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Deadly Shooting at Fort Bragg; Republicans Still Pushing For Repeal; Inching Closer to Fiscal Cliff; Fears Syria Conflict Will "Explode"; Clinton Seeking Russian Help On Syria; Selling Organs to Survive
Aired June 29, 2012 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Right now with Brooke Baldwin.
Hey, Brooke.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Suzanne, thank you so much.
Hello to all of you. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
We are sitting here. We are awaiting the arrival of the president to a very devastated Colorado because of the wildfires there. We're going to be getting some images here any moment now because he's on the ground. He wants to get a first-hand look at wildfires that have now turned deadly.
This as the state learns some very, very big guns are headed its way. Tomorrow, eight military C-130s will join that fire fight. And these are pictures of one of those planes in action. This was just this week in Boulder, Colorado. All eight of these aircraft have not been called into action since 2008. And here's one of the reasons why they're all being activated right now.
Take a look at this. This wildfire in Colorado Springs is now officially the worst in the state's history, consuming nearly 350 homes. And now we are learning at least one person has been killed. One person is missing. And this fire is not even close to being contained. Don't forget, this is just one of many fires burning across the Rocky Mountain west.
I want to go straight to Sandra Endo. She has been covering this Colorado Springs fire for us.
And, Sandra, the last number I saw was 346 homes destroyed. Does that number still hold?
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brooke. That number still holds at this hour. And we know that in terms of containment, it's only 15 percent. But when you consider the number of days these fires have been going on, that is actually pretty good news.
And we're here at the Air Force Academy, which is also being used as a helibase (ph), Brooke. And all morning lone, we're seeing helicopters come in, land, scoop up some fire retardant and water and then going out into the fire zone to really try to combat that blaze up on the mountain. And, clearly, there is a lot of work yet to be done. But so far fire officials say that they have been holding the southwest line of this fire zone, which means that a lot of homes are being protected. That's the good news.
But as you mentioned, still, with only 15 percent containment and hundreds of homes destroyed, we're hearing stories of devastation and clearly search crews are going through those areas where the flames have been extinguished and that is where they found the body of one charred person inside a home yesterday evening. And they are still trying to account for people who are missing.
Brooke.
BALDWIN: Sandra, thank you.
I also read a report that two people were arrested for trying to burglarize one of those evacuated homes. That is the situation in Colorado.
As we mentioned, the president is expected to be visiting any moment now, touching down in Colorado, the fire zone. He's already declared the state a disaster area. Now he's set to get this first- hand look at the damage. And I was to go to White House correspondent Dan Lothian. He is in Colorado Springs.
Dan, do we know, is the president on the ground yet?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The president is not here yet on the ground. And he will only be here for a few hours. But as you pointed out, this is an important moment for the president to get an up close look at the damage here. Perhaps even meet with some of those who have been impacted by the fires. He will also be briefed on the latest information on the response, meeting with the governor, the mayor and other emergency management officials.
But the big message from the president will be that the federal government is here to assist in any way possible, not only during the ongoing operation now, as Sandra was talking about a while ago. They're still dropping water on those flare-ups behind me. There's still an ongoing operation. But also during the recovery from this massive fire.
We were at a press conference a short time ago with local officials and they were talking about the impacts that these fires have had on local businesses. So this is something local officials and local residents are really looking to the federal government to be able to provide some much need resources to help out during this very difficult time.
And, you know, you were talking so much about the fire here in Colorado Springs. But also in northern Colorado, there's another massive fire. It's about 85 percent contained. So they're getting the upper hand there. They hope to have that fully contained by this weekend. But they also have lost more than 240 or so homes. So, in total, more than 600 homes have been destroyed and two people have been killed. So, massive undertaking here. About half of all federal wildfire fighting resources are being staged here in the state. And, again, the president coming here to promise the residence that the federal government will continue to assist in any way possible.
BALDWIN: Sure. That help is on the way.
Hey, Dan, I'm just curious, because the smoke is so bad, we're looking at these pictures. I'm just wondering if the president's plans on the ground have changed at all. You know, that -- if the president and his team have to be flexible presumably?
LOTHIAN: He does have to be flexible. I know there were some issues as to where he could fly in because there were concerns not only about the conditions, but also because of all of the resources that have been amassed on the ground at the airfield.
BALDWIN: Yes.
LOTHIAN: And in addition to that, we are told that the sheriff's department has had to take over and assist in terms of helping traffic control and helping Secret Service and federal agencies for the president's visit because the local police department is really overwhelmed dealing with the situation here on the ground. So the sheriff's department has had to really step up to help out during this presidential visit.
BALDWIN: All right, Dan Lothian, thank you.
Again, just a quick reminder, we are waiting for the arrival of the president. He will be speaking during the show. We will, of course, bring that to you live.
And as we mentioned, this fire is so big, it's now actually record-breaking in the state of Colorado. So many homes have burned. And it's tough to even just wrap your head around the loss. But consider this. Byron Largent had to grab his wife, grab his one-year- old baby girl Tuesday and make a run for it. Byron is taking the time to join me on the phone from Colorado Springs.
And, Byron, first, really, I'm just wondering, where you are now. How are you? How's Emma?
BYRON LARGENT, WILDFIRE VICTIM (via telephone): I'm in Colorado Springs. I'm currently at work. Just kind of getting a few things done. And Emma is hanging out with grandma and grandpa. She's just -- she's loving life right now.
BALDWIN: She's loving life. How about you and your wife and your home? How did you find out it was a loss?
LARGENT: Tuesday evening I was listening to the emergency scanner, listening to the firefighters and I heard one of them say Majestic (ph) is gone, which is the street our house is on. We saw the fire come over the mountain. We've seen aerial photos. And then the city of Colorado Springs had a meeting last night just to confirm. It was hard, definitely.
BALDWIN: Majestic is gone. Did you have any kind of lead time? Did you have a moment to pack your car with your most precious possessions before you left?
LARGENT: Yes, we were evacuated on Saturday. And our mindset was that we'll be back in a few days. This is just for safety. So we grabbed some clothes, some stuffed animals, laptops, cell phones. Grabbed some important documents out of the file cabinet. But we didn't grab my wife's grandmother's china. I looked at it and I said, we'll be back in a few days.
BALDWIN: Oh.
LARGENT: So we miss some of those really personal items.
BALDWIN: What else -- what else did you lose? What else are you thinking about now?
LARGENT: My wife is definitely thinking about her wedding dress. That was really special to her. The rocking chair that we rocked Emma to sleep in every night for a year. That's one that we're both really distraught over not having anymore.
BALDWIN: Byron Largent, I am sorry for those things you lost. At least they are things. I am glad you and your wife and Emma are a- okay. And we wish you the best of luck, Byron. Thank you for calling in.
Oh, it's awful to hear these stories, Chad Myers. Just -- it's awful.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The same heat that's now in the east caused all of this mess out there.
BALDWIN: Really?
MYERS: So very hot. Lightning caused a couple of these thunderstorms. We don't know what caused yet the Waldo. There's been some speculation. They're saying undetermined. That's what we're going with right now.
BALDWIN: OK.
MYERS: They'll try to figure that out. So people were jumping ahead. And we don't want to jump ahead. It's still undetermined.
The fire happened so fast in these areas because it was so dry and so hot. There was no -- there's moisture left in the timber at all. All these dead things that are on the ground, they were all just ready to burn. And they did.
BALDWIN: That's why these homeowner thought they would have time to --
MYERS: Yes. BALDWIN: You know, grab a couple things now, go back to my home and grab the rest of it. Grab the wedding dress. Grab the rocking chair. But not so.
MYERS: Ironically, a thunderstorm caused all that. Three -- all those 300 homes were lost because of a thunderstorm.
BALDWIN: Just like that.
MYERS: A thunderstorm that happened in the wrong place. A thunderstorm that blew its wind. You know how it can get gusty around that thunderstorm. A thunderstorm that blew in the wrong place, blew the fire down the mountain right at the homes. You expect a thunderstorm to be good. Not all the time.
Ninety degrees right now in New York, 92 in Philadelphia, 100 in Washington, D.C. The farther you get to the south, obviously, the hotter it is. That's typical. Richmond, you're already 101, and Charlotte, 102.
It's going to be 102 to 104 in Atlanta today. That's hot. That's hot for Atlanta. We don't get that hot down here because it's so muggy all the time that by the time it gets to 90, it just rains. Clouds come and there's just an afternoon shower. There are no showers today. There's nothing that's going to keep this heat away. The clouds are not going to be there. The sunshine is just going to beat down all day.
And the temperatures that you see on your local TV stations tonight or tomorrow or whatever, those are temperatures that are taken in a white box in the shade. So if you're working on a concrete or an asphalt or outside at all, you are not in a white box in the shade. You're going to feel temperatures even warmer than what we're seeing here.
One hundred and three in Memphis. The number that really strikes me the most is 107 in Nashville. That will be the high temperature today. One hundred and six tomorrow. Not much relief at all as we work our way into the weekend. For the next five days, temperatures across most of the areas east of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, will be 100 degrees or better for five solid days, Brooke.
BALDWIN: I am already bracing myself for the slap of heat that will happen walking out of this building in two hours.
Chad, thank you so much.
MYERS: You're welcome.
BALDWIN: The markets today. A pretty good rally after some solid news out of Europe. But here at home, many, many young Americans, they're taking the hit. They're about to take a big hit financially. Find out what's coming.
Speaking of money, the CEO of Starbucks just challenged every American. He says he needs your answers and it might help revive the entire U.S. economy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: All right, just into us here at CNN, word of this massive recall from Toyota. This one involves 154,000 Lexus vehicles. You can see the model at the bottom of your screen. The reason, the pedals could get trapped by the floor mats. You remember this story with Toyota before. Earlier recalled millions of these cars also because of a similar floor mat issue.
Today is the last day before Congress splits for the Fourth of July holiday. And before they get out of dodge, the House and the Senate are finally doing a little something to keep interest rates on federal student loans from doubling. Many of you, a sigh of relief. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange with more on this one.
And before we talk student loans, let's just look quickly at the numbers. Pretty decent rally today, up 226 points. Why?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, because at least for today, Brooke, there's a deal in Europe that's really got some muscle to it. European leaders have reached a deal to help banks over there that are struggling to stay afloat. So it basically means that there's now going to be a banking union. One central authority that's going to oversee the banks in the Eurozone. So if those banks need help, that one entity will be able to directly put rescue funds into the bank. It represents a lot of more coordination with the European banking system, and that's really restoring confidence, as you can see play out on the board -- restore confidence here on Wall Street, at least for today.
Brooke.
BALDWIN: And a little confidence when it comes to people paying their student loans. Congress really sort of coming down to the wire, right, with the vote on the student loans.
KOSIK: Oh, yes.
BALDWIN: Passed the House. We're waiting still for the Senate.
KOSIK: Actually, yes, it just passed the Senate. So now the bill is going to move on to the president's desk. That just happened.
So, you can bet that President Obama is going to sign this. And what Congress voted on today is to keep interest rates on the federal college loans at 3.4 percent. Because if they didn't do anything, these rates would have doubled this weekend to 6.8 percent. Yes, last minute, Congress, that's what we can call them.
And this really matters because most students take about 10 years to pay off their loans. And you can see that interest that accrues (ph) year after year if this wasn't passed. Now the legislation, Brooke, is going to be affecting more than 7 million students who take out new loans for the next school year.
Brooke.
BALDWIN: And I know there had been concerns, especially from Republicans, as far as, you know, who foots the bill. How do they pay for it?
KOSIK: Oh, yes. You know how much it's going to costs to keep these rates low, $6 billion. And ultimately the deal involved making changes to how companies fund their pensions and limiting how long students can go to school without accruing interest on their loans. But we're going to be hearing about this again next year, don't you worry, because, guess what, this is just kind of a time -- this is just for a year. The legislation keeps these rates at 3.4 percent only until June 30th of next year. So we will be having this conversation next year, Brooke.
BALDWIN: We'll talk about it next year then. Alison, thank you.
Hey, quickly wanted to show you some live pictures. There he is. The president now officially on the ground. Air Force One has landed in Colorado Springs. Live pictures from KRDO. He is in town to take a look with his own eyes at the damage and devastation, 346 homes destroyed in this wildfire. And big deal here. He's officially declared this area a disaster areas, which means a lot of local folks are very pleased because that means they get federal aid here for the areas affected. So, President Obama now in Colorado Springs.
Moving on. Starbucks. Starbucks new campaign is about getting you not to buy coffee, nope, but to brainstorm about how to revive America's economy. In ads in major newspapers, CEO Howard Schultz wrote an open letter, how can America win this election? In part, he says, quote, "starting today, I invite you to share your view of America and how we can all put citizenship over partnership. On Instagram, post a photo of the America we all need to see. On twitter, provide a link to an innovative idea." He goes on, "blog about who's making a difference in your community or on YouTube, share how you made your American dream come true. No matter where you post, if you use that #indivisible, Starbucks will do our part to collect and amplify your voices."
And CNN's Poppy Harlow in studio with me.
Hello.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Good to be here.
BALDWIN: Nice to see you.
I know you've interviewed Howard Schultz multiple times.
HARLOW: Yes.
BALDWIN: And I want to talk about -- because we all know he's been vocal in the past politically and we'll get to that in just a moment.
HARLOW: Absolutely. BALDWIN: But in terms of the timing of this letter, why now?
HARLOW: I think because it's going to be the Fourth of July. The time, when he says at the top of the letter, you know, we celebrate the promise of America. He told me, Brooke, a few months ago when we last spoke, this, right now, is a defining moment in the history of our country.
BALDWIN: Yes.
HARLOW: That Washington is so divided. Congress can't get a lot done. Millions of people don't have jobs. That's issue number one for him. And I want to read you part of this letter that really stood out to me. Let's pull it up. He said, "I love America, but we all know there is something wrong and that we are better than this. The deficits this country must reconcile are much more than financial. Our inability to solve our own problems is sapping our national spirit."
I think that says a lot. And let's (INAUDIBLE) who this is coming from, the CEO of a massive Fortune 500 company that has really had a record year of profitability, that made a turnaround through the recession. Why does he care about this? Does this help him sell coffee? And he insists that's not what it's about.
BALDWIN: He says it's not about the coffee.
HARLOW: He says it's not marketing.
BALDWIN: So if he's asking for the tweets and the blogs, the solutions from different communities on what is working, so then what? What does he do with that?
HARLOW: Right, what's his plan.
BALDWIN: Yes.
HARLOW: So I believe, from all the times I've talked to him and what I'm reading, is that his plan is to galvanize America to get people like me, you, our neighbors, our community together to act where Washington won't, right? He's called on business leaders to hire a number of times, but also us, to start small businesses, to get the money for loans out there. To do -- you know, work with microloans. And I talked to him at a Starbucks in New York a few months ago about this issue. Remember, they put those wristbands out there that they sell for $5 to raise money to go to microloans for people.
BALDWIN: The bracelets. Right.
HARLOW: Take a listen to why he says they're doing all of this.
BALDWIN: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD SCHULTZ, CEO, STARBUCKS: We can't sit by and be a bystander any longer. I'm getting letters from people across the country who are sharing their own tragic stories about losing faith in the American dream. You know my own story. I grew up on the other side of the track. I carry that with me. I'm just trying to make a difference. I don't want to be a bystander.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: So he's saying to all of us, don't be a bystander. Do something about it. And we're going to see this add run full page -- so we know that's expensive -- in "The New York Times," "The Wall Street Journal" --
BALDWIN: "The Wall Street Journal."
HARLOW: A number of publications. And this, just as you said, political. It's not the first time that he's sort of gone out on a limb.
BALDWIN: I remember the debt ceiling debacle.
HARLOW: Yes.
BALDWIN: Didn't he voice concern then?
HARLOW: I mean he issued a petition and asked CEOs and everyone to sign it, to not give a dime to Washington until Congress really got its act -- its house in order, reached a long term debt deal, which, by the way, we still haven't. It's been months --
BALDWIN: Working on that. Working on that.
HARLOW: Month since Simpson-Bowles. Starbucks came out in January and supported gay marriage. A bill for that in Washington state. So this is a company that goes out on a political limb. So the key question is, Howard Schultz going to run for office, right? And he --
BALDWIN: And I'm sure you've asked him.
HARLOW: Yes, every time I see him --
BALDWIN: (INAUDIBLE) does?
HARLOW: No interest. He believes he can get more done in the private sector than in Washington, which at this point, I would agree with. I would agree with. Maybe not the same things done. You cannot pass laws, you cannot change people's lives in that way. But as a brand that everyone knows, he's putting out there what he thinks Starbucks can do. There will always be critics who say this is just about the brand and this is about the marketing. And you can think what you want.
BALDWIN: And the free cup of coffee on the Fourth of July.
HARLOW: The free cup of coffee on the Fourth of July. And you can believe what you want, but I clearly see here he's gone out on a limb. That doesn't make him popular with all politicians.
BALDWIN: Hey, quickly, you're here not just because you like me.
HARLOW: I love you.
BALDWIN: But this weekend --
HARLOW: This weekend.
BALDWIN: This weekend you are anchoring for Fredricka.
HARLOW: I'm filling in for Fredricka Whitfield here in Atlanta. We've got a big show. A fun show coming up.
BALDWIN: So, what -- watch CNN this weekend.
HARLOW: Absolutely.
BALDWIN: All right, Poppy Harlow, thank you very much.
HARLOW: Sure.
BALDWIN: A millionaire living a lavish lifestyle -- lavish lifestyle -- say that five times fast -- convicted of arson. But seconds after he heard the verdict, a stunning moment inside this courtroom. And, guess what, the cameras were rolling on the whole thing. You've got to stick around to hear this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Another Madoff soon to be behind bars. Bernie Madoff's brother, Peter, pleading guilty to charges that he helped cover up what has been called the biggest Ponzi scheme in history. Peter Madoff lied to investors and deceived the IRS. He faces up to a decade in prison as part of this plea deal. Bernie Madoff, meantime, still in North Carolina serving that 150-year sentence.
And a high-flying life comes crashing down in a Phoenix courtroom. This man, who made millions of dollars and climbed the world's tallest mountains, apparently killed himself in court. Killed himself in court moments after this jury found him guilty of burning down his mansion because he couldn't afford to pay the mortgage. Christine Harrington of affiliate KTVK has the life and the death of a daring adventurer (ph) who was facing years in prison.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTINE HARRINGTON, KTVK CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Michael Marin, banker, art collector, adventurer and one-time multimillionaire will now also be remembered as an arsonist.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We, the jury, (INAUDIBLE) title action upon our oaths do find the defendant, Michael James Marin, guilty of arson of an occupied structure.
HARRINGTON: This man who lived life large, with original Picasso sketches lining his walls in his multimillion dollar Biltmore mansion, is the same man who in May 2009 Skyped with 3TV -- UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A (INAUDIBLE) local hiker, Michael Marin.
HARRINGTON: As he scaled Mt. Everest.
MICHAEL MARIN: We've already gone up to 25,000 feet without oxygen.
HARRINGTON: It was a very dangerous climb to the top that nearly cost him his life.
MARIN: It's a reminder that you're in a very dangerous business and you're profoundly grateful for the -- just the grace that gives you life to breathe.
HARRINGTON: It was just a couple of months later that Michael Marin's Biltmore home went up in flames. And, again, he was thankful. This time for the grace of his scuba gear.
MARIN: I wore a mask (ph) that actually had some air left in that tank. And that's what enabled me to get back to the window and to play (ph) that ladder. If I hadn't had those two things, we wouldn't be talking.
HARRINGTON: But the tank and the ladder made firefighters suspicious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In my year on the job, it's the first time I saw somebody use scuba diving equipment to get out of a fire.
HARRINGTON: A month later, Marin was charged with arson, accused of torching his home because he couldn't pay the mortgage. Three years later, a guilty verdict.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guilty of arson --
HARRINGTON: And a shocking reaction. Deputies say it appears he took something in court, collapsed and, moments later, died.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Michael Marin could have been sentenced to 16 years in prison on that arson conviction.
The Army investigates why a soldier suddenly opened fire during a briefing at Fort Bragg. We'll get you a live report from the Pentagon, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: The man who admits shooting Trayvon Martin will stay in jail, at least for now. This is while the judge weighs evidence and reconsiders bond. George Zimmerman's attorney has pushed for a new bond at a hearing today. You know he's been in jail since the judge accused him of misleading the court about his finances and revoked his first bond earlier this month. His attorney says the case is just too flimsy for Zimmerman to stay in jail until trial. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK O'MARA, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN'S ATTORNEY: Prospect as anyone else would be. He wants out. He wants to be able to be with Shellie (ph). He's very worried about his wife right now. And he'll deal with it no matter what the judge's ruling. So we'll wait.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: At the time his first bond was set, Zimmerman claimed to be broke. The judge later found out that he had raised $135,000 online.
One soldier is dead, two others are injured. Not overseas, but right here at home on an Army base. I'm talking about Fort Bragg, North Carolina. A spokesman there says the shooter is one of the wounded soldiers who tried to kill himself. CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Chris Lawrence, is joining us.
And, Chris, what do you know as far as any kind of motive?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, a defense official is giving us some new information that may help explain why this soldier allegedly shot and killed his commanding officer. We're now told that this specialist, who had been in the Army about eight years, was actually under investigation and facing a possible court-martial on criminal charges. The Army had accused him of stealing a tool box from the motor pool. Now, this toolbox was worth a couple thousand dollars. And he may have faced dishonorable discharge if he was found guilty in a court-martial.
We've also learned from this official that this specialist had a unique relationship with his battalion commander. Basically he was on this lieutenant colonel's security detail when the two of them were serving on a tour in Afghanistan.
Brooke.
BALDWIN: This happened at a safety briefing. Are soldiers typically armed at places like this?
LAWRENCE: No, and this wasn't the kind safety briefing that you get say before you go out on a foot patrol in Afghanistan. I'm told that this was basically a pat on the back with the commander saying you guys are doing a great job.
Stay safe over this 4th of July weekend. Don't drink and drive. And then all of a sudden, he pulls out a gun and starts shooting.
BALDWIN: I mean, this isn't the first time there's been an incident. There have been a number of incidents in recently at Fort Bragg, have there not?
LAWRENCE: Yes, a couple of months ago, there was an investigation into the warrior transition unit after there were six suicides and a about dozen domestic disputes. All within a period of a little over a month, but right now, not knowing enough about this case, really hard to say whether this is connected to anything else that's happened on base or it's just an isolated personal incident.
BALDWIN: OK, Chris, thank you. As the left and right keep on bickering over the Supreme Court's health ruling, my next guest, a money expert, says the decision may harm the economy. We're going to hear his reasons next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: About an hour and a half away from the closing bell. Just wanted to get a sneak peek once again and take a look that the rally. The Dow is up 244 points. Part of this what happened in Europe today.
The European leaders deciding, yes, they will send bailout money to struggling banks so perhaps that is part of this lovely number in the green you are looking at here on your screen.
You know, let's talk politics for a moment here. You say this for the Republicans. They don't exactly quit easily. Less than two weeks from today, they are expected to vote to repeal Obamacare in the House. And then it will go nowhere not with Democrats in control of both the Senate and the White House.
There's so much more that needs to be addressed before the end of the year. Rick Newman is the chief business correspondent for "U.S. News and World Report."
He's also the author of "Rebounders, How Winners Pivot From Setback To Success." Rick, welcome. I know you posted something after the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act entitled, "How The Supreme Court Obamacare Ruling Could Harm the Economy."
Harm the economy you say, so you're not actually focusing on the cost of the Affordable Care Act, are you?
RICK NEWMAN, "U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT": We've known about the cost for a long time. I think businesses have done a lot to get ready for that. The real question here is what happens next in Washington.
I think a bad scenario for the economy would be there's another big fight over Obamacare, that now we move into an effort to repeal it. It becomes yet another long dragged out fight over this.
The real danger of that is that it might distract everybody in Washington from things that are really much more important priorities for the economy right now.
I mean, a lot of business leaders don't like the Obama health care law, but they say it is way more important, number one, to deal with the fiscal cliff that we have been hearing about. That's the spending cuts and tax hikes that are due to go into effect right at the end of the year. Right after that, we're going to have to deal again with another extension of the government's borrowing limit. I mean, that was a manmade disaster the last time we had to deal with that, which was last summer. So there's a lot of stuff that needs to be worked out. That's more important.
BALDWIN: There is a lot of stuff. Let's go back to the fiscal cliff you just mentioned. You know, all of this is said to expire. We've compiled a list so we can all take a look at this.
You have the Bush tax cuts. You have the alternative minimum tax exemptions, the payroll tax cut, and the extended unemployment benefits.
On top of all of that, there is the automatic cuts in social spending that came out of that debt ceiling non-deal. So all together, you know, it would take something like $700 billion from the economy. What has to be saved, Rick and then what has to go?
NEWMAN: The most maddening thing about this is that everybody knows what needs to be done. I mean, none of this is secret. We know it's going to go down to the last second.
What everybody would like to see Congress do is basically extend the decision making for the most part. Say we're going to extend most of the tax cuts for another year or so, but when the next Congress comes in into office and the next president, whoever that turns out to be.
We're going to come up with solutions to these problems for good, which means we're going to start finding ways to pay down the debt. But we are not going to do it dramatically overnight.
In the meanwhile, we might do a little bit to help the economy today. That might happen. But the problem is if it does happen, it's going to happen at the last second.
BALDWIN: But that's short term. What about long term deficit reduction?
NEWMAN: Well, we know that's not going to happen before the election. We'll probably be lucky if we get that out of the next Congress because nobody wants to make those hard decisions.
Because that means probably cutting Medicare, probably extending the retirement age, making a lot of unpopular decisions, everybody knows these decisions have to be made.
But what businesses are doing now is they are saying, you know what, if Washington can't tell us what's going to happen with these really important issues, we're going to wait. We're basically going to do nothing.
We're not going to spend more than we have to. We're not going to hire more than we have to. You know, we're seeing a slowdown in the economy right now. And there's a good chance that's a factor. Businesses are just saying I'm going to wait and see until I know what's coming out of Washington later in the year.
BALDWIN: Well, there is something that this one particular word on the lips of just about every Republican yesterday after the Supreme Court ruling came down. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR ROY BLUNT (R), MISSOURI: Let's repeal this and start over again.
SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: It marks a fresh start on the road to repeal.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHN BOEHNER (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: To make sure this law is repealed.
REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN (R), MINNESOTA: We will repeal Obama care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: OK, you get it, repeal. You say Congress needs to get its act together and that applies to both parties here, right? But it's the Republicans that are driving for the repeal specifically.
If that distracts Congress from this fiscal cliff that you were talking about at the end of this year, is the GOP to blame for that?
NEWMAN: You know what I think everybody would like to hear the GOP say, how about this, we don't like Obamacare. We might repeal it, but let's solve these other problems first and then deal with Obamacare.
Obamacare is such huge party, solve the other problems that business leaders are saying you need to solve the problems and get to it. Of course, we all know this is a lot about politicking.
We're probably going to hear this up until Election Day and the question is, everybody wants to know who is the next president, and what happens after Election Day in November?
BALDWIN: I was talking to Senator Blunt yesterday, a Republican, he did utter the compromise word. We shall see. Rick Newman, thank you so much. Good talking to you. Now this --
In the middle of the night as families are sound asleep, an explosion, gunfire. This is the horrific reality inside Syria. There's this piece of video that made us stop in our tracks. You have to see this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: As a diver for some 40 years, Ken has watched some of the beauty of the Florida Keys disappear and now the CNN hero has created the biggest coral nursery in the Caribbean to help bring marine life back to the area.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEN NEDIMYER, DEFENDING THE PLANET: I grew up diving in the Florida Keys. It was the most magical place. The coral reefs were so pretty and I decided that's what I wanted to do for a living is dive on coral reefs.
In an area where there's live coral. There's always more fish. The reefs provide protection for our coastal areas and recreational opportunities for millions of people. I was diving for 40 years over time I saw those coral reefs start to die. Coral reefs worldwide are in decline.
If coral reefs die completely, coastal communities would be bankrupt. Tourism would be virtually gone. The billion people in the world will be impacted.
I started thinking, you know, how can we fix this problem? My name is Ken Nedimyer and I grow, protect and restore coral reefs. We developed a system that's simple and something we can train others to do.
We start with a piece of coral this big and we hang it on a tree. After about a year or two it becomes this big. Then we cut the branches off and we do it again.
BILL GAUSEY, REEF MANAGER: Ken's coral nursery is one of the largest in the water Caribbean. It's 10 times larger than the others that are in existence.
NEDIMYER: We plant the six corals here. Now there are over 3,000 growing in this area alone. Before I felt helpless watching it die, now I think there's hope. It's not too late. Everybody can help. I see all those corals and fish. It's like this whole reef is coming back to life. Making a difference is exciting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: "CNN Heroes" are chosen from folks you tell us about. So if you know someone who is truly making a difference in his or her community, just go to cnnheroes.com. You'll never know your nomination could help them help others.
Now I want you to imagine this. Imagine it's night time. You're at home. You're trying to sleep and you hear this. This is fighting near Damascus, Syria between government forces and the opposition.
Rebel forces now saying more than 14,000 people have been killed since this uprising began. Almost all of them civilians, men, women, children and here in an area near those explosions you just heard, bodies lined up one after the other after shelling took the lives of more than 50 people. This is a neighborhood. Families live here. Many call it a complete massacre. It was this one clip that really made us stop. I have to warn you, it's graphic.
These are bodies of elderly people. They have been shot in their heads. It's believed they were killed by Syrian forces. Always have to say this, CNN cannot confirm the images because Syria severely limits journalists from entering the country.
But what we can tell you is that these victims were clearly killed deliberately. They were elderly. They were in their homes. It's hard to imagine what threat these men and women could have posed.
The videos are tough to watch, but we want to share them with you to give you an idea of how horrific the conflict in Syria has gotten. Many fear the fighting will bleed into other countries.
The U.N. warning just a couple of weeks ago that Syria will and I'm quoting, "explode." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Russia today trying to get help to end the slaughter in Syria.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to go through it all again, but I'll risk it if it does work. It's worth the risk to find out if it will work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: One couple has tried everything to get pregnant. They're last resort entering a contest to win fertility treatments. Wait until you hear this emotional story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: It's no secret. More and more American women are having trouble getting pregnant including this one couple who has tried everything. But their last resort means competing for the chance to get pregnant. Miguel Marquez has this eye opening story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Emily and Jim Heaton have tried for years to have kids.
EMILY HEATON, CONTESTANT: Think of it, you know, as when you're a child, you play house. You play mommy. It's something that I want a lot.
MARQUEZ: Emily has suffered seven miscarriages since their marriage five years ago. They have even picked out names. If it's a girl, Grace or Elizabeth. If it's a boy, Liam James, James for Emily's grandfather who died in 2008.
EMILY HEATON: My grandfather was a very big part of my life. MARQUEZ: Jim, an active duty Marine has been deployed six times in 10 years. News of one miscarriage came by satellite phone in Afghanistan.
JIM HEATON, CONTESTANT: I was sitting on the hood on a phone when I got the news. I think the hardest part about it is not being able to be there to comfort her.
MARQUEZ: They have tried everything from holistic medicine to fertility treatments.
EMILY HEATON: I have scar tissue on one side of my butt because of all the injections we have to do.
MARQUEZ: In May, they had chance at something they could never afford advance IVF treatment up to $20,000 at the Sher Institute in Las Vegas.
They gambled, joining a contest, making a 4.5-minute video describing why they should win. Deeply personal stuff posted online for the world to see.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no one in our nursery yet. We are very hopeful still.
MARQUEZ: Forty four other couples also made videos, their stories equally heartbreaking.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just want to be a happy family.
MARQUEZ: An independent panel whittled the videos down to six. They were posted on Facebook where the public could vote on what supposed to be one winner.
DR. GEOFFREY SHER, SHER FERTILITY INSTITUTE: We started off offering it to one couple. It was largely because of me that we went to three. I said give it to them. These are the top three, give it to them. I wish I could give it to everybody, but if we did, I wouldn't be here talking to you.
MARQUEZ: Dr. Geoffrey Sher admits the contest is as much as publicity ploy as it is designed to help the needy. He also said if anyone can help Emily Heaton, he can.
SHER: You have to use certain gymnastics in the laboratory, fancy footwork to fertilize the egg. You have to have a good seed embryo, which is not always available and you have to identify it and you have to have a receptive soil, the uterine lining to allow that seed to grow.
MARQUEZ: Emily was diagnosed unexplained infertility. She believes her thyroid and immune system are at fault when pregnant day launch an attack on her fertilized eggs as though they're a virus.
Leslie Carlisle from Las Vegas had a similar problem with her second child. She and her husband, Ray, won a previous contest offered by the Sher Institute.
LESLIE CARLISLE, MOTHER: They took 15 eggs, of those 15, eight fertilized. Only one embryo made it. They put him back, you know, put that embryo in and --
MARQUEZ: No one is more thrilled than his 6-year-old sister, Kendra. The Heatons have their first consultation with Dr. Sher this week and hope to be pregnant by October. They feel this may be their last best chance.
EMILY HEATON: I don't want to go through it all again, but --
JIM HEATON: We'll cross that bridge when it comes.
EMILY HEATON: I'll risk it. It's worth the risk to find out if it will work.
MARQUEZ: Faith has gotten them this far. Now they are hoping for a miracle. Miguel Marquez, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: How about that?
Very soon, a quick reminder, we are expecting President Obama to speak live from the disaster area in Colorado where families are losing their homes. We have a close eye on that.
Also, it's a growing problem. These folks are struggling to feed their families and stay above water financially speaking. They are actually giving up their own organs on the black market, kidneys, corneas, lungs.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Talk about a reality that just absolutely shows how desperate times have gotten. People so impoverished they are selling pieces of themselves to survive. Take a look at these pictures.
These are scars on Pakistani men profiled by CNN who sold their kidneys to pay off debts. That was Pakistan. Now this is happening in Europe, which is experiencing as we've been reporting on this major, major debt crisis.
That prompted this 26-year-old father of two in Serbia to go on television to sell his kidney. The "New York Times" profiled him in this new piece on Europe's growing black market of organ sales and the man who wrote this article joins me by phone from Paris.
Daniel, you start this piece by profiling, you know, this couple so desperate for money, the husband lost his job at this meat factory, can't afford a tombstone for his own father and wants to sell his kidney for how much? And the thing that got me was you wrote that it didn't seem like much of a sacrifice for him.
DAN BILEFSKY, EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT, "NEW YORK TIMES" (via telephone): He thought he could get about 30,000 euros for kidney so about $40,000 and quite remarkably, sadly, he didn't think it was much of a sacrifice because he's trying to put food on the table for his family.
BALDWIN: This is something we have reported on Pakistan, India, Philippines, but when I read the article this morning and I thought Europe. How widespread is this?
BILEFSKY: It's a little bit in the early stages. It's hard to quantify. But I scoured dozens of internet classified ads in Spain, Greece and countries like Russia as well. And I found dozens of ads people trying to sell kidneys, breast milk and sperm and asking as much as $250,000 for lungs.
BALDWIN: You mentioned internet classified ads, explain to me this process. How do you go from the seller to the recipient?
BILEFSKY: Well, the sad fact is that in the age of internet it's quite easy to try and sell your organs. People are finding internet classified ads on their local internet sites and newspapers and putting it on ads.
A crime is not committed until you have sold the organ. There are dozens of these ads. They can scan the classified sections and try to find vulnerable people who want to sell their organs. What's really shocking is the extent to which it was so wide out in the open.
BALDWIN: While we're talking, I just want to let people know, the pictures, these images are from Daniel's piece. This is part of the multimedia for presumably where these people live and some of the people he talked to.
Daniel, you mentioned it's a crime only once the organ is actually sold, is that correct? So this is legal up until that point, is that correct?
BILEFSKY: As far as I know, with cannot be prosecuted for putting an ad in the newspaper. It's the point when the kidney is extracted and money is exchanged that the law is broken. These people are not breaking the law, but still they leave themselves vulnerable to be exploited.
BALDWIN: How often is it actually prosecuted?
BILEFSKY: Well, in the case of Serbia, it's interesting. I mean, it's becoming quite somewhat widespread phenomenon. You have villages in the south where thousands of people are trying to do this.
But over the past ten years they've not had a single prosecution. If fact that people are trying to sell their organs doesn't mean that it's actually happening.
The other explanation is that the organ transplants often happen in third countries, so it's very, very hard to track. There was a huge bust in Israel where an organ trafficker and his colleagues were arrested. And they were running a ring that stretched across the world and was operating primarily in Europe...
BALDWIN: Yes. Yes.
BILEFSKY: ... where they were luring people from poor countries and the post-Soviet countries and bringing them for operations in Europe.
BALDWIN: And now, though, that you're reporting on -- it's just the beginning, the beginning of this trend in Europe. And to think that someone would sell their on kidney to put food on the table, I think just desperate times.
Daniel Bilefsky, thank you so much.
You should read Daniel's article in "The New York Times" today. Thanks, Daniel. I appreciate it.
