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CNN Saturday Morning News
Hospital Hearing Set for Nidal Hasan; Preliminary Senate Vote on Health Care; Berkeley Students Protest Tuition Hike
Aired November 21, 2009 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, hello, everybody, on this Saturday morning. Hopefully it's a good one where you are. It is November 21st, hard to believe that Thanksgiving is what, just a few days away.
RICHARD LUI, CNN ANCHOR: Love it.
NGUYEN: Get your shopping in this weekend, get that turkey. Good morning, I'm Betty Nguyen.
LUI: And I'm Richard Lui in for T.J. Holmes this morning. It is 8:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, 7:00 a.m. in Nashville and 5:00 a.m. for people waking up in Portland, Oregon, if you're awake. Thanks for starting your day with us right here.
NGUYEN: Of course they're awake. They're watching right now. Let's get to it. The Senate headed to work on, yes, this a Saturday. They are beginning the battle over a new health care bill, but debate may be cut off before it even gets started. We're going to explain.
LUI: Also, tailgating this weekend, planning on it. It's a tradition almost as old as football itself, but the food and fun here, Betty, could be in jeopardy and we'll tell you why. You'll want to listen to that.
NGUYEN: Definitely. Let's check your top stories right now, because in a rare move, a hearing for the Ft. Hood shooting suspect scheduled to take place today. Where? Right in his hospital room. Major Nidal Hasan has been placed in pretrial confinement at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio and today's hearing will determine if that confinement is appropriate. Hasan is accused of killing 13 people at Ft. Hood on November 5th.
LUI: Police in Italy say they have arrested two men with ties to last year's deadly attacks in Mumbai, India. A hundred and sixty people died in those attacks, carried out a year ago next week. Investigators are saying the two Pakistani men under arrest transferred money that was used to activate Internet phone lines for these attackers.
NGUYEN: Protests, they have erupted on the campus of UC Berkeley. Dozens of demonstrators swarmed an administration building yesterday and they're protesting a 32 percent increase in tuition over two years. At least 41 people were cited for trespassing.
LUI: The Senate is opening a rare Saturday session. They are working along with the rest of us here. It starts less than two hours from now, leading to a very critical vote tonight.
NGUYEN: That vote will determine whether debate, not discussing or anything like that the details of a plan already. This is just debate will go forward on a Democratic health care bill and Democratic leaders are working hard to be sure that they have enough votes to head off a filibuster.
CNN's Dana Bash has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Betty and Richard, one previously undeclared Democratic Senator, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, says despite his deep concerns about his party's health care bill, he will give them his vote to start debate tonight.
So the president can cross Ben Nelson off his list of potential Democratic senators who will put the brakes on his top priority, but a couple of others are still being publicly coy.
(voice-over): Behind the scenes, it's a Democratic scramble to secure 60 votes need to start the Senate health care debate.
SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D), MAJORITY WHIP: We're not assuming a thing. We're working hard to bring all Democrats together for the 60 votes necessary to proceed to this historic debate.
BASH: And all eyes are on one of the last Democratic hold outs, the senator inside this office, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. Phones are ringing off the hook, constituents trying to get through to influence her vote.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're getting a lot of people calling.
BASH: Lincoln holds the power to stop President Obama's top priority in its tracks or let it proceed. She's got a tough re- election battle next year in a state Obama lost in 2008 by 20 points and conservative voters now worry the health care bill spends too much and gives too much power to the government. Democratic leaders are well aware of her political pickle, but try to pressure her with this argument.
DURBIN: I would say to Senator Lincoln that I believe most of the people in Arkansas would be relieved and happy to see health care reform. I think the failure to pass a bill is not good for America. It isn't good for any of us in Congress or those standing for re- election.
BASH: Another Democratic senator who hasn't formally announced her vote is Mary Landrieu of Louisiana. Aides released these photos to CNN showing her working with staff, going through the 2,000-plus page health care bill. One thing she'll find is this, a sweetener Democratic leaders added to help persuade Landrieu, $100 million in Medicaid assistance she's been trying to get for her home state of Louisiana, still struggling from Katrina. Senator Landrieu says she's concerned about the cost of her party's health care bill and the fact that it includes the government- run health insurance option which she opposes. Still she seems to be leaning towards voting for starting debate. That is perhaps why Democratic leadership sources are moving from cautious optimism to confidence that they will get the 60 votes needed to start debate on the health care bill -- Richard and Betty.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LUI: All right. With debate pending on the Senate health care plan and the House version already passed, it's a good time to compare the two bills. Here to help us out is deputy political director Paul Steinhauser.
And Paul, what I got here, and I was looking at the page number specifically, this Senate bill is a good 100 pages more. It's like four reams I've got right here, that's the difference. Can you compare it for us. I know you've looked through both of them. It's a lot of paper right here.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: There is a lot of paper. I guess that's a big similarity in both bills. There are also some other important things that are similar in both bills. Both bills allow for these, call for these health insurance exchanges where Americans can kind of shop for their coverage, for the plans they want.
Both bills as you can see right here, they expand Medicaid, both subsidize insurance for low and some middle income families. Both cap out-of-pocket medical expenses and both require insurance companies to provide coverage for pre-existing conditions, which is something that a lot of people, I think, would be happy about.
And one of the things there, too, both ensure, both these bills Richard, call for people, mandate people to buy health insurance and that is an important thing.
LUI: OK, mandate on that. The public option, a lot of controversy, what have we got?
STEINHAUSER: A lot of controversy. We've been talking about the public option for months now it seems. And what is it? Again, it's a government health insurance plan that would compete with private health insurance. Democrats rave about it. Republicans rail against it, but there are differences between the two bills.
Both have it but take a look. The House plan has a public option for all states. The Senate plan allows for public option but Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader who put this bill together with other Democratic leadership, he will allow states to opt out. That plan may not fly in the House. The House plan may not fly in the Senate, so important differences here Richard.
LUI: The price tag we're all worried about how much it's going to cost us. STEINHAUSER: It's an expensive -- both bills are expensive, both the leadership in both Houses say pay for each other. The House bill is more expensive, It's about $200 billion more, $1.1 trillion, the health bill is under $900 billion. How do they pay for it? Here's the difference as well.
Take a look at this graphic we put together and it really shows the differences between the two. In the Senate, there is a tax on those high-end insurance plans, those so-called Cadillac plans. That may be a problem in the House because House Democratic leaders say that kind of tax may impact a lot of middle class Americans. In the House bill, there's a tax on the wealthiest Americans. That's probably not going to fly in the Senate Richard.
LUI: And Paul, this could sway votes one way or the other and that's the issue of abortion. That came up during the House version.
STEINHAUSER: Yes, both versions, both bills have restrictions on abortion. The House bill is a little more restrictive in that it prevents any public funding whatsoever from going to provide for abortions but it goes a little further, the House bill in that it also says those exchanges, those health exchanges no, insurance there could pay for abortion. The Senate doesn't go as far. A big controversy, Richard.
LUI: OK, our storehouse of information, Paul Steinhauser is not going anywhere. He's going to be back in the next hour to tell us, can they get it done in the Senate tonight? He gives us a preview of what to watch out for that. Thanks again, Paul Steinhauser, deputy political director. Betty.
NGUYEN: Something that they're watching out for, a little bit of water, too much of it, folks. England has seen rain before but nothing like this and things are only supposed to get worse. We have the latest on the deadly flooding that is hitting London.
Also, she turns books into best sellers, yes and she goes by one word, Oprah. She also gives away cars but this billionaire says the time for talk, that is coming to an end.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LUI: We've been talking about trouble and weather in the northwest. There's trouble in weather when we go to England. There's been a death because of flooding there.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, in Chicago, it was a tearful Oprah Winfrey as she told her audience that she is ending the program that made her a billionaire. So the last broadcast, it will be September 9th, 2011.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OPRAH WINFREY, TV TALK SHOW HOST: After much prayer and months of careful thought, I've decided that next season, season 25, will be the last season of the "Oprah Winfrey Show." These years with you, our viewers, have enriched my life beyond all measure and you all have graciously invited me into your living rooms, into your kitchens and into your lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LUI: So 25 years on TV has made Oprah certainly a cultural force and a mega brand, everybody knows her name. CNN's Tom Foreman takes a look at that for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The show became an institution.
WINFREY: I'm Oprah Winfrey, and welcome to the very first national "Oprah Winfrey Show! "
FOREMAN: The host one of the world's most influential people, began on local TV in Chicago, grew into a media empire, a phenomenon of empowerment, entertainment and a whole lot more. For the last 23 years, Oprah Winfrey has made news, made history, and presided over some of the most famous moments ever broadcast.
It's impossible to list them all here but we've chosen a few that have made a lasting impression, like this one, her 1993 interview with Michael Jackson at his Neverland ranch. She said it was like meeting the Wizard of Oz.
WINFREY: This is the most exciting interview I'd ever done and certainly was going to be the most watched interview I'd ever done.
FOREMAN: Oprah's encounter with Jackson friend Elizabeth Taylor did not fare as well. Oprah called it one of her worst interviews. Right before it began Oprah said the legendary actress asked her not to bring up any of her relationships. Stars flock to Oprah to talk, to plug their movies and in Tom Cruise's case, to get weird.
WINFREY: I've never seen you like this.
FOREMAN: That's the couch jumping incident from 2005. Cruise went overboard, expressing his love for then girlfriend Katie Holmes. It's a clip that has been seen countless times and so has this one. The start of season 19, when, to the surprise of everyone, Oprah handed out presents to her audience members, each one of them, the keys to their very own new car. As we have seen, she can be incredibly generous and profoundly moving, breaking down on camera.
Oprah is a self-made success story. "Forbes" ranks her among the wealthiest people on the planet says she is worth $2.5 billion. She's also donated $40 million to create two girls' schools in South Africa and dozens of other schools through her angel network have been built around the world. The network has also helped build and restore hundreds of homes in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. She's also shared personal battles especially with her weight. In 1988 she wheeled out 67 pounds of fat, that's how much weight she lost back then. Many women followed her lead and went on diets. Since then, she's continued struggling and it's always center stage.
There are a lot of firsts for Oprah. 1996, "Deep End of the Ocean" was chosen as her first book club choice. Her book club has motivated millions of people to read since and helped sell millions of books. It's also given us another memorable moment when she confronted author James Frey after recommending his book "A Million Little Pieces," a memoir filled with fiction.
From the big hair to the big interviews to the big heart, to the big difference she has made in so many people's lives, now Oprah is saying good-bye. In an interview with "60 Minutes" back when it all started, Oprah said what matters isn't longevity.
WINFREY: It will do well.
MIKE WALLACE, 60 MINUTES: And if it doesn't?
WINFREY: And if it doesn't, I will still do well. I will do well because I'm not defined by a show. I think we are defined by the way we treat ourselves and the way we treat other people.
FOREMAN: Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Not defined by a show. She has definitely defined herself out there. People around the world know the Oprah name. They know who she is and what she's done not only in this country but in Africa, building that school for girls over there, 25 years. She says the perfect time to come to an end.
LUI: But it's not really good-bye. It's really hello, her new network.
NGUYEN: Which starts the same year that the "Oprah Winfrey Show" ends. So there's a lot of speculation out there, is she just moving her show to her own network?
LUI: Could be a branding move. She's not, definitely not a dumb person.
NGUYEN: No, no, no, very smart businesswoman. It's going to be interesting to see what transpires here. But what's about to transpire right now is your top stories.
LUI: That's right, the Senate reconvenes next hour for a rare Saturday session with the future of health care reform at stake. Senators plan to vote tonight on whether to continue debate on the Democrats bill. If the vote passes here, debate would resume after the Thanksgiving recess and could go on for weeks. NGUYEN: In a rare move, a hearing for the Ft. Hood shooting suspect is scheduled to take place today right in his hospital room. Major Nidal Hasan has been placed in pretrial confinement at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Today's hearing will determine if that confinement is appropriate. Hasan is accused of killing 13 people at Ft. Hood on November 5th I should say.
LUI: The heads of the Catholic and Anglican churches are coming together today. Pope Benedict is meeting with the archbishop of Canterbury, (INAUDIBLE) Williams. Tension is rising between those two churches. Recently, the Catholic church said it would start accepting Anglican clergymen who are unsatisfied with their own church.
NGUYEN: Unemployment rates on the rise but there may be a bright spot in the overall picture. We're going to take a look at how many states added jobs in October.
LUI: Good news, good news.
And have you curled up with a good credit card contract lately?
NGUYEN: It's long enough, isn't it?
LUI: I don't know if you want to do that, though. It's not the easiest piece of read to get through is what Betty is intimating. But one man has a plan to keep it simple for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right, well more states they are seeing their unemployment numbers rise and those jobless numbers were up in 29 states last month, compared with just 23 states in September. Thirteen states now have unemployment rates over the national average, with its 10.2 percent.
Now, here is who has it the worst, Michigan at 15.1 percent, then Nevada, Rhode Island and California, but there is a ray of hope, even for two of the hardest-hit states. The Labor Department says 28 states actually added jobs last month and that includes both Michigan and California.
LUI: Have you ever tried to read all the way through a credit card contract? It's enough to give you a headache. Who wants to do that? One man has a plan to cut down the contract to just one page but as our Jessica Yellin reports for us, the credit card companies aren't buying that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Americans swipe their credit cards 58 million times a day. But how many cardholders actually understand what they've signed up for? Some in Congress are trying to get rid of the fine print in contracts like this one. Can you tell me what the annual percentage rate is, what the interest is?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I haven't a clue. Doesn't say.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You'd have to give me about an hour, but at the end of the hour I would say no.
YELLIN: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's too much gobbledygook.
YELLIN: To test the point, we sat down to read one. So how long did it take? Stay tuned. Alan Siegel says it doesn't have to be this way. His company specializes in contract simplification. They've done it for the Internal Revenue Service, major banks and insurance companies.
ALAN SIEGEL, SIEGEL GATE (ph) STRATEGIC BRANDING COMPANY: It's designed to be readable and it's totally plain English, and we use personal pronouns instead of the party of the first part.
YELLIN: He says government regulators and credit card companies have both resisted simple contracts. Is it possible to have a credit card contract that anyone can understand?
SIEGEL: Absolutely.
YELLIN: How long does it have to be?
SIEGEL: I believe it can be on one side of one piece of paper.
YELLIN: In fact, he's created a sample, one page. Here's the interest rate. Here are the penalty fees. His testing shows a tenth grader could understand it. Have you shown this to any credit card companies?
SIEGEL: Yes.
YELLIN: And what do they say?
SIEGEL: Panicked.
YELLIN: Some in Congress think card companies have a stake in keeping their products and their contracts confusing and have proposed a new consumer protection agency that would work to make these agreements less complicated. The American Bankers Association is fighting it.
NESSA FEDDIS, AMERICAN BANKERS ASSN: There are other ways to address it rather than having to create an expensive, big bureaucracy.
YELLIN: Speaking for the credit card companies, she says government regulators are already working on streamlined new rules that will make credit card agreements clearer, but she insists credit card contracts can never be just one page. Blame the lawyers.
FEDDIS: Those contracts are based on lawsuits that have compelled them to use certain terms, certain words and to include certain information in order to have an enforceable contract. It's the nature of law.
YELLIN: Back to the current complicated contract. Authorization for to us collect the amount of a check electronically or -- took 10 minutes to read one page, an hour for the whole thing. No wonder so few of us know what we agreed to.
Jessica Yellin, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LUI: You know the Senate is working on a Saturday. They're beginning the battle over new health care reform bill but debate, it could be cut off before it even gets started here.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. The hot topic this week has been the new breast cancer screening recommendations. We are going to talk about that because according to a new task force report, most women should start mammograms at age 50 rather than 40 which was previously recommended. So some women out there are simply outraged. Others are just confused.
So joining us this morning to just break through all of this is a doctor that will be answering your questions live, because we're donating our 9:00 a.m. half hour to health care and we need you to send your questions in right now. You can go to my blog at cnn.com/betty or you can go to my Twitter and Facebook pages. We want your questions about the new mammogram recommendations because we will be taking them to a doctor live on this show at the top of the hour.
LUI: Take a look at this, Reynolds Wolf, CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well hello and good morning on this Saturday, everybody. Thanks for joining us. I'm Betty Nguyen.
LUI: Yes and getting out of bed right now 8:30 in the morning.
NGUYEN: Yes, hey you got up out of bed early to join us too. Thank you.
LUI: Anything to work with you, Betty.
Yes, I'm Richard Lui in for T.J. Holmes on this Saturday. Thanks for starting your day with us.
NGUYEN: Let's get right to it. Here are the top stories that we're following for you right now. Check this out, northern China rescuers are searching for at least 66 people who are trapped after an explosion at a coal mine earlier this morning; 42 others were killed.
LUI: President Obama using his weekly address to defend his recent trip to Asia. Critics are saying he returned home without any concrete results but the president says the U.S. economy was on his mind the entire time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARRACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I spoke with leaders in every nation I visited about what we can do to sustain this economic recovery and bring back jobs and prosperity for our people; a task I will continue to focus on relentlessly in the weeks and months ahead.
This recession has taught us that we can't return to a situation where America's economic growth is fueled by consumers who take out more and more debt. In order to keep growing we need to spend less, save more, and get our federal deficit under control.
We also need to place a greater emphasis on exports so that we can build, produce and sell to other nations, exports that can help create new jobs at home and raise living standards throughout the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LUI: The president is also promoting a White House jobs summit next month. He's inviting financial experts and business leaders to that.
NGUYEN: Well, in just over an hour, the senate reconvenes to take up health care reform and the rare Saturday session will end with a vote tonight on whether to move forward with debate on the Democratic bill.
Now, Democratic leaders they are working to get 60 votes supporting that procedural move which would prevent a filibuster.
LUI: So the White House is in a wait and see mode right now because of what Betty was just talking about standing by as the Senate works today on its version of health care reform. President Obama has said he wants to sign a bill before the end of the year.
CNN's Kate Bolduan joins us live this morning from the White House.
Kate, good morning to you. So is the president a little optimistic? There are five weeks left in this year and getting that health care overhaul done?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, simply yes, he is optimistic. I mean, while the president is probably still fighting off a little bit of jet lag this morning coming off of his trip to Asia he does return to a full plate of work. And as we've been talking about, health care is one of the items topping that list.
The White House has said -- has continued to say that they want a health care bill, a final bill on the president's desk by the end of the year. But it is very unclear if Congress will be able to pull that off as we see time ticking away and the calendar continuing to move on to the next month.
But in an interview with CNN last week, the president says he is optimistic that Congress will succeed in passing a health care overhaul.
Listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I remain confident that we are going to get this done and we're going to have a bill that reduces our deficit, bends the cost curve, covers millions of people who don't have health insurance right now and for people who do have health insurance makes their insurance more secure. I'm absolutely confident that we're going to get that done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: And to pile on the pressure just a little bit more the White House released a statement of administration policy last night that's basically making clear what the president's position is and I'll read it to you just in part. I don't think we have a graphic to put up on screen. But I want to read that you.
It says in part "The administration strongly supports senate passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which represents a critical milestone in the effort to reform our health care system."
So you see that the White House is really putting out there that they -- they support it and they are ready to sign a bill and make it into law if it comes their way.
Now the White House is obviously keeping its eye on the end game of getting final passage. But as we've been talking about all eyes remain on Capitol Hill today but first the Congress needs to take up the big question of shall we begin even debating the question.
LUI: Now Kate, you've been reporting on two big bucket issues here from the White House, one is what you're just talking about, this health care reform.
The other one, of course, is Afghanistan. That's been debated obviously for months, too. Any word in terms of announcement on whether he will be asking to add more troops?
BOLDUAN: A very serious decision that the president is facing. What I'm told by an administration official here is that the latest guidance is that the president will not make his announcement on the new comprehensive strategy in Afghanistan until after Thanksgiving. That's the latest guidance we have.
We do know that the president has said it's in the coming several weeks. But in an interview with CNN last week the president did say that he is very close to making his decision.
LUI: All right, Kate Bolduan at the White House. Two big issues, thank you for the latest on that.
NGUYEN: Well, I'm not sure if you've seen this story but boy it's gotten a lot of talk. And the question is this, was it just cutting in line or something much more? A controversial court case involving accusations of racism ends with a plea deal.
And opening your home and your heart to children in need -- there she is -- actress Victoria Rowell joins us with more on National Adoption Day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Welcome back.
You know while many of you may know an actress and award winning actress I should say as well, Victoria Rowell, she's an author, she's so many different things from television to movies. Well, her other passion is being an advocate for foster children and she is the spokeswoman for National Adoption Day, which is today. And she joins us now here to talk about something that is very important to her.
VICTORIA ROWELL, ACTRESS/AUTHOR: Thank you.
NGUYEN: You, in fact, are the National spokesperson for this.
ROWELL: Yes.
NGUYEN: Tell us, many people do know your story for those who don't why this is so important to you.
ROWELL: Thank you. I represent the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Casey Family Services. It's very important to me. I spent 18 years in the foster care system. I had an extraordinary journey with a primary foster parent, Agatha Armstead (ph) who introduced me not only to the discipline of being a farmer in Maine but also the discipline of classical ballet, which was my gateway into the world as an independent, emancipating out of foster care with American Ballet Theater.
NGUYEN: And from there you've gone on to such a wonderful career but there are so many children that want to find...
ROWELL: Yes.
NGUYEN: ... a family.
ROWELL: Yes.
NGUYEN: A loving family...
ROWELL: Yes.
NGUYEN: ... and today is National Adoption Day.
How exactly does that work? I mean, how many adoptions you're at least hoping to get done today?
ROWELL: Well, we're hoping for 4,500 adoptions...
NGUYEN: That's great.
ROWELL: ... to be confirmed today, November 21st. For the past ten years, we have been performing these adoptions across the country, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam. 30,000 have been executed over the past ten years; we will perform 25 to 30 adoptions today at the Fulton County Courthouse right here in Atlanta.
NGUYEN: Here in Georgia, yes.
ROWELL: Yes, it's going to be great.
NGUYEN: And you know what, well, I was just reading, too, on a CNN Wire that says Americans lead the world in adoptions; 83,000 last year both at home and abroad.
But a lot of people when they think about adoptions they think it's a lengthy process, there's a drawn out one, that's very difficult. Can you dispel some of that?
ROWELL: Well, I want to encourage our viewers to logon to fosteringconnectionsact.org. It's very important. It's a new piece of legislation just a year old that underscores the importance of education, health care, also kinship care. A lot of grandparents are raising a second and third generation of children and this helps keep the child that is going to be adopted in the community, not taken away from their schools, their faith-based groups, their family.
It can be lengthy hence the importance of National Adoption Day so that we cut through all the bureaucracy and get these children adopted, and be placed with a forever family.
NGUYEN: Right, into good homes.
ROWELL: We have a disproportionate number...
NGUYEN: There are so many children who face so many difficulties, correct?
ROWELL: Absolutely and we have a disproportionate number of African-American children, African-American boys in care. We need to find forever families. And we also want to laud the families that not only take in a child but sometimes a pregnant teen and obviously that baby. We do have those adoptive families.
And I want to thank actually Nancy Grace for really shining a light on the very difficult cases that we face in foster care and adoption and neglected and exploited children.
NGUYEN: And unfortunately we have so many stories of exploited children in the news and if you could just find a good home for them, it's going to make a world of difference. I want to say very congratulations to you, recently appointed to the African-American Studies Advisory Board at Princeton University.
ROWELL: At Princeton University.
NGUYEN: No.
ROWELL: Yes, I'm very, very excited about that.
NGUYEN: Congratulations on that. You got a lot on your plate. You've got a new book coming out.
ROWELL: "Secrets of a Soap Opera Diva" in May.
NGUYEN: Diva, I love it.
ROWELL: Yes.
NGUYEN: And that's during an important month.
ROWELL: That's during National Foster Care Awareness month. We have 513,000 foster children in the nation today. We have about 129,000 children available for adoption in the country. But I must say this Obama administration has really underscored the importance of National Adoption Day, celebrating adoption day at the White House...
NGUYEN: Yes.
ROWELL: ... and also Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who you know has spent 30 years in child welfare also has given us a tremendous amount of coverage over the years on the importance of permanency for children.
NGUYEN: Well, you've done your part as well as you are today with us on this National Adoption Day.
ROWELL: Thank you.
NGUYEN: Thanks so much for your time. We always love you coming out.
ROWELL: I love coming out.
NGUYEN: Good, well come on back.
ROWELL: Ok.
NGUYEN: Richard, she's great.
LUI: She's awesome, a great story. Thanks, Betty.
You know it started with cutting in line; it ends with a plea agreement. Heather Ellis was arrested for causing a scene in a Wal- Mart but she accepted a plea bargain to end that trial. Ellis agreed to probation and anger management classes but she claims police only came down on her so hard because she's African-American.
Funeral services are being held today for a 26-year-old killed in an office shooting in Orlando. Family, friends and co-workers of Otis Beckford will gather in West Palm Beach. Beckford was the only fatality in the shooting earlier this month. Five others were wounded in that. The former employee of the engineer firm where Beckford worked now faces charges of murder and attempted murder.
And listen up to this one, Michael Jackson fans now is your chance to own his iconic glove from his first moonwalk dance in 1983, it will be auctioned off today in New York along with other MJ memorabilia. The glove with all of its rhinestones is estimated to be worth as much as $60,000. How about that?
A game tradition, a game day tradition that could be in jeopardy; why the NFL wants to crackdown on tailgating.
And black Friday, dark secrets; it should be a TV movie or a book title. But no, it's the retail reality. You've got to be ready for, when you hit the stores next week.
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LUI: Tailgating, it's a tradition almost as old as football itself but these days the food and fun could be in jeopardy. Our sports business analyst Rick Horrow is here to tell us why. Good morning, Rick.
A lot of folks are riled up about this, because they love their tailgating but the argument, is it family safe versus a money grab by NFL, right?
RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Very astute. The NFL has about a 2 percent reduction of tenants this year but about 15 percent more are watching on TV. Less are going, more are watching. The bottom line is there needs to be a fan-friendly experience and you've got to be able to make some dollars.
So the NFL recommends having tailgates start only three and a half hours before the game. Landshark stadium a good example; they sold the name (ph) to a beer company but Steven Ross is focusing on family friendly experiences with celebrities and the like.
Patriots Place in Boston where you come early, you go to the games, to the restaurants outside. You got to make sure it's safe and you got to make sure it's entertaining, even if it means less money because it's going to be more money in the long run.
LUI: Rick, you know, I thought I was reading extra credit card deal here because there are 43 recommendations that the NFL's put out. I mean credit card, you know, you have these credit card stipulations, it's that long.
HORROW: It's that long, let's read all 43, cut into the 9:00 hour. But here's the bottom line. The tailgating issue we talked about in Kansas City and Tampa Bay are doing that.
LUI: Right.
HORROW: But also 20-ounce beer limits, and only two per customer, that's happening. Anonymous texting where people in the stands can say go over to this section there's some raucous behavior, checkpoints for DUIs, random policemen, there are also security measures, all to guarantee that fans have a safe and comfortable experience at these games.
LUI: Like you said I can see debates on each one of the issues that you just brought up going back and forth in that, Rick. The question is you know, the list is long. Many of the items you just listed are debatable. How seriously are they taking this right now, the NFL?
HORROW: Well, the NFL is taking it incredibly seriously. Just ask Commissioner Goodell, he actually sits outside in the stands at all the venues he goes to for some of the game to make sure he can monitor fan behavior himself.
And the NFL has caused nearly 4,000 people to be ejected from games and nearly 1,000 to be arrested during these games to send a message, the same number about as last year but they are serious. By the way, one fan said it best, this is not about tailgating. This is about irresponsible behavior.
And as we get into Thanksgiving week and turkey day and the NFL still being the juggernaut that it is, we've got to make sure that fans are treated not just to good football but safe and entertaining football like it's happening at Landshark Stadium in Miami as I told you about earlier.
LUI: Rick we got to go. You give it a thumbs up or thumbs down?
There you go. You give it a thumbs up.
All right. Rick Horrow, business analyst on sports, thank you so much.
HORROW: Yes, sir.
NGUYEN: Getting the most out of the sales, the day after Thanksgiving where everyone just goes to the stores in lines? We're going to show you where the deals are and how much you actually can save.
Also in ten minutes we're talking health care: pap tests, mammograms. Everything that we thought we knew about them is getting changed so time for some advice that we can all live with. The doctor takes your questions, so you have to e-mail them to me at cnn.com/betty or go to my Facebook and Twitter pages.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LUI: Well, you know, the busiest -- how's it going there Betty?
NGUYEN: Hello. How are you doing?
LUI: I just though I'd say hello to you...
NGUYEN: That's all right.
LUI: Before we get caught here.
NGUYEN: Well, I'm glad you did.
LUI: Yes. Right.
The busiest shopping season we'll have to talk about. And it is here. A lot of folks are already scoping out the best deals ahead of Black Friday.
NGUYEN: You know, it's kind of like a sport. People get geared up for the camp out and whatnot.
So where can you get the most for your money? Well, we're going to bring in our tech expert Mario Armstrong who joins us now from Washington. There's a lot of pressure, my man, because these deals are out there and people are looking to you to help them find the best deals of the season. What are they and where are they?
MARIO ARMSTRONG, TECHNOLOGY COMMENTATOR AND JOURNALIST: Lui and Betty I have to tell you. Can you believe this? Three percent of Americans already have their holiday shopping done.
NGUYEN: Really? Just 3 percent.
ARMSTRONG: Yes. That's according to consumer reports.
NGUYEN: They did that the day after Christmas when they didn't want those gifts.
ARMSTRONG: It's a re-gifting there.
NGUYEN: Right.
ARMSTRONG: Yes. But there are so many deals this year and everything from HD television sets is a big category, computers are another big category. You're seeing a lot of significant discounts and deals. I'm talking $200, $300, $400; in some cases $500 and more on some of the big ticket items. So some real significant deals.
LUI: All right. So Black Friday, Mario, the day after Thanksgiving; are we going to see more deals on that day?
ARMSTRONG: On the actual Black Friday day?
LUI: Yes.
NGUYEN: Yes.
ARMSTRONG: Absolutely you're going to see that.
What's going on right now is that they're trying to build a little bit of hype so you can do some stuff online right now and find some great deals. There's Web sites like couponcraze.com, many people use this site it's been around since the year 2000, it's totally legit and they have valid coupon codes. And it has about 10,000 retailers on this site.
One word of caution, when you use this site make sure that if you do plug in a coupon code, make sure you do it before you end the transaction, so that you can get that significant savings. That's a little heads up but yes, definitely people will be still going to the stores this year.
NGUYEN: No doubt and online as well. But look I really want to you break it down for us.
ARMSTRONG: Ok.
NGUYEN: Because so many times we see these phenomenal deals out there in the papers and whatnot.
ARMSTRONG: Right. Yes.
NGUYEN: But they're for say off brand products if you will.
ARMSTRONG: Right.
NGUYEN: So, is this a case where it's really a good deal or you're just getting what you pay for?
ARMSTRONG: Yes, you know, you have to watch the deals out there. You're so right. There's a 32-inch LCD TV people are going to be going nuts for, Betty; 32-inch LCD TV being marketed as $246.
NGUYEN: You're kidding me?
ARMSTRONG: It's not a good deal.
NGUYEN: Oh, it's not a good deal?
ARMSTRONG: It's not a good deal.
NGUYEN: Because it's not the best of brands or something like that right?
ARMSTRONG: That's right.
NGUYEN: Gotcha.
ARMSTRONG: Now if you're on a budget and still need this 32-inch TV I understand that. Economy rules; you got to vote with your purse.
NGUYEN: Right.
ARMSTRONG: I get that, but it's not a solid brand. So you do need to be...
NGUYEN: So you have to do your homework really; to know your brands and know what they're worth and kind of comparison shop.
ARMSTRONG: That's right. So you want to use these sites like couponcraze or you want to go things like bfads.net and look at some of these other sites. You want to go to places like newegg.com. These are all Web sites that can help you brows, do comparison shopping and find out what others are saying about specific products that they purchased as well.
One other key thing is never, ever, ever use a debit card for your online shopping.
NGUYEN: Why is that?
ARMSTRONG: Well, it doesn't have the same protections as a credit card.
LUI: Right.
ARMSTRONG: So and it has direct access to your bank account.
NGUYEN: All right.
ARMSTRONG: So with credit cards you have $50 bucks that you, you know, you have to...
NGUYEN: You have some protection too with that credit card as well.
ARMSTRONG: Exactly.
NGUYEN: All right Mario, you are not going anywhere. You're coming back actually in fact in our 10:00 a.m. Eastern hour to talk more about some of these new gadgets that are on the market.
ARMSTRONG: Oh, yes.
NGUYEN: I'm kind of a techie when it comes to that. I like the gadget. I don't know how to work them but I like them.
ARMSTRONG: Wait until you see what I have.
LUI: I'm with you.
ARMSTRONG: Wait until you see what I have.
NGUYEN: All right. You better bring it then.
ARMSTRONG: I'm going to bring it. I've got some great stuff.
LUI: Thank you, sir.
Talk about gadgets, what toys should you avoid this holiday season, by the way? Some of them can be gadgets. We have to be careful.
The group World against Toys Causing Harm released its annual list it includes a Disney rocket launcher they say could put in a situation your eye out. There's also a couple of action figures they say could cause head injuries if you're hit with them. You can see that full list at toysafety.org.
NGUYEN: Also a soldier spills the secret: his unit accused of violently taking the law into its own hands. We have a CNN Special Investigation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: A CNN Special Investigation, "KILLINGS AT THE CANAL: THE ARMY TAPES", it premieres tonight at 8:00 Eastern.
LUI: And Betty, it's a story about the murders of four Iraqi detainees by three decorated army sergeants at a canal in Baghdad. We have a preview for you here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSHUA HARTSON, SOLDIER: My first sergeant comes up to me and asked if I had a problem if we'd take care of them and I told him no.
ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: What do you think he meant by that?
HARTSON: To kill them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you shot his head, just say you shot him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is going to be ugly. Because it is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You wouldn't have so much questions in your mind right now if you didn't know what happened.
BOUDREAU: Did you ever think your husband was capable of killing like this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I didn't.
MICHAEL LEAHY, FORMER ARMY SERGEANT: I said honey, I'm going to tell you something, and I understand if you don't forgive me, but I'm not a good person.
BOUDREAU: Why didn't you report it right away?
JEFF CUNNINGHAM, FORMER SOLDIER: Fear.
DAVID COURT, ATTORNEY: If I were Sergeant Cunningham, I'd be worried that having broken the band of brothers, something might happen to me.
CUNNINGHAM: I did the right thing.
BOUDREAU: These men were convicted of premeditated murder.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
BOUDREAU: But you still call them heroes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course.
LEAHY: I'm not going to say I didn't hit him because I'm not sure anymore. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're saying you witnessed people taking those detainees out of the...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone has to articulate what the hell you did in the park next to the canal.
LEAH: I don't consider myself a murderer. I made a huge mistake in my life that I know I have to accept the consequences for.
CUNNINGHAM: I think a lot of soldiers were betrayed. I think the wrong thing was done for someone's ego.
LEAHY: I'm not a good person because I murdered someone in Iraq.
BOUDREAU: This is premeditated murder. You thought could you keep this a secret?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LUI: All right. CNN tonight, was it murder or battlefield justice? See what CNN uncovered, then decide for yourself "Killings at the Canal: The Army Tapes"; that's a CNN Special Investigation, CNN tonight and tomorrow night at 8:00 Eastern.
NGUYEN: From the CNN Center this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It's November 21st. Good morning everybody. Thanks for joining us. I'm Betty Nguyen.
LIU: Yes, as you get out of bed. I'm Richard Lui in for T.J. Holmes (INAUDIBLE) a good morning.
NGUYEN: A busy one.
LUI: Yes, lots of news to talk about today.
LUI: Still a lot to come. 9:00 a.m. right here in Atlanta, 8:00 a.m. in Madison, Wisconsin and 6:00 a.m. for people waking up in early parts of a snowy Seattle, shall we say. Thanks for starting your day with us.
NGUYEN: We know every Saturday morning at 9:00 we do focus solely on health care. So for the next 30 minutes we are going to tackle the mammogram controversy. A lot of people have been talking about it this week.
When should women get their first one and how often after that? In fact we have a doctor who will be here live on the set to answer your questions, so we need you to send them in to me. You can go to my Facebook page, my Twitter page or reach me at cnn.com/betty. Send your questions, because we will get answers for you today.
LUI: And some good responses so far they've been getting.
NGUYEN: Oh, yes. Lots of good questions.
LUI: Plus, you know it may seem like a show for women but men can get breast cancer as well. We're also discussing cervical cancer, a bit of controversy on that topic this week as well and when is the appropriate time for a young woman to get a Pap smear?
NGUYEN: All right. From there, we're going to take to you our top stories right now. Here's a check of them. The case against the Ft. Hood shooting suspect is moving forward. A hearing is being held today in Major Nidal Hasan's hospital room, of all places and this hearing is to determine whether Hasan's pre-trial confinement at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio is appropriate.
Hasan is accused of killing 13 people at Ft. Hood on November 5th. Hasan's attorney says his client is paralyzed from the waist down but the lawyer says that he has had coherent conversations with Hasan about the case.
LUI: Police in Italy say they've arrested two men with ties to last year's deadly attacks in Mumbai, India. 160 people died in those attacks carried out one year ago next week. Investigators say the two Pakistani men under arrest transferred money that was used to activate internet phone lines for the attackers.
NGUYEN: Well, this is a story that we are following very closely today, the gavel falls in Senate chambers about 45 minutes from now for an out of the ordinary Saturday session. A vote is scheduled for tonight on whether to continue debate on the Democrats' health care plan. 60 votes needed to block a filibuster. Republicans are united against the plan meaning Democratic leaders well, they will need all Democrats plus two independents to reach those 60 votes.
LUI: All right. Last Wednesday, the Senate after weeks of closed door bargaining unveiled its health care reform plan and here's a breakdown from what we can see so far. The estimated cost is $848 billion over the first 10 years. That would expand the health insurance coverage to 30 million more U.S. citizens and that means it would provide health insurance to 96 percent of the eligible population.
Now according to the Congressional Budget Office, the Senate plan would reduce the federal deficit by $130 billion over the course of 10 years. It would require individuals too, to buy health insurance but it would not mandate that all employers offer that health care insurance. OK for more on the political ramifications and if this can happen and how it might happen in terms of passing that Senate bill, let's bring in CNN's deputy political director Paul Steinhauser.
Paul, I know you've been all over this for the last bunch of months since we've been following. The magic number you've been telling us -- you and I talked last week, is 60, just to agree to start to debate. So which Democrats is the Senate majority leader most worried about right now. We were talking about Ben Nelson last Saturday.
STEINHAUSER: We were talking about a lot about Ben Nelson. There are three of them and they are all moderate Democrats. Ben Nelson showed his cards yesterday. He announced that we would vote in favor today of beginning debate. So I guess you can take Ben Nelson off the list. There's two others, though so we're not done yet.
Mary Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana, she has not shown her cards yet and the other lady who we are really keeping a lot of attention on. This is the person that Dana Bash, our senior congressional correspondent (INAUDIBLE) who covers the hill up there, they're going to be looking after this person. And that is Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas.
Blanche Lincoln has not shown her cards either. We do not know which way she's going to vote and you know what? She is up for re- election next year. It's going to be a tough re-election in a state Arkansas that Barack Obama lost by 20 points last year. So her votes on health care could be crucial to her re-election chances.
LUI: All right. So just looking at the Democrats here, Paul, they just might squeak by. We talked about the Republicans, is that even possible, any support from the other side of the aisle?
STEINHAUSER: Today, very, very doubtful. That would be a big surprise if any Republicans voted today. Remember when we talked about the Senate finance committee vote ...
LUI: Right.
STEINHAUSER: When they put their bill through, yes, there was one Republican on that committee, Olympia Snowe of Maine, who did vote in favor of that bill but today don't expect her or any other Republican to vote in favor.
LUI: OK. So they are voting on whether they should debate. Now, if that does happen, if they're able to muster that, what happens next? Does this mean it's most likely going to pass?
STEINHAUSER: Nope, this just means the debate begins. As you said, this is a vote to begin to talk about the bill, to officially talk about the bill. So what will happen next? Next they're going to take next week off. It's a holiday week for them, it's Thanksgiving.
When they come back November 30th and into December they'll begin to debate on the floor of the Senate this health care bill. There will be tons of amendments that will be voted on and then you would think maybe by the end of the month there would be a final vote on a Senate health care bill.
LUI: Intriguing. I mean, we talk about this, and the story continues to develop, of course, tonight is the big night at 8:00 p.m., we'll see what happens. Paul Steinhauser, our deputy political director, thank you so much.
STEINHAUSER: Thanks, Richard.
NGUYEN: Well, you know, there is still a whole lot of outrage and really confusion over these new recommendations on mammograms. We have a doctor who will be here to take your questions to help sort it all out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Welcome back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Got some great things to share with you, that is if you're liking rain. If you don't like rain not going to be a happy camper especially in parts of the Gulf Coast. Take a look at this. We've got this big area of low pressure that's going to bring scattered showers in the Big Easy back over to Dallas, into Houston, and could cause some delays later on today.
Meanwhile back on to the Pacific Northwest heavy snowfall over a foot in some places in the Cascades, the Olympic mountains, maybe even as far south as parts of the Sierra Nevada, could be rough stuff there. But when you get back to the Great Lakes, it's going to be picture perfect, especially in a place like say Ann Arbor, for the Ohio State Michigan game.
Our photojournalist Scott who is over there as a Michigan Wolverine fan. We love him anyway. Should be pretty good there today and pretty nice for the Eastern seaboard. High temperatures today very quickly. If you're going outside say for Boston and New York, highs in the 50s. 61 in Atlanta, and 63 in Las Vegas. That is a look at your forecast.
I'm Reynolds Wolf here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I love you Scott, good guy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LUI: A government panel opened up a hornet's nest of controversy with new guidelines on mammograms, went against previous recommendations by saying women in their 40s do not need to get routine checks. They also said breast self-exams are pretty much a waste of time.
CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The government might say routine mammograms are unnecessary for women in their 40s, but Sarah Fote would beg to differ. A routine mammogram caught her breast cancer when she was 42.
SARAH FOTE: I think it saved my life because my cancer was detected earlier.
COHEN: She says she's horrified by the new recommendations.
FOTE: It's foolhardy and I think you're playing with people's lives.
COHEN: Many experts agree with her. The American Cancer Society, the American Society for Clinical Oncology, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the Patient Advocate Foundation all disagree with the government and say women in their 40s should get mammograms. The government task force agrees that mammograms do catch cancer in women in their 40s. In fact 15 percent of cancers in women that age are detected thanks to mammograms. But they also say there are downsides to mammograms. Women get exposed to small amounts of radiation year after year plus there are lots of false positives that make women worry unnecessarily and prompt biopsies that aren't needed. Lucy Marion is on the government task force that put out the recommendations.
(on camera): But what do you say to a woman who says a mammogram saved my life, in my 40s.
LUCY MARION, U.S. PREVENTIVE SERVICES TASK FORCE: Well, what do I say to the woman who called me today and said thank goodness for the new guidelines because I've had so many unnecessary biopsies and they've been painful and they've been costly. I've had to pay for some of them out-of-pocket and every time it was benign.
COHEN: So for years we've been telling women get your mammograms starting at age 40. So you think we were wrong all those years?
MARION: I think that we probably were overzealous, but we weren't wrong based on what we had at that time. It was not wrong at the time.
COHEN (voice-over): Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All right. The panel that issued those new guidelines included no oncologists. In fact there was so much confusion that Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius even issued a statement. She said "first and foremost, talk to your doctor about what is best for you."
So we wanted to help you cut through that confusion this morning and in fact we've brought a doctor on the show, that being Dr. Donna Plecha to join us. She is a board-certified radiologist specializing in mammography. She is also director of breast imaging at University Hospital Case Medical Center in Cleveland.
And doctor, we really appreciate you coming on today. Let's start out with some of the questions that we've gotten in, and the first one. I want to ask you about this, in fact let me start with this, just break it down. With these new guidelines, what is your take on it? At 50, at 40, the self-breast exams useless? I mean what do you make of all of this?
DR. DONNA PLECHA, DIR. OF BREAST IMAGING UH CASE MEDICAL CENTER: Well, our stance here is that we agree with the American Cancer Society and we would continue with the American Cancer Society guidelines because we feel it's important for women between the ages of 40 and 50 to get their screening mammograms, and self-breast exam is free, basically and a lot of patients do find their own breast cancers. So we do encourage patients to do self-breast exams.
NGUYEN: So you're saying stick with the recommended guidelines that we had before this new set of them came out?
PLECHA: We do. Because the American Cancer Society looked at a lot of the same information that this new panel did, and they came out with the guidelines for yearly screening between the ages of 40 and 50. The other thing that has come out since in the most recent past, since 2005 is that digital mammography has actually made a lot of strides in patients between the ages of 40 and 50.
If you look at that study the three groups of women that were helped by digital mammography are patients under the age of 50, patients with very dense breasts and patients who are peri and pre- menopausal. So we do recommend that those patients do get their yearly screening mammograms.
NGUYEN: All right. I got some questions from my blog, this first one comes in saying, "Am I going to be denied access to a mammogram due to my age? I thought the point of breast cancer awareness was early detection and I am very disappointed that women are being discouraged from checkups that could save of their life." So could she possibly be denied access to a mammogram because of her age?
PLECHA: That's a really good question. And I think at this time that probably not because most insurance companies have come out and said they would not change what they're paying for now and they are covering yearly mammography for patients over the age of 40 and also since Secretary Sebelius came out this week and did say just continue doing what you've been doing, and most insurance companies are doing that. I think at this time that shouldn't be a problem.
NGUYEN: All right.
PLECHA: But in the near future, I can't predict the future.
NGUYEN: No one can.
PLECHA: Right.
NGUYEN: But we appreciate you trying a little bit here today on the show. Number two, this question coming in saying "I'm 29 and my dad had breast cancer about 15 years ago." This from Arlene. So her question is, "when should I begin mammograms?"
PLECHA: Well, that's a really good question and it may depend on when her dad was diagnosed but the fact that her father was diagnosed with breast cancer puts her at a much higher risk so I think the biggest thing or the best thing she needs to do for herself to self- advocate for herself is to talk to her doctor and she probably needs to go to a genetic counselor.
And they have to take a very thorough family history. Look at all of her risk factors and she is probably someone that would not only benefit from earlier breast cancer screening, with mammography but she would probably also benefit for screening with MRI. Because those patients who are younger who are at very high risk would benefit from that as well. So I think getting genetic counseling would be the first step for her. NGUYEN: OK. Very, very good. And then, we've got this one, maybe some people don't know about this, so I want you to get through it as best as you possibly can.
PLECHA: OK.
NGUYEN: Dr. Allan Lieberman writes "Why is no one talking about the use of breast thermography, which requires no compression or radiation and which is over 90 percent sensitive and specific?" Can you explain that? You know, a little bit more in case people don't really know about this.
PLECHA: Well, breast thermography is a newer technology that hasn't really been tested enough for anyone to come out and recommend it. It is a very sensitive exam but it is not a very specific exam. It does show basically looking for heat coming out of the breast and the idea is that breast cancer may show more heat coming out of the breast, but we don't recommend or advocate that, because it hasn't been tested enough for us to recommend that.
NGUYEN: Gotcha. All right.
PLECHA: But there are other things coming out in the future such as tomography of the breast, which is another way of looking at the breast with similar to mammography but looking at it almost like a CT scan and slicing the breast into thin sections. So that, we're hoping in the future will actually decrease the callback rates from mammography and hopefully make mammography a more specific effective exam and less biopsies and less unnecessary biopsies in the future. So we are looking at trying to improve screening for breast cancer.
NGUYEN: All right. Doctor, I'm going to ask you to stand by.
PLECHA: OK.
NGUYEN: We're going to take a quick break and we're going to come back. We have a lot more questions for you. So stay with us. You're watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LUI: OK. We got your top stories we're watching for you this hour on CNN.
60 is the magic number for Senate Democratic leaders. The Senate resumes health care discussions in about half an hour with a scheduled vote tonight on whether to continue debate, this on a Saturday. 60 votes are needed to head off a filibuster there. The key votes could be from two Democratic moderates who have raised concerns about the cost and scope of the bill.
And then at least 42 people are dead, 66 others remain trapped underground after an early morning explosion at a coal mine in northern China. Crews are on the scene right now trying to rescue those workers, and officials say the blast may have been caused by a gas buildup there. Plus a court hearing in a hospital room? A pre-trial review takes place today in the case against the accused Ft. Hood shooter. This hearing is to determine whether Major Nidal Hasan's confinement at Brooke Army Medical Center is appropriate. Hasan is paralyzed after being shot by Ft. Hood's police force. Hasan is accused in the killings of 13 people.
NGUYEN: All right. So we've been talking this morning about the new government guidelines on mammograms. Experts like the American Cancer Society say the new recommendations are a mistake. A lot of women out there simply confused by all of this.
So we are joined again by Dr. Donna Plecha, the director of breast imaging at University Hospital Case Medical Center in Cleveland and not only are we talking mammograms but these new guidelines also said that the self-breast exams are useless. What do you say about that? Is that true?
PLECHA: I really don't agree with that at all. I think that women really need to concentrate on what their breasts feel like. Know what your breast feels like so that when something new pops up, you can go to your doctor immediately, and get it evaluated. I think that a lot of breast cancers have been picked up that way, and there's no reason not to know what your breast feels like, and to be a self- advocate.
NGUYEN: All right. Let's get to some of the questions that are coming in to CNN.
PLECHA: OK.
NGUYEN: This from my blog. This person says "I'm very confused about the new recommendations, especially because some people say to follow the new guidelines and some people say we shouldn't. What do we really need to do?" This comes from Lorraine and the other question a lot of women already had those mammograms scheduled. Should they cancel it or should they go forth with it?
PLECHA: Well, my recommendation would be to talk to your doctor, but I would recommend that you do still get your yearly screening mammograms. I think there's plenty of data out there that says that mammograms save lives, and the panel came out and agreed with that, but didn't think that it saved enough lives to warrant the screening mammograms, which I disagree with.
They also didn't look at the morbidity of breast cancer. They just looked at the mortality of breast cancer and I think finding breast cancer early it's much easier to treat in early stage breast cancer than it is once the breast cancer has come into a later stage.
NGUYEN: No doubt. All right. I want to get one more question in. And this one says "Wouldn't MRI screenings be more cost-effective in the long-term, given the fact that would you do away with the many false positives and needless biopsies?" This coming from Maryann.
PLECHA: That is a really good question. I get that question a lot. Actually MRI is a much more sensitive exam than mammography but it isn't quite as specific in some instances. You can find a lot of benign things on MRI and actually may end up with more unnecessary biopsies than mammography and I still think that MRI would be less cost-effective in that respect.
NGUYEN: All right. Dr. Donna Plecha, thanks so much ...
PLECHA: Thank you.
NGUYEN: ...for answering all of these questions that we've had today. So many more to but you say stick with the old guidelines.
PLECHA: Yes.
NGUYEN: Don't worry too much about it. Know your breasts. Do your self exam and move forth. All right. We appreciate it.
PLECHA: Thank you.
NGUYEN: Also in the news, though, we've been talking about these new guidelines on mammograms. Well, now there are new recommendations on cervical cancer screenings and that is changing as well. We're going to break through all of that for you and bring you the latest. You're watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
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LUI: We have been answering your questions about the new mammogram guidelines controversial as they are, but that was not the only health question for women this week, Betty.
NGUYEN: No, there's also new guidelines on cervical cancer screenings that now say that you need them less often and not until you're 21. CNN's Brooke Baldwin has more on these controversies.
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BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a single week two sweeping changes recommended for women and health care. Two medical panels calling for a delayed start and reduced frequency of screenings for both breast and cervical cancer.
DR. SHARMILA MAKHIJA, EMORY DIR. GYNECOLOGICAL ONCOLOGY: Actually I was kind of relieved to see these new guidelines.
BALDWIN: While some patients and doctors may feel fewer tests are counter intuitive to good health, Emory University's Dr. Sharmial Makhija says it's time for a culture change.
MAKHIJA: You know, I did try actually to tell patients oh you don't need to come in every year, I'll see you in two years and they don't like that.
BALDWIN (on camera): They don't like that.
MAKHIJA: They don't like that. It makes them nervous. BALDWIN (voice-over): When it comes to cervical cancer screenings, Dr. Makhija agrees that less is more. The American Cancer Society estimates there will be 11,270 new cases of cervical cancer this year, but of that number, a tiny fraction will be girls younger than 21. That is good news according to the society's chief medical officer and a reason for doctors to start testing more conservatively.
DR. OTIS BRAWLEY, AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: Cancer control is a relatively new science. As that science evolves, doctors are going to become much more aware that the science exists, and perhaps a little bit more conservative in their use of screening.
BALDWIN: White Dr. Otis Brawley says doctors may now test less frequently for cervical cancer he disagrees with reducing the frequency of mammograms and he emphasizes the need for additional screenings for colon cancer in men and women.
BRAWLEY: The major problem in the United States is really more than half of people who should be getting that screen for which there's no question it reduces risk of death. More than half of people should be getting that screen aren't getting any kind of screen.
BALDWIN: Meanwhile, Dr. Makhija is hopeful these new guideline will encourage dialogue between patients and doctors and lead to a more holistic approach.
MAKHIJA: It's really changing the way we look at doing a GYN exam on a patient. The health care of a woman, it's not so generalized, it's really more focused on each individual patient, which is really I think welcome change for both the patient and the physician.
BALDWIN: Brooke Baldwin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LUI: OK. A lot happening on this Saturday morning. We're waiting to see what the Senate does with their version of the health care bill. We expect them to vote on whether just to debate ...
NGUYEN: To debate it.
LUI: We're following that this morning.
NGUYEN: It's an important though. Lots more to come. "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" with Gerri Willis starts right now.
