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American Morning
Obama Aims to Unite Democrats behind Health Care Reform; New Stats Show Poverty Increasing; 9/11 Remembered on Anniversary; Experts Speculate on Lack of Domestic Terrorist Attacks
Aired September 11, 2009 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: That brings us to the top of the hour. Thanks for being with us on the most news of the morning on this Friday, September 11th. I'm John Roberts.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Carol Costello in for Kiran Chetry. Happy Friday to you, and it is a busy Friday morning. Here are the stories we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.
The president apparently winning over divided Democrats in the debate for health care reform. Liberals insisting on a public option are now backing off. Instead of talking about backing their president, Brianna Keilar on a party that may be uniting, and what it could mean for the future of health care.
ROBERTS: Remembering the attacks of 9/11 eight years later. Victims' families will take their first steps on the long-awaited memorial plaza at the World Trade Center today, and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg joins us from ground zero to talk about when we will finally have a new edition to the New York city skyline.
COSTELLO: And we haven't seen an attack since, but why? The last administration was slammed for some of the steps it took after 9/11. But were those steps successful, or are we just lucky? Our "Spies among Us" series takes a hard look at the facts.
We begin, though with the great divide among Democrats when it comes to health care reform. It's a divide that appears to be narrowing right now since President Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress Wednesday night. The party may actually be uniting.
Liberal Democrats who have been demanding a public option are now backing down and vowing to back the president. They spoke after President Obama called the public option a preferred but nonessential element of overhauling the nation's health care system, and urged that all sides to come together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am confident a plan that we've put forward is the right plan for the American people.
I continue to be open to suggestions and ideas from all quarters, House members, Senate members, Democrats, Republicans, outside groups.
What we cannot do is stand pat. What we can't do is accept a status quo that is bankrupting families, businesses, and our nation. I will not tolerate us continuing to pay more for less in health care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar life on Capitol Hill this morning. Brianna, President Obama met with those moderate Democrats last night. Tell us about that meeting. How did it go?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Obama, as well as a number of these moderate Democrats, who actually took a bus over to the White House and back last night said it was really constructive meeting.
And so as we see some of these liberal Democrats who have been so insistent on a public option, some of them -- stressing "some of them" -- seeming to be less entrenched on that position.
President Obama now concentrating on conservative Democrats at the meeting yesterday. And actually CNN was the only camera there, Carol, catching up with these senators as they returned from the White House.
Senator Ben Nelson, who has had some pretty serious reservations about his own party's attempt to overhaul health care, saying that he was happy to hear the president's message reiterated from his speech that he may be flexible on how to get to the end point of health care reform.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BEN NELSON, (D) NEBRASKA: I think he -- he recognizes that when you have to balance substance and process, that substance has to win out. And so the method of getting everybody covered, having coverage extended, is secondary to the fact that you get it done and that there are more -- there's more than one way to do it.
He has his preference. He knows that may or may not hold. And he's prepared to look at something else as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: So where do we pick up now two days after president Obama's address to Congress?
Well, that really critical, potentially critical group, the gang of six, those Republicans and Democrats from the Senate Finance Committee, they're going to be meeting yet again today. 10:00 a.m. that's going to happen, and given these negotiations -- giving these negotiations new importance.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is really straddling a divide between these liberal and conservative Democrats in the House, she seems to have loosened up her language on talking about a public option, how it has to be in a bill that will pass the House.
She did signal yesterday that what the House is going to do is really wait and see what comes out of the Senate Finance Committee, and that's why all eyes are there.
And Carol, of course, this group, this gang of six, their proposal does not include a public option. It's a health co-op system.
COSTELLO: So Brianna, things seem to be cooking. Is there any word of a timeline once again for passing some kind of bill?
KEILAR: I spoke with Senator Kent Conrad, and he told me that the Senate Finance Committee is expected to really do its thing, move its proposal through committee through the end of this month, and the goal is early October, get a bill to the Senate floor and actually have a vote before the end of October.
So at least right now, perhaps tentatively, that is the timeline. We'll have to see if it holds -- Carol?
COSTELLO: Of course we'll be watching. Brianna Keilar live on Capitol Hill this morning. Thanks.
ROBERTS: While everyone is preoccupied with health care reform, the White House is trying to remind that there is an economic recovery going on and they would like to get a little credit for it.
Yesterday Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said many government programs for the financial sector, the rescue programs, are no longer needed. And the administration claims it has saved or created 1.1 million jobs.
Not everyone, though, agrees with that. White House correspondent Elaine Quiano live in Washington for us this morning. Elaine, the administration is trying to get American to refocus on the economy.
Can it do it, though, because there was -- like, Harry Truman said I would like to have a one-handed economist so he doesn't say on the one hand this, on the other hand this. There are always varying perspectives on the economy.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: As you noted, the president, of course, has been focusing a lot of attention on the health care reform issue. That, of course, has been his number one priority.
But, at the same time, he very much wants to continue sending the message that in fact his administration is on top of the nation's economic recovery.
That is why on Monday, one year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers -- that's, of course, the institution that really helped spark the financial crisis -- the president is going to head to Wall Street to deliver a speech to highlight what the administration is doing to try to get the economic back on track.
The speech will be coming on the heels of a claim by one of the top economic advisers, Christina Romer. She is head of the Council of Economic Advisers, and she said yesterday that because of the administration's actions when it comes to economic stimulus, that 1 million jobs have either been saved or created since February.
Well, as you can imagine, that prompted criticism from Democrats (sic). Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell noted that the country has lost 2.5 million jobs in that same period.
And in a statement, he said, quote, "How can anyone tell the American people with a straight face that the more than 2 million jobs that have been lost since the stimulus was enacted is actually 1 million jobs saved or created."
Nevertheless, despite those criticisms, those kinds of criticisms, the president insists that his administration, in fact, deserves credit for at least starting to turn the economy around. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: If we do nothing to slow these skyrocketing costs, we will eventually be spending more on Medicare and Medicaid than every other government program combined. Put simply, our health care program is our deficit problem. Nothing else even comes close.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: So what you heard there is the president trying to link the issue of health care reform and the nation's economic recovery, but the president basically, John, wanting again to highlight what the administration has done to, as the administration says, pull the economy back from the brink.
So that speech happening on Monday on Wall Street - John.
ROBERTS: And of course we'll have full coverage of that here on CNN and CNN.com. Elaine Quijano at the White House this morning, thanks.
The heckler who interrupted the president during his Wednesday night speech to Congress says his outburst was unintentional. South Carolina Republican Joe Wilson shouted "You lie!" during the president's address. He has since apologized to President Obama.
But now the House majority whip is asking Wilson to say he's sorry to the entire House. Meanwhile, Wilson tells a South Carolina radio station his outburst was unplanned, simply a product of frustration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOE WILSON, (R) SOUTH CAROLINA: I was really looking forward to getting back and hopefully hearing a speech where there would be a real effort to bring Republicans and Democrats together for health insurance reform. That is, the speech kept on going. It really got to the point where statements were made concerning illegal aliens that I knew were not true. It just was inaccurate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The Democratic challenger for Wilson's House seat in South Carolina, Rob Miller, has collected more than 14,000 contributions totaling more than half a million dollars since Wednesday's incident with Wilson. Those figures from the Democratic House Campaign Committee.
COSTELLO: Also new this morning -- let's stay in South Carolina -- more calls for the state's embattled governor to quit. Now 31 out of 46 top Republican leaders agreed last night to send a letter to Governor Mark Sanford asking him to step down.
They are upset with the governor after he disappeared back in June to see his mistress in Argentina and later admitted to having a year-long affair.
Still, the governor refuses to budge, vowing to fight back with "every tool in the toolbox" against what he calls a "kangaroo court."
ROBERTS: Two employees from the nonprofit housing group ACORN were fired after they were caught on tape allegedly giving advice to a couple posing as a pimp and prostitute.
The tape was actually made by a conservative filmmaker. An ACORN employee tells the couple on camera how to cheat on their taxes and set up a brothel involving more than a dozen underage girls.
The worker even suggests that the woman should not call herself a prostitute but a performing artist.
A spokesman at ACORN says the video is, quote, "gotcha" journalism.
COSTELLO: It certainly is.
A money back guarantee of a new car. Starting Monday, GM will give new car buyers the chance to return their new wheels, no questions asked.
It's a radical marketing move to pick up sales so they can pay back billions they owe the government. The deal lasts through November.
There are some major restrictions, though, so check the fine print carefully, like don't go over 4,000 miles if you're not sure.
ROBERTS: Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York coming up as we mark the eighth anniversary on the attacks of 9/11. And he'll be joining us to talk about what's being done in terms of the museum and the memorial and the construction of that long awaited freedom tower.
About 15 minutes away now, I'm being told, from speaking with Mayor Bloomberg, so stick with us for just a little while longer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Christine Romans minding your business this morning. We're going to talk about something really depressing.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's important. And then there are some angles here. I'm talking about these new poverty and income statistics. The President says the economy has stepped back from the brink, and there are some people who I talk to who say, no, it feels more like the financial system has stepped back from the brink.
But for those of us in the economy, it feels like we are still on the brink, especially if you don't have a job and you've slipped into poverty.
We know that for 2008, the first full year of recession, this is what the picture looked like for your personal finances from where you sit. The median income for a household, a family, fell about $1,860. So you're you feeling that. That's a significant amount. $50,303 is the median income for a household in 2008.
Poverty in America -- the poverty rate showed the first significant increase since 2004 -- 39.8 million people in poverty. If you're a family of four, that's about $22,025 a year is what you're living on there.
People without health insurance, this is an important statistic in the debate over health care reform. This is not Americans without health insurance. To be very clear, this is people in the country without health insurance, 46.3 million, that's up 600,000.
No real surprise there because so many people are falling off the rolls of their job-based insurance.
ROBERTS: Do we know how many people in that number are illegal immigrants, because the number varies wildly depending on who you listen to from a low of maybe 8 million to a high of 15?
COSTELLO: The president said 30 million.
ROMANS: We don't know how many. The Census Bureau covers citizens and noncitizens. It doesn't ask legal status, so we can only estimate.
But when you're talking about covering the uninsured, if you are going to exclude illegal aliens, illegal immigrants in this country, you're not really covering the uninsured. So I want to be clear about that in health care reform, if indeed that is what they're promising.
ROBERTS: But of course, then that's where the huge controversy comes in.
Have you got a Romans numeral for us this morning? ROMANS: I do, and this is also important in the health care debate. It's 4.4 million. And this number, it shows the growing role of the government in health insurance already. The government is taking a bigger and bigger role...
ROBERTS: So this is the number of children added to the S-chip program.
ROMANS: This is the number of people covered by government health insurance in 2008 versus 2007, many of them children, you're right. So the rate of children being covered by government insurance is already going up.
Some of these things are already happening. You already have the government taking a much bigger role in health insurance than we've ever seen before.
ROBERTS: Christine Romans for us this morning minding your business. Thanks so much.
So it's eight years now since we've had a major terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Is it vigilance, is it policies that were put in place by the Bush administration, or is it just blind luck? Our Jason Carroll takes a look, coming right up. It's 17 minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It is September the 11th. And, again, America's security spot -- security is in the spotlight.
COSTELLO: Remember how afraid we were after 9/11? We were told another attack is inevitable, but there hasn't been one on U.S. soil in eight years. Today in our special series "Spies among Us," our Jason Carroll takes a look at why. Jason is live from ground zero this morning. Tell us, Jason, why?
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know Carol, honestly, there hasn't been one specific reason. You talk to intelligence experts and they will tell you better intelligence, better communication between various agencies.
What we did, Carol, is we went to top experts in the field to talk to them about what has been done to secure the country post 9/11.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: In the months and years following 9/11, came the warnings.
GEORGE BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thousands of dangerous killers are now spread throughout the world like ticking time bombs. Set to go off.
CARROLL: President Obama weighing in this year. OBAMA: Al Qaeda is actively planning attacks on the United States homeland.
CARROLL: Security experts say while Osama bin Laden's whereabouts are unknown, al Qaeda is still plotting and planning.
TOM RIDGE, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Strategic thinkers, they are patient. They don't set their wrist watches like you and I do.
CARROLL: Tom Ridge, the first head of the Department of Homeland Security, says the department's creation in 2002 by President Bush was key to better securing the country.
RIDGE: Right after 9/11, everybody said nobody connected the dots. Well, today I'm here to tell you there are a lot more dots because there's a lot more intelligence coming in.
CARROLL: Ridge says the department has improved communication between agencies. He points to the case of Riyid Mansour Albana. In 2003 Albana was stopped entering the country at Chicago's O'Hare Airport.
A customs agent, armed with guidelines from Homeland Security, deported Albana for a visa violation. A year and a half later, he blew himself up outside Baghdad, killing 166 people. Ridge says their hard work had paid off.
CARROLL (on camera): Some also say it's been a bit of luck.
RIDGE: I think that's fair. Look, I think that's really fair. I'm convinced that the threat is real.
CARROLL (voice-over): Terrorism expert Ryan Jenkins says al Qaeda really has not taken hold in the United States to date partly due to improved intelligence, but also because American Muslims seem resistant to al Qaeda's radical ideology.
Jenkins warns a significant threat comes from smaller, homegrown groups.
BRIAN JENKINS, TERRORISM EXPERT: The difference between a band of amateurs being able to do nothing and a small group being able to carry out a dangerous terrorist attack is having one determined, technically competent leader.
CARROLL: A point New York City's police commissioner, Ray Kelly, knows well.
RAY KELLY, NYC POLICE COMMISSIONER: It's important to remember that we've had eight plots against this city since September 11th.
CARROLL: Those plots centered on places like the Brooklyn Bridge and subway system, so-called soft targets, considered more vulnerable because typically they have less security. Last year, New York City spent $300 million on its joint terrorism task force, receiving only $10 million from the federal government.
KELLY: We need money to help us continue the significant efforts that we've made in this city to protect it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Jason Carroll reporting this morning.
And either years after 9/11, the federal government has declared the entire month of September National Preparedness Month, and arguably no mayor deals with the terror threat as much as New York's mayor Michael Bloomberg. Mayor Bloomberg join us now from the site of today's remembrance at ground zero.
And we should point out, too, mayor that this is the first year that people can actually walk all the way out there on the memorial plaza so some progress there after so many years.
Let me ask you if I could to reflect on what Jason Carroll just told us in that piece. Arguments, some pointed and accusatory, as to whether or not America is safer now than we were in the years pre- 9/11. What do you think?
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, (I) NEW YORK: Well, New York City is certainly safer. We have 1,000 police officers dedicated to intelligence and counterterrorism. We've added a lot of technology. We've trained our people. And you heard from Ray Kelly a little while ago.
I think we're doing everything we can with our people and our technology to keep the city safe, and it's safer than it's ever been.
What we really have to focus on is two things. One, around the world, it's a dangerous world. We have young men and women fighting and sadly dying to protect us. And two, on the streets of this country, we have our police officers fighting and dying too as they try to get guns out of the hands of criminals.
And unless we do something about the vast number of guns, you won't get the murder rate much lower than it is today. That's the first and most pressing security issue.
Al Qaeda, that is certainly something that's serious, and we're certainly focusing on that, but I think it's easy to change your focus to that than worrying about the number of people getting killed every single day. We have a Virginia Tech virtually every day in this country, and nobody focuses on that.
ROBERTS: Sadly, we do have one of those almost -- yes, it seems with stunning regularity. A recent study by the Stratford group suggests that soft targets are going to become increasingly more common. This is something that we have seen overseas.
BLOOMBERG: You will have to speak a little louder. We can't hear you. We have a real wind problem here.
ROBERTS: I know, the weather there is terrible. Let me preface the question again, Mr. Mayor.
BLOOMBERG: There we go. I -- go ahead.
ROBERTS: I was saying that a recent study by the Stratford group suggests that terrorists will go more and more after soft targets. We've seen a lot of that overseas.
Is it inevitable that it will come here? And do you worry about smaller, more targeted attacks against the so-called soft targets or the grand terror attack as we saw eight years ago?
BLOOMBERG: I don't know that anything is inevitable. What we have to keep our focus, invest our money in a good police department and good army, and technology and intelligence operations, and stop sitting around and trying to strategize, but actually do something.
It's easy to have a bunch of talking heads saying we have a threat here and a threat there, but I come back to you've got to really go out, see where the threats are, and do something about it. And the threats are on the streets of this city. Those are the soft targets most people have to worry about.
Leave it to the professionals to worry about the al Qaedas and the terrorist organizations. And at least, in New York City, I can't guarantee that we're always going to be safe, but I think we're doing everything we possibly can.
And the people of New York City feel safe. We have a population that's growing. Here downtown, we have double the number of people living downtown than we did eight years ago.
And if you remember, after 9/11 everybody said nobody would live in this city. It would be an armed camp. That's not what America is about. America is about a spirit and a can-do attitude and a willingness to stand up to those who want to take away our freedom.
ROBERTS: Mr. Mayor, the construction of the September 11th museum and memorial is underway. As we said, people will actually be able to walk out there on the constructed plaza this year as opposed to actually being in the depth of the pit.
It will include hundreds of hours of graphic video of what happened, and it will take a look at the attacks from the hijackers' protective.
One of the displays will have transcriptions of statements that were made by the hijackers on their suicide tapes. The museum's president Joe Daniels says people need to see that. Do you agree?
BLOOMBERG: Well, you have to tell the story. I don't know why you would -- this is America. We have -- we want to know what goes on and have to be able to make our own decisions. That is exactly what the terrorists were trying to take away from us, the kind of censorship that is implying we shouldn't look at everything.
I think the terrorists were despicable people that tried to take away our freedoms to practice our religion and say what we want to say. But to say that we're not going to listen to what they said and use them as an example of what's bad, just to me, is ridiculous.
This is the freedom to investigate and to show all sides, is exactly what we should be doing.
ROBERTS: And Mr. Mayor, one more question if I could before you blow away there in the wind, I'm sorry. Is the museum and memorial going to meet the completion date of September 11, 2011? And how important is it from a psychological level to hit that completion date?
BLOOMBERG: Ten years from now we'll look back and see this site complete and nobody's going to remember the angst and the political process that you have to go through to get agreements and to solve lots of complicated problems.
The most important thing when we're building here is, number one, do it safely. I do not want to lose one life. No building is worth losing a life, I don't care how long it takes.
Number two, I want to make sure people look back and say we built the right thing and we built it well so it lasts. That's more important than any schedule.
And third, way down the list, it would be nice if we get things done quickly and at low cost.
But nobody remembers all of the problems it took to build Central Park, but New York without Central Park wouldn't be New York. Nobody remembers how long it took to get everybody together, to build the Empire State Building, but it's a symbol of New York. We have to do things safely and do things right.
I do think for the 9/11 memorial, you'll be able to walk out on the plaza, see the trees, look at the waterfalls going down, read the names, think about what happened here, bring your kids and try to explain why people were trying to take away our freedoms and why America is stronger than that, that we didn't cave, that we are willing to investigate and have freedom of speech and freedom of religion, the very things the terrorists were afraid of.
And I think that part will be done by 9/11/11.
ROBERTS: Mayor Michael Bloomberg for us this morning from ground zero. Mayor, thanks very much for being with us and braving the terrible weather down there, really appreciate it.
BLOOMBERG: You're welcome, any time. ROBERTS: And because this year September 11th is officially a national day of service and remembrance, see how you can get involved. Visit our "Impact your World" page. That's at CNN/impact.
It's now 31 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: We're crossing the half hour. Checking our top stories this Friday morning.
One "sorry" may not be enough for President Obama's Wednesday night heckler. South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson apologized to the president after shouting, "You lie" during his health care address to Congress. The now House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, also from South Carolina, wants an apology for the entire House of Representatives.
Wilson telling a South Carolina radio station that the outburst was not planned, it just happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOE WILSON (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: When it was stated that it wouldn't apply to illegal aliens, I just - I just couldn't -- I truly had to speak out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And on his Web site, he also says that he is not going to be muzzled on the debate for health care reform. And the Democratic challenger for Wilson's House seat Bob Miller has now raked in more than 14,000 contributions totaling half a million dollars since the Wednesday night incident. That's according to the House Democratic Campaign Committee.
COSTELLO: President Obama is coming to Wall Street on Monday to deliver his speech about the nation's financial crisis. It comes exactly one year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The White House says he will discuss the steps that his administration has to take to stabilize the economy and its commitment to reducing the government's role in the financial world.
ROBERTS: And talk about a test drive. This is more than just around the block. General Motors is offering new car buyers a full - get that, full refund within 60 days if they don't like their GM car for any reason, no questions asked. The only stipulation, you got to keep it under 4,000 miles. The offer lasts until November. Oh, yes, you can't wreck it either. GM sales in the U.S. are down 35 percent so far this year.
COSTELLO: Yes, I think that would kill the deal.
Whether it's an olive branch to Republicans or just a change of heart, President Obama has put medical malpractice reform on the table in the health care debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I talked to enough doctors, and they say defensive (ph) medicine may be contributing to unnecessary costs. So - so, I'm proposing we move forward on a range of ideas on how to put patient safety first and let doctors focus on practicing medicine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Many believe restricting malpractice lawsuits could make health insurance a lot cheaper for all of us. Attorney Phillip K. Howard joins us now. He is chairman of Common Good, a nonpartisan legal reform group. He's also the author of "The Death of Common Sense." Welcome.
ATTY. PHILLIP K. HOWARD, CHAIRMAN, COMMON GOOD: Good morning.
COSTELLO: So do you think the president is serious, or is he throwing a bone to Republicans?
HOWARD: Oh, I think it's an important commitment. He's put on the table he's going to do what it takes to eliminate the incentives for defensive medicine. Now that may require more than certain democrats want, but he's made that a commitment, just like he made a commitment that this is revenue neutral health care reform. So I think It's important.
COSTELLO: I know your group did a study and it showed 83 percent of the nation's electorate wants Congress to address medical malpractice system. There's a lot of support for this. I think the bigger question is how much will this really save us if you're able to even do this?
HOWARD: First, the public overwhelmingly supports the idea of legal reform for health care. Every time they go to the doctor, they see defensive medicine at work. The doctor, you know, sort of being cautious, not really being open, ordering extra tests that the doctor and the patient both know really aren't needed.
How much will it save? It's hard to calculate exactly. But you can't create a culture of sufficient health care without it. As long as the doctors have the incentives always to do more, you'll never save money.
COSTELLO: Well, you heard a lot of different figures.
HOWARD: 100 billion, 200 billion, that's a lot of money. It's more than enough money to pay for this - for this universal health care.
COSTELLO: Of course, Democrats and Republicans have different ideas of how to tackle this. Republicans want to put a cap on jury awards. You know, when a malpractice suit goes to court. Democrats want to control it in other ways. Which is the best way?
HOWARD: Well, I think the best way is not - I think limits on damages don't by themselves eliminate defensive medicine. You can still be liable if you did nothing wrong. So what we're advocating in a broad coalition including consumer groups and patient safety groups are advocating is a reliable system of special health courts. Like we have special health courts for bankruptcy and tax and such. Health care has gotten really complicated. We need a court system that everybody can trust to be reliable from case to case.
That's what Bill Bradley came out more recently in an op-ed in "The New York Times," David Brooks calls for it in today's "New York Times." Really, it's almost a growing - a growing level of support.
COSTELLO: President Obama has mentioned it as well. There's another statistic in here that points to the state of lawyers and what people think about them in this country. 43 percent of Americans have confidence that a lawsuit without merit that was filled against and would be resolved in their favor. Only 30 percent have confidence that it would be resolved quickly and efficiently. In other words, they think that lawyers are taking most of the money when they win these malpractice suits.
HOWARD: Right. Right.
Well, and that's true. In medical malpractice cases, 60 cents of the dollar goes to lawyer's fees and administrative costs. It's a terribly inefficient system. It's not effective for patients who are injured and it's not reliable for doctors who are trying hard to take care of people all day long.
COSTELLO: Politically, this is a tough issue for the president. Because he gets a lot of his support from trial lawyers and they probably don't want to change the system very much, right?
HOWARD: That's right. And it's very hard especially for congressional leaders who got their hand on that spigot. You know, from the trial lawyers to do any significant reform. But, I mean who are you going to go with? 83 percent of the American public say they want legal reform with this health care reform, or a few thousands (INAUDIBLE)?
COSTELLO: I only know that lobbyists are very strong and most of Americans know that too. Because they have a lot of money and influence. Maybe more money and certainly more money and maybe more influence than the American electorate has.
HOWARD: Well, we'll see. I think that the commitment by the president is important. There is a growing group of people on the right and left, consumer groups as well as business who are looking not just for tort reform limits, but for something that's reliable. And that's what health care needs.
COSTELLO: Thanks so much for joining us this morning.
ROBERTS: One other point, so what do you say to critics of malpractice reform who say you got to have tough penalties in place because there are a lot of bad doctors out there. And without people are going to be practicing bad medicine and hurt people? HOWARD: Well, doctors who are not - what they do, they ought to have their licenses pulled. And in fact, the accountability mechanisms are not very good. But the study shows that the medical malpractice system, the current system is not good at that. It has an error rate in both directions of about 25 percent.
So it's like playing Russian roulette with one bullet in four chambers. So doctors who are good find themselves liable. And that creates this atmosphere of defensiveness and we have to get back to a system of trust where if you're a bad doctor, you are going to be accountable but if you're a good doctor, you're going to be protected.
ROBERTS: A lot of changes to the system.
HOWARD: Yes.
ROBERTS: It's great to see you again Phillip.
HOWARD: Nice to see you.
COSTELLO: Thank you.
HOWARD: Good morning.
ROBERTS: It's coming up now to 20 minutes to the top of the hour. Really amazing story out of Ohio. A Muslim teen converts to Christianity, runs away to Florida to link up with a pastor of a church and his wife. She's now living in foster care. Says she can't go home, because she's afraid her father will kill her. We got that story coming right up for you. Stay with us for most news in the morning.
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COSTELLO: A developing story for you now. A tearful runaway teenager making a stunning claim. She says her parents want to kill her for converting from Islam to Christianity.
ROBERTS: But her family is telling an entirely different story. And then now, the whole thing has become a huge custody battle and even the governor of Florida weighing in on it.
Our Susan Candiotti joins us now and this is America we're taking about here. Honor killings seems to somewhat (INAUDIBLE) with our way of life.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it seems to be the case. You know, this started off as a private family matter, but now it has morphed. The case of the runaway teen is now a religious and political tug of war. Florida Governor Charlie Crist says the girl's safety is, quoting here, "the first and only priority of his administration." A spokesman for Ohio's governor, where the teen's family lives, tells me there's no reason to believe she can not be safe in Ohio under its watchful eye. So, is Rifda Bary in danger?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CANDIOTTI (voice-over): If there's one thing all sides agree on...
RIFDA BARY, RUNAWAY TEEN: I'm fighting for my life. You guys don't understand. They don't understand.
CANDIOTTI: It's that Ohio teen runaway Rifda Bary appears to be one frightened girl.
BARY: They have to kill me.
CANDIOTTI: She says her parents want to kill her for converting from Islam to Christianity.
(on camera): Your daughter says at one point you held up a laptop and says, I'm going to kill you.
MOHAMED BARY, FATHER: It's not at all true. It's not at all true. I have never hit my child.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Rifda's parents say the 17-year-old first talked about being a Christian at age 14 to get babysitting jobs.
MOHAMED BARY: We did not fight over it. She just asked, and that's it.
CANDIOTTI: A couple of years later, Rifda joined internet Christian prayer groups, including this one on Facebook, run by a college missionary student.
BRIAN WILLIAMS, FRIEND: She shared with me her testimony about how she became a Christian.
CANDIOTTI: Brian Williams says he sometimes met the teenager at a prayer group near Ohio State University and baptized her at her request. Williams says after Rifda's dad allegedly threatened her, she announced on Facebook, she was running away. Rifda's parents insists she's free to be a Christian. They say they even allowed her to be a high school cheerleader wearing short skirts and no head scarf. An anti-Muslim extreme group, the Florida Security Council says Rifda's case deserves all the attention it can get.
TOM TRENTO, FLORIDA SECURITY COUNCIL: Publicity is a double edge sword. On once sense, the story is getting out and more and more people in this position seeing it and she wants the story out. So the positive benefits outweigh the negative possibilities of a sudden jihad syndrome. Jihady running around trying to kill her.
CANDIOTTI: At the family's Ohio mosque, supporters insist they don't advocate honor killing and say it's not in the Koran.
DR. ASMA MOBIN-UDDIN, NOOR OUTREACH CMTE.: I really fear that the longer this goes on and the more hype and hooplah and things, the more difficult it's going to be for her to reconcile with her family in the future. MOHAMED BARY: I want to say to my daughter, I love you. I want you to come back home. It's safe for you. Nobody will harm you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: And you know, a Florida juvenile court judge sealed a long investigative report looking into the alleged threat, and instead of scheduling a trial, he ordered both sides to meet with a mediator early next month to try to work things out. You know, if they don't, we got this from a spokesman for the Florida governor Charlie Crist, he says, the girl could move to severe ties with her parents, and evidently in Florida, you can do that at age 17.
ROBERTS: Well, she'll be 18 next year, too. So she can do it anyways.
CANDIOTTI: Exactly.
ROBERTS: Looking at the overall story here, there was an honor killing that happened in Canada, not too long ago, in Toronto. A man strangled his daughter because she refused to wear the hijab, the head scarf. But there's no indication that anything like this is going to happen in this case, back and forth here. Are you surprised to see the governor weighing in to the degree that he has on this case?
CANDIOTTI: You know, to hear his language, saying that this is his top priority, is pretty amazing, and, yet, people who support him of a religious bend think he's not doing enough in this case. You know, but you have to look at both sides.
COSTELLO: Taken out of the family's hands and now put into the politician's hands, in a sense. Is there any way for you to determine which side is truthful?
CANDIOTTI: You know, it is so difficult. The family absolutely says the - this is their daughter. They love her. They want her to come home. And they said look we've raised her. Why in the world would we kill our own daughter? It makes no sense and they say it's not in the Koran. And so on the other side, they say look this girl is terrified, you've got to protect her. She must be telling the truth. So...
ROBERTS: She certainly appears to be terrified in that tape.
CANDIOTTI: She does, but look what the judge has done now. He said, OK, we're not ordering a trial right away here. Can we get to sit down and work things out. Let's see what happens.
ROBERTS: It makes you wonder what the judge has seen in those investigative papers.
CANDIOTTI: Exactly.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
ROBERTS: Great story. Susan Candiotti, thanks for bringing it to us.
CANDIOTTI: You're welcome.
ROBERTS: Coming up next, Dr. Sanjay Gupta in Afghanistan on assignment. Remember the young boy, Malik? Tumbled down a hill, like off a little cliff, smacked his head really hard. They thought he was going to die. He's got an update on Malik. Take a look at there. He seems to be doing OK. Forty-eight and a half minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: Good morning, Chicago. One of the places in this country where the sun appears to be shining. Fair and 66 right now. Later on today, going to be sunny with a high of 80 degrees. Wish a little bit of that weather would come our way here to New York. I was watching the Nadal-Gonzalez match last night and called because of rain partway through.
COSTELLO: It feels like fall already here. This morning, a cold rain was falling, Rob.
ROBERTS: Well, you saw Mayor Bloomberg, he was almost blowing away in that interview we were doing with him.
COSTELLO: He was a good guy to stick with us, wasn't he?
ROBERTS: He was. Rob Marciano is down there in the weather center in Atlanta. And he's bringing us the weather today. Are they going to be able to play any matches at the U.S. open today?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I don't know, it's going to be tough. You know, they postponed or cut it short, at least, Nadal's match yesterday. We'll try to get that under way today. Meantime, we got some serious delays happening in Philly. This is going to begin to lengthen as far as how many delays are going to come on board later on today. Two hours and 40 minutes for Philadelphia. You can expect a little bit more than that - hi, guys, settle down there, magic board - later on today.
All right. Heavy rain with an area of low pressure really scooting across the northeast. This is going to sit and spin for several hours. As a matter of fact, there's a tornado watch in effect for much of the southern Jersey shorelines this morning until noon and winds could easily gust 30, 40, 50 miles an hour. So we might even see some trees and some power lines taken down with this particular system.
Good news is for Texas, looking at heavy rain there and they could certainly use the rain. Scheduled second attempt or third attempt at landing this shuttle today at 5:00. Still a good chance of seeing thunderstorms there. So we'll cross our fingers and get that puppy home. Back to you guys in New York. Stay dry.
ROBERTS: Rob, thanks so much. We'll try. MARCIANO: All right. See you guys. You got it.
COSTELLO: Remember Malik, the little boy in Afghanistan? He was once near death.
ROBERTS: Poor guy.
COSTELLO: He had a terrible head injury, but thanks to American surgeons, he's going to be OK. We're going to have an update for you, coming up. It's 52 minutes past the hour.
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COSTELLO: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is in an Afghanistan ER. He sees a two-year-old rushed in with massive head trauma. Even Dr. Gupta who is a brain surgeon, thought the toddler might not make it. He checked on him every day. And this morning, we're "Paging Dr. Gupta" from the other side of the world for the condition of this seriously injured boy. And now little Malik, the miracle, is going home.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Carol, we now know where Malik's story began. It actually began in the hills behind me, where his parents walked 50 kilometers by foot to get their son some care. Here's what happened.
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GUPTA (voice-over): This was going to end well, but when we met Malik, he looked like this. Bandaged and broken and desperate, a toddler from a remote high mountain village, Malik had fallen down a cliff like this when a U.S. special forces unit found him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He ended up falling off the roof and landed on his head, causing a fracture and he started to get a hematoma, which was causing the problems he was seriously having.
GUPTA: Army Special forces -- this is them at work. These guys are the elite, the invisible warriors, and this exclusive video shows how they got Malik out of the mountains. By cover of night, they would chopper him to a military surgical hospital. It was the boy's only hope. These guys are special forces, hard core. They've never been filmed before. They wouldn't even tell me their real names. But they made saving Malik part of their mission.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It didn't appear to see anything, wouldn't track with his eyes, couldn't get much of a response from his pupils. So it was a pretty simple case when we first came on him. He obviously needed high pressure.
GUPTA (on camera): The special forces brought Malik here several days ago, he was brain injured. He was paralyzed on the left side of his body, in dire straits. We have seen him improve over the last couple of days, but now the mission is to get him home. These special forces (INAUDIBLE) along for the special mission.
(voice-over): Here at this Kandahar military surgical hospital, a neurosurgeon and his team operated to relieve pressure on the boy's injured brain. In time, they knew, the swelling would go down and his senses could return. I visited every day as he slowly recovered. He was paralyzed on his left side, but he was gradually coming back.
And finally, with a little aid from his father, he was on his feet, again. Now, after a week of treatment, he is well enough for the journey back to his village.
(on camera): Malik is now in the back of a helicopter. This is the way patients are transported near the war zone and his father has him wrapped in this blanket, he's headed home.
(voice-over): I had expected a real homecoming, but Afghanistan is too dangerous and his village too high and isolated to fly him all the way. Instead, we brought him here, to a primitive clinic. We were greeted by Afghan police, who kept a close eye on us the entire time.
As for the toddler, Malik slept most of the way. My first impression, we're a long way from that gleaming army hospital. Here, water pumps instead of faucets, dirty floors, no bed sheets, but Malik is on his way home.
(on camera): One final examine on Malik. He's got his candy, still no smile, though. Can you push? Push. Pretty good. Some resistance there. Can you kick it? Kick.
(voice-over): He still needs months to fully recover. His prognosis is bright. Here's the thing, Malik's village is high up there, no place to land a helicopter. So his father and their new friends in special forces will walk through these mountains to carry the boy home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: Well, John and Carol, we never really got the smile I was hoping to see, but nonetheless, Malik is doing quite well. He's going to stay in this hospital for a few days and I understand eventually he'll be transported back home with constant check-ins by those medics you just met. John and Carol, back to you.
ROBERTS: Our Sanjay Gupta in Afghanistan. That's great, isn't? He would have died. In fact, they thought that he was going to die when he came into the hospital and they managed to save his life.
COSTELLO: Nice to have a happy ending.
ROBERTS: It is, what a difference you can do, when you're there at the right place and at the right time.
COSTELLO: It's handy to have Sanjay around at exactly the right time. ROBERTS: It is. He tends to be handy that way. He does the dishes as well.
COSTELLO: Cool.
ROBERTS: Yes.
So here we are, eight years after the attacks of 9/11. And the question that many people ask is where is Osama Bin Laden and what about the hunt to find him? We're live in Pakistan this morning to check in on this. Stay with us.
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