Health Care Bill Becomes a Law; What Health Care Means for You
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and thanks for being with us on the Most News in the Morning. It's Tuesday. It's the 23rd of March. I'm John Roberts.</s>KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us. Here are the big stories we're breaking down in the next 15 minutes. This morning, the stroke of a pen the Democrat's health care plan will be law of the land, but the fight isn't over. We're live in Washington. The Republicans are searching for a way to try to roll it back and the President must now sell it to the people.</s>JOHN ROBERTS: ACORN is closing its doors. The once powerful community organizing group is folding due to a lack of money. It comes six months after a scandal in which ACORN workers were secretly videotaped giving tips on avoiding taxes to conservative activist posting as a pimp and a prostitute. Carol Costello is working that story for us this morning.</s>CHETRY: And if you think you're smart, answer this, what's your EQ? It could be more important than your IQ when it comes to getting a good job. Special report, are you smart? Straight ahead.</s>ROBERTS: All of that coming up in the next 15 minutes. But first for President Obama and his fellow democrats it will be a moment to saver. In just a few hours time that the president will sign the landmark health care reform bill into law. CNN is reforming of our health care system like no one else can.</s>CHETRY: We have Brianna Keilar with us this morning, as well as Jill Dougherty live in Washington. And Jill, let's start with you, so we understand of course there was a big outdoor ceremony planned today. Massive turnout expected unfortunately the weather got in the way. They are expecting some rain. So, they are moving it inside. But what's going on today?</s>JILL DOUGHERTY, FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, inside to the east room of course is a lot of room in there but not quite enough for all of people who wanted to be there. There will be certainly legislators who supported this, all democrats. Then health care workers, doctors and nurses and also we understand Vickie Kennedy, widow of Senator Ted Kennedy who is such a profound in this health care is expected to be in that room as well. Then, the president about an hour later after he signs the bill will go over to the Interior Department where they have a huge auditorium and have more in depth comments about health care reform and we're expecting quite a few grass roots activists over in that room. That could be more of a celebration. But certainly, this is not the final chapter as we all know. The reconciliation bill has to go to the Senate. And in fact, speaking of that last night, the president was here talking strategy with some senators, how they want to move that bill forward -- John, Kiran.</s>ROBERTS: Just stand by because we want to bring in Brianna Keilar now. And Brianna once President Obama signs this bill, it's not over. There's another battle that looms ahead for the health care reform package. Break that down for us.</s>BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And this big bill in front of me here, this gigantic bill is what President Obama is going to be signing into law. This is it right here. But this is the unfinished business. This is the changes bill that's only passed the House and would need to pass the Senate before President Obama can sign this into law. So, the Senate needs to take this up, they would do that after President Obama signs this larger bill into law. And then if they pass it, democrats say they have the 51 votes, it goes to President Obama. But if there are some changes, then it would have to go back to the House. And John, the first effort by republicans to really slow this down or even just squash it all together failed. They were talking to the Senate parliamentarian about the way that this would even go to the floor and the Senate parliamentarian basically ruled against them in the matter.</s>ROBERTS: So, what about on the democratic side of things? Do they only need to get 51 votes to pass this? Do they have those in place?</s>KEILAR: They say they did. They had a letter, Majority Leader Harry Reid has a letter signed by enough democrats to pass this through the process of reconciliation. Now, that was part of the deal with House democrats, was giving them that assurance that they could push this through the Senate.</s>ROBERTS: All right. Brianna Keilar for us this morning, along with Jill Dougherty, thanks so much, appreciate it.</s>CHETRY: And Senate republicans will going to have to wait to grill Attorney General Eric Holder over plans to shut down the detainee prison at Guantanamo Bay. A hearing was set for today but Senate democrats didn't want to miss President Obama signing the health care bill into law. So, it was postponed until the last minute. Holder is traveling for the rest of the week and the Senate is out next week so it's unclear when this will actually be happening.</s>ROBERTS: And we now know who shouted baby killer during the health care debate on the House floor the other day.</s>REP. RANDY NEUGEBAUER (R), TEXAS: Baby killer.</s>ROBERTS: Congressman Randy Neugebauer, but the Texas republican says, he shouted, "It's a baby killer," and was referring to an agreement reached over abortion measures in the bill not his democratic colleague Congressman Bart Stupak. Congressman Stupak staunched anti abortionist, switched his vote from no to yes after striking a deal with the white House which will guarantee federal money will not be used to fund abortions. As for Congressman Neugebauer, he has issued an apology and both men are talking about what happened.</s>REP. RANDY NEUGEBAUER (R), TEXAS: I just called Congressman Stupak today and I said I just want you to know that my remarks were not directed to you personally, they were about the policy that was unfolding.</s>REP. BART STUPAK (D), MICHIGAN: Well, he apologizes and said, it was not directed at me personally. And I told him, I said it must be other members so therefore you owe the House of Representatives, the members, rest of the members an apology. And we've got to keep proper decorum and demeanor on the floor. We're supposed to be professionals and I know emotions run high, but you have to keep yourself under control.</s>ROBERTS: Congressman Neugebauer also made headlines last summer when he backed the so-called birther bill which required presidential candidates to show proof that they were born in U.S. soil.</s>CHETRY: President Obama will be signing the health care reform bill and making a few remarks in the White House east room. That's at 11:15 Eastern this morning. And CNN will have live coverage. Or if you're away from your TV, you can also catch it at cnn.com/live.</s>ROBERTS: And what do you think about the health care reform bill. Share your thoughts and join the chat in our live blog at cnn.com/am fix. And we'll be sharing some of your comments a little later on in the show.</s>CHETRY: Say that five times fast.</s>ROBERTS: A little later on in the show. And new this morning, bombshell accusations against the doctor at the center of Michael Jackson's death investigation. Documents obtained by the associated press allege the Dr. Conrad Murray stopped performing CPR on the dying singer, so he could collect drug vials in the room. A witness told police that he saw Jackson lying lifeless with an IV attached to his leg. And Murray didn't tell him to call 911 until all of those vials had been stashed away. Murray's attorneys claim prosecutors leaked that police report so that they could get a peek at the defense's strategy. The DA of course denies that. Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter. Jackson died from an overdose of the powerful drug Propofol and two other said sedatives.</s>CHETRY: Planes may seem be up to speed with technology that you already have in your car. The Senate passing a $35 billion bill that would speed up the modernization of the nation's air traffic control system by replacing the current system which is World War II era radar with GPS. It could still take another four years. The new system is expected to relief airport traffic and delays by allowing planes to take more direct routes and also allowing them to fly closer to each other.</s>ROBERTS: And it's up, up in a way, commercial space travel, one step closer to reality. Virgin Galactic's Mother Ship and Rocket Plane conducted a successful maiden test flight yesterday in the Mojave Desert. British Billionaire Richard Branson planning to offer sub-orbital space flights for a song, $200 thousand a pop starting early next year, chip it twice the price. This company has already collected $45 million in fare deposits from 330 eager and willing passengers.</s>CHETRY: There you go. They got the money.</s>ROBERTS: Somebody's got the coins, right?</s>CHETRY: I guess so. All right. Seventeen minutes past the hour. Time to get check this morning's weather headlines Rob Marciano in Atlanta. Maybe you can do it as a story, Rob, videotape what it's like.</s>ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Now you're talking, give me that PR contact and let's get a $200,000 ride for free. Throw it on the CNN Web site and we're good to go, it will be fun. Hey guys, a little bit of rainfall across the area last night on top of what you saw last week. So, we have some flooding issues. Here are some of the numbers as far as what we saw. Just under two inches for places in Connecticut, Jersey, also New York City seeing just over an inch and a third. So, some rain most of it has moved east of the throw way and through eastern parts of New England. So, one of three inches -- some spots. We do have flood warnings out for parts of Jersey, Western Connecticut, hustanic (ph) and flood stage there and even the Charles River in Boston. A couple of storms we're looking at. The one across the northeast and the next one is heading into the Rocky Mountains and that would bring some snowstorm warnings in effect right now for Denver. We saw a snow last week and we saw 60s over the weekend and also snow again today. Spring, a wonderful time of year. John, Kiran right back to you.</s>CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.</s>ROBERTS: All right, Rob, thanks. Give tax tips to a pimp and then you go broke. Acorn says, it's closing up shop, while the CEO say, it was taken down by McCarthyism.</s>CHETRY: How the definition is smart is changing in the 21st century. A new way that kids are learning to compete against computers in the future.</s>ROBERTS: And why newer, smarter air bags may be too advanced for our own good. The surprising results of crash tests when the air bag deployed and the dummies were buckled up. Eight and a half minutes after the hour.