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NASA's Launch to Pluto Postponed by High Winds; New Dramatic Activity From Alaskan Volcano; GOP Discusses Reforms in Wake of Abramoff Scandal; Medicare Maze Confuses Many
Aired January 17, 2006 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR, LIVE FROM CNN: It's the top of the hour. We are talking about gusty winds delaying a first of its kind mission to Pluto. A rocket carrying a high-tech space probe was scheduled to lift off at Florida's Cape Canaveral just before 1:30 Eastern. But as you can see here, with our live pictures, the rocket is still sitting there. NASA is launching the probe hoping to determine how planets form. Miles is standing by with the latest info.
What happened, Miles?
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New Horizons no closer to Pluto, that's for sure. Basically, we're still watching the winds, Kyra. You can see them if you look kind of two thirds of the way up there. Look at that liquid oxygen as it bleeds off the rocket going just horizontal.
We're talking about wind gusts that are in excess of 33 knots, which is the red line point. That's about 38 miles-an-hour or thereabouts. In addition, when they move the launch period back, it's now 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time, they have to reanalyze all the upper level winds, and it turns out the upper level winds are not good as well.
Just from my personal experience, as you look at a close-up there, right inside there is that New Horizon Spacecraft, about the size of a grand piano. It is pretty amazing if you think about 1.2 million pound rocket to carry something that is thousand pounds to Pluto. That gives you an idea of how much fuel is involved.
In any case, we can get Jacqui in on this as well. My experience in Florida has been this time of day, the wind only picks up, and it really only begins to die down as the sun begins to set.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely, sir. The winds, we don't expect to get any weaker. And daytime heating is what helps drive the wind. We get the differences in temperature and differences in the pressure.
The other thing we have going on is we have a storm front, a cold front, which is approaching northwestern Florida right now, and we're going to see the greater differences in the pressure the closer this gets, and so we do expect the winds, if anything, to maybe pick up a little bit.
We have got a real strong southerly wind right now. We're seeing gusts common between 30 and 35 miles per hour, so that's just -- that's this much underneath that threshold. It is still kind of iffy.
I still have my volcano map there if you will bear with me one second. There we go. I can switch my sources.
I will show you some of the sustained winds we have around the area, there you can see, 22 miles per hour right now, around Titusville. We also have 25 miles per hour, I believe it was, in the Orlando area. You can see some of those kind of popping up on me there. We are expecting them to stay pretty close to where they are, possibly getting a little stronger over the next couple of hours. Miles?
O'BRIEN: All right. Jacqui Jeras, we're watching it here.
Here's the thing, Kyra, they could try again tomorrow starting at about 1:14 Eastern Time. It is a LIVE FROM launch, all the way. Basically they have until mid-February to launch this rocket, and after that they get into some trouble which would lead to serious delays, upwards of years, before they would be able to get there. So the hope is in the next month they will have good enough weather. I think that's something they can accomplish.
PHILLIPS: We'll keep our eyes on it.
Meanwhile, we want to get to Tony Harris in the newsroom. We has developing story for us.
Tony, what have you got?
TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a story hit our radar about 15 minutes or so ago. Let's take cue back to these live pictures now from our Salt Lake City affiliate KSL, where a woman fell down a manhole, about 20 feet down a manhole. As you can see, fire and rescue on the scene. This is at a strip mall in Salt Lake City. This is a parking lot manhole.
You can see the ambulance is there, the stretcher is there. It would appear that the firefighters are close to being able to extricate this woman from that manhole. You see that tripod configuration there, Kyra, we have been watching that because what the firefighters are doing is they have been lowering a line down to the woman.
Hopefully, you know, she is fit enough to attach herself to that line so the firefighter cans lift her out. This has been going on for about 20, 25 minutes now with apparently not much success. Once again, we're hoping that woman is in decent enough shape so she can help the firefighters with her own rescue.
Again, these pictures from our affiliate KSL in Salt Lake City. We will continue to watch this as firefighters attempt to pull this woman, who fell 20 feet down a manhole in a parking lot of a strip mall, there in Salt Lake City, as they try to get her out of that hole.
When that happens, Kyra, we will bring it to you live. PHILLIPS: OK.
HARRIS: While I have a moment, maybe I should give you an update. Is it OK, Kyra, if I give you an update on the volcano story?
PHILLIPS: Yes, I think we were trying to figure out if we had this video. We got it. What do you know?
HARRIS: Right. OK, great.
Last hour we told you about the Augustine Volcano in Alaska that erupted this morning, Anchorage, Alaska time, and that volcano sent an ash plume nearly nine miles into the air.
I'm going to ask Jacqui Jeras to get her maps up again. Mike Fell is on the line. Mike is a commercial chopper pilot.
Mike, give us a sense. This is your area. What is that scene like? We are talking about an ash plume nearly nine miles into the air. What was that like this morning?
MICHAEL FELL, HELICOPTER PILOT: We could see as day broke here about 30 minutes ago, we could see out across the bay. I can see that this is a plume coming up from the top of the mountain, trailing off. Light winds here today, but it is off to the north. You can see a very -- (AUDIO GAP)
HARRIS: Mike, are you still with us?
FELL: Yes, I am.
HARRIS: You can't fly, can you?
FELL: We choose not to fly. We're not sure about the safety of it, so because of the ash advisory in the air, we won't be flying today.
HARRIS: Talk about safety for a second. There are some folks who are wondering whether or not all of these eruptions, and we're talking about a lot in the last week and half or so, might be setting the stage for a kind of catastrophic eruption. Give us the sense on the ground there.
FELL: Well, the USGS has advised us, don't anticipate a major eruption. But we have had six or seven small eruptions here in the last week. They haven't ruled out a major catastrophic eruption, but from what we can tell, they don't anticipate a major one.
HARRIS: Again, put us on the ground. This is the Kenai Peninsula, we're talking about which is south?
FELL: We are on the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula
HARRIS: Kenai Peninsula, and the Kodiak Island?
FELL: Yes, it is to the south of us by 110 miles. HARRIS: My understanding is that the volcano is on uninhabited island, but you do have about 16,000 people living in the area, is that correct?
FELL: That's probably approximately a good value for a number of people here on the Kenai Peninsula.
HARRIS: On the Kenai Peninsula. Let me understand your work there. Do you fly tours of the volcano?
FELL: We have done some tours over there. Most of the stuff we do over there is for the U.S. Geological Survey.
HARRIS: The activity over the last couple of weeks, has it kind of put a dent in your business?
FELL: It's slowed us down. We haven't had a lot of activity over there because of the volcanic eruptions that are going on, but we do take the occasional tour over there when the weather is good and take a look at it with the Geological Survey team.
HARRIS: How would you describe that ash, thick, light?
FELL: No, it's very light. You know, it's hard to see even, but you certainly don't want to be flying in it.
HARRIS: Gotcha. Mike Fell, a commercial chopper pilot, in the area on the ground giving us a real good bird's eye view and assessment of the situation there at the Augustine Volcano in Alaska.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: So many haystacks, so few needles, "The New York Times" reports it didn't take long for the FBI to be overwhelmed with names and numbers leads and tips from the warrantless wiretap, so called data mining, conducted by the NSA in the wake of September 11th.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, essentially all those leads reportedly came to nothing. "The Times" says agents felt diverted from more productive investigations and their boss, FBI Director Robert Mueller, questioned the wiretap's legality. The NSA insists the program is paying off and the White House and Justice Department insists it is legal.
Not so fast, said the ACLU, and The Center for Constitutional Rights, those groups filed separate federal lawsuits today in Detroit, and New York, aiming to block any eavesdropping not OKed by statute or by the secret court that exists for that purpose.
The ACLU suit is joined by Green Peace and the Council on American Islamic Relations. The New York plaintiffs are lawyers who represent Muslim foreigners picked up post 9/11 including hundreds of individuals at Guantanamo Bay.
Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
Now, encouraging news from West Virginia. Randal McCloy, the sole survivor of Sago mine disaster is now out of intensive care. His doctor says that's a sign his organ functions are on the mend. Overall, though, McCloy remains in serious condition and still hasn't woken up.
McCloy suffered collapsed lung, dehydration, and carbon monoxide poisoning while trapped in the mine for 41 hours. Doctors say it is too early to tell how much mental or physical damage may have been done to his brain.
Turning to the health of former President Gerald Ford; he's been in a California hospital with pneumonia since Saturday. His doctors are expected to release an update on his condition this hour. CNN's Dan Simon is in Rancho Mirage, with more on his condition.
Dan, what's everything we know to this point?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, everything we have heard thus far has been positive. I actually just spoke a short time ago with his long-time Reverend Robert Certain. He runs the Episcopalian Church; he's the pastor in Palm Desert, where the former president has been going to church regularly for many years.
He told me that he's actually in pretty good spirits. He told me that his physical condition is said to be OK. We know that the former president was brought here on Saturday for having pneumonia. He's been receiving antibiotics. There's been a lot of speculation about his health in recent weeks. He was admitted here to the hospital about a month ago for what had been described as some routine tests.
And then in 2000, the year 2000 during the Republican National Convention, he suffered a couple of strokes. But he bounced back quickly. As a matter of fact, the reverend was telling me that last week Mr. Ford was actually swimming. He swims frequently. That's his main form of exercise.
He saw him in church around Christmastime. And he looked great, according to the reverend, so we're hoping to get some positive news here, here at the hospital in just a little while, and we'll bring that to you as soon as we get it, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Here's a little background, last time we talked, I'm trying to remember, I think it was a couple of months ago, it was because of pneumonia. Has he had any other problems? Overall he's been pretty healthy. He's in pretty good shape for 92.
SIMON: Yes, he's in very good shape for 92 years of age. Last month he did have this problem. He had been suffering what had been described as a pretty nasty cold, but that actually was not the reason for coming here last month. He had some lingering effects of this cold. That wasn't the primary reason.
And then a couple years ago, the president still fairly active, he still plays golf from time to time. And he was golfing one afternoon and it was very hot here in the Palm Springs area, he had a dizzy spell. He was brought here to the hospital. Overall we're told his health has been very, very good, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Dan Simon, keeping tabs there on the former President Gerald Ford. Thanks very much.
Straight ahead with the invasion of Iraq, President Bush's axis of evil is now down to two members. Could Iran now be the next target of the U.S. military? Pros, cons and possibilities when LIVE FROM returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: An update now out of Utah that woman that fell down 20 feet into a manhole. Tony Harris has been following the live pictures.
What more do we know, Tony?
HARRIS: We can give you quick tape turn on this. A 71-year-old woman, we now know, actually fell into this manhole that was uncovered at a strip mall, it looks like, in Salt Lake City.
Captain Marlon Jones with the unified fire authority in Salt Lake City is on the line with us.
Captain, good to talk to you.
CAPT. MARLON JONES, UNIFIED FIRE AUTHORITY OF SALT LAKE: Hello
HARRIS: Tell us what happened here.
JONES: I'm not on the scene just yet. The information I have is from our battalion chief, who is on scene. He said a worker just finished cleaning out the drains in the area somewhere near the grocery store there, and as he was cleaning up and kind of moving things away --
HARRIS: Captain, let me just stop you for just a second just to make folks aware that that is the scene of the rescue, as the rescue was happening just moments ago.
OK, so Captain, you were telling us that workers in the area were working on the manholes in the area?
JONES: Yes, that's correct. And I guess they moved some things away. Somehow a 71-year-old female came out and fell down the hole, about a 20 foot fall.
HARRIS: There was at least a period of time, it seems obvious, that the manhole was left open unattended; correct?
JONES: Well, yeah, for a short time. We were told there were some barricades there. He had maybe just taken them down. We're not sure yet exactly the sequence of events there.
HARRIS: So Captain, as we take a look at this scene, live pictures right now, we see that tripod set up there. Tell us how you actually made this rescue happen.
JONES: Well, what they do, there's a procedure for confined space rescue that's followed. They begin by putting air down into the hole, a lot of confined spaces, especially below ground, become oxygen deficient. They will immediately get oxygen, some air flowing down to her.
They start to set up the tripod proceeding. Just use that as a lever pulley system kind of to move rescuers down into the hole and then help get her packaged up and out of the hole.
HARRIS: According to your reports, is she okay?
JONES: Last I heard, she was in serious condition. She had some serious injuries.
HARRIS: OK.
JONES: And that's all I got, so far.
HARRIS: OK, Captain Jones, thanks for your time.
JONES: OK.
Kyra, we will continue to follow it. More to come.
PHILLIPS: We will try and find out her condition. Thanks, Tony.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert and California Representative David Dryer spearheading a GOP effort to take the reins on lobbying reform. Within the last hour the two held a news conference aimed at defining an issue that promises to be a real hot potato during this election year. CNN's Congressional Correspondent Ed Henry is live on Capitol Hill.
I understand, they are taking Q&A right now, is that right, Ed?
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
In fact, Speaker Hastert, as you know, is struggling here to get ahead of this lobbying reform scandal. We have already seen the leadership try to deal with it.
Take two steps, first of all Tom DeLay stepping aside saying he would not run again for majority leader. In the last couple of days House Administration Chairman Bob Ney, who is under heavy scrutiny in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, that corruption probe. He is stepping aside as House Administration chairman because he was in line to be shaping this lobbying reform legislation. Which is really part three of this process of Republicans trying to get ahead of what you noted as a really contentious issue, and Republicans are nervous it will be the dominant issue in the next election.
Hastert basically, to summarize, laying out he now wants to ban all privately funded travel for members of Congress and staff, anything funded by lobbyists, nonprofits anyone. Secondly he also wants to tighten gift rules eliminate meals from lobbyists as well as members and staffers as well. Take a listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DENNIS HASTERT (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: I feel we must ban privately sponsored travel in the House of Representatives. I know fact finding trips are important. This body considers legislation that affects peoples across this country that cannot always travel to Washington to petition their government.
Private travel has been abused by some. I believe we need to put an end to it.
Second, I think we need to tighten even further the gift rules. A member of Congress should be able to accept a baseball cap or T-shirt from the proud students of a local middle school, but he or she doesn't need to be taken -- doesn't need to be taken to lunch or dinner by Washington lobbyists.
Recent months have shown that we need a more transparent system. Our plan dramatically increases the reporting of lobbyist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Now the bottom line it is not just a scramble within the Republican Party. Because we also have Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist coming up with his own plan. That is going to be announced to some degree at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. He's merging his plan with Senator John McCain, who already had a bill on the table, but tomorrow House and Senate Democratic leaders will be unveiling their plan as well.
So there's a scramble between the parties. One quick note, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid is not even waiting until tomorrow to introduce his plan. He's actually implementing one piece of it. He is calling it the Jack Abramoff rule. He's having himself as well as his staffers in his office starting today, no gifts at all from lobbyists. Nothing, Kyra?
PHILLIPS: All right. Ed Henry, we'll continue to follow it and follow the Q&A. Thank you very much.
I'm just getting word that we're going to go back to Rancho Mirage, California right now. Dan Simon has been following the conditions of former President Gerald Ford. He went into the hospital over the weekend with pneumonia.
What do we know, Dan?
SIMON: Well, Kyra, I was just handed this press release. Basically it says that Mr. Ford is doing OK. He's responding to the treatment, and if all goes as planned, he will leave the hospital on Thursday. They say that unless there's any change in condition, there will be no further comment. However, they do plan on having some kind of briefing perhaps tomorrow around the same time, but -- PHILLIPS: Dan, we're having trouble hearing you. You've got your mic -- I think it dropped a little low there. Check it out. There we go. Can you see it?
SIMON: I got you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Terrific. There we go. Now I can hear you. Forgive me. I'm going to ask you to repeat. Sorry about that.
SIMON: You got it. As I was saying, we were just given this press release, and the press release basically says that he's responding well to the treatment. And that if all goes as planned, he will leave the hospital on Thursday.
And they are not expecting to give anymore statements today. We'll probably get some kind of word tomorrow around the same time, just another update to see how his condition is and how he's improving, but basically, he was brought hire on Saturday. He's been getting, you know, antibiotics intravenously. He has a case of pneumonia. He's said to be doing quite well.
As I mentioned a bit earlier, I spoke to his reverend at the Robert Certain from the Episcopalian Church in Palm Desert, California. And the reverend told me that he talks to the former president very often. He says he's mentally sound and physically sound. He keeps abreast of everything that's happening in the world. He still continues to swim on a regular basis, gets plenty of exercise, and everyone is optimistic that the former president will come through. Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Dan Simon, thanks very much.
Well, a cold shoulder for Iran from an unusual source, Russia. Iranian officials today urged the European Union to resume talks to end the standoff over Iran's nuclear program. Russia's response, not so fast. Before any talks Iran must first stop the nuclear fuel research it resumed last week after breaking U.N. seals of uranium enrichment equipment.
Britain, Germany, France called off the talks because of concern that Iran's ultimate goal is nuclear weapons. Along with the U.S. the Europeans are urging the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council. If that happens, Iran could be slapped with a number of sanctions.
Now, remember President Bush's axis of evil comment? He grouped Iraq, Iran, and North Korea together in making it during his State of the Union address in 2002. About a year later Mr. Bush knocked out one member with the invasion of Iraq. Is Iran next in the president's sights? Here's CNN's Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Is attacking this man and the weapons at his disposal the best option for diffusing Iran's nuclear threat? Colonel Sam Gardiner has spent a lot of time thinking about the possibility of a U.S. attack on Iran.
Gardiner, for decades a strategic planner at the National War College, developed a war game for the "Atlantic Monthly" magazine in 2004. He presented three options a conventional attack on Iran's revolutionary guard using primarily air strikes, a so-called regime change option, targeting the leadership.
COL. SAM GARDINER, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.): Special operations would probably come from Afghanistan, maybe come from Azerbaijan, and then the bulk of the ground force would come from Iraq in this option.
TODD: And Gardiner says is the most commonly discussed option, striking some of Iran's nuclear facilities.
GARDINER: That would probably be about a three-day air campaign with aircraft like the B-2, cruise missiles fired from ships, and aircraft. And we would go after the facilities we know about.
TODD: If the right facilities were taken down, Gardiner says, Iran's nuclear capabilities would be set back a few years. Gardiner and other military analysts we spoke to believe a conventional attack using any ground forces would be difficult because of the mountainous terrain in southern and western Iran.
U.S. bases now in neighboring Iraq provide shorter striking distances and reinforcement capability that didn't exist before. But there's also a question of taxing already thin combat-ready units.
KEN ROBINSON, CNN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: The Iranians can do the math. They see we're tied down in Iraq. They see we're tied down in Afghanistan. They see we're tied down in North Korea.
TODD: Analysts say Iran's retaliation could be devastating with a standing army of hundreds of thousands of troops and already sophisticated chemical and biological warfare program.
(on camera): And that's just the immediate military response. Analysts say Iran could then wreak havoc on the world's oil supply, mining the Persian Gulf, attacking tankers, all but cutting off the supply not only to the U.S. and its allies, but also to countries like China, which could then bring about its own economic retaliation against the United States.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Joining us now with his take on the international dispute over Iran's nuclear program and the possibility of U.S. military action, Jim Walsh, Harvard University, his research and writing focus on weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and the Middle East. He joins us live once again from Boston.
Jim, great to see you. I know you will be heading to Iran soon. I want to get to that in a minute, but just the reality of U.S. military being brought into this possible confrontation. What do you think? JIM WALSH, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Well, Kyra, I don't think it's a very viable option. To begin with, Iran has multiple nuclear facilities. They are spread out throughout the country. They probably have redundant facilities, and so there's no way that you can simply bomb away the problem.
Moreover, the knowledge for how to build a centrifuge, that's in their heads. No amount of bombs is going to change the knowledge that they have already acquired. Yes, you could delay the program, but as your last report from Brian pointed out, that could come out at a great cost, a political cost, military cost, and the U.S. is really not in a position to pursue that option, I don't think.
PHILLIPS: Let's think of Iraq and just the case that was built month after month after month, with regard to weapons of mass destruction. The next thing we knew the U.S. was engaged with Iraq. Do you think possibly what's happening right now, whether it be posturing or fact, but just the talk and the buildup is a case trying to be made here that it might be in the U.S. interest to go after Iran?
WALSH: It's really an interesting question, Kyra. There is no doubt that a case is being made. There's also no doubt that Iranians hear what's being said. I was interviewed on Iranian television yesterday. They asked me about the various comments that senators had made over the weekend about a potential military strike.
My own view, though, is that the case that's being made is not for military action. It's for political action. It's trying to get all the pieces lined up so that the U.S. can persuade the rest of the countries of the world to refer the Iranian case to the U.N. Security Council. And then once before the Security Council, the U.N. will have to act, maybe it will be political sanctions or economic sanctions. It is hard to say.
It is hard to say where that is going to lead, but the U.S. is definitely over the last year or so been working towards trying to refer this case to the U.N.
PHILLIPS: So why the U.N. Security Council? I mean, can it really make an impact?
WALSH: Again, a good question. And what I would ask of the current U.S. officials is what's the endgame? Let's say we get this case before the Security Council, let's say that we persuade Russia and China to abstain, and therefore not block any potential sanctions against Iran.
Let's say that we have sanctions on Iran. What happens next? It's unclear. Iran is making various noises that if it is sanctioned, it will withdraw from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, in which case we would have very little leverage over them. I saw a press conference by the president of Iran this weekend, and he was making these sorts of threats. He said there would be consequences.
They could play with the oil supply. They could cause problems in Iraq for U.S. forces. But in any case, if Iran pursues that hard-line policy, it will also lose, so we're -- we may be going to a political showdown here, but it's one that has the potential that everyone comes out a loser, that Iran is more isolated and that the U.S. suffers some consequences as well.
PHILLIPS: Now, you are headed to Iran. Tell me what you are going to be doing there? And also what do you think of this new president? I mean, this is someone that has come forward and said the holocaust is a myth. Now you start talking about nuclear weapons. A lot of people are getting nervous.
WALSH: Thanks for putting me on the spot there, Kyra. Asking me about the president, just before I --
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: While you are getting ready to go there.
WALSH: Just before I am about to go.
Obviously I think -- I can say this, that some of these comments have played into U.S. policy. They've made it easier for the U.S. to try to rally support for the U.S. position. But my purpose in trying to go to Iran, and I have many Iranian friends and colleagues, is I want to engage in conversation on one of the things that has come out of Iran, which is a statement that says that they would not pursue nuclear weapons because it's incompatible with the Koran.
I think that's a serious statement. It could be a very powerful statement. I think it's important to follow up on that and say what do you mean? How does that work? Let's talk about that more. So in my small little way, I'm simply going to do some listening and to get a better perspective on what the Iranians are thinking.
PHILLIPS: Interesting note about the Koran. We'll talk about that next time around. Let's talk after your trip.
WALSH: Absolutely.
PHILLIPS: Jim Walsh, thanks very much.
WALSH: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's go back to New York. Miles O'Brien on the Pluto beat.
Matter of fact, Miles, I'm getting your minute-by-minute e-mails here. Now you're saying 2:50 p.m.?
O'BRIEN: Yes, 2:50 p.m., is what we're being told, Kyra. The winds still are not good. There has been some -- a few issues of the tracking capability, the so-called Deep Space network, which does all the work in tracking missions that go as far out as (INAUDIBLE) does.
Once again, I will call your attention to that right there. That tells the story today, those strong gusts. We're told they're not so good at altitude either, anything approaching 33 knots in gusts, and this will stay on the the ground until tomorrow. The window closes at 3:23 eastern time, so at 2:50 we're starting to push the outer ends of that window today, and then they will probably try again tomorrow. But it isn't over until it's over, as they say.
PHILLIPS: All right. Hopefully we won't hear any singing. Maybe we do want to hear singing. Miles, thanks.
Straight ahead, are you looking for answers to help you understand the Medicare prescription drug benefit plan? A health expert joins us this hour to answer your questions. Send us your e- mails, livefrom @ CNN.com. We'll try to get them answered.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Busy day for Tony Harris in the news room, all kinds of stories for us, can't even keep them straight, Tony?
HARRIS: Do you have it handy right there on a graphic?
PHILLIPS: Tony, are you with me? can you hear me? Here we go. He's putting his IFB in. Are you now ready, Tony?
HARRIS: I'm sorry, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: I know you were working a story. If you're not ready, we'll come back to you.
HARRIS: No, let me make sense of it. We're talking about the Florida beating case, correct?
PHILLIPS: Exactly.
HARRIS: Let me just see if I can bring this all up to speed for you. Initially, as you know, there were two teens who were initially charged with murder in one of the beating cases that ended up in death. As you know, there were three. It happened last Thursday. One of the beatings was actually caught on security camera.
And now we can update and let you know that a third teen who was involved in this, an 18-year-old by the name of William Ammons who was arrested and charged with assault, but then made bail and was released, has been rearrested. He has been charged now along with the other two teens with the murder of Mr. Gainer who was killed as a result of one of these beatings.
That's the updated information that we want to bring to you right now, Kyra, is that the teen who was initially arrested and charged with assault, but was not charged with murder, has now been rearrested and charged with murder. That's the update. My apologies.
PHILLIPS: Don't be sorry. I know you are working all kinds of stories for us. I know you were trying to get the latest information.
HARRIS: I hope that made sense.
PHILLIPS: Yes, it did. Tony, thank you. (STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Now more on the Medicare maze that's left some seniors empty-handed. The Bush administration says more than two million people signed up for the new prescription drug benefit plan in the last month alone. Many of them aren't getting the service they had hoped they would receive.
And yesterday I spoke with a pharmacist who said seniors are not the only ones that are so frustrated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RALPH BERTOLINO, PHARMACIST: We have been giving out like a week's supply of medication at our expense to patients that are not in the system who we know can't afford it, who need help. And we -- we're going to, you know, hopefully recoup our money when the system rights itself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Now Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt defended the plan right here on LIVE FROM yesterday. He said they're working to resolve the bureaucratic red tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL LEAVITT, HHS SECRETARY: We are having to work through, having to iron out a lot of wrinkles in the system with particular people. And the thing I'm saying to seniors is if you go to a pharmacy, don't leave without your drugs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: My next guest has been following all the the chaos. Dr. Tod Cooperman is with consumerlab.com in New York. He evaluates consumer satisfaction with many medical plans. And Todd, I'm just curious, to tell people not to leave the pharmacies without getting their drugs when you have pharmacists saying there's so many of these individuals that can't even afford to pay for those drugs in the first place now, because of all the confusion this has created.
TOD COOPERMAN, CONSUMERLAB.COM: First, thanks for having me on, Kyra. I'm representing medicaredrugplans.com, which is part of consumerlab.com.
But the problem -- there are many problems with this mess with Medicare or drug plans right now. The first is people who are really in these plans, but when they go to the pharmacy, the pharmacist tells them they're not in the plans. And the problem has been that the system at Medicare is not talking to the system at the plans. And it's taking people days and days to get this righted.
But what I recommend to people who are find themselves in that situation is to be aggressive. We're finding on our medicaredrugplans.com site where people are talking to each other about these problems. And what they're doing, they're talking to their senators, their congressmen. They're calling people at the centers for Medicare and Medicaid services, CMS, speaking to their state captains who can get things done. They're talking to the plans.
But basically, we followed one person who for five days was trying this. But finally when it was corrected, he was able to get all seven of his medications for $15. So there is hope, but it's really a terrible time for a lot of very fragile people.
PHILLIPS: And fragile, absolutely, because so many of these people, I mean, they don't have the ability to go after a fight like this. I mean, they just are even barely able to get their medicine when they need it. So all the phone calls and the bureaucracy and showing up and coming back and -- I mean, there's some people that just don't have the capability to do that. I mean, what are they to do at this moment? And do you have faith that this system is going to get fixed quickly?
COOPERMAN: I don't know how quickly it will get fixed. I mean, you know, as issues come up, the squeaky wheels are getting the grease right now. So you have to, you know, make a lot of noise. If you can't do it, I don't know what's going to happen. You know, hopefully things are getting righted eventually.
But there are other issues as well, where people have joined plans and successfully are in those plans and are then going to get the medications that they thought they could get for very little and are being charged more than they thought. And there are other issues relating to the formularies, the way that -- the little footnotes and...
PHILLIPS: The restrictions, right? You were saying that there's actually restrictions. When people signed up, they probably didn't realize it had these restrictions on there.
COOPERMAN: Exactly. If you look at our information on the plans on our medicaredrugplans.com site, you'll see -- if you just look at the requirements of plans in terms of preauthorization -- some plans have few drugs where you need preauthorization. Others, you know, up to 40 percent of the drugs need preauthorization.
I don't think people are aware of that when they go to get their drugs filled -- you can see on the screen in the kind of the third to last column, there's information about the percentage of drugs. It's hard to see it here -- where you need preauthorization, which means that either you have to get a note from your doctor saying that you absolutely need this drug or you may be required to use less expensive drugs first or there may be a limit as to the quantity you can get within a certain period of time.
And people are going in. They're not being -- the reason for their denial or for the high price isn't being explained to them. And there is a lot of confusion. PHILLIPS: All right, I want to get to some of the e-mails. I'm actually going to skip down to the second one that we had prepared. We're going to keep your Web site up on a continual basis so folks can go on there, because it is a great resource for those that have a lot of questions.
This e-mail coming from James in West Bend, Wisconsin: "Medicare Part D is a disaster for me. My yearly cost for drugs is going to be about $3,000 more than it was. When I signed with Humana, the co-pay for Lipitor was $75 for a three-month supply. On my very first order, the co-pay was raised to $150 for three months."
Now, do you think James, he's one of those individuals where he didn't see the restrictions?
COOPERMAN: It's quite possible. I mean, there's one of two explanations at least here. One is that there may be restrictions where there's only a 30-day supply given of Lipitor and he's trying to get, say, a 90-day supply and they're telling him he's going to have to pay full price if he wants that 90-day supply. We've seen that kind of question come up with that plan.
Plans also -- and it may not be the case here -- are able to change their prices over the time and change which drugs are covered within their plans. They are supposed to give the sixty-day notice to people. But people who might have signed up in November and then are trying to get their drugs in January may have missed any kind of changes.
So you need to check with those plans and also check with that fine print. Go back to the plan and the pharmacist and say, well, what do I need to do to get this drug covered? What do I need from my doctor or other authorizations?
PHILLIPS: All right, Linda writes: "My mother received a letter from Medicare stating that they would sign her up for PacifiCare Saver Plan and that she didn't have to do anything. I've called PacifiCare and they say she has not signed up. I called Medicare and they say she is signed up. Please help! She needs her medication."
COOPERMAN: Unfortunately, we've seen this problem with many other people, where the system at Medicare is not talking to the system here at Pacificare. And you need to then to get very aggressive. And this woman needs to call the plan, call Medicare, as I mentioned these state captains at Medicare. You can get some of that information from our Web site, who to contact.
And really push and say look, she's on there and you've got to talk to the plan and make sure that everyone knows. And it could take four or five days, but it probably will happen. And if she pushes, she'll get her on. Unfortunately, she'll have to push.
PHILLIPS: Dr. Tod Cooperman, medicaredrug plans.com. Great Web site. Appreciate you being with us, Tod.
COOPERMAN: Thank you, Kyra. PHILLIPS: No doubt we'll be talking again. A lot of confusion still. Thanks, Tod.
COOPERMAN: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: Golden Globes. We've heard all about the awards show, but what about the after parties?
Our Sibila Vargas was there up, of course, up until the wee hours of the morning. Such a difficult assignment. Probably really hard to come in and talk about this.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT: Yes, I mean, I lived to tell about it. Who showed up at Hollywood's biggest shindigs? That's coming up on LIVE FROM.
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PHILLIPS: Live pictures from NASA right now. The first of a kind mission to Pluto is what we're waiting for, but because of a number of issues, including the winds -- you can actually see it right there from the live picture -- we're being told it is being pushed to 3:05 now.
As you know, NASA hopes to determine once and for all how planets and the universe formed through this mission. Now, of course, Miles is updating me minute by minute. And he said if I really want to be a space geek, I can say two, zero, zero, five Zulu time. I hope I said that right, Miles.
All right, more now on the Golden Globes awards. They're usually the loosest expression of Hollywood's fondness for congratulating itself. That means parties before during and especially after. As Tinseltown nurses a collective hangover, CNN's Sibila Vargas didn't drink at all because she's been on assignment ...
VARGAS: Not a single thing.
PHILLIPS: ... and knew she had to get up really early ...
(CROSSTALK)
VARGAS: Exactly. Look, I worked 20 hours last night. And I'll tell you on thing. You know, you get invited to the parties, and it's like you know what? I will take my bed. But that wasn't the case with the celebrities. No, it was a fun night in Hollywood as the beautiful people lived it up at the 63rd annual Golden Globe Awards.
But the night really got started at some of the parties following the ceremonies. Hollywood hotties did not miss a beat as they made their way to two of the night's big soirees: HBO and the Warner Brothers/InStyle shindig. That's where we caught up with two of this year's Golden Globe winners, including best supporting actor George Clooney and surprise winner Mary-Louise Parker.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE CLOONEY, GOLDEN GLOBE WINNER: The film was something that's really important to us, to get made. So anything that helps bring attention to the film, we're really proud of. So I'm thrilled for it.
MARY LOUISE-PARKER, GOLDEN GLOBE WINNER: I was really surprised honestly. I really was. I didn't have a speech or anything. So I just -- I knew that sometime last week I thought if I won, I wanted to mention John Spencer, but other than that I didn't have anything prepared. So I was really surprised.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: It was nice to see her win, but best drama actor nominee Terrence Howard has his priorities straight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERRENCE HOWARD, ACTOR: They said that this was the most fun of the awards, and I agree, but it may be because of the nine bottles of alcohol they had at the tables.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: In fact, there was said to be a total of 14,172 servings of Moet & Chandon champagne at the Globes in after parties, so there was a lot of drinking going on. Other celebrities who had a great time?
Best dramatic motion picture actress winner Felicity Huffman reportedly wouldn't leave the dance floor. And you know what? If you got a Golden Globe, you are married to William H. Macy -- well, maybe not William H. Macy or maybe somebody like maybe Patrick Dempsey on your side or George Clooney, why not live it up, right?
PHILLIPS: That's what I'm talking about. All right, you George Clooney. I'll take Patrick Dempsey. Perfect. We won't tell anybody. Fashion faux pas. There was one that stuck out last night. Let me tell you.
VARGAS: Oh yes, you must be talking about Ms. Barrymore?
PHILLIPS: Goodness gracious.
VARGAS: She was wearing that -- yes, wearing that green outfit. I don't know why she decided to wear this. Extremely conservative, but then again, not so conservative because she decided to perhaps not wear any undergarments.
That's just -- it's -- I don't know what happened because usually she is so beautiful on the red carpet and at these events. She's got such a great sense of style, but this was definitely a fashion miss.
PHILLIPS: Definitely. All right. And, of course, the hit, Keira Knightley. But we've got move on, unfortunately. She's gorgeous. She never looks bad, just like you, Sibila. Oh, we're showing her. There she is. We've got time.
VARGAS: There she is. Yes, she looks good, doesn't she? That's a Valentino dress that she has on. And, you know, it seems like the fashion trend last night was strapless dresses. Women looked beautiful.
PHILLIPS: Beautiful, beautiful.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: And I love her name, of course. All right, thank you.
VARGAS: Absolutely.
PHILLIPS: Mission to Pluto -- NASA plans to launch a probe to the planet. That's expected to happen at 3:05 Eastern. Two, zero, zero, five Zulu just for you, Miles O'Brien. Live pictures inside command and control there of NASA. So many people waiting for this to happen. Blurry screens, though, that's not a good sign. We are going to bring you all the information live next.
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PHILLIPS: Lingering questions today about how a 20-year-old woman got stuck in a chimney in a home in North Hollywood near Los Angeles. California firefighters rescued her last night using a pulley system.
She was checked out at the hospital and appears to be OK. No word on why she was in that chimney. CNN affiliate KCAL reports the woman has been ordered to undergo psychiatric tests. LIVE FROM is back after a quick break.
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