: I guess that's a good thing for you.

GREEN: Yes.

BALDWIN: But just kind of get personal -- did you use the female bathroom or did you always use the men's?

GREEN: I did use the women's room until I was authorized to start hormonal treatment. Yes.

BALDWIN: So, once you started hormonal --

GREEN: But I looked --

BALDWIN: Go ahead.

GREEN: I looked very masculine. I mean, I didn't have a beard then and I didn't -- wasn't with male pattern baldness, but I was often accosted in women's restrooms and challenged that I was in the wrong space, long before I even decided to transition.

BALDWIN: So --

GREEN: So, going into the men's room was a relief for me.

BALDWIN: Was it a relief for the men who are standing next to you in the men's bathroom looking over at you kind of like -- wait a minute.

GREEN: Well, I always used the stall. I didn't look at anybody. I didn't talk to anybody. And a lot of the guys that I worked with said, you know, if you have any problems in the men's room, just let us know, we'll take care of it for you.

But the fact was, it's not an issue as long as people mind their own business, and that's what most people are in the bathroom to do is to mind their own business.

BALDWIN: Yes.

GREEN: There's not an issue.

BALDWIN: No, we just wanted to ask you. We wanted to go there when it comes to just the workplace. And I know you've been a leader --

GREEN: Sure.

BALDWIN: -- in the transgendered -- easy so say -- rights movement. You've written "Becoming a Visible Man."

GREEN: Yes.

BALDWIN: I know you're pushing for this Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

GREEN: That's right.

BALDWIN: Jamison Green, thank you so much for being on and sharing your story. I really appreciate it.

GREEN: It's a pleasure. Thank you.

BALDWIN: Again, I want to remind you that the "CNN PRESENTS" documentary "Her Name Was Steven" debuts tomorrow night at 8:00 Eastern and 11:00 Eastern. It airs again Sunday at same times.

And tonight on "LARRY KING LIVE," Susan Stanton previews the piece in person. That is 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

Let's talk money, shall we? Forget Bill Gates, move over Warren Buffett, this man here -- you know who this is? This is the richest person in the world, but don't be surprised if this is the first time you are seeing his face. We'll tell you who he is and how he made his $53 billion fortune.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: I want you to take a good look at these three men, OK? Which one of them is the richest person in the world? You probably recognize these two, Bill Gates on the left, and this is Warren Buffett in the middle, both good guesses. They got a little bit of money.

But "Forbes" magazine says that the title actually goes to this man on the right. Who is he? He is Mexico's Carlos Slim, topping the "Forbes" list with $53.5 billion. Where does it come from? Here you go. Slim has his hand in more than 200 businesses. Here's a look at a couple of different businesses here.

First, you see telecom, telecommunications, Mexico's biggest wireless and landline and phone companies, America Movil, Telmex, Telcel. Also owns 3 percent of Apple Computer. Also has his hand in the media industry, and minority stake in "The New York Times."

In the energy sector, he has holdings in Bronco Drilling Company and another energy company as well. In terms of retail -- you know these names -- he owns the Mexican arms of both Sears and Saks Fifth Avenue. In the banking and the finance world, he owns Grupo Financiero Inbursa, a financial services company.

Whew! I think I'm out of breath saying all of that.

Joining me now -- joining me now is senior Latin America affairs editor, Rafael Romo.

OK. He's got a lot going on, Rafael, but from what I understand, he's really come from these humble beginnings to make it big. How are fellow Mexicans reacting to this?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SR. LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Well, Brooke, as you can imagine, if you make $5 a day, which is the minimum wage in Mexico, you wouldn't really feel too proud about this. But many people in Mexico say that his example of hard work and vision is something that many should follow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROMO (voice-over): The World Bank says one-third of Mexicans live below the poverty line, but it is also a country of very wealthy individuals, and now, the richest man in the world. Carlos Slim, a 70-year-old telecom tycoon with a fortune estimated at $53.5 billion is at the top of the list according to "Forbes" magazine.

This man says Slim's fortune highlights inequality in Mexico. But other Mexicans say Slim's modest origins should give hope to anyone prepared to work hard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This person is a hardworking person who has succeeded in the financial world. What's left for the rest of us but to continue working hard.

ROMON: Slim, the son of Lebanese immigrants, owns a Telmex, a major Internet provider that also controls 83 percent of land phone lines in Mexico. The Mexico City native dramatically increased his fortune by buying companies on the cheap after foreign investors fled the country during the recession of 1982. He's the first non-American to be at the top of the list since 1994.

MICHAEL FARR, MONEY MANAGER: I don't know that it means that American dominance has faded so much as it does that the rest of the world suddenly is participating in the growing wealth.

ROMO: This year, Slim moved ahead of Americans Bill Gates and Warren Buffett who take the next two positions. He also spent $250 million on a stake in "The New York Times." But with such great wealth comes scrutiny.

FARR: I think that the social ramifications of a list like this are really significant. How these very wealthy people see themselves as citizens of the world and what they see as their responsibility to those who are in -- living everyday in desperate poverty.

ROMO: Slim has been harshly criticized in Mexico for not sharing his wealth while making his fortune in a developing nation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMO: And Slim owns a relatively modest six-bedroom home. He also wears a plastic wristwatch, and, Brooke, one of the things that -- one of the few indulgences of his is that he owns what is described as a lavish art collection. But other than that, he lives pretty modestly.

BALDWIN: Pretty modestly for all of that billions of dollars. All right.

ROMO: $53.5 billion.

BALDWIN: Wow. Well, Rafael Romo, thank you. Thank you.

Coming up: we're talking to the man, he thinks he's the man, there he is -- Ed Henry --

ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

BALDWIN: -- our White House correspondent. He's a Kiama man. I know that. We're going to go behind the scenes -- we're going to go behind the scenes at the White House -- coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

BALDWIN: I love it as Ed Henry gets his own segment. Ed, obviously, get a lot of love from the bald guy with glasses, and I know I'm not the bald guy with glasses today. But hello there, Mr. Henry.

HENRY: Well, anything but. That's right. Anything but, in fact, a bald guy with glasses. I was going to say that the fashion, you know, quotient here on "The Ed Henry Segment" has multiplied by 1,000.

BALDWIN: I tried to keep it up there, you know, we know how Velshi is. You know, hopefully, I'm --

HENRY: Well, yes. I mean, no offense to Ali. Well, actually, I do mean offense to Ali. But anyway, welcome to the segment.

BALDWIN: If he's watching.

Anyway, Ed Henry so, I want to talk first because the news today, that the president is pushing back his trip to Indonesia, Guam and Australia because, of course, health care, a top priority right now in Washington. So, how does that affect, I guess, you and your travel plans with the president, the White House press corps?

HENRY: Well, I can tell you that this morning there were many people at CNN and all of the other networks, the reporters covering the president who have been racing around changing passports and visa, doing all, you know, changing flights, some people taking a press charter over many of us, but others are flying commercially, going into some of the cities along the way because he's going to Australia, in addition to Indonesia. He was supposed to go to two cities in Australia and now cutting Sydney out, all kinds of things changing.

But frankly, you know, our travel plans, our flights compare nothing to the health care situation in America. I'm sure that's what the president would say if you asked him about this change, and Robert Gibbs just basically said, they believe there's some new momentum. They believe that they can get this done. And that just in the last three or four days, they've been picking up steam.

BALDWIN: Yes.

HENRY: I think, though, we learned something from this change. The biggest thing we learned: this president does not have the votes. If he had the votes --

BALDWIN: He'd be going out of town.

HENRY: -- he'd already have one foot out of the door, and this trip would be going. The fact they are delaying it a couple of days, their target now is no longer March 18th as it was recently. It's now March 20th, next Saturday, right before he goes out of town. They think they may get a signing ceremony at the White House.

We'll see it. It's still up in the air. BALDWIN: OK. We will see.

We're also seeing kind of a funky outfit on Mr. Gibbs today at the White House press briefing. What's up with that?

HENRY: Well, you know, he had made this bet with counterpart in Canada over the Team USA versus Canada in the Olympics, men's ice hockey all that. Well, he lost that bet, of course. And I think we got some pictures. Mr. Gibbs finally made good on the bets.

BALDWIN: There he is.

HENRY: He rolled out, rocking the -- well, there he is live with the Team USA. This is a kind of a -- kind of a surprise. He first had the team Canada jersey which was the bet he was supposed to do, and he also announced that the White House has now instructed U.S. embassy in Canada to deliver a case of Molson to the Canadian government. But you see Canada, but he had team USA underneath, a nice little switch up there by Mr. Gibbs.

BALDWIN: Superman change.

HENRY: I've been thinking -- you're right -- and I've been thinking that the Republicans were probably licking their chops of the idea of pictures of Robert Gibbs with a Canadian jersey at the podium, because they've been saying the president has a Canadian-style plan and wants a government takeover on health care, that's probably why they put team USA underneath, not just to have a little national pride, but to make sure that most of the pictures were showing -- as we are now -- say USA, not Canada.

BALDWIN: Yes. Yes.

And, finally, Ed, sorry, forgive me. I missed it yesterday. But the segment you had with Ali, I guess you were making some kind of public plea for Tom Hanks. He's around town, making a movie. You asked him for what?

HENRY: Yes, an espresso machine. Now, the back story basically is that, back in 2004, Tom Hanks came by the White House and noticed that in the press room, we didn't have a good coffee machine. So, these guys were up late, they're working hart. Let's get them a special machine, he sent $1,000 special machine, but it's getting kind of old.

On this show yesterday, I pleaded with Mr. Hanks if he was watching to bring us a new one. He actually came to the White House last night and -- guess what -- he's got some news.

BALDWIN: Get out of here.

HENRY: Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HANKS, ACTOR: You know, because I never served in our military, I'm going to get you another espresso machine, because that one -- UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Hanks.

HANKS: That is on the last leg. We have the Pony Espresso, a fine American model based on history of the Pony Express.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you brought this?

HANKS: Well, long ago, I would have bought this for $19.90. So, let me see what I can do for this, you know, the poor slobs in the fourth estate here. Oh, come on. Come on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: OK. That's hysterical.

HENRY: So, poor -- yes, isn't that funny, poor slobs in the fourth estate. Man, that's bringing down "The Ed Henry Segment," I guess. So much for fashion, but you see the president there in the White House, that's the Family Theater, there were Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. They screened "The Pacific" which is going to be on HBO, as you know. There's been a lot of publicity about that, as Tom Hanks continues to look at the history of World War II in particular.

But, yes, he called us, you know, the slobs in the fourth estate. It's kind of funny but we're getting -- he vowed, Tom Hanks, that next week, we're getting a new espresso machine. I assume it's a little more expensive these days.

But, you know, full disclosure, I drink coffee. I gave it up last year. I now drink tea. So I'm not getting any free coffee.

BALDWIN: Really? With those hours you're working, Ed Henry, you don't do a jolt of java every morning?

HENRY: You know, there's still -- there's caffeine in tea. And I don't know. I think it's better. I like it better.

BALDWIN: Interesting. We're learning something about you.

HENRY: I gave up, coffee. Yes.

BALDWIN: All right. Ed Henry doesn't drink coffee.

HENRY: Thanks, Brooke. I hope you'll come back next week.

BALDWIN: To where? To here?

HENRY: The segment, yes. I mean, we don't need Ali everyday.

BALDWIN: Hey, yes. Sorry, Velshi, you're out.

All right. Ed Henry, thank you.

HENRY: See you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: We love Ali, we love Ali. All right. Our stimulus desk is hard at work tracking your tax dollars and helping with your tax return. I'm sure you have all kinds of tax tips, lately. You've heard them at least. If you received stimulus cash, you need to hear what our stim desk is about to tell you. Josh Levs on the story desk.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: OK. So the stimulus money is supposed to help you, right?

JOSH LEVS, CNN STIMULUS DESK: Help you.

BALDWIN: Especially when it comes to tax time, but if you've gotten any stimulus money, I guess it kind of wreak havoc --

LEVS: It has.

BALDWIN: -- when it comes to writing it off or not writing it off.

Josh Levs, you are on the stimulus desk.

LEVS: We got the good and the bad and the ugly. You know, our tax codes are rough in general.

BALDWIN: Yes.

LEVS: I mean, they're ludicrous and they're complicated in this country. But what's happening is because of the stimulus, some people are having their tax returns rejected. They're literally being rejected by the IRS.

So what I'm going to do now is to tell you some of the problems, but also the good and then some links what to use. This is the first problem. Some returns, it says right here, are being rejected.

And one of the problems is this: some people are not properly reporting this right here, this $250 payment. A lot of people, especially retirees and some disabled veterans don't realize that there was a payment in there for them. They got $250 out of the stimulus, but in many cases, they don't even know they got it. So, they didn't specifically write that into their taxes, and now, the IRS is rejecting them, actually sending them back in some cases.

All right. Let's go to this next screen. I'm going to show you another problem that's happening for some families now. And that's this -- married couples who got $800.

Now, in some cases, they weren't supposed to. This is what we're seeing there. There are some cases in which married couples were supposed to get $800. The stimulus offered you $400 for each worker in the country, but not everyone was supposed to get the full $400.

Anyway, you have some families out there that got $800 and weren't supposed to, and now, they are being told by the IRS, guess what, you actually owe us money, but you didn't know that you owed to us in the first place. But I don't want to tell you all of the bad stuff, because there's good, too.

BALDWIN: OK.

LEVS: All right. Last thing, check this out. This rocks. There is one guy -- we have a story about this on CNN.com -- one guy looked at the stimulus closely. He's getting a refund of $150,000 --

BALDWIN: Whoa, that's a lot of money.

LEVS: -- for his small business, and here's why. They changed the laws over what you can do in terms of claiming back taxes. Basically, if you suffered a loss this year, you can now go back five years, and reclaim some of what you paid the government if you have a small business, going all the way back five years to make up for the loss in this recession.

BALDWIN: Recession.

LEVS: I've said that word too much.

So, I want everyone to take advantage of all of this. So, this is where all the links are. Let's go to my screen --

BALDWIN: OK.

LEVS: -- which is going to show all where we got all of the things linked for you. I want you to check this out. You got CNN.com/Josh. Also, you got my Facebook and my Twitter pages, JoshLevsCNN. There they are. There's a bunch of links right there, right now. If you think in any way this is going to impact you, go there, check out everything we got for you, and hopefully, you'll save every penny you can come tax time.

BALDWIN: All right. Josh Levs, thank you. Thank you.

LEVS: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Hey, guess what, a football fans -- I guess we can talk over here -- just call her coach. A woman is heading up a high school boy's football team. Meet her -- next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: OK. So some of us, maybe we've gotten this before. Hey, you throw like a girl. But guess what, that's actually not a diss at one D.C. high school. Coolidge High has announced its newest head football coach. Head football coach -- 29-year-old Natalie Randolph.

There are about 27,000 high schools in the U.S. and record keeping is a bit spotty here. We're trying to figure out if this is the first or not -- but Randolph is believed to be the first female varsity football coach in the nation.

Here's a little bit of a look at her stats. She's a former assistant high school coach, as well as a former player for the pro team in D.C. They're called the D.C. Divas. And now, the science teacher is a member of a very much all-boys club.

Here is what she had to say today about her new gig.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NATALIE RANDOLPH, HEAD COACH, COOLIDGE HIGH SCHOOL: And they'll focus on the historical meaning on this day, but I would much rather focus on something that all dedicated coaches already know. I'm here to give these young men, these student athletes, these wonderful students, the best opportunity and guidance to succeed in the classroom, make good decisions at home, and perform well on the football field. And while I'm proud to be part of what this all mean, being female has nothing to do with it.

I love football. I love football. I love teaching. I love these kids. My being female has nothing to do with my support and respect for my players on the field and in the classroom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Wow. Well, I'm now telling you, this is surely a trailblazer for female coaches at the high school level. But women have been breaking barriers at the lower levels as well here for years. Nearly 5 percent of youth football coaches are women.

And with that, we somehow go to "RICK'S LIST," with my friend Rick Sanchez.