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Court OKs Super PACs; Mississippi's Only Abortion Clinic Could Close; High Temperatures Break Records; Wildfire in Colorado Rages On; New Poll on Health Care Ruling; Manufacturing Numbers Troubling for U.S. Economy; Mother Flees Chicago Crime Spree with Son; Politifact Analyses Health Care Statements
Aired July 02, 2012 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Want to get right to it.
Stifling, sizzling, sweltering heat still plaguing millions of Americans this afternoon. At least 16 people are dead. Power outages from Ohio to Maryland have left almost 2 million others (inaudible) against these record-setting temperatures. Weather alerts from across the country in just about 10 minutes.
Drug maker GlaxoSmithKline will pay a $3 billion fine for failing to report safety data on some of its most popular drugs. The fine by the U.S. Justice Department is the largest fraud settlement ever, and the largest payment by a drug company. Now as part of the settlement, the company is going to plead guilty to introducing misbranded drugs, Paxil and Wellbutrin.
A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order that allows Mississippi's only abortion clinic to stay open for now. The owner says a tough new state law that was supposed to go into effect today could force it to close.
George Howell, he's in Jackson, Mississippi, George, tell us what is happening at the clinic right now.
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I want to show you exactly a few things that are happening as we speak. Take a look. Police officers have shown up here. And they were called here apparently by the clinic because a few protesters were getting onto the grass there. They can stay on public property, obviously, but cannot get onto private property. It is an ongoing standoff that happens every day that this clinic is open.
And we could pan over for you. You see the neon sign there that says "Happy Independence Day, yes, we are open," a sign that this clinic will be open today, basically protected from this new state law that would effectively shut it down.
These new regulations, they do two things (inaudible). The regulations require that any physician who performs an abortion in the State of Mississippi must be a board-certified OB/GYN.
That's first, and secondly, that the physician must have privileges with a (inaudible) to admit patients. The director of this clinic says the problem is she has been trying to get those privileges now for several weeks, several months (inaudible) the law was signed back in April, has been unable to do so.
Now I spoke to both sides on this issue about their take on this temporary restraining order, take a listen to what they had to say.
DIANE DERZIS (PH): This has nothing to do with women's health and they have made that quite clear with their statements that they want to close this clinic. But as up to now, women have a constitutional right to have this ability, to have this decision to make.
So we have to have somewhere for them to make that in this state. This is a clearly challenge to Roe v. Wade and I think everyone in this country realizes that.
SAM MIMS (R), MISSISSIPPI STATE HOUSE: The (inaudible) legislation was in my opinion, women's health. It just made sure that if anyone was receiving an abortion, it would be by a professional OB/GYN, who is certified, then also could go follow that patient to (inaudible) hospital if something went wrong, and so I'm disappointed that they are going to spend another two weeks without that type of requirement.
HOWELL: A live picture here in Jackson, Mississippi, where you see police there talking to the protesters again, trying to mitigate the situation, where these protesters were walking onto the private property there.
They can stay on public property, can not get on private property, all of this obviously ratcheted up a little bit, given the situation here. (Inaudible) clinic will remain open (inaudible) restraining order at least until July 11th, and that is when a hearing is set as this clinic has filed suit to basically have this new state law thrown out.
MALVEAUX: And, George, how has this impacted the community? I mean, are people (inaudible) against neighbor or are most people on the (inaudible) who are coming outside of the city (inaudible) to protest? How is this playing out there?
HOWELL: From what we can tell, from people that have spoken with here, these are people who are in this community. And keep in mind (inaudible) Mississippi, (inaudible) politically (inaudible) conservative state, a lot of people want to see this clinic gone.
But again, when you talk to the owner of this clinic, she makes the point that this is the only abortion clinic here in the state of Mississippi. If this clinic (inaudible) gone, people would have to travel to Alabama, people would have to travel to Louisiana to get (inaudible). So this is important to her to make sure the clinic stays open for people here in the state of Mississippi.
MALVEAUX: All right. George (inaudible). (Inaudible) the battle of abortion rights playing out in Mississippi. There is more to the story. Many states, anti-abortion activists are deciding to bypass Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion and (inaudible) restrict or outlaw abortion on a state-by-state level.
Now the abortion rights group, Nayral (ph) prochoice America says it is tracking 235 bills in state legislatures that the group says would restrict abortion. Twelve had passed as of April. Now 10 major court challenges to various bills are now under way in seven states.
I want to talk to Nancy Northup. She is president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, and that is the group that sued on behalf of the Mississippi Women's Clinic, and, Nancy, you say that Mississippi lawmakers have been up front about their intent to make abortion -- legal abortion -- virtually disappear, in their words. So what happens next after today's restraining order?
NANCY NORTHUP, PRESIDENT, CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS: Well, we are going to be back in court on July 11th, and we are going to be arguing that Mississippi cannot do what it has tried to do with this very bogus law that is seeking to put the one clinic in Mississippi out of practice.
You know, the United States (inaudible) guarantees women access to save abortion services. And what Mississippi is trying to do -- and they've been quite blatant about it -- is eliminate abortion services in the state. They can't do that. This is a constitutional guarantee.
MALVEAUX: Has your group filed for other similar lawsuits?
NORTHUP: We have (inaudible) around the country, because, unfortunately, what we are seeing here in Mississippi is a trend around the nation. What the goal of anti-choice forces are in the United States is to stop the provision of abortion services by whatever means, through laws that are pretextual.
They pretend to be about women's health, but they are really about closing clinic doors, and that is not right for women in America.
MALVEAUX: We just heard a reaction from a spokesman for the Mississippi governor, and he has repeatedly said that he wants the state to be abortion-free, and he says that a federal judge's decision is disappointing, and Governor Bryant plans to work with state leaders to ensure this legislation properly takes effect as soon as possible.
What is your response?
NORTHUP: Well, the governor of Mississippi cannot deny women in that state their constitutional rights. We have a federal Constitution. It applies to women throughout America. And it guarantees them that their health and their lives are protected by being able to have access to abortion services. That is have been (inaudible) land since Roe versus Wade.
Mississippi would like it otherwise, but they cannot deprive women in the state of their constitutional rights.
MALVEAUX: This is not the only state that you are clearly focusing on. There are other restrictive laws proposed in the other states. What are the ones that you are most concerned about now?
NORTHUP: Well, we have been suing the state of North Carolina on a law that is very intrusive to women, a forced sonogram law. We have been suing in North Dakota and Oklahoma on the attempts to ban access to medication abortion, which is safe and makes abortion more available to women in various states.
So there's a host of lawsuits we have around the country. We're looking at Arizona right now, which is quite troubling (ph), a new law that they have passed. And what people have to understand is that this is a concerted effort to undermine Roe versus Wade. And it is important not just that the courts block it, which they have been doing -- we got six injunctions last year alone -- but also that citizens say, "Enough with this." This is women's constitutional right, and enough.
MALVEAUX: All right. This is clearly going to be playing out in Mississippi and other states for quite some time. Thank you very much. Appreciate your time.
Here is what we are working on for this hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): More than a million people are (inaudible) without any air conditioning or power after this weekend's storms and sweltering heat. We will have the latest from the nation's capital.
Hundreds in Colorado are returning home, and finding they no longer have one. It is the most destructive wildfire season Colorado has ever seen. We will talk to scientists who blame it on climate change.
And why one study says drinking caffeine can cut your risk of one type of skin cancer.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: If you are able to watch TV or even turn on the lights, charge your phone, you are pretty lucky, because millions across the country are now without power in the middle of a dangerous heat wave. Almost a million alone. We are talking about Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
Brian Todd, he's at our nation's capital, where they're getting pretty fed up, waiting for the power to get back on. Here's the story.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne, it is a real mess here in the D.C. area, 21/2 days after the storms hit, people still very frustrated with the lack of power, with traffic, with just the slow pace of the recovery here.
The rush hour here in the D.C. area is technically over, but it's really not over. There is a light up there that is out, hundreds of traffic lights here in Montgomery County, Maryland, more than 200 were out as of a short time ago. They're trying to restore these, slowly but surely, but people are now being told, look, treat these traffic lights as four-way stops.
That's what these folks have been doing, coming from that light up here. This one got up and running a short time ago, but now actually it looks like this is out, our photojournalist, Brian Acklavich (ph) can take us up to that light right there. This was operating a short time ago; now it has been knocked out again.
So that is just some of the frustration that people are dealing with here. And, look, you got to treat it as a four-way stop, but not easy in an intersection this big. So that is one problem. Spiking temperatures, another problem. It is going to get up to 97 degrees today here in D.C.
You can hear a lot of frayed nerves. We caught up with three people at a gas station just about a block away from here a short time ago. They told us about some of their frustrations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You just have to follow the other cars and also traffic, how they are crossing, you just have to pay attention.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of detours, a lot of lights that are out, some that are on, spotty, but a lot of congestion, a lot of discourteous drivers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The biggest challenge for me has been to find a gas station that has power.
TODD: Now, that last gentleman said that that was the 10th gas station he had been to just this morning before he was able to get any gasoline. That is a another huge problem, when gas stations are out of power, you have got long lines at the very few gas stations that are up and running.
Again, people are told either don't go to work, try to get to a cooling center if you can -- there are dozens of those set up around here; there are libraries and malls. But also, if you have to stay home, stay at the lowest part of your house. Just try to stay cool.
Some 500,000 or more customers still without power in this area, and Suzanne, what we are told is, the last person to get power back in this general area may not get it back until Friday evening. So a lot of frustration here, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Wow. I can only imagine, that is just a crazy situation. I used to live there. Obviously I know that corner there very well and it looks kind of dangerous actually trying to just even cross the street there. Brian, thank you so much. I want to bring in Alexandra Steele, who joins us. Talk a little bit more about the deadly heat wave because think about it, I mean, people don't have any power. Now you've got 20 states now that are under heat advisories.
ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, and places where Brian is, Washington and also Virginia, those temperatures are going to stay at 95 straight through Thursday and Friday. And Suzanne, what is most notable about this heat wave, one, the breadth and the depth of it, at one point 45 million people at 100 degrees or more.
Number two, the degree to which, no pun intended, that we are breaking records. Not only is it the hottest for a day or the hottest for the month, these are the warmest temperatures these places have ever seen, period. So this is just yesterday. Macon, Georgia, 108; Greenville-Spartanburg, 107; Charlotte, North Carolina, 104. Some of these places have never seen these temperatures ever.
Now the good news for this area of the country, really the Southeast, they are going to lose 10 degrees from this, why? Why do we even have this heat wave? Well, this dome of high pressure, when you see this big blue H, you think thumb's up, sunny weather. But high pressure means sinking air, compressing air and thus warming air.
And the problem is, as we look tomorrow and the movement of this area of high pressure, the jet stream, if the jet stream is very far north, this high pressure can go as far north as the jet. The jet kind of blocks it, it is like it just can't penetrate.
You'll see where there's a dip, Washington does begin to cool down, meaning they are staying in the low 90s, not getting to 100, but with this retrograding moving back westward, it is the Plains that will stay at 100 degree-plus temperatures straight through Friday. So that is the core and really the pinnacle of where the biggest heat troubles will be.
So highs today, Atlanta, places in the Southeast certainly hot, certainly above average but not 106. They're at 95. But as we head toward tomorrow, Kansas City, Wichita, St. Louis, Omaha, that is who will see 100-plus degree heat and straight through the Fourth of July. St. Louis, Wichita, Denver on the Fourth will be at 95.
Even Washington, where we are talking about the biggest problems, you can see 97 straight through Friday. So no real relief, but the Southeast is on out of that 100-plus degree range.
MALVEAUX: They clearly, folks have to try to stay cool if they can, especially if they don't have any power.
STEELE: That's right. So it is just exacerbating the problems with no power.
MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you. Maybe we should just stay indoors for the rest of the day.
(CROSSTALK) STEELE: -- movies.
MALVEAUX: Something. Thank you.
Out west, things have not been a lot better. Wildfires in Colorado destroyed almost 350 homes, damaged dozens more. Fire crews opened some Colorado Springs neighborhoods for several hours to let families take a look, get a look at your houses. For some, it was very emotional. CNN's Jim Spellman, he was there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Residents of hard-hit Colorado Springs get their first look at what were once their homes.
TED STEFANI, EVACUEE: All right. We will go for the tour around, but there is not much left.
SPELLMAN (voice-over): Now a little more than ashes and rubble. Ted and Kate Stefani filmed the scene exclusively for CNN.
KATE STEFANI, EVACUEE: This was the garage. And you can see the gutter (inaudible) down. The only thing left of the garage is the bricks standing here and the (inaudible) picture that we really didn't like anyway.
SPELLMAN (voice-over): They first learned their home burned when they saw this picture (inaudible) front page of "The Denver Post," but they weren't sure what to expect when they saw it up close.
T. STEFANI: We didn't know if we (inaudible) be able to handle looking at the house and stuff, but (inaudible) actually kind of nice. We have all our neighbors here, they are helping out. The community has been beyond, beyond great.
SPELLMAN (voice-over): (Inaudible) last view of the house was as flames raced down the hillside.
T. STEFANI: So this is where I saw the fire start coming down, coming out the back door, looking up and seeing the fire come down. And so the seat is kind of right where we left it.
K. STEFANI: It still smells like ashes and soot and just burned, not a campfire smell, but just burned. It's just pretty sad. The good thing is, is that we have a lot of neighbors, that their homes survived. We have been out here getting hugs.
SPELLMAN (voice-over): Searching their home, they were only able to find these textbook pages. They say this charred brick is a reminder of their old life, even as they begin a new life from scratch.
T. STEFANI: We're going to rebuild there. We love that block. We talked to our neighbors today and we just love the community, and so definitely it's -- rebuild there.
K. STEFANI: It's our home.
T. STEFANI: And it's our home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Jim is live in Colorado Springs, that is pretty incredible when you think about it. Very emotional for people to actually try to come home and see their homes for the first time. How are people coping?
SPELLMAN: Yes, you know, it finally became real for them, even though everybody that has gone back to the neighborhood knows that this is their fate, that their home is destroyed, seeing it really is different. You know, they have gone through this individually. Everybody has evacuated. They're staying with neighbors and friends.
Now they were back together again and able to talk with their neighbors and have kind of that experience as a community again, which I think has made them feel stronger, that they will be able to get through it somehow, no matter how difficult it will be, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Were there some folks who just couldn't get back (inaudible)?
SPELLMAN: Everybody was able to go in and take a look for a few hours yesterday. Then they reevacuated everybody. It's still too dangerous to be in there permanently. There's only a few thousand people left now that are evacuated.
At one point there were over 30,000. It is going to be a long process of start and stop for them to get access for a few hours at a times to their home. Weeks, maybe months before they are able to contemplate beginning to actually rebuild.
MALVEAUX: And Jim, where do they go? Where do those people go?
SPELLMAN: Well, remarkably at one point, there were about 36,000 people evacuated, only a couple hundred in shelters. Everybody was taken in (inaudible) friends and family in (inaudible) church groups organized on Facebook (inaudible) chances for people to find homes and go into.
I thought that was really incredible that only a couple hundred people in a shelter out of over 30,000 people. So you really get to see the community come together here and take care of each other.
MALVEAUX: Yes, that is really refreshing. All right, Jim, thank you so much, appreciate it. It is the most destructive wildfire Colorado has ever seen. Some people think that climate change could be feeding the flames.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: So it started the wildfires that have burned almost 350 homes now in Colorado. My next guest says, believe it or not, it is because of climate change. Bob Henson, he's joining us from Boulder via Skype. He's a meteorologist and science writer at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (inaudible). So (inaudible), I know that this is somewhat of a controversial idea, some people do not agree, but you say that climate change is contributing to starting these fires. How so?
BOB HENSON, NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH: Well, there's several dots you can connect between climate and climate change and the fires. First off, we are in a warmer atmosphere, both globally and in the United States.
When it is warmer, water evaporates more readily from the ground so soils tend to dry out more, even if the rain and snowfall stay the same. On top of that, we've had a very, very dry spring, especially in Colorado.
And we also have the landscape and how people are using the landscape, and that is the human factor that relate to fires, just as it does to flooding. You can have heavy rain; it may not necessarily produce a flood unless the landscape is set up for it.
And we've seen with fires in Colorado we have the pine beetle kill, we have more people living close to forests that are at risk of fire. So when you put those together, there are links, but of course, how this plays out depends a lot on local weather.
MALVEAUX: Sure. And you talk about pine beetles. What is the role of pine beetles here?
Well, this is an epidemic that is a natural process. Pine beetles have been around for ages, but they have grown in the last 10 years largely because we have not had really cold winter temperatures in Colorado, for example, to kill them off.
So they have gone into reproducing twice a year instead of once a year, which has made matters worse. Many forests, especially to the north of Denver and west of Denver have just been decimated. And that's starting to creep into what we call the front range, which is the immediate row of mountains just west of Denver, Ft. Collins, Colorado Springs, and that's where these fires have occurred.
Certainly the fire near Ft. Collins, the Hyde Park fire, has been in territory that has a lot of beetle kill trees.
And does this mean that we're going to see more and more fires, because of this change in the weather, the climate?
HENSON: Well, not every year is going to be like this year. I mean, we'll still have wet years and dry years, hot years, cool years, but the risk of fire appears to be increasing (inaudible) last month involving authors that a couple of our member universities that found looking (inaudible) as a whole and using more than a dozen (inaudible) that there will be a global trend toward higher wildfire risks, not necessarily in every region at every time, but the western United States, the regions that they found was most at risk. MALVEAUX: Is there any way, a more effective way of fighting fires? Should we be changing the way we actually approach this?
HENSON: Well, I think, you know, climate change adaptation is an important concept. Our mission is globally, in terms of carbon dioxide, are continuing to go up, and the climate is continuing to warm.
So we're going to have to adapt to some amount of climate change. And I think recognizing that we have a higher risk of fire going into the future, it would behoove us to prepare for a higher risk of fire and to have the resources we need to fight those fires, which, because of where people are living, may increasingly be affecting populations.
MALVEAUX: And a final question for you, Bob, the fact that you do have these large fires, does that actually contribute to changing the climate when you have got all of that heat, all of that smoke?
HENSON: Well, certainly, there are local and regional effects from fires, especially large scale fires. I don't think that the impacts on fire risk is all that great, other than when you have hot weather and dry conditions, those reinforce each other. I think the fire effect is mostly on air quality and air pollution but less so on actual climate change.
MALVEAUX: All right. Bob Henson, thank you very much. We appreciate it.
Authorities in South Dakota trying to figure out what caused a military air tanker to crash while fighting a wildfire on Sunday. Military officials say the fate of the crew is not immediately known. The C-130 tanker crashed while fighting a fire burning near Edgemont.
Now that the former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky has been convicted on child sex abuse charges, the focus now turns to what Penn State knew about his crimes, and on what officials did or didn't do to stop him.
Some newly uncovered 11-year-old e-mail suggests that former university president, Graham Spanier, and former athletic director, Tim Curley, and former VP Gary Schultz considered telling authorities about one of the abuse incidents, but decided it would be more, in their words, "humane to keep quiet."
If you go grocery (inaudible) and you like the plastic bags, right? Well, not any more. Forget about them. The city's new bag law went into effect on Sunday. Plastic is now out. Many shoppers have been caught by surprise to help out these folks, some stores are giving away reusable bags for the first couple of days, but in the future, you will have to pay for those. So look out.
The Supreme Court may have decided health care is the law of the land, but the debate, far from over. Chief political correspondent Candy Crowley, she's going to take a look at what is next for health care plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST: You can't go higher than the high court, so the way the White House figures it, health care is the law of the land, period.
JACK LEW, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: It's time now to get over the debate and to implement the law.
CROWLEY (voice-over): The problem is that settled law is one thing, and settled politics is an oxymoron.
CARLY FIORINA, FORMER HEWLETT-PACKARD CEO, VICE CHAIRWOMAN OF THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN SENATORIAL COMMITTEE: I find it amazing when the governor and others in her party just dismiss the difference between a state having a plan, and the federal government having a plan.
(CROSSTALK)
FIORINA: There is all of the difference in the world. There is all of the difference in the world. You could have the state --
JENNIFER GRANHOLM, FORMER GOVERNOR OF MICHIGAN: The Supreme Court just dismissed that argument.
CROWLEY (voice-over): Across the Sunday talk shows, the health care debate moved from the stately and secretive chambers of the Supreme Court, back across the street to where it began, the hallowed but divided halls of Congress.
JOHN BOEHNER, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: This has to be ripped out by its roots. This is government taking over the entire health insurance industry. The American people do not want to go down this path.
CROWLEY (voice-over): After the 4th of July recess --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a 15-minute vote.
CROWLEY (voice-over): -- the House is planning to vote on repeal of health care law, blow it up, even the popular parts like banning insurance companies from setting lifetime caps on benefits or refusing coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.
And that's why even though repeal will pass the Republican- dominated House, Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is smiling.
NANCY PELOSI, HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Repeal of all the things that I have said that help children, help young adults, help seniors, help men or women who may have prostate cancer, breast cancer, whatever it is, any precondition, and everybody will have lower rates, better quality care and better access. So that's what they want to repeal. We are happy to have that debate.
CROWLEY (voice-over): (Inaudible) can afford to be mellow. She and everybody else knows repeal will never pass the Democratic- majority Senate, speaking of which Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell may be in the minority now, but he happened to mention Sunday that November could change things.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, MINORITY LEADER: If I'm the leader of the majority, next year I commit to the American people that the repeal of ObamaCare will be job one. By the way, I think we will also be insisting that we have a vote on ObamaCare again before the election, but in terms of achieving it, it would take a different Senate with a different majority leader and a different president.
CROWLEY (voice-over): Which brings us to where the Supreme Court really sent the health care debate.
REP. PAUL RYAN (R), WISC: It is beyond Congress, the president and even the Supreme Court, the American people will be the judge and jury of this law come November.
CROWLEY (voice-over): Turns out, you can go higher than the high court -- Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The Supreme Court says corporations can spend unlimited cash to support their favorite candidates. So my next guest says why not tax them on it?
Don't forget, you can watch CNN live on your computer while you're at work. Head to CNN.com/TV
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MALVEAUX: Buried and in last week's Supreme Court decisions you could have missed the role of super PACs in the elections. These are groups made of corporations and unions and individuals who are raising hundreds of millions of dollars for election ads. And the court basically reaffirmed the right of the groups to raise and spend as much money as they want.
Political comedian, Dean Obeidallah, says, hang on a sec, we have to get these super PACs under control.
And good to see you in person by the way.
(CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: You are much more handsome in person.
DEAN OBEIDALLAH, POLITICAL COMEDIAN: Well, thank you very much. Very nice to say.
(LAUGHTER)
Thank you. I appreciate that.
MALVEAUX: What do you do with the super PACs out of control? How do you get them back?
OBEIDALLAH: Unbelievably out of control. And some people don't follow politics and think that super is a good word. Super is not good in this scenario. It's a bad thing. They're throwing around money like a stockbroker at a strip club making it rain.
(LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: Oh god.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: This is rated G, rated G.
OBEIDALLAH: It is out of control. There are millions of dollars. And recent opinion poll will show that 70 percent of Americans agree on one thing, that super PACs should be illegal, and we agree on nothing in this hyper-partisan world. A recent poll in the "Washington Post" says they're wrong. So something has to be done to reign in the money of the corporations and wealthy individuals so we're all on the same playing field. And we are getting a sense intuitively that our vote is not the same as someone who is giving millions of dollars to the super PAC supporting a candidate.
MALVEAUX: How would that work? How would that work? You would actually -- how much would you tax them?
OBEIDALLAH: Well, that is my -- the idea -- super PACs -- I did not realize until recently. Super PACs get billions of dollars. And they don't pay one penny on the contributions, because they're considered gifts under our law. A gift is like giving someone a tie or a bouquet of flowers, not a million dollars to change policy to help your corporation or the individual. Money going into super PACS should be taxed like a business. I think there should be an excise tax or surcharge if it is over the $2500, which is what we can give to a certain candidate. It should be taxed at 15 percent. That money can be used to reduce the deficit or help public finance or help the education system, anything positive. At this point, over $242 million have been raised in the last year alone by these super PACS. How can we compete?
MALVEAUX: We cannot give, as journalists, but --
(CROSSTALK)
OBEIDALLAH: I'm not really a journalist, myself, but you --
(CROSSTALK)
OBEIDALLAH: I can do whatever I want. It's crazy --
(LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: That is right. You are a comedian.
OBEIDALLAH: I am throwing away money all of the time.
MALVEAUX: But would that break up the super PACs? Would that be a disincentive to actually contribute?
OBEIDALLAH: That is what I hope. I hope we return to some sense of reasonable restrictions. Up until the Citizens United, the corporations could not give a penny. And the individuals were limited to $5,000 contributions. We need the go back to the days. And if we can't, because it is a First Amendment violation, according to the Supreme Court, then tax the super PACs and make them pay a fee.
MALVEAUX: How much would you tax them?
OBEIDALLAH: Well, the business tax is fine for a certain amount. Contributions over $2,500 is 50 percent.
(CROSSTALK)
OBEIDALLAH: 50 percent, no deductions. We use the money for something like helping people and not just giving -- and you know --
(CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: Well, some would argue that the super PACs are helping to contribute to their right to support the candidate they want. Freedom of speech.
OBEIDALLAH: People like John McCain, and a recent poll showed that 70 percent of Americans believe it is leading to corruption. And next we will talk about citizengate or some kind of Watergate scandal. I'm assuring you, as we are sitting here -- and I'm in Atlanta, and it won't cost much, but you can fly me down --
(LAUGHTER)
-- when there will be a scandal, so we can talk about it. I'm not kidding. There will be a scandal. When you are giving tens of millions of dollars to a candidate, at some point, that money is going to be quid pro quo and we will have something for something, and we'll have scandals like Watergate. I hope people wake you to this.
MALVEAUX: We will fly you down for that story.
OBEIDALLAH: Please. I would love to come back down.
MALVEAUX: All right, good to see you.
OBEIDALLAH: Nice to see you, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: New polls show what Americans think of the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act.
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MALVEAUX: Supreme Court has had the say on health care reform and many of you are weighing in across country. And one thing is certain, that the issue is going to reverberate on the campaign trail.
Paul Steinhauser is joining us from Washington, D.C. to talk about it.
Paul I understand you have fresh numbers on Americans and how they feel about the decision?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, brand new numbers out, Suzanne. We went into the field for this poll on Thursday night after the Thursday ruling on the Affordable Care Act by the Supreme Court. And what do Americans think of the ruling? That's the first obvious question. Once again, Americans are divided. 50 percent saying they agree with the decision of the Supreme Court to uphold the health care law. 49 percent saying they disagree. And, Suzanne, there is a partisan divide. Go to the next number and you see right here. More than eight in 10 Democrats agree with the decision. And Independents? Pretty much divided. 47 percent saying they agree, 52 percent saying they disagree. And the Republicans, less than one in five agree with the health care decision. We have seen that partisan divide for some time and it has not changed -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Wow. It is very polarizing when you look at the numbers there. Pretty stark. What about how people feel about the Supreme Court itself?
STEINHAUSER: Well, this is interesting thing. Not much change on the law or the ruling. What do people feel about the Supreme Court? Here's the big change. Let's take a look at the numbers. Democrats, you can see -- take a look at the right column here. You see, back in April, Democrats, Independents, Republicans around the same number when it came to the approval of how the Supreme Court was handling their job. Look at the Democrats. A 28 percent jump after the ruling. Look at the Republicans, a 21 point nosedive. Democrats, happy, giving a thumb's up. Republicans giving a thumb's down.
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MALVEAUX: What about the House Republicans, because they want to repeal the health care legislation. What do folks feel about that?
STEINHAUSER: Well, the House Republicans says they will schedule a vote for next Wednesday to repeal it. But we asked Americans, what should Congress do, should they repeal all of the provisions? And again, Americans are divided on this. 51 percent say, yes, Congress should repeal the provisions in the law. And 47 percent say no. Suzanne, the same story. Americans were divided before the decision, and are divided after the decision. It will play out in November.
MALVEAUX: Absolutely, in the next couple of months.
Thank you, Paul. Good to see you.
At this point, it is a rocky road for the recovery of the economy. And today, we got another sign, it is not getting easier.
Alison Kosik joins us from the New York Stock Exchange.
Alison, we are talking about the manufacturers, and what is troubling about the news we are getting today? ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK. The news we got today is yet one more piece of evidence, Suzanne, that the economic recovery here in the U.S. is slowing in certain spots. And this is coming after May's dismal jobs report. Now we are seeing the momentum slow down in manufacturing as well. What we learned today was that the manufacturing sector here in the U.S. contracted sharply last month. This is why it is a big deal. It marks the end of almost three years of growth for factories. This is not an encouraging sign for the U.S. economy, especially because the manufacturing had been a bright spot in the recovery. And what is happening outside of our own borders, we are seeing now is directly impacting the U.S. Look at what is happening in the Eurozone, the Eurozone debt crisis and the stalling growth in China. They are having a ripple effect to factories here. Today's reading is adding to the worries that the U.S. could see an economic slowdown in the second half the year -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: It does not count for a huge number of jobs in the manufacturing section, so why is that critical?
KOSIK: Well, you are right. Factory jobs account for 10 to 20 percent of the employment here in the U.S. But here is the thing, they perform a key function. The manufacturing sector was the primary industry that pulled us out of the recession. We saw in the auto industry, automakers ramping up, and businesses began investing more in big and expensive products. You know, factory activity really gives us a big idea of how much the consumers and the economy is spending. For a recovery to take hold, you have to see the numbers hold up or go steady.
At the same time, let's not sound the alarm bells, because one report does not make a trend. It is not encouraging to see this. But one good thing that we are getting, several regional reports over the next few weeks, Suzanne. And we'll see how they come out, and whether it is a trend here or if this is just a blip.
MALVEAUX: And how is the market reacting today, Alison?
KOSIK: Well, a mixed reaction. When the report came out, the stocks made a decisive turn to the downside. Right now, the Dow is down about 45 points. We also learned that the Eurozone jobless rate hit a record 11.1 percent, which set the mood of the day, because we got that before the opening bell. That kind of kept stocks, you know, in the red as well. But in the Eurozone, they have it bad with 25 million people who didn't have jobs in the E.U. in May. Spain alone is home to more than a fifth of the people without jobs, so that the Eurozone has joined in with the weak manufacturing reports around the world. All of that is sort of adding to the losses of the day -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Alison.
Now that the Supreme Court has ruled and Obama-care is constitutional, we are hearing all of the claims about the law. We will separate the fact from the fiction.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) MALVEAUX: So far this year, some 20 young people under the age of 17 have been killed in Chicago, four in the past week alone. Now, lawmakers and advocates are trying to find ways to tackle the crisis. And one mother is taking drastic measures to prevent her son from becoming a statistic.
Ted Rowlands reports.
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JOSH TURNER, CHICAGO RESIDENT: And they shot through the window.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 14-year-old Josh Turner is talking about the time that gunfire on his street got uncomfortably close hitting his neighbor's window.
JOSH TURNER: And the bullet went right through the glass.
ROWLANDS: Street violence is a part of life on Chicago's south side, but for Josh and his mother, Marissa, it is too tough to handle.
MARISSA TURNER, MOTHER OF JOSH: It has gotten so bad that I'm ready.
ROWLANDS: Ready, she says, to move to Rome, Georgia, where she grew up and wants Josh to grow up.
This family knows first-hand the devastating effect of violence. Josh's father, Jeremiah, was murdered when Josh was 18 months old.
MARISSA TURNER: Not having his dad probably put more on me as far as protecting him, and that's all, that's all that matters.
ROWLANDS: The murder rate in Chicago is up more than 35 percent so far this year, and many of the victims are innocent and young. Last Wednesday, 7-year-old Heaven Sutton was shot standing at her front yard selling lemonade.
NORA GREEN, JOSH'S GRANDMOTHER: I am glad that, you know, Marissa is moving him out of this environment.
ROWLANDS: Josh's grandmother, Norah, who lives across the street, shows a photo display of Josh's father. She says the pain of losing a child is unbearable. And while she will miss Josh, she can't take the though of losing him as well.
GREEN: When I watch the news and I hear of someone else that has been killed, I just, you know, my mind goes back to the process of the initially hearing it and then after that. That after when everybody leaves you, that after. And you are left with yourself.
ROWLANDS: Josh says moving away from his friends will be difficult, but he is looking forward to living close in Georgia, living somewhere that is safe.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Chicago. (END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Now that the Supreme Court has ruled the president's health care law constitutional, we are hearing the claims about the law. And we will separate the fact from the fiction.
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MALVEAUX: A lot being said about the Affordable Health Care Act now that the Supreme Court has ruled it constitutional. But can you believe what you hear? We'll put some of the claims to the test.
Joining us Angie Holan, a reporter, a researcher for Politifact, the politics fact-checking web site of the "Tampa Bay Times."
And, Angie, obviously, health care, one of the main focuses today. Let's start off with this one. This is from Mitt Romney. He says, "Obama-care will add trillions to our deficit and national debt." What do we think?
ANGIE HOLAN, POLITIFACT RESEARCHER: We rated this one false. There's no doubt the health care law spends a lot of money to cover the uninsured, but it also cuts spending and it raises taxes. It raises taxes on the investment income of people who make more than $250,000 a year. When the independent scorekeepers took all of this into account last time, they found it reduced the deficit. So we rated this one false.
MALVEAUX: President Obama says, "If you're one of more than 250 million American who is already have health insurance, you will keep your health insurance." True, false? What do we make?
HOLAN: We rated this one half true. The law's idea is people who get insurance through work or on Medicare, they will keep that coverage. It doesn't freeze everything in place. If you're used to your employer changing premiums every year, that sort of thing, you might decide to go on a spouse's plan. All of that stuff is still in place. Some people will decide they want to go to other plans so we rated this one-half true.
MALVEAUX: Finally, from Rush Limbaugh, he says, quote, "Obama- care is the largest tax increase in the history of the world."
HOLAN: This one got Pants on Fire.
(LAUGHTER)
We did not need to go back to the Roman Empire to make this determination.
(LAUGHTER)
It's not the biggest tax increase in the history of the United States, so it can't be the biggest in fact world. When you measure it as a percentage of the economy, the taxes of World War II were bigger. The taxes Reagan signed off in the '80s to get the budget more under control. Those were bigger, so not true. Pants on Fire.
MALVEAUX: All right. Angie, thanks for setting the record straight. Appreciate it, as always.
HOLAN: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Great news for all of us caffeine lovers. New studies showing it may lower your chance of getting a common type of cancer.
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MALVEAUX: Aimee Copeland has battled flesh-eating bacteria for two months now. Today, she took a big step toward recovery. She was released from a Georgia hospital to begin rehab. Her dad says she's very excited, like a kid going off to college. You remember, Copeland had her hands, one of her legs and a remaining foot amputated. Doctors said she became infected after a zip line accident in May. For more on the flesh-eating bacteria and Aimee Copeland's recovery, visit CNN.com/health.
One more reason to love coffee, as I do. Could it cut your risk for skin cancer? Researchers analyzed data from a study of more than 100,000 nurses. They found those that drank two or more cups of coffee everyday had a lower risk of developing basal cell carcinoma. Doctors say you shouldn't go crazy with coffee consumption and more studies are needed.
The fight to combat babies born addicted to painkillers has a new powerful advocate. New York Senator Charles Schumer is joining doctors in announcing a nationwide plan. The want the Food and Drug Administration to require drug labels that warn pregnant women about the dangers of prescription painkillers. They also want doctors better educated to identify symptoms. They are calling for more federal research to help future moms avoid addiction.
In Spain, you can't tell there's an economic crisis from watching this. Check it out.
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MALVEAUX: Unbelievable. Take a look at that party that's happening there. Unbelievable. All the excitement. That's because Spain's soccer team beating Italy with a convincing 4-0 victory to take the 2012 European championship. They are going crazy. They are not just the best team in Europe, but some say they might be the best ever to play the game. Look at that. One of the proud players there. Spain now the first team to win three consecutive major tournaments, having won the 2008 Euro Cup and the 2012 World Cup. Pretty exciting stuff. Congratulations to them. We'll see if the party continues.
CNN NEWSROOM continues right now.
