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Carcinogen in Tap Water; Fate of the START Nuclear Treaty
Aired December 20, 2010 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: 10:00 on the East Coast, 7:00 out West.
And just in time for your holiday road trip, gas prices surging. The national average now just one penny under $3-a-gallon mark; hope there's a little extra wiggle room in the budget for the 92 million Americans expected to travel this holiday.
For millions of illegal immigrants, the dream is dead, at least for now. Over the weekend, a key vote failed effective shelving the DREAM act. It would have given some immigrants a path to citizenship if they enrolled in college or signed up for military duty.
And stargazers set those alarm clocks. The last lunar eclipse of the year takes place tonight. NASA says to be on the look-out between 2:30 and 3:30 a.m. Eastern time. The show starts when the moon moves into the earth's shadow.
All right. Now, we want to push forward today's Talker. Millions of people who might be drinking water contaminated with a chemical that causes cancer. The non-profit Environmental Working Group or EWG tested tap water in 35 cities.
In 31 of them, chromium-6 was in the tap water. Chromium-6, also known as the Erin Brockovich chemical. This affects about 26 million people but there could be many more, about three times that number. The EWG found that these cities had the most chromium-6 in the water. Norman, Oklahoma, Honolulu, Hawaii, Riverside and San Jose, California and Madison, Wisconsin.
Now, get this. The EPA knows this stuff can cause cancer, but what it's not making water companies is for chromium-6. Now, we've reached out to the EPA. They should have a statement for us sometime today.
Meanwhile, I've got Jane Houlihan. She's with the resource director for EWG, the group that actually conducted this study. I also have the mayor of Norman, Oklahoma on the phone, Cindy Rosenthal. The studies show that her city has far the highest levels than any other city, but Jane, I want to start with you. Why is there still no enforceable limit of chromium-6 even years and years after Erin Brockovich exposed the dangers OF THIS?
JANE HOULIHAN, ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP: The Environmental Production Agency has been slow to set new safety standards for drinking water. More than half our safety standards were set about 20 years ago. So with chromium-6, we found that it in 31 of 35 cities that we tested. It's a potent carcinogen and the EPA does need to move forward and regulate this compound in drinking water. We think at least 70 million Americans, are drinking water polluted with this contaminant.
PHILLIPS: And Mayor Rosenthal, it's your city that this group, that's Jane's group discovered has the highest level of this. Did you have any idea?
MAYOR CINDY ROSENTHAL, NORMAN, OKLAHOMA (ON THE PHONE): We had for years tested for total chromium as is required by the U.S. EPA and also by our Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. That total chromium does include chromium 6. We've been in complete compliance with those standards and our water does meet all regulated standards.
This new report, obviously, we will look at it and do our due diligence to pay attention to its findings and we'll also be monitoring what the EPA says in terms of its evaluation, which we are told will be completed next year. We're prepared to respond in whatever way is appropriate.
PHILLIPS: But that's a whole year that you have to wait. So Jane, how do you advise the mayor with the highest levels? What does she do now? What does she tell her folks there in Norman, Oklahoma?
HOULIHAN: Well, in Norman, Oklahoma, the levels were particularly high but we found this contaminant all over the country. In Honolulu, California, Washington, D.C.. In Norman, Oklahoma, in particular, has 200 times the level that the state of California has established as safe. I would recommend doing expediting some follow- up testing to get more data on what the levels are in that water supply and set some guidelines for residents.
It's particularly important for pregnant women and young children to drink water that's safe and with levels as high as what we found in Norman, Oklahoma, some people may want to consider bottled water. In general, we don't recommend it because bottled water doesn't have to be any safer than tap water. Yes, total chromium is regulated in tap water, but that's the very potent carcinogen, chromium-6, plus other forms of chromium that the body actually needs that are nutrients.
So, that standard is 1,500 times higher than what's safe for chromium six itself. So the big step that we need nationally is for the Environmental Protection Agency to set a standard for this compound and for us to get some treatment in place across the country to lower the levels in drinking water supplies.
PHILLIPS: Got it. So Mayor Rosenthal, what are you going to do as this news comes out today? And we're talking about it obviously and so many people are tuning it, including right there within your city. What are you going to tell the people of Norman to do?
ROSENTHAL: First of all, I'm going to reassure our citizens that our water is safe yesterday, it's safe today and safe tomorrow and we're going to continue to do all the tests that we are required to make and we report those frequently to our citizens. We'll also take a look at this report in our system. We depend on both ground water, wells as well as surface water. And a lot depends on where this might be originating from and we'll be taking steps to try to figure out what the source of this might be.
PHILLIPS: Got it. And Jane, do you agree with that? Are folks in these various cities where you found these high levels? Are they safe to drink the tap water right now? Are you saying no, don't even go there. Go to filtered water, bottled water, some other source?
HOULIHAN: It's really important to keep drinking water. That's the number one most important step for public health. But also, people can consider filtering chromium-6 out of their tap water. A reverse osmosis filter is fairly effective. It's expensive. That's why nationally we need a standard so that we can deal with this problem from city to city and the many millions of Americans drinking this contaminant.
PHILLIPS: Got it. And I'm being told right now, the EPA working on a response for us. We will hear from them sometime this hour. Jane Houlihan, the vice president of research conducted this study, also the mayor of Norman, Oklahoma, Cindy Rosenthal, I thank you both, ladies, for being with me this morning. Appreciate it.
So bottom line, what does this mean for your coffee, your oatmeal or when you just drink water from the tap? We talked a little bit about that with the mayor and with Jane but we're going to talk with CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen about that a little later in this hour so you can be proactive.
Also, this hour, the Senate is resuming debate on the S.T.A.R.T. nuclear treaty with Russia. It's one of President Obama's top priorities, but now facing those two big challenges. The clock and growing Republican opposition. Let's go straight to the Hill, senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash with more. Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra, the top senate Republican is actually on the floor of the U.S. Senate right now to open debate and say again what he first told CNN yesterday which is that he is going to vote against this treaty. It is a blow to Democrats, not just that, but also the fact that the number two Republican, Jon Kyl, who had been kind of a key negotiator also will vote no.
I just bumped into the foreign relations chairman John Kerry who was really spearheading this for Democrats in the Senate. He insisted to me that he doesn't know exactly where the votes are, but he insisted to me that when they get there, he hopes and believes that they will have the two-thirds majority needed in the Senate to actually ratify this arms control treaty with Russia. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Now, the lame duck session has been anything but lame. Senators actually worked all weekend. What came out of that?
BASH: It's really remarkable when you look at how full the plate is that Democrats have really put on this lameduck session. And it's only been going on since the election. Take a look at this. First of all, just what's pending and these are things that Democrats in the Senate and the House want to get done in the next three days.
The S.T.A.R.T. treaty we just talked about, a food safety overhaul and perhaps they can revive a 9/11 rescue workers compensation package. That's what's pending. Let's talk about just some of the highlights of what they've actually already passed though. Don't ask, don't tell repeal. That was a huge, huge turn around, something that passed over the weekend. Tax cut compromise that the president negotiated with Republicans and child nutrition legislation. That has been a top priority for the first lady.
You know, Kyra, it is no secret why the Democrats have been pushing these things. And it is because in just a few weeks, come January when this Congress ends, and the new Congress begins, they'll have a lot fewer votes. They'll have more control of the House. Fewer votes in the Senate and so they're trying to push their agenda items as fast as they can. And that frankly is what's wrangling a lot of Republicans and is playing into Republicans admit, playing into some of the problems that Democrats are having in passing the S.T.A.R.T. treaty. Because there's such a poison atmosphere here.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll follow it. Dana Bash, appreciate it.
Then the Bush era tax cuts are extended for another couple of years, but the vice president says that only sets the stage for the next round. In an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," Biden says the administration will fight to repeal the tax cuts and lower estate taxes for the wealthiest Americans. Biden played a key role in brokering Congress's recent extension.
And here's a view of what President Obama is missing, at least for now. The first lady and their daughters already enjoying their traditional Christmas vacation in Hawaii. President Obama will remain in Washington until Congress breaks, probably in about two or three days. The first family is due to return together on New Year's day.
Step back from the brink on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea says it will not strike the South following today's live fire naval drill. That's in spite of an earlier promise that the North would attack "unpredictable self-defensive blows." But the South is still on high alert following the 94-minute military exercise near Yeongpyeong Island. That's the same island shelled by the north last month.
Our Wolf Blitzer is in Pyongyang, North Korea, traveling with New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. He actually spoke with us by phone last hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's a significant development because it does suggest that the North Koreans are signaling that they're ready presumably to end this crisis or at least, reduce the level of tension and get things going towards some sort of dialogue. And remember coupled with this are some assurances they gave Bill Richardson here in Pyongyang, including a commitment that the North Koreans have given to now once again allow IAEA, International Atomic Energy Agency, monitors to come in and start looking at the enriched uranium facilities at the Yongbyon nuclear facility.
They've also agreed to sell presumably to South Korea 12,000 fresh fuel rods. That's enough to make six to eight nuclear weapons and to also, they're open to establishing a hotline, a military to military hot line between North and South Korea. So all these steps combined right now seems to suggest that the crisis, at least for now has been averted. We'll wait and see what happens in the coming days. But it looks positive.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: All right. Severe weather wallops the western U.S.. We've been talking about Spokane, Washington, South Hill, the place that you didn't want to be driving this weekend. Pretty much a demolition derby of bumper cars sliding down that sheet of ice. And that weather advisory does remain in effect for several more hours this morning.
In southern California, the biggest rainmaker they've seen in a decade means big mudslide worries in the (INAUDIBLE) area as prone for mudslides after brush fires actually charred that area earlier this year.
Our Rob Marciano is tracking it all for us. Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, they had some slides there last year. So you're right, they get it from time to time when there's this much rain.
PHILLIPS: It's a very hilly area.
MARCIANO: It is. With the hills, you get the views. Ocean View Boulevard, I think is the main street there that really has some nice vistas, not so today. That's for sure. The entire western half of the country pretty much in this thing. You get less in the way of wind. You get some decent amounts of snow across parts of the inner mountain west, but here in parts of California, when you've got flow that's coming straight in like that, and just banging up perpendicular to the Sierra Nevadas, you're just getting hammered.
And not only are we seeing a significant snow, just check out some of these. That's nine feet at Mammoth Lakes. All right. Almost five or six feet in Alpine Meadows. How about that? But with this amount of snow, we've had 150 miles an hour plus wind gusts. So category 5 wind gusts in some of these ski resorts. That's not fun but this will all go through but not until the end of this week. So we've got some serious problems now.
PCH near Malibu has been shut down in spots because of a rock slide and with all this rain coming in, that's going to be the issue. Not only where there's been burn areas, but just where it's hilly. And when you get this much rain in this area, that's the problem.
We're getting some snow across parts of Minneapolis. We will see three to six inches of snow there. There are 21 states that are seeing some sort of winter weather advisory or winter storm warning right now. And most of that is on the western half of the country. Eastern half, not so bad. As a matter of fact, it should be decent skies tonight for the viewing of the last total eclipse that we'll see for the next three years.
PHILLIPS: And you're just going to sleep right through it or you're going to stay up.
MARCIANO: I'm going to sleep right through it.
PHILLIPS: (INAUDIBLE) set your alarm.
MARCIANO: Hopefully, we'll have a beautiful video tomorrow.
PHILLIPS: All right. You know, 2010, less than two weeks away. We say adios. There's a celebration.
MARCIANO: Always.
PHILLIPS: Right. We always like a new beginning.
MARCIANO: It's sad but happy (INAUDIBLE).
PHILLIPS: You had a good year. We are actually going to spell out five things that you can do before that big ball drops in New York City. How to make the most of your money.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We're less than two weeks away from the beginning of 2011. Time to tie up all those financial loose ends and make the most of your money. Michelle Singletary is a nationally syndicated personal finance columnist with "The Washington Post." She joins us now live via Skype from Prince Georges County, Maryland. And you've got a to do list with five things on it that we must remember.
Number one, of course, give to charity. Many tax advantages in the coming year if you do this, right, Michelle?
MICHELLE SINGLETARY, SYNDICATED PERSONAL FINANCE COLUMNIST: That's right. You know this has been a tough year for a lot of people and I'm sure many people, just out of self-preservation have not given as much they probably could, just wondering if they're going to lose their job. So if you're at the end of the year now thinking, you know what, I made it through OK, now is the time to give those donations. First of all, it's just the right thing to do. There are so many people in need and secondly, you can get that tax break if you itemize.
My husband and I just did that on Sunday. We signed up to sponsor a Haitian child because a minister came to our church and just made that plea. And so, you know, there's hundreds of people willing to do that. So I really encourage people to try to think about their charitable giving.
PHILLIPS: And make sure you've got those receipts, too. I've learned how detailed those need to be.
All right. Number two, spend money from your flexible spending or health care spending account. A lot of people forget about this and many times wait until the last minute and they don't get to utilize that extra cash.
SINGLETARY: The way this work is you put money aside pre-tax and you get to spend it on these items, but people forget to put in the paperwork. It's a use it or lose it type of benefit, so if you don't use this, you lose that money and you can't get it back. So you need to check with your HR Department. See how much you have in those accounts that you need to spend and collect those receipts and do it by the end of the year. Now some companies will let you go a couple of months over, but even still you need to know what you need to get out of those accounts. So you don't lose those precious dollars.
PHILLIPS: All right. Now, here's something that's hard for a lot of people to do, but you're saying try to make an extra mortgage payment. Why?
SINGLETARY: Well, you know, a couple of things. People always wondering how can I pay my mortgage off early. And one way is that every year, just make one extra mortgage payment and you'll knock seven years off your mortgage. Do that for several years and you can turn a 30-year into a 15 in no time. And so also, if you itemize, you get the tax deduction. So there's two great reasons. People are thinking, this woman is crazy. I don't have no extra money. But you just might. Cut some of your Christmas spending. If you're still out there, about to go out there because this is going to be a present that is going to last for a lot longer than all that stuff you're going to put underneath the tree.
PHILLIPS: All right. Michelle tells us how it is. All right. Now, the next tip, put in the paperwork to begin an automatic savings plan for 2011. That is good advice.
SINGLETARY: Yes, because people make all these new year resolutions come January. And there's a time lag to make these stuff put into play. So if you want to beginning January, start to save for that rainy day fund and something I call the life happens fund, which is separate from the emergency fund, where you save for car repairs and things that come up that you don't plan for, now is the time to put in that paperwork so that beginning in January, you can start to have that money automatically transferred to a savings account. Listen, start with, you know, $50 a paycheck or $25 a paycheck, but do it now so that day one in January, you'll already be set up to change your financial life.
PHILLIPS: Got it. And number five. Don't wait to get your finances straight. Be organized.
SINGLETARY: That's exactly right. You know, lots of people are going to make those new year's resolutions. In fact, when they do survey, it's diet and money that people want to promise themselves to do better at and so now is the time to do that. Start making your lists. Start getting all the paperwork. Look at your credit card accounts for the last year, look at your bank statements. Look at what went wrong and make a list of where you want go right. And do it now before you get all tipsy from new year's eve and you forget what you're supposed to be doing.
PHILLIPS: Wait a minute, maybe that's the time where you make all those new year's resolutions and make things happen while you're feeling good, Michelle. Michelle Singletary, thank you so much. You can always check out her work in the "Washington Post." We love Michelle. Thanks, Michelle.
Well, the water made with your coffee this morning or mixed in with your oatmeal, we've got to have a serious talk about it. A new study links tap water with the chemical that could give you cancer and millions of people are putting it into the their bodies right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Talk about how dangerous, you know, chromium-6 is and how it even ends up in our drinking water because we kind of always known that it's in there.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, right, there's been a lot of concern that it's been in there and so what this report shows is that it is in there in these cities that they looked at. And they just happened to look at certain cities. It's probably everywhere, the authors tell us. If it was in these cities, it's probably everywhere, and we know that the stuff is carcinogenic because of animal studies, number one. And number two, because when you look at workers who are exposed to it as part of their occupation, we also know there that it's carcinogenic. So those are two not good things. You don't want to be drinking this stuff.
PHILLIPS: And chromium-6, it's a cancer-causing chemical. I mean, this was what Erin Brockovich became famous for.
COHEN: Right (INAUDIBLE).
PHILLIPS: She found this in the water in Hinckley, California.
COHEN: Right.
So we know that it shouldn't be in there but I do want to say something else. I was talking to an environmental health expert at Boston University. And he said "Look, this stuff shouldn't be in there. They should get rid of it at the source. But on the other hand, he said people are clearly not dropping dead right and left from this because if it's everywhere, it's not going to give you cancer tomorrow is what he's trying to say.
I said, "look, are you freaking out about this?" He said "No. I'm not freaking out about this. There's carcinogens in our air. There's carcinogens in what we eat. Sadly that's true and this is yet another one. It shouldn't be in there but it's not going to kill you tomorrow either. I mean, people are not dropping dead right and left from this every day.
PHILLIPS: And it's interesting, I talked to the researcher who is involved in this study and I asked, "What are the options?" It's really expensive to install a filter. Bottled water, she said they don't necessarily recommend that, but she was saying if you can afford to take steps to filter your water that that's a good way to go.
COHEN: You know me, Kyra, I'm the empowered patient.
PHILLIPS: Yes. Empower us.
COHEN: I am sorry to say that I have spent the morning on the telephone and I don't have really great empowerment messages here. There is really - I can't find anything that you could do or that, you know, that people could generally do. I asked, for example, this expert in Boston. I said "what can you do?" He said "I'm not really sure there's anything you can do."
PHILLIPS: Bottled water isn't going to help necessarily.
What about putting in a filter?
COHEN: Filtering them doesn't necessarily help either.
PHILLIPS: Wow!
COHEN: Be careful about what kinds and it's all a little bit murky. So this really is a write your congressman kind of issue.
PHILLIPS: Sure.
COHEN: This needs to be stopped at the source. By the time it gets to us, it's unclear whether if there's really another that we can do.
PHILLIPS: OK. That's pretty scary. We're waiting to hear from the EPA. It has promised us a statement sometime today. So we'll keep working the story. Elizabeth, thanks so much.
COHEN: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, Niagara Falls, one day, there was just Niagara and no falls. And there's some surreal pictures to prove it. We're talking to the guy who found those pictures in just a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, stock market opening bell rang just about an hour ago. Checking the numbers. Dow industrials down about 19 points.
Now, the most recent recession versus the great depression. We've been hearing about both since the 2008 presidential election, but comparing one against the other, our forefathers may have had something that we didn't. Faith.
CNN's Stephanie Elam live from New York with some interesting research, shall we say? Huh, Steph?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kyra, you know, you can't really quantity the value of faith, but it is worth noting. And if you take a look at the Great Depression versus the great recession, let's make one thing very, very clear.
The folks who are living during the Great Depression had it way worse than we did during the great recession. Let's just take the unemployment numbers.
1937, the unemployment rate 17 percent versus 2010 in October of this year, you've got 9.8 percent. I should also point out the peak during -- of unemployment during the Great Depression era was just about 25 percent, while for us, it was just above 10 percent.
So think about it that way. Just every fourth person without a job. Imagine that.
Now the optimistic figure that you saw there, that number, it's really interesting to note just how much more optimistic. In 1937, 50 percent of the people were optimistic. While if you look in October of this year, only 35 were optimistic.
So it's interesting to see that they were more optimistic even though they were in worse conditions. They looked to each other to make it through whatever they needed to do. They can bandy together as teams and get through it. And they relied on the strength of hope, which oddly enough doesn't seem to have as much weight these days.
PHILLIPS: Isn't that true? But we still like to have that positive thinking.
All right, Americans view business conditions or they viewed business conditions much differently back then. Yes?
ELAM: Yes, actually, they did, which is also interesting because if you take a look at it, 50 percent of Americans said that in the '30s, they expected business conditions to improve in the next six months. Only 29 percent saw it getting worse.
Where if you asked Americans in October of this year, according to this Pew research, they said that only 35 percent were hopeful on the same front and actually 16 percent saw the economy actually getting worse.
And this is so interesting. Something because we know, it was so much harder for the Americans living around the Great Depression -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, during the great recession, that we just got through -- some say that we didn't get through it -- but any way, we're not going to debate that.
ELAM: Yes.
PHILLIPS: A lot of Americans --
ELAM: Yes, right?
PHILLIPS: Yes, right. Pretty angry about the big role that government had. How was it back in the 1930s?
ELAM: This may actually surprise a lot of people because in the '30s, people wanted government to do more to help out to get the economy rolling again and they also thought that they should help out Americans who are in pain.
So take a look at some of the numbers that we have here. As far as providing free medical care for the poor, 76 percent of the people then supported that. They had also 73 percent of Americans providing farmer's loans on a longtime easy basis. Basically meaning tenant farmers could work to actually buy the farms that they were using.
And then the last one. They favored Social Security programs by 64 percent. So they -- while they didn't describe themselves as socialist, there were some socialist tendencies they were abounding. And it's interesting to note that because there's so much anger about how much should government be involved.
But you've got to think about it. A lot of those programs that were put in by the government still stand to this day and really did help get the economy going. Although it took several years to do that.
So I guess the take away from all this, Kyra, is that there's maybe a blend. You've got to have your faith in country, but also -- some people say don't do too much, but at the same time find that little balance.
One other thing I should point out, too, about this research in the '30s, generally, it was middle to upper class white men who were the ones who were answering this poll. So you may have gotten a different answer if you talked to the women during that era.
PHILLIPS: Yes.
ELAM: People have different reasons.
PHILLIPS: Of course. It would have been a totally different outcome.
Thanks, Steph.
ELAM: Yes.
PHILLIPS: 10:30 on the East Coast now, 7:30 out west. Here's some stories that had talking this morning.
Tensions subsiding finally on the Korean Peninsula after a military drill failed to draw a response that North Korea had been threateing. Pyongyang now says there's no reason to retaliate first South Korea's live fire exercise. That 90-minute drill ended this morning.
Also this morning, much of the West Coast reeling from a massive winter-like storm. The effects range from several feet of snow in the northern elevations to heavy rain and flooding in Southern California.
There's a big development in the Amanda Knox case. That American college student convicted of murdering her roommate in Italy. A judge has approved independent DNA test on two key pieces of evidence. Knox is serving a 26-year sentence.
It's a dilapidated shoebox forgotten in a garage for 41 years. If you thought (INAUDIBLE) didn't four decades of dust, you might have some fantasy of a hidden treasure. When Russ Glasson found this box, he didn't find a treasure. He found something even more valuable. History.
I'll give you a moment to try to guess what we're looking at. These pictures show the efforts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers trying to find a way to preserve the beauty of an American wonder. It took five months of work. And during that time these photos were taken.
Have you worked it out yet?
Well, in 1969, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stopped the flow at Niagara Falls. All the water on the American side was diverted to the Canadian side. Erosion was a huge concern. They were looking for a way to clear out all that rock at the bottom, but when engineers tallied up what that would actually cost, well, their decision was to just let nature take its course.
Russ Glasson found these photos in his garage. He joins me from Hartford, Connecticut.
Pretty fascinating and first off, give us some background. Did you even know what these pictures were when you first opened the box, Russ?
RUSS GLASSON, FOUND HISTORIC PHOTOS: Yes, I did.
PHILLIPS: You did?
GLASSON: I knew what they were but they -- yes, I did. I had recognized them because of the fact that my father-in-law had written on the frame of the 35 millimeter slide that they were Niagara Falls and it was the dewatered Niagara Falls that we were looking at.
PHILLIPS: Wow, so what --
GLASSON: But I did not realize --
PHILLIPS: Go ahead. I'm sorry.
GLASSON: What I did not realize was -- I didn't realize that it would be this precious historical significance to those photos.
PHILLIPS: Well, why did your father-in-law take the pictures in the first place?
GLASSON: Well, because the fact there was no water coming over Niagara Falls, which was extremely unusual. It was just something he wanted to see. He decided to take a vacation trip up there and took a half a dozen photos.
PHILLIPS: That's great. And so let's talk about some of these photos. Which ones are the most interesting to you?
GLASSON: There's about three or four I found to be extremely interesting. It will give you some perspective on the size and the scope of the falls without water. If you look at some of the pictures, you can see in the background of the one of the images a crane that looks like a little tinker toy.
You can see some other photos. Very near the precipice of the falls of an individual. That's practically a tiny dot in the foreground.
PHILLIPS: And these were all taken from the Canadian side, right?
GLASSON: No.
PHILLIPS: No?
GLASSON: A couple of them -- a couple of them were taken from the American side. There are some close-upshots. They were off at an angle. Those would have been taken on the American side. The ones that were taken from the Canadian side were the ones that show all of the rock at the bottom of the falls head on. Those would have been taken from Canada.
PHILLIPS: So who has shown interest in these photos, Russ? Because I know you've been getting a lot of people contacting you, a lot of interest in these photos since you discovered them.
What are you going to do with them and what kind of offers are you getting?
GLASSON: Well, I haven't received any specific offers yet. After I had digitized the photos, I put them on a Web site called Flickr. Put those on in 2009. Over the next two years, I've had several thousand hits on those photos from people who just went into view them.
Nothing really happened until about a week ago. I got an e-mail from a gentleman that worked for the "Daily Mail" in Great Britain wanting to do a spread in a newspaper over there. Once that spread hit the newspaper, I started getting several phone calls from local television reporters wanting to get copies of the images, requesting permission to show them on the air, to do an interview with our local Channel 3 here in Hartford. "Rachel Maddow Show" called and also requested permission to use the photos. And a few other Web sites, like Yahoo.com and MSNBC.com.
PHILLIPS: Gosh.
GLASSON: Put the photos out on their front page.
PHILLIPS: A lot of interest. And I mean we were interested, too. It's pretty cool to actually see a dry Niagara Falls and go back in history. As you made some history here.
Pretty fascinating stuff, Russ. You never know what you're going to find hidden deep in a shoe box. Thanks for sharing the pictures with us.
GLASSON: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: You bet.
Well, casting ballots in the morning, battling riot police at night. It's just another Election Day in Belarus where democracy's growing pains are being felt yet again. We're going to tell what a couple of losing presidential candidates are really hurting today.
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PHILLIPS: Time now for your "Morning Passport." Much of Europe trying to dig out from the excess of snow and ice. The wintery weather from the past week had actually snarled travel plans for hundreds of thousands of people. Things are improving slowly but there are still a lot of flight delays and cancellations.
A Mexico's state-owned petroleum company says it's still assessing the damage from a massive deadly fireball that exploded from a pipeline yesterday just south of Mexico City. At least 28 people were killed in that blast. Another 52 were hurt.
The fire is reportedly under control, but it's unknown how that gas line may have been compromised.
Now the man once called Europe's last dictator wins re-election, but the losers don't go away quietly. We're talking about the post election problems in the capital of Belarus. Several hundred alleged delinquent arrested in the wake of Belarus' president Alexander Lukashenko reelection with a reported near 80 percent of votes from Sunday's presidential election.
Critics say it was thoroughly rigged. Two candidates claim they were attacked. One was shown on Russia TV, claiming he was beaten by police.
On Capitol Hill, a call for a different kind of a health care bill. It would provide free medical coverage for the 9/11 rescuers and survivors exposed to the poisonous aftermath of ground zero.
New York Mayor Michael or New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg surrounding himself with fire and police officials to send a message to the Senate about 9/11. Let's take a listen.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: -- is nothing less than a national duty. America is too great a country to shirk this duty. We are too strong. Too proud, too patriotic. And this is the week that we have to show it.
Now getting anything done in Washington is never easy, but thanks to years of hard work by so many people and thanks to the strong leadership of Pete King, Carolyn Maloney, Jerry Nadler and many others, the bill did pass the House earlier this year.
Earlier this month, the Senate fell several votes short of the 60 required to end debate and take a vote. At the time, Republicans said they voted against ending debate because they did not believe that any bill should move until a deal on tax cuts had been completed.
That deal, as you know, is now done and the time for excuses is over. Very simply, it's time to end the debate and let the bill be voted on. It's encouraging that the bill has been gaining more Republican support and I believe that if the Senate ends the debate and takes a vote, other Republicans will join in passing it.
I understand the concerns that have been raised about increasing federal spending, but this bill will be paid for with other revenue generators, unlike the tax cuts that just won overwhelming support in the Senate.
So this is not a vote on whether we should increase the deficit. It's a vote on whether we should stand by those who stood by America in its hour of greatest need. It's a vote on whether we should fulfill our obligation to the men and women in uniform and in hard hats whom we rightly call heroes.
And it's a vote on whether the thousands of Americans suffering from 9/11 related illnesses will at least have the peace of mind that their government has not abandoned them.
Two weeks ago, many thought that the 9/11 bill was dead. But we didn't give up. And thanks to the determined leadership of Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, not to mention the tireless support of many first responders, the bill has a very real chance of passing.
PHILLIPS: And just to give a little background. Republicans had complained that the $7.4 billion price tag on this was too high. And meanwhile, Democrats said, hey, the government has an obligation to help the first responders in one of the deadliest terrorism attacks in U.S. history.
So we'll follow this live event and bring you more on what Bloomberg has to say and the outcome of course about this House bill passage in the Senate.
All right, census numbers due out tomorrow. They could add up for some big gains for Republicans. I'll explain coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: So it's the first full week at CNN without our Larry King and somewhere out there is a very lonely pair of suspenders. Conan O'Brien had a touching tribute to our broadcast legend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, "CONAN": He's amazing. He's been good to me all these years. And he's been doing this a long time. I read today that Larry King started out his broadcasting career when he was just 23. Yes. It was a different world back then, Larry's first interview question was, why only 10 commandments?
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, the 2010 census report will be released tomorrow and the numbers could complicate President Obama's bid for reelection.
Deputy political director Paul Steinhauser joining me now from the CNNPolitics.com desk. With no jokes about Larry King. He's going to get right to the census.
(LAUGHTER)
PAUL STEINHAUSER, DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I love Larry. No jokes. I'm not nearly as funny as Conan. Not nearly as funny.
But, Kyra, this is -- this is really a big deal tomorrow. This is a very big deal. You know some big questions like how many people living in the United States. How many people are in each state. Which states will gain congressional seats and electoral votes. Which states will lose congressional seats and electoral votes.
We're going to find out that all out tomorrow. Census Bureau 11:00 a.m. Eastern, they're going to release their reports from the 2010 Census. And of course this will kick off a battle next year in the states between Democrats and Republicans over congressional redistricting.
And, Kyra, some states, we think, are going to be big winners. Like Texas. Like Florida we think some states could be losers and lose seats and lose electoral votes like New York, Ohio. And of course this will be -- a lot of huge impact in the next battle for Congress in 2012 and of course the next battle for the White House.
So important stuff there.
Hey, earlier this hour, you were talking to Dana Bash up on Capitol Hill about that big START treaty vote which could happen this week. Maybe as early as today, but definitely this week.
Take a look at this. I put this together for you. Take a look at some of the possible, possible 2012 presidential contenders. And they're very much against the Senate trying to ratify the START treaty in this lame duck session.
And we're talking about some who may run like Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum and Senate John Thune as well. He actually has to vote on it. So a lot of these possible contenders for the next battle for the White House weighing in, Kyra, on the START treaty which of course would reduce nuclear weapons between the U.S. and Russia.
PHILLIPS: Gotcha. Paul, thanks so much.
And of course, you can get an update on our Web site every single day 24/7, and on our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.
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PHILLIPS: Well, every day at this time, we honor the men and women in uniform who have given their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan for all of us and we call it "Home and Away."
And today, we're lifting up Captain Rob Yllescas from Lincoln, Nebraska. He died from wounds suffered in a roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan in 2008. His wife Dina wrote us. She said when Rob came home from work, his uniform and boots came off and he focused all of his attention on playing with his two little girls, spending quality time with all three of us.
The loss of Rob has made a huge hole in our lives, but fortunately we're blessed with supportive friends and family. Rob believed in serving his country. He understood the risks. If we did not have soldiers like my husband and all the others, it's scary to know where our country will be today.
Well, if you have a loved one you'd like to honor, here's all you have to do. Go to CNN.com/homeandaway. Type in your service member's name in the upper right hand search field, pull up the profile, send us your thoughts and some pictures and we promise to keep the memory of your hero alive.
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PHILLIPS: Well, Christmas is still five days away, but in Le Roy, Minnesota, it comes early thanks to an unlikely Santa. A lonely widower, actually, as frugal as Scrooge, we're told, but with a heart as big as Tiny Tim's.
Boyt Huppert of our affiliate KARE-TV out of Minneapolis has this great story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOYT HUPPERT, KATE-TV HUPPERT: There are people in big cities who would consider this harsh, unwelcoming country. People who wouldn't give a nickel to live in Le Roy, Minnesota, who wouldn't pay the quarter they charge for coffee at the Le Roy Senior Citizen's Center.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And if they take a cookie, that's another quarter.
HUPPERT: People who need to pull up a chair and listen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My god, we've never had this kind of money.
HUPPERT: As Eileen Evans tells a story of small town values and a check.
EVANS: We didn't know what to do. You know, this is like 20,000.
HUPPERT: The envelope arrived from his estate of 94-year-old Loren Krueger. A retired farmer who had seen his share of sadness, having lost his first wife, then his second. Having lost his only child, a teenage son, to cancer. But long before he passed away last year, Loren gained a reputation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Watched his pennies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very frugal. Very -- he was very careful with his money.
HUPPERT: Apparently so. For as he humbly lived out his days in this white frame house on main street, Loren, quietly amassed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We held on to it for a while.
HUPPERT: A fortune.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I said, well, let me see it. I've never seen a check like that before.
HUPPERT: That first $20,000 check was followed by two more. $100,000 each.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I said, my god, look at this. Look at this.
HUPPERT: Up to then, the seniors had been getting by on what the county gave their center. $600 a year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All together did --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we got -- we got -- it's $220,000. Total.
HUPPERT: And Loren wasn't done.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He loves this church.
HUPPERT: Loren willed roughly $1 million to St. Patrick's Catholic Church.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He came here for many, many, many years.
HUPPERT: Then he revealed an ecumenical streak.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think we're very blessed. HUPPERT: When Loren left the Presbyterians more than $400,000, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're looking at the news still rough that we put on our church all this thanks to Loren.
HUPPERT: Checks for the same amount were delivered to Bethany Bible Church and to the Lutherans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
HUPPERT: Who've already used some of Loren's gift to repair their bell tower.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were notified through an attorney.
HUPPERT: The old pumper truck behind Chief Rick Doleman (ph)? Plans are to replace it to the new one thanks to the $220,000 Loren left the fire department.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is our crew quarters.
HUPPERT: Another $220,000 allowed the ambulance service to build an apartment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So we have to get another bed in here yet.
HUPPERT: For its on-call EMTs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean honest to god. Nobody. You know?
HUPPERT: All told, Loren spread some $3 million. Frugal was the world pinned on Loren Krueger in life. Generous is the way he'll be remembered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's astounding what he did.
HUPPERT: There are still people who wouldn't give a nickel to live in Le Roy. But folks around here prefer to put their faith in the kind of person who would give everything.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Tony, is that a fantastic -- so never criticize a frugal person because you never know what they're planning when they're time is up.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Isn't that story said something about the importance of family? He lost his own and adopted a much larger family.
PHILLIPS: There you go. And what a beautiful gift.
HARRIS: What a gift.
PHILLIPS: No one knew it was coming and -- HARRIS: Yes.
PHILLIPS: He wanted to do it in a -- in a humble way. Probably didn't want any attention.
HARRIS: We need to run that a few more times today.
Have a great day, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Thank you, Tony.
HARRIS: See you tomorrow.
PHILLIPS: Happy Monday.
HARRIS: Yes, you, too. You too.
Live from studio --
