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Floods Again Threaten Southeast; Inspecting Iran's Secret Plant; N.Y. Rep. Maloney's Husband Dies; State of Our Nation; Chemicals and Bombs in New Terror Plots; Marines with Breast Cancer

Aired September 26, 2009 - 19:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news on the weather: more heavy rain and flooding down south.

More breaking news: U.S. Congressman's husband dies on the side of a mountain overseas.

And hate is on. It's on the rise in America, so some people who we've talked to tonight believe that.

And we're going to have all that for you in the news right now.

But we want to begin with our breaking news: the flood waters are up again across parts of North Georgia as downpours pound the southeast tonight. The Atlanta metro area is already reeling from torrential rains earlier in the week that caused some of the worst flooding in recent memory down south.

At least nine people lost their lives. State insurance officials estimate $0.5 billion in damage to about 20,000 homes and buildings.

The ground is already saturated, so even moderate amounts of rain could cause creeks and rivers to overflow again.

CNN's Catherine Callaway has been in Hiram, Georgia all day where volunteers have been cleaning up the earlier flood damage even as more heavy rains move right into the area.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are here in Hiram, Georgia.

This is the Sosebee home; they've lived here for 23 years. But this week, their home was devastated by flood waters that actually reached the ceiling level of this home. They lost their home, they lost their vehicles.

And this morning, a group of volunteers arrived to help them on the road to recovery, volunteers from Samaritan's Purse. And they arrived here to basically gut the Sosebee home and get them on that road to recovery, didn't you?

JOHN PRYOR, DISASTER MANAGER, SAMARITAN'S PURSE: That's right. These teams came from all over. They worked hard today, its hard work. They've been sweating; they've been pulling off the dry wall. They've worked pretty much all day on this home. And we have teams that's just working all over the Atlanta area.

CALLAWAY: And all over the world in fact, right?

PRYOR: That's right. Samaritan's Purse works in over 100 different countries; we have all different types of projects.

CALLAWAY: And we spoke to the Sosebee's; they walked in here just a few moments ago to see all the work which you've been doing today and they were overwhelmed by your generosity and your efforts. And let's listen to what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMAN SOSEBEE, HOMEOWNER: There's no words to explain. Now, we can get started building back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLAWAY: So we heard from Mr. Sosebee about -- he really was at a standstill and seeing what you have done now has made him feel a little bit better about his situation. That's your goal, isn't it?

PRYOR: That's right. We want the homeowners to know that people still care. And we want to give them the opportunity to have closure to an event like this.

CALLAWAY: All right, thank you John we appreciate it.

Now, the Sosebee's actually did have flood insurance. And that will help them on the road to recovery.

I'm Catherine Callaway, CNN in Hiram, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right Catherine, we appreciate it.

Let's get now to our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras working on all of this for us in the CNN Severe Weather Center. Jacqui, how are we faring down here?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, so far, so good in terms of not seeing a lot of additional flooding. In extreme northern Georgia, into the higher elevations we've had a little bit more trouble with some road closures up here.

The worst is over in terms of the heavy rainfall for Atlanta. But we are going to be seeing maybe a little bit of additional showers behind the main system.

But, we've had between one and three inches fall over the last couple of hours. So that still is going to need a little time to run off, go through the watersheds and head down into the rivers and into the creeks and into the streams before it pulls on out of there.

So we're going to continue to monitor the situation in the upcoming hours. And flash flood warnings are now in effect across much of the Atlanta metro area.

This is not just including north Georgia. Take a look at this swath of rains, Alabama, Georgia, through Tennessee across much of the Appalachians and even into the mid-Atlantic States. So this is covering a lot of real estate. But we are most concerned about the western Carolinas on southward for the renewed flooding. But we're also getting a lot of reports now out of West Virginia and Virginia for some of this heavy rain.

Now, let's go ahead and show you another reason why people are watching Atlanta this weekend. We've got some video here from the East Lake Golf course where the FedEx Cup is taking place this weekend.

They had to dry up the course already once this week and now they're going to have to do that again tonight. But officials tell us that they're still expected all the tee times to stay on schedule for tomorrow.

Tiger Woods and Kenny Perry -- the two leaders expected to tee off at 1:45 for tomorrow.

All right here's the good news in the forecast and that's tomorrow's map showing you; a big cold front already sweeping away offshore so much drier weather across the east. A secondary front is going to move on through by here Monday and that is going to bring drier and cooler air. So we're going to finally be getting a little bit of a taste of fall back in the picture -- Don.

LEMON: Finally and let's hope it dries up here in the south, our Jacqui Jeras...

JERAS: Yes.

LEMON: ... will be following and looking at the radar and the weather conditions and checking on all the flooding. Thank you Jacqui, we appreciate it.

Look at this. More flooding, a month's worth of rain in six hours -- six hours. This is what you get. People in the Philippines were forced to walk through waist-high water. As the tropical storm Ketsana hammer the islands today with high winds and more than a foot of rain. Wow. The government declared a state of calamity which is no exaggeration. Electrical service has been shut off as a precaution in parts of the capital.

Iran is saying it has nothing to hide, one day after the bombshell news that it has been building a secret uranium enrichment plan. So President Obama wants to see what's inside that factory in Qom. Well, because intelligence officials say it could be capable of manufacturing nuclear fuel. The White House and five allies plan to demand unrestricted access to the plant when they hold key nuclear talks on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We joined with the United Kingdom and France in presenting evidence that Iran has been building a secret nuclear facility to enrich uranium. This is a serious challenge to the global non-proliferation regime and continues the disturbing pattern of Iranian evasion. That's why international negotiations with Iran scheduled for October 1st now take on added urgency.

My offer of a serious meaningful dialogue to resolve this issue remains open. But Iran must now cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency and take action to demonstrate its peaceful intentions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Iran's nuclear chief says his country will allow U.N. inspectors to check the plant, but he didn't say when that visit could happen.

Loud protests and political gatherings go hand in hand. No different at the G-20 in Pittsburgh where police in riot gear used tear gas on one group. In that crowd, CNN's own Brian Todd, you see him there in the black, long sleeved shirt right here bending over. Well, officers say the group he was reporting on didn't have a permit.

But inside the meeting, is a calmer scene. Leaders on the world's richest -- of the world's richest nations are outlining stricter financial regulations and figuring out how to prevent another economic meltdown.

Let's talk more politics now, in the big gathering of Republicans in Michigan, the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference brings together more than 1,500 activists, candidates and would-be candidates from all across the country. Former party presidential hopeful, Mitt Romney speaks tonight. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty spoke earlier today.

Pawlenty told CNN that President Obama's vow to hold GOP leaders accountable works both ways.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM PAWLENTY, (R) MINNESOTA: On health care, President Obama said in his Joint Session of Congress, he's going to call people out. So we want to call him out back and say quit bankrupting the country, let's stop spending money we don't have. Stop taxing us into oblivion.

And the next time he had a chance to talk to young people maybe he should apologize for the bucket loads of debt that he's dumping onto their head and shoulders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Florida Governor Charlie Crist who is now running for the Senate told the crowd that President Obama could be headed for a defeat similar to Jimmy Carter's 1980 loss to Ronald Reagan.

Tragic news tonight involving New York Congressman Carolyn Maloney's for her husband; 71-year-old Clifton Maloney has died during a Himalayan climbing expedition in Tibet. The Associated Press says Clifton Maloney was a millionaire investment banker and an avid climber. He reportedly died in his sleep at a camp used during his descent from the summit of the world's sixth highest mountain. Carolyn Maloney has served in Congress since 1993.

In Pakistan a day of deadly bombings and the Taliban says it's responsible. At least 17 people were killed and dozens more injured in three separate blasts in the northwestern part of the country. In one of them a suicide bomber took aim at a police station in a truck loaded with explosives. Dozens of nearby buildings were also destroyed. A Taliban spokesman says the militants had been holding back on attacks, but the pause was now over.

Gold Star families from around the country gathering in Washington today for the annual time of remembrance ceremony. This event brings together the families of America's fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan to honor those who died in service to their country and to acknowledge the sacrifice of the families they left behind. Actor Kevin Bacon was there to say thank you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN BACON, ACTOR: Each of you has lost someone special in your life. There are no words that anyone, least of all me, can say to heal your terrible hurt. But I want you to know that my thoughts and the thoughts of our country are with you.

I'm left thinking of a quote that I heard once which is surely applies to each and every one of you here. "To the world, he was one. But, to me, he was my world."

Thank you. Thank you for your sacrifice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Kind words from actor Kevin Bacon. Some 2,500 people attended today's ceremony.

Freedom of speech or is it out of control hate? Didn't we see similar images when President Bush was president? So what's changed and why is it generating so many headlines? We're a closer look at the "State of Our Nation."

Also, terror plots broken up from coast to coast; what's going on?

And Marines who've served at North Carolina's Camp LeJeune fighting breast cancer and blaming the military. We're investigating on that.

Also join our conversation tonight, at Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com, let's talk.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: As we reported to you earlier on here CNN; some breaking news: it is really a tragic news tonight involving New York Congressman Carolyn Maloney. Her husband, 71-year-old Clifton Maloney has died during a Himalayan climbing expedition in Tibet.

George Arts is a family spokesperson. And he joins us tonight by telephone. Thank you, sir. My condolences to the family.

GEORGE ARTS, SPOKESPERSON FOR REP. CAROLYN MALONEY: Thank you.

LEMON: I'm sure you've spoken to-- Ms. Maloney -- have you spoken to her? What is she saying?

ARTS: I have. She is heartbroken. She told me that, "he was my rock" and what a great tragedy. The silver lining is that he died doing what he liked to do best, climbing mountains.

LEMON: Yes, climbing mountains. So do we know the circumstances surrounding? Do we know that it was natural causes? Or the cause of the death a heart attack, do we have any idea?

ARTS: It appears that it was of natural causes. He had summitted (ph) the mountain at 27,000 feet. He had gone down to a base camp at 23,000. He slept and never awakened. However, before he -- before he went to sleep, he told his traveling companion, "I'm the happiest man in the world, I've just summitted a beautiful mountain."

LEMON: Do we know about -- first of all, where is the Congresswoman?

ARTS: The Congresswoman is in New York.

LEMON: She is in New York and obviously, it's probably too soon for arrangements. But I would imagine that his body is going to be flown back here sometime soon and then she'll eventually make the arrangements.

ARTS: The Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has asked the Chinese government for -- to permit a helicopter to fly to the mountain and remove Cliff and bring him back to New York.

LEMON: All right. George Arts is a family spokesperson for Carolyn Maloney. Her husband 71-year-old Clifton Maloney died during a Himalayan climbing expedition in Tibet. And our condolences to the family and we wish them the very best and please give our condolences to the Congresswoman as well.

ARTS: All right. Bye.

LEMON: Thank you very much.

Ok. Let's move on to talk about -- this is more about politics and also about really the state of our nation right now.

Remember these images, right? "We came unarmed this time." "Go back to Kenya." "America's freedom is not for sale." "Stop Obama."

Why so hateful? We're going to talk about that.

Before we go to break, let's talk now.

Emily, I need you to explain to me, again. I can't hear you. Ok.

So we have a change of pace here since we spoke to him at the beginning of that segment. So, I apologize for that.

Joining me now in the discussion -- we're going to talk about it. Freelance journalist, Philip Weiss, who wrote an article for the "New Yorker" titled "Who is Barack Obama and why do people say such loopy, ugly things about him? The enduring rot in American politics." Also, "Washington Times," chief correspondent Amanda Carpenter; and attorney and founder of optimistas.com -- opinionistas.com, I should say -- is Melissa Lafsky.

Philip, I'm going to start with you. When you look at some of the images here and, you know, we've talked about race and several people -- high ranking officials -- say it's not really about race. It's really about people have been mad and they've been upset for a while starting with all of the bailouts. That it is more about hate rather than about race. Do you agree with that?

PHILIP WEISS, FREELANCE JOURNALIST: Well, I think it's pretty complicated. There are a lot of reasons for this vitriol. But, race is in there. There's an anti-migrant feeling in there. There's real political feeling about the changes that President Obama brought in this spring.

But I think it's complex and I think there's a lot of vicious feeling that's mixed in.

LEMON: You went to a lot of these TEA parties and what have you. And I want to make this very clear. Not everyone -- as we say, every time we do a segment on this -- not everyone who opposes the president or who are at those TEA parties are speaking hate or are racists or anything like that.

But alarmingly, seeing some of these images and hearing some of the language that come from these events and other events around the country that's being posted on Web sites and being said in the media. You have to wonder what's going on.

So if this is indeed about hate, do you believe it's about hate in all of this when you look at the images, Miss Carpenter?

AMANDA CARPENDER, CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, WASHINGTON TIMES: No, I don't think it's about hate. Of course, there are awful things that people say on the Internet.

But I have to tell you, I have seen this kind of hate directed at President Bush as well. I covered a number of anti-war demonstrations. Of course, you remember Code Pink actually accosting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at a Congressional hearing last people. You know, people smashing windows in anti-war demonstrations as well as the G-20 event this week. And so whenever you have someone in power, ugly things will come out. I don't think it's necessarily because of race. It may be an element among a few select people. But I would not say -- that it's certainly not the dominant feeling when I cover these rallies, the TEA parties and talk to those individuals.

LEMON: And you know, the truth of things -- it's hate and race. We're not talking about race. We have discussed that. And I think that's been discussed to death.

What we're talking about now is hate and where does that come from. Sometimes it has to do with race, that maybe an element. And sometimes it doesn't.

Listen, Ms. Lafsky, she's saying she doesn't believe it's about hate. I don't remember a time when people have been so vocal and really so persistent in their images and in their language. Yes, other presidents have been protested and there were hateful things said about him. But threats against the president are up and it seems that these images and these words are out there and they're escalating.

MELISSA LAFSKY, FOUNDER, OPINIONISTAS.COM: Absolutely, they are. I mean, as you mentioned before, the number of death threats against President Obama has skyrocketed compared to the number of death threats that President Bush received.

And absolutely, as Amanda said, there was plenty of very vigorous protest against President Bush. And there was a lot of vitriol out there when he was president.

But the level of violence and culminating in things like death threats, it simply wasn't there under President Bush. And when we talk about hatred, I think a lot of what we are talking about is an intense feeling of powerlessness which can spur things like death threats against the president, which obviously need to be taken seriously.

LEMON: Mr. Weiss, what do you think it is? I'm sure they're a combination of things. What is the media's role in this? We had people on the TV discussing this. We've talked about it to people on radio and in the newspaper and on blogs. We said conversations that are civil, when we have some civility in society, it helps with that.

What do you think the media's role in all of that? Are we fanning the flames? Are we doing the correct thing when it comes to discussing this issue?

WEISS: I think we have been a little slow on this one. And part of the process here is that the Internet has opened up the gateways to a lot more information, both good information and bad information.

I value the Internet. And I think we all value the Internet. We know it's here forever, but we have to develop some type of mechanism to kind of sort out the nuts.

That's what happened all summer. These people were going around. Some were carrying guns. They were saying that Obama was an illegitimate president. That is really dangerous stuff and people should try to sort that out.

LEMON: All right.

So, we're going to talk more about your article here and go into it specifically, Philip Weiss, and some of the points and some of quotes that you brought up in the article. So stick around.

Philip, Amanda and Melissa, we're going to continue our conversation on the other side of the break on hate.

They signed up to serve their country and ended up getting sick, but not on the battlefield. They're male U.S. marines or ex-marines with breast cancer. CNN investigates.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right.

We are talking about the state of our nation now and what seems to be an uptick in hate speech, freedom of speech, aside from images, conversations and sentiments. It's just plain hateful.

I want to welcome back freelance journalist Philip Weiss, Washington Times chief correspondent Amanda Carpenter, and attorney and founder of opinionistas.com Melissa Lafsky join us. They all join us. Thank you very much.

I was reading your article here, Philip, and at one point you mentioned in your article -- I'm going to quote here -- you talked about the White House spokesman Robert Gibbs talking about dismissing some of the things that happening at town halls and some of the uproar that's surrounding. And you said that one Democrat said that one message that possibly he needs to get out is that he should start talking about the silent majority rather than the folks who are opposing this.

According to the polls, as far as health care, there's a favorability rating of about 51 percent right now in favor of health care. And also the president does have a positive favorability rating.

WEISS: Yes. It was a little ironic in the article because here are Democrats who are invoking Richard Nixon's idea that there's a very loud protest out on the streets from the right wing, but that the Democratic consensus is not making itself felt.

And I think both things of that are true. That some of the demonstrations we are seeing now recall the energy and anger and some of the out-of-controlness of the '60s.

LEMON: Ms. Carpenter, you know, some people say you can't put the genie back in the bottle and it does appear that the people who are making the loudest noise about this are getting the most attention especially in the media. And the people who support some of the president's plans or what's going on in the country are not getting as much attention. Do you agree with that or do you disagree?

CARPENTER: Well, I think you have to look at how President Obama has used the bully pulpit. If you think that health care reform is lacking because the president hasn't invested enough attention or that his case hasn't gotten enough attention in the media, I think I strongly disagree with that.

When you have someone in power such as President Obama and he's on the media every night doing five Sunday show media blitzes, you have to show the counter to that. And the counter to that has been the TEA party demonstrations for the most part.

It's getting really confusing the way that you're comparing this because Obama -- he's not able to sell his plan. And so the counterpoint is these massive public demonstrations who are saying, "We don't like the plan." It's not going anywhere.

LEMON: It's getting really confusing the president is selling this or the way I am selling this? What are you saying?

CARPENTER: The president. He's not selling the plan.

(CROSS TALK)

LEMON: All right. I thought said...

CARPENTER: And to say that he's not getting enough attention on the issues I think would be mistaken.

Ok. Listen, I'm going to put this question then to Melissa. Where -- some folks have said and especially Mr. Weiss in his article, where is the media been in all of this when all of the signs and what have you at town halls, it appears that many of the mainstream media came a long way.

And the ACORN controversy, the media was not on top of that. It took two undercover, basically teenagers or college students to find that out. Where has the media been in all of this? And what do you think our role has been?

LAFSKY: When you speak of the media, there's a very diverse media. We have a really polarized system now where we have the right wing media and then we have the, quote/unquote, left-wing media, which is anything that is not on the right.

And they seem to cover pretty divergent things. And when they do cover the same thing, it's with a very different tone, a different slant. Also with the Internet, we have so much media.

When you say, where was the media, it seems a bit general. The media is there. There are people reporting on ACORN, there are people reporting on the public option, on anything you want to read about Obama's health care plan you can read about. You can pick and choose which sources you read about.

So, I think we make these general statements about the media and how it's not playing enough of a roll or how it's playing the wrong roll. In fact, there's a tremendous amount of media out there and there's a lot of good facts and then there's a lot that really doesn't rely on facts at all.

So -- I'm sorry, go ahead.

LEMON: No, go ahead. Finish your point.

LAFSKY: My point was simply it depends on where you are looking; it depends what kind of news you're looking for and what you are reading.

LEMON: I'm going to give Philip the last answer on this -- the final word on this because I think basically you said the media really sort of came to the party too late when it comes to a lot of these issues. And on some sides, I think you -- the liberal media may be afraid to say something and then on the other side the voice may be a little bit too vocal and no one is challenging that voice.

WEISS: Yes. I think there's some element of the tail wagging the dog here. We all have to sort it out. It's a new world in terms of the media.

Who is showing leadership? That's the real question. We want leadership whether it's an Internet Web site, whether it's Glenn Beck or whether it's you, Don.

And you showed leadership when you brought in the race conversation ten days or so ago. And Glenn Beck should be showing some leadership when he should tell people they are lying when they talk about cattle cars being organized by FEMA to go to camps. That stuff is crazy and he should be sorting it out.

LEMON: All right. Thanks to all of you.

Amanda Carpenter, Melissa Lafsky and also Philip Weiss; we really appreciate you spending your Saturday evening with us.

LAFSKY: Thanks Don.

WEISS: Thanks Don.

CARPENTER: Thank you.

LEMON: Thank you so much.

Home grown terror threats from Denver to Dallas, Springfield, Illinois; the FBI and Homeland Security investigators are being kept busy. What is going on here?

Plus, a CNN Special Investigation: a cluster of male Marines with breast cancer. Find out why they're blaming the military for their illnesses. It's a CNN Special Investigation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: OK. So polls show domestic terrorism has faded as a public priority in the year since 9/11. But domestic terrorism is back, front and center this week. For days we have been hearing about new terror plots and multiple arrests in different parts of the country, all apparently unrelated.

In New York Afghan national Najibullah Zazi will be arraigned next week on charges that he conspired he used weapons of mass destruction, possibly on a subway in Illinois. Federal officials say an American named Michael Fenton tried to blow up a van he thought was loaded with explosives outside the state capital in Springfield. Officials say Fenton converted to Islam while in prison and that he idolized the American born Taliban fighter John Walker Lynne.

There's also Dallas, where authorities say a Jordanian man drove a truck he thought was loaded with explosives into a parking garage under one of the cities landmark skyscrapers. He is due back in court on October 5th.

Let's talk about these terrorist arrests now with Karen Greenberg. She is the executive director of the New York University Center on Law and Security. Thank you. Good to see you.

What do you know about this new suspect that we have been talking about, about Najibullah Zazi. And there is a huge layout of him and his life in the "New York Times" today but what do we really know about him?

KAREN GREENBERG, NYU CENTER ON LAW & SECURITY: I think we know very little. What we do know is the Department of Justice and Law Enforcement authorities believe that this person represents, perhaps, the most serious threat to the United States in terms of terrorism since 9/11. We know that because the charge of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction is almost never used.

In the over 800 terrorism prosecutions that have taken place in the country since 9/11, less than four percent have involved charges of intent to use weapons of mass destruction. And you would know the names - they would include Zacharias Musawi, Richard Reid. So that's an important factor that we have been told.

LEMON: Well, the question about all of this, when you have in so many areas in the United States, and also they are also tracing Mr. Zazi back to Pakistan where they say he had training in weapons and what have you. But the real question is, the evidence they have, will this hold up in court? Is it enough to prosecute someone for terrorism with just buying chemicals in a store?

GREENBERG: Well, I don't think they're worried just him buying chemicals. I think that they believe and we may not know why, and we don't know how this case is going to go. We don't know at all. But what they believe is that he had the knowledge of how to use these weapons and these chemicals, which is different than just buying them in a store.

They think that they had somebody who had enough knowledge. This is not a bumbler as so many other terrorists and suspects have been portrayed when the case played those stuff out. They don't seem to put him in that category. And just to note, this is the kind of case that authorities around the world, particularly in Britain have been warning the United States about for quite some time now.

LEMON: OK. So listen, we've heard a lot again as we said about Zazi in New York. So how about the cases in Denver and in Texas, Illinois. How do they differ from Zazi's case out of New York?

GREENBERG: Those were different cases in that the main people and the only people, as I understand it, that these two suspects were in contact with were FBI officials who were posing as people who are sympathetic to terrorist plots. And they sort of found people who they thought were predisposed to commit terrorism. And they sort of planted them within a situation where they would plant the bomb in a place where it would go off. So, it seems to me a very different kind of scenario.

LEMON: OK. So these cases, real quick, I'm up against the break here. You said you don't think the government must know something, you believe, so hard to prosecute, hard to defend, these cases?

GREENBERG: I don't think Zazi is going to be that hard to prosecute although it might have been better if they let it play out a little longer. And the other ones might be easier to prosecute than prior ones like it in the past. Again, because they waited until these people thought were bombs were actually put into place.

LEMON: What about the defense in these cases?

GREENBERG: I think the defense is going to be challenging. And I think they will look to some of the British cases or some other cases for their defense strategies because these are different types of cases.

LEMON: Karen Greenberg, we appreciate it.

GREENBERG: Thank you.

LEMON: Well, they signed up to serve their country and ended up getting sick, but not on the battlefield. They are male U.S. Marines with breast cancer. Our special investigation is coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Camp Lejeune in North Carolina has a proud role in U.S. military history. Marines trained and based there fought all over the world to protect American freedom. Now, there are concerns those Marines and their families have been put in harm's way not by an enemy Army but by contaminated water. Here's Abbi Boudreau with CNN's Special Investigations Unit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABBI BOUDREAU, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT (voice-over): These men are all victims of a terrible disease. A disease especially rare among males. They have breast cancer. JIM FONTELLA, FORMER MARINE: At that time, I never knew men could have breast cancer until I was told by the doctor. I was like, that's when I was shocked like, you got to be kidding me.

BOUDREAU: But beyond their rare illness, these men share another link. They are all retired U.S. Marines or children of Marines. And years ago, they lived on the same Marine base.

MIKE PARTAIN, SON OF MARINE: We come from all walks of life. Some of us have college, some of us blue collar jobs. We're all over the country. What is our commonality? Our commonality is we're all at some point in our lives, we drank the water at Camp Lejeune.

BOUDREAU: Camp Lejeune is the main U.S. Marine Corps training base in North Carolina.

(on camera): How many of you believe that your breast cancer may be tied to the water at Camp Lejeune? All of you.

(voice-over): They have each had part of their chest removed by surgery. All suffered through brutal chemotherapy or radiation or both. Some were told their cancer was terminal. These are just seven of at least 20 former Marines or sons of Marines with breast cancer who lived at Camp Lejeune.

PETER DEVEREAUX, FORMER MARINE: Mine traveled to my spine, my ribs and my hip.

BOUDREAU: Peter Devereaux is 47 years old. He was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. He was at Camp Lejeune in 1981 and '82.

DEVEREAUX: The difference with metastatic breast cancer, it means, now, there's no cure. So the average life expectancy is two to three years. So, you know, I have a daughter at home. 11 years old. You know, and you are in this thing and you know, you know, it like pisses you off. Right.

Being a man, I try to take care of my wife and my daughter. Now, I'm considered disabled because I can no longer work, I can't use my arms. You're having challenges, you know.

BOUDREAU: Jim Fontella from Detroit fought in Vietnam and lived in Lejeune in 1966 and 1967. He was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998. After surgery, it reoccurred, spreading to his spine and back.

FONTELLA: I kind of manned up to it after a while and just expected it to die because once you have metastases, bone mets, basically, it's just a matter of time before you die. You know, luckily, I've already past my due date by five years. I outlived the death sentence that I got.

BOUDREAU: Mike Partain, the son and grandson of Marines was born on Camp Lejeune 40 years ago.

PARTAIN: I want to see my daughters graduate. I'm sorry. When they told me I had breast cancer, it was serious. I mean, the first thing in my mind was, am I going to see my kids graduate from high school? Am I going to see my daughters marry?

BOUDREAU: Partain has helped find and organize these men. Like most of them, Partain has no family history of breast cancer. He even got himself tested for the breast cancer gene.

PARTAIN: And they were negative.

BOUDREAU: Breast cancer in men is far more rare than in women. With only 1,900 men expected to be diagnosed in the U.S. this year as compared with about 200,000 women.

Dr. John Kiluk is a breast cancer surgeon in Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. He's startled by the common thread.

(on camera): Do you think it raises any red flags?

DR. JOHN KILUK, BREAST CANCER SURGEON: Absolutely. When you have the average breast cancer patient for males is about 70 years old. So when you have gentlemen in their 30s without a family history of breast cancer, that is alarming. And the question is, why? Why is this happening to them?

BOUDREAU (voice-over): Frank Bove with the Federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has been working to answer that question. He says the levels of contamination at Camp Lejeune were alarmingly high.

FRANK BOVE, AGENCY FOR TOXIC SUBSTANCES DISEASE REGISTRY: The levels are quite threatening. It's the highest I have ever seen in a public water system in this country.

BOUDREAU: Government records show from the 1950s through the mid- 1980s, Camp Lejeune's drinking water was contaminated with high levels of chemicals and solvents. Some came from a nearby dry cleaner. Others were chemicals used on the base. The contaminants included tetrachloral ethylene or TCE or perchloral ethylene or PCE and benzene. All believed to cause cancer.

BOVE: Now whether the exposures were long enough and high enough at Camp Lejeune to cause disease, that's the question.

BOUDREAU: The Marine Corps declined to be interviewed for the story, but said in a statement that it addressed the contamination as quickly as it was discovered and that it has collaborated with the Toxic Disease Registry from the beginning of its studies to determine the extent of the contamination and whether adverse health effects resulted from it. This collaboration continues to the present day.

For these men, collaboration isn't enough. They want answers and they say they want help.

FONTELLA: To have 20 men come from the same place, walking on the same dirt, drinking the same water. I mean, there has to be a link there somehow.

BOUDREAU: But so far, no link has been proven. And the Veterans Administration says without the link, it cannot pay for treatment. For these men, it's a bitter disappointment that leaves them angry.

(on camera): Why anger?

RICK KELLY, FORMER MARINE: Anger because the Marine Corps did this to me. How could they do it to me after I served the country faithfully. Honorably discharged. How could they do it to my fellow Marines?

BOUDREAU (voice-over): Abbi Boudreau, CNN, Tampa Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Abbi Boudreau, Special Investigation continues after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So before the break we heard about a story on CNN Special Investigation Unit has been looking into. It concerns a cluster of breast cancer cases, among Marines who have served at Camp Lejeune. Abbi Boudreau's special investigation continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOUDREAU (voice-over): Seven former Marines or sons of Marines, all with a rare disease, male breast cancer. All of them fear their rare cancer may have been caused by contaminated water at the U.S. Marine base in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

KELLY: I starting feeling discomfort in my chest. My wife would hug me and it became, you know, almost unbearable.

BOUDREAU: Rick Kelly was a young Marine at Camp Lejeune from 1980 through 1982. He was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998.

KELLY: I went to a doctor and they sent me to the oncologist. And they did biopsies on both sides and then ended up with a double mastectomy.

BOUDREAU: Now, a single father of an adopted seven-year-old son with no insurance. Kelly tried to file a claim to help with continuing medical bills. He was told by his local VA office that he has no claim as his illness has not been proven to be a service-related injury.

KELLY: I went to the VA to see my local representative and he said well it is not the VA's problem. It is the Marine Corps' problem.

DEVEREAUX: You know, a lot of us went right out of high school. We're so proud to serve our country and all these things like this and it was honestly my honor to serve my country. I felt such tremendous pride.

BOUDREAU: Peter Devereaux was a Marine at Lejeune at around the same time. He also tried to get help from the VA. His claim was denied earlier this year because his breast cancer, according to the VA, neither occurred in nor was caused by service. These men say the Marine Corps should acknowledge the contaminated water made them sick, making them all eligible for VA benefits.

DEVEREAUX: They totally tried to ignore this problem. They want it to go away. And it kind of makes you sick, you know, with disgust -

BOUDREAU: These seven men are among the hundreds who alleged illnesses caused by water contamination at Camp Lejeune. Some 1,600 claims have been filed against the federal government by former Marines arenas and base residents seeking nearly $35 billion in compensation, but with no definitive link found between the illnesses and the contaminated water, no claims have been paid.

JERRY ENSMINGER, FORMER MARINE: We were being exposed when we went bowling. We were being exposed when we went to the commissary. We were being exposed when we went to the PX. And then when we went home we were being exposed over there.

BOUDREAU: Jerry Ensminger, a former Marine drill instructor lived at Camp Lejeune with his family in 1976 when his daughter Janey (ph) was born. Ensminger's daughter died of childhood leukemia nine years later.

Ensminger and others say the Marine Corps waited too long to test and shut down the wells after learning the drinking water was contaminated.

ENSMINGER: Five years they knew they had this stuff in the tap water. They never went and tested their wells. Oh, it's criminal.

BOUDREAUX: As early as 1980, according to these documents, experts hired by the Navy to test the tap water found it was highly contaminated. In 1981 the lab again wrote water highly contaminated adding the word solvents with an exclamation point.

BOVE: These are very toxic chemicals we're talking about.

BOUDREAUX: In August 1982 the experts found in one sample levels of trichloroethylene, believe to cause cancer, levels of 1,400 parts per billion. That's 240 times higher than today's EPA's safe level.

BOVE: We have never seen 1,400 parts per billion of trichloroethylene. So that is very high.

BOUDREAUX: But it would take more than two years, until late 1984 and 1985 for the Corps to test all the wells and shut down the contaminated ones. In a statement to CNN, the Corps wrote "Once impacted wells were identified they were promptly removed from service."

A fact-finding panel created by the Corps five years ago ruled officials acted properly and that the water was "consistent with general industry practices at the time." Two years ago Congress ordered the Marine Corps to notify all Marines and their families who might have been exposed, an estimated 500,000 people. RICHARD CLAPP, BOSTON UNIVERSITY: This is a population of people who lived at Camp Lejeune and were exposed to very high levels of toxic chemicals in their drinking water.

BOUDREAUX: Richard Clapp is a nationally recognized epidemiologist who studied cancer clusters at toxic sites.

CLAPP: And so I think that if cancer of the breast in men or other kinds of cancers have been linked to this exposure that we ought to know about that. The families deserve that, the veterans themselves should know about that and they should be compensated if the link can be made.

BOUDREAUX: But for now there is no proven link. Just Marines and their families who say they're suffering.

ENSMINGER: Having been a former drill instructor, where I trained over 2,000 brand new civilians and made them into Marines. I instilled in those new Marines our motto, which is Semper Fidelis. Our slogan that we take care of our own. Nobody in this world has been more disillusioned than I've been. I feel like I've been betrayed.

BOUDREAUX: Abbi Boudreaux, CNN, Tampa, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM (voice-over): Rachel Gold and Anthony Barberio don't have much in common. Rachel is 28 and worked in recruiting after graduating from college. Anthony is 46 and he worked on Wall Street for 20 years but never went to college. The thing they do have in common, a long job search after being laid off. Rachel lost her job back in November.

RACHEL GOLD, JOB SEEKER: I definitely didn't think that I would be sitting here nine months later without employment.

ANTHONY BARBERIO, JOB SEEKER: When I first was let go I was thinking maybe a month, two months. You now, and I didn't think it would last this long.

HARLOW: For Anthony it has been more than a year since he was laid off, and each day brings more work to find work.

GOLD: This afternoon at 2:30, I have a recruiting meeting with someone I was networking with. Tomorrow morning at 10:00 I have another meeting with a recruiter I'm not sure if they have positions but you know, just to do some networking.

HARLOW: Rachel spends a lot of her time making business connections using social networking sites and she also applies for jobs online every day.

(on camera): So you've applied for more than 650 jobs. GOLD: Correct.

HARLOW: How many interviews have you had out of that?

GOLD: Maybe 10.

HARLOW (voice-over): Anthony has applied for hundreds of jobs, too. And he is using employment agencies in his search. But when his unemployment benefits run out he will be forced to stop looking on Wall Street and take any job he can find.

BARBERIO: So I'm going to put like a deadline as to when I'm, you know, going to have to really seriously, you know, look for something, you know, whether it be a department store or something like that.

GOLD: These are people I have e-mailed.

HARLOW: Until a job comes along Rachel has started a blog kickedforward.com, based on the quote that if life kicks you, let it kick you forward.

GOLD: It's difficult but, you know, I think I'm just trying to be as optimistic as possible that I'll find a position soon.

HARLOW: Rachel says she started to get more interviews since we first talked with her in August and Randy is hearing about more openings and hoping one of them is for him.

BARBERIO: I'm anxious to get back to work. Almost a year in the house can drive anybodt crazy.

LEMON: I'm Don Lemon. See you back here at 10:00 pm Easterm.

Campbell Brown begins right now.