Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Taking Sides on Tax Cuts; PG&E Delayed Pipeline Upgrades; First Papal State Visit to Great Britain; High Stakes Negotiations in Middle East; Happening on the Hill; Johns Hopkins Main Hospital Evacuated After Shooting; Airline Jobs En Route
Aired September 16, 2010 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. We have got today to deal with. There is a lot of news, too.
Live from Studio 7 at CNN world headquarters, the big stories on this Thursday, September 16th.
New details on the California pipeline explosion today. The owner planned to repair the pipe three times over the last three years but never did.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, it makes me angry, because I think they should be more concerned about the people that live around the neighborhoods.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And this -- almost six centuries after Henry VIII split England from the Roman Catholic Church, a pope finally gets a formal state visit to the United Kingdom.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
Those stories and your comments right here, right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.
OK. Let's work through this together. Up first this hour, it is the economy. Is there anything else?
We are following several stories affecting your finances. On the jobs front, new numbers out today showing a dip in first-time unemployment claims.
Tax cuts and the political debate unfolding on Capitol Hill. More Democrats break with the president.
And the housing market, we will have the latest figures on foreclosures.
Let's start with the new jobless report.
The number of people filing for first-time unemployment claims dipped last week for the second week in a row. The Labor Department says initial jobless claims dropped by 3,000 to 450,000. That is the lowest level in two months, but it is still higher than it would be in a healthy economy. That's the truth.
In a speech this morning, President Obama said more exports will help improve the job market.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In this year's State of the Union Address I set a goal for America. We will double our exports of goods and services over the next five years, because the more American companies export, the more they produce. And the more they produce, the more people they hire, and that means more jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: More Democrats are now breaking with President Obama in the debate over extending tax cuts. The central issue, whether to extend the Bush tax cuts for everyone or just the middle class.
Just moments ago, the top House Republican called for an all-or- nothing vote.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), MINORITY LEADER: On the issue of job- killing tax hikes, the American people are not going to accept anything less than the vote that they deserve. The Speaker should pledge to the American people. And when she stands before these cameras later on today, she ought to pledge that there will be an honest up-or-down vote on stopping all of the coming tax cuts.
Anything less than that is unacceptable. If the Speaker allows an up-or-down vote, I'm confident that the American people will not see increases in their taxes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK. Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash joining us live from Capitol Hill now.
And Dana, let's do this -- let's circle back to the Democrats breaking ranks with President Obama on this.
What does this mean for the process and the president getting ultimately what he wants?
DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It means it is very confused up here, Tony. It is really unclear, still, how or if they are going to get this done, what the president has said is his top priority, and certainly Democratic leaders agree, which is just extending those middle class tax cuts before the election.
It's unclear if that's going to happen, and the reason is because, as you said, there is an increasing number of House Democrats. Thirty House Democrats have now signed onto that letter saying, we want to extend all of the tax cuts, including those for the wealthiest Americans.
It's not just in the House. Democrats in the Senate, at least four Democrat senators, say the same thing. So that's why it is very confused.
The good news in terms of the policy, because there is policy here in the politics, is that these don't expire until December 31st. So, even if they don't get it done, they still have some time to deal with it, maybe find some compromise before that happens.
HARRIS: Yes. OK. So, Dana, that's the process.
Now, next hour, we're going to dig into the economics of the tax cut, but there is another big story that you're working on, on Capitol Hill right now, and it has everything to do with the small business bill.
BASH: Exactly. We expect the Senate to have a vote in the next hour on a bill that would be about $42 billion to help small businesses.
This is something that the president went into the Rose Garden to talk about yesterday. It will be something that they will count as a huge victory for the Democrats. Many Republicans oppose it.
Why is this important? Not just for small businesses, but, again, this is a political season. They hope that this is something that they can use to counter the Republican charge that Democrats want to hurt small businesses by letting those tax cuts for the wealthiest expire. They say that they're going to point to this and say, look, this is something that we are doing for small businesses.
HARRIS: OK. Our Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash for us.
Dana, appreciate it. Thank you.
BASH: Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: Let's circle back and stay focused here on the economy.
The latest figures on foreclosures -- we mentioned this at the top -- point to a housing market still struggling, but a slowdown in the number of properties entering foreclosure. RealtyTrac says lenders repossessed more than 95,000 homes last month. That is a record and it is up from 76,000 a year ago, but the number of homeowners who received default notices actually fell 30 percent in August. That should eventually -- it will take some time, but eventually translate into fewer people losing their homes.
(NEWSBREAK)
HARRIS: New developments from San Bruno, California. Documents show PG&E requested rate hikes three times in recent years to upgrade the natural gas pipeline that exploded. It never did the work.
Here's KTVU reporter Tom Vacar.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are consequences when this necessary work does not get done.
TOM VACAR, REPORTER, KTVU (voice-over): Back in 2007, PG&E asked for about $5 million to replace a section of the pipeline that blew up in San Bruno. PG&E's own document says the replacement of one and a half miles of pipe was prioritized by PG&E's risk management program.
MARCEL HAWIGER, TURN ATTORNEY: And they said they would replace that section in 2009, and the commission gave them that money.
VACAR: But then in September of 2009 --
HAWIGER: PG&E came back and said we need about $5 million to replace this very same section of line 132, and we plan to do it in 2013.
VACAR: And this time, PG&E's document says the pipe section was one of its top 100 risks, making the risk of failure unacceptably high.
HAWIGER: We're wondering, why didn't PG&E replace the section in 2009 when they got the money to do this?
VACAR: So I put that question direct to PG&E's president.
CHRIS JOHNS, PG&E PRESIDENT: Some things happen when we're going down, and a year later, maybe some other item becomes more emergent that we need to fix. And so that's why we will redirect funds to take care of the things that are urgent today and then go back and look and say, what are the things that are urgent tomorrow?
BARBARA GIBSON, SAN BRUNO RESIDENT: If it's prioritized for here it should be fixed. There shouldn't have been any -- pushing it anywhere else.
LINDA BITTLES, SAN BRUNO RESIDENT: You'd think they should be checking everything. If they knew this gas pipe was here, why don't they check it all of the time? And they knew there was something wrong?
SONIA HAENA, SAN BRUNO RESIDENT: You know, it makes me angry, because I think they should be more concerned about the people that live around the neighborhoods.
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: Believe me, within the next few days you will have the information, because I'm back now and I'm going to drill down on that information, because you in the community have the right to know. That is the bottom line.
Thank you very much. No, absolutely. And I'll be back, and you will get the information. That I can guarantee you. OK?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: OK.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the crown and the papacy come together. Benedict becomes the first pope to get a formal state visit to Great Britain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: It is the first papal state visit to Great Britain. Pope Benedict arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland, today, where he was greeted by Queen Elizabeth. While the official welcome was protocol- perfect, the public at large seems to be giving Benedict a rather cold British shoulder.
Live pictures now from Glasgow, where the pope will say mass next hour. His motorcade on the way.
CNN's Atika Shubert looks at the reason so many Brits are angry at the pope.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the eve of his arrival, abuse victims and their supporters gathered in London to express their anger, saying the pope's apologies and condemnation of abuse are not enough.
SUE COX, ABUSE SURVIVOR: Why the hell would I want him to apologize? What on earth will that do for victims -- survivors of abuse? It will make him feel a damn sight better.
CHRIS DALY, ABUSE SURVIVOR: I am broken by what happened to me. People say that this is historic, that this in the past, but survivors live with the legacy of the abuse every day.
SHUBERT: At almost every event protests are being organized on everything from the ordination of women to gay rights to the sheer cost of the visit, $20 million paid for by taxpayers.
Activist Peter Tatchell, who's part of the coalition planning upcoming demonstrations, went so far as to threaten a citizen's arrest of the pope, but has since backed down after meeting with church officials who have sought to reach out to critics.
PETER TATCHELL, ACTIVIST: The point is the pope is a coalition of Catholics and non-Catholics. We oppose the pope's state visit. We don't think he should be honored in this way. And we particularly object to the taxpayer-funding part of his visit.
SHUBERT: A recent poll by "The Times" newspaper shows that some two-thirds of respondents said they were unhappy with the papal visit, 83 percent felt the Catholic Church had been dishonest about the abuse of children. More than 70 percent believe the Church should allow contraception, abortion, and for women to serve as priests.
Despite the controversy, Church officials say they still expect to see a strong turnout for the papal visit, even though at this stage, the events are far from being sold out.
ARCHBISHOP VINCENT NICHOLS, WESTMINSTER, ENGLAND: People in this country, Catholics in this country, have a deep affection for the pope, and they will show that. I have no doubt about that at all.
SHUBERT: So, will Pope Benedict find affection or anger in Britain? Church officials are likely preparing for both.
Atika Shubert, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: CNN has more on the issues raised here: child abuse covered up, guilty priests relocated, the sex abuse scandal that rocked the Church. As a cardinal and Vatican official, what did the pope know and when? CNN investigates, September 25th and 26th, 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Arizona's crackdown on illegal immigration, a big worry for small businesses. Our Ines Ferre looks at the impact months into the state's new immigration law.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, after getting the cold shoulder from the National Republican Party leadership, Delaware GOP Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell is now getting their attention and pledges to help. O'Donnell won Tuesday's primary with the support of Tea Party activists. Now National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn is pledging $42,000 to O'Donnell's campaign. Mitt Romney's political action committee is sending $5,000.
Senator Republican Leader Mitch McConnell says he will also donate money. The RNC chairman, Michael Steele, tells CNN he has instructed his staff to send resources and money to O'Donnell.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton weighing in on the Tea Party movement. The 2008 Democratic presidential candidate says if a lot of Tea Party candidates win in November, their actions in Congress could be quite different from their words on the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: I have seen a lot of people run for office and say a lot of things, and then when they have the burden of holding office and the responsibility that goes with it, I've seen them become very sobered very quickly about the challenges that we face domestically and internationally. You know, nobody said it better than Mario Cuomo when he said, "You campaign in poetry and you govern in prose." And sometimes the poetry can get kind of hot and a little over the top, but the prose brings you down to earth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: You know, months after the Arizona immigration law passed, some businesses say they are starting to feel the effects of boycotts against the state.
Our Ines Ferre with more -- Ines.
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Tony, several weeks after SB 1070 was passed, Los Angeles approved a resolution to boycott contracts with Arizona. Now, Rick Cobbold is president of Flight Trails Helicopters, and for 10 years he says that they've been providing chopper service and parts to L.A.'s police department. Since April 23rd, he says he has had no business with Los Angeles.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK COBBOLD, ARIZONA BUSINESS OWNER: We haven't received an order since, nor have we received any kind of cancellation or any correspondence whatsoever as far as whether our contract is still in effect or if it's been cancelled.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FERRE: And Rick and other business owners are saying, look, we had nothing to do with this we're suffering from this.
Now, this spring, some 13 Arizona companies had a total of $7.7 million of business with Los Angeles, and our affiliate, KNXV, called several of these businesses. Many of them said, look, we still have the contracts that are being honored, but they just don't know for how long, Tony. They are worried that they could pull the plug at any moment.
HARRIS: Yes, that could happen. All right.
Ines, appreciate it. Thank you.
Tropical Storm Karl has already hit the Yucatan and could become a hurricane before hitting Mexico a second time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Got to tell you, pay close attention on the roads from Florida to California over the next few weeks. You might be sharing them with a former top spy.
Robert Richer used to lead the CIA's clandestine division before his retirement several years ago, but this September 11th, he and his wife Kim launched a Bike Across America tour to raise awareness and money for the families of fallen CIA officers. The couple is now 400 miles or so into their tour. They're calling it the Khost to Coast Tour, because Khost, Afghanistan, was the site of a suicide bombing last December that claimed seven CIA lives, as well as the life of a Jordanian intelligence officer.
The couple has been training for months now for this trip that will take them from, let's see, Jacksonville, Florida, to San Diego, California.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT RICHER, KHOST TO COAST TOUR: And traffic is our biggest concern.
KIM RICHER, KHOST TO COAST TOUR: Right.
R. RICHER: And particularly, you would not believe how many people who are texting while they drive.
K. RICHER: Oh yes.
R. RICHER: And they start curving over to us, and we don't have much to warn them off with. So, we are worried about driving, but, honestly, in 4,000 miles of training, I think we have had three discourteous drivers. Three. That's amazing in northern Virginia. So I think that's my greatest concern.
K. RICHER: And I think the mental part of this is going to be difficult, being away from friends and family, but I think what we'll remember is that we're doing it for people who have lost their lives and they never will see friends and family again. And so I think that's what's going to continue to push us forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Hey, we really want to support this couple. We want you to as well. They have logged 400 miles in five days, and are documenting their progress on their Web site. We're going to check in with them from time to time.
Here is the Web site, pedalingforpatriots.com.
Still to come, Middle East peace talkers finish up their second round. We've got a readout in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The second round of Middle East peace talks has ended in Jerusalem. No breakthrough. The president's special envoy, George Mitchell, calls the negotiations impressive and fast-paced. He says both the Israeli and Palestinian leaders are engaged and serious. Mitchell left Jerusalem for stops in Lebanon and Syria. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flew to Jordan to confer with King Abdullah. A third round of talks is not been scheduled.
International correspondent Paula Hancocks now with a look at what's on the line in these high-stakes negotiations. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The issue of Europe has sunk peace talks in the past and it's considered one of the most contentious issues.
West Jerusalem is predominantly Israeli. It's where the Israeli parliament sits and it's been part of Israel since its creation in 1948.
East Jerusalem is predominantly Palestinian. It was captured by Israel the in the 1967 war and annexed, but it's an annexation that up to this point not been recognized by any other country.
The exact divide between East and West Jerusalem has been seriously muddied since 1967. There are exclusively Jewish neighborhoods in the east of the city and although the United States has asked Israel to refrain from provocative acts in East Jerusalem, these neighborhoods are still expanding. Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be Israeli and says it will remain the undivided capital of Israel.
Palestinians claim East Jerusalem is the capital of their future state and consider it occupied land. They also accuse Israel of trying to make Jerusalem more Jewish as some Palestinian families have been evicted from their homes as settlers lay claim to the property and some Palestinian homes have been demolished as they're considered to be built illegally by Israeli authorities.
And of course, you have the Old City in East Jerusalem, home to three of the main religions. It's difficult to see either side giving in on the issue of Jerusalem.
Feeding into this, the issue of borders. The West Bank was captured by Israel from Jordan back in 1967. Palestinians want their future state to be based on those borders, but the border of today is very different to 43 years ago.
There are around 300,000 Jewish settlers currently living in the West Bank. Every Israeli government has encouraged Israelis to settle this for decades. According to Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, settlers control 42 percent of land in the West Bank.
Now most experts believe a land swap is possible, but there's another complicating factor. Since 2002, Israel has been building this, what it calls its security barrier, originally intended to keep Palestinian suicide bombers out of Israel. Palestinians have another term for it. They call it the apartheid separation wall and they say they think it's a land grab.
A United Nations report says that some 85 percent of it is built on Palestinian lands. It's tricky for both sides to talk about borders when this war has effectively drawn out its own border, no matter how temporary.
And another contentious issue, the right of return. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced in 1948 when they left or fled their homes when the state of Israel was created. Many of them ended up in refugee camps like this one here in Bethlehem.
Now when you say refugee camp, most people assume it's a tent city, but this is more than 60 years ago, so over those years the tents have actually been replaced by concrete homes.
Now few if any Palestinians have given up on their dream of returning to their original homes which are now part of Israel. Many of them still have the front door keys, huge cast iron keys which look like they belong in a museum. They even have an art installation here in Bethlehem at the gateway, a symbol of the right of return.
But you would be hard pushed to find an expert on either side of this conflict that actually believes that Israel would ever agree to the right of return, and if Israel were to allow hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return back to Israel, then it could demographically lose its claim as a Jewish state.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, the Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: I got to tell you, some Florida voters could have trouble finding Governor Charlie Crist's name on the ballot come November. We'll explain why, we're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Checking top stories right now.
The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits dropped for a second straight week last week, that's according to a government report just out.
President Barack Obama today kicking off a multi-facetted effort to bolster U.S. exports. His plan aims at doubling exports over the next five years and creating millions of new jobs.
Pope Benedict XVI admits the Roman Catholic Church has not been vigilant enough or fast enough in responding to the problem of sexual abuse by priests. The pontiff made that comment as he arrived for an historic four-day state visit to Great Britain. Many there are angry over the Vatican's perceived lack of response to the crisis.
We are back in a moment.
For your "CNN Equals Politics" update, Dana Bash, part of "The Best Political Team on Television" joining us live from Capitol Hill right now.
Dana, good to see you again. And what's crossing right now?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what's crossing first is you know how Democrats starting with the president and certainly over in the Democratic National Committee have been trying to make House republican Leader John Boehner the boogeyman? They're running ads against him, they're trying to really personalize the republican opposition. Guess what will happen if Republicans take control?
Well, our colleague Brianna Keilar asked John Boehner just moments ago, how it feels to be the new boogeyman?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), MINORITY LEADER: You all know me, that I'm such a scary guy.
Listen, I just say it the way it is. I'm the most open, transparent person in this town, you know? I've got good attributes. I've got some that probably people don't like. But I say it the way it is and it comes with the territory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: And up second on the ticker, I have two words for you, Tony -- Florida ballot.
HARRIS: Yes.
BASH: Did you get a little queasy?
HARRIS: Oh, yes, yes.
BASH: This has nothing to do with hanging chads, this is something else. It has to do with Florida Governor Charlie Crist and a problem he might have on the ballot as he tries to become the next senator for Florida.
He will have to be nine out of ten on the ballot, way down when voters go in to try to find him there. Why? Because he is not part of any party, he is an independent or unaffiliated down there and those are the rules. If you are on the ballot, depending on when you file. So he did admit that it is an issue for him potentially in getting votes.
Lastly on the ticker, the third item is, you know, obviously, the big debate is what to do about those expiring tax cuts. Well, one question is what does the American people think? There is a new "New York Times"/CBS News poll out and it says 53 percent of Americans say they do agree with Democrats that you should just let the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire, 38 percent say that that's a bad idea.
So, for the most part, they have the majority on their side, Democrats, but one side note that, democratic pollster Dan Greenberg, he has been pushing a poll that says among independent voters, those that they are most concerned about and that they need the most, that this issue tops -- is the top one to try to hit this harder and harder and harder to get those independent voters back. HARRIS: All right, Dana Bash, appreciate it. Thank you so much.
Your next political update in an hour and for the latest political news, you know where to go, CNNpolitics.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Got some breaking news we want to bring to you now.
You're looking at live pictures from our affiliate in Baltimore, that's WBAL-TV, and you see an ambulance there on the scene. This is Johns Hopkins Hospital. Yes, the world-renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Baltimore City police are on the scene of a shooting inside the hospital that's in east Baltimore. We understand the shooting took place today or at least police received a call at about 11:12 a.m., a little more than a half hour ago of a shooting at the hospital. This is on North Wolf Street, and the shooting victim is reportedly in critical care right now.
We understand that the shooter is actually hiding inside of a patient's room on the eighth floor of the hospital, unclear whether the gunman is related to the patient.
We understand that the hospital has been -- has been evacuated. That makes all of the sense in the world, obviously, and that information is coming from the Associated Press.
So once again, let's sort of recap this situation. We have a shooting inside of Johns Hopkins Hospital, that's east Baltimore. We understand from the Associate Press that the hospital has been evacuated. That's a pretty large campus, too, so that's a sizable evacuation.
But again, the shooter we understand is being -- is inside of a patient's room on the eighth floor. Unclear whether the gunman is related to the patient.
Let's see, the information on the victim, the shooting victim is reportedly in critical condition right now.
We will continue to follow developments here and thanks to our affiliate for the aerial view of Johns Hopkins Hospital, the east side of Baltimore.
The nation's poverty rate jumped to its highest level in 16 years last year. According to new numbers out today form the Census Bureau, the poverty rate rose to 14.3 percent. That translates to more than 43 million Americans in need. Budget officials define the poverty thresh hold as less than 21,954 for a family of four.
Let's see here, do we have a shot of the New York Stock Exchange? Let's get to the -- you know, our favorite financial website. Of course, it's ours -- CNNMoney.com. You can take a look there. I can't see what the led story is from the desk, but I think it is more reporting on the poverty numbers coming from the Census Bureau.
Let's see the numbers on the Big Board now. Better than -- well, we're into the day, that's for sure. Coming up on the noon hour, we are down 24 points in the Nasdaq. Trading trending lower as well? We will follow these numbers throughout the day right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Boeing says the airline industry is going to need more workers and you won't believe how many. Alison Kosik, there she is, joining us from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Good to see you, Alison. And how many jobs are we talking about here?
ALLISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We're talking about more than a million jobs, Tony, in the airline industry as a whole. That's how many jobs that Boeing says will be open over the next 20 years. Now Boeing says that these will be about a half million for pilots and a half million job openings for maintenance workers.
Now Boeing came to this conclusion by looking at its market outlook and also taking a look at what it expects down the pipe. It's expecting to deliver about 30,000 airplanes over the next 20 years.
This is kind of interesting and kind of ironic, too, Tony, cause I know you've talked about this. You know, even as Boeing is talking about this kind of growth, it's got really big issues with its own new equipment. I'm talking about the much delayed 787 Dreamliner. Lots of those planes are still sitting in the hangars. You know they've had delay after delay. In fact, one of its Dreamliners was grounded last month because of an engine problem.
Now the Dreamliner is expected to be delivered early next year. That is, by the way, three years behind schedule.
Now by the way, a lot of these jobs, Tony, that I'm talking about will be open mostly in Asia, but also a good number of them will be here in the U.S. as well -- Tony.
HARRIS: Hey, Alison, I saw a line on this, this morning, maybe you can help flush it out. There is news coming from Boeing today that the company may be expanding into outer space.
KOSIK: Yes. You up for some space travel, Tony?
HARRIS: Absolutely.
KOSIK: Boeing is teaming up with a company called Space Adventures to market passenger commercial flights to go into space, to go into what's known as low orbit, low Earth orbit, that's about 1,200 miles above the Earth's surface. And also, these flights would go to the International Space Station.
These flights would be able to carry seven passengers at a time. So far, no price on how much each ticket will cost, but these flights are expected to start in the year 2015 and pretty much anybody can go, even you, Tony, if you can kind of put together several million dollars for your ticket into space.
HARRIS: Oh, is that all it will take? Most folks around here think I'm pretty lost in space anyway, I may as well take a real trip.
Alison, good to see you. Thanks. See you next hour.
Once again, let's update the breaking news for you. Do we have the picture from WBAL over Johns Hopkins? Again, the world-renowned John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, the east side of Baltimore.
Police are on the scene of a shooting inside the hospital and police got the call about 12, make that 11:12 a.m. reports of a shooting at the hospital, it's on North Wolf Street. And we understand the victim is reportedly in critical condition or at least in critical care, let's put it that way, in critical care right now.
The shooter is, to our understanding, hiding inside of a patient's room on the eighth floor. It is unclear whether the gunman is related to the patient. We don't know a lot about this story at this point.
We're getting word from the Associated Press that the hospital has been, has been -- OK. We're getting additional information that the hospital has been evacuated and Jenny (ph), you're telling me we're getting additional reporting that it was a physician at the hospital, that it was a physician at the hospital who was shot, who is the shooting victim here.
So we will continue to follow this story. Let's circle back on it one more time.
Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Hospital, east side of Baltimore. Police are on the scene. The hospital has been evacuated. We understand from some local media reports in Baltimore that a physician may have been the victim of the shooting here. The shooter, we understand, is hiding inside of a patient's room on the eighth floor of that hospital, but that's a big campus.
My phone's going off, so that might be some additional information as well. We're going to continue to track down information.
The hospital, I think I mentioned, has been evacuated. And our thanks, once again, to our affiliate in Baltimore, WBAL, for the aerial view of that big campus there, Johns Hopkins Hospital, the east side of Baltimore.
We are back in a moment. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
\
