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Health Reform to Kick in July ; G-20 Protests; Quest for the Cup; Commencement 40 Years Late

Aired June 27, 2010 - 17:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. New trouble in the Toronto as the G-20 Summit wraps up -- at least 224 arrests today. CNN is on top of all of it.

Our Jeanne Meserve is keeping an eye on the protesters, Ali Velshi focusing on the world leaders.

So, first, let's begin with Jeanne and the protests.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, there's a standoff going on right now on the other side of town, at the facility where some protesters are being held. Right now, we have the police and a group of demonstrators staring down one another.

Why is it going on there? Because there have been so many arrests today. Police tell us 224 arrests since 6:00 a.m. this morning. That makes 562 since June 18th, when some of the protest activity began. You know yesterday there was violence here in the streets of Toronto, there were windows broken, police cars burned.

And today, the police went on the offensive, they were stopping young people in some parts of the city, asking to look in their bags. And if they found anything whatsoever that was suspicious, they were taking them into custody and taking them to this detention facility that I mentioned.

That has prompted protests on and off through the entire day. At one point, there was even gas deployed there, tear gas deployed there -- the muzzle discharge that affects individuals rather than large groups of people.

I can tell you, there's a lot of controversy about how the police have been conducting what some view as round-ups some of the potentially innocent people. There are also is some controversy from civil rights groups and the protesters about the conditions in which they're being held. Civil rights groups saying that two of their monitors are being held and they haven't even been allowed to call their lawyers.

So, this will be a point of some controversy. The G-20 may be leaving town tonight. But I suspect that argument over what's going on these last few days may continue for a while.

Fredricka, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jeanne Meserve, thanks so much.

On to now the business of the G-20 Summit. Let's check in with Ali Velshi -- Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's really not fair, Fred, coming to me after Jeanne. What am I going to tell you, that the prime minister of France tripped the South African president?

That's not to say -- that's not to say there isn't disagreement on the inside among the world leaders. In fact, I don't know whether it's meant to make the whole thing spicier, the G-8 and the G-20, to go into this thing saying they're not in agreement or whether that's really the case. But the bottom line is, we're still stuck in some economic problems and these leaders have come in with different views as to how we get out of it.

Now, this is important, Fred, because people will say, can't countries have different views? Well, remember, in the last year-and- a-half, the world has worked in absolute concert, the central banks and leaders have come together and agreed that governments are going to put in as much money as necessary to make sure these economies are stable. Now, they want to go different directions and America is saying, don't pull out just yet, it's too early to stop the government spending, because consumers can't step up to the plate yet. Unemployment is too high, there are still short term problems.

Meanwhile in Europe, debt problems are so high as we've seen in Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Ireland, and they are saying, we need to do that. We need to pull back. We need to start stop spending as much money. We need to raise taxes and that's the disagreement they came into the G-8 and the G-20 with.

It does seem, Fred, that they have come to terms of a lot of these things. They have agreed -- they disagreed on some points. They have agreed to cut their deficits.

As you know, Fred, a lot more gets discussed here -- health care issues, national security issues and international -- other international issues, oil, Iran, Israel, North Korea.

So, generally speaking, the leaders are getting ready to leave. We're just waiting for the final comments. We'll hear from President Obama probably in the next hour or so. We'll be on that live. But generally speaking, the leaders are leaving here with some sense that they've accomplished something.

And, on the other hand, you're seeing all the stuff that Jeanne is saying 00 is showing you. And that there are still protests on the street and there's still a lot of people angry and saying, why do we even do these things the way we do. You know, why do we spend the money on it?

So, that's the story from Toronto -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ali Velshi in Toronto, thanks so much. Of course, CNN will carry those comments from Mr. Barack Obama coming in the 6:00 Eastern hour as they wrap up the G-20 Summit. You'll see it right here.

All right. Meantime, some oil workers have been evacuated now from offshore oil rigs in the southern Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center has just released its updated forecast on tropical depression Alex.

Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras -- so, it is still a threat.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is still a threat. And the models really have quite a spread on them, meeting our confidence as to where the storm is going is a little lower than it normally would. You know, the theory, they shave down that cone of uncertainty because the accuracy has been so incredible in the last five to 10 years.

But this time around, it's a little bit of a different ball game because of this high pressure ridge which is in place and very little steering on this storm down the line. So there you can see how large that cone is down the line. And this is the forecast position for Thursday. And this is the area for Friday.

So, at earliest, it would be late Thursday, that we would see landfall. And more of a northerly track would indicate a later landfall as well. So, something to keep in mind.

Now, we have seen a little bit of a shift in this track, a little farther on up towards the north as well. And so, this cone has seen a little bit of a change since last time we saw us.

As you take a look at the satellite picture, you can see -- you see that little circulation right there? It's just starting to emerge now off the Yucatan Peninsula, and head out over the open waters into the Bay of Campeche here into the Gulf of Mexico.

So, maximum sustained winds are 35 miles per hour. So, this is still a very weak system. But once it stops interacting with land, we're going to see, it get over that heat source again and intensify, so this will likely become tropical storm Alex once again.

Let's show you some of those computer models that I was talking about, Fredricka. And notice that big spread. You know, the closer together these things are, the higher our confidence is and some of the better computer models are bringing it closer towards Texas. So, we still have a ways to go with the storm system and exactly where it's going to go.

One of the other things to keep in mind is where that oil spill is out here into the Gulf of Mexico as well and what kind of interaction that could be happening. The more of a northerly track this is, the likelier we're going to have some type of an impact.

And when I see you again about the bottom of the hour, Fredricka, we'll talk a little more specifically on what we think that could do. WHITFIELD: All right. Perfect. We'll look for that -- thanks so much, Jacqui.

All right. Chris Lawrence is in the Gulf where the storm is just one of the worries. The on again-off again deepwater drilling moratorium has also been a major worry for people there -- Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka, a lot of people here in the Gulf saying that the moratorium is causing more economic damage than the oil spill did itself because the oil rig workers themselves are protected by a fund. They're getting paid still. But it's all the support folks -- the cleaners, the truckers, the loaders, the caterers -- when the rigs don't work, they don't work. And they're worried that if a six-month stretch is on, it's going to cause irreparable harm to some of these businesses and workers.

We spoke to one man who talk about some of the impacts that the moratorium is having on him already.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY THIBODEAX, LOADS TRUCKS: I know I'm just waiting for the axe to fall, because it's got to. That company cannot survive holding on to guys like me. They can't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: We did get some good news. We spoke to Ken Feinberg, the man who is now in charge of this whole claims process that President Obama appointed.

We asked him point-blank: what about these support guys? We know that the fishermen are covered. We know that rig workers are covered. What about all these support workers? And now, he says, they are also going to fall under his jurisdiction.

So, those workers, you know, like Anthony Thibodeax we just saw, can file a claim and start the process to get reimbursed for some of their losses -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Chris Lawrence in New Orleans, thanks so much.

All right. Senator Robert Byrd, he is seriously ill and in a Washington-area hospital. The 92-year-old West Virginia Democrat was admitted to the hospital last week after he was thought to be suffering from heat exhaustion and severe dehydration. Well, a statement today from Byrd's office says, after he was examined by doctors, other conditions developed.

Byrd is the longest-serving member of Congress in history.

And health care reform kicks in this week. At least one group desperately needs it. How to get the coverage the new law provides.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. This week, expect a battle in Washington over the president's pick for the U.S. Supreme Court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R), ALABAMA: As to the Republican vote for the nominee -- well, I think it will depend a lot on the hearing. Senators are just now, the ones not on the committee, beginning to study her record. It's pretty heavily laced with political activity, very little legal experience.

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), JUDICIAL CMTE. CHMN.: What I intend is to have an open and fair hearing where she can address the American people, say exactly what her positions are. I think that's going to be a lot better than some of the anonymous charges made against her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's get right to CNN's deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser.

Boy, on the surface, it seemed like this was going to be -- you know, a fairly mild confirmation hearing. But might there be some -- I don't know -- expected surprises? It seems like an oxymoron if you're going to speak of surprise -- but you know what I mean.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: It could get interesting this week in the Senate Judiciary Committee. There maybe some push-back by Republicans not too happy with her and there are some also liberals as well, Fred, that are not so crazy about this pick.

How do Americans feel? Let's take a look at this, a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national poll. We asked: should the Senate confirm Elena Kagan to the high court? Forty-four percent say that now. That's down, Fred, 10 points from back in May, soon after the Barack Obama, soon after the president nominated Kagan. You can see most of that support has gone to the unsure column rather than the no column.

And what about these hearings that are coming up? Well, more than six in 10 Americans, we asked in our poll, take a look at this, more than six in 10 say they thought that it would be a major fight between the parties rather than relatively easy process when it comes to these confirmation hearings.

Fred, the administration would like for the judiciary committee to confirm her and the full Senate to confirm her before the Senate goes on break in early August.

WHITFIELD: And, of course, the president wants things to go well. But what else is the president focusing on this week?

STEINHAUSER: Busy week, one thing that stands out for me, of course, is he's going to Wisconsin on Wednesday. He's going to be talking about the economy. It was just nine days ago that he was in Ohio talking about the economy as well. Of course, it is the number one issue with Americans. He's going to be talking about jobs again, a top, top priority.

And it was nine days ago in Ohio that kicked off "Recovery Summer." That's what the White House calls it. It's an effort to highlight the stimulus package and how it has created and will continue to -- White House says -- to create more jobs, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. And we know somebody else who will be celebrating maybe a honeymoon this week. Our own senior White House correspondent Ed Henry, he's got a big weekend ahead and politics has nothing to do with it.

STEINHAUSER: Take a look at -- this is why you will not see Ed Henry on TV this week. There he is all the way on right. And right next to him is Shirley Hung, she is director of coverage here on our Washington bureau on the weekends and they were married yesterday, as you can see, and well --

WHITFIELD: And Elvis was there.

STEINHAUSER: Since Elvis was there, the good guess is it was Las Vegas, yes, it was. And from the poll reports, I hear it was a bipartisan affair, both Republicans and Democrats in attendance, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Oh, glad to hear it. Oh, thanks so much, Paul. And congrats to Shirley and Ed as well.

STEINHAUSER: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Indeed, this is a big week politically and otherwise. July 1st this week as well, a day to remember, particularly if you're suffering from a preexisting medical condition and you haven't been able to get affordable insurance coverage. Well, July 1st, that's when certain provisions of President Obama's health reform package kick in.

Joining us with some details on this, Andrew Ruben, an expert on the health care industry. He also hosts the weekly show, "Healthcare Connect" on Sirius Satellite Radio.

Good to see you, Andrew.

All right. So, give us an idea who needs to be paying attention to what happens on July 1st?

ANDREW RUBIN, NYU LANGONE MEDICAL CTR.: Well, a lot of people need to be paying attention because this is really the first big initiative of health care reform. But in particular, if you have been uninsured for the past six months because you have -- for at least six months because you have a preexisting condition, you're going to be able to apply through your individual state or the federal government, for health care insurance, which you haven't been able to get.

WHITFIELD: And how do you know? I mean, it's not that simple. Then there are other qualifications as to how you would be considered high-risk, so to speak.

RUBIN: Sure. You know, like everything else in health care, it is extremely complicated. But here's what you need to know, because there's still a lot we don't know, like what specifically qualifies as a preexisting condition. The secretary of health and human services is going to start putting that information out this week.

But we know -- what we know is if you've been excluded from having health insurance for at least six months, you can go on to our individual state Web site and look online and see if you can fill out an application, if you qualify for subsidized -- for health care insurance. It's not really subsidized. What it is, it's health insurance that the states are going to charge you that are subsidized by the federal government. So, it will be a little bit cheaper than existing state high-risk programs if your state even has a high-risk program.

WHITFIELD: OK. And there's still premiums involved. How much will it, you know, likely cost for a premium, if you indeed qualify, and if you're considered high-risk?

RUBIN: That's a great question. So basically what the law states is that your health insurance is not allowed to be more expensive than what the average person pays for in that state for health care insurance. So, it may be different in Georgia or it may be different than what you're paying in New York, but -- state to state -- but it's within the state, it can't be any more expensive than what the average person pays for. And the only thing that can trigger a higher premium is your age.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then where do you find out about this coverage? You mentioned that certain, you know, states' departments of insurance. But there are other locations where you can find out a little bit more to find out whether you qualify, if you can take advantage of this --

RUBIN: Sure.

WHITFIELD: -- if you got this preexisting condition.

RUBIN: The best place -- the best place is going to be yes, the best place is going to be the Health and Human Services Web site, which is HHS.gov, because not every state has opted in to the high- risk pool, so about 30 states have. So, you'll be able to get that information on your individual state department of insurance Web site. But Health and Human Services has the full list of which states are in and if the state isn't in, then the federal government is going to administer this program and they're going to tell you how to apply.

And the key here? Apply early. You want to make sure your application is in early because a lot of people have said there's not enough money in this program to keep it going until 2014 when insurance reform kicks in. So, you want to make sure -- if you fall into this category of not having health insurance because of a preexisting condition -- that you get your application in early.

WHITFIELD: So, you need to jump on this July 1st, this week, this Thursday?

RUBIN: You can jump on it today and log on to your state Web site and see if there's any information up already.

WHITFIELD: OK. Andrew Rubin, thanks so much. You know, so many folks thought health care reform was still so far away. This is the first phase rolling out this week.

So if you have preexisting conditions and it's been a difficult time for you to try to get insurance, you need to be paying attention this week -- and as you said, jump on that Web site right now to find out.

RUBIN: Right now. It's a long road ahead.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Andrew. Appreciate that.

RUBIN: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk seafood and other things that you often find in the Gulf. Coming up: scallops, pretty serious business, particularly along Florida's Gulf Coast. But the scallop season is changing because of the oil disaster. We will take a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Getting ahead of the oil, that's exactly what they're trying to do in Florida, where they've opened the important bay scallop season two weeks early.

CNN all-platform journalist John Couwels went out with some regulars along Florida's Gulf Coast.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLIE NORWOOD, SEA HAG MARINA: Getting into the water and see something, maybe you can catch a scallop. You never know, we might get one or two. See you later, baby.

That's one scallop-catching dog, isn't she?

Fishing has become more and more regulated, more expensive to go fishing than it used to be -- cost of the boats, cost of the gas and scalloping has been more of the family thing to do.

There's more folks coming in now, a bunch of boats.

Do we go fishing or scalloping?

OK. They come over from Jacksonville, they stayed the full scallop season and I bet they scalloped three or four times a week.

Hello. You guys just got here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been here for a couple of hours.

NORWOOD: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't see the crowds down here that I normally see. But then, scallop season is about 12 days early this year.

NORWOOD: And it pretty much is the lifeline. It brings us a tremendous amount of out-of-town business.

Beautiful. Got a whole bunch of them, huh, baby?

Excited they opened it early. We were a little concerned it was going do back-fire on us. But so far, the scalloping is good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very addictive. You think, oh, if I just stay under a little bit longer, I can find more of it.

(INAUDIBLE)

NORWOOD: It's just like a never-ending Easter egg hunt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is. It is addictive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I noticed a little bit of oil on it and I thought, oh my gosh, the oil is here and then I realized it was some oil off the back of my motor. So, we're good.

NORWOOD: The good news was that we were very relieved; it gave us a tremendous amount of confidence to hear that others feel that the oil is not coming into the Big Bend area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We came early after the governor opened it up and we thought this was going to be, he may know something we don't.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're great, especially being early.

NORWOOD: Scalloping to us is close to 70 percent of our business for the whole year that we get in a less than three-month cycle.

You guys will sleep good tonight, won't you?

We were losing numerous bookings. I really think that opening up early has given folks confidence that it is going to be a good scallop season. They're feeling more like the oil is not going to come here for now and that they're going to keep their plans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. A look at our top stories right now.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney's condition is improving. He's expected to be released from a Washington-area hospital tomorrow. A relative says he's responding well to treatment to relieve a fluid build-up linked to his heart condition. Cheney has a history of heart problems and has been suffering from an irregular heartbeat.

And today is a day of prayer for states along the Gulf Coast affected by the oil disaster. The governors of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are all holding events in each of their states -- even as efforts to recover the oil continue.

And Canadian police in riot gear fired tear gas at throngs of protesters outside the G-20 Summit in Toronto. There were scuffles with police across the city. At least 224 people have been arrested today. And that's in addition to the 300 arrests yesterday. Police have turned an old film school into a detention center to process all of those people arrested.

The Gulf oil spill, we talked to the man whose family wrote the book on good stewardship of the world's ocean.

But, first, today in history.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): Five years ago in 2005, BTK killer, Dennis Rader pleaded guilty to 10 serial murders in Wichita, Kansas.

Ten years ago in 2000, the Confederate flag was removed from the South Carolina state house after a heated controversy. The same year, a Vermont law allowing gay and lesbian couples to enter into civil union went into effect.

Eighty years ago, in 1930, Congress created the Veterans Administration, now the Department of Veterans Affairs.

One hundred twenty years ago, in 1890, Idaho was admitted to the Union as the 43rd state.

And 130 years ago, in 1880, Helen Keller was born in Alabama. She lost her sight and hearing when she was just 19 months old. But a teacher named Anne Sullivan helped her learn how to communicate -- an achievement celebrated in the play and movie "The Miracle Worker."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, in Toronto, the G-20 summit is about to wrap up. The president of the United States is going to be talking to reporters in about 30 minutes from now on what to do with the some 500 people, protesters who were arrested during the G-20 as well as the G- 8? Well, we've got a producer with us, Leslie Perrot, who is a CNN producer who was there in Toronto. And we understand Leslie, that a number of these protesters had been held in detention, in like an old film school. And now apparently there's some pressure on the police department to release them.

LESLIE PERROT, CNN SPECIAL EVENTS PRODUCER (on phone): Hi Fred, yes. They are releasing these people one by one. We're on Eastern Avenue in Toronto in front of the detention center here. And it's an old film studio. People are being released one by one to a cheering crowd. It's a pretty peaceful crowd. They're cheering. We have been asked to move back so that they can continue to release these people who have been coming out in their socks carrying plastic bags, their possessions. We've heard from a few of them. They said they've needed water. They weren't allowed to make very frequent trips to the bathroom and they've had no access to legal counsel. So again it's pretty peaceful. Just taking sort of a, the police are taking a stance right now. It looks like a less-threatening posture than we've seen in the last 30 minutes or so.

WHITFIELD: So what does this mean, that they're being released, meaning there really are no charges after all? They were detained whether they were arrested yesterday or today. They were detained trying to keep the peace in Toronto during the G-20? And there really are no charges if they're allowed to just exit today?

PERROT: We don't know of, we think that they're just being, we've only seen about probably 10 be released one by one. And they've had sort of different stories. But they claim that they weren't doing anything and that they are being released. We don't know that legal action has been taken. But they, a few of them have said they had no access to legal counsel.

WHITFIELD: OK, CNN producer Leslie Perrot. Thanks so much for joining us from Toronto with that update. Of course, once again, the president of the United States, Barack Obama, is expected to take to the microphones and talk to reporters there, to talk about the thumbs up or the thumbs down moments during the G-20 summit. And of course we'll carry that live as it happens, roughly 6:00 Eastern Time.

Meantime let's talk about the weather and this named storm called Alex that we continue to watch there threatening the Gulf of Mexico. Our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras in the Severe Weather Center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right, well we know the oil spill in the Gulf is a major environmental disaster. Well earlier I talked with ocean explorer, Jean-Michel Cousteau and we talked about the spill's toxic legacy and some of the lessons not learned he says from his famous father, Jacques Cousteau.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN-MICHEL COUSTEAU, OCEAN EXPLORER: The entire water column all the way down to where the oil is coming out is being affected. We're talking about things we don't see. We are visual creatures so we relate to birds that are dying. We relate to dolphins that are running aground. What about everything else in the food chain from the plankton, which is really the foundations of all marine life? All the way up the food chain to the surface? All of that is being affected right now.

So the consequences are long-term, like we've experienced in the Exxon Valdez where I was 21 years ago, like we've experienced in Spain with the Prestige. Their consequences are for decades, and I don't know how we can look at and say to those people straight in the face, you will get your job back. We are heading for major issues and we want to help as much as we can. We need to stop this leak, and I know how complicated it is, and we need to clean the mess as much as we can, and as soon as we can before it reaches the coastline, and it already has. It's heading toward Florida. It's going to come up into the Caribbean. It's going to be cut into the Gulf Stream, and it's going to go all the way to the U.K., to France, to Spain and to Portugal.

WHITFIELD: Well, you're not sounding very hopeful about this at all. All of this at a time that you're also promoting your book, "My Father, The Captain." The world knows your father many times over, Jacques Cousteau, but perhaps they don't know him like you're portraying him in your book.

How much are you thinking of your father as the world watches how the Gulf of Mexico, how this catastrophe will be stopped or healed? How much are you thinking about your dad as you help promote this book and as everyone watches, you know, what may be a futile, I guess, future for the Gulf?

COUSTEAU: Well, my dear father taught me a lot and so did his team and this is teamwork, and what he was telling us, I remember in 1971 he said, if in 20, 30, 50 years from now we haven't taken care of ourselves of our life support system, it may be too late. This is in 11 years from now.

And, you know, in honor of his 100th anniversary, the book is being published by National Geographic, and I'm wearing and many of us and the entire people on the sanctuary, we're wearing this two days ago, but he did this so we start doing this to ourselves. This is what we're doing right now to ourselves. You're talking about the oil spill which now has reached the coastline.

You're talking about even these little crabs that cannot dive down because the oil is keeping them on top of the surface. We're talking about the Portuguese Men of War. This is what we're doing. I know it's not as spectacular as looking at a dolphin, looking at a turtle, but everything else is being affected by what we're doing, and that's what he taught us. That's where he has helped us understand, and I think we know enough today where we can change. We can make a difference.

And I strongly believe in the face of young people, the next generation, we're not going to let them down. We're going to make a difference. We need to roll up our sleeves and go to work and stop abusing our life support system, which means abusing every one of us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, a look at our top stories right now. The G-20 economic summit is wrapping up in Toronto. Member countries reached a compromise agreeing to cut their deficits in half by 2013. President Obama is scheduled to hold a news conference within the hour. CNN will of course carry that live for you. And the conference was marred by violence and vandalism. Police arrested at least 500 demonstrators in the past two days alone. And the head of the CIA is talking about the challenges in Afghanistan. Leon Panetta tells ABC News that up to 100 al Qaeda terrorists could still be there. He also says the war in Afghanistan has serious problems, but the U.S.-led mission is making some progress.

And the family of a captive Israeli soldier is on a 12-day march to try to win his release. Some 2,000 supporters joined the parents of Gilad Shalit. They started their journey to Jerusalem today. Palestinian militants captured Shalit four years ago this month. His family plans to camp outside of the Israeli prime minister's office until he is freed.

All right, top teams in action at the World Cup today. Germany, England, Argentina and Mexico all trying to punch their tickets to the next round. We'll tell you who's moving on and who just might be going home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, if you're one of them, you are a soccer fan glued to the World Cup. Count British troops in Afghanistan among those glued to the set. They took a break to catch today's England- Germany match. CNN's Pedro Pinto has more from Johannesburg, South Africa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEDRO PINTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to soccer city in Johannesburg, day 17 of the World Cup is a day marked by controversy. Let's start with a clash of European fighting between Germany and England. Germany coming out on top 4-1. But all the talk is about one of the goals that should have counted for England and didn't.

Now Germany came out firing on all cylinders and they took a two nil lead pretty early in this game. It was Miroslav Klose who scored first after a long kick from the goalkeeper. Lukas Podolski made it 2 nil and we thought Germany were going to run riot. Credit to England, they bounced back, got a goal back through Matthew Upson on a header. And here is the controversial moment I was telling you about. The shot by Frank Lampard hits the crossbar, goes into the goal. However, the refereeing trio didn't see it so the goal did not stand.

The England players couldn't believe it, neither could the management. But it was 2-1 at halftime. It could have changed the whole complexion of the game. When it was all said and done, it really didn't matter that much, because Germany scored two more goals in the second half. The same man getting both of them, Thomas Mueller from Bayern Munich, one of the exciting young players in German football. Sealing the deal, it was Germany's biggest-ever win against England. And it was England's biggest-ever defeat and the history of the World Cup.

More controversy here in soccer city in the game between Mexico and Argentina. Argentina winning 3-1. They'll now face Germany in the quarterfinals, but their first goal was offside, should not have stood. Carlos Tevez when he headed the ball in was in front of the last defender. So it should not have counted that goal. Argentina then scored two more goals, the second from Gonzalo Higuain, the third again from Tevez and no doubt about his second strike of the game, a fantastic goal from outside the area. Argentina, 3 nil up. Mexico would get a consolation goal back. But too little, too late for Eltre (ph). They're eliminated in the round of 16 for the fifth straight time in a World Cup. It's Argentina versus Germany in the world cup finals. That's all from me, Pedro Pinto, CNN, Johannesburg.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks Pedro.

So many of the U.S. players are of course now on their way back home after their world cup loss to Ghana yesterday. President Obama, well he called it a rather nerve-wracking game himself. He watched it with world leaders while at the G-20 summit in Toronto. The president and British Prime Minister David Cameron bought each other a beer to settle their bet over the first-round game between U.S. and England. They tied 1-1. So both of them had to pay up.

All right, 1970, that was a tumultuous time on the nation's college campuses. That's why many alumni are actually being invited back this year to have the graduation that they never experienced.

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WHITFIELD: So, there was a bit more gray hair than usual at some college commencement ceremonies this year. Some schools invited the class of 1970 to join the procession 40 years late. This is why.

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WHITFIELD (voice over): In the spring of 1970, America was deeply divided over the Vietnam War. And U.S. college campuses were ground zero for dissent. On April 30, just weeks before the end of the school year, President Richard Nixon announced he was sending U.S. troops into neighboring Cambodia. That touched off protests at many U.S. College campuses. And at Kent State University in Ohio, national guardsmen shot and killed four demonstrators. The result was outrage and the biggest student strike in U.S. history. "Time" Magazine counted 441 colleges and universities affected in one way or another and on many campuses, this school year ended chaotically. Boston University canceled commencement ceremonies.

MARSHA BROME, 1970 BOSTON UNIV. GRAD.: There was great unrest on campus and there were sniper threats so the university thought it best to call off graduation.

WHITFIELD: They went ahead with commencement at the University of Cincinnati, but many of the graduates were missing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because school had been closed down for about five or six weeks prior to, a lot of people were not notified or could not come back to attend. WHITFIELD: This year, after 40 years, some members of the class of 1970 finally got their commencement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I present to you the Boston University class of 1970.

WHITFIELD: Boston University, the University of Cincinnati and Ohio University in Athens invited their 1970 graduates back to campus to join the class of 2010 for some long-awaited recognition.

LINDA CARMEROTO, 1970 BOSTON UNIV. GRAD: I was never much for pomp and circumstance in the 1960s and in 1970, it didn't really bother me. What was happening in the world was more important. But for my father who lived since the day I was born to see me graduate from college like nobody else in my family had ever done -- a couple of us looked up towards heaven for our parents who are residing there now. And we wish they could be here today to see this.

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WHITFIELD: Well, congratulations to the class of 1970 and 2010. Bill Mulvilhill is vice president of the University of Cincinnati Foundation and he is also a member of the class of 1970 and one of the 1970 UC graduates who participated in this year's commencement ceremony 40 years after the fact. So, we caught up with him yesterday.

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BILL MULVILHILL, UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI CLASS OF 1970: When the Kent State shooting took place, you heard that from an individual. You heard it from a person who had emotion. You didn't hear it on your cell phone or get a text about it. I think that caused that time to be much more meaningful and personal to people than maybe sometimes are today. So the opportunity to kind of close that loop, I think, was important to many of us.

WHITFIELD: Do you remember that as if it were yesterday?

MULVILHILL: I remember the closing of schools as if it were yesterday. I remember the turmoil on campus. It was such an emotional time with all the issues going on around the country. And when Kent State took place, it was such an unbelievable moment that it's hard not to remember it.

WHITFIELD: How much of that moment and the ripple effects did you think of during this year's ceremony?

MULVILHILL: Well, it was hard not to think about it because it was really the reason that we came together. It's something when you live through something like that; it's something you never forget. I think we all had somewhat tears in our eyes a little bit thinking about the emotional time and the ability to bring closure to that.

WHITFIELD: The 2010 graduates can't possibly understand. They're so far removed from that experience. But did you find you and other graduates of 1970 trying to kind of explain or educate the class of 2010 about what this really means?

MULVILHIL: Yes, we had several opportunities to interact with some of the graduates from this year. They have their own challenges going on in the world. But they were very interested in what had happened at that time. They really didn't understand the total impact of it. And I think they appreciated the fact that we took time to come back and celebrate. And they gave us a very nice, warm reception when we came back.

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WHITFIELD: Again, congratulations to the class of 1970 and the class of 2010. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, I'll see you back here next weekend. And just minutes from now, President Obama is scheduled to hold a news conference in Toronto where the G-20 economic conference is coming to a close. There's the podium there. We'll take you there live as it happens. Drew Griffin is coming up next.

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