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Mosque Revenge Attacks; Libby Back To Court; National Guardsmen Charged; Rising Mortgage Rates
Aired June 14, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Fire its thrusters to keep the space station in position. The Atlantis mission, as you know, has been extended. Astronauts will repair a thermal blanket that peeled back during launch. A space walk is planned to touch the blanket down and staple it in place.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: And good morning to you. I'm Tony Harris. Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown.
Go directly to jail. Scooter Libby's lawyers try to keep him on the outside. The hearing next hour.
COLLINS: Tables turned. A Duke lacrosse case prosecutor on trial and a player he charged arrives to watch.
HARRIS: And dispatcher confusion. Hospital outrage. 911 calls about a dying woman from the emergency room.
It's Thursday, June the 14th, you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
And once again, breaking news we're following here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Police this morning found three young children, just a disturbing story, and an adult dead from apparent gunshot wounds in a vehicle on a frontage road along Interstate Highway 55. That is southwest of Joliet, Illinois. The bodies were in an SUV. And an adult man also found in the SUV was taken to a hospital with apparent gunshot wounds, not thought to be life-threatening. It is a story that we will continue to follow and get you additional information on right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Unholy revenge in Iraq. Within hours of an attack on this sacred Shiite shrine, vengeful militants strike back. At least 10 Sunni mosques hit in a wave of retaliation. A country mired in sectarian violence faces a new flash point now. CNN's Paula Hancocks is in Baghdad for us this morning.
Paula, what is the latest in the state of security across Iraq now in the wake of those attacks?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, the latest information we have is that at least nine Sunni mosques have been damaged, attacked. A couple of them had been burnt down. Now we know that four of these were in Basra in southern Iraq. And this is the spot where Wednesday evening there was also clashes between Shia and Sunnis. Four were killed, at least, according to officials down there, and six wounded.
Now we've also been seeing thousands of people on the streets this Thursday morning in Sadr City. Now this is eastern part of Baghdad. This is the area that is the stronghold for the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. In that particular demonstration, they were chanting and carrying banners saying, let the Sunni brothers help us to rebuild our mosque.
Now, we've also ahead from the Sunni religious endowment. This is the group that oversees the religious sites. Saying that they blame the government for not having enforced this curfew that's underway at the moment and protected their mosques from all these retaliatory attacks.
Heidi.
COLLINS: Is there any way for them to step up more of the security around those mosques in particular, Paula, or would it seem to make them even more of a target if they tried that tactic?
HANCOCKS: Well, the fact is, we know that in Samarra itself, where this attack took place on Wednesday, at the Askariya mosque, there certainly is increased security around that particular area. We know there has been an extra Iraqi brigade that has been sent up to that area. But the fact is, there are so many mosques it is very difficult to protect every, single mosque. And there is a curfew under way at the moment, but certainly those that want to attack the mosques are just going to ignore that.
COLLINS: Yes, understood. We've seen that before. All right, CNN's Paula Hancocks for us live from Baghdad this morning.
Paula, thank you.
HARRIS: And fighting for his freedom while he appeals his conviction, former White House aide, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, goes back to court this morning. Libby's lawyers will ask a federal judge to put his two and a half year prison sentence on hold. If they lose, they plan to ask an appeals court for an emergency order delaying the sentence. Libby was convicted of lying to investigators in the CIA leak case. He says he's innocent. His supporters have called on President Bush to pardon him.
COLLINS: Hamas cementing its control of Gaza this morning as Palestinians battle Palestinians in a fierce power struggle. Hamas forces seized control of a key Fatah security installation. Fighters seen waving the Hamas flag on the roof. Fighting between the two sides have left as many as 70 Palestinians dead in the past few days. President Mahmoud Abbas, leader of western-backed Fatah, is scheduled to make what's described as a decisive statement later today. A source close to his office says he may dissolve the unity government. HARRIS: An incredible rescue. Take a look. Five kids pulled from a flooded creek in Dallas. Rescuers had to use ropes and harnesses -- boy, trying to watch this and tell you the story here to lift the children to safety. They were fishing when the downpour hit. Wow. The creek rose so quickly they couldn't climb out. All the kids are just fine. Man.
COLLINS: Petrified, I'm sure, but fine thank goodness.
Boy, those waters were rushing really quickly there, Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: A Paris Hilton update for you. She is back in the Los Angeles lockup. L.A. police confirm the heiress has been transferred from the jail's medical ward and back into the bulk all women's facility. No word yet on why she was undergoing medical care or for how long. Jail officials are due to issue a statement later this morning. We will pass that along to you.
COLLINS: Today at Virginia Tech, a glimpse inside the terror. This morning, reporters will be allowed inside Norris Hall, the site of the April 16th killing spree. Gunmen Seung Hui Cho killed 30 people inside the building before killing himself. Norris Hall officially reopens on Monday, but classes will not meet in the building again. We'll show you the tape of our visit inside as soon as we get it.
HARRIS: In South Carolina this morning, police are searching for a suspect in a deadly shooting. It happened outside of a mall in Columbia. Police say a man who had been stalking a woman confronted her in the parking lot yesterday evening. According to authorities, the man shot the woman and her father. The father was killed and the woman was taken to a hospital. Her condition and identity not released. Police are look for 21-year-old Michael James Young, Jr. They say he was last seen driving a green Honda Accord.
COLLINS: Check the toy box for Thomas and Friends. The wooden railway toys are being recalled. Some pieces could contain lead paint. The can pose a serious health risk to young children. The recall includes more than a million wooden trains, buildings and other railway parts made in China and sold since 2005.
HARRIS: Calls to 911 about a dying woman from inside an emergency room.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DISPATCHER: Well, what do you want me to do for you, ma'am?
CALLER: Send an ambulance out here to take her somewhere where she can get medical help.
DISPATCHER: OK, you're at the hospital, ma'am. You have to contact them.
CALLER: They have (INAUDIBLE) a problem. They won't help her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Can you believe it? We've been talking about it all morning. Hospital outrage, in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Prosecutor on trial. The D.A. in the Duke lacrosse case fighting ethics charges and fighting to keep his law license. What's ahead today for Mike Nifong in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Police in a stare-down. The homeowner has beef -- has beef with the pool crasher. Roundup time, ahead in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: It is a long drive from Darfur.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNDIGNIFIED FEMALE: That's a better place to be from than to be in right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: New York cabby with his eyes on the rear view mirror, half a world away, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And good morning. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Scooter Libby's latest legal battle. He goes back to court to try to delay going to prison. Details of today's hearing in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: He is trying to avoid going directly to jail. Former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby heads back to court in about an hour. Libby is fighting to stay free while he appeals his prison sentence. CNN's Brian Todd is outside the federal courthouse in Washington.
Brian, good to see you.
What arguments will we hear in court today? What do you think?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this has been called by some observers a hail Mary hearing called by Judge Reggie Walton. This is one of the defense's final attempts to get Scooter Libby freed pending appeal. They're going to base that attempt on a couple of main arguments. Essentially trying to tell the judge that the appeal is going to have merit and, therefore, the judge should set Scooter Libby free while that appeal goes on.
A couple of arguments that they're going to make, number one, that the judge -- the appeal has merit because the judge did not allow a memory experts at this trial. One of the key components of the defense's case was that Scooter Libby simply didn't remember key details of what he told investigators because his mind was occupied with the Iraq War and other issues. That's one argument that they're going to make. But the judge, because he didn't allow a memory expert, they have grounds for an appeal.
Another main argument that they're going to make is that the prosecutor in this case, Patrick Fitzgerald, was essentially not appointed in a proper way. That he did not have someone overseeing him who had political accountability in this case. Those are two of the main arguments that they're going to make.
The defense goes first for 30 minutes starting at 11:30 Eastern Time. Then the prosecute will rebut that argument. We're told that the judge could rule on whether to send Scooter Libby to jail soon or not by about 1:30 this afternoon.
HARRIS: Wow. OK.
Brian, what are the chances of the judge actually freeing Libby on appeal? He seemed inclined last week to put him in jail immediately.
TODD: Well, he does, Tony, and he has indicated that at the sentencing. He has essentially said, when he sentenced Scooter Libby, and the sentence is two and a half years and $250,000 fine, he said at the sentencing that the evidence against Mr. Libby was overwhelming, that he was not inclined to want to set him free pending appeal because of that. It is expected that the judge will stick to that argument that he will essentially say likely that Scooter Libby will have to start serving his sentence fairly soon, and that would mean probably within the next month, month and a half.
HARRIS: OK. Brian Todd for us this morning. Brian, appreciate it. Thank you.
TODD: Thank you, Tony.
COLLINS: Billy Graham calls his wife, Ruth, his best friend and soul mate. Now the evangelist and their children are at her side as she lies in a coma at their North Carolina home. A family spokesman says Ruth Graham appears to be close to death. The news came the same day Billy Graham announced he and his wife would be buried at the newly dedicated Graham Library in Charlotte. Mrs. Graham is 87-years- old. Her condition has deteriorated since she was treated for pneumonia two weeks ago.
HARRIS: Investigators focusing on a rural area of southern Portugal today after receiving a tip about missing British girl Madeleine McCann. It indicated Madeleine is buried in a rugged are close to the Mediterranean coast. Search dogs may be used today if the weather cooperates. The tip came in the form of an anonymous letter to a Dutch newspaper, along with a map pinpointing the site. It is just miles from the hotel where Madeleine was saying with her family when she disappeared last month.
COLLINS: Calls for help unanswered. a woman dying in a hospital's emergency ward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DISPATCHER: Well, what do you want me to do for you, ma'am?
CALLER: Send an ambulance out here to take her somewhere where she can get medical help.
DISPATCHER: OK, you're at the hospital, ma'am. You have to contact them.
CALLER: They have a problem. They won't help her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: What happened and what's next. We'll talk with a forensic pathologist ahead in the NEWSROOM.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Gerri Willis.
Mortgage rates are going through the roof. We'll tell you how to keep the roof over your heard. that's next on "Top Tips" in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And questions this morning about a case that has landed three National Guardsmen in jail. They're accuse of smuggling illegal immigrants across the U.S./Mexico border. This isn't the first time border agents have faced such allegations. We get more now from CNN's Ed Lavandera.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Sergeant Julio Pacheco, a decorated Iraq War veteran, from a family of eight children. His attorney describes the family as humble and poor. They live in a wood frame house. It's the kind of background organized criminals look for in border agents.
PHIL JORDAN, FORMER DEA SPECIAL AGENT: That would be a guy that they would, you know, test or try to recruit.
LAVANDERA: Phil Jordan is a former DEA special agent who worked the border region in El Paso. He's seen cartels and smugglers recruit young enforcement agents looking for fast cash.
JORDAN: And they can do the same thing that we do to them, put somebody under cover to see if the guy will bite.
LAVANDERA: At this point there's no evidence that Pacheco and two other National Guard soldiers were working for Mexican smugglers, but federal investigators say Pacheco, Private Jose Torres and Sergeant Clarence Hodge, smuggled illegal immigrants on eight different occasions. This criminal complaint alleges Torres organized the moving of illegal immigrants past border checkpoints. Pacheco allegedly sent this cell phone text message to Torres last week. "We need to take 24 people to make that happen and you will get 3,500. Does that sound good?" Torres allegedly replied back, "24 will b tuffnig 2 fit but ill try."
Pacheco's attorney says he's not guilty. His family says don't rush to judgment.
BENITO PACHECO, SOLDIER'S BROTHER: He served his country. He got wounded. Like I say, he shows a purple heart. He's put his life in front to serve his country. He's not going to discredit it like that. He's not that type of person.
LAVANDERA: The Department of Homeland Security reports that since 2004, there have been about 280 corruption investigations of federal agents along the U.S/Mexico border. Last year there were 66 cases. So far this year there have already been 52.
These two border patrol agents were paid $186,000 in bribes to help smuggle people into southern California. They pleaded guilty and were sentenced to six years in prison. And this customs agent pleaded guilty to allowing hundreds of illegal immigrants to drive through his checkpoint. In exchange, he was paid almost $170,000 and given a Lexus. Federal officials say these cases are not the norm.
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: It's regrettable and fortunately rare fact of life in law enforcement that every once in a while policemen or National Guardsmen or someone winds up getting corrupted.
LAVANDERA: But Phil Jordan says it only takes one corrupt agent to allow a potential terrorist into the country.
JORDAN: There's no greater government to work for than the United States government. So when these guys sell out, I mean, we've got a problem because that's our first line of defense.
LAVANDERA: Which makes the accusations against soldiering like Pacheco, Torres and Hodge all that much more disturbing.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Not a super terrific open today, but now that we are looking at 10:30, about an hour since these markets have been open, we're looking at positive numbers there, 68 or so, resting at 13,550. I believe the Nasdaq also up about 14 points or so. We're going to bring in some of our business stories with Susan Lisovicz. In just a few minutes.
HARRIS: Mortgage rates this month, if you've been paying attention, jumped to their highest levels in nearly a year. Now if you were reeling from a rising adjustable rate, beware there are some things you can do now to avoid some big problems later. Hear with her advice, CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis.
WILLIS: That's right.
HARRIS: Gerri, great to see you this morning.
WILLIS: Hey, Tony, good to see you.
Yes, this is a very big deal for people.
HARRIS: You're absolutely right. A lot of us have these adjustable rate mortgages.
WILLIS: Right.
HARRIS: So where do we start here? I guess we need to figure out where we stand, the kind of deal we have.
WILLIS: Well, would you believe that 34 percent of homeowners don't even know what kind of mortgage they have?
HARRIS: Yes, I do believe that.
WILLIS: And, you know, that's a costly oversight. If you have an adjustable rate mortgage, like a one, three or five year ARM, your monthly statement will lay out the terms of your loan. The only way to figure out how much your rate could go up over the long term and when, you've got to look at something called an adjustable rate rider. Now this should be included with your original closing papers and it's labeled so you can definitely find it.
HARRIS: You know, we don't know because we do the deal, we put it away, we start decorating the house and then we just forget.
WILLIS: Exactly.
HARRIS: OK. So, Gerri, now I have -- I've dug out the paperwork. I have all of this, this mass in front of me. What am I looking for here?
WILLIS: Well, once you get the paper in hand, the first thing to look for is when your rate lock expires or when your interest rate will reset. Now there are some adjustable rates that adjust monthly, some adjust on an annual basis. What you're looking for are something called caps.
Caps are the limits. They prohibit your interest rates from moving too much in either direction in a given time frame. They're usually about 2 percent a year. There's also a lifetime cap for the lifetime of the loan and it's generally five to six percentage points above the original rate. This puts limits on how high those rates can go.
HARRIS: Got you. Got you. Should we look to re-fi perhaps?
WILLIS: I'm telling you, refinancing makes sense if you plan on staying in your home for at least two years. And think about this. If real estate prices are falling fast in your area, you'll want to re-fi sooner rather than later. These days you'll need 10 to 20 percent equity in your home to refinance. Think about that. You may not have it. We can't say this enough, shop around for a lender. Remember, your original lender may not have the best rates anymore, so you definitely want to shop around and see where you can get the best deal.
HARRIS: OK. Now a little concern. So help us here. Help us avoid the big, hmm, foreclosure. What should we do here?
WILLIS: Yes. A lot of people out there are worried about making their mortgage payments. And the solution is simple. If you are missing a mortgage payment or maybe you're just worried you're not going to make it, pick up the phone and call your lender. I know this sounds like the wrong thing to do, but banks might be more forgiving when it comes to negotiating payments.
Make sure you ask for the loss mitigation department, not the fellow who sold you the loan in the first place. You want the loss mitigation department. These are the folks who will try to work out a payment plan. When you do negotiate, ask for forbearance. This is a plea to suspend our reduce your payments for a small amount of time.
And, of course, Tony, don't walk away from the house. Having a foreclosure on your credit record can destroy your ability to get credit in the future. And, of course, it's a horrible experience for your entire family. So if you have trouble, you think you're having trouble, pick up the phone, call the lender. It's the right thing to do.
HARRIS: Talk about trouble. I've got to find the paperwork. Where the heck did I put that paperwork. First things first.
WILLIS: Yes. See, you've got to organize that stuff, Tony.
HARRIS: How about the big "Open House" show coming up this weekend?
WILLIS: It's Saturday morning, 9:30 a.m., right here on CNN. We're talking about protecting your money, curb appeal.
HARRIS: Curb appeal.
WILLIS: If you want to boost the look of your house. And NASCAR dad. You won't want to miss that. 9:30 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN. And if you can't get up that early, "Headline News," 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. You can join us there as well.
HARRIS: We'll be there.
WILLIS: Or you can watch it twice.
HARRIS: Or watch it twice. There you go.
Gerri, great to see you. Have a great day.
WILLIS: Thank you. COLLINS: Prosecutor on trial. The D.A. in the Duke lacrosse case fighting ethics charges and fighting to keep his law license. What's ahead today for Mike Nifong. We'll tell you in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: A life on the line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not one person out of a couple of dozen, including citizens and staff and doctors and nurses, didn't lift a finger to help her. Just ignored her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Emergency ignored in an emergency room. Hospital outrage ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Bottom of the hour. Welcome back, and good morning, everyone.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins.
We're following a terrible story this hour in Illinois. I want to give you the very latest now. Three children and a woman found shot dead in an SUV. It happened in Will County, Illinois. That's about 40 miles southwest of Chicago. The vehicle was found along a service road. Authorities say a man was also found inside. They say he was shot, but his injuries do not appear to be life-threatening. Officials say it appears to be a case of domestic violence, but the incident is still under investigation. We'll find out more about more about this at the top of the hour. Police are holding a news conference. We will bring that to you live when it happens.
HARRIS: From the rubble of a holy shrine sprouts new revenge attacks in Iraq, within hours of this bombing of a major Shiite shrine. Attackers strike at least 10 Sunni mosques. Sectarian violence also blamed for this gruesome discovery. Twenty-five unidentified bodies found strewn across Baghdad Wednesday. Across Iraq, thousands have taken part in angry but peaceful demonstrations. They're protesting the second bombing of the Shiite shrine in just over a year. Also today mortar rounds land inside Baghdad's Green Zone. There is no immediate word on casualties and damage, but dark smoke could be seen rising. The heavily fortified district in central Baghdad houses U.S. military and diplomatic agencies.
COLLINS: We want to go ahead and get you the very latest information now. We have been expecting to get some Supreme Court rulings today. The one that we did get refers to union and unions dues and how they will be spent. Let me tell you what we have. We're learning that state law restricting use of union dues for politics is found constitutional. In other words, the state law restricting the use of these union dues for the political purposes was upheld by the Supreme Court. At issue was whether states could actually force labor unions to obtain direct permission from the workers themselves, the workers who are giving those union dues, before having their mandatory shop fees spent on partisan politics, and that includes candidates and issues, many of them may not actually support, so you can see how this would be an issue.
The sticking point, though, was how and when teachers, of course, members of unions, must express their opposition in having their fees used to influence elections. Interesting ruling.
Once again, state law restricting the use of union dues for politics found constitutional.
HARRIS: The ethics trial for the Duke lacrosse prosecutor. Testimony got under way against last hour in Raleigh, North Carolina. The North Carolina state bar accused D.A. Mike Nifong of violating the rules of professional conduct. Up first on the stand today, an attorney for one of the lacrosse players.
Another of the players, Collin Finnerty, is attending the hearing today, call it it the trial, for the first time. Three members were accused of raping a stripper. They were eventually cleared of the charges.
A 6-year-old Georgia boy is in state protective care today, his mother and boyfriend charged with child cruelty. Authorities say they left the boy tied up for 30 minutes inside a sweltering car. It happened outside this Cracker Barrell Restaurant in north Georgia. Police say restaurant workers saw the man take the child to the car and then return without him. Police say they also found a handgun in the car.
HARRIS: Calls. for help unanswered. A woman dying in a hospital's emergency ward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DISPATCHER: Well, what would you want to do for you, ma'am?
CALLER: Send an ambulance out here to take her somewhere where she can get medical help.
DISPATCHER: OK. You're at the hospital, ma'am. You have to contact them.
CALLER: They have a problem. They won't help her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: What happened, and what's next. We will talk with a forensic pathologist, ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: President Bush on stage right now, Washington, D.C. Let's take you there. The president making remarks to the associated builders and contractors. This event for the president taking place at the Capitol Hilton Hotel. He is expected to use the opportunity to talk about immigration and to push for the immigration bill to be brought back to the Senate floor for debate on amendments, and ultimately a vote that could send it to the House. So the president -- we will watch, we will listen, as the president takes this opportunities to talk about immigration, right here in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: You would think the best place to get medical help would be the emergency room of a hospital. That was not the case for one woman.
Here now is CNN's Ted Rowlands.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CALLER: My wife is dying.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): By the time her frantic boyfriend called 911 through an interpreter, Edith Rodriguez was on the floor in agony.
DISPATCHER: What do you mean, she's dying?
CALLER: She's vomiting blood.
ROWLANDS: Her boyfriend begged for help. But, to the 911 dispatcher, that request didn't compute, because Edith was already in a hospital.
DISPATCHER: Why aren't they helping her?
CALLER: They're watching her -- they're watching her there and they're not doing anything. They're just watching her.
ROWLANDS: Witnesses say Edith Rodriguez collapsed on the floor of the emergency room at Martin Luther King Jr. Harbor Hospital in Los Angeles. Hospital staff, they say, didn't lift a finger to help, something the 911 dispatcher found hard to believe.
DISPATCHER: Paramedics are not going to pick him up or pick his wife up from a hospital because she's already at one.
ROWLANDS: Eight minutes later, another call comes in to the same 911 center from someone else at the hospital.
DISPATCHER: What's your emergency?
CALLER: There's a lady on the -- on the ground here in the emergency room at Martin Luther King.
DISPATCHER: What would you want me to do for you, ma'am?
CALLER: Send an ambulance out here to take her somewhere where she can get medical help.
DISPATCHER: OK, you're at the -- you're at the hospital, ma'am. You have to contact them.
CALLER: They have -- they have a problem. They won't help her.
DISPATCHER: Well, you know, they're -- they're the medical professionals, OK? You're already at a hospital. This line is for emergency purposes only. This -- 911 is used for emergency purposes only.
CALLER: This is an emergency, mister.
(CROSSTALK)
DISPATCHER: It's not an emergency. It is not an emergency, ma'am.
CALLER: It is.
DISPATCHER: It is not an emergency.
CALLER: You have to see how they are treating her.
DISPATCHER: OK. Well, that's not a criminal thing. You understand what I'm saying? We handle...
CALLER: Excuse me. If this woman (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and dies, what do you mean this is not a criminal thing?
ROWLANDS: Less than a half-hour later, Edith Rodriguez was dead. Her siblings say they are furious that their sister wasn't given the help that she needed.
EDDIE SANCHEZ, BROTHER: You go there to get help, and nothing happens. It's like, you get ignored, like -- like if you're nobody.
CARMEN RODRIGUEZ, SISTER: We're just devastated that -- the way she was treated and the way she was left there, like an animal, you know? She's a -- a person. You don't -- you don't do that. Even animals are treated better.
ROWLANDS (on camera): According to the coroner, Edith Rodriguez died of a perforated bowel. There was a surveillance camera here at the hospital which recorded the last 45 minutes or so of her life.
And, according to witnesses, she spent it on the floor vomiting blood. More than a month after this took place, it is still unclear why nobody was there to help her.
ZEV YAROSLAVSKY, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUPERVISOR: The video is a lot more alarming than the audio.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky has seen the tape, which, because of an ongoing sheriff's investigation, has not been released. YAROSLAVSKY: Not one person out of a couple of dozen, including citizens and staff and doctors and nurses, didn't lift a finger to help her, just -- just ignored her. Even the janitors who were cleaning up the vomit from around the -- the woman who was on the floor, did a very elegant job of cleaning up the vomit, but didn't do a thing to help her. It was just indescribable.
ROWLANDS: The sheriff's department is investigating how dispatchers handled the two calls.
According to a supervisor, they have never had a call for an ambulance from a hospital. They are concerned, however, that one of the dispatchers may have been rude.
The chief medical officer and a nurse are no longer employed as a direct result of what happened.
Since September of last year, the hospital has been undergoing a forced restructuring because of a long history of problems.
While no one from the hospital would talk to us about this case, a letter sent yesterday to the county board said, in part, quote, "We have served thousands of patients well and a few very poorly."
Hopefully, none as poorly as they seem to have treated Edith Rodriguez.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Emergency ignored at a hospital, how to make sense of it. Toxicologist and deputy medical examiner, Dr. William Morrone is joining me now live from New York. Thanks for being with us, Doctor.
Boy, I tell you, when you think about this story and when you watch it, our piece that we did, it is absolutely unbelievable. Are we missing something here?
DR. WILLIAM MORRONE, DEPUTY MEDICAL EXAMINER: Thank you for having me today.
The most important thing is this is not far away from happening anywhere in America, because emergency services are at capacity, and there's not a lot of relief. There's a lot of people coming to the emergency department that need better relationships with primary care providers to take the stress off the system, but medicine isn't medicine anymore.
There's so much bureaucracy, there's layers of administration, and people are told what to do, what tests to do, what drugs to order, and doctors may have lost control here.
COLLINS: I don't want to shoot the messenger here, but wait a minute. What am I supposed to do if I am vomiting blood, I cannot care for myself, someone brings me somewhere to hopefully save my life. In fact, I imagine when they went in, they initially probably had no idea how serious this was. Lying on the floor of an emergency room, you can die.
MORRONE: In this case, it was very sad, and there's so much blame to go around, I don't know where to start, but the answer is in patients having better relationships to prevent this. Preventative medicine is the answer. When this happens and this can be avoided if treated sooner, more correctly, this is where you go to the emergency department.
COLLINS: OK, so you're talking about -- certainly not that we're putting blame on this woman, I know you're not trying to do that, but you are saying you've got to watch your health. This, just so people know, came from a condition with gallstone. She then later developed a perforated bowel.
Are you saying that you need to take better care and watch yourself so that you don't become -- in an emergency type situation where you need care right now, that you just in fact may not be able to get?
MORRONE: Because the answer is that -- to find the problem and fix the problem so this doesn't happen, you need the control of consultants and primary care doctors, because the emergency staff is very limited. And in a situation where the resources are also very limited, in a deep urban setting, treating the poor, treating the unserved, treating the uninsured ...
COLLINS: Well that's just it, we could go on and on and on about insurance and all of these things. So therefore, it brings us to this major crisis situation, where there have got to be laws written about this. I mean, I just think of the hippocratic oath.
MORRONE: There is, there is. There's a law, it's called EMTALA, the Emergency Medical Transport and Transfer. The law requires you are evaluated, the law requires you are stabilized. And from that point, if the people treating you can't take further direction, they have to transfer you to the appropriate facility. That's a federal law.
COLLINS: It doesn't -- OK. So, if that's federal law, we could be looking here a little bit later at laws being broken, because from what we have been able to uncover so far, and I'm sure we'll be continuing to look at this story, she was never even evaluated, certainly not stabilized.
MORRONE: Broken, ignored. The guidelines are very clear and every doctor -- not just emergency room, OB/GYNs, family doctors, we all know the law. And the problem here is the bureaucracy and the administration may have prevented medicine from actually working.
COLLINS: Now, quickly, let me ask you ...
MORRONE: Yes.
COLLINS: ...if she had gotten care immediately, it was 45 minutes that she laid on that floor, would she have survived?
MORRONE: Yes, absolutely.
COLLINS: That's got to ...
MORRONE: The answer is also if she would have gotten care sooner, two weeks ago, three weeks ago, four weeks ago, she would have never got to that point.
COLLINS: Yes, understood. What should happen to this hospital staff? We do know that the chief medical officer and one nurse were fired, and we also know, of course, that the investigation is continuing. What should happened here?
MORRONE: I see the federal government using what they like to use as the big stick -- fines. When they look at a hospital, they say you get so much Medicare and Medicaid money, and that's all federal payment for your services, that they withhold the payment as a penalty, and I wouldn't put it past somebody to say, oh by the way, everything that you billed us in 2005 and 2006, we want it all back. You've hit them where it hurts.
COLLINS: Well, unfortunately, the people who are hurt the most then is that community where this may be the only medical facility where they can seek treatment.
MORRONE: But then the answer is that the hospital, which understands they're going to be hit economically, has to really make drastic changes, that if they're not hit economically, they won't make those changes.
COLLINS: Yes, I agree with you there. I just wonder how long it will all take for the people who, who live there, and of course this family dealing with the tragedy. We certainly appreciate your expertise today ...
MORRONE: Thank you.
COLLINS: Dr. William Morrone, appreciate it.
MORRONE: Absolutely.
HARRIS: And still to come in the NEWSROOM, flames so intense they melted the asphalt on an overpass. A fiery collision in Tennessee leaves one person dead. The story ahead in the NEWSROOM.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange. Layoffs, plant closings, and now union talks, the next big hurdle for Detroit's big three. Details next on NEWSROOM. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
HARRIS: Well, let me remind you at home and Susan, let me remind you of the CNN NEWSROOM podcast.
COLLINS: Oh, she knows. HARRIS: Oh, does she know? OK, all right. We made the podcast available to you every day, we work hard. We're putting it together right now, as a matter of fact, that's -- because of the podcast, you can take us with you anywhere on your iPod -- let's encourage, you decide (ph). The CNN NEWSROOM podcast available 24/7, right on your iPod.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And quickly now to the Capitol Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., the president making remarks on immigration.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: It didn't work. And it needs to be fixed. When you find something that doesn't work, you have a responsibility to fix it.
The number of illegal immigrants in our country has continued to grow. And illegal immigration is now supported by criminal enterprises. In other words, there are people who are preying on these folks that are coming to do work that Americans aren't doing.
You've got a whole system of coyotes. Those are smugglers -- human smugglers -- taking advantage of a broken system.
You've got document forgers. People wanting to work and they know they've got to have some papers, and there are people -- a whole industry of people providing them with false documents.
People are being exploited as a result of a broken system, and this isn't right. We can do better.
I understand Americans are skeptical about immigration reform. There's a lot of people saying (inaudible) no possible way that they can achieve important objectives, after all, they tried in '86 and it failed.
People got a lot of emotions on this issue. You probably hear it at the coffee shops, talking about the issue. People are very emotional about immigration reform, and people have got different perspectives on a course of action.
Most say -- many say the most important issue is to secure the border. Others say an important part of immigration reform is to find the workers they need to help a growing economy. Still others say that it's important to resolve the status of 12 million people already here illegally and help immigrants assimilate into our society. There's varieties of opinions about this subject.
I believe that we must address all these concerns in order to have an effective system. And that's why I strongly support comprehensive immigration reform. And I appreciate your understanding that in order to have a system that works, all the issues must be addressed.
(APPLAUSE) By moving forward with the bill in the Senate, we will make our border more secure. In other words, if you're worried about border security, you ought to be supporting this bill.
For decades, we have not been in complete control of the border. You know, I was honored to be the governor of Texas. I know something about a large border with Mexico. And we weren't in control of that border.
You know, a lot of people then say, "Well, if you hadn't been in control, do you have the capacity to secure the border?" You'll hear a lot of people here say, "Well, since you didn't do it in the past, you can't do it in the future." In other words, people are worried about that issue.
First step to comprehensive reform must to be enforce immigration laws at the border and at work sites across the country. The administration -- our administration has taken significant steps, by the way, to increase border security and work site enforcement. Since I took office, we've more than doubled funding for border security.
There's a focused effort, by the way, to do what many Americans want us to do, which is to secure that border. We've expanded the number of border patrol agents from about 9,000 to about 13,000. We've set our nation on the course to double the size of border patrol during my presidency. In other words, we're going to add another 5,000 agents.
I was in Artesia, New Mexico, to a border training center, I watched these good folks prepare for this very important job.
We've increased the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents -- I'm sure you understand what an ICE agent is -- from about 8,000 in 2002 to more than 11,000.
In other words, on the enforcement side we've made some serious efforts to do what the American people expect us to do.
There used to be, you know, a problem with catch-and-release. Our border patrol agents would find somebody trying to sneak into our country illegally, they would say, "We caught you. Now report back to the local immigration court so you can have your hearing," because there was no place to hold these good people -- or these people.
And guess what would happen. They'd head off into society and say, "See ya later," and never return for the court date.
So we worked with Congress and expanded the number of beds on our border, and we've effectively ended catch-and-release.
I want to tell you a statistic that may surprise you. Last year we apprehended and sent home more than about 1.1 million people entering our country illegally.
Now, think about that. In one year alone our border patrol agents and law enforcement agents found 1.1 million people coming into our country illegally and sent them home. They're working hard down there, and they're making progress. People are doing the jobs we expect them to do. And now we're going to build on this progress.
So this bill sets clear benchmarks for border security that must be met before other elements of this legislation are triggered. We make a priority of securing the border.
These benchmarks include further increasing border patrol agents, building miles of fencing and modernizing the border. You can't fence the whole border, but you can use fencing in a way to help, you know, known -- to help stop people in known crossing points.
It's the smart part of making sure the border is secure, along with other ways to modernize the border -- berms and electronics and UAVs.
We're going to improve our surveillance capability. We're modernizing the border, and it hadn't been that way. And we're making progress to modernize that border.
It also includes benchmarks for giving honest employers the tools to verify that they're hiring illegal workers. Most people want to comply with the law. I know you do. Yet, it's awfully hard for you to be a document verifier.
(APPLAUSE)
That's not what you -- it's a burden to place on small business owners if we say, "OK, you know, you've got to make sure that the documents that, you know, look real are real." These document forgers are good. They know what they're doing. They're preying on innocent people who want to simply find work to put food on the table back at home.
And so the bill we're talking about says, "OK, enough is enough when it comes to document forgery." We'll create a tamper-resistant identity card for foreign workers, and a mandatory electronics system for verifying employment eligibility.
This will make sure that you're complying with the law, that you don't have to guess, that you don't hope you're dealing with some forged document.
It will make it easier for you to do your -- run your businesses, and at the same time, it'll make it easier for the government to punish those who hire illegal immigrants -- knowingly hire illegal immigrants. In other words, it gives us a chance to enforce the law, and that's what the American people want.
It's important for the people to know that their government is serious about meeting these benchmarks.
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