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U.S. Cities on Alert After Moscow Subway Bombings; Bitter Health Care Battle Wages On; Anti-Government Extremists Arrested for Plot; Female Suicide Bombers Kill 38 in Moscow; Feds to Sell Share in Citigroup; Obese Boy, 12, Gets Wake-Up Call on Health Issues

Aired March 29, 2010 - 12:59   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: It is go time. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with T.J. Holmes in for Ali Velshi.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: That's a heck of an intro there.

HARRIS: Come on, man (ph).

HOLMES: Thank you, kind sir.

Hello there, everybody. I am T.J. Holmes, sitting in for my dear friend, Ali Velshi, today. I'm going to be with you for the next couple of hours, as always on this show, taking every important topic and breaking it down for you. Going to be leveling details that are going to help you make important decisions about your security, your money, your health.

So, let's get this thing started. Let me tell you what's on the rundown right now. Terror in Moscow. The attacks were deadly. The attackers were women. The fallout is rippling all the way to the U.S., where some big cities are now on alert.

Plus, you didn't think the bitter year-long health-care battle ended when the president signed the bill, did you? His pen stroke might have actually marked the beginning of the real battle. Plus, you've got plenty of questions about health reform, and we're here to answer them for you.

Also, she has gone where very few women have boldly gone before. The first African-American woman in space is my guest this hour. The question for her: why haven't more women followed her to the stars?

We do want to get back now to a disturbing story here in the U.S. Allegedly planning to kill in the name of Jesus Christ?

Nine suspects with ties to a Christian militia group in the Midwest have been indicted, accused of plotting an explosive attack on police sometime next month. Seven of them due in court today, all this following weekend raids in Michigan, Indiana, as well as Ohio.

The targets allegedly linked to the -- they're called the Hutaree Group. You might not have heard of them before, so we're going to kind of explain exactly who they are; show you some video here from the group's Web site. They say the word means "Christian warrior"; Hutaree equals Christian warrior, they say. And the Web site says they'll be "ready to defend themselves, using the sword, up to the time of the Great Coming." That is a quote from them.

Now, the indictment unsealed today says these suspects were part of a group that did, quote, "knowingly conspire, confederate and agree with each other to levy war against the United States."

Our national correspondent, Susan Candiotti, following this story for us.

Susan, first, we weren't sure what to expect. But now we have this indictment, and we understand now there was actually a plot. What were they plotting to do?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the government is calling this group anti-government extremists who wanted nothing more than to take down police officers, be they local, state, or federal law enforcement officers.

The charges against them, this Christian militia group, as you said, called Hutaree. But the Web site, the government says, more than just talk was involved here. A grand jury has indicted a parent, a man and a woman, their two sons, and these other people for a total of nine charged all together, as you indicated, among those three states, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.

And they're saying that this group wanted to put together homemade bombs, in essence. And they came up with this bizarre alleged conspiracy to take down, to kill a law-enforcement officer, and then in hopes that they would stage a funeral and that would get more law enforcement officers to come, and they would use these homemade bombs to then blow them up, T.J.

HOLMES: How big of a group are we talking about? And is there a potential that there could still be a threat of some kind right now?

CANDIOTTI: You know, it's really hard to say how big it is. From the looks of this particular indictment, it appears to be a small group, just made up of these people that we indicated. And that's not uncommon with some of the militias, according to experts who study these groups, that sometimes they get together in clusters, people of like mind, in any one particular area.

And it's also interesting to note that, in studies that were recently done by, for example, the Southern Poverty Law Center, there's been an uptick in the number of these militias. They were really big in the mid-'90s, and then they kind of died down a little bit, and now there are more of them than before.

Now T.J., you're probably wondering how come, naturally.

HOLMES: Yes.

CANDIOTTI: Well, they say in part it's due to those anti- immigrant fervor that is now rampant in some parts of the United States. People who are unhappy that an African-American president has been elected. People who are not happy with government bailouts, a tough economy. And they want to take it out on someone. And in their view, the government is the main target.

HOLMES: Last thing here. Does this group have a leader?

CANDIOTTI: Well, it does, according to this indictment. And it is this man by the name of David Stone. His wife is also charged. And their two sons, along with these others who apparently were training with them.

HOLMES: All right. Our Susan Candiotti, on a story. Again, we got the indictment today and some disturbing details in there. We appreciate you. Thank you so much.

Coming up next here, they're striking death and fear in the heart of Moscow. Two female suicide bombers attacked the subway system. Dozens killed. A live report coming your way, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back here.

In Moscow, this hour, they're a bit dazed, angry and afraid, after two female suicide bombers blew themselves up at two subway stations. Thirty-eight people, at least, killed.

These pictures you're seeing here were actually taken by a cell phone seconds after one of those blasts. Russian investigators believe the attacks were carried out by Chechen rebels. We're going to be going live to Moscow in just a moment for the very latest.

But first, let's give you a little background here, a brief on the deadly conflict that's been going on for some years between Russia and Chechnya. Chechnya, as you see on this map, located in the north Caucasus region with a population of one million very poor people, most of whom are Sunni Muslims.

Chechens launched war for independence from Russia in 1991. Three years later, some 40,000 Russian troops were ordered to stamp out that rebellion. Ceasefire then declared in 1996 after heavy losses on both sides. Moscow still claimed the region but allowed Chechens to more or less run their own affairs there. But that did not stop rebel attacks.

A second Chechen war broke out in 1999. Then over the next decade, more than 15,000 Russian soldiers and some 300,000 Chechens were killed. The U.N. declared the Chechen capital of Grozny the most destroyed city on the planet. Both Russian soldiers and Chechen rebels were noted for their acts of brutality.

And then in 2002, rebels seized 700 people at a Moscow theater. When Russian troops attempted to free them, 120 hostages were killed. Two years later, rebels seized a school in the north Acetia (ph) region. More than 330 people killed there. More than half were children.

Then in 2009, Russia declared the war to be over. A little background on this long conflict.

And joining us now from Moscow, on really what some believe is the latest in this long conflict, our senior international correspondent Matthew Chance.

Matthew, are authorities there still sure what they say? And they believe that, in fact, this was the work of two female suicide bombers linked to these Chechen rebels.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there's been no claim of responsibility, T.J.

But the authorities are very clear that they believe this is the work of Chechen rebels, or rebels from the north Caucasus region, which is -- includes the republics outside of Chechnya, as well, simply because they -- they say that this is the way in which these rebels have operated in the past. They've carried out operations like this in the past and attacks like this.

They also say they've identified the bodies, recovered the remains of the two female suicide bombers that they say detonated themselves at these two locations in Moscow, here at Lubyanka, another metro station, as well, a short distance away. Basically, who detonated their explosives in those locations, killing what we now know to be 38 people and injuring more than 60, being treated for very serious injuries in hospitals close by, T.J.

HOLMES: What's the next step, I guess, in the investigation, and also, what are the measures now put in place to try to beef up security at some of the, I guess, train stations, substations and other public places in Moscow?

CHANCE: Well, the authorities say they're stepping up the security. The Russian president has come out and said, "Look, we're not doing enough, clearly, to make sure that we're safe and that commuters are safe, not just in Moscow, but in towns and cities across the country." So he's called for unspecified measures that he's going to implement to increase security.

Although it has to be said, it's going to be very difficult for any government to prevent determined suicide bombers strapped with explosives from detonating themselves in highly populated areas.

At the same time, the prosecutors here in the Russian capital say they've got specific leads. They say they've got closed-circuit television, footage of people they believe to be the accomplices of these two female suicide bombers. And so at the moment, there's a citywide security alert, and they're hunting for those -- for those accomplices they believe are still in the city.

HOLMES: And last thing here, Matthew. Address what some certainly here in the states might be hearing this and be, maybe. surprised to hear that it was actually two women, two female suicide bombers. What are investigators saying there about that? And just historically, when it comes to this conflict, how women have played a role.

CHANCE: Well, it's just one of the perversions of the very terrible series of wars and conflicts and turmoil that have affected the North Caucasus region.

These female suicide bombers are a relatively new phenomenon. Traditionally, in Chechen and North Caucasus, it's the men that do the fighting, not the women. And that's been a matter of, sort of, pride.

But over the past several years, that has changed. And there's been such violence in that part of the world; so many husbands and brothers and sons have been lost. The widows of those people, the mothers, the disillusioned, their female family members, have apparently offered themselves repeatedly to carry out these kinds of suicide attacks. They're exploited by terrorist groups obviously, obviously. They also feel they've got nowhere else to turn; they've got nothing worth living for.

And this has been something of a phenomenon in the North Caucasus. They actually have a name for them here. They call them black widows, these female suicide bombers that conduct these suicide operations, T.J. And it's something pretty -- I wouldn't say unique to here, but it's something that's very -- you know, been a recent phenomenon in this part of the world.

HOLMES: All right. Matthew Chance for us in Moscow. We appreciate the update. Thank you so much.

The attacks in Moscow have triggered stepped-up security here at home. New York police increasing security measures on the city subways and stations as a precaution. Similar steps being carried out in Washington, at Amtrak, Atlanta's MARTA system and the metro system in L.A., as well.

Also, a drill simulating a bus explosion was conducted in the parking lot of D.C.'s RFK Stadium today. Officials say the timing was totally coincidental.

This important point, as well: officials at all of these systems say they have received no specific threats here in the U.S.

Well, a lot of Americans have been complaining all year about having their tax money dumped into struggling corporations. Well, guess what? You might be getting a big chunk of that money back, soon. Christine Romans, there she is. She's standing by with the details. And the good news, right? Straight ahead. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC: BEASTIE BOYS, "TIME TO GET ILL")

HOLMES: That's really one of the best parts of filling in for Ali. Get a little Beastie Boys mixed in. You get a little Christine Romans, too. She's hanging out with us in New York right now. Christine, always good to see you. And this is some good news.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

HOLMES: People were pretty much upset. Didn't like to hear about billions and billions going in to save these companies, these banks who were risky with the money. Well, it's time for them to pay the piper. And we might get some money back here, huh?

ROMANS: How would you like to get out of the banking business, at least as a banking business for Citigroup?

The Treasury Department today saying that, indeed, it will be selling its huge stake in Citi, 27 percent stake in Citi. It's going to do it, probably, over the course of the next year. It's such a big stake, that you can't just exit out of Citi in one day. I mean, that's how big it is. It would be the second biggest stock sale, I think, in history. I mean, it's just such a big stake.

But what this means for taxpayers is they're going to get their money back, and probably, most economists say a nice healthy profit of, at today -- at today's prices, more than $8 billion back to -- back to taxpayers.

HOLMES: So that's our total. That's real money. That's tangible stuff that's coming back to us, right?

ROMANS: It's -- yes, it's real money. And it's getting the taxpayer out of this big, gargantuan, international bank, which is what a lot of people have wanted over the past year. They don't want -- taxpayers do not want to be in the banking business.

HOLMES: That doesn't mean we're all going to get a check, though, when that 8 billion comes in, huh?

ROMANS: I think that -- I think you divide it by the number of tax-filing households, it's like $50 apiece. But...

HOLMES: OK. All right. Thanks for keeping it in perspective, though.

ROMANS: I'll write you a check.

HOLMES: Then -- all right. You all were asking for questions. A lot of people, aside from this -- a lot of people have a lot of general questions about this health-care bill.

ROMANS: Right.

HOLMES: A lot has been happening. I know you all asked for questions. And you said you just got hounded, essentially.

ROMANS: Yes.

HOLMES: Just inundated with these questions. So we have a few. And you're going to have the answers here. So all of you that sent those pictures in, we picked a few.

ROMANS: Right.

HOLMES: I'm going to start with one here from Eric. He says, "The big question from some military retirees. Health care is already provided for military retirees, so how will this new law, this new bill affect current coverage policies?"

ROMANS: It doesn't change your current active-duty military benefits or your retiree benefits at all. There's something called the tri-care system for active -- active military folks. That stays exactly the same. And so does the V.A. system, if you are retired.

So Eric and everybody who's been asking this question -- there's been hundreds of you -- there won't be any changes.

And you know, you're right. We asked these questions. We asked for questions on our weekend show, Ali and I did, and people are really curious about specific little parts. This is one of those questions that we kept hearing.

VELSHI: And I'm sure we're going to learn more and more. Like we just -- it seems weird to pass a bill, and now everybody seems to be reading it and trying to understand it.

But still a lot of questions out there. I have one more I can get to from Annette. And it says, "How much more in taxes do I have to pay?" That's a straightforward question. Is there a straightforward answer?

ROMANS: Well, Annette, if you make $200,000 or more a year, you are going to be paying more in Texas -- taxes. So here is how it's going to break down for high-net-worth families.

A -- these are the families, people who make $200,000 or more a year, individual or $250,000 for a household, will have to pay more into the Medicare system. It's going to come out to about $450 a year.

Let's assume Annette makes $200,000. It will come out to about $450 more a year that she'll have to pay into Medicare. She'll also be taxed on any of her -- any of her compensation that's what we call unearned income. That's rent. It's dividends. It's interest. It's the financial gains that she gets, capital gains. She'll be taxed almost 4 percent on those.

There are a lot of restrictions, of course. I would consult a tax attorney before you get -- before you get too worked up over the 3.8 percent, or the 4 percent unearned income tax, because there are some different restrictions and stuff.

But people who make $200,000 and more, they will be paying more so that more people can have health insurance.

HOLMES: That's we're into today.

ROMANS: OK.

HOLMES: But I assume you're keep this going...

ROMANS: Oh, yes.

HOLMES: ... and asking questions and answering them along the way. Right?

ROMANS: We're on Facebook and Twitter, Ali and I both are. And we're taking all these questions. We're going to do it again this weekend. So keep sending the questions, please.

HOLMES: All right. Great stuff. Christine Romans, always good to see you. Thank you so much, dear lady.

And for more in-depth news about your money, you can watch Christine and Ali Velshi on "YOUR $$$$$," Saturdays 1 p.m. Eastern and Sundays, 3 p.m. Eastern Time.

I want to check some of the big stories of the day.

No claim of responsibility just yet for this morning's twin suicide bombings in Moscow, but Russian authorities are pointing the figure at Chechen separatists. The blast went off in two crowded subway stations, killing at least 38 people. The Russian government has declared tomorrow a day of mourning.

Also, nine people have just been indicted in an alleged plot targeting law enforcement in Michigan. All of the suspects are said to belong to a militia group called the Hut-ARE-ee or the Hut-uh-ree. Among the charges against them, conspiracy, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, as well.

Also, a Pennsylvania man has been charged with making a death threat against a Virginia congressman. The Justice Department says the guy has threatened Republican Eric Cantor and his family in a YouTube video.

So it is still storming today in parts of the southeast. Chad, coming up in just a moment. Got some serious weather to tell you about, including a tornado warning, we understand, happening right now in Miami. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. Chad, what's going on? We've got some serious -- a serious weather situation going on.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely.

HOLMES: Is that right: a tornado warning?

MYERS: Yes. Now, Miami, Miami Heights and then in Princeton and Homestead. But this rotation, and it's easy to see. It's actually showing right up here on the Doppler indicator rotation. This would be Homestead. And then you've got to take the Card Sound Road or all the way down toward -- on the stretch, south of Miami. So this is Florida City and southward. Not a very populated area. You've got the concrete plan or whatever it is down there that grinds up the coral and makes dust down there. All the drag down Parks Town (ph) Road.

But otherwise, this is going to travel to the south of Miami, I believe, then into Biscayne Bay. If the storm does travel a little bit further to the north, you could be seeing -- this would be Homestead Air Force Base, maybe the speedway and then on up toward Miami Heights. That's a little bit of a left deflection of the way it's going now.

But this thing's a pretty big rotator. This is a pretty significant event right here for the south. So if you're driving on Parks Town (ph) Road, and you're down there on the stretch, you will know that you'll be able to see it. You can see -- it looks like the Serengeti down there. You can see forever. So you'll be able to see.

HOLMES: OK. How long are we talking about, maybe under the gun, the threat here?

MYERS: I would say probably at least another 30 minutes. These usually come and they go. They spin very quickly; they spin up. They could put down the tornado and then 15 minutes later the whole storm has fallen apart, it's completely gone. Typically, those are Florida events. Florida tornadoes are like that.

Here's a live shot out at PLG. You can't see very much, but I think that's probably looking out at North Beach there and Biscayne Bay in the foreground. But it has been raining and storming all day long here in South Florida.

It's also been storming in the northeast, but that's really been more flooding, rather than rainfall. So flood watches, flood warnings across parts of Boston, New York City, especially Long Island, especially ponding on the roadways. Long Island Expressway. Have you ever tried that in the heavy rain?

HOLMES: No.

MYERS: Don't.

HOLMES: Don't.

MYERS: It isn't going to be a lot of fun heading on home. If you want to take a cab or take a train, I would say try to stay underground as much as you can. We don't have flooding underground. So I guess that's all right.

Miami Beach, we did have -- we did have tornadoes yesterday in North Carolina. You know, I showed you some of those pictures already. More coming in right now. These are literally less than a half hour old, CNB, our affiliate there, had the helicopter up in the air, picking this up. Top of a building here. I'm not sure that was a school or kind of a day-care-ish thing. But boy, you see, this was probably an F-2, which means wind speeds of 100 to 110, maybe 120 miles per hour. You absolutely need to get out of the way.

This is the one in Spencer, North Carolina. That's why it's CNC, which is the Charlotte affiliate. We had pictures out of High Point earlier, which was a completely different tornado. But hey, it is tornado season. And here we go.

HOLMES: All right. Chad, with weather and a little traffic in there as well.

MYERS: Traffic and weather together.

HOLMES: They go together. All right, Chad. Thank you so much.

MYERS: Sure.

HOLMES: Well, it's first lady Michelle Obama. This is a passionate initiative of hers. You've seen this. She's trying to fight this childhood obesity. Well, our Dr. Sanjay Gupta delves into this a little more and he takes us just beyond the fat.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As a father of three, it's especially hard for me to hear these stories: children, dying far earlier than they should, in some cases their lives cut by decades.

These are children, the worst-case scenarios of the nearly one- third of American kids who weigh too much.

(on camera) But you see, the thing is, behind all those stats and behind all those numbers are real stories. People are worried that what we're describing could happen to them.

Let's go meet somebody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you?

GUPTA: How y'all doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good.

GUPTA (voice-over): Just 12 years old and 250 pounds, Tiger Green has a story. Call it the new American story.

TIGER GREEN, FIGHTING OBESITY: In our family, when you're happy, we eat. When you're sad, we eat. And when you just are watching TV, you eat.

GUPTA (on camera): What do you eat?

T. GREENE: Lunch, I have, like, a big 15-ounce steak or something. And like five Sprites and stuff like that. GUPTA: Five Sprites, one meal. I'm almost scared to ask about dinner. What was that like?

T. GREENE: Take lunch times five.

GUPTA (voice-over): It's hard not to smile but also important to realize that Tiger didn't get here by himself. He had help from the people who care the most.

(on camera) I have three kids. So I'm the last guy in the world who preaches about anything nowadays, because I know the reality. But I mean, what were you thinking when you saw him eating that much?

BRIAN GREENE, FATHER: As a parent, you know, you want to see your kids happy. And mistakenly, horribly mistakenly, when we were eating, we were happy, and somehow, that computed to be good parenting.

GUPTA (voice-over): Tiger's dad wishes he would have known this one startling fact: children with an obese parent are 50 percent more likely to be obese themselves. Fifty percent.

(on camera) We think lot of people focus on what's happening, what you look like on the outside of your body. Have you ever thought about what's going on, on the inside of your body?

T. GREENE: Not much.

GUPTA: Well, that's something I think I want to show you today. In fact, that why we've brought you here to this hospital. We're going to take a look and see what's happening to your heart, what's happening to your liver and see what you think. OK?

T. GREENE: OK.

GUPTA (voice-over): It's hard to believe this is a child's liver, all that white filled with fat. Fat, not just on the outside of your body.

(on camera) That's happening inside your body.

(voice-over) For me as a doctor, this is especially disturbing, because we see this with patients who are typically decades older.

(on camera) That's the top of your femur. That's the bone right here that goes into your hip, and it is pushing against the bone over here. You should have a nice layer of cartilage in between here, a nice cushion. And because it's so much weight, that bone is literally pushed back and into that joint. That's going to hurt.

(voice-over): Of course your joints hurting is not nearly as frightening as what all that fat is doing to your heart.

(on camera): This heart is having to work so hard, that muscle is just getting bigger and bigger and bigger which in the heart is a bad thing. After a while, it's just not going to be able to work as well. T. GREENE: It's scary because I know that could be happening to me right now.

GUPTA: What we're talking about isn't theoretical. This is really happening right now.

In fact Tiger told me a story that really stuck with me. When he was in second grade, just 7 years old, he started to have chest pains. And doctors were concerned enough about his heart that he ended up in a place like this. Doctors checking his heart, doing procedures, doing tests to try and figure out what was going on; a second grader -- and all of this because of overweight and obesity.

Can you imagine as a child ending up in a room like this, doctors are worried you might not even be able to survive?

DR. STEPHANIE WALSH, CHILDREN'S HEALTHCARE OF ATLANTA: One of those kids who has an early death from cardiovascular disease.

GUPTA: So when you say early death, are you talking about people in their 30s having heart attacks? What does that mean?

WALSH: Well, this is pretty unprecedented. We haven't really seen 8 year-olds with type 2 diabetes before, so we don't actually know what's going to happen. But it's very concerning.

The good news is we can do something about it.

GUPTA (voice-over): Tiger has already started.

(on camera): This is a pretty good-looking refrigerator. I mean you have a lot of fruit; you have blueberries, you have strawberries, you have fresh vegetables down here. (voice-over): For tiger, it's a point of immense pride. He's now 30 pounds lighter. He has another 40 to go. And all those lost pounds are adding years to his life and changing his body on the outside and the inside as well. They were rapidly aging a boy into a sick old man, way before his time. And that smile, well, it means he's peeling off the pounds and those years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: You can also catch Sanjay every weekend. "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D.," Saturdays and Sundays, 7:30 Eastern, right here on CNN every Saturday.

Health care reform is in fact the law of the land now. That companion bill is going to be signed into law tomorrow. So, what exactly do you think your fellow Americans think about it? We have new CNN polls straight ahead. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, tomorrow President Obama is going to be signing the health care reform reconciliation bill. He will do it at a community college in Virginia. Why a community college? Well, of course, health affects young students. But there's an overhaul of the federal student loan program in the health care bill as well.

Congress, meanwhile, is in recess. Members are out there - what? Defending, explaining, touting their votes for or against reform.

Check it out now, new poll numbers we want to share with you. Forty-two percent of Americans now saying they approve of the health care overhaul. But a majority, 56 percent say they disapprove. But it's not that clear-cut.

Our senior political analyst Gloria Borger is here to help break down those numbers and other numbers. Let me, just from that initial poll there, the first numbers we're showing, what do you think? Are they going to be back home, explaining, touting or defending their votes?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: If you're a Democrat, you're going to be defending your vote. Because as you see, T.J., folks still don't like health care reform. At least according to our numbers.

But what's really interesting when you sort of peel back and take a look at the other numbers, they may not like the bill. But take a look at this: most people don't want it repealed, T.J. When we asked should Congress repeal health care, which is exactly what Republicans are talking about doing, 47 percent said yes, it should be repealed. But 50 percent say no.

And when you look further into those numbers, and we have another poll number here -- so we said, okay, what should Congress do with health care? You've got that 47 percent that say repeal and replace, which is what Republicans want to do. Twenty-three percent, leave bill as is. OK? They're saying, OK, they passed it. Let's see how it works. And then you've got that 27 percent, which would be the liberal wing of the Democratic party saying, you know what, this bill doesn't go far enough.

So, lots of people have very differing opinions about what health care reform should be, and what it's going to bring to their lives.

HOLMES: So --

BORGER: Nothing is set in stone yet on this.

HOLMES: Are we going to see these numbers continue, would you guess, jump around as they go back to their districts, start explaining this some more and defending this some more, and quite frankly, it seems odd, but we've already passed the bill but we're just now educating ourselves about it?

BORGER: Right. The Democrats are banking on the fact that the more people learn about the bill, the more they understand that, you know, no preexisting conditions for children, for example, no lifetime caps on your insurance, those kinds of things that happen right away. They're saying people are going to like it.

But take a look at another survey that we did. We asked people their opinion of the health care bill that Congress passed. Breaking down the numbers you spoke about earlier. Whether people are enthusiastic, pleased, displeased, or angry. You see there, 50 percent of Republicans are mad about this. Thirty-eight percent displeased. That's that's 88 percent.

But look at the enthusiasm on the Democratic side. While 50 percent like it, only 29 percent of Democrats say they're enthusiastic.

And that's important, T.J., because that affects who goes out to the polls to vote in November. If you're angry, and you're really mad about health care reform, chances are, you're going to go to the polls a lot. If you're, you know, enthusiastic as a Democrat, only 29 percent -- they may not have the enthusiasm to get out there and vote for Democrats.

So, what this shows us, when we look at this, is that Republicans who don't like the bill are probably going to be very motivated to get out there in the midterm election.

HOLMES: That's something. They're more mad than Democrats are happy about it.

BORGER: Right.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: Gloria Borger, with an important breakdown. Some of the first numbers we're seeing after this whole bill went through. Like you said, the numbers probably going to change and we'll talk to you plenty. Thanks so much.

BORGER: We will. Thanks, T.J.

HOLMES: Major new developments in the deaths of three people in Juarez, Mexico. Talking about two Americans and one Mexican with ties to the U.S. consulate. Those details after the break. Stay here.

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HOLMES: Some of the top stories we're keeping an eye on this hour. An arrest in the killing of three people with ties to the U.S. consulate in Juarez, Mexico. A Mexican government spokesman said the suspect is a 42-year-old member of a street gang affiliated with the Juarez drug cartel. The victims, two Americans and a Mexican, were shot to death March 13th in two separate attacks.

Severe weather season starting with a bit of a vengeance. Parts of North Carolina took a beating last night which may have included tornadoes. At least eight were possibly spotted between Charlotte and Greensboro. Haven't been confirmed just yet. Tornado warnings were posted from Virginia all the way to Florida.

It's not going to be the weather that finally puts the stop to Saturday mail delivery. It's going to be the budget. The postal service says if regulators approve, it'll switch to weekday-only deliveries in the first half of 2001. Goal is to save more than $300 billion a year, but regulators think that's a bit optimistic.

A whole lot of people having a tough time finding a job right now. But women might be having it especially hard. Especially if they want to be scientists or engineers. Is there a gender bias causing this gap? We're going to ask Mae Jimeson, the first African- American woman in space. She's standing by. Straight ahead. Stay here.

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HOLMES: The past decade women have made great strides in the workplace, especially medicine, law and business. When it comes to the sciences, those strides haven't been quite big enough. The American Association of University Women out with a new study. It says there's been an increase in women working as scientists, but they're still vastly outnumbered in many fields like engineering and physics.

Let's take a look at some of the numbers here. 2008, 22 percent of computer programmers were women. 13 percent of chemical engineers. Just six percent of mechanical engineers. Are we talking about a gender bias? Could that be to blame?

Joining us now, Mae Jemison. She's a chemical engineer and the first African-American woman to travel into outer space. Ma'am, so glad to have you here with us. We're looking at some of those numbers. I'll get your reaction to them. Why do you think the numbers are so low?

MAE JEMISON, FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN FEMALE ASTRONAUT: Well, actually, it's not even just a matter of what I think about the numbers. We know that there are -- there's talent missing from the stem fields, because there is a lack of women in even underrepresented minorities in those fields.

When I look at those numbers, what I see is a society, a country educational system to figure out, how do we take advantage of the really incredible talent that's sitting there in women and underrepresented minorities?

HOLMES: I want to put a few more numbers up here as well. We can talk about the environmental scientists. We're showing the percentage of women working in these fields. Environmental scientists at 29 percent. Computer software engineers, 20 percent. Aerospace engineers, 10 percent.

Now, you say we need to encourage more women to get into these fields. Why are women not encouraged to so in the first place? Why are they just not into it? Turned off by it?

JEMISON: No, actually, it's really interesting because last week, the American Association of University Women came out with a study -- why so few -- at the same time, their corporation came out with the study of facts of science. It looked at what men and women -- actually, women and underrepresented minorities in the science fields, what they thought were some of the issues.

And what comes out clearly from both of these studies is that first of all, children are interested in the sciences. And that people say that they learn -- they're interested in the science, they recognize that interest by the time they're around 11 years old.

But what happens along the way, what we find out, that even though the interest in science in children is color-blind and gender blind, very much so, along the way there are stumbling blocks to achieving stem careers in a society and in academia that is color- biased and gender-biased. And so yes, those things exist.

I mean, some of the things you can look at. Girls do as well as or better than boys all the way through high school in math and science. Yet they don't intend to go into science careers. The AUW study showed something that was really interesting, that girls, who are just as bright as boys, are better than boys in math, don't consider themselves that good in math. And so they don't consider those fields.

So, what we have to do is figure out how do we nurture that enthusiasm. The BAER study showed that women who have a lack of confidence in the sciences. And this is really interesting, because BAER surveyed women who were successful in the sciences. They surveyed chemists and chemical engineers who were successful in the sciences, but yet they were saying that one of their stumbling blocks was confidence. So, we have to figure out how do we increase that confidence in our children, how do we nurture it?

HOLMES: How do we? Because it sounds like -- I read some of that study as well, it's something as simple as, if you stop telling women they don't belong in the field, stop telling women they're not good in this field, they'll flourish.

JEMISON: It makes a really big difference. If you think about it, the stereotypes, the images that we see of what people do science, usually does not include women. Right? you usually don't see them there. And that makes a difference Because girls don't see themselves as there.

The studies also showed that it was exposure to science careers. So many kids don't grow up knowing really what an engineer does, So how do you aspire to be an engineer if you don't know what computer scientists or computer programmers, software designer really does? How do you decide that that's what you want to do?

So, those things become very important. We also found that it was -- the scientists said, for example, that it is early exposure to good science teachers and good science classes that make a difference. If you don't -- if your teachers are not encouraging the girls to do the experiments, if parents aren't allowing to allow the girls to get their hands dirty during the experiments, you will not see them developing that confidence they need to go forward.

HOLMES: Well, it's a good thing you weren't turned off by it when you were sitting in your classrooms, or you wouldn't be sitting here with us as a history-making woman as you are.

Don't go anywhere. We're going to talk to you, continue the conversation on the other side of the break about the future of the space program. In particular, the shuttle program which certainly is near and dear to Mae Jemison. Stay with us.

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HOLMES: Want to continue our conversation now with Mae Jemison, the first African-American female in space. I'll turn now to the space program. I guess the shuttle program, and it will be near and dear to your heart. I think it was '92 when you went up, but they're down to four more shuttle launches, and program is going away.

Now, is it time for it to go and move on? Or are you kind of sad to see it go?

JEMISON: Well, I don't think, you know -- my interest in space exploration is not a tie to a particular vehicle. My interest is tied to how do we expand human presence?

I think there is something that connects us also to what we were talking about before the break, which is space exploration really bolsters Americans' interest in science and technology fields. It was in the '60s when I decided, yes, I want to be a scientist, partly because I wanted to go into space, but mainly because every day there was something new that was happening in the science and technology fields. And it was something to aspire to.

Space exploration helps this, so my interest is, how do we continue as a country being on the cutting edge of exploration? And so, I am not tied to a vehicle, but I'm tied to the idea of human exploration, and let's get the next thing.

HOLMES: Are you saying, if we have a little lull, if we're quiet for a while, and quite frankly, people don't see live events and those live, dramatic launches that inspire us all, we could see a fall off. We could see a drop-off in the number of people getting into these science fields because that's a powerful image, to see that shuttle going up.

JEMISON: I think the image is powerful, because remember, I didn't get to see the shuttle, I got to see the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo guys going up --

HOLMES: Any vehicle. Yes.

JEMISON: And I think it's vehicles.

And so when I look at what's going on with space exploration right now, I think there are some positives that haven't been out there. What the administration has said is it's going to put $6 billion additional dollars into basic research, into NASA research and space exploration.

I think the discomfort level for people becomes, we want as Americans to continue to have the capacity to fly people into space, to get them into (INAUDIBLE). So that's what the issue that we really have to focus on. How do we as a country not lose our capacity, even for a short period of time, of getting people up?

But that $6 billion says, we want to make things move forward. So, I think that's a discussion not about, you know, people interpret the cancellation of a constellation program as we're not involved in space exploration. That's not it, either shape or form. That's a program whether -- I'm not so sure it was good to harken back to the glory days of Apollo. We have more stuff in front of us. That's what we have when we get women, when we get underrepresented minorities, when we get this diversity of people involved with solutions to technical with science problems, then we're going to come up with better solutions. Not only about how to get us into space, but, you know, about drugs, medicine, all of those kinds of issues.

HOLMES: We certainly hope there's not too much of a drop-off, because we all enjoy seeing that space exploration. We all enjoy seeing those lift-offs.

JEMISON: But not just enjoy seeing the lift-offs, but enjoy what comes of the work and the results of doing the exploration.

HOLMES: Well, Mae Jemison, it is a pleasure to have you on. Again, the first African-American woman in space. We will continue to follow up with you, I assure you. Thank you so much for being with us today.

JEMISON: You're very welcome. Thank you.

HOLMES: All right. Coming up next here -- we knew these pictures -- these are interesting pictures to show you today. Stop the sag. We've got a new campaign that's being launched by a state senator, a campaign to get the pants off the ground. He will be here. With his belt. Right after the break.

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