Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Building Up America, The Great State of Kansas; BP Assessing Tests at this Hour; Alvin Greene Addresses NAACP; Health Plans to Provide Free Tests; Flying Customers to Gulf Shores
Aired July 18, 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: And, hey, Toto, we are in Kansas.
Our Tom Foreman tour the state to see how people are beating the recession and turning their yellow, brick road into gold. It's part of our Building up America series, which is just minutes away.
But, first, let's get a look at the headlines right now. BP and government officials are taking a closer look at test results on the broken well in the Gulf of Mexico. The new containment cap has stopped the flow of oil, for now. And if the cap continues to work, officials may leave it in place until relief wells are completed.
And the National Tea Party Federation has expelled the Tea Party Express and spokesman, Mark Williams. They're reacting to a blog post from Williams who wrote a satirical letter to Abraham Lincoln on behalf of, quote, "colored people". The Tea Party Federation represents factions of the political movement across the country.
And South Carolina Senatorial candidate, Alvin Greene, finally hit the campaign trail in his hometown just moments ago. It was his first speech since his surprise victory in the Democratic primary in June. That's him sitting in the background there in the dark suit.
We'll have more top stories and I'll be back in 30 minutes.
Building up America starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Airplanes and welding and ranching, oh, my. With a broad base of small business and plenty of fighting spirit in its big businesses too, the Sunflower State is betting on success even in these hard times. That's why when it comes to BUILDING UP AMERICA, for some people here, there really is no place like home.
Welcome on board the CNN Express rolling through the great State of Kansas. I'm Tom Foreman and, you know, this state is unique in this country, not only is it the geographic center of everything, but it's also a state that has done better than most in dealing with the current recession.
Why is that? Well, it's got some cornerstone industries, of course, but also it has a sense of self-reliance that the pioneers brought here a long time ago and that lingers to this day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fire!
FOREMAN (voice-over): Out of the tourist attraction called Old Cowtown amid the cannon and guns, Kansans are reenacting some of the battles from their state's historic past, but their present struggle is for the future.
FOREMAN (on camera): Do you see a lot of people around here worrying about the economy right now?
RACHEL HUNT, OLD COWTOWN MUSEUM: Yes.
GREGORY HUNT, OLD COWTOWN MUSEUM: Yes. My friends, some of them don't know where the next check is coming from.
R. HUNT: I'm in the automotive industry and we've seen a big downturn and everybody is worried about it.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Worried, but like that famous Kansan Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" not sitting still. Smack in the middle of the country, Kansas has historically rolled out wheat, cattle, transportation and aviation products worth billions.
NOAH WRIGHT, OZ WINERY: Yellow Brick Road, it's a blend of Chardonnay and Vignole.
FOREMAN: So to build up, many here have turned to past success for inspiration and a competitive edge. That's what Noah Wright did.
WRIGHT: Kansas before prohibition was the third largest grape- producing state in the nation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This one is not too sweet, not too dry.
FOREMAN: Just three years ago, he had an idea to combine the state's little-known wine-making past with its fame as Dorothy's home. And Oz Winery has been booming ever since, despite the recession.
WRIGHT: Since we've opened, we've grown every year. And we didn't know if we'd be 10 times more than that or if we'd just be at the same - same level, you know? We just don't know if - if it's expecting us yet. We have no way to tell.
FOREMAN: Such efforts by thousands of small businesses have helped produce an unemployment rate well below the national average. A housing market on the rebound. And a population, if not entirely upbeat, at least hopeful.
FOREMAN (on camera): That classic American tune, "Home on the Range" was written in Kansas almost 140 years ago. And since that time, it's become a lot more than just a state song. For many people here, it is a measure of commitment, their commitment to always build up whenever times turn down. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The people here still have the same mentality. Whatever happens to us, we're going to manage. We're going to make do.
FOREMAN (voice-over): This is one of a handful of states with no large cities, just a lot of medium-sized places and plenty of small towns. And yet, Kansans have made their mark throughout the ages, in good times and bad.
FOREMAN (on camera): One of the industries that Kansas is known all around the world for is airplane manufacturing, particularly corporate jets and smaller privately-owned planes.
Some of the biggest names in that business are right here in Wichita, and they've been through a very tough time. They've lost a lot of business and a lot of jobs. But they've also used this as a time to regroup and prepare themselves to build up again.
FOREMAN (voice-over): A few years back, Cessna, one of the most renowned names in aviation was selling hundreds of multimillion-dollar airplanes annually. Then the recession, scandals over the misuse of corporate jets and the company lost half of its orders and half of its jobs, 6,000 in Wichita alone. For CEO Jack Pelton, a wakeup call.
FOREMAN (on camera): How is this company fundamentally different than it was two years ago?
JACK PELTON, CEO, CESSNA: I think now every day we wake up. We feel we have to go out - go out and earn our right to be that number one manufacturer in the general aviation space. It's not just a given. It's something that you have to prove every day.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Proving it has meant using the downtime to reconsider many manufacturing methods. For example, they found that by raising jet wings to a vertical position, technicians can move up, down and across them quicker. Saving time and labor that was previously lost maneuvering above and below the wing.
By acquiring and attaching the most expensive parts, like engines last, they reduced the holding time for costly inventory. They've stepped up customer service, with rapid response teams on the ground, and if need be, in the air to fix any plane that needs repair. And throughout the chain of production, they say they are looking for new ideas, new savings, new efficiencies.
FOREMAN (on camera): In many ways, it sounds like you completely rebuilt your production line.
PELTON: We did. We cleared out this entire part of the building, and said, let's go reexamine how we build airplanes and how we can become better at it. And, you know, not only does it affect the cost of quality, which our customers are going to view positively, but it's also to help our employees.
FOREMAN (voice-over): All of that has allowed the company to maintain aggressive research and development, and to roll out its latest model, despite the hard times.
FOREMAN (on camera): And you really believe that if you don't keep developing and bringing new products on, you're never going to recover?
PELTON: You're not. Innovate or die. You can't just hunker down and hide during this period of time. You have to continue to invest.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Because that, he believes, is what protects jobs on the ground and puts planes into the sky.
FOREMAN (on camera): The folks at Cessna don't expect everything to come bouncing back right away. In fact, their industry tends to be a lagging indicator. As the economy gets better, they slowly come along behind it. But, they think, when they do come back, they will be stronger and better-positioned to be strong in the market.
FOREMAN (voice-over): When we come back, the little idea that has produced big rewards, solid jobs, and all without the help of a banker, and in the tornado's wake - building up by going green, when BUILDING UP AMERICA rolls on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Saturday mornings like most mornings are hopping at Riverside Cafe in Wichita.
PAUL COHLMIA, OWNER, RIVERSIDE CAFE: And I'm open seven days a week and I'm here seven days a week.
FOREMAN: Paul Cohlmia opened up nine years ago and the recession has not even slowed him down. Sure, it's made things tougher, but he and his customers help each other.
COHLMIA: You know, it's a struggle every day. But still, it's what you do. What I like to do in life. You offer good - good prices and good food. I mean, they'll - they'll come in.
FOREMAN: The secret to success here is straightforward - Cohlmia figures even in hard times people would like to take a break now and then. And if he can make it affordable, they will keep him in business. His restaurant is all about serving the middle - middle income, middle class, middle folks.
COHLMIA: Anybody can - can eat if you have $5 in your pocket, or if you're looking at the businessman that has a million dollars and he wants to save some money, you know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You guys doing OK?
FOREMAN: So rather than pulling back in these hard times, he's opening another place. COHLMIA: We all want to go somewhere where you can get good value and you don't have to spend your whole pocket book on a - on a meal.
FOREMAN: Building up, sunny side up.
In terms of beef cattle production, Kansas is a top five player, second only to Texas. When it comes to wheat, Kansas is king. Producing more than any other state of the most popular variety for making bread, it is shipped to countries all over the planet, including Russia, Morocco, China and Japan. And all of that has led Kansas farmers to three straight years of above-average income compared to farm families in the rest of America.
FOREMAN (on camera): Travel all over this country and you will find plenty of places that thrive on recruiting business, whether it's from the next state over or even from another country. But Kansas is not so much one of those. Here, most of the success is home-grown. And sometimes it starts with nothing more than a person, a good idea, and the willingness to work for it.
FOREMAN (voice-over): In a shower of sparks and hot metal, Terry and Debby Schrag are building success at Cannonball. Ten years ago, they opened shop to make one of Terry's inventions, a fully automated hay loader and they are turning them out as fast as they can.
FOREMAN (on camera): Why do you think your business is doing well, when so many others aren't?
TERRY SCHRAG, CANNONBALL: Well, I think number one is we have an excellent product. And we have personal contact with almost everybody we sell to.
FOREMAN (voice-over): But there's more. The Schrags could not get a loan when they started, so they paid for everything. That kept them from getting too big, too fast or sinking money into buildings or help, and it prepared them for hard times.
FOREMAN (on camera): So you didn't have the loan money to work with, but you also didn't have the debt to be saddled with.
DEBBIE SCHRAG, CANNONBALL: That's correct. With us, since we've always worked out of our pocket and always made our cash flow work, I think we weren't hit with that when all the banks started tightening up on their money.
FOREMAN (voice-over): At Wichita State, the Small Business Development Center says such home-grown success stories are critical to this state's rebound. Because, David Mace says, only a tiny fraction of new jobs come from out of state companies moving in.
FOREMAN (on camera): So what makes the difference between a small business that succeeds and one that does not?
DAVID MACE, KS SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER: I think the biggest thing is probably customer focus. And it really starts with, I think identifying a real need that exists and going after it and meeting that need and really taking an outside-in approach to the market.
FOREMAN (voice-over): He should know. Back in the late '50s two of the school's graduates borrowed $600 to start Pizza Hut, and 20 years later, sold it for $300 million. Cannonball is not that big, but it provides 18 full-time jobs with $3 million in annual sales. And -
T. SCHRAG: If I was 20 years younger, I'd double the size of it.
FOREMAN (on camera): It can be that big? You have that much business?
T. SCHRAG: Oh, yes. I could double it.
FOREMAN (voice-over): For a farm equipment maker in the middle of a recession - Not a bad harvest.
FOREMAN (on camera): In addition to those hay bale handlers, the Schrags now also make grain wagons that hold the wheat harvest all over Kansas. So you know they're going to be in business for a very long time.
FOREMAN (voice-over): In a minute, further down the road, we'll tell you why you need to get the heck into Dodge. A lot of people are, and it's paying off.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Some famous faces have swept out of Kansas over the years. The aviator Amelia Earhart was born here. President Dwight Eisenhower grew up here. And legendary peanut researcher, George Washington Carver called it home for a time.
James Naismith, who invented basketball, coached at the University of Kansas, and Wilt Chamberlain played at KU. Jim Ryun was the first high schooler to break the four-minute mile, and running back Gale Sayers was a Kansan.
Actors Don Johnson and Ed Asner called Kansas home, actress Kirstie Alley too. And don't forget the Jazz King, Charlie Parker, who taught Kansas City how to swing.
FOREMAN (on camera): In the springtime out here on the plains of Kansas, you can find many prairie burns underway, farmers burning away the old, dry growth so that new, green shoots can appear on the land. That sort of trial by the elements has been part of frontier life for as long as people have been here.
But there's one town out here that faced a unique trial, not terribly long ago. Not only was it hit by a terrible, terrible storm, but then it had the double trouble of having to build up again when so many towns like it were struggling.
FOREMAN (voice-over): The tornado that ripped through Greensburg three years ago, was a swirling black cloud with winds exceeding 200 miles per hour, and it left this small town in ruins.
DANIEL WALLACH, GREENSBURG GREENTOWN: It was a 1.7-mile-wide tornado, and the town is 1.5 miles wide. So there was just very little on the peripheries that survived.
FOREMAN: But the storm of rebuilding that Daniel Wallach and others have led since is proving just as powerful, only this one is green.
WALLACH: And so this town knew they had to have a new identity.
FOREMAN (on camera): And that's what you set out to do with this plant?
WALLACH: Yes.
FOREMAN (voice-over): With the strong backing of the local government, this town is being rebuilt as a model of environmental sustainability. At the new school, drainage systems capture and conserve rainwater to feed the landscaping. Salvaged wood covers the walls. Cabinets are made of wheat harvest leftovers, and natural light pours in everywhere.
Superintendant Darin Headrick is expecting much lower power bills.
DARIN HEADRICK, SUPERINTENDANT: During the day we wouldn't even turn lights on here to have classes and - and activities during the day. Our classrooms are the same way. We really don't know if we'll have to turn a light switch on during the day in the classrooms.
FOREMAN (on camera): That's a big savings.
HEADRICK: Well, we hope.
FOREMAN (voice-over): One of the town's many new wind turbines generates up to 30 percent of the new hospital's electricity, while power and water saving utilities dominate. Mary Sweet runs the place.
FOREMAN (on camera): Were you skeptical of this idea to begin with?
MARY SWEET, KIOWA CO. MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: Initially, I was. Yes. At first I thought it was a gimmick. It was a way to build back and have people help us. But -- like I mentioned, it's - it's a road map of - of the way to follow in construction.
FOREMAN: And you think it's working now?
SWEET: It's working wonderfully. Yes.
FOREMAN (voice-over): And all over town, houses are springing up with eco-friendly designs, like this model made of concrete, filled with smart utilities, feeding off solar cells, a machine that pulls drinking water from humidity in the air, and so much more. FOREMAN (on camera): What's going on up here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So up here we have the rooftop garden.
FOREMAN: You're going to grow food for the house right up here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, absolutely.
FOREMAN (voice-over): The payoff? By most accounts, this was a small, dying town before the storm, but with each new stage of the green comeback, it is being reborn. And, every day, fewer folks are looking back.
WALLACH: With a name like Greensburg, you know, it - it was a natural fit.
FOREMAN (on camera): There are still plenty of empty lots like this all over town, but, given time, they hope that they can fill them all in with new green buildings, and, in the process, build up a more viable economic future for this town than the one that it lost.
FOREMAN (voice-over): In a moment, the quick draw artist. How Dodge City is drawing a stampede of business and jobs when BUILDING UP AMERICA continues.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): The buffalo really did roam here. In the late 1800s, millions wandered the Kansas Plains. Then came a massive surge in demand for buffalo hides, horns, meat and more. The thundering herds were decimated by over hunting. In their wake, came ranchers who had already seen how grazing could make beef a very big business.
FOREMAN (on camera): Many of the roads that crisscrossed Kansas began as wagon train trails or even the paths that cowboys used to take their cattle to market. And perhaps it in all of western lore, there's no crossroads more important than Dodge City.
Generations have survived there on the business of beef, but, right now, that town is undergoing a startling transformation that's about its past for sure but also about its future.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
FOREMAN (voice-over): Seventy thousand cattle are processed in Dodge City every week. Beef and farming are mainstays of the region, but even the biggest players like Ken Winter are behind a big change underway here.
FOREMAN (on camera): You're excited about the fact that your economy here has really diversified. KEN WINTER, WINTER FEED YARD: I think that's - I think that's good for the city, good for our school system. It helps encourage new industry, retail, everything.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Thirteen years ago, after decades of economic stagnation, city and civic leaders convinced voters to approve an extra penny of sales tax, dedicating it to an ambitious idea - turning their town into a diverse entertainment Mecca, and, they say, it has paid off like a royal flush.
FOREMAN (on camera): It must be very strange to be sitting here while the rest of the nation is in a recession, knowing that you're not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We took a vote in Dodge City and we just decided not to participate. And -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's how we did it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's how we did it. We decided we wouldn't participate in a recession.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Indeed, they have not. With that extra money, they have built a racetrack, sports arenas and a new convention center is under way. Investments in turn have produced revenue for new schools, and a successful campaign to win the first-ever state-owned casino.
Their unemployment rate, below 4 percent, is among the lowest in the nation, and $1 billion worth of new private and public construction is in the works. No wonder Joann Knight with the local development corporation is pleased.
FOREMAN (on camera): This one penny has transformed this town.
JOANN KNIGHT, DODGE CITY DEVELOPMENT CORP.: It really have. Our biggest problem is finding workers and having houses available for them.
FOREMAN (voice-over): And everyone seems to give everyone else credit.
JEFF THORPE, BOOT HILL GAMBLING: To be a community you have to embrace the needs of everyone, to invite everyone to the table.
CINDY MALEK, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Increasing the quality of life in our community became such a priority and it was such a grassroots effort.
JOE BOGNER, BEER WHOLESALER: We haven't seen the "me" leadership, the "I" leadership. It's a "we."
BRIAN WEBER, VICE-MAYOR: We found a lot of people who are hard- working who love Dodge City, who wants to see Dodge City stronger.
FOREMAN: The cattle business is still king, but now not everyone's fortunes depend on that because they have built up a more diverse and promising future for their old west town.
For so many people that we met here in Kansas, rebuilding is coming down to two things -- self-reliance and determination. We hope you've seen some ideas here that might help you in your community, as you try to rebuild.
For all of us on the CNN Express, I'm Tom Foreman, we'll see you down the road.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIED: A look at the headlines right now. BP and government officials are taking a closer look at test results on the broken well in the Gulf of Mexico. The new containment cap has stopped the flow of oil so far.
And South Carolina's unlikely Senate candidate hit the campaign trail in his hometown today. It's the first time Alvin Greene has appeared since his surprise win in last month's Democratic primary.
And repercussions from a bad joke or was it outright racism? Either way, it has caused a big split in the Tea Party Movement today.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
Our new developments in the Gulf right now, BP officials are reviewing the latest results from critical tests of the newly-recapped oil well. Depending on what they find, the cap could stay sealed on the well until a relief well is drilled.
Joining us right now from New Orleans, CNN's David Mattingly. So David, we just passed another 24-hour window. What does this mean?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, three days now, and as of this morning, BP was telling us they've got no leaks, no surprises and no problems.
And the spokesman, Doug Suttles was actually raising the possibility this morning that if it stays this way, they could just keep testing all the way up until August when they plan to have this well killed by drilling in that relief well.
That would be great surprise after what we heard from Admiral Thad Allen yesterday, who was saying after the testing they would go back into production, sending the oil up to the surface to containment vessels.
But today, very optimistic note from BP, them actually saying we could continue testing until the well is killed and not having to open it back up.
WHITFIELD: And so, Admiral Thad Allen is he optimistic about this?
MATTINGLY: Well, he released a statement a short time after that and he was -- his words were a lot more cautious than what we were hearing from BP. He was saying, we need to go with the science. We need to pay attention to these test results that are coming back.
Because the last thing we want to do -- and we've heard this so many times before -- the last thing they want to do is make a decision that will result in the well getting damaged or cause more problems than they've had before.
They've been very nervous about the condition of the well. So far, the tests keep telling them that it's holding the pressure and there are no leaks. But they keep monitoring and they keep watching it and Thad Allen not ready at this point to say yes, just keep it closed.
WHITFIELD: And how does this all this impact the clean-up efforts?
MATTINGLY: Well, that's been a source of good news right now without that new crude coming to the top every single day. The Coast Guard says it's been able to go off of defense and go straight on to offense, going out there with the skimmers.
They've got a small army of them out there just going after everything that they see. There's no new oil coming up for them to have to go back to other areas and start over with and something very important here.
They did 19 controlled burns of the oil that they had corralled out there in the ocean two days ago. Yesterday they just did one and that tells you how little extra oil is now coming to the surface.
WHITFIELD: David Mattingly, thanks so much from New Orleans.
All right, for the first time South Carolina's unlikely U.S. Senate candidate is finally campaigning. A political unknown, Alvin Greene, shocked many when he beat a long-time politician to win the Democratic nomination in June's primary.
Well he has been mostly silent ever since. But today, the unemployed Army veteran made his first speech in his hometown of Manning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALVIN GREENE (D) SOUTH CAROLINA SENATE CANDIDATE: Just last month in June, we saw a net loss of 125,000 jobs across the country. Let me repeat that. Just last month, in the month of June, we saw a net loss of 125,000 jobs across the country.
That's just last month, we lost 125,000 jobs across the country. We have more unemployed now in South Carolina than any other time in our state's history. We see record high cuts in education spending even though South Carolina is ranked 49th in education.
South Carolina ranks 49th in standardized test scores and we have the highest high school dropout rate in the country. We spend more than two times of our taxpaying dollar on inmates than students. Let's get South Carolina and America back to work and let's move South Carolina and America forward. (END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, Alvin Greene running for U.S. Senate in South Carolina. So despite being unemployed, Greene came up with a $10,000 filing fee last year. South Carolina officials conducted an investigation into how he came up with the money. But just this past Friday, they concluded that there was no evidence of wrongdoing.
All right. A big split within the Tea Party Movement today brought on by a controversial blog post by one of its figureheads, Mark Williams. In his blog, Williams pretends to be NAACP President, Benjamin Jealous.
Writing to Abraham Lincoln and it reads in part, "dear Mr. Lincoln, we colored people have taken a vote and decided that we don't cotton to that whole emancipation thing. Freedom means having to work for real, think for ourselves and take consequences along with the rewards that is just far too much to ask of us," end quote.
Those words from Mark Williams so that didn't sit too well with the National Tea Party Federation, apparently so today it expelled Williams from the organization along with his group, the Tea Party Express. Well here's how NAACP President, Ben Jealous responded to the expulsion.
BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN TODD JEALOUS, NAACP PRESIDENT: They need to go further. This is a, you know, they have groups all over the country, in down in the show-me state where we just had our convention, they have the council of conservative citizens who are out there actively recruiting.
This is a white -- this is a group that says black people are not equipped for democracy. You know, they need to break from them. Have that be clear. You know, at the same time you have David Duke who is thoroughly excited about the Tea Party.
He's been blogging about how he thinks that this is going to revive him in politics. They need to say that look, there's no space for David Duke in the Tea Party. They just got to go further.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIED: We invited political consultant Jordan Lieberman on after we spoke with Ben Jealous and we asked Mr. Lieberman about the claim that the Tea Party leaders are tolerating racism within their ranks and here's what he had to say.
JORDAN LEIBERMAN, VICE-PRESIDENT, CAMPAIGNGRID (via telephone): The Tea Party is not racist. As a matter of fact, there really isn't such thing as a Tea Party. It's a group of loosely-affiliated organizations who came together under a federation, which, of course, had some members that are, you know, somewhat racist. However the reality is that -- WHITFIELD: But if the argument is -- if the argument is whether it's the entire group or whether there are members who are carrying the message of this movement, and if their behavior is such or it's been classified as such as being that of bigotry or hateful or racist or those are the charges.
I mean, that the party or the movement as a whole Ben Jealous was saying, is not condemning the actions of this one person who has quite the platform. What does that say? Does that say that the movement is embracing the behavior of someone who has insulted people in large part?
LIEBERMAN: No, they have kicked him out and they've done actually most members, most Tea Party leaders have done a pretty good job of trying to excise members who were -- are racist or otherwise kind of off the mainstream.
But the fact is that we're entering august and we're still talking about whether the Tea Party Federation is racist and that's exactly what Ben Jealous wants.
WHITFIELD: So far Mark Williams has not responded yet to the expulsion from the National Tea Party Federation. In fact, he was schedule to be on a live interview this evening at 7:00 p.m. with our Don Lemon.
But Mr. Williams canceled saying that his travel plans seemed to get in the way that appointment. We'll see if there's a rescheduled interview time.
All right, meantime new rules will soon require health plans to offer some screenings with no co-pays. Details, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, starting in September, many Americans may be able to get preventive health care for free. New rules will kick in requiring new private health plans and some existing ones, to provide a number of screenings and services without charging a co-pay.
Joining us with more details, health care expert Andrew Rubin. Good to see you.
ANDREW RUBIN, NYU LANGONE MEDICAL CENTER: Good to be here.
WHITFIELD: All right. So what are the conditions that there would be no co-pays?
RUBIN: So, this is pretty -- I think this is pretty exciting stuff. Remember, health care reform was not just health care insurance reform. It was about reforming the health care system, which includes taking costs outs of the system.
So the government basically believes that by covering co- insurance, waiving co-insurance and deductibles for certain screening services, they'll actually be able to save money in the long-term. They're saying a woman over 40 can get an annual mammogram and she won't have to pay any co-insurance or deductibles for that service. Colonoscopies for people over 50, wellness visits for chilled, blood pressure screenings, cholesterol screenings, things like that.
WHITFIELD: All right, so here's some of the items, blood pressure tests, pre-natal care, diabetes tests, wellness visits for infants and children, routine vaccinations, cholesterol tests and many cancer screenings as you just mentioned with mammograms. How can doctor's offices and maybe even medical clinics or hospitals afford this?
RUBIN: Well, remember, so what the government is they're basically saying the insurance companies have to pick up the cost of this service. So the doctors aren't actually going to be eating the difference in the co-pays and deductibles, the insurance companies are going to have to cover the visits in full.
And most estimates put this as costing 1 percent more for the, you know, premium costs to an employer, insurance or private insurance company for covering the costs in terms of more people seeking these out.
WHITFIELD: OK.
RUBIN: It's also important to remember, you said this in the beginning, certain people are eligible and I get this question all the time. They hear us on the TV or on the radio and said, I don't know how to access this service.
This is only -- this only applies to people who are getting -- or applying for a new health insurance plan or for -- if you get your insurance through a large-group employer if they change their insurance plan.
They're called grandfathered plans and many large employers are not changing their health care plans this year. So if you get your insurance through your employer and they haven't changed their plan that much, you may not actually get this free service.
WHITFIELD: Wow, OK, so now there are some other free services or no- charge services which include like, stop smoking counseling. Screenings and counseling for obesity and HIV testing.
RUBIN: Right. Again, the goal here is a lot of people in this country don't seek out health care coverage or services because they can't afford to actually pay deductible or co-insurance amount.
WHITFIELD: Right.
RUBIN: A lot of private employers -- there have been a lot of private studies, you know, in this country by large employers where they've actually invested in their own employees' covering these costs and they found in the long-term, it saves money. So the government is saying if the private sector has done these pilots, it's time for us to step in and figure out if we can save some money by keeping people healthy, getting them to the doctor sooner, understanding when they're sick sooner.
So maybe people will take better care of themselves in the future and I think there's enough evidence to suggest that this works.
WHITFIELD: All right, and there are other measures that kind of cause and effect. So what happens when for example these co-pays are slashed?
RUBIN: Well, again, think about this. You know, you want to go get your office visit or preventive screening mammogram, but you know it's going to cost you $50 and you're worried about putting groceries on the table.
Well, now a woman over 40 doesn't have to worry about that. They can go get the mammography screening and still pay for groceries that month.
Another catch here -- it doesn't cover the cost of treatment if they find anything then regular insurance rules apply and the cost of whatever happens to you afterwards if they do find something. Regular insurance rules apply which means you'll have co-insurance and deductibles.
WHITFIELD: OK, as a result, you know, already some of the biggest insurers are reacting to some of the health care reform rules. Promoting plans with reduced premiums for example, but, of course, there's real tradeoffs, because it might mean you don't get to choose your doctor.
RUBIN: Fredricka, this has sort of been happening I'd say over the past year or two. Listen, one of the ways to reduce costs is to tightly manage care for people. And you know, they tried this back in the '90s with HMOs, where you could only go to your primary care doctor before you go to a specialist and you had to be in-network.
But the health care market place was different back then and America rejected that and they liked the freedom of choice. But now health care costs are skyrocketing. We've got health care reform. We've got a lot of Americans entering, you know, the health care system with new insurance.
And one of the things that insurance and private employers are looking at doing again is get back into the tighter-managed network where the insurance companies offer all the services that have to be offered.
But they do it with physicians and hospitals where they've negotiated better rates for them and they'll keep the members within those networks. We'll see if works, but - because it failed last time. But I think America, you know, we may have to actually embrace this if we're really looking to save some money in the long-term.
WHITFIELD: All right, health care expert Andrew Rubin, thanks so much. Good to see you again.
RUBIN: Good to be here.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, perhaps a triathlon sounds intriguing to you. Look, there's our Dr. Sanjay Gupta about to dive right in. He and six viewers from CNN's fit nation tour participated in today's Nautica New York City triathlon. They all finished the course, that's the biggest victory right there.
In the meantime, let's check the overall results anyway, Rebecca Wasner of New York defended her title in the women's division and Flip Osali of the Czech Republic captured his first lifetime series victory in the men's division.
Sanjay will be live tomorrow after he gets off the swim cap right there, live on CNN's "American Morning" with an insider's view of the race, the experience, the results and what's next. How do you top that?
The water rose so fast, people had to scramble to their rooftops. We'll get the latest on the deadly flash flooding taking place in Eastern Kentucky.
And then later, how pilots are boosting the economy of one town hit very hard by the Gulf oil disaster.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A tornado warning in Michigan. Let's check in with our Bonnie Schneider in the weather center.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right, Fredricka, we are monitoring severe weather. Let's get right to it. In Michigan, it is one stormy Sunday evening. We have a tornado warning right now. You can see highlighted in pink, we zoom in there.
This is for parts of Manastee and Wexford County in lower Michigan until 6:30 p.m., that's Eastern daylight time. So we're seeing severe weather work its way to the south of Traverse City. A lot of these storms have the potential to produce very powerful winds.
Here's the severe thunderstorm watch box highlighted in yell row and the oranges boxes are severe thunderstorm warnings and that means we could see hail three-quarters of an inch in diameter as well as very gusty winds. It's been a stormy weekend for sure, widespread area of rain across much of the Gulf Coast.
We're getting stormy conditions as I mentioned into Houston and New Orleans, but we also saw moderate rain working its way through areas of Ohio and Kentucky and in Kentucky, unfortunately, that pretty tragic.
You've got to see pictures just coming into us here at CNN, where two people were killed in a flooding accident in the Kentucky area. This was actually in Pike, Kentucky, which is very close to the Virginia West, Virginia boarder in the eastern part of the state. The flood just swamp the entire county and it really cost a lot of problems. The water came up quickly. It wasn't that much rain falling, but a creek overflowed and that was part of the problem we saw with the weather in Kentucky.
Let's talk about the heat because we're also monitoring temperatures that have been soaring across the country. The heat advisories continue for the evening hours. Will it get any better this week now that we're moving into Monday?
We're looking forward to maybe a cool down. The problem is, there is not one coming, widespread heat across much of the country for the rest of the week with the heat index in the triple digits.
That will persist straight through the rest of the week. We're not into spinning relief and one quick last thing just to show those of you that are traveling. Those storms are causing problems with Sunday night. We have delays, an hour and a half in Chicago right now.
WHITFIELD: Wow, all right, thanks so much. It's a lot to handle right there. Thank you, Bonnie.
All right, let's take a look at the top story right now. The tests have been a success so far on the new containment cap in the Gulf of Mexico. You can see there is still no oil flowing. Officials are assessing results from the last 24-hour test right now. A BP executive says the cap could stay on until the relief wells are finished.
Tourism is down in many coastal areas hard hit by the oil disaster. Some Alabama pilots wanted to help, so they decided to fly in shoppers. Photojournalist Rod Griola was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are in Gulf shores, Alabama.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're all pilots in the Shelby County Airport in Clear, Alabama.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're the Parrot Heads. We wanted to show them our appreciation for them making the effort to support our community.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a conversation about two weeks ago, they decided they wanted to come down and do something here in the Gulf since the Gulf had been hurting so much with people not coming down and vacationing so, from there it went viral and we ended up with just a few people to actually a large number of people that flew down today. About 26 aircraft came down today, about 70 people.
What did you buy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hot cashews and almond, cinnamon glazed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I lost my job with a Dolphin Cruise Company because we had -- the dolphins literally have disappeared down here. It's really a ripple effect throughout the whole community. All of us have lost jobs, which means less money, which means less money we put out into the community.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oil's not affecting anything that we've done today. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We have ocean breezes, good food. There's no reason not to come.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we're fortunate to own an aircraft and we can get down here fairly quickly from Birmingham, about an hour, hour and a half flight, and we felt it was important for us to come down and spend money and help the people out on the Gulf. We have now had two meals and staying overnight and renting a hotel room and trying to spend all money and getting ready to go shopping.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We hope this will kind of give people the incentive to do this also.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, what an effort. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. I'll see you back here again next weekend. Don Lemon is coming up next with more of the day's headlines including South Carolina's Alvin Greene.
Don is talking to voters to see if today's first campaign event is changing the minds about this unlikely primary winner.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
