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Campbell Brown
Chicago Student Deaths; California Wildfires Rage
Aired May 08, 2009 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, folks, it's Friday, and we're certainly glad that you're with us.
It's normally good news for school kids all over the country when it comes to the weekend, but, in Chicago, some teens might be wondering this weekend if they will be the next victim of an out-of- control violence we have been telling you about all week.
As always, our panel is here to talk about this and a host of other issues, CNN correspondent Erica Hill, chief business correspondent Ali Velshi, national political correspondent Jessica Yellin, and Lisa Bloom, "In Session" anchor and CNN legal analyst.
Now, folks, on the front burner tonight, the escalating bloodshed in the Windy City. This week, we have been taking you to the heart of the violence that's killed 36 Chicago public school students this year alone.
CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, sat down with one of those who lived to tell his story. Listen to the calm in this young man's voice as he describes the reality that few of us could ever imagine.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When 19-year-old Tyrese McKay (ph) was rushed into the E.R. here at Advocate Christ Medical Center, doctors didn't think he'd survive. He'd been shot from behind while riding his bicycle.
Trauma surgeon Dr. Steven Salzman.
(on camera) How close did he come to dying?
DR. STEVEN SALZMAN, TRAUMA SURGEON: We told Tyrese's family that we did not expect him to live through the night. Tyrese had major abdominal vascular injuries to the point where he was profusely bleeding.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought I was going to die.
GUPTA (voice-over): Now weeks later, Tyrese is hanging on. He's lucky. This is the second time he's been shot in only three months.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first time, when I got shot the second time, my brother was an inch away from the first gunshot.
GUPTA (on camera): Do you know other people that have been shot?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of guys I hang around have been shot before.
GUPTA: You say that almost like, you know, you go swimming on the weekends.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's how it is. It's like that. Things just go on, everyday life. GUPTA (voice-over): In the past 16 months, 250 teenagers have been wheeled through these E. R. doors. Gunshot victims, every one of them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just several weeks ago, we literally had six or seven gunshot wounds. There were basically two badly gunshot wounds, one that wound up dying, two other gunshot wounds here, two other gunshot wounds over there. And so it was -- it was incredible. We were completely filled. And, actually, that same night, we had a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old that were shot, too.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN: Folks, we're back with our panel to chat about this. And, also, in a moment, we're going to talk with the father of a Chicago -- actually, a Chicago police officer whose son was killed a couple of years ago.
Here is what was interesting. He said -- quote -- "A lot of guys I hang around get shot." And what automatically comes to my mind is, what are you doing, what are they doing, and how are you in a situation where all of you are being impacted by gunshots?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, but that kid said that -- well, the doctor said that he had a 2-year-old and a 4- year-old in there getting shot. I mean, by association, you can't be blaming a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old...
(CROSSTALK)
LISA BLOOM, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It sounds like a war zone.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Sounds like there's way too many guns going on.
BLOOM: Well, that's the question. I have spent eight years on my program doing homicide cases, about 90 percent of which are gunshot cases.
And at what point do we say we don't want to just live in a culture where gunshots are the norm, where a kid gets shot twice, where on my show I have to make sure I remember which toddler caught in a crossfire case we're covering today.
VELSHI: Wow. Yes.
BLOOM: Other countries don't accept that. Have we gotten to the point where we just accept that children are caught in the crossfire?
(CROSSTALK)
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Go ahead.
MARTIN: Here's the deal, though. I understand the gun control argument. But the reality is, you also have people who have anger management problems, who are resolving differences by actually shooting people.
BLOOM: That's right.
MARTIN: Two and a 4-year-old, I get that's the crossfire.
VELSHI: Yes. Yes.
MARTIN: But when you're 15-, 16-, 17-year-old, there are other things that are going on...
(CROSSTALK)
HILL: There are.
MARTIN: ... contributing to this kind of violence.
HILL: And that's where it gets scary.
And to your point on two levels, there are the gun control issues, a number of people in Chicago pushing for gun control, but there are also community activists who have come out and said, look, gun control would be great, but even if you have gun control, these kids aren't walking into a store and buying a gun.
They're buying a gun out of the back of a truck or from somebody they know on the street. So, that's one issue. The other thing, as you mentioned, is, how did we get to the point where kids who are barely teenagers are thinking, the only way for me to settle a dispute, which could be something as stupid as, you know what, I don't want you wearing that, or you looked at my girlfriend, they think the only way to deal with it is to pull out a gun and shoot someone.
(CROSSTALK)
BLOOM: But the difference between us and other Western nations is we all have angry young men. We all have gangs. We all have unemployed, disaffected adolescents. The only difference is we arm ours and we accept this level of gun violence.
YELLIN: But that's in the Constitution. The chances of getting that to change are far more...
(CROSSTALK)
YELLIN: The question is, what's happening at home? What's happening at home for these kids?
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: Here is what is interesting. We brought up gun control. I rarely hear people talk about parental control.
YELLIN: Right.
MARTIN: Kid control.
(CROSSTALK)
YELLIN: And the president talks about it.
MARTIN: Absolutely.
YELLIN: This is a big issue for the president.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: And we heard Father Pfleger yesterday saying, why aren't parents going in there and saying, is there a gun in the house somewhere and making sure that they know where everything is?
Now, I think that is hard for any parent to -- I think a kid can hide a gun if they want to.
MARTIN: But you know what? You can hide a gun, but I will tell you what my dad did, turned up the bed, turned out every drawer, turned the closet, made it clear, I run this particular house; you don't.
So, he had control of the whole entire domain.
(CROSSTALK)
BLOOM: Some kids get them from their parents or grandparents in these shooting cases. Many states don't even require child locks or parents to lock the ammunition away from the guns.
MARTIN: We have an individual right now, folks, who understands this problem very clearly. He's a Chicago police officer who lost his son, 16-year-old Blair, two years ago. He is Ron Holt. And he's been really on this issue ever since then.
And he says a direct approach is necessary to try and stop the trouble before it starts with other kids.
Hey, Ron, certainly glad to see you.
Now, look, you're a police officer. You're a part of the gang unit. You have seen all of this. People talk about the government not doing their part. What do you put the blame on? What is the issue, why we're seeing this level of violence in Chicago and other places?
RON HOLT, FATHER OF MUCH VICTIM: Well, when you talk about putting the blame, you also -- you have to start where these children, where these violent individuals, these youth come from. They're someone's son. They're someone's daughter.
MARTIN: That's right.
HOLT: There is an adult out there. There is a male, a female who brought these children into the world and left them to, obviously, fend for themselves.
They lacked probably poor parenting skills to pass on any life lesson skill management to these children. These kids might have been born to individuals that were on drugs. They may not know their fathers, which is another critical component when you don't have a father in the home. Nine times out of 10, if you're raising male children, a mom can and at times lose control of that young man. And they...
MARTIN: And you know what, Ron? whenever they go to court, I love this here: "My baby didn't do it." And I'm sitting at home saying, well, where in the hell were you when your baby was out at 1:00 in the morning? Don't give me that baby stuff in the courtroom.
HOLT: Exactly. Exactly, Roland, and we hear it more -- so often, not just in Chicago, but all around the country.
And here's the thing, Roland. You have a lot of parents, they know their children. A mother, a father, if they have had that child in the house for the first five, 10, 15, 16 years of their lives, they know what type of child that they're raising.
VELSHI: Hey, Ron, it's Ali Velshi.
HOLT: So, there's no excuse...
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Ron, I want to ask you something.
HOLT: Yes.
VELSHI: We have been talking about this for a few days, and it's kind of hard to get your head around if you're not in it. Now, tell me what has to happen, because we have had some people say the community has to come to together. There are other people who tell us what you tell us about parenting. Others have told us the police. Others have told us it's a gang problem.
HOLT: Yes. Yes. Yes.
VELSHI: What solves this problem?
HOLT: All of that, Roland, all of that. It has to be a multifaceted approach.
Everyone has to get involved, everyone who feels like they are living in an area where there is a high rate of crime. It has to start on the streets. It has to start with people who can get out and be organized when they do this. They have to become more or less gang and violence interrupters...
MARTIN: That's right.
HOLT: ... interveners. They have to get out there and actually talk to these young men and ask them, what is the problem? Why can you all not come to some peaceful accord? I look at it like this, Roland.
(CROSSTALK)
Bill Clinton Ron, let me ask you this question, because if 30- plus kids in the Chicago public schools had died from the swine flu, those schools would be shut down, quarantined, we would have national attention on this problem.
And, certainly, we all agree, parents should do more, the community can do more. But what about our country? What about the rest of us? What can we do legally to get in there and pay some serious attention to this problem right now?
HOLT: Our country, everyone who has been impacted by this, even the ones who have not been impacted by senseless acts of gun violence, need to work from wherever they are.
MARTIN: That's right.
HOLT: They need to probably phone their legislators, if you're talking of putting commonsense gun laws into place. You have to pressure your legislatures on the political level.
On the social and community level, you have to pressure people to become more organized and more vigilant and have the moral capacity and live fearlessly and deal with these situations and these young men who are out here running through the streets, running through gang waves, taking lives for no apparent reason, as I heard you say before, when I was listening.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLT: You have these people who, for whatever reason, they have the mind-set that if their lives are filled with madness and misery, they want to make someone else's life part of their misery.
MARTIN: Absolutely.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLT: And that's not fair.
(CROSSTALK)
HILL: It is not fair, Ron. It is not, and you know that better than anyone, having lost your son. We're very tight on time, but I want to ask you this.
HOLT: Yes. HILL: Arne Duncan two years ago told CNN that all hell would break loose if this was happening in more upscale suburbs. Is this -- is part of the problem the fact that this is happening in lower-income neighborhoods? And is there also a racial bias here?
HOLT: You know what? There is a racial bias, and we should have the maturity as Americans, as law-abiding citizens, as civil-minded individuals, to have that conversation.
We have known for so long that there's been a lot of racial disparity in America to certain issues, because we're not in a homogeneous society. We're in a diversified culture and ethnicity in America. And, yes, Arne Duncan was right at that point when he said, if we had children -- and keep in mind, you all, keep in mind, if we had...
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: OK, Ron, about 10 seconds, 10 seconds.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLT: ... the total white children -- the total of white children being shot and killed like you have the black-on-black children shooting each other in that manner, there would be such complete outrage that you would have legislators beating down the doors of community activists and moms and dads...
MARTIN: Right.
HOLT: ... and everyone else, saying, what can we do to help?
MARTIN: Hey, Ron.
HOLT: Give us some bills to turn into laws.
MARTIN: Hey, Ron, we are certainly out of time, but, also, look, the realities is, it's impacting African-Americans, Hispanics, whites. It's also a class issue, those haves and have-nots.
HOLT: Yes, it does. It's an American problem.
MARTIN: Ron Holt, we certainly appreciate. Thank you so very much, sir.
HOLT: Thank you.
MARTIN: Right now, folks, an out-of-control wildfire is burning through Santa Barbara, California. Some 30,000 people were told they could die if they stayed behind. The fire chief described it as all hell breaking loose. We will take you there, coming up.
Plus, your in-laws may be coming over for Mother's Day this weekend, but what if they stayed for good? The first family did it. How about you? Would you clear out a room and say, stay as long as you like? Lisa in Louisiana says, welcome home.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
LISA, LOUISIANA: In these days and times, we all need help. And when I go out on business or I need something I have to do and I can't take my child, I have the assurance and the peace to know that -- I know that my child's being taken care of.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
MARTIN: Ooh, I can't wait to hear from Erica, Ali, Jessica and Lisa on this one, but we want to hear from you as well, folks. Would you let your in-laws move in with you to help raise your family? Give us a call, 1-877-NO-BULL-0, 1-877-662-8550. Also, drop an e-mail, Roland@CNN.com, and check me out on Twitter and Facebook.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARTIN: That song is "All About the Benjamins," and folks, it's all about money.
Look, it's not as if we wouldn't love to bring you some really good economic news. Ali loves that. Our chief business correspondent, Ali Velshi, is here to show how the latest unemployment numbers -- sorry -- which look really, really bad, may contain a ray of hope at the same time.
All right, Ali, what's the deal?
VELSHI: Well, let me tell you, I never thought that I would be here telling you about more than half-a-million people losing their jobs in one month and that that's not the worst news you have got. Why? Because we're immune to it. We have seen this month after month after month.
And in fact we just got the numbers for April, 539,000 people put out of work, and we ended up with another up market day. We have had nine weeks in a row. Take a look at this. Let's go back to the beginning of this recession. December '07 was the beginning of the recession, but we didn't actually lose jobs that month.
It started in January '08, and just a few. Now, look at this. Look at the trend. Look what happened. By August and September, that was when that credit crisis tightened in. September 15 is when Lehman Brothers failed. September 16 was when we had the AIG problem.
Look what happened. October, November, December, we were losing, closing in on 700,000, more than 700,000 jobs, in a single month. Then we started to ease up a little bit. So, now, by the time we're only losing 539,000 jobs in one month, it doesn't feel all that bad.
It feels like maybe, maybe we have bottomed out, and maybe next month will be fewer. Still, we have got an 8.5 -- 8.9 percent unemployment rate, and that is the biggest in -- the highest in 25 years. Let's break it down by race. Men, all men, they have a 10 percent unemployment rate. Women have a 7.6 percent unemployment rate.
Why? Because men are involved in the types of jobs that are being lost, in industry, in construction, in manufacturing. Women are in the type of jobs that are growing, in health care, in nursing, office jobs, retail.
Look at how it breaks down by race. Whites have an on-average 8 percent unemployment rate, blacks, 15 percent, up from 13.5 percent in March, Hispanics 11.3 percent, down just a smidge from the month before.
So, this is kind of the way it breaks down in terms of who is unemployed and how it's working. But the bottom line is, people are thinking maybe it's not as bad as it was the month before. That's why...
(CROSSTALK)
HILL: It's less worse, as you like to say, right? Less worse.
VELSHI: Less worse.
(LAUGHTER)
MARTIN: Now, Ali, the president today linked unemployment and education.
Folks, here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The average college graduate earns 80 percent more than those who stopped after high school.
So, if we want to help people not only get back on their feet today, but prosper tomorrow, we need to take a rigorous new approach to higher education and technical training. And that starts by changing senseless rules that discourage displaced workers from getting the education and training they need to find and fill the jobs of the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN: Ali, real quick, the bottom line is, unemployment shows, if you have got a...
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: ... the degree...
VELSHI: Yes, he's not making that up. That's not even debatable.
Take a look at the rates of unemployment. I think we can show it to you on the wall there and how it differs between people with a high school education, people with no high school education, and people with a college education. It's right behind me. Let me -- OK, you can see it right there.
MARTIN: Right.
VELSHI: Look at that. High school dropouts have a more than 14 percent unemployment rate, high school graduates 9.3 percent unemployment rate, college graduates 4.4 percent.
MARTIN: Wow.
VELSHI: There is no debating that fact.
MARTIN: Absolutely. Ali, great job.
Folks, we have got a reminder for you. Ali and Anderson Cooper will be here this coming Thursday with an hour-long "Money & Main Street" special. It starts at 8:00 p.m. Eastern May 14.
Sometimes, the system does work. For instance, wait until you hear what happened to the guy who let Air Force One buzz Manhattan nice and low, scaring the heebie-jeebies out of 9/11 survivors. He's out of a job today. He will be in that number -- details in our daily briefing.
(LAUGHTER)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARTIN: Any divas on the panel?
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: Folks, that's "Diva" by Beyonce, a request from Stiletto Sunday (ph) on Twitter.
HILL: Wow. Stiletto Sunday?
VELSHI: What do you get if your song gets played?
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: We will make it up.
(CROSSTALK)
HILL: You get a pocket square.
MARTIN: All right, there you go. There you go.
YELLIN: Hey, nice.
MARTIN: Folks, if you live in the White House, you have got room for just about everybody. It's a pretty big place, even the president's mother-in-law, but what about the rest of us? How would you feel with some extra company? Count Denise from Michigan out.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
DENISE, MICHIGAN: Are you crazy? No. My in-laws, I would never want them living in my house, on the same block, the same state, no, definitely not near my children. But I'm glad the Obamas have someone like that, that they can trust.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HILL: Wow.
(CROSSTALK)
HILL: I guess they know where Denise stands.
MARTIN: Yes.
YELLIN: We spent our whole childhood trying to get out of the house. Why would you want mom and dad back in? I'm with Denise.
BLOOM: Oh, I don't know. I'm a single mother.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: In this economy, the way things are going, you're going to see a lot more of...
(CROSSTALK)
BLOOM: I say, bring them down.
MARTIN: Folks, we want to know what you think. Would you let your in-laws move in with you to help raise your family? Give us a shout, 1-877-NO-BULL-0. That's 1-877-662-8550. And don't forget to e-mail me, Roland@CNN.com. Drop me a note on Twitter and Facebook.
And your people cannot come live with me, so...
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARTIN: Folks, tonight, the president of Afghanistan doesn't have any kind words for the U.S., he says, shaking his finger, for killing civilians earlier this week in a bombing raid. He says more than 100 men have been killed. That would have the most in one event since the U.S. went to war in Afghanistan.
Now President Hamid Karzai wants the U.S. bombing to stop completely. He sat down with CNN's Wolf Blitzer today, and we will get to that in just a moment.
But, first, let me bring in Democratic senator Ben Nelson, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Senator, welcome to the show.
SEN. BEN NELSON (D), NEBRASKA: Thank you, Roland. Good to be with you.
MARTIN: All right. All right.
There are some real discrepancies here in terms of the number of civilians that were killed during this week's airstrikes. The Pentagon says some 50 deaths, mainly insurgent and some civilians, but listen to what the president said. He said -- he talked to Wolf Blitzer. He had a different number.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAMID KARZAI, PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN: I got a different word from the government this morning, that there were more than 100 casualties, nearly 125 to 130 civilians lost, deaths, children, women and men, and that it was done by the bombings.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. bombings?
KARZAI: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN: So, Senator, explain the difference, if you can.
NELSON: Well, you know, I -- nobody wants to see any civilian casualties at any time, war or otherwise. And I know that the military uses extra caution to try to avoid having civilian casualties.
But, unfortunately, from time to time, you're going to encounter some casualties. This happened to be a rather large number. And I know the military will look into it, investigate, try to find out exactly what happened, what went wrong, and how this all occurred.
YELLIN: Senator, it's Jessica Yellin.
There are a lot of concerns with the president's ability to lead his country and also with the U.S.' renewed commitment to fighting there. I'm curious, you know, a lot of people talk about this as this president's Vietnam.
Are you confident that the U.S. can accomplish its goal there? And are you confident that Hamid Karzai can do his job?
NELSON: Well, one of the ways that we can perhaps establish some confidence is to have missions that are established that are measurable, in other words, benchmarks as to the kinds of goals that are being set.
And then we can measure whether or not we're achieving them. In Iraq, we had a situation where the vice president was saying that we were winning, and my colleague Senator Chuck Hagel was saying we're losing, both looking at the same set of facts at the same time, and they can't both be right under that circumstance.
So, that's why I pushed for benchmarks, 18 of them, led legislation to get them established. And I'm also working with the secretary of defense, secretary of state and the White House to establish benchmarks or missions that are measurable by metrics, so that we can determine whether we're making progress or not.
HILL: Senator, it's Erica Hill. I know how important those benchmarks are to you. You have been pushing for them for some time now.
Wolf actually spoke with President Karzai today about his idea for how long the U.S. will stay in Afghanistan. Take a listen to what he had to say.
NELSON: Sure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARZAI: I can't give you a time frame. I can give you a time frame for the building up of the Afghan institutions. I can say that within 10 years from now, Afghanistan will be a lot more capable as a state.
BLITZER: And so for the next 10 years, you think you'll need that kind of U.S./NATO assistance?
KARZAI: Assistance to help Afghanistan build itself. But the war on terror is an entirely different issue.
To defeat the al Qaeda and the terrorist networks, it's an evolving thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: So, that's an idea some of the benchmarks, perhaps, in the mind of President Karzai.
Do you think, in fact, the U.S. has realistic goals when it comes to benchmarks and how long we're going to have to stay in Afghanistan to get that job done?
NELSON: Well, that's why we need to have realistic goals, something about diplomacy, as well as about what kind of progress we're making against repelling and taking out the Taliban, as well as what's happening politically and how is President Karzai doing with his people in Afghanistan.
And, so, I think those are the kinds of things that we need to establish up front and be able to measure how things are going according to those benchmarks, those missions that are established. I don't think there's any other way that you're able to know exactly how you're doing. Otherwise, it's purely anecdotal. And then we will be debating for eons whether it's -- we're winning or losing, and I think it's about more than that. It's about establishing metrics, so that we can determine whether we're 50 percent toward the goal or not.
HILL: But -- but, Senator, just a quick yes or no for you. Is 10 years realistic for the U.S.?
NELSON: Well, you know, the American people are patient, but they also expect that things would be happening.
I don't know whether the 10-year number is appropriate or not. I don't think we ought to set a date for withdrawal, but I think if there's progress being made, the American people will continue to want to support the effort.
We understand that -- that we're there and we need to work with the Afghans. But we also need to know they're doing what they can. So, that's why, I think, measuring progress will probably enable us to stay there for a longer period of time, if we're making progress.
MARTIN: Senator Ben Nelson, always a pleasure. We appreciate it.
NELSON: Thank you. My pleasure to be with you.
MARTIN: Folks, tonight, the man charged with bringing murder and fear to a Connecticut college town is off the streets, but wait until you hear what police say they allegedly found in his home. It is chilling.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN ANCHOR: OK, what was that?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATL. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Timberlake.
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I love Justin Timberlake.
YELLIN: He's awesome.
MARTIN: OK. You're all smiling.
YELLIN: He is cute.
MARTIN: All right, folks.
YELLIN: Ali loves him.
MARTIN: Would you let your in-laws --
YELLIN: He does bring sexy back.
MARTIN: Yes, he does. He's supposedly bringing sexy back, right? OK, would you let your in-laws move in with you to help raise your family? Give us a shout, 1-877-NO-BULL-0. That's 1-877-662- 8550. But right now, Erica with "The Briefing," and Justin is waiting to hear.
HILL: I'm sure he's waiting with bated breath. We do have some really important updates though on the fire we've been following for you out of Southern California, in Santa Barbara, along the central coast there. These are some live pictures coming to us, I believe, from our affiliate KCAL out of L.A.
The flames -- some good news here, the flames are actually being pushed away from the city a little bit. We can tell you, though, the fire is only about 10 percent contained right now. Three thousand five hundred acres or so have burned at this point.
At this hour, 30,000 people plus have already been evacuated from their homes. Twenty-three thousand more are under an evacuation warning. Nine thousand dwellings and businesses are threatened. So far, 75 homes have been damaged or destroyed and we know that there are 11 firefighters who were injured.
So, again, the blaze far from over, but as we watch these live pictures, the good news the winds are perhaps going to help those firefighters tonight and tomorrow.
There is another bizarre twist in the killing of a Wesleyan University student. Police said they found a journal containing "Kill Johanna, she must die." That entry is dated just hours before the 21- year-old student was shot multiple times at point-blank range in a bookstore near campus.
Police say they found the book near a laptop computer that listed Stephen Morgan, the suspect in this case, as its administrator. Morgan, who is being arraigned today, is being held on $15 million bond.
Tonight, the number of confirmed swine flu cases in the U.S. has now doubled. More than 1,600 cases spread across 43 states. President Obama today saying Americans should continue to take basic precautions, such as hand-washing -- probably good to do even without swine flu. Forty-eight people worldwide who had the virus have died.
A salute to the Statue of Liberty. The crown of Lady Liberty set to reopen to visitors, when else but July 4th. It will be the first time the crown has opened since 9/11.
And in Kansas City, Missouri, a bank robber who must be new to the job. Cops say he made off with three grand, but left his wallet behind. Didn't take too long for the long arms (ph) of law to catch up with this sneaky man.
MARTIN: Man, I love it.
HILL: Right?
Hey, I'll just leave this behind.
YELLIN: With his ID?
HILL: Yes, all kinds.
MARTIN: God, I love dumb criminals. Just make it so easy.
LISA BLOOM, ANCHOR OF TRUTV'S "IN SESSION": There was also the bank robber who put the note "give me all your money" on the back of one of his checks with his name and address.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Really?
BLOOM: I kid you not. A couple years ago.
HILL: And his account number, huh?
YELLIN: His home address.
HILL: Just have the money put in the account.
VELSHI: Just put it in the account. Just transfer the money.
MARTIN: I bet his teachers are going, "Oh, my God."
BLOOM: What are you whining?
MARTIN: All right, folks, coming up on this day or tomorrow, the bailout. Where have all of our tax dollars gone? And is anybody being held accountable?
"Watching Your Money" with CNN's special investigations unit right here tomorrow night at 8:00 Eastern here on CNN.
All right, just in time for Mother's Day, what do you think the most popular baby name is? I'll give you a hint, it's not Roland.
HILL: Ali.
MARTIN: Roland is German. The new names are popular and political. The list is coming up.
VELSHI: Roland's German?
MARTIN: Roland is a German name.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARTIN: The horrors of rape are simply too awful to imagine for many of us, and the numbers are truly staggering. Get this -- one out of six American women have been the victims of rape or attempted rape, almost 18 million women. And another indignity caught our attention.
A rape victim tells our affiliate KPRC in Houston that she was billed hundreds of dollars for her own rape exam. That's right. Essentially forced to pay for evidence crucial to her case. Now, she's apparently being reimbursed, and at least her evidence was tested. But there are huge numbers of rape kits that are not tested at all because there's no money or no qualified lab technicians to do it.
Jessica Yellin, she breaks it down for us. What in the world is going on?
HILL: I'll tell you, Roland. First of all, let's talk about that case in Houston. Here's what happened.
The woman was a single mom. She was raped at home in her bed. Now, like many victims, she went to get a rape exam, and during that exam, they gathered forensic evidence for the police to use in their investigation and doctors also at the same time treat any injuries the woman could have. So, that could include everything from setting broken bones to giving the morning-after pill.
Well, in the case of this Houston woman, they found the person who raped her and prosecuted. But get this, the woman was later charged for the cost of the medical exam, about $1,800.
Now, again, that's the part that has to do with treating her injuries. When the hospital learned of the bill, which happened much later, they eventually agreed to drop the cost, but we do hear similar stories all across the country of rape victims getting billed for their exam, and they describe it as feeling victimized for a second time.
Now, the National Violence Against Women Act did make it illegal to charge victims, but there are inconsistencies. Some people can pay through a victim's fund, some through insurance, but we find these cases all over the country.
Now, equally astounding, we should mention, is that rape kits, the forensic exams, are sitting on shelves, in many cases, unopened for years. For example, in Los Angeles County, more than 10,000 rape kits are right now sitting on shelves waiting for someone to do the DNA test while the rapists are out on the streets, and it goes on for years.
New York City had a backlog. Giuliani had them tested and they found 2,000 matches to known sex offenders. And they even exonerated some people. It's not only for the rape victims. It helps. And this is still going on.
HILL: And it's amazing you mention New York City. The arrest rate has actually gone from 40 percent up to 70 percent because they have committed to getting all of these kits tested. I think that's over the last ten years you've seen an increase in arrest.
YELLIN: And the exact opposite case in Los Angeles where rape arrests have fallen precipitously as these kits.
MARTIN: Well, I think it's pretty stupid you don't test the stuff. Ali, hold tight one second.
VELSHI: Yes.
MARTIN: I want to bring in Kelly Young. She's vice president of education and outreach for the Houston Area Women's Center, a rape crisis facility in Texas.
And so, Kelly, Ali with the first question.
VELSHI: Kelly, this business about somebody potentially getting billed for their rape kit, that can't be acceptable anywhere. I imagine that's always an oversight, or is there someplace that does this as a matter of routine?
KELLY YOUNG, HOUSTON AREA WOMEN'S CENTER: No, that's an oversight. That's an internal process that needs to be taken care of by the criminal justice system or the health care system. The survivor should never see a bill like that.
BLOOM: Well, Kelly, I can't think of any other forensic exam of a crime victim, any other DNA test, any of the many expensive tests that are done in homes, in offices, on the streets when there's a crime, where the victim gets billed. I mean, even if it is an oversight, why does it consistently seem to happen with rape victims?
YOUNG: Well, I think, unfortunately, in that system, you have a lot more outside systems working together, and it has to be coded correctly and there's lots of stipulations about what you can and cannot do and who sends in the bills. And for me, the issue is that if the survivor gets a bill six months later, all you've done is reopened that trauma for her, versus it being something that the hospital or the criminal justice system could have taken care of.
VELSHI: Lisa, if somebody is badly beaten and goes to the hospital, let's say they don't have insurance, do they go through the same sort of situation?
BLOOM: I have never heard of any other kind of crime victim being billed for a medical exam that's related to the crime.
VELSHI: Right.
BLOOM: But you know, I think we need a fiscal overhaul of our criminal justice system. We spend billions of dollars prosecuting hookers and pot smokers.
VELSHI: Right.
BLOOM: We've got DNA tests sitting there on the shelves not being processed.
VELSHI: That's why you think that has to be a priority.
BLOOM: We're talking about violent criminals here, rapists who could be apprehended if we would just process this information. YELLIN: And to be fair, what happens is the hospitals directly bill a victim's fund that exists in each state.
YOUNG: Right, right, right. Exactly, and that's part of it, is that if you have it worked out really well with your system and your attorney general's office is working with your health care system to make sure that they know how to do it correctly, it really shouldn't be a problem. It's not difficult.
And I also think that when they look at rape kits, and just in terms of general issues that come up with that, why it's sitting on the -- why it's sitting in some storage room is because it has to be prioritized. There's not enough people. There's not enough money to process all of this.
YELLIN: Right. And police officers often say rape is so hard to investigate and prosecute, that they don't want to prioritize spending money on a rape kit when they can spend the money on a murder.
YOUNG: Right.
YELLIN: But let me ask you this, you work directly with a lot of rape victims. So I'm curious, what emotions do they go through when you tell them, your rape kit isn't being investigated, police are not acting on this right now?
YOUNG: Well, I think it's important to realize that a survivor doesn't think of themselves as a name or a number on a box. They see that rape kit as a verification of their trauma, of their victimization. So, it's very personal to them. And when you tell them that it basically feels like, I did my part, why are you not doing your part?
And it's a traumatic experience to go through a rape kit. It's 16 steps in Texas. They take blood, they take hair samples. And basically, when you tell a victim that, you know, if you go through this, this will help us in finding the perpetrator and three years go by and you don't hear anything, that's a problem for the survivor.
BLOOM: Kelly -- Kelly, before we run out of time, we know that rape is the most underreported major felony. We don't want anybody to be deterred from reporting rape. What's the message that you want to get out there to people about what federal law does in this regard so that there's absolutely no confusion about paying for rape tests?
MARTIN: Kelly, about 20 seconds.
YOUNG: Right, that you should not pay for a rape kit, and that's just number one. So, when you get to the hospital, you need to make sure you have the information. Unfortunately, you have to be your own advocate sometime and make sure you tell the hospital you're sure that you're sending the paperwork to the proper authorities. And you sometimes have to call and follow up on your own. Unfortunately for you that you have to do that, but you also want to make sure that your case is taken care of.
BLOOM: It's a matter of federal law -- federal law.
MARTIN: That's great information.
Kelly Young of the Houston Area Women's Center, we certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot.
YOUNG: Thank you.
MARTIN: Thank you.
VELSHI: To Lisa's point, you've got to get the rape kit done.
MARTIN: Absolutely.
VELSHI: That's a priority.
MARTIN: Folks, would you let your in-laws move in with you to help raise your family? That's the question of the day. Start dialing right now, 1-877-NO-BULL-0. That's 1-877-662-8550.
And then, of course, there's this -- the Air Force One flyover fallout. What happened? Details in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
YELLIN: I promised I'd dance at some point. I had to dance to that.
MARTIN: All right, folks, you can't go away on a weekend without the "Political Daily Briefing." Jessica Yellin batters up.
YELLIN: Well, we've got a big announcement today, Roland. The president is going to make a major speech on U.S. relations with the Muslim world. He'll do it in Egypt on June 4th.
During the campaign, Obama, then a candidate, promised to deliver a speech in the Arab world in his first 100 days in office to help improve America's image in that part of the world. It took just a little bit longer than expected.
Before he makes it to Egypt, the president will have a little fun first at our expense. It happens this weekend. He'll speak at the annual, yes, White House Correspondents Dinner, and CNN will be there, along with a few others you may have heard of, like Jon Bon Jovi, Steven Spielberg, Ben Affleck, Ashton Kutcher, and don't forget to pronounce it right, Demi Moore.
MARTIN: And Jessica Yellin.
YELLIN: And a ton of other celebrities, Roland Martin.
Now, folks who live in D.C. call it the prom and it is also one of the hottest tickets in town. You will be able to watch the president right here on CNN. And you might remember, he can be pretty funny. Listen to this from the Al Smith Dinner that happened last October. He cut a few jokes. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Many of you know that I got my name, Barack, from my father. What you may not know is Barack is actually Swahili for "that one."
(LAUGHTER)
And I got my middle name from somebody who obviously didn't think I'd ever run for president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: His middle name, of course, being Hussein.
MARTIN: There you go.
YELLIN: On Saturday, the comedian in chief will have some jokes, I think, about all of us. They usually rip on the press.
All right, take a look at this picture. It costs you, the taxpayers, $328,000.
MARTIN: That's gorgeous!
YELLIN: Was it worth it? And today it cost one man his job.
This New York flyover by one of the jets used as Air Force One happened back on April 27th. For many New Yorkers, it brought up fears of 9/11. It was all for a photo-op and that photo was released today.
And see this man? He's the one who approved that photo getting taken in that flyover, the director of the White House Military Office. Louis Caldera resigned today. The president had been furious the flight happened and he gladly accepted Caldera's resignation. He left, again.
MARTIN: Did he work on the photo map this weekend?
YELLIN: OK. One more thing, on a lighter note, you guys. Have you seen this? They're all marveling at it.
I want one.
And the John Kindle (ph), it's kind of like an iPod for books, magazines and newspapers, and I've been almost breaking it so far.
It can read to you is the other part of it. It's fancy technology, but it has some catching up to do. Listen to how it pronounces the president's name.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barack Obama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: Not good.
MARTIN: Barack Obama.
YELLIN: Barack Obama.
MARTIN: OK.
BLOOM: What part of the country is that from?
YELLIN: It's from computerland. It better catch up fast, because Barack is more popular as a name than ever.
According to the Social Security Administration, which tracks baby names, for the year 2008, Barack rocketed up more than 10,000 spots. It's one of the most popular names.
MARTIN: Like Amazon or something.
YELLIN: It now ranks -- well, number 2,409, but you can guess it will probably keep moving up.
MARTIN: Yes.
YELLIN: And our crack staff did a little investigating of our names. Guess whose name is the most unique name of the bunch?
MARTIN: Who?
BLOOM: Ali.
HILL: Ali.
YELLIN: Actually, Roland.
BLOOM: Really.
YELLIN: It's number 757 in popularity. You are next.
BLOOM: Yes.
YELLIN: At 605.
BLOOM: Those are Lisas under 30.
YELLIN: Then who?
Ali.
VELSHI: At 398?
YELLIN: 398.
HILL: How about that?
YELLIN: Erica?
HILL: That's me.
YELLIN: 293.
HILL: OK.
YELLIN: And believe it or not, I'm the most common.
VELSHI: What a list (ph). These are jobless data.
BLOOM: They are the baby names.
YELLIN: 4-year-olds that I hear all the time, Jessica, Jessica.
VELSHI: That's because you're like 15 years younger than the rest of us.
MARTIN: All right.
YELLIN: All right.
MARTIN: Just love being unique.
All right. Time to go to Larry King, who is, of course, very unique.
HILL: Because he's the king.
BLOOM: You can't be very unique.
KING: Larry?
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Hey, Roland, you know something?
MARTIN: What?
KING: Larry used to be a popular name, but I don't think it's -- I don't think it's anywhere on the list anymore.
MARTIN: It's your fault.
KING: It's just -- not here.
MARTIN: You're too popular.
KING: I've got a hip way to spell it.
MARTIN: Oh, that's right. Larry -- is it Larry 375?
KING: Small "l-a-r-i."
MARTIN: Larry, you're 375.
KING: I'm 375? MARTIN: 375.
KING: That's not bad.
YELLIN: Better than Barack.
KING: That's not bad. I'm surprised. Yes, I bet it used to be in the top 100.
MARTIN: All right. OK.
BLOOM: But you're still the king.
KING: Yes.
MARTIN: All right.
KING: Anyway, Drew Peterson. Where's Drew on the list?
MARTIN: Uh, jail.
KING: Jail. He's listed under jail.
(LAUGHTER)
You know, he gets sillier every day. Drew was in court today, less than 24 hours after his arrest. That's for the 2004 death of his third wife.
Peterson joked with reporters on the way in. We'll find out what he said. We'll talk with family members of the victim.
And then Whoopi Goldberg, the talented star is going to make you laugh and think and maybe a great interview, if I do say so myself.
It's all ahead on "LARRY KING LIVE." Roland and the gang, have a great weekend.
MARTIN: All right, number 373 (ph), see you on Monday.
HILL: Thanks, Larry.
MARTIN: All right, folks, you want your in-laws moving with you? Well, follow the Obamas' example that could be it.
Here's Stanley in New York. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STANLEY, FROM NEW YORK (via telephone): Yes, I would let my mother-in-law move in with us. Why not? You know, the more family in the house, the better, the way these days are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN: OK, Stan, we appreciate it. Folks, what do you think? 1-877-662-8550. The panel weighs in next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARTIN: Hey, folks. We've got a multi-generational family. Check this photo out.
This is the first lady and her mother, Marian Robinson, together in "Essence" magazine. I also write for them.
Mrs. Robinson moved with the Obamas to Washington in January. This is a growing trend, folks. That is, families who are moving in, mothers and fathers moving in with their children. So, the president also, in his proclamation said this about mothers. They're "the bedrock of the American family, vital to their children's growth and happiness and to the success of our country."
Jessica says, "But don't move in with me."
YELLIN: Sorry, mom.
MARTIN: So, the whole truth for mother-in-laws as well, but specifically, your family. Erica Hill, Ali, Jessica, Lisa here with us. And so, we've got a call, folks. A lot of people are here on the phone lines.
Let's go to Kelly from Cookeville, Tennessee.
Kelly, should they move in or move out?
KELLY, TENNESSEE (via telephone): Absolutely move in. My mother and my stepfather have lived with my husband and I and our children for well over ten years. I can't begin to tell you how beneficial it's been for all of us, for them and for us and for our children, to have the continual support, loving arms, adults, the sense of family, the sense of your children learning how to deal with elderly or older people, and to have that respect between all of the different people.
MARTIN: Great point.
KELLY: It's wonderful.
MARTIN: Great point, Kelly.
YELLIN: Can't you just get that by visiting?
MARTIN: Hey, Kelly, thanks so much. I appreciate it.
BLOOM: Here, here.
MARTIN: And you are so wrong.
BLOOM: Here, here.
MARTIN: Let's go to Baltimore. Karen, hey, Karen.
KAREN, MARYLAND (via telephone): Hi. I know that I'm not the popular opinion, however, I feel like, guess what? When you grow up and you decide to move out, it is your family, it is your responsibility. You are the provider. You are the ones to take over.
Whether you are the mother or the father, it does not matter. Your parents moving in and having their opinion, if they want to come to visit, that is wonderful. However, if they want to come and they are taking over and they are making the rules and they are paying the bills, that sets a horrible example for your children.
MARTIN: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
YELLIN: Amen (ph).
MARTIN: Hold on, hold on -- thank you very much. Go.
BLOOM: It depends on the in-laws. Also, sometimes, it's a cultural thing.
MARTIN: Right.
BLOOM: I mean, look, I, also, as a single mom, and I'm generally wiped out and exhausted, my mom helped me with my kids a lot when I was raising them.
Thank you. Happy Mother's Day. Move back in, move next door. Next door.
VELSHI: And let me tell you, one thing that we've seeing -- you know, we talked about the unemployment numbers earlier. It's not an average thing. There are parts of the country, by the way, where entire towns are getting wiped out because their company, towns -- the town shuts down.
There are generations of people in the Midwest, who are in coal mining states, who work in the same industry. The first thing they're doing, because it's wiped out, all your income is wiped out for two or three generations, is they're moving in together.
MARTIN: Yes.
VELSHI: And that is the best thing that could happen.
MARTIN: Erica, would you want them to move in?
HILL: You know, I have two things. First of all, A, I think we should be asking, do the in-laws even want to move in? Because maybe parents don't want to take care of the kids.
(CROSSTALK)
I'll say this. I'll say this. I love a big family. I wish I had more family closer that I could call in. I wish I could call my parents or my in-laws and say, can you watch my son tonight? I can't. But I don't know how I would do with them living with me 24/7. It doesn't mean I don't love them. I would love to have them closer. Maybe in an in-law apartment.
BLOOM: How about next door? Right next door? I thought that was perfect.
HILL: Make rules of when you can come over.
VELSHI: But you can have rules and you can have privacy.
HILL: You can. Absolutely.
VELSHI: I think the same thing's happening with the second generation. Kids are coming back home because they're not getting jobs.
MARTIN: Yes.
HILL: That's right.
VELSHI: But you've got to have rules about how it goes.
MARTIN: Look, I don't mind it, but you know what's interesting? You have probably guys that say, sure, mother-in-law come in, it's the wife who's saying I don't want my mom coming in.
BLOOM: And you know, Barack Obama in a couple of interviews was asked, how do you like having your mother-in-law living with you?
He consistently had said, you know, it's terrific. And there's this real negative stereotype about mothers-in-law...
VELSHI: Yes. And I think it's true.
BLOOM: ... which I think is offensive that we don't have for fathers-in law. Not at all.
MARTIN: Hey, real quick, real quick. He also said that hey, when Michelle is against him, the mother-in-law takes up for him.
BLOOM: Yes.
YELLIN: He's got an ally.
BLOOM: And also his parents are both deceased, so he probably appreciates that.
MARTIN: Very true.
Kelly, you said Walter?
HILL: No, I think Lisa (ph).
MARTIN: Walter on the phone?
YELLIN: No, we've got to go.
VELSHI: No.
MARTIN: OK. All right, folks. Sorry, no caller there. Back in a moment.
VELSHI: You can all come live with me.
MARTIN: There you go. Come live with Ali.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARTIN: Hey, we want to thank all the folks who called and e- mailed us. Have a great, great weekend.
Also, we want to thank our moms for putting up with us.
HILL: Yeah.
BLOOM: Happy Mother's Day.
MARTIN: Happy Mother's Day.
HILL: And let's thank our mothers in law, too.
MARTIN: Absolutely.
YELLIN: Everyone.
MARTIN: "LARRY KING LIVE" starts right now. And what do we say?
ALL: Holler.
