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Past Problems at Burr Oak Cemetery; Jakarta Bombings; Funeral for Murdered Florida Couple; Health Care Reform Runs into Congressional Snag; Child Movie Star's Autobiography Out; Powerful Iranian Cleric Challenges Iranian Regime

Aired July 17, 2009 - 13:59   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we knew this story wasn't going away. We didn't bank on it becoming even more morbid, either. Burr Oak Cemetery outside Chicago, four workers accused of digging up hundreds of graves, dumping remains, reselling plots and pocketing cash. Thousands of people wondering if their loved ones are resting, not so much in peace but in place.

Get this, they might never know. DNA testing might not help identify the remains that are dug up and dumped in a field. Scientists would have to test relatives from all those buried at Burr Oak to find DNA matches. It's a tall order, and there's about 100,000 graves, and the records are in shambles.

The whole case, a truly morbid mess. And it has the State of Illinois rethinking the way it governs cemeteries. And it turns out there were red flags raised over Burr Oak in the past. Ben Bradley from our affiliate, WLS, reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN BRADLEY, REPORTER, WLS (voice-over): Burr Oak has been besieged by problems for years. Conditions were so bad, the Better Business Bureau has given the cemetery an "F" rating for the past three years.

In July of 2007, one woman reported finding "two feet of dirt on top of the headstone" of a loved one. That same year, another family arrived to bury their mother and found the "burial ground had not been dug." They complained they were "totally disgusted" with Burr Oak and said the cemetery operators could "never make up for the mental anguish."

MAYOR PATRICK KITCHING, ALSIP, ILLINOIS: They may have broken moral code, and I'm certain they did in this case, but legally, if there's no law that says they can't do that, then they can do that.

BRADLEY: Alsip Major Patrick Kitching is no fan of the way Burr Oak has run its business, but he says he thinks concerns about double burials are overblown.

KITCHING: Remember, a cemetery is not required to hold that space forever. So at some point, some bones were probably legally disinterred. What they do with them, there's no law that regulates that. BRADLEY: While it's true some low-cost cemetery plots do give cemetery owners the right to double bury after a period of time, that doesn't explain Burr Oaks' missing headstones, broken burial vaults, and bones discovered across the property.

Governor Pat Quinn announced a nine-person panel that will seek to strengthen the state's lax laws regulating cemeteries.

GOV. PAT QUINN (D), ILLINOIS: I think it's important that we get to the bottom of all the facts, and related to that, we also make sure that we protect the public interest and the consumer interest in the state of Illinois.

RUSS BAUSONE, REPORTED BONES AT BURR OAK: It just seems morally wrong, I guess. That's the only way I can put it. It's just not right.

BRADLEY: Russ Bausone was running power lines in the Burr Oak grounds in 2005 and reported a grisly discovery to Alsip police.

BAUSONE: We had seen caskets. You know, broken caskets. And then we started investigating a little bit more and we started noticing bones, legs, arms, hands sticking out of the ground.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: God.

That was Ben Bradley from our Chicago affiliate WLS.

The court-appointed caretaker at Burr Oak hopes to get the cemetery back open to the public by August 1st, and he's hoping by then the staff will be able to help most families find their buried relatives.

Now the murder case out of Florida. You know the one that I'm talking about, the killing of a Florida couple with a house full of special needs-children. The two victims laid to rest. The questions about their deaths and their alleged killers nowhere near laid to rest.

CNN's Ed Lavandera reports from Pensacola.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Family and friends have gathered for funeral services for Byrd and Melanie Billings today in Pensacola. But before funeral services started, the family's attorney addressed the one question that has been at the center of a great deal of speculation -- just what was inside the safe taken from the Billings' home?

CRYSTAL SPENCE, BILLINGS FAMILY ATTORNEY: As a result of the intense speculation regarding the motive of the crime, I have been authorized to tell you that the safe that was removed from the Billings' home contained only children's prescription medication, important family documents, and some jewelry of sentimental value. Hopefully, this will put to rest the intense speculation and rumors that are swirling about the Billings family.

LAVANDERA: We have reached out to prosecutors and investigators in this case to determine whether or not what this attorney is saying is accurate. But that safe, we have learned, was found on the property of Pamela Long Wiggins. She was the eighth person arrested.

She has been charged with accessory after the fact. And authorities tell us that that safe was found in their back yard. And we were told yesterday they were going through the process of figuring out what was inside that safe and cracking it open as well.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Pensacola, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Now to Indonesia and brazen attacks on neighboring five- star hotels. Suicide bombers struck the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott in the heart of Jakarta, the capital. At least six people died aside from the bombers. And as grisly a crime this is, police say the crime could have been worse.

We get the latest now from CNN's Dan Rivers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The police investigation into this double blast in the center of Jakarta is well under way. And police are focusing their inquiries on several different elements.

They'll be looking closely at this CCTV footage which shows a man wheeling a suitcase through the lobby of the Marriott hotel. And then, just seconds later, a blast rips through that lobby.

Now, they don't know whether this man is one of the suicide bombers, but they're certainly looking closely and seeing if there is any clues that they can glean from that. As well as the CCTV footage, they will also be analyzing a third bomb that was found on the 18th floor of the Marriott hotel which didn't detonate. We're being told that they think the explosives in that bomb are similar to a cache of explosives that were found a couple of weeks ago in west Java.

Now, the house that that cache of explosives were found in has links to Nordon Top (ph). He's basically the most wanted man in Indonesia. The police think he is part of a splinter cell that has links to Jemaah Islamiyah.

So, at the moment, the clues are beginning to point towards JI, this Islamist group that operates across the region that has hit the Marriott before in 2003, killing 12 people. They have also carried out devastating bomb attacks in Bali in 2002, and again in 2005.

So far, it's early days though. This scene is still well and truly sealed off as the police do their work. And we'll find out more over the weekend.

Dan Rivers, CNN, Jakarta. (END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, terror in Jakarta, rapid response in Manhattan. The NYPD says it deployed dozens of so-called critical response vehicles to New York hotels within minutes of the Indonesia attacks, though authorities insist that that was just a precaution. There is no indication that attacks are being planned in New York.

And reaction is pouring in from Washington to the terror in Jakarta, and it's been swift and it's been angry.

Let's get straight to our Jill Dougherty. She's at the State Department. She's got reaction for us -- Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kyra, just a few minutes ago, we had a briefing by Robert Wood, who is a State Department spokesman. He told us that the total number of casualties still is undetermined, but they can say that there were at least eight Americans injured.

They believe that no one was killed at this point among the Americans, that those injuries to the Americans are not life-threatening. And a number of people not -- we don't know the exact number, but they have been taken to Singapore for medical care. At the briefing here at the State Department, they are not speculating on who might have carried out those two attacks.

Now, Secretary Clinton, actually, when this happened, was on her way to India. And she did make a statement and essentially said that the threat of terrorism still remains.

You remember, Kyra, that back in February, Secretary Clinton actually did visit Indonesia. And at that point, she was praising Indonesia as the world's largest Muslim majority democracy. It was really a success story.

And at this briefing that just took place, Robert Wood was asked about that. In fact, I asked the question. And he said these attacks do not undermine the believe that this is, Indonesia, a democracy, that it's thriving, and that these attacks will happen. But it doesn't change that picture.

And then, finally, the United States has asked -- has offered any type of help. It could be the FBI, it could be forensics help. The government has thanked them, but so far is not asking for anything -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Jill Dougherty, thanks.

And the Senate hearings for Sonia Sotomayor are over. So what's next for the first Latina nominated to the United States Supreme Court? We'll tell you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And we're just getting word the president of the United States going to hold some type of event 3:15 Eastern Time.

Ed Henry joining us from the White House. He just found out about this.

Ed, what do you know?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, that's right. The president will be speaking at 3:15 Eastern Time in the Diplomatic Room.

What's significant about this, this was not on the president's public schedule. We've been hearing rumors for the last couple of hours he might add an event. Usually on a Friday afternoon, if there's nothing on his schedule, he'll move on and not speak, but this shows very clearly this White House is getting a bit nervous about the drumbeat of bad news on health care reform. They want to put out their best asset, which is this president to try and push back.

You know, yesterday, you had the Congressional Budget Office, sort of the umpire in these budget disputes, saying they believe that the House Democratic health bill, as well as the Senate Democratic one, basically is going to add on too much debt. It's not going to cut the kind of costs that the president has been promising. And that is bad news for this White House.

A second bit of bad news. Earlier today I was speaking to a very key moderate Democratic senator, Ben Nelson of Nebraska on my radio show on CNN.com. He was saying he came to the White House yesterday in a private meeting with President Obama and told him he thinks he needs to give up this August deadline that the president has been pushing so hard for.

And, in fact, in the last few moments, my colleague, Dana Bash, on Capitol Hill has obtained a letter that Ben Nelson and five other moderate senators in both parties have now sent to Senate leaders saying, look, slow down. They still want to try to get health reform done by the end of the year, but they think it's being pushed through too quickly and that maybe there's too many moving parts here.

So, I think what's significant is that the president has been involved in this debate but trying to keep some distance and let Congress work out their differences. It looks like it's starting to sputter on the Hill, and it's significant that this president is now taking on a greater role. He realizes it may be falling apart and he wants to try to get some momentum that he is starting to lose -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll take it live, 3:15 Eastern Time.

Ed, thanks.

HENRY: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: For Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, the hard part would seem to be over. After four days of hearings by the Senate Judiciary panel, even the nominee's critics expect her soon to become the first Hispanic justice on the highest court in the land. Three GOP senators are now publicly in Sotomayor's corner, including the Senate's only Hispanic Republican, Mel Martinez.

Still, as CNN's Brianna Keilar reminds us, the hearings were an ordeal for nominee and critic alike.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Gun rights dominated the discussion as Sonia Sotomayor spent her last day on the hot seat.

SEN. TOM COBURN (R), OKLAHOMA: My constituents in Oklahoma understand, as do most Americans, that the right to own guns hangs in the balance, may very well hang in the balance with your ascendancy.

KEILAR: As Republican Senator Tom Coburn pressed her on the Second Amendment for the second day in a row, asking whether Americans have a fundamental right to bear arms, she demurred.

JUDGE SONIA SOTOMAYOR, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: Senator, would you want to judge a nominee who came in here and said, "I agree with you, this is unconstitutional," before I had a case before me, before I had both sides discussing the issue with me. I don't know that that's a justice that I can be.

KEILAR: Fellow Republican Lindsey Graham signaled he may vote to confirm Sotomayor and is hopeful she will keep an open mind on gun rights.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Because I think, fundamentally, Judge, you're able, after all these years of being a judge, to embrace a right that you may not want for yourself, to allow others to do things that are not comfortable to you, but for the group, they're necessary.

KEILAR: But even he, once again, addressed her off-the-bench comments, including her "wise Latina" remarks.

GRAHAM: And you have said some things that just bug the hell out of me.

SOTOMAYOR: I regret that I have offended some people. I believe that my life demonstrates that that was not my intent -- to leave the impression that some have taken from my words.

GRAHAM: You know what, Judge, I agree with you.

KEILAR: Though not many Republicans seemed one over.

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R), TEXAS: That you appear to be a different person, almost, in your speeches and in some of the comments that you made.

KEILAR: Still with Sotomayor's confirmation almost certain, Democrats were already looking ahead.

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: Experience and wisdom will benefit all Americans. And when you walk under that piece of Vermont marble over the door of the Supreme Court, speaking of equal justice under law, I know that will guide you.

Judge Sotomayor, thank you. Godspeed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, pushing forward, what's next? The Judiciary Committee has scheduled a vote for Tuesday, but any member can ask for a one-week delay, and that may well happen.

For Chairman Leahy, not to mention the White House, the ultimate goal is a full Senate vote lawmakers leave on their August recess.

She's only 7 years old and she feels like she has a story to tell. So does her publisher. One of the young stars of "Slumdog Millionaire" already has an autobiography.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Live pictures now out of Nashville. Just want to remind you, we're waiting to hear from federal prosecutors any minute now on a reported arrest in the Steve McNair case.

You may recall that the former NFL star was shot to death on July Fourth by his mistress, and then turned the gun on herself. Apparently, law enforcement sources are telling The Associated Press they have arrested the man who provided that gun to her. As soon as that news conference happens, we'll take it live.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, by eight or nine, lots of kids are into books. Very few have co-written one. But then, very few kids have gone from slum to stardom to scandal all in their first decade.

CNN's Zain Verjee reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the streets to the store shelves, "Slumdog Millionaire" child star Rubina Ali is telling her life story in "Slumgirl Dreaming." She's nine years old.

For her fans, age is just a number.

I think she's had so many experiences already that, you know, she'll have so many stories to say. After her dad (ph) and story and film.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You've got a little mini Oscar there.

RUBINA ALI, "SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE": Yes.

VERJEE: Rubina grabbed the headlines since her Oscar night, but the stories have taken an ugly turn. Her father was accused by a London tabloid of trying to sell her to an Arab sheikh. Police investigated but no charges were filed. Her mother and stepmother were caught on camera fighting over the girl's custody.

Rubina's life hit a low note when the slum house she lived in, even after her huge success, was among the homes torn down by authorities for being built illegally. Rubina is hoping her rags to riches to rags story sells many copies.

JULIA KINGSFORD, HEAD OF MARKETING, FOYLES: It will interest people who are generally interested in how a nine-year-old goes from living in a slum in Mumbai to becoming a movie star.

VERJEE: Disney's singing sensation Miley Cyrus was the grand old age of 16 when her book "Miles to Go" came out. And young Casanova Alec Greven stole the public's heart when he wrote his own book at the age of nine.

ALEC GREVEN, AUTHOR, "HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS": "How to Talk to Girls," by Alec Greven.

VERJEE: Zain Verjee, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: "The Half-Blood Prince" making a whole lot of money. The sixth "Harry Potter" movie is coming out, blazing past the $100 million mark worldwide in its first 24 hours on screen. It's the franchise's best single day total yet. In fact, it's already earned back almost half of what it cost.

Warner Brothers is said to have spent $250 million making that flick. Full disclosure, though. The studio's part of Time Warner, the same as CNN.

People pouring into the streets of Tehran, cheering on a cleric who is challenging the regime and questioning the presidential election. Things got violent.

We're going to check it out at our International Desk.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, a pretty powerful Iranian cleric challenging the regime in Iran.

We have been following this, of course. Even though many things going on around the world, we haven't lost sight of Iran.

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And a lot of drama taking place in Tehran today, scene of Friday prayers. And tens of thousands of people, and some reports saying hundreds of thousands of people, showed up to hear Ayatollah Rafsanjani speak. And a lot of buzz that opposition leaders would show up as well.

And indeed, according to some of these pictures, the biggest name among the opposition, opposition leader and disgruntled candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, was present at Friday prayers. Also present at Friday prayers was this man, Mehdi Karroubi, another disgruntled presidential candidate.

And look at him there with his turban off. There were a lot of reports throughout the day that he was attacked by members of the Basij, the government volunteer militia. And at least in this picture, it looks like he is somewhat disoriented. And again, his turban is off.

Also, video coming into the Iran Desk throughout the day. Let's go ahead and look at this piece of video that apparently shows a man that looks like Mehdi Karroubi being surrounded by supporters, and there is tear gas in the background.

So, a lot of activity before and after the sermon. Let's go and show you pictures inside the sermon taking place about 1:15 p.m. local time in Iran.

And there you see Mehdi Karroubi inside the sermon, listening to Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, a key figure for the opposition. Many people eager to see what he would say. Would he support the opposition or would he support the regime?

Indeed, he delivered some criticism to the regime, saying the aftermath of the elections has left a bitter taste in the nation. Here is some of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AKBAR HASHEMI RAFSANJANI, SENIOR IRANIAN CLERIC (through translator): Doubt has been created in people's minds. We consider doubt to be the worst calamity. This doubt has attacked our nation like leprosy. There are two currents, though. One doesn't have any doubt and is moving ahead with their job, and there are a large portion of the wise people who say they have doubts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: After the one-hour protest -- after the one-hour sermon, there were more protests outside Tehran University. There you see thousands of people right outside the gates. In a few seconds, you will see security forces coming out on motorcycles, and there you see the opposition supporters scattered.

Very interesting. Inside Tehran University. Usually, during Friday, people are urged to say, "Death to the USA, death to America, death to Israel." But today, when they were urged, instead of saying that, they kept saying, "God is great." An apparent show of defines to the organizers of Friday prayer.

Also, we show you this. There were a number of arrests. Among them, according to Mir Hossein mousavi's Facebook page, an Amnesty International human rights activist, Shawdi Saddir (ph), was arrested right before Friday prayer. Here's a news flash by Amnesty International, saying Shawdi Saddir (ph) was walking with a group of women's rights activists along a busy road when unidentified plainclothes men pulled her into the car. So, we saw a number of clashes before and after the sermon. At this point, we've been talking to witnesses. Things have quieted down throughout Tehran. A big day. This was one of the biggest shows, protests that we have seen with the opposition over the past few weeks.

PHILLIPS: Reza Sayah, thanks so much.

He will be in a cast for a while, but he's a in good spirit. A smiling Pope Benedict the XVI left a hospital in northern Italy today after surgery on a broken wrist. The Vatican says he fell in his room overnight at his Vatican home in the Alps. The 82-year-old pope underwent a successful 20-minute operation. The cast has to stay on for a month. The pope managed to celebrate Mass before heading to the hospital.

Nelson Mandela turns 91 tomorrow. He doesn't want you to send him cards or gifts. Instead, the legendary civil rights leader wants people around the globe to spend time doing good deeds for others. Mandela and and his wife hope this will start a social movement that will go on long after he is gone. Mandela's birthdays are traditionally big celebrations. But this time, he is spending it at home in South Africa with his grandkids.

An African-American president, maybe soon a Latino Supreme Court justice. Our Carol Costello will look at whether we really need affirmative action anymore.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: President Obama helping the nation's biggest civil rights group celebrate its 100th anniversary. He spoke last night at the NAACP's annual convention, telling them that there is still work to be done to end discrimination in the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The pain of discrimination is still felt in America. African-American women paid less for doing the same work as colleagues of a different color and gender. By Latinos made to feel unwelcome in their own country. By Muslim-Americans viewed with suspicion simply because they kneel down to pray to their god. By our gay brothers and sisters still taunted, still attacked, still denied their rights. Prejudice has no place in the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: With an African-American president in the White House and a likely soon-to-be Hispanic Supreme Court justice, a lot of folks are asking this question. Is it time to do away with affirmative action? CNN's Carol Costello takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Born at the height of the civil rights movement, affirmative action helped minority students like Sonia Sotomayor get into elite schools like Princeton.

SONIA SOTOMAYOR, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: I am a product of affirmative action. I am the perfect affirmative action baby. My test scores were not comparable to that of my colleagues at Princeton or Yale.

COSTELLO: Keep in mind, back then, only 12 percent of law school students nationwide were women. And only 7 percent were minorities. Today, the numbers have changed dramatically. Almost half of law school students are women, and 23 percent are minority.

And minorities and women overall seem to be acceling. America boasts a black president, a woman secretary of state and the list goes on and on and on.

(on camera): I'm just saying.

(voice-over): Time to say no to affirmative action?

KEN BLACKWELL, FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: For us to operate on -- under the nomenclature of affirmative action, to operate on racial preferences and quotas is idiotic and counterproductive.

COSTELLO: It's a sentiment echoed by Clarence Thomas, who wrote in his memoir of his Yale law degree, "I graduated from one of America's top law schools, but racial preference had robbed my achievement of its true value."

And we found plenty of other Americans who agreed with him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't see the point in it any more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's have it go away.

UNIDENTFIED FEMALE: I think it's time to consider ending it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think it's relevant any more.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is always some group that would need it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe affirmative action should have never been in place in the first place.

COSTELLO: But others say, not so fast. Yes, we have a black president, but there is just one black senator and two Hispanics.

CATHY AREU, CATALINA MAGAZINE: The day that we have a nominee for the Supreme Court and we don't bring up the word Latina or woman, I think that's a great day. I think we'll just say, here's our new nominee, we're going to ask her questions. Then we won't need affirmative action.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Next Wednesday and Thursday, CNN investigates the most challenging issues facing African-Americans. "Black in America 2," July 22 and July 23 at eight Eastern, hosted by Soledad O'Brien. Special reports on people finding groundbreaking solutions to transform the black experience.

The governor of Florida has a mission for this man. He's joining a python posse and hunting them down. You are going to meet him and his scaly friend.

(COMMERICAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: OK. Well, whether you like snakes or they scare the pants off of you, I think we can all agree that pythons where they don't belong are a pretty big problem. Florida has been dealing with an invasion of big snakes for quiet a while. And just this month, a tragic reminder. Non-native pythons are not your normal pet. A two- year-old girl strangled as she slept when the family snake escaped. That's reignited debate about keeping exotic pets inside the home.

Meantime, to address the problem outside, the state has just launched a python patrol of sorts. Greg Graziotti is on it. He joins me live from Debut (ph), Florida. You also brought your pet. Is that right, Greg?

GREG GRAZIOTTI, FLORIDA PYTHON PATROL:It is not actually my pet, but we did bring a python to demonstrate so the people know what we are hunting.

PHILLIPS: Got it. OK, because I was told it was your pet, or you are an owner of a python. Is that right?

GRAZIOTTI: Yes. As a matter of fact, we breed pythons for a living is what we do. We don't specifically work with this species anymore. That's what we do as a living.

PHILLIPS: Got it. Explain to me -- we will get to the breeding pythons in a moment. If you don't mind, obviously, this has become a big problem in Florida. The case of this young girl that was strangled was heart-wrenching. How will you go about trapping these pythons and euthanizing them? Can you give me a demonstration? Obviously not euthanizing it -- but can you show me how you're going to capture these?

GRAZIOTTI: As far as capturing the animals, it's pretty simple. We pretty much just reach down and pick them up, depending on the size of them. We do keep some equipment with us, like this snake hook here that we will use to move the animal around. As you can see when we touch this animal, he wants to get away from us.

We can go ahead and reach down and control the head with the hook as we are doing that. Eventually, we work our way up until we get ahold of the head and then the animal can be placed in a bag or burlap sack or something like that.

PHILLIPS: Wow, you make it look so simple.

(LAUGHTER)

GRAZIOTTI: After 30 years of working with these animals, it really is fairly simple. It is not at dramatic as everybody makes it seem as far as capturing the animals. The hardest problem is locating them.

PHILLIPS: OK. I want to get to the point of the fact that people have these as pets, and you breed them. At the same time, this is also a very deadly creature. We saw what happened to the two-year-old. So, tell me why you are a part of this new patrol on a voluntary basis, I understand, to go out and euthanize these pythons? What is the major concern here?

GRAZIOTTI: The biggest concern is not public safety with these animals. These are out in a very remote area of the Everglades. It's more of an ecological concern for us, the fact that they compete for food source and also may eat other animals that we are trying to protect out there in the Everglades.

The pet trade animals, FWC has done a good job of putting in regulations here in Florida, making people have the proper licensing permits, and they have also inspected those individuals to make sure that the cages of those animals are secure. Unlike the tragedy that happened earlier this month -- was an unlicensed, unpermitted individual that had that animal.

PHILLIPS: OK. So, why breed them?

GRAZIOTTI: Just as people have done for years with all animals, it is just an animal that we like. As reptile lovers, we hate the fact that these animals have to be euthanized, but now once these animals are in the Everglades, they are wild pythons at this point.

The animal I am holding in my hand, you can see extremely how docile this animal is. It was bred in captivity and been handled from the time it was a juvenile animal. So, these larger pythons that we find in the Everglades would not make good pets. There is really no place to put those animals. FWC has made the decision that the animals would be euthanized, and possibly down the road the hides and meat may be used in another market.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. And from what I understand, there's, like, 100,000 of them out there that you've got to try and track down. Have you ever been bitten by one?

GRAZIOTTI: Oh, we get -- the juveniles that we raise at home, we get bitten quite often. Again, with the larger animals, the bite might be slightly more severe, but it's not anything life threatening just to receive a bite from one of these animals.

PHILLIPS: And advice. You say they are not necessarily a threat to humans. They are out there in the Everglades. But let's just say. We are talking about 100,000. If someone comes in contact with a python, what's the smartest way to respond?

GRAZIOTTI: The biggest thing with any snake -- most people are not going to be able to identify one snake from another. With the pythons, their large size may give them away. The larger they get, the slower moving the animal is. If you simply walk away, you won't have any problems. We have yet to have any problems with any of the wild animals out there being a problem for people. PHILLIPS: Final question. I mean, you breed them. You are obviously comfortable with them. You are a reptile lover. How do you deal with having to euthanize the ones that are out there in the Everglades?

GRAZIOTTI: Again, it is not something that we want to do. Unfortunately, it is something that has to be done. You know, would I rather somebody else do that part of it? Yes. As a permit holder, that is something that I signed on to help restore the ecosystem of the Everglades back to normal, or as close to normal as we can. That's part of the job we have taken on. Not something we like by any means or want to have to do, but it is necessary at this point.

PHILLIPS: Wow. All right, we will be eager to see how quickly you can get after these guys. Greg, appreciate you and the visit by your good friend there.

GRAZIOTTI: Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: Florida's got snakes. California's got squid. Some divers off San Diego have been roughed up by aggressive five-foot long flying squid. The animals usually stay down in the depths but have surfaced in shallower waters lately. They hunt in schools of a thousand or more. Researchers think that there may be a year-round population that's moved in off the California coast.

Remember a year ago when the national average for a gallon of gas was over $4? What a difference a year makes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Think about this. Exactly one year ago today, you were paying the highest price for gasoline ever recorded. How much have prices come down since then? Will they keep heading lower? Allison Costic has our "Energy Fix" from New York. Hey Allison.

ALLISON COSTIC, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Krya. Last year on July 17, the nationwide average for a gallon of gas hit $4.11, the highest price ever. Today, AAA says the average price is $2.48. A drop of nearly 40 percent from the all-time record.

How much more money is that in your pocket? We went ahead and did some back-of-the-envelope calculations. Assuming you drive 13,000 miles a year and get 23 miles per gallon, the difference translates into savings of more than $900 a year. Not too shabby, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: That's a pretty fair chunk of change. What's next? Will prices continue to decline?

COSTIC: Well, exactly. Analysts we talked to expect them to fall more. They could dip below $2 in some markets. They don't expect to see last year's lows again, when we saw gas $1.60 to $1.70 a gallon. This summer, the national average got as high as $2.69 on June 21. It lost steam as more Americans stayed home during the traditional driving season. Prices have fallen for the past 26 straight days. We could see prices slip even more if oil continues to decline. Crude hit an eight-month high of more than $73 a barrel on June 30. But it has come down more than $10 a barrel since then. We can't forget. It is hurricane season. There are a lot of gasoline refineries along the Gulf of Mexico. So, if a big storm threatens like Hurricane Ike did last year, we could see gas prices spike again.

But Kyra, no one sees it getting close to the record high we saw a year ago. We had that pain at the pump. We couldn't stop talking about it, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: That's true. We still are talking about it. Thanks, Allison.

COSTIC: Sure.

PHILLIPS: As always, Team Sanchez working on the next hour of the NEWSROOM. What's going on?

RICK SANCHES, CNN ANCHOR: Obama's health care plan. Trouble, big trouble.

PHILLIPS: There are a lot of people that aren't happy with it.

SANCHEZ: They are not happy with it because it is starting to look now -- you saw that CBO report, like it is going to be costing the American taxpayer even more money.

Look, the whole idea with this was, we are going to be able to save a lot of money if we finally have a health care plan system in this country. The CBO report that came out yesterday, and that's now been read by Republicans and Democrats alike, seemed to be looking at it and saying, "Uh-oh. If we do this, it is going to be costing Americans even more money."

Plus, you have all the money going into stimulus. So, now some Democrats are going to the president and saying, "You may need to slow this thing down." Ahem. Pardon me. My voice just...

PHILLIPS: That's all right. You need some water?

SANCHEZ: You may need to slow this thing down -- I might -- Mr. President. So, we've just learned that he is calling a news conference, and he is going to have that in about 15 minutes. You are going to see it live on our air. There is a scramble going on. That's what's going on.

PHILLIPS: We will follow the scramble. Your water is right over there. Colleen has it for you.

Yes. It's water.

In jail for a year but for not paying child support? But wait. The child is not even his. How can that be?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Brazil is one of the top vacation destinations in the world. But for some of the people who live there in shanty towns, it's a struggle just to survive. Our CNN Hero of the Week is helping Brazilian kids find hope in the midst of their hardship.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is "CNN Heroes."

FLAVIO CANTO, CHAMPIONING CHILDREN: I've never seen anyplace as beautiful as Rio de Janeiro, but it does have its dark side. There is violence all over.

JOAO VICTOR, RESIDENT OF RIO DE JANEIRO (through translator): The bad things that happen here are the shootings.

CANTO: It's the kids who have the toughest here.

VICTOR (through translator): Sometimes I get scared.

CANTO: They don't have many options. Kids die every day making the wrong choice, but, you know, every time I see a (INAUDIBLE), the first thing that comes to my mind is potential.

My name is Flavio Canto. I'm a judo Olympic medalist, but the best part of my life is changing people's destiny through sports. I usually tell the kids that we can't let ourselves get used to the violence that surrounds us. We have to fight back somehow. Instead of fighting in the streets, they learn how to use their energy in the right way.

VICTOR (through translator): I feel less afraid. Flavio helps me win lots of championships, and he helps me feel very proud of myself.

CANTO: Helping kids avoid the wrong choice is one of our goals. They don't need to follow their destiny everyone told them they would have. They can change it. They're the true heroes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: The United States' first double-hand transplant patient has started to move his fingers a bit. Jeff Kepner had the surgery in May in Pittsburgh after losing his hands and feet a decade ago to a bacterial infection. So far, he doesn't have any feelings in his new hands because the nerves haven't grown into them yet, but his dream? You will love this. To feel his wife's hands touching his.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF KEPNER, FIRST U.S. DOUBLE-HAND TRANSPLANT PATIENT: She is holding my hand, but I can't feel that. When I get all my sensation back, I want to be able to feel her, you know, feel her hand touching mine.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: Well, Kepner says at first he didn't want to have the operation, but now he says he is really glad that he did.

Yes, the impossible is possible in Georgia. You can be a deadbeat dad and not even have a kid. Amazing.

Here is the quick back story. 1987, Frank Hatly thinks he fathered a son. For 13 years, he paid the state back for public money and the mom that she had applied for. Then, in 2000, hello, DNA tests show he is not the father. But Georgia still wanted its money, about $16,000 in back payments from the pre-test result days. And Hatley just kept on paying.

Well, the state eventually tossed him in the slammer for a year when he couldn't pay. Wednesday, a judge let Hatley out, and the court must decide if he still owes. You have to wonder. What a year of this guy's life is worth? Two, is a guy a deadbeat if he still keeps paying money for a kid who is not even his? And three, shouldn't the biological father man up and pay up?

That does it for us. Have a great weekend. Rick Sanchez takes it from here.