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Questions About Jesse Jackson Junior; Model Plane Bomber Takes Deal; House To Vote On Health Care Law; Judge To Rule In Mississippi Abortion Case; Massachusetts Senate Race Heats Up; Married, Unmarried People See Candidates Differently; Scranton Cuts Public Employee Salaries to Minimum Wage; Viacom, DirecTV Battle Leaves Viewers in Dark; Will Jesse Jackson Discuss Son's Mystery Illness at Conference; Doctors Finding Answer to Disease in Cambodia
Aired July 11, 2012 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Suzanne Malveaux. This hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, we are focusing on the Congressional vote on the affordable health care act, also known as Obama health care. We're also going to take you to a city where the mayor is cutting workers pay to minimum wage. And if you're missing some channels on your DirecTV, don't worry. CNN is working, of course, but we want to talk about that as well. We're going to get right down to it.
We're hearing that it could get a statement today on the health of Congressman Jesse Jackson Junior of Illinois. One of his top aides says that Jackson's condition is not life threatening. Last week, Jackson's office issued a statement saying he is struggling with physical and emotional problems that will require extensive medical treatment. The 47-year-old took a medical leave of absence last month which his office initially attributed to exhaustion. He has been under growing -- under growing pressure to explain his disappearance from Capitol Hill. We're going to have more details and a live report from Chicago in just 30 minutes.
A man charged with planning to bomb the Pentagon and U.S. capital, he is going to plead guilty. This is Rezwan Ferdaus. He is a U.S. citizen accused of plotting to fly airplanes loaded with explosives into federal buildings in Washington. Model planes like these, these Justice Department photos here. Federal prosecutors say Ferdaus was radicalized by Internet videos and it appears he was working alone. We're told he will plead guilty to two of six charges and face the possibility of 17 years in prison.
Another partisan battle over health care set to unfold on the House floor today for the 33rd time. That's right, 33rd time. The Republican controlled House is going to vote to do away with President Obama's signature legislation. The vote comes two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the law is constitutional. But the political posturing for both sides is now in high gear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CHRIS MURPHY (D), CONNECTICUT: Having now had 30 different debates on this floor over repeal of the health care bill. The House Republicans have finally hit their boil the bunny moment. Enough is enough.
REP. PHIL GINGREY (R), GEORGIA: Today life imitates art. We now have another boss in our midst. I call this boss Obama care. Repeal Obama care. Let's get rid of the boss once and for all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: All right. Let's bring in Dana Bash live on Capitol Hill. We know it's going to fail in the Senate. The House Republicans, what do we think they're accomplishing with what they're trying to do here and, Dana, why all the crazy boil the bunny language going on?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I don't know if somebody just had some 1980s movie trivia and T.V. trivia running inside the cloak rooms. It is a little bit odd. "Fatal Attraction" and "The Dukes of Hazard" for people who don't know.
But in any event in all seriousness, what we are seeing here today are Republicans trying to explain why they are doing this. And actually, let's just play a sound bite from one of those Republicans, Marsha Blackburn.
MALVEAUX: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R), TENNESSEE: How many times are we going to do this? We're going to keep at it until we get this legislation off the books. It was a bad bill. It has become a bad law. And quite frankly, if you are satisfied with a tax based government controlled limited access bureaucrat centric health care program, then this is for you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now, here is a reality check, Suzanne. The reality check is that, yes, Republicans control the House which is why they can do this. They do not control the Senate, so this will go nowhere in this Senate. And obviously, they do not control the White House. But if they do control all of those bodies, if they have effectively a hat trick in November, then they could repeal the health care. But in the meantime, they don't have that ability. So, what Democrats were trying to do, you saw part of it earlier, is try to have a little bit of fun. There is this theater, so let's put on a show. Listen to some of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOE CROWLEY (D), NEW YORK: I don't know why Republicans want to go back to the day when chicken noodle soup was the only option for hard working families who couldn't afford care. The truth is, chicken noodle soup might be mm mm (ph) good for lunch, but as a health care policy, it is mm mm bad.
REP. AL GREEN (D), TEXAS: I shall read the replacement bill. Let me just read half of it first. I shall now read one-half of the replacement bill. Now, I shall read the other half of the replacement bill. Now some of you will say, Al, you read too fast. I didn't pick up all of that. So, for those who listen slowly, or those who may have missed it, I shall now read the replacement bill in its entirety.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Obviously, the Congressman from Texas had a sense of humor like that.
MALVEAUX: I mean, clearly, it's working. They're getting our attention here. Why all the antics?
BASH: You know, you said it perfectly. They are getting our attention. And they're really trying to get the attention of the base of both parties. If you look at all of the polls, the country really is pretty divided along party lines when it comes to whether or not this health care law should be repealed or not. And when you are going into November, each party really wants to make sure their bases get out and vote. So, Republicans obviously run the House. They are the ones who decided to have this vote. They want their base out. And Democrats figure, if we're going to have this vote, why not at least, you know, push our base as well. There are those independents that both parties are trying to get but they are also pretty much evenly divided on whether this is the right thing to do.
MALVEAUX: Dana, I want to bring in President Obama making a statement, the health care law, obviously the White House reacting issuing a statement saying the last thing Congress should do is refight old political battles and take a massive step backwards by repealing basic protections that provide security for the middle class. I'm assuming that they realize this is not really going to be repealed but this is part of their effort as well to at least have voters pay attention to their side of the argument.
BASH: That's exactly right. So, what you just read is pretty much the Democratic talking point. You've heard Democrats in the House, Democrats in the Senate, after the Supreme Court decision upholding the health care law, after Republicans made clear they're going to push this and push the idea that the mandate is a tax Democrats over and over again. I was in Massachusetts interviewing a Democratic candidate for Senate there, Elizabeth Warren. She said almost exactly what you just read that the president said. We're fighting yesterday's battles. Let's focus on jobs and they're trying to make Republicans look like they are simply wasting taxpayer dollars by having these debates over and over again. One thing I will point out that I saw from a tweet from a Republican aide up here which is noteworthy --
MALVEAUX: Yes.
BASH: Democrats, when they ran the House, they had votes to bring troops home from Iraq over and over again, and they knew that was never going to pass either.
MALVEAUX: So, antics on both sides. Thank you, Dana. Entertaining as well. Appreciate it.
Presidential candidate Mitt Romney making a personal appeal to African-American voters today. Just about two hours ago, he spoke at the NAACP national convention in Houston. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE): Now, ,I want you to know that if I did not believe that my policies and my leadership would not help families of color and families of any color more than the policies and leadership of President Obama, I wouldn't be running for president. You have to make your case to every single voter. We don't count anybody out, and we sure don't make a habit of presuming anyone's support. Support is asked for and earned and that's why I'm here today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: CNN Political Analyst Roland Martin, he is at the convention in Houston where Romney spoke. Roland, good to see you. Tell us a little bit about --
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Likewise.
MALVEAUX: -- what you think Romney thinks he's going to be able to accomplish here when you take a look at the polls and they say, what, about five percent of African-Americans support Romney compared to 87 percent for President Obama.
MARTIN: Well, first of all, I think if you go back to a couple things. Obviously, then senator Obama got about 96 percent of the black vote in 2008. But I want to go back to 1998 where speaker Gingrich was leading the House. He was perceived as far too antagonist when it came to minorities. That was not appealing to suburban white women. When then governor George W. Bush ran in 2000 with compassionate conservatism, that was a lot more appealing to those constituents.
And so, really, what Mitt Romney is doing is not necessarily to get a significant number of black votes, but it's also to say to independent voters out there, I am reaching out. I'm not simply trying to be only looking at one ethnic group when it comes to the GOP. So, I think that's really what the intention is to say, I'm open, I have open arms to reach out to many other people.
MALVEAUX: How has he been received when you talk to folks there? What do they say?
MARTIN: Well, it was interesting because when he walked in about a half of the room stood up. About half didn't. And then, of course, as he went to the speech, he got tepid applause some places, OK applause some other places. The two areas where he got I think the loudest applause really dealt with, one, when he began to talk about the importance of family. When he said that if you wait to have a child until you're 21 years of age, you have a two percent chance of being in poverty. Then, he said he was going to defend traditional marriage. A lot more applause on that point, obviously that's alluding to same sex marriage, the recent announcement by President Obama.
The second point though was when he talked about education. When he said he was going to match federal dollars to the students who allow any parent to send their child to any school they want to. Education, a huge issue. But there also were other points in there where there were a few people who screamed out, at one point, you lie. And some other points. But other people quickly shushed them. And so, it was very interesting. And you certainly felt the tension there. But then, of course, when he said, I am the president you want to (INAUDIBLE) African-Americans, folks said, yes, right. So, it was very interesting. I said, that was a bold line for him to use.
MALVEAUX: You know, it was interesting, having covered Bush for many years, that he had a really rocky relationship with the NAACP, because he was criticized at points for being a no show at these conventions. And he did finally get some credit for just being there and showing up, realizing that people were not necessarily going to agree with him. In talking to folks, do you think they give him some credit for standing there and knowing that he might get booed on some things as well?
MARTIN: You know what? To be honest, I don't give somebody credit for showing up to the world's largest and oldest civil rights organization. You're a major candidate for president, you should show up. And so, my whole deal is that's what you do. And so, look, then senator Obama, he sat down for a Q & A with Rick Warren at saddle back. It's not like he was going to convince a lot of people in that room on the issue of abortion and others to somehow come to his side. And so, he should be here. Several people did certainly say it that they appreciated Mitt Romney came here, accepted the invitation. Others, I talked it board members and other people here who were disappointed that President Obama is not coming. He came to the NAACP in 2009. For the last three years, he skipped NAACP. He will be speaking to the National Urban League in a couple weeks in New Orleans, but certainly folks here would have liked to have heard Mitt Romney and President Obama speak to the folks here.
Last point, Suzanne, one of the issues that Mitt Romney -- he talked about obviously the economy. He didn't touch on housing at all. I was surprised by that. But remember, these groups deal with civil rights and social justice. The only time he really talked about civil rights was when he brought up his father. He really didn't say what he was going to do to advance civil rights. He didn't speak about police brutality or --
MALVEAUX: All right.
MARTIN: -- other social justice issues. So, there you go.
MALVEAUX: OK. All right, there you go. Thank you, Roland. Good to see you.
Here's what we're working on for this hour. (voice-over): It's Mississippi's only abortion clinic. And today, a judge will decide if it will have to shut its doors. We're live from Jackson.
Millions of Americans can forget about watching comedy central, or VH1, or several more of their favorite channels. Those channels are off DirecTV today. It's part of a dispute over fees. We'll get to the bottom of it.
And if you're single, you're more likely to vote for President Obama. We've got the fascinating results of a new CNN poll on the marriage gap.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Today the fate of Mississippi's only abortion clinic is now in the hands of a judge. Earlier this month, the same judge issued a temporary restraining order protecting the clinic from Mississippi's new laws for abortion clinics. Now, remember, these are some of the strictest abortion laws in the country and would likely force this clinic to close. Republican Governor Phil Bryant, he has said he wants to make the state abortion free. The new law requires that all doctors in the clinic be OBGYNs and have admitting privileges at a local hospital. David Mattingly, he's outside a federal courthouse in Jackson, Mississippi.
David, talk a little bit about this because if this -- if the only clinic here is forced to close, folks in Mississippi, in effect, would lose the privacy right that allows abortion. Is that right?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, proponents of this law say they are not banning abortion and that they are planning to give time to this clinic to be able to get its doctors, the ones who do not have admitting privileges at local hospitals, give them time to get that. But then the owner of the clinic tells us that it's taken weeks, over a month, six weeks or more, for them to just get an application from some of these hospitals for their doctors to even apply for those admitting purposes. So they're arguing that this law is intended to make it more difficult for them to do business and perhaps close. And if that happens, then women seeking abortions in the state of Mississippi will have to work a lot harder to find a doctor willing to do that or travel out of state, which could be a trip of a couple of hundred miles.
MALVEAUX: David, one of the things that the law says, that doctors who perform abortions, they have to have these admitting privileges to local hospitals. Talk a little bit about what these local hospitals are doing. Are they accepting these doctors who perform the procedure or are they saying, look, you know, we don't want to get in the middle of this fight?
MATTINGLY: Well, this doesn't sound like a very big deal if you're asking for these doctors to be, first of all, OBGYNs, which the three doctors at this clinic are. But the law is also asking them to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. These doctors are from out of state. And when they come in, they're only here for a limited period of time to do their work and then go back to wherever they live or wherever they have another practice going.
But the owner of the clinic here states that it is taking a lot of time to get these hospitals to respond to their requests for an application and to get this process going. The state law allows for several weeks for them to do this, but they say that wasn't enough time. And they're afraid that if the law is allowed to stand, there will be fines while they're in noncompliance, and possibly even worse. They say it could lead to them actually closing their doors.
MALVEAUX: David, real quickly here. Some people say this is about women's health. Other people say it's politics. The people that you talked to there in that community, what do they think they is?
MATTINGLY: Well, the fight over abortion has been going on a long time here in Mississippi. This is the only clinic that's been open since 2004. So this is part of the continuing battle that's been going on.
We did some digging here. When the argument came up that this law was part of an attempt to protect the health of women seeking abortions here in the state of Mississippi, we checked with the state health department. We found out that there are 2,000 or more abortions performed at that clinic every year. And in the last two years, they say there's only been one case of a patient who had some minor complications after having an abortion there. The state health department, in fact, says this clinic is doing a very good job. That seems to put a damper on the argument that the health of women need to be protected there.
MALVEAUX: All right, David Mattingly. Thank you, David.
A Republican running for Senate says he is the right man for the job. Why? Because he says he is friendly with the Democrats. Is that enough to earn him Ted Kennedy's seat? We'll let you decide.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: The senator who surprised everyone when he replaced Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts, well, he wants to surprise everybody again. Scott Brown, he's a Republican in a largely Democratic state. He is running for his first full term against one of his state's Democratic icons. Here's Dana Bash.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is our senator from Massachusetts, Scott Brown.
SCOTT BROWN (R), MASSACHUSETTS: Hi, everybody.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Main Street in Hyannis, Cape Cod, with Senator Scott Brown. The breezy, every man persona that got the Massachusetts Republican elected in an upset two years ago still on display.
BROWN: Thank you. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, absolutely. Thank you.
BROWN: Keep your eyes on the road, will you?
BASH: Brown is keenly aware that recapturing the Senate seat held by Democrat Ted Kennedy for nearly half a century, means distancing himself from fellow Republicans whenever possible. Most Republicans boast about blocking the president's agenda. Brown brags about helping.
BROWN: I can name a litany of Democratic sponsored bills that I've done that never would have passed hadn't it been for me. And the president had called me and the vice president calls me and Secretary Clinton calls asking for my vote all the time.
BASH: Republicans jumped on the Supreme Court decision, calling the federal health insurance mandate a tax. But Brown voted for a mandate in Massachusetts and says neither is a tax.
BROWN: What the party leaders and others say in Washington really has no bearing on what I'm doing.
BASH: Still, Brown was elected vowing to help Republicans block the president's health care plan and wants to repeal it. His Democratic opponent, of course, does not.
ELIZABETH WARREN (D), MASSACHUSETTS SENATE CANDIDATE: Hi, I'm Elizabeth Warren.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi. How you doing?
WARREN: Very nice to see you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You too.
BASH: Brown's challenger is a liberal icon.
WARREN: We're here for the chicken.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll have one for you to take home.
BASH: President Obama's high profile consumer advocate and former Harvard Law professor.
WARREN: I never thought I'd run for public office, but I got pulled into this because of the urgency of this moment. Families are getting hammered and they can't take it much longer.
BASH: The first-time candidate was a quick study on pressing the flesh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to vote for you.
WARREN: Wonderful. Say that again. Fabulous.
BASH: And she's got her message against Brown down. WARREN: Scott Brown stands with the billionaires and says they shouldn't have to pay more in taxes. Scott Brown has been standing against working families.
BASH: But Warren has stumbled over an issue she admits tripped her up. While at Harvard, she identified herself as Native American. Brown pounced saying there's no evidence.
WARREN: I was really surprised that anyone wanted to make this a political issue. I was really surprised by that and very slow to respond to it. I'm like every other kid. I learned about my family from my parents.
BASH: Brown won't let it go, accusing her of claiming minority status to advance her career.
BROWN: When you run for high elected office, you have to pass a test. And that test is one of honesty and credibility and trustworthiness and truthfulness. And she's failed that test.
BASH: Harvard administrators say they didn't know Warren claimed Native American heritage before hiring her. It's still raw. Warren bristles at whether she considers herself a minority.
BASH (on camera): So you don't want to put a label on it?
WARREN: No. This is part of who I am. This is who I am.
BASH (voice-over): Warren says Brown is distracting from what matters. We put that to Brown.
BASH (on camera): There are big issues facing this country and that --
BROWN: And I deal with them every day.
BASH: And that Republicans are engaged in divide and conquer politics.
BROWN: Listen, with all due respect, I'm evidence to the fact that I'm getting things done.
BASH (voice-over): To be sure, Democrats have their own arsenal against Brown. He touts this.
BROWN: I was the tie-breaking vote on Wall Street reform.
BASH: But "The Boston Globe" reported, after the bill became law, his aide e-mailed the Treasury Department to try to loosen restrictions on big banks.
BROWN: The e-mail was merely making sure that the Treasury did, in fact, what Congress wanted it to do.
BASH: With the sagging economy driving voters in Massachusetts, like everywhere else, it's unclear how much Brown's Wall Street ties or Warren's heritage will matter. What is clear? Retail politics does still matter in New England.
WARREN: Good to see you. I like your shirt. Very handsome.
BASH: Politics and baseball.
Dana Bash, CNN, Hyannis, Massachusetts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: The parents of Robert Champion, a college student who died after a hazing ritual, well, they're now filing a lawsuit against the school. You're going to hear what they're alleging.
And, don't forget, you can watch CNN live on your computer while you're at work. Head to cnn.com/tv.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: It's a policy that's been three years in the making. Now the Episcopal church has become the nation's largest Christian denomination to offer religious blessings to same sex couples. But despite a vote overwhelmingly in favor of the change, there are church members on the opposite side of the issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. NATHAN D. BAXTER, EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF CENTRAL PA. BISHOP: The fact is that the church is not of one mind. And Christians of good will and good conscience come down on different sides of this issue. But by taking an official stand like this, by providing a liturgical (ph) right, we've essentially moved forward in a direction that is not affirmed by a significant number, probably a minority, but nonetheless a significant number in our own church, and is also looked upon with some horror by Christians around the world.
RT. REV. EDWARD S. LITTLE II, EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF N. INDIANA BISHOP: The intention in this service is to be a right for witnessing and blessing same gender or same sex commitment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The family of the Florida A&M drum major who died after a hazing attack, well, now they're suing the school. Robert Champion, he died, you might recall, last November. The lawsuit claims that the school failed to take action to stop the hazing. According to court documents, the campus police chief recommended that the band be suspended for hazing three days before Champion died. Eleven of the school band members face felony hazing charges.
So we've all heard the term not as good as the paper it's printed on. Unfortunately, that's actually true for some teachers' licenses. We're talking about Tennessee, Arkansas, as well as Mississippi. Prosecutors, they are blaming this man, Clarence Mumford. He was indicted on federal charges for allegedly helping an unknown number of teachers cheat on their licensing exams. Authorities say the teachers paid him as much as $3,000 to find someone else to take the exams for them. The alleged scheme dates back to 1995.
Married or single? The answer may help you predict who you're going to pick for president. That's right. A new poll showing married and unmarried voters do not see eye to eye when it comes to candidates.
We'll bring in Paul Steinhauser.
OK, Paul, what does this mean? Married or single? Who are you going to go for?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Suzanne, we've heard a lot about the gender gap in the race for the White House, the generational divide, but, yes, there is a marriage gap. It is alive and well. A new Quinnipiac poll points to it.
Take a look at these numbers here from this brand new national survey. You can see among those people who are married, a big, big advantage for Mitt Romney, 13 points over President Barack Obama. But among unmarried people, a 20-point advantage for the president over those -- over Mitt Romney.
Suzanne, first of all, this is nothing new. We've seen this for a long time. Other polls indicate this. We saw it in the last couple elections. Unmarried people tend to go for the Democratic candidate. Married people tend to go for the Republican. Why? Unmarried people are usually younger and often vote more Democratic. Married people tend to be a little older and more socially conservative.
Interesting stuff here. Again, not new, but definitely worth pointing out because it has not been getting a lot of attention.
MALVEAUX: Fascinating. Tell us about the race, over all, when you take a look at the big picture, where these two stand.
STEINHAUSER: I'll sound like a broken record. I'm sorry.
(LAUGHTER)
But this race continues to be close. It's been close ever since we started this general election in April.
Take a look at this, our brand new CNN poll. We take the most recent national surveys, the latest ones, average them all together. Take a look, 47 percent for the president, 45 percent for Romney, the Republican challenger. That is about as tight as you'll get.
There's been a lot on this campaign so far the last couple months, a lot of fireworks. Those numbers, the needle is not moving much in the overall national horse race -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: That makes it so interesting.
All right. Thanks, Paul.
Imagine if your boss tells you he or she is cutting your pay, slicing it down to minimum wage. You'd probably be upset. That is happening in one Pennsylvania City. We'll take you there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: In California, another city is in financial peril. City leaders in San Bernardino have voted to declare bankruptcy. This is the third time in just the past two weeks that a California city has sought bankruptcy protection. San Bernardino has a budget shortfall of almost $46 million. Bills can't be paid. City workers could soon have trouble getting their checks.
In Scranton, Pennsylvania, the fight over minimum wage, gaining a lot of attention. We're talking about the city facing two federal lawsuits over a decision last week to cut public employees' pay to minimum wage.
Joining us is Scranton's mayor, Christopher Doherty, to talk about this decision.
And, first of all, Mayor, thank you for joining us.
It was last week that you ignored this court order --
CHRISTOPHER DOHERTY, MAYOR OF SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA: Thank you, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: -- and you cut the pay of about 400 city workers and yourself to the federal minimum wage. All getting paid $7.25 an hour. Why did you do that?
DOHERTY: Well, Suzanne, in November of 2011, I proposed a budget that raised taxes about $11 a month, and my council decided they would rather borrow. So when they passed that budget, they've been unable to fund that budget through the borrowing. The banks have set conditions and they've been unable to meet them. Throughout the year I've been telling them, we are going to be short. In fact, the budget that they passed, I vetoed because I knew we'd be short on money.
Right now, we have a $16 million deficit and what I'm trying to do is keep the city operational. I'm not only paying employees but also keeping the garbage trucks running, keeping the fire trucks running, keeping the police cars running, the people who pave streets, take care of our parks. It is a challenge.
Our employees do an outstanding job and I am very happy with them. This is my 11th year in office. Our commitment is to pay them. We want to get through this. And we will get through this.
MALVEAUX: There are a lot of people who are not happy with this decision. The city council president, Janet Evans, says this. She says, "Your refusal to negotiate in good faith with police and fire unions over the past 10 years has recently resulted in a landmark supreme court award of $32 million that is crippling taxpayers of Scranton." She goes on to say that, "incessant lawsuits have amassed this historic debt in the city of Scranton." They're blaming you.
DOHERTY: Well, it's very simple. They passed a budget that I vetoed and then they overrode my veto. In their budget, they have $16 million of borrowing. If they had just passed my budget with the tax increase, we wouldn't be having this discussion today. The council has to fund their budget. Our employees have done a great job. When you pass a budget, you have a bond with your employees that you'll pay them for the year. That's what this is about. It is a simple thing about passing a budget and living up to it.
MALVEAUX: How do you respond to the people who say, I can't afford to work on $7.25 an hour. You might be able to with minimum wage, but I can't.
DOHERTY: I understand it. They shouldn't have to go through this. They shouldn't have to pay this price. You're a leader of a city and you pass a budget, you have to follow through on it. I presented a budget that would raise taxes and that would have had the budget balanced and paid for everything. They decided, the city council, that they would borrow money. When you borrow money, you live by the banking community's rules. And you have to follow what they do. To this point, they've been unwilling to do that. Therefore, we don't have the money.
My commitment is to the employees and citizens of our city to do the right thing. That's what we're trying to do.
MALVEAUX: How long will people be paid on minimum wage in your city? How long will this last?
DOHERTY: Well, I think we're working very hard to honor the judge's decision because you have to follow the rule of law. But even if we do that, you still will have the $16 million shortfall that the council has given us, which means you're not paying for the gas in the police cars or the tipping fees at the landfill. You know, our health care bill is about a million for a month and our tipping fees at the landfill are $60,000 a week. If you have a shortfall in your budget, you will have a shortfall somewhere every week.
MALVEAUX: All right.
DOHERTY: We have to make this work and we will.
MALVEAUX: All right. Mayor Doherty, we'll have you to come back again and update us on how you and the city are doing.
Thank you for your time. Really appreciate it.
Millions of DirecTV subscribers, not going to be able to watch some of their favorite channels. What's behind the blackout, up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: All right. Some of you were up late last night watching TV and then your channels went black.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is a bad situation. UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: It's like the end of civilization.
ANNOUNCER: Tonight, DirecTV is getting rid of MTV --
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Really?
ANNOUNCER: -- Nickleodeon --
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: What?
SPONGE BOB SQUAREPANTS CARTOON: We're doomed!
ANNOUNCER: -- Comedy Central --
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, THE COLBERT REPORT: No!
CARTON CHARACTER: That's so sad.
UNIDENTIFIED SHOW HOST: Can we see just the disturbing part again?
ANNOUNCER: -- BET --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got to stop the show.
ANNOUNCER: -- and more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: All right. That's the reality for DirecTV viewers. Today the satellite provider has dropped 19 Viacom channels including MTV and Comedy Central, BET as well.
Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange.
I was not one of those up late watching TV last night. I was in bed, but for a lot of people, this is very disturbing. Tell us why this is happening and how long this is expected to last.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is turning into quite the cat fight between Viacom and DirecTV. Viacom on its blog saying we're ready to talk any time. DirecTV saying wait a minute. You're the ones who demanded we take those channels off. So all of this coming down to money. Viacom saying that a rate increase it wants to charge DirecTV adds up to only a couple pennies a day per subscriber, but DirecTV says, wait a minute, those pennies add up to what it says amounts to a 30 percent increase in rates.
Because the two sides couldn't reach a pricing deal, DirecTV had to go ahead, drop Viacom programming just before midnight. DirecTV had previously said, listen, we're willing to offer an olive branch and continue carrying the channels while the sides duke this out, but they say Viacom just wasn't onboard with this. Viacom saying it wants a lot more money, but DirecTV point to falling ratings on some of the Viacom networks, and is trying to use it as a bargaining chip, saying you can get a lot of content of your channels on Netflix and online. We're not doing it. There is a stalemate.
MALVEAUX: So this affects what, 20 million DirecTV viewers? They can't see their favorite shows.
KOSIK: Right.
MALVEAUX: Isn't there a sense that DirecTV would be afraid they'll lose a lot of subscribers if this continues?
MALVEAUX: That is a good question. They both have something to lose. Viacom has ratings to lose. DirecTV could lose subscribers. Analysts say it probably wouldn't happen right away, as far as the subscribers go, especially for DirecTV, which has, you know, "Football Around the Corner" and the "NFL Sunday Ticket," where you can watch any game on local football across the country on DirecTV. That is a bonus for DirecTV.
But the problem for DirecTV is that it just doesn't have a lot of wiggle room to compromise. Remember, DirecTV is only a television provider and doesn't have things like phone or Internet, like Verizon and Time Warner, to boost the bottom line. It has to watch its pennies.
One analyst says he believes DirecTV will put some type of retention strategy in place to make sure customers don't leave, but we shall see. There is only so long you can go without your favorite channels.
MALVEAUX: All right. Well said.
Thank you, Alison.
Civil rights activist, Reverend Jesse Jackson, is expected to speak at the Rainbow/Push Coalition. This is the organization's 41st annual conference, but the focus today, not necessarily on the coalition, but on its founder. We are waiting to see if he'll address the health of his son, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. The 47-year-old has a mystery illness, hasn't been on Capitol Hill since late May.
Here's what elder Jackson said yesterday about the condition of his son.
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JESSE JACKSON, FOUNDER, RAINBOW/PUSH COALITION & ACTIVIST: Rumors are flying, but without the facts. The fact is congressman is under medical supervision and is right now regaining strength.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Ted Rowlands is in Chicago and is joining us by phone. Ted, we heard from Jackson there, saying that there are a lot of rumors. There's pressure now for the Congressman to reveal why he's been absent here. A lot of Democrats publicly demanding answers from him. What are you hearing?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Well, Suzanne, you're right. There are so many rumors now that it's getting out of hand where every day you are hearing something new about what may have happened to the congressman or what is ailing him at this point. People are asking for information.
I'm at the Rainbow/Push Coalition conference right now. It is interesting. Reverend Jackson went through the back door. He never avoids cameras, typically. He avoided us today because he just didn't want to talk about it.
The question is, who is making the decision on what to release and when to release it? But one thing is absolutely sure, the pressure is mounting here, not only from constituents here in Chicago but also on Capitol Hill from Democrats.
MALVEAUX: That is absolutely right. You have his fellow Illinois Democratic congressman, Luis Gutierrez, who actually made a comment. I want to play that for you.
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REP. LUIS GUTIERREZ, (D), ILLINOIS: The people of his congressional district deserve it. The people of Illinois deserve it. If he is going to stand for re-election, you guys are going to have to demand it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: They know it's coming. Do we expect that anybody is going to speak on this today? And do we expect the congressman will speak on it soon?
ROWLANDS: Well, we're getting conflicting reports. At first, we were told there could be a statement from a medical professional possibly out of Washington, and then another sort of feedback from his office, from Jesse Jr's office, saying maybe it won't be today. So really, there is not a lot of information out there. You played Gutierrez. Senator Dick Durbin came out very strong yesterday saying, hey, there is a time where you do have to come out and say what is wrong with you because you are a public official.
That's really the pressure that's being felt from the Jackson camp here, is because these rumors are wild in terms of all the directions they're going. People want to know which direction is the accurate one and what really has happened to the representatives.
MALVEAUX: Ted, one of the things people are talking about or speculating about is whether or not he is depressed or under some sort of stress, stemming from any kind of connection to the former governor, Rod Blagojevich, who is now serving time in prison for trying to sell President Obama's Senate seat. Is there any talk at all that that is a legitimate line of questioning, that that might be connected in some way?
ROWLANDS: Well, quite frankly, that is just one of the avenues of speculation. There is talk about everything on this. There is speculation it does have to do with the investigation, that there is a possible indictment coming down. There was even a wild rumor that he attempted suicide. It was reported by a local radio station here at WLS in Chicago. That came on yesterday. That was tamped down. But off the record, nobody has come on the record with come on the record with anything, with anything from his office to give guidance on what the situation is with the congressman. And that's really frustrating to a lot of constituents and people following this in the political world, because, quite frankly, if he's not going to be there Democrats want plan B in place as soon as possible before November.
MALVEAUX: Ted, let us know if you get anything further on this story. Appreciate it.
Children were dying so fast and so many, doctors didn't know why. Now they actually do. A breakthrough in Cambodia that may keep children alive. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is there. My conversation with him next.
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MALVEAUX: Cautious bit of good news from a place where dozens of children suddenly got sick and died. Doctors had no idea now. Emergency medical officials believe they know what caused those kids to die.
Just the last hour, we talked to Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who is there in Cambodia.
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: What we are learning over the last day is that, in addition to virus 71 -- we talked about that yesterday -- the pathogen that causes Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. There were two other pathogens found, something known as stretocacosius (ph) and also the pathogen that causes dengue fever, something quite common in this part of the world, this country in particular. They have 11,000 cases. But the question, Suzanne, they were trying to answer was, why were these pathogens so aggressive? Why were they leading to the death of these children 24 hours after admission?
One of the things the World Health Organization is pointing to is the inappropriate use of steroids in these children. Steroids is a medication that is an anti-inflammatory. In someone with an infection, it suppresses the immune system. It can take a dangerous infection and turn it to a deadly one. That is the simplest and best way to put this together. That is how the mystery illness gets solved.
MALVEAUX: What is next in terms of doctors dealing with this? GUPTA: The big thing is a message from the World Health Organization to doctors and health care teams around Cambodia saying refrain from using steroids. I think that is a message heard pretty loud and clear.
With regard to the infections themselves, this is a part of the world where we saw avian flu originate, where we saw SARS originate. There is going to be infectious diseases. How deadly they are obviously is the name of the game here. So in addition to not using steroids, they are going to try to prevent the spread of the infection as much as possible.
Some of it is just simple messages, things you and I have talked about a lot, even after all of the reporting, reminding people to wash their hands because hand and mouth transmission is one of the ways the pathogens are spread. Important, simple reminders -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Sanjay, is this something that can happen in another country if the conditions were right?
GUPTA: It absolutely could happen in another country. We have been talking to a lot of doctors who have looked as these things. They have seen virus 71 outbreaks in other countries. They have seen them cause deaths. What was different here was how quickly and how much destruction of the lungs, for example, we were seeing with this particular pathogen. It can happen. But I will tell you, from a contagious standpoint, you can walk back some of the concerns we heard early on.
This is the good news. It does not appear to be contagious or clustering. There does not appear to be a necessity for travel warnings for people visiting Cambodia. There is a bit of good news in there, as well -- Suzanne?
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MALVEAUX: Dr. Sanjay Gupta in Cambodia today.
The world's criminal court is facing questions about how effective it has been after 10 years. One survivor has a warning for criminals who think they might escape.
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ELIE WIESEL, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR & NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER: A person anywhere in the world is involved in crimes against humanity, that person should know that person will be judged.
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MALVEAUX: International criminal court in the Netherlands was set up to prosecute war criminals but it has taken 10 years for the court to hand down its first sentence. Yesterday, it sends Congo militia leader, Thomas Lugonga, to prison for forcing children under 15 to become soldiers. He is charged with killing 8,000 men in Bosnia 17 years ago.
Why is it taking so long for the court to act? Earlier, I posed that question to Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Price-winner, Elie Wiesel.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WIESEL: It took a long time for the court to come into being. Why it takes long? Who knows why the legal judicial process is so long always, not over there, but because it is international so it takes more time. The idea is good and it should be better. simply when a person anywhere in the world is involved in crimes against humanity that person should know that person will be judged.
MALVEAUX: Let's talk about the criticism about these cases and where they have been launched. We look at the scene set up. We have Charles Taylor going to prison for a special separate court. Now you have Lugonga yesterday. Do you think that there is a bias about who is being prosecuted and who is being tried for these crimes?
WIESEL: I don't think so because the very first one were adults involved in the war of Bosnia and Yugoslavia. Many of them were sentenced, condemned, and some of them really ought to stay in prison. So there is no bias there, no nation bias at all.
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MALVEAUX: CNN NEWSROOM continues with Brooke Baldwin.
Hey, Brooke.
