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CNN Live Sunday
Congressional Democrats Want Medicare Deadline Extended; Gov. John Lynch Discusses Weather in New Hampshire; Code Red for Island of Java; Companies Cashing in on Hurricane Preparation
Aired May 14, 2006 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We know exactly what the president is going to talk about in his Oval Office address tomorrow. A live report from the White House. And seniors either sign up for the Medicare drug benefit by tomorrow night or there's a penalty. But wait, is that fair? And what is the AARP doing about it?
And the huge bounty for hunting down Hollywood's hottest stars. What it is like to be a member of the paparazzi?
It's Sunday, May 14th and you're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY. I'm Carol Lin and these are the stories making news right now.
Torrential rains and flooding in New England and hundreds of people are evacuated right now. Emergencies declared in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. I'm going to be getting the latest from the New Hampshire Governor John Lynch straight ahead.
And these are the latest pictures out of Indonesia. Mount Merapi volcano. And now experts are telling us an eruption is absolutely imminent. So we have a live report coming up.
And a small plane makes an emergency landing on a highway in Fort Lauderdale. Look at the scene and you wouldn't believe there were no injuries. Two people on board walked away. The pilot and a passenger.
And a fresh look at the CIA's leak case and the vice president's role. We have new evidence, Dick Cheney's handwritten notes on a newspaper. Now, the notes suggest Cheney knew Valerie Plame worked for the CIA. The notes were made days before she was outed.
A Mother's Day anti-war rally right in front of the White House. Actress Susan Sarandon and antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan were among the protesters standing out there. About a thousand people.
Right now this is our top story. The president's push for immigration reform. Today Mr. Bush got an unexpected phone call, you might say, from the Mexican president, Vicente Fox. Mr. Fox is less than pleased with the prospect of a militarized border. Meantime, tomorrow night President Bush is expected to talk about illegal immigration in a primetime speech. And the possibility of putting American troops on the U.S.-Mexican border. CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): By laying out his views Monday night, President Bush hopes to nudge the House and Senate closer together towards an agreement on comprehensive immigration legislation. That means possibly offering conservative Republicans in the House something they long called for, tougher border security measures.
Senior Bush aides say the president is considering an enhanced role for the National Guard in securing the U.S. border with Mexico. A reminder that the issue is being closely watched outside the U.S. Mexico's President Vicente Fox called President Bush to express concerns. But the White House says President Bush made clear the U.S. considers Mexico a friend. And that what is being considered is the National Guard's supporting border patrol capabilities on a temporary basis.
STEPHEN HADLEY, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: It is not about militarization of the border, it is about assisting the civilian border patrol in doing their job. Providing intelligence, providing support, logistic support and training and these sorts of things.
QUIJANO: But already the idea is sparking debate.
SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R), NEBRASKA: I am concerned that we have so overstretched our military, overstretched especially our National Guard that I'm not sure what capacity they would have. That's not the role of the National Guard.
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: ... National Guard and reserve. And we're stretching them pretty thin now. We're going to make a border patrol out of them.
QUIJANO: A senior Bush aide says any decision made will not affect military operations overseas or hurricane preparations. At same time, President Bush is showing no signs of backing away from his support for a temporary guest worker program. The Senate is poised to move ahead on a bill that includes such a provision but conservatives remain adamantly opposed to the idea, calling it amnesty. The Bush administration rejects that label saying the program would mean illegal immigrants who want U.S. citizenship would have to earn it.
HADLEY: There are thing they will need to do, requirements that they will have to meet and they will have to go to the back of the line, not at the front of the line to reflect those who have proceeded in the lawful way.
QUIJANO: Senate majority leader Bill Frist who supports bringing in the National Guard as a short-term solution believes Congress can reach a compromise.
SEN. BILL FRIST (R), TENNESSEE: Yes, I am absolutely convinced. But right now this discussion has matured over the last four to five months. But now people realize unless you in some way manage the magnet which attracts people to this country, no matter how tall that wall is, people are going to continue to come. QUIJANO (on camera): The White House calls this crunch time. And a senior administration official acknowledges for the president to help bring about a compromise, it is going to be a quote "heavy lift." Elaine Quijano, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: CNN brings you extensive coverage before, during and after the president's speech tomorrow night. For example, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, you're going to see a special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer. Then we'll bring you the president's Oval Office address live at 8:00. That's followed by a special edition of "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" at 8:30 Eastern right here only on CNN.
Midnight tomorrow is the deadline for seniors to sign up for the Medicare prescription drug program. Congressional Democrats want the deadline extended but that's not going to happen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE LEAVITT, HHS SECRETARY: People need a deadline or they wouldn't sign up. In fact, the actuary for the government told us that we didn't have a deadline, 1.6 million people fewer would actually sign up. Now this isn't the final opportunity. There will be another enrollment period in November. But if people want to have the lowest possible rate and have the benefit of the program from this point forward they need to enroll by Monday night at midnight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: And what the secretary didn't say right there is there is a penalty if you don't enroll this time by midnight Monday. Now an estimated 5 million Americans are eligible for those benefits. But they have yet to enroll. An expert though, from AARP joins me in a bit with some advice on finding the right program and whether you should join at all.
We have been watching pictures all afternoon. The roads are looking like rivers up in the Northeast. This is the scene in New England today after torrential rains and flooding. Massachusetts and New Hampshire are now in a state of emergency.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. MITT ROMNEY, MASSACHUSETTS: The state of emergency is a statewide activation and the reason for that is that we want to be able to call on National Guard resources wherever they're needed. The state of emergency, of course, brings attention to our home owners to watch the roadways, watch their basements and watch the news. But it also is an indication that legally we want to be able to draw on the National Guard to carry out emergency action and it requires a state of emergency declaration for that to occur.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: That was the governor of Massachusetts. In just a bit I'm going to be talking with the governor of New Hampshire in a minute where a dam is about to burst. I want to turn to Bonnie Schneider right now to give us the big picture of what is happening on the ground in the Northeast.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Carol, unfortunately the threat for flooding continues all the way through tonight and then we'll get another batch of rain in on Monday. Not good news, I know. Here is the areas in dark green indicating where there is flood warnings, flood watches elsewhere, but really a good portion of the Northeast just getting drenched with rain and we have had reports of 10 inches. And some areas by tomorrow morning may see 15 inches. That's a lot of rain in a short a time, especially north of Boston.
We can actually see the rain streaming in. Here is Peabody where we had reports of flooding in the town area. Also north of Boston, still plenty of rain. So later on tonight to the Gloucester area, towards Newburyport on the north shore, we will be watching for this rain to continue and it really won't let up later on this evening as well.
That holds true for New Hampshire into Concord and Manchester. We've had reports of up to six, seven inches of rain in some areas and poor drainage, of course, will promote flooding and we're expecting that later on this evening as well.
Now the big picture shows you why we're getting so much rain. We have an area of low pressure, it's a stubborn one sitting off shore just off the coast of Rhode Island. As this low sits here, remains stationary, it pushes in all the moisture straight onshore north of Boston so later this evening, we're expecting more flooding, most likely towards the New Hampshire area as we get closer to that but we're not only looking at rain in the Northeast. We're looking at rain and severe weather down in the south.
And that includes the Carolinas and Georgia. Look at these thunderstorms working their way through the Raleigh area. We're getting reports of tornado warnings that are just about to expire in about five minutes for Allendale in South Carolina. And up towards the Raleigh area we have tornado reports for Chatham and into Franklin Counties. Now these tornado warnings, and into Nash County, that just popped up now including Rocky Mount, that goes until 7:15 as well.
So severe weather really is threatening this region for a good portion of this evening. As you see, we have a new tornado watch this was not here earlier this stretches all the way into South Carolina.
Now we were talking about the rain in the Northeast. Just want to show you we are getting reports of airport delays. Look at this, Carol. In Boston, two hours on the ground for folks that are trying to head back after the Mother's Day holiday. It's going to be slow going.
LIN: And I've flown out of Boston on a good day it is slow. So imagine with the weather. Bonnie, thank you very much.
SCHNEIDER: Sure. LIN: We're going to stay in touch throughout the night with Bonnie Schneider. Because there is severe weather up and down the east coast. Right now, though, in New Hampshire, there is a critical situation. So let's get to New Hampshire's Governor John Lynch. He is on the telephone with me right now. Governor Lynch, how are you?
GOV. JOHN LYNCH, NEW HAMPSHIRE (on phone): I'm doing fine, thanks. Little bit wet here.
LIN: Yeah, a little bit wet there. Have you activated the National Guard?
LYNCH: Yes, we have. I declared a state of emergency, activated the National Guard. And we're in the process of deploying a number of troops in the guard to various communities around New Hampshire that have experiencing widespread flooding.
LIN: Where is the most critical situation would you say right now, governor?
LYNCH: Well, five out of ten counties have really experienced widespread flooding. Many roads closed. Parts of roads washed away. We have had mandatory and voluntary evacuations and a number of shelters have been set up across the state. Right now we're particularly watching the Manchester-Nashua area as the Merrimac River continues to rise.
LIN: And how will the guard be deployed. What will their role be?
LYNCH: Well, they'll be doing a number of things. One is they'll be helping with traffic control. Helping monitor various areas that have been especially hard hit by the floods. And also they'll be assisting with these evacuations. A number of elderly housing centers were required evacuation and that means we have to have a lot of people to help out in that situation.
LIN: Governor, the pictures that we're seeing right now really tell us that the situation on the ground is very serious. We're also hearing about the Milton dam and that it may be about to burst. If it does, something like a 10 foot wall of water would be created. What is the situation there?
LYNCH: Well, we have a mandatory evacuation going on in Milton right now. We hope to be able to evacuate all of the people who would potentially be impacted by that dam.
LIN: Is there anything you can do to save the dam now?
LYNCH: Well, we're looking at that. We certainly have our best people examining that situation now. But our first priority is really the safety of the people. And we want to make sure they're out of the way.
LIN: You bet. Governor John Lynch, thank you very much. In New Hampshire where there is a state of emergency right now. And overseas, there is a volcano that is about to blow in Indonesia. CNN's Stan Grant is on the video phone from Yogyakarta.
STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Carol, in fact, this island of Java is now at code red. That is the highest level concern of this mountain. You see behind me, Mt. Merapi where the volcano lies, could in fact erupt. As you say at any moment.
It has been active now for about a month. Periodically spewing clouds. Clouds you still see here behind me coming out of the top of the mountain. Those clouds of hot ash and rock. Also lava coming down the side of the mountain periodically when it does have these small eruptions. Now the lava gets to a heat of about 500 degrees Celsius, about a thousand degrees Fahrenheit. And it can travel at hundreds of kilometer an hour. That's why so many people have been evacuated. Almost 5,000 people evacuated from the low lying areas of the mountain. They think in fact around 20-22,000 people could ultimately be evacuated but certainly at the moment, a situation that they just don't know when this mountain could erupt. It has been active for about a month. The island of Java has been moved to code red and they are watching it 24 hours at the moment, vulcanologists around the clock to see if this activity increases.
LIN: Now Stan, it is hard to tell the audience we keep saying imminent, imminent, but there is really no way of knowing that it is going to will blow. And I'm hearing that even some villagers are returning to their homes.
GRANT: Yeah. The villagers, of course, are interesting. They live in the shadow of this mountain. It is it is very much a mystical figure to many of the villagers. They're known to actually go to the crater periodically and make sacrifices to the mountain, drop live animals into the crater also, throw jewelry in there and other items to try to appease the volcano. Just listening to what some of the people have been saying, they're concerned about their livelihoods. They have land to tend, they have animals to look after. And they want to get back to their lives in the village.
But of course, at the moment for their own safety, people, particularly the elderly and the young have been moved away because the question here is when. Could sit here for weeks, it could happen in minutes. And I can tell you from where I'm standing right here only moments ago a huge plume of smoke what they call shaggy goats, it looks like a whole herd of shaggy goats coming down the side of the mountain. That's what the cloud looks like.
It came down the side, lava scarred the side of the mountain. It was a very impressive sight. A very scary sight. And they are keeping a close watch on this to see if this activity does indeed increase. Carol?
LIN: Dramatic pictures, Stan. It looked like a fire chasing itself down the mountain side. Thanks so much for bringing that us to. We're going to keep an eye on this situation since we have been talking about it throughout the weekend. And we'll stay on top of what Mt. Merapi is doing. In the meantime, dozens dead and a government in limbo. Up next, details on Iraq's bloody weekend.
And the controversy over the government monitoring your phone calls. The White House lays it out. What it is doing and what it is not doing.
And you've got about 30 hours left to make sense of Medicare's drug plan. We're going to cut through the confusion and tell you what you need to know.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Two more U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq. They died in a roadside bombing east of Baghdad. And in other violence, 32 other people were killed. Six Shiite shrines were leveled. CNN's Ryan Chilcote reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iraq is again awash in violence. Attacks around the country killing dozens, wounding dozens more. Iraqi civilians making up the bulk of the victims. At least 14 were killed in this attack along on the road to Baghdad's airport. Once considered Iraq's most dangerous highway, it recently has been relatively peaceful. But not anymore.
(on camera): And the conflict is reaching into new geography. Mostly quiet southern Iraq has been heating up. A roadside bomb killed two members of the British military, another was wounded.
(voice-over): There were sectarian attacks too. No one died in the bombing of this Shiite shrine or any of the other five shrines demolished in a 24 hour period, but they are certain to heighten sectarian tensions already running close to the boiling point.
Iraq is still reeling from an attack on one of Shi'a Islam's most important mosques last February. Ever since more Iraqis are thought to have been killed based on their religious sect than insurgent attacks. And there are new problems on the political front. The man the world is looking to to halt the violence by forming a unity government missed a self-imposed deadline for doing that this week.
Prime minister-designate Nouri al Maliki as time to reach a constitutional deadline but appears far from making progress toward that aim. A small number of Iraqi politicians have pulled out of talks to form the government. Others are threatening the same. In the past political impasse has been blamed for fanning the flames of both the insurgency and sectarian strife. No one is hoping it will come to that again.
Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: And checking other world stories making news. At least 52 are dead in the wave of attacks against police stations in Brazil. Authorities blame a criminal gang. And a lull in the fighting in Somalia as rivals regroup. Muslim militia are fighting government forces, 130 people, mostly civilians are dead.
And tension between China and the Vatican. China's state- approved Catholic Church installs a bishop without Rome's approval. China ordained two other bishops earlier this month.
Feasting on America's celebrity obsession. What the paparazzi do to satisfy that addiction.
And the cost of high tech toys. While Sony's newest video game costs $600.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: After nationwide rallies, Monday's focus moves back to Washington. CNN will have extensive coverage of the story beginning with "AMERICAN MORNING." Ed Lavandera will be on the border in El Paso, Texas. Bob Franken reports from Ohio where one county is taking a hard line stance against illegals. Live reports throughout the day from Capitol Hill as lawmakers resume debate on immigration reform. And we'll be pushing towards the president's Oval Office address. Evening coverage gets started with a special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM" at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Then find out what Lou Dobbs has to say on the subject followed by "LARRY KING LIVE."
At 10:00 p.m. Eastern, join Anderson Cooper live from Chicago. Stay with CNN all day Monday for immigration nation coverage. On TV, CNN.com and CNN.com's Pipeline.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: With big bucks at stake for every shot, the paparazzi can stoop to some pretty dirty tricks to get the goods. "CNN PRESENTS" a documentary tonight focusing on celebrity obsession.
Kyra Phillips has a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The word paparazzi was coined from the name of the photographer who chased the rich and famous in Federico Fellini's the 1960 classic "La Dolce Vita."
The paparazzi these days use high-tech measures to track down celebrities.
BEN, PAPARAZZI, BAUER GRIFFIN: The company keeps a data base of both license plates and addresses, as well as tail numbers of airplanes.
PHILLIPS: And on the paparazzi payroll, well-placed sources, including valets, waiters, coat checks and hotel clerks.
PETER HOWE, AUTHOR, "PAPARAZZI": They also pay people you would never even think of, like people in the California Department of Motor Vehicles, people in the airline industry.
I mean, I would have thought it was pretty hard to get a passenger manifest after September 11th. But if you know the right people and you pay the right money, you can get it.
FRANK GRIFFIN, BAUER-GRIFFIN: This is the front of the hotel.
PHILLIPS: A series of tips helped Bauer-Griffin land big money shots of Jennifer Aniston with actor Vince Vaughn. The exclusive set of photos was the first confirmation that the two were an item.
GRIFFIN: Luck sometimes plays a part and, sure enough, our photographer, when he was looking down from all the high rises surrounding the hotel, they happened to walk out on the deck the very minute that he was looking down.
PHILLIPS: Kevin Mazur doesn't rely on tips for his photos. In fact, many times he lets the stars call the shots.
KEVIN MAZUR, WIREIMAGE: I've had celebrities call up and say, "Hey, I really don't like that picture." It's like, hey, fine. I'll kill the picture. I don't care. Just remember me next time.
PHILLIPS: And the stars do remember Mazur. He started out as a fan, sneaking backstage at rock shows with his camera. Later he snapped the iconic photo of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love with their new baby.
Mazur now helps run WireImage, one of the top celebrity photo agencies in the business.
Mazur knew early on he was not paparazzi material. He made a decision while on a movie set with actor Robert De Niro.
MAZUR: He comes walking my way and I lift up my camera and I start taking pictures. And he walks right up to me with his bodyguard and pushes me up against the trailer like this and said, "Don't ever, ever take an f-ing picture without asking," and walked away.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: "CNN PRESENTS: Chasing Angelina, Paparazzi and Celebrity Obsession" tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and 5:00 Pacific.
Well, on the defensive what the White House says about a controversial domestic surveillance program. And hammering out immigration reform. We'll tell you how close Congress is to making a new law. And Medicare's prescription drug plan, why any decision is better than nothing.
You're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Now in the news, flash floods force New Englanders out of their homes. Governors in New Hampshire and Massachusetts have declared states of emergency.
And volcano watch continues for Indonesia's Mount Merapi. You're looking at a live picture right now. A few minutes ago, Stan Grant our very own correspondent on the scene said that some of the white clouds that you're seeing is new lava that is starting to spew down that mountain side. Thousands of people have been evacuated.
And about 5 million Americans face a midnight Monday deadline to sign up for Medicare's new prescription drug plan. I'm going to talk to someone from the AARP in just a few minutes.
In the meantime, from Iraq, the U.S. military says two American soldiers died in a roadside bomb attack east of Baghdad. The official U.S. death toll right now in the Iraq war is 2,439.
And an unexpected call from Mexico's president to President Bush today. Vicente Fox doesn't like the idea of putting troops on the U.S.-Mexico border. The "Associated Press" reports Mr. Bush will call for thousands of National Guard troops for duty tomorrow. Actually tomorrow night in a prime time address.
So is the government listening to your phone calls? Well, on Sunday's talk shows lawmakers and the national security adviser weighed in on the controversy. CNN's Kyung Lah reports from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The government is not listening in on Americans' phone calls insisted White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley as he made the rounds on the Sunday talk shows.
HADLEY: What I can say is that the intelligence activities we had conducted against Al Qaeda lawfully briefed to the congress narrowly focused on the war on terror have prevented attacks and saved lives.
LAH: Hadley would not confirm a recent "USA Today" report that the National Security Agency secretly collects the phone records of tens of millions of Americans. But stressed any surveillance is done legally. The top democrat on the house intelligence committee says the White House needs to keep congress in the loop.
REP. JANE HARMAN, (D) INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: This is a lawless White House out of control with respect to a program like this. Sure we all want to catch terrorists. But I am against an effort to have the executive branch monitor itself.
LAH: Senate judiciary chair Arlen Specter reiterated his call for hearings. He wants to ask the heads of three telecom companies, Verizon, AT&T, and BellSouth if they handed data over to the NSA as reported in "USA Today".
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER, (R) JUDICIARY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: I want to know how many people are being checked on their records. The news reports are that millions of people and that billions of telephone calls, I want to know what their basis is in the law.
LAH: The concern say some democrats is in the details. How the program works. What is handed over, and how.
SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D) JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Technology has probably gone beyond the status of our existing laws.
LAH: But republicans say every available resource should be used to protect Americans.
FRIST: We're in the 21st century. And the only way to connect the dots, whether around the world or in this country to prevent another 9/11 whether it's at the pentagon or in New York or back in Nashville, Tennessee is to connect those dots and the only way to connect those dots is to use 21st century technology.
LAH: This week confirmation hearings begin for General Michael Hayden for the top job at the CIA. Hayden headed up the NSA when the alleged phone data collection began. One republican senator says confirmation depends on Hayden's answers to questions about this program. Kyung Lah, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: CNN is committed to providing the most reliable coverage of news that affects your security so stay tuned to CNN for the latest information day and night.
Immigration reform and border security. President Bush addresses the hot button issues tomorrow with a primetime speech. And beginning tomorrow, the senate is expected to renew debate on immigration reform legislation. Now in this report, first seen on CNN's "SITUATION ROOM," Kathleen Koch has more on the Senate taking up the stalled immigration issue this week.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. HARRY REID, (D) MINORITY LEADER: We try very, very hard to move things along and it's not easy. With the political atmosphere we find in the country today.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The senate immigration bill had been in limbo for weeks. While hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their supporters took to the streets. The senate plan gives the demonstrators some of what they want. A path for illegal immigrants who have been in the United States more than five years to earn citizenship and a guest worker program. Reopening debate on the bill puts the senate back on a collision course with the house. Which approved a get tough bill that focuses on border security.
REP. TOM TANCREDO, (R) COLORADO: I think that the compromise is not a good one from what I understand. Anything over on the senate side that has guest worker is also an amnesty bill.
KOCH: The senate deal limits the number of amendments or changes that can be made to the bill which senate leaders say they hope to pass by Memorial Day. It also includes a compromise on the negotiating team that will try to bridge the huge gap between the senate's final immigration bill and the house version. The conference committees will be made up of senators more supportive of the key provisions of a senate bill. Something democrats wanted.
SEN. BILL FRIST, (R) MAJORITY LEADER: We both anticipate a lot of challenging times over the period which will begin in all likelihood on Monday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Our thanks to Kathleen Koch. Part of the best political team on television. And you can see more of her reporting on "THE SITUATION ROOM" live at 4:00 Eastern and again at 7:00.
Now in case you missed it, here's a check of some of the highlights from the Sunday morning talk shows. And the big story today, illegal immigration and border security. The "Associated Press" reports the president is planning on using National Guard troops at the border. Well a former national security adviser to President Carter weighed in on CNN's "LATE EDITION."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I'm afraid that this will have a dramatizing effect on the problem. It kind of militarizes it. And I fear that the countries to the south, in particular Mexico, will just react very adversely. There is a problem here, there's no denying there is a problem, there's a serious problem. But I think we ought to view it largely as a legal and a socioeconomic problem and not primarily as an enforcement problem which then requires the use of U.S. military forces. That part to me is troubling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Well a similar sentiment was echoed on ABC's "This Week."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK HAGEL, (R) NEBRASKA: We have stretched our military as thin as we have ever seen it in modern times. What in the world are we talking about here sending a national guard that we may not have any capacity to send up to -- down to protect borders. That's not their role.
BIDEN: This is a president who refused to increase the end strength of the army which means we rely more upon the National Guard, they're spread all over the place. What we should do is we should move on and pass the immigration bill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: On NBC'S "Meet the Press," former speaker of the house Newt Gingrich said the answer to immigration reform is clear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: What the American people want is very straightforward. And the numbers in this are overwhelming and I just wish that the republican leadership would side with the American people. One, control the border. Two, enforce the law on illegal employers. 84 percent of the country says the problem isn't somebody who comes here from Guatemala or Mexico City because they want a job and to work hard. The problem is the guy, the American who's breaking the law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Remember every Sunday at 7:00 Eastern, CNN brings the best headlines from the Sunday talk show circuit. So tune in tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. Eastern for a special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM" on immigration reform. And at 8:00, we're going to carry the president's speech live from the Oval Office; 8:30, a special edition of "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT".
Now with President Bush poised to beef up security along America's southern border, we take a closer look at the border patrol's job. Betty Nguyen has this fact check.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. Border Patrol got its start in the early 1900s. For a hand full of agents on horseback, the job involved patrolling desolate often rugged areas along the borders with Mexico and Canada. More than 11,000 men and women continue doing that work today, patrolling nearly 6,000 miles of border area, as well as some 2,000 miles of coastal waters and the island of U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.
While horses are still used, the border patrol covers deserts, canyons and mountains in SUVs, all terrain motorcycles, snowmobiles, bicycles and planes. A recent addition to their equipment, unmanned aerial vehicles. While charged with stopping the flow of illegal immigrants, another crucial job is trying to ensure terrorists and weapons of mass destruction don't get into the U.S. The patrol says that last year over 1 million people were arrested for illegally entering the country. Agents also play a role in the war on drugs. With help from sniffer dogs, agents seized more than 12,000 pounds of cocaine and over a million pounds of marijuana last year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Just one more day to get with the "D" plan. Wading through the Medicare maze next.
And still to come, video games that can actually give you a workout.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They haven't dealt with this their whole life and now all of a sudden they have to pick plans and coverage and they're limited to what they can get and what pharmacy they can go to. They don't want that. They want to be able to go about their same plan the way they always have. And so it's very confusing and it's very difficult.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: That's what pharmacists around the country are hearing. An estimated 5 million senior citizens have until midnight Monday to sign up for Medicare's new prescription drug plan. Now some say too many choices are adding to the confusion. So let's talk to Cheryl Matheis, she's the director of health strategies for AARP and she joins me live from Washington. Hopefully with some insight Cheryl. These poor seniors are so confused. Why do you think a million seniors still haven't sign up yet?
CHERYL MATHEIS, DIRECTOR OF HEALTH STRATEGIES, AARP: Well that is a good question and there's probably a lot of different reasons. But definitely the confusion or trying to figure out what to do is holding some of the folks back.
LIN: So the director of Medicare told me in an interview that it's better to sign up for a plan, any plan, even if it doesn't apply to you than to not sign up at all because of the 1 percent premium penalty afterwards. You never recoup from that. Do you agree with that?
MATHEIS: I think -- I do agree but I think there are some more reasons. Unless you already have drug coverage that is as good or better than Medicare's and some retirees do have that, then you definitely should be signing up for it because no one in this day and age should be without prescription drug coverage. But it's not just the penalty that you should be concerned about. Because regardless of the penalty if you don't sign up by Monday night, you will not have another opportunity to get coverage until January of 2007.
LIN: So there's also an appeals process too, right? I mean if you pick the wrong plan, let's say, I mean there are 42 different ones in California alone, there is an appeals process where your doctor can write a letter, is that true -- ?
MATHEIS: If you pick the wrong plan, and it's hard to say what's the wrong plan because, remember that each of these plans is a comprehensive plan that provides drugs for every condition. But if you already take a specific drug, for instance for cholesterol, it may not cover the one that you're currently taking. Now you -- once you have a plan, you can appeal their denial of that prescription and see if you can get it overturned. But it's a lot easier to choose the plan that covers your drug in the first instance.
LIN: So what about this penalty? For seniors who are confused and they're rather intimidated, they don't want to call and gather up al their medicines with their Medicare card. Is AARP considering lobbying congress to withdraw the 1 percent penalty? MATHEIS: Well I think there is a lot of interest in holding off on the penalty this first time around. But the fact of the matter is that regardless of the penalty as I said, even if you don't have to pay the penalty you still would put yourself in a position of not having coverage. So it's still worth it to try to choose a plan before tomorrow night.
LIN: So what would you recommend for seniors in the next 30 hours that they do, specifically?
MATHEIS: Well the first thing you have to do is if you already take some prescriptions, you want to write down what are the prescriptions you take, what are the dosages, and how often do you take them every day. Then if you have a pharmacy that you like, you want to put down that name too. And I would take that with my Medicare card and if you can go on the Internet, then you would go to Medicare.gov. Now if you don't like to go on the Internet, maybe someone in your family could help you do it. You know we tell people, you know it's mother's day, help your mother. If she's on Medicare, help her make sure that she gets covered. But even if you don't have anyone to help you go on the Internet, you can call 1-800-Medicare. And there are counselors on the line who can walk you through the process.
LIN: All right Cheryl, just want to let folks know CNN did do that yesterday on air and it took about six to 11 minutes. But the government is assuring us that fewer people are calling today. So it's still a good reason to try. At least -- easier for most folks.
MATHEIS: Yeah. We checked with the government earlier today and they said that there were no more than a five minute wait.
LIN: All right. Could feel like an eternity on hold but perhaps it might be worth it.
MATHEIS: It does but it is -- what we found is that people who have actually gone through the process say that it was challenging to go through, but they're very, very happy when they find that they save hundreds of dollars a month on their prescriptions.
LIN: All right, let's hope that's true for the 1 million seniors who still haven't signed up. Thanks very much, Cheryl Matheis, AARP.
MATHEIS: Thank you.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LIN: Well hurricane season is going to be knocking on the door and some entrepreneurs hope to make life a little more comfortable before and after the storm. Here is John Zarrella in Fort Lauderdale. His report first aired on "THE SITUATION ROOM."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's called a zerolet. And it's not just any toilet. So you're telling me that solid waste literally becomes this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Powder.
ZARRELLA: Powder?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sterile powder.
ZARRELLA: Heating elements in the tank do the trick. The water comes from this tank. No dependence on city water and sewer that might be out after a storm. The $3,000 zero lat was one of hundreds of new products on display at a hurricane conference in Ft. Lauderdale. There's a sandbagger and --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an alternate to a sandbag. The company that makes it actually calls it the door dam.
ZARRELLA: In the after math of last year's mean season, companies have discovered there are big bucks in products designed to make life easier and emergency response better during and after a hurricane. The breakdown in communications was a major issue after Katrina.
EVAN KAGAN, GLOBAL SATELLITE: I think after we saw with Katrina and we saw the failures that were taking place, everyone sees the need for it now.
ZARRELLA: Now the market is flooded with high tech satellite communications equipment from hand held to SUV mounted.
BILL WAGNER, MONROE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGER: You look around and you say boy I need this, and boy I need that. And hopefully we can get some of that.
ZARRELLA: For the average consumer there's a $25 light that can stay bright for 75 hours on one LED battery.
GREG KENNEDY, LAZERBRITE: You can flip the heads around and now you have a powerful wide angle flashlight.
ZARRELLA: For insurance purposes Arkiva will document and store a visual record of all your possessions, even photo albums.
BRUCE ROBERSON, ARKIVA: People during Katrina in the gulf coast states places like Waveland, Mississippi, lost all their memories.
ZARRELLA: Hurricanes have suddenly spawned an emerging market of products and devices to make getting through the storm a little less painful. John Zarrella, CNN, Ft. Lauderdale.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: You can see more stories like John's on "THE SITUATION ROOM" so tune in weekdays at 4:00 Eastern. And watch the live primetime edition at 7:00 Eastern.
Now they can get you off the couch and some can save you hundreds of dollars. But up next the generation, the next generation of video game consoles.
And at the top of the hour, satisfy your celebrity addiction. We're going to show you what goes into making and protecting Hollywood's biggest stars.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: We're learning that video game makers are coming out with formats that are so real the graphics, the interaction, all the action, is so real it's unbelievable. They're expensive but CNN's technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg went to this convention and this is what he wanted to show you, which is happening in "The Leading Edge Segment."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: In the multibillion dollar video game industry, there's nothing playful about the latest dual for your dollars. At this year's electronic entertainment expo, Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony want to convince you why you should buy into their next generation consoles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm very careful in terms of where I throw my money and right now my money would be with Microsoft.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would have to say the Wii's pretty exciting.
SIEBERG: It was touchy feely with Nintendo's Wii, a new name meant to symbolize togetherness. But mainly generating a lot of head scratching like many of Nintendo's offbeat ideas including the Wii's game controller, equipped with a wireless signal and motion sensors.
Yeah, do it.
DAN "SHOE" HSU, EDITOR, ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY: Now we're playing games differently. We're not just seeing new games, we're playing new games.
SIEBERG: The Wii controller even made Nintendo's brain trust look athletic.
Let's see if our executive team here can make a comeback.
SIEBERG: Microsoft's Xbox 360 launched last year to high demand but was hurt by shortages.
BILL GATES, MICROSOFT CHAIRMAN: It's great to be invited to e3.
SIEBERG: Microsoft used e3 to show off its Xbox 360 PC cell phone connection and promoted software lineup with plenty of buzz around a sneak peek of what's to come in its marquis halo series. Microsoft also revealed an add on player for the next generation of DVDs.
DAVID HUFFORD, MICROSOFT XBOX 360: We have not disclosed the price just yet on the HD DVD player. Stay tuned.
SIEBERG: Sony steered its announcement towards the graphics power of the PlayStation 3, showing how in game characters like golfer Tiger Woods will have more detailed expressions.
That's what I'm talking about.
SIEBERG: And basketball players will move in a more life-like way. So if hard core gamers are typically brand loyal, who's left to buy in?
SCOTT STEINBERG, GAME REVIEWER: I think there's actually a massive market out there, its just grandmothers, its younger brothers, younger sisters, mothers, fathers, people who wouldn't traditionally be considered gamers.
SIEBERG: You'll have to pay more than ever to play in the latest virtual worlds. Sony tips the scales at $600 for the high end model. Microsoft at $400 for its souped up version. Nintendo is expected to hit under the $250 mark.
MARC SALTZMAN, GAMING JOURNALIST: I think that it's going to really be between Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. And you know evident of what we saw here it's going to be a very bitter fight.
SIEBERG: Who will come out ahead when all these consoles eventually hit store shelves? You. The consumer. Analysts say all the choice will help bring prices down as game play goes up. Daniel Sieberg, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: An in depth look at America's celebrity obsession. "CNN PRESENTS: Chasing Angelina." Then at 9:00 Eastern, Larry King's revealing interview with kidnap survivor Elizabeth Smart. And I'll be back at 10:00 Eastern with Bill Cosby's message for African-American women in the class of 2006 and a whole lot more. I'm Carol Lin. "CNN PRESENTS" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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