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100-Degree Heat Blankets U.S.; Colorado Fire Grows Larger, Deadlier; One Family's Heartbreak; Soldier Killed In Fort Bragg Shooting; Zimmerman Seeks Bond For Second Time; Health Care Questions Answered; Syria's Violence, Urgency Grow; Dow Spikes After Europe Agreement; Congress To Act On Student Loans; Time to Tackle other Issues? GOP Says No; Both Sides Use Ruling to Raise Money; Big Honor for "The Boss"; Olsen Twins Locked in Fur Fight
Aired June 29, 2012 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: -- watching right now in the NEWSROOM. Death Valley, that's what it will feel like in most of the country, 107 in Nashville, 108 in Paducah, and we are just getting started.
A killer wildfire grows and destroys nearly 350 homes in Colorado Springs. Is an arsonist at work?
And what kind of role model is he? A hockey coach deliberately trips an opposing player, the kid is 13 and he now has a broken wrist. NEWSROOM begins right now.
Good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello. We begin with two stories, sharing a common theme, the inescapable and unrelenting force of nature.
On the left, the wildfire gnawing at the outer edges of Colorado Springs. Today that fire is growing bigger and deadlier. On the right, a record setting heat wave that will push millions of Americans into the danger zone today.
Wait until you see this. Intense heat will blanket most of the country. Look at all those 90s and 100s. That's drawing dire health warnings, especially for the very young and the very old.
Our CNN affiliates in Kansas City, Missouri, say the intense heat wave may be to blame for at least two deaths there. But nowhere is the heat more of a factor than in Colorado.
The heat coupled with raging wildfires that made it an inferno. This morning, the state is awakening to a bittersweet designation, a federal disaster area.
Today, President Obama will visit the area of the Waldo Canyon fire and fire crews will canvas the charred rooms of subdivisions and neighborhoods to search for bodies.
One victim was found last night. Nearly 350 homes confirmed lost, another 20,000 homes in danger. CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano is in Colorado Springs. Tell us where you are, what's behind you, Rob? ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We are on the Air Force Academy campus. This is actually the airfield. It's the staging operations where fixed wing aircraft and more importantly some of the helicopters that have been fighting this fire are launched from.
And they are getting their firing briefing now, within the next few minutes or hour, they'll start to launch these birds in the air, and start going back to fight the fire. Temperatures this morning are a little bit cooler than yesterday morning, but there's less clouds, so it will heat back up again. But it seems to be less smoke.
Panning across parts of the airfield where the front range of the Rockies, you can kind of see the smoke is not nearly as dense as it was yesterday. So firefighters are getting a little more optimistic.
They have 15 percent containment yesterday. They're hoping to get much more than that today. They actually reduced the coverage of the fire down from 18,000 acres to about 16,000 and change.
But the damage done as you mentioned, nearly 350 homes destroyed, even with a fire this small because it is close to such a big city, it is the second biggest city in all of Colorado. This is the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history.
So one of many fires burning throughout the state, Carol, and after the dry winter that we had and the hot, hot spring and some of that heat now, as you mention, the heat wave is pushing off to the east.
That heat was here this past weekend and that really accelerated the flames. Victims as you can imagine frustrated, saddened.
I mean, last night, a lot of them got news that their homes were either lost or somehow were saved and some of them will be able to go back today.
But a lot of them won't still for quite some time because the fire is still close to those populated areas -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, the mayor of Colorado Springs told me these fires may not be put out until mid-July. Now the FBI is involved, an arsonist may be to blame for setting these fires. Do you know anything about this, Rob?
MARCIANO: I don't know anything about that just yet. They're not really saying. The first order of business obviously is to get the fire out.
But I can tell you this, it doesn't take much. Not only was it a record low snow pack. We had 80 percent below snow pack on May 1st, we had the heat.
But last year, we had incredible amount of snow. So that fed vegetation through the growing season, so we had dense, lush fuel at one point dried out by early, hot spring and almost the perfect storm of sorts.
That's why you're seeing much of Colorado burning. And unfortunately, we're really just getting into fire season. We got a couple of more months left where things could actually get worse.
It's very similar to 2002 the way things shape up. That was the worst wildfire season here in Colorado.
COSTELLO: Rob Marciano, reporting live for us this morning. I want you to put yourself in the place of thousands of people who have fled their homes in Colorado.
Among all your belongings, what precious few items would you save and what happens if you no longer have a home or neighborhood to go back to?
CNN's Jim Spellman has one family's heart wrenching story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the flames tore through his Colorado Springs neighborhood, Major Ted Stefani, an Army sergeant knew it was time to get out.
TED STEFANI, LOST HOME IN FIRE: I looked up at the mountain and saw flames shooting over the top of the mountain.
SPELLMAN: With only minutes to spare, he packed up his car and raced out of the neighborhood, meeting his wife, Kate, and son, Caleb at a friend's house. Then the wait began.
Would their house be spared? The answer came in next morning when they saw this picture on the "Denver Post" web site. Their neighborhood in flames, their house on left, a bonfire.
STEFANI: So when we saw the photograph initially, it was just kind of shock.
KATE STEFANI, LOST HOME IN FIRE: That's our house and it is in flames, and I just started crying, there was no way around it. I was never going to go home again, so it's pretty sad.
SPELLMAN: The photo went viral, also published on cnn.com and in the front of "The New York Times." More photos can be seen at denverpost.com.
STEFANI: It was just total shock to see your house pretty much in a fireball. But I think that was also therapeutic, too, because we knew over the last couple days where there are a lot of families that don't know the outcome of the home.
We knew from pretty much the get go that we lost the house. We got these boxes that I had from Iraq and Afghanistan.
SPELLMAN: While managing to escape with these boxes of books and important documents, there were many precious items left behind, Ted's medals from Iraq and one of Caleb's beloved toys.
STEFANI: It is this little teddy bear thing. Scout, and Caleb played with that all the time.
SPELLMAN: But then they saw another Scout for sale at a bookstore, Caleb lit up.
STEFANI: It was an emotional event.
KATE STEFANI: Yes. We both about lost it in the store and our son just beamed when he saw that bear, and hugged him and he just said Scout, Scout!
SPELLMAN: Piece by piece, they insist they will rebuild, beginning with a small bear. Jim Spellman, CNN, Colorado Springs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Also this morning, Army investigators say they are trying to find out why a soldier started shooting people during a safety briefing at Fort Bragg. People who live near the base are having a hard time making sense of it all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's really a sad situation because the soldiers are really here to help us. Why would someone do something like that? So maybe they need evaluations or something is going on, but it's really sad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us now. This isn't the first time Fort Bragg has had problems with suicide because the shooter in this case after shooting two people turned the gun on himself?
BARBARA STARR, PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol, yes. It is a tough situation at Fort Bragg this morning. Army investigators are on scene, still trying to figure out what exactly happened yesterday when soldiers gathered for that formation and one soldier opened fire.
Shooting and killing one fellow soldier, wounding another at this formation and then indeed turning the weapon on himself, he is said to be wounded and being treated for that.
Very little information being given by the Army at this point, they say they just don't have it right now. They are not identifying the victim in this shooting, the person who died in it, because of course they don't do that until family notification is complete.
They don't know the motive of the shooter. And they may know one interesting detail, whether it was a personal weapon or military issued weapon, but they're not telling us that yet.
They are not telling us any of those details. A U.S. military official says five bullets, however, did strike the victim who was killed in this -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I just remember the stories that you did a few months ago at Fort Bragg because they were having a problem with the number of suicides there. And they were supposed to be taking these measures to stop them. Are those steps now in place or do they apply in this case?
STARR: Well, I suppose, you know, until we know exactly what happened here and what the motive was, it may be very difficult to connect any dots to the deeper issue and deeper serious crisis of suicide in the U.S. military.
The person did turn the weapon on themselves, whether that was their intention going in, what their motivation may be, what disturbed issues the shooter might have been dealing with, all remain to be seen.
So it may be a little early to specifically tie it to the deeper suicide efforts, but you're exactly right, the military across the board, the Army in particular making a big effort to try and deal with the suicide issue.
Offering more counseling, more sort of watchfulness, if you see a buddy in trouble, seems to be having problems, say something, trying to get soldiers and troops who feel they may be facing a suicide crisis to get the help they need so these incidents don't occur.
But as for this particular one, they just don't know yet. If they know, they're not saying -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Barbara Starr, reporting for us from the Pentagon this morning.
Right now, George Zimmerman is getting another chance at freedom. These are live pictures from inside a Sanford, Florida courtroom where Zimmerman's bond hearing is being held.
Earlier this month, a judge yanked Zimmerman back in jail saying he hid $150,000 in donations when he appeared at the first hearing. Zimmerman as you know is charged with secondary murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
Zimmerman may take the stand in his own defense and tell the judge why he lied in his initial bond appearance. If Zimmerman does take the stand, of course, we will go back inside that courtroom live for you.
So now that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the Obama health care law, what are everyday people asking? We wanted to give you a chance to ask our resident expert.
Chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, is joining us from outside Bellevue Hospital in New York City. I know you have been soliciting questions from people. What are they asking this morning, Sanjay? DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, there are all sorts of questions. No surprise, 450 some provisions in this bill. We have gotten some questions in by video. Let's go ahead and listen to the first one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELISSA SHAW, FREELANCE ARTIST: I am a freelance artist living in New York, and speaking for a generation of people who sometimes don't know where to start in terms of getting health care, finding the system inaccessible. I was just wondering what we will have available to us in terms of plans and programs starting in 2014.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: You know, it is interesting because fair to say, Carol, I think you would agree with this, just even right now trying to navigate the health care insurance programs, trying to sign up for programs is difficult, it can be very confusing for people.
I think for someone like her, she is a freelance artist, so not getting employer based health care. We get a lot of questions from people like that, there's going to be something known as state-wide exchanges that are going to be set up.
There's an exchange already set up in the state of Massachusetts. So if you really want to get an idea one of these may look like, go to their exchange site. It's called the connector in Massachusetts.
But basically you go there and you get a profile of who you are, how much money you're making, your health history, all that sort of stuff, and it basically finds various options in terms of what you want to buy for health care insurance.
So that's the most likely scenario for someone like her. Now depending how much money she's making a year, she may be eligible for tax credits. If she's making lower than 133 percent of poverty level, she may be eligible for Medicaid. So those are things to keep in mind as well.
But in the state of Massachusetts, Carol, just a quick side note, in 2006, that health care reform went in place and 450,000 additional people were insured. About a third of them got their health care insurance through these exchanges. So that's going to be a big part of this.
COSTELLO: OK, Heidi also had a question about copayments. Here's Heidi.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was interested in knowing how under the new Obama care my copayments and premiums would be lower.
(END VIDEO CLIP) GUPTA: You know, I want to preface by saying there's been a lot of back and forth on how the premiums for people who already have health care insurance under their employer, how they would be effected.
Heidi, Carol, you probably heard these numbers as well. Let me tell you, in our reporting and investigating, I don't know that we can convincingly say that the premiums will go down. I don't know that we can say.
I know that has been talked about. But if you really crunch the numbers at least in the short term, the premiums may not go down and they may continue to go up as health care costs continue to go up.
I think for someone like Heidi where she may notice a difference and the rest of us as well, by the way, is that the co-pays for preventive services, cancer screenings, for anything that's related to prevention, those co-pays won't exist anymore.
Now co-pays can be a big deal to people, I mean, 25, 50 bucks, whatever it may be, there are a lot of people who simply won't get those screenings because of the co-pays.
Well, co-pays for those things will go away for Heidi and everybody else -- Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, so third question, this is our last question from Frank in California. He's got a question about priorities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANK BEBLA, UNEMPLOYED: My name is frank. I am 37 years old from Victorville, California. I am wondering what about us who are unemployed, would rather keep the lights on than to pay for a mandated health care or fines for not having it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: This is -- he gets right to the crux of the issue here. Ultimately, this is more about psychology question than medical one. Let me say it like this.
In the year 2014 when this is all implemented, if Frank chooses to keep the lights on versus paying for health care insurance, the penalty or tax now being called will be $95 or 1 percent of his income, whatever is greater.
By the year 2016, it will be $695 or 2.5 percent of his income. At some point, he will decide how much does it cost to buy health insurance and how much for the tax and has to make that decision.
But also as I said before, he may be eligible for tax credits or Medicaid, depending what you make. So it's a lot more there, Carol, but hopefully that sheds a little bit more light on it.
COSTELLO: So complicated. Dr. Sanjay Gupta reporting live from Bellevue Hospital in New York. Thanks so much. Possessing marijuana would automatically get you thrown into jail, unless you live in one, well, I'm going to tell you, Chicago. Chicago is the latest city decriminalizing pot.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Let's talk about the crisis in Syria. This morning, the bloodbath continues.
It's the sound of gunfire and plumes of smoke fill the air over homes as government forces lose ground to rebel fighters. At least 15 people reported dead just today as the violence escalates, and diplomats prepare for an emergency meeting.
CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom is in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to tell us more. Good morning.
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Well, as you mention, more violence in Syria today. Reports of at least 15 people killed so far throughout the country and this just coming on the heels of a terrible news yesterday.
Yesterday, a very violent day, we have reports from opposition activists that at least 140 people killed, at least 46 of them Syrian regime forces there.
We're getting reports out of a suburb of Damascus from Syrian ex-patriots and from eyewitnesses there that there was a massacre that took place yesterday in the Damascus suburb of Duma that pro-regime thugs raided the town and started slaughtering entire families.
Now the Syrian state television version of events of this is that there were terrorists in the town, but a military raid is ongoing there. They're arresting and killing terrorist leaders in that town.
But definitely it's a very chaotic scene and a lot of very gruesome details emerging from that suburb of Damascus. This is all happening amidst the back drop of this flurry of diplomatic negotiation that's been going on.
Now today you have the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, she is going to meet with her Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, but nobody knows what to expect from that.
Because there have been very deep divisions between the U.S. and Russia over Syria. Syria continues to say there shouldn't be foreign intervention in Syria.
They continue to support the Syrian regime there, even though there are concerns, and even though there's a plan to try to get some sort of political transition under way when it comes to Syria to try to bridge the diplomatic impasse.
The fact of the matter is that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad remains deeply entrenched and defiant. He keeps saying he will not accept any kind of foreign intervention with regard to the crisis in Syria.
And this all coming at a time when Syrian opposition activists saying that since the crisis began, there are over 14,000 Syrians have been killed.
COSTELLO: Mohammed Jamjoom, reporting live for us from Abu Dhabi this morning.
Don't get to say this very often, Democrats and Republicans are expected to work together to get something done later today. Thousands of future college students, they're going to be happy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, Obamacare, should we move on or fight anew? It's all over.
Fat chance on that one. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the health care law, and instantly the opponents of Obama care went off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPRESENTATIVE PHIL GINGREY (R), GEORGIA: I am angry, mad at the Chief Justice, John Roberts.
REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN (R), MINNESOTA: This is clearly unconstitutional. This is a turning point in American history. We will never be the same again with this denial of liberty interests.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: "Politico" reports that Republican Congressman Mike Pence compared the Supreme Court's decision to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He later apologized.
House Republicans have already scheduled a vote to repeal the law. Mitt Romney who also vowed to repeal says the court should have overturned the entire law.
Really, said Democrat Nancy Pelosi who couldn't resist this zinger.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPRESENTATIVE NANCY PELOSI (D), MINORITY LEADER: I don't know, maybe he will pay for it out of his own pocket, pre-existing of people, children that have pre-existing conditions. You cannot have it both ways.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Seriously, we thought about health care bitterly for months and months, widened the partisan divide that was already there. Do we really want to go there again? I mean, secretly, don't you wish Mitt Romney would help us understand his signature accomplishment as Massachusetts governor, health care complete with a mandate and everything.
And don't you wish President Obama would really explain the plan's impact on our economy? He seemed to start doing that yesterday.
But if we're going to go back to those angry town halls, talk of death panels, it is going to be a long, hot summer.
So the talk back question today, Obamacare, should we move on or fight anew? Facebook.com/carolcnn. I'll read your responses later this hour.
Guess what, the Dow is up more than 200 points right now, after an agreement this morning to help banks in Europe. Felicia Taylor is live at the stock exchange with an exciting plan that's really causing investors to go wild.
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm not sure they're going wild, Carol, but they're definitely -- is some euphoria over this sort of breakthrough deal out of the Brussels E.U. Summit.
Basically, what they're going to do is hopefully, you know, to continue the discussion about a central banking union with an overriding supervisor, which would allow that banking system to inject cash into the system as needed, which is very similar to what the Federal Reserve is able to do in the United States.
So absolutely, we got a very strong rally on the Dow of about 220 points. The Nasdaq though is up more than 2 percent, which is interesting, considering the fact that rim stock is down about 17 percent on very disappointing earnings report that came out after the close in Thursday's session.
The S&P though is also up about 2 percent. So indeed we've got things across the board. But this is going to be a somewhat volatile session, Carol.
Because it is end of the month, end of second quarter, so you can expect to see not such great volume and we're moving into a holiday week next week.
COSTELLO: Got you. OK, let's talk about Congress's kumbaya moment over student loans.
TAYLOR: Yes, this is interesting because there's actually some good news out there. It could have caused these students almost double.
Congress is expected to vote today to keep interest rates on federal college loans at 3.4 percent. Otherwise, they would have doubled this weekend to 6.8 percent.
Most students take about 10 years to pay off their loans, so this actually really matters. The legislation will affect more than 7 million students, taking out new loans for the next school year.
This doesn't affect loans that students already have, however, but both the Senate and the House are expected to pass the measure. So hopefully that will go through -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Felicia Taylor, reporting live for us this morning.
So what's next after the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare? We will look at how President Obama and Mitt Romney are using the ruling to benefit their campaigns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Just about 30 minutes past the hour. Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM. Army investigators are looking at why a soldier opened fire during a safety briefing at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
NBC News is reporting the suspect killed his battalion commander and slightly wounded another soldier before shooting himself. The shooter is alive. He is now in custody.
And this is the view from space of the wildfire damage in Colorado Springs. You can see dark patches where the fire is burning. Nearly 350 homes now destroyed. At least one person has died. President Obama will tour the damage later this afternoon.
A grandmother hoping to break her own world swimming record is now trying to swim from Cuba to Florida. The 49-year-old Penny Paulfry dove into Havana's (inaudible) just a short time ago and she's doing all this without a shark cage in this shark infested waters. She is hoping to finish the 103 mile swim in 40 to 50 hours. Good luck.
So now that the Supreme Court has upheld the signature piece of the Obama White House, the health care law, what's next? Democrats say they would like to move forward on some other hot topics like jobs. Republicans say not so fast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ERIC CANTOR (R), MAJORITY LEADER: When we return the week of July 9th, I scheduled a vote for total repeal of the Obama care bill to occur on Wednesday, July 11th. And in that way, we can clear the way towards trying to again focus on accomplishing a health care future that is premised upon patient-centered care, lowering costs, and affording better access.
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: The Republicans are in a sense trapped between their Tea Party base that wants to repeal this law at all costs, and the rest of the country which wants them to move on.
So far, Republicans seem to be casting their lot with the Tea Party and this is a mistake. The public is fatigued with all these partisan fights, but they just want to keep re-enacting them. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: A lot of Americans, though, don't like the law, and there are a lot of people who are willing to part with some cash to kill Obamacare. Mitt Romney's campaign raised more than $3 million after the ruling came down. And the Obama campaign, well, it's raising money pegged off Joe Biden's initial joy when the health care law passed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama. This is a big (EXPLETIVE DELETED) deal.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you, thank you everybody. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Well, you know what Joe Biden whispered in the President's ears, this is a BFD. Well, the Obama campaign is selling T-shirts on its Web site that say health care reform is still a BFD. They run $30 bucks a piece. Now this all surrounding a law that affects every one of us.
To talk about that, CNN contributor and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona, and CNN contributor and Republican strategist Ana Navarro.
Welcome to you both.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thanks Carol. Good to be here.
COSTELLO: Nice to have -- just o get this out of the way, Romney's people tweeted the BFD T-shirts were not presidential. That may be so. But this is just another example of how we cannot discuss this issue in a rational way. Why is that Ana?
ANA NAVARRO, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well you know, I think the vast majority of people have discussed it in a rationale way. Certainly yesterday, Barack Obama discussed it in the right tone. Mitt Romney responded to it in the right tone. And the vast majority of people in Congress responded to it in a rational, logical way putting out arguments.
I think there have been some inappropriate things. It's also an emotional issue, and some people want to just spike the football. We saw that out of the DNC, we had a guy at the DNC tweeting out words that rhyme with "witches" and "truckers" that aren't appropriate speak certainly for somebody that's involved in running presidential campaigns. They are inappropriate.
But you know what, Carol, if the DNC, if they want to be inappropriate and un-presidential that's perfectly fine with me. It works for my purposes. COSTELLO: But see -- but see -- this is just the kind of thing I'm talking about. It's like why can't we just push all of that stuff aside and -- and -- and talk about this health care law and make Americans really understand. Maria, why can't we do that?
CARDONA: Well, I mean I think Ana is right in that it is emotional and both sides have a lot going on this, and you know, if you want to talk about -- talk about inappropriate, you mentioned this earlier, Carol, Mike Pence basically comparing the SCOTUS decision to 9/11? I mean, come on.
So I agree that both sides need to basically calm down here and rational ideas and arguments need to prevail for the good of the American people. And that's exactly what this President, what Democrats are trying to put forward to make sure that Americans do understand.
And by the way, it is a BFD for a lot of Americans. If you're a mother who has a child with pre-existing conditions, this health care decision is going to save the life of your child. That is a big deal.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Ok.
CARDONA: So those are the issues that we need to be discussing.
COSTELLO: Ok. Maria, let me ask you this, Justice Roberts ruled the mandate and the penalty is a tax. And -- this will cost many middle class Americans money because they will now have to buy insurance or face a penalty if they don't.
So tell us how Democrats get around this because this is a tax on middle-class Americans. This will cost them money.
CARDONA: Actually, it's not, Carol. And the way that we get around it is by telling the truth. Look, it is projected that the amount of people who can afford the insurance but will actually refuse to buy it is one percent, Carol, that's one percent of Americans who will actually be given that penalty.
For the rest of the millions of middle class families, this will be the largest health care tax cut in history. If you cannot afford insurance and you are a family, you will be given a tax subsidy of about $4,000. If you're a small business and you cannot afford insurance for your employees, you will be given a tax credit so that you can make sure that those employees are covered.
Let's remember that the majority of Americans in this country want to have health care coverage. They want to have health insurance. Because they know it's the right thing to do both for themselves, for their families and if you're a small business, you want that for your employers. You want healthy employees.
That's good for the economy. So that's exactly what Democrats are going to continue to talk about. COSTELLO: So I know that -- I know that Ana is listening to you and she's saying she's painting a pretty rosy picture, but it isn't so rosy from the Republican perspective.
NAVARRO: Well, look, the only reason it survived is because it is a tax. It would have been unconstitutional under the Commerce Clause. It is constitutional because yesterday the Supreme Court confirmed what we know, which is that Congress has the right to impose taxes.
This is a scary precedent, though. Because I have never seen a tax before, this is the first time we see a tax for something we don't do.
So it's impossible to get around the tax issue because it is the only reason that it is alive today is because it is a tax. Not only that, but it will be enforced and regulated by the IRS. I think the American people are smart enough to understand that -- that -- that it looks like a tax, it smells like a tax, and it walks like a tax because it is a tax.
And we're going to see how this plays out in the rest of the -- in the rest of the year. I think what was undoubtedly a victory for Obama yesterday could turn into a long term headache as we go through the summer and the election cycle.
CHARLIE ROSE: But -- but let me run this by you -- let me run this by you. Because couldn't it also back fire for Republicans? Because Mitt Romney has often said look, any time I'm not talking about the economy, it's not good. Now he's going to have talk about health care and he's going to have to defend something that was inspired by Mitt Romney. How do you get around that? Anyone?
(CROSSTALK)
CARDONA: That's exactly right -- that's exactly right, Carol. I think Mitt Romney right now is in a huge box. Because there is plenty of tape of him back when he supported not just Romney care but the individual mandate. And not only that, he talked about how he would love to see the individual mandate and his health care bill that he passed in Massachusetts be a model for the nation.
So this should be a happy day for Mitt Romney, because now it is not just a model for the nation but the law of the nation. And frankly, it is something that is going to help millions and millions of American families get health coverage that they couldn't get before.
COSTELLO: Well let me ask this -- let me ask you Ana, you're a Republican strategist. So everybody knows this about Mitt Romney. Would it be better if he didn't talk about it so much?
NAVARRO: Oh I don't think -- I don't think so. I actually think this is a very refreshing moment in the campaign because it's really the first time I can think of where we have two diametrically opposed and very clear positions from the candidates to choose from. And you see, that's what's helping Romney now. He is the messenger, the standard bearer against Obamacare, promising repeal of it. Yes, he had his Massachusetts issue. That was an issue for him frankly, bigger issue in the primaries. He was able to surpass that. But make no mistake about it, today, Mitt Romney is the last great hope against Obamacare.
And so you've got two choices. If you want to keep it, you vote for Barack Obama. If you want to repeal it, you vote for Mitt Romney. Everything in life is relative, it's about choices and those are our two choices right now.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: All right thanks to both of you.
CARDONA: I actually completely -- I completely agree with Anna on this. It is the choice and the vision of someone who wants to help American families and a Republican Party who wants to basically take away life-saving health care coverage for millions of children with pre-existing conditions. That's going to be on them.
COSTELLO: Ok we're going to have to end the conversation here. Maria Cardona, Ana Navarro --
NAVARRO: We -- we -- Republicans eat children for breakfast in the mornings.
CARDONA: Thank you. Thanks Carol.
NAVARRO: You know we eat children for breakfast in the morning.
CARDONA: I guess so.
COSTELLO: We'll have to bid you adieu, bye. Thanks for joining us.
CARDONA: Bye.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about The Boss. Bruce Springsteen he's being recognized for more than just his music. His big honor next.
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COSTELLO: Welcome back.
Bruce Springsteen has been honored with 20 Grammys, but now The Boss is getting recognized for more than just his music. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" host A.J. Hammer joins me now to explain. Hi, A.J.
A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Hey Carol. And you know that song is getting a lot of play next week. But yes, this is another for Bruce who as you pointed is used to getting awards on Grammy night. The Boss has just been named the "Musicares Person of the Year" by the Recording Academy. They say that they're honoring Springsteen in recognition of his extraordinary creative accomplishments as well as his charitable work which has included an impressive range of philanthropic activities over the years.
Now Musicares is a really terrific charity that's dedicated to musicians and members of the community who need assistance. This foundation was created by the Recording Academy back in 1989. They do great work, offering everything from financial assistance to help in dealing with substance abuse. So definitely a worthy charity and Carol, Bruce is certainly a worthy honoree.
COSTELLO: That he is.
Let's talk about the Olsen twins now because they're -- well, everybody seems to be in trouble with PETA these days.
HAMMER: Yes. Well, if you want a fur backpack designed by the famous twins, Carol, it's going to cost you about $16,000. This is causing, of course, a major criticism from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, as you would well expect.
PETA has not been a fan of the fashionista sisters. For years in fact, they referred to them as the "Trollsen Twins" in the past and here's what they told "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" about this fur backpack that they're hocking now.
They say, "If it looks like a troll and acts like a troll, it is probably a Trollsen Twin or someone wearing of their new $16,000 totes which are made from the fur and skins of innocent animals. What the Olsens lack in creativity, they try to make up for in shock value. Sadly, it is the foxes, calves, and alligators, who often have the fur ripped off them while they are still conscious and able to feel pain, who pay the dearest price."
PETA always getting right down to it.
Carol if you follow celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe, you know that she loves the offending backpack. She put it on her Web site and she called it perfect for pre-fall. So I guess "perfect" is a very subjective word in this case.
COSTELLO: I know. $16,000 for a backpack? I mean fur is a concern, too, but come on.
HAMMER: Yes.
COSTELLO: A.J., thank you.
HAMMER: You got it.
COSTELLO: Need your entertainment fix? A.J. and "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" has got you covered on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT". It airs 11:00 Eastern on HLN.
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COSTELLO: Let's go live to Sanford, Florida. You're looking inside the courtroom there. This is the second bond hearing for George Zimmerman, the man that shot and killed Trayvon Martin, he says in self defense.
Now, originally Zimmerman posted bond and the judge agreed and everything was great until the judge found out that George Zimmerman lied about how much money he had in the bank. Then the judge says you don't do that, he revoked Zimmerman's bond. Turned out that Zimmerman had $150,000 in donations in the bank, and supposedly, he and his wife were trying to hide that money.
So this is the second bond hearing. Zimmerman is trying to convince the judge that it was just all a big misunderstanding. So how's it going?
Paul Callan has been watching testimony. I believe a firefighter is on the stand right now. What have you heard so far?
PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It has been an interesting morning actually. O'Meara, the defense attorney -- Zimmerman's defense attorney, started out by calling a forensic accountant. And he traced the money that had gone into the Zimmerman defense fund, some -- over $200,000 had gone into the fund originally. And then the money was transferred from a PayPal account into George Zimmerman's personal account, and his wife's personal account. Some cash was taken out.
Eventually it gets moved over into attorney O'Meara's account. And then now finally into another trustee protected George Zimmerman defense fund account.
But prosecutors really came strongly at the forensic accountant because a lot of the transfers were in the amount of $9,999. Now, that's sort of a magic number in the money laundering field because if you transfer under 10,000, you don't have to report it to the federal government.
So the prosecutor was trying to make it look like the Zimmermans were being deceptive by transferring large amounts of money in $9,000 amounts. Their explanation, by the way, was PayPal rules will not allow transfers of more than $10,000, so there was nothing, they weren't trying to sneak around or engage in any kind of fraud.
Anyway, so that's what happened basically with the accountant. Follow the money. They used some of the money to pay off their own personal credit card accounts, but in the end, Carol, I think when prosecutors get back up to make their argument, it's clear there was a lot of money.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars in Zimmerman-controlled bank accounts when they told the judge they were basically broke and they didn't have any money or minimal money, minimal resources. And that's when the judge set the $150,000 bond.
Now we have this emergency medical technician from the fire department on the stand. His name is O'Rourke. Now this guy -- it's really kind of interesting because we're starting to see what the trial of this case is going to look like. This fellow, O'Rourke, has testified that he responded to treat George Zimmerman at the scene, that Zimmerman's head was covered with blood, that he had a laceration on his nose and O'Rourke described Zimmerman's nose as broken and deformed at the scene.
Now this, of course, would be consistent with Zimmerman's claim that he was punched in the face by Trayvon Martin. Now why is this coming out at a bail hearing. It's coming out of the bond hearing because one of the things a Florida judge is allowed to consider is the strength of the case against the defendant. If there's a strong probability of conviction, you can set a higher bail because obviously he has a lot to risk. So it is kind of an excuse to get a mini trial on the bail issue.
So I think we're getting a good snapshot at what kind of defense is going to be presented by Zimmerman defense attorneys.
COSTELLO: All right. I'm sure you'll continue to watch this bond hearing, and when there's a conclusion, of course, you'll be here to report it live. Paul Callan, thanks so much.
CALLAN: Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Paul. We'll be right back.
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COSTELLO: Checking our top stories.
Much of the eastern half of the United States will feel like Death Valley today. Take a look at the map. Meteorologists expect temperatures to exceed 100 degrees from St. Louis to Washington, D.C. Officials are urging people to try to avoid the deadly heat and, of course, check in on those in need.
Chicago is decriminalizing the recreational use of marijuana. City council has approved a measure allowing people to issue citations for those carrying small amounts, rather than make arrests. The new policy starts August 4th.
Watch this. A youth hockey coach caught on video tripping a 13- year-old player from the opposing team. Witnesses say he did this on purpose, he knocked two kids to the ground. One of them suffered a broken wrist, the other teen wasn't hurt but his mom is mad.
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ELIZABETH, HOCKEY PLAYER'S MOM: It was a disgusting game at the end. He should be banned. He should be fined as well. He shouldn't be coaching any kids' sports. He picked the wrong career.
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COSTELLO: The coach has now been suspended and Canadian police are looking into possible criminal charges.
If you're looking to save on your vacation, you might want to consider a staycation or look at visiting places close to home. CNN producer Jamie Maglietta recently moved to Atlanta and she found Savannah can be a pretty good get away.
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JAMIE MAGLIETTA, CNN PRODUCER: While researching weekend trips from Atlanta, I realize Savannah is only four hours from the city. What we love about Savannah is River Street. The cobblestone street borders the Savannah river.
It has a New Orleans feel with southern hospitality and -- get this -- street drinks. Yes, you can stroll along River Street with a beer in your hand. Besides beer, there are also tasty restaurants. If you want seafood, I suggest you try Fiddlers or Tubby's.
But if you want to take a break from River Street's festivities, walk seven minutes to Lady and Sons. It's owned by Paula Deen. I recommend you try shrimp and grits. Yum.
If you're looking for a place to stay, you may want to try Bohemian Hotel right on River Street. It is across from the Savannah River and the World War II Memorial. Just keep in mind, hotels along the Savannah River are pricey, so I recommend you stay further out of town to save.
On River Street in Savannah, Georgia, I'm Jamie Maglietta, CNN.
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COSTELLO: Our "Talk Back" question of the day, Obamacare: Should we move on or fight anew?
This from Jason. "We should move on instead of bickering. Republicans and Democrats should sit down and actually work on, discuss, and compromise on a jobs bill that helps everyone."
This from Miriam. "Please move on, I'm so tired of angry, irrational rhetoric and fear there are enough potential voters who agree with me that even more citizens will stay home on Election Day."
This from Kelsey. "Obamacare should absolutely be repealed. It all sounds good on the surface, but when you really dive in and find out what the cost is for everyone in the long run, it is a train wreck."
And this from Bob, "For 50 years I've had to pay for auto insurance, never used it. I use health insurance, always have, probably always will. Repeal auto insurance."
Keep the conversation going, Facebook.com/CarolCNN.
That does it for me. Thank you so much for joining us.
CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Kyra Phillips.
