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Teenager Set on Fire in Revenge Attack; Militant Attacks in Pakistan; Get a Flu Shot or New Job

Aired October 15, 2009 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. It is Thursday, October 15th. And here are the top stories in the CNN NEWSROOM.

A teenager set on fire in a revenge attack. His mother's emotional cry for help and my live interview with the boy's doctor.

President Obama flying to New Orleans at this hour. It's his first presidential visit to the struggling city.

And job losses fueling the foreclosure frenzy. We will break out the new record numbers for this past summer.

Good morning again. I'm Tony Harris, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

So, let's quickly get you caught on the day's hot headlines, then take the time to break down the big issues to find out why they really matter.

Leading the way this hour, an emotional plea to end teen violence coming from the mother of a teen who was doused with alcohol and set on fire by other teens. It's a story we've been covering extensively this week here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Fifteen-year-old Michael Brewer viciously attacked for telling on a boy who tried to steal his dad's bike. Five boys aged 13 to 15 face felony charges, including one boy now charged with attempted murder. The victim's mother, Valerie Brewer, has a strong message for all parents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIE BREWER, MOTHER OF BURNED TEEN: People really need to wake up and see what is going on with this generation. They need to take hold of our children and really do something. The violence across our nation, across our world with our children is getting stronger and stronger, and we need to stop it now so this doesn't happen.

Excuse me. I'm sorry -- doesn't happen to somebody else, or something worse. It's just unimaginable.

Please, everybody out there, take a hold of your children. Love them. Love everybody's children and let them know that these things are not right. Violence doesn't solve anything. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Boy, tough stuff.

Her son, Michael Brewer, is in intensive care at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Let's go there live now and talk to the director of the burn center, Dr. Nicholas Namias.

Doctor, good to see you.

You know, we are really, really worried about the condition of this young man. If you would, give us an update on his condition.

DR. NICHOLAS NAMIAS, JACKSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: Well, we're also really worried about his condition. People don't realize that not only is he not out of the woods yet, he's actually not even into the woods yet.

After a major burn such as this, the first couple of days are sort of like a honeymoon. It's by formula we can resuscitate them, but it's after a few days, when the problems start setting in, when we have difficulty with lungs and kidneys and swelling that goes beyond what the body can stand. And so we're still waiting for the worst to come.

HARRIS: Oh, boy. So if you would, talk to us about the kind of integrated care Michael is going to receive in your hospital. First, talk us through the real extent -- and maybe you just touched on it a bit there -- and the approach to treating his physical wounds.

NAMIAS: Well, he's got a burn that's been variably reported between 65 percent and 80 percent. The real measure is probably somewhere in between there. But it's largely irrelevant.

What's important is that it's a good two-thirds or more of the body. It's a major, major burn.

The burns happened with flames, so they are going to be deep burns. And we have seen as we reexamine the wounds areas that initially looked superficial are deeper, and so are more likely to require skin grafting.

This is just the physical part of the burn, the mechanical part. What people don't understand is the whole physiologic consequence, the whole body inflammatory response, the risk for infection, the need for massive amounts of nutrition and fluids supporting all the vital systems. And that's what we're doing now. And as he goes through this, there's going to be stages where now he's getting his critical care with our physicians playing a very large part and the nurses playing an even larger part in the minute-to-minute care.

HARRIS: All right. A couple of other issues -- no, go ahead. Did you want to finish that thought?

NAMIAS: Yes. If we're lucky enough to get all through this, then we get to the surgery. You know, us, as surgeons, we perform that. And that's when, really, the rest of the team, the nurses, the physical therapists, occupational therapists, the speech pathologists and everybody really comes into play -- nutritional support.

Burns are a team sport. There's no one person, no one doctor who can take credit for it. It really is a team effort.

HARRIS: How are Michael's spirits?

NAMIAS: I don't think anybody can really know about his spirits. We have him heavily sedated, and he's getting large doses of narcotics.

So, we do know that he's able to respond. He is in there. But we certainly don't bring him up enough to know how his spirits are. That's not an option.

HARRIS: OK. Yes.

But that's interesting, because as important as your hospital's approach is to the physical wounds, you know, the psychological aspects of his care are really important as well. And talk to us about the protocols, what you have in place for Michael once you bring him up again to help him mentally.

NAMIAS: Sure. Well, from minute one, it's not only the patient, it's also the patient's family. And unfortunately, in tragic cases like this, it's also the staff.

So, from minute one, social workers are involved. They were involved from the beginning in making sure there's a place for his family to stay and providing for their needs.

Right now there's not a role for psychologists for the patient himself, but as he comes up, we have psychologists on staff who will work with him, because these patients are at very high risk for Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder or something like it from the burn. They can have nightmares, flashbacks, depression, all sorts of problems. And we have psychologists who take care of that.

Additionally, the staff gets emotionally taxed. And so we do have resources. From time to time, we will have to have meetings for debriefing and stress relief for the staff also.

HARRIS: One final question, Dr. Namias. Is insurance an issue here? Will all of this care be covered?

NAMIAS: I'm very fortunate that in my role at the University of Miami-Jackson Memorial Hospital, I'm allowed to practice medicine without worrying about insurance. So, I'm sure there are people who are worrying about it, and I honestly don't know. I'm just focusing on the patient and I let somebody else worry about the money.

HARRIS: That's just the last thing I would want is to see this get to the place where we're talking about bake sales and whatever else to pay for the care that Michael needs right now. And I know you know what I'm talking about in that regard as well. Doctor, we appreciate your time. Thanks for the update on Michael's condition.

NAMIAS: Thank you.

HARRIS: And now to the talks on health care reform and the effort to merge two Senate committee bills into one.

Today, Majority Leader Harry Reid and other negotiators will brief Senate Democrats on their efforts. Talks got under way yesterday on combining the Senate Finance bill with the HELP Committee bill. Negotiations are set to resume on Monday.

President Obama visits New Orleans today for the first time since taking office. The president gets an update on efforts to rebuild and recover from Hurricane Katrina.

The storm killed about 1,800 people in Louisiana and Mississippi. It caused $40 billion in damage and displaced one million people. The president holds a town hall meeting and visits a school in the Lower Ninth Ward.

The number of homes in the foreclosure process on track to hit 3.5 million this year. RealtyTrac says a record 938,000 properties got caught up in the crisis over the summer. That's a 23 percent surge over the third quarter of 2008. Rising unemployment gets much of the blame.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

HARRIS: Escalating violence in Pakistan, deadly attacks on the rise. We have a live report on the latest violence.

And the possibility of Rush Limbaugh owning a football team has stirred discussion and controversy all over the country, and Josh is following your take this morning -- Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, you know we've been getting incredible numbers of messages about it, and they're still coming in. And passion on both sides of this debate. We're going to share some on the air, right here, this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Boy, a string of brazen attacks today in Pakistan. Militants targeting law enforcement on their own turf -- their offices and training centers. Dozens are dead.

Let's get to CNN's Reza Sayah in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.

And Reza, first, if you would -- I'm sorry to put it this way, but give us an update on the latest body count.

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's dozens. It's more than 30, and it's tough to keep count on a day like this. I don't recall seeing this many attacks in one day.

It all started 9:00 a.m. local time. That's when a suicide car bomb rammed into a police station in the district of Kohat in northwest Pakistan. Eleven people killed there, eight of them civilians. Kohat is a district that has been plagued by militancy because it sits right next to Pakistan's tribal region along the Afghan border, a region the U.S. calls a safe haven for al Qaeda.

Thirty minutes later, we go all of the way to the eastern part of the country and Pakistan's second largest city, Lahore. That's where armed militants, according to officials, attacked and actually got into three separate police compounds.

These weren't militants that simply blew themselves up and the attack was over. These were militants that once again engaged and took on security forces for an extended period of time. By the time the standoffs were over, you had about 11 militants killed, several police officials also killed.

Here's what a witness had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YAQOOB AZIZ, EYEWITNESS (through translator): If the police are not safe here, how can a common man think that he or she is safe enough? Our children go to school even though they are so scared. We don't even know if we can get back to our homes after work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAYAH: 5:30 p.m. local time tonight, you had another explosion, this time in the city of Peshawar in northwest Pakistan. A remote controlled bomb, according to officials, took down a residential building for government officials. One 8-year-old boy was killed, several injured.

Tonight, Pakistan's interior minister says the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attacks in Lahore. And you can be sure Washington is watching these events with a lot of concern.

They are depending on Pakistan to get tough on these militants. And based on what we saw today, and over the past couple of weeks, you have to question who has the upper hand on this very difficult battle.

HARRIS: Washington considering a new aid package to Pakistan as well.

Reza Sayah for us.

Reza, appreciate it. Thank you.

Get a flu shot or get a new job. The courts will decide if New York State can force health care workers to get the H1N1 vaccine.

CNN's Susan Candiotti looks at the mandate and the objections.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At a hospital in Upstate New York, Nurse Sue Field was told get flu shots or else.

SUE FIELD, REGISTERED NURSE: If we did not comply with this mandate of receiving the H1N1 vaccine and the seasonal flu vaccine that we would be terminated from our employment.

CANDIOTTI: New York is the only state forcing hospital health care workers to get vaccinated, even private doctors who make hospital rounds.

DR. RICHARD DAINES, NEW YORK STATE HEALTH COMMISSIONER: When patients go to a hospital, they ought to have that - that expectation that the hospital and the workers have done everything they can to make it safe for them.

CANDIOTTI: Nurse Field is suing, arguing New York is overreaching. She's not against vaccines in general, but says hospital nurses already take extraordinary precautions to guard against viruses. And still others say they aren't convinced the vaccine has been fully tested. And then there's this argument.

FIELD: I have an issue with the government mandating me to get these vaccines and telling me that if I don't comply then I don't have a job.

CANDIOTTI: New York State Nurses Association is backing her up, saying "The State Emergency Regulation is unwarranted in the absence of a declared emergency." Her attorney points to the Centers for Disease Control and President Obama. Neither is calling for mandatory hospital vaccinations.

PATRICIA FINN, ATTORNEY: If President Obama recommends a voluntary swine flu injection, I really don't see where the commissioner of health has the authority to mandate this particular group. It's arbitrary and capricious, we believe.

CANDIOTTI: But New York's health boss says his state may be leading the way to a national policy. DAINES: We do things (ph) that a state or local level, prove that they're safe and effective and practical, and then they're adopted nationally.

CANDIOTTI: Nurse Field says, not so fast.

FIELD: Seasonal flu and H1N1 this year, what will the government then have the right to say they want to inject us with next year?

CANDIOTTI (on camera): Others, including New York's Civil Liberties Union, are also suing over the mandatory shots, arguing they violate a constitutional right of health care workers to control their own bodies.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Let's get you caught up on our top stories right now.

A Tennessee father accused of going to Japan to take his kids from his ex-wife is now out of jail, with kidnapping charges on hold. The man is involved in a custody fight for his 6-and-8-year-old children.

A brutal beating in New York. Two men caught on tape punching and kicking another man. Police say he was targeted because he's gay. He has collapsed lungs and broken bones. A suspect in the attack in court today.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg released from a hospital this morning. The court says she was admitted overnight for what appeared to be a reaction to medication. Ginsburg had surgery earlier this year for pancreatic cancer.

A 10-year-old boy jumps into action. His teacher says he saved her life. Hear from both of them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So, Senate Democrats get an update today on health care reform. Majority Leader Harry Reid and other negotiators will brief Senate Democrats on their efforts.

Talks got under way yesterday on combining the Senate Finance bill with the HELP Committee bill. Negotiations are set to resume on Monday.

Yesterday, I spoke with Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus about the challenge of getting the interested parties on the same page.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D), CHAIRMAN, FINANCE COMMITTEE: I think most of the stakeholders, frankly, want health care reform. That's the main point. And they want to work together to get health care reform passed.

The argument is not over whether we have health care reform; rather, the argument is over the details and specifics and how do we get there. And I say to everybody who wants to be a part of health care reform, hey, stay calm, be cool, work with me, work with others, keep an open mind. We want to work a way to find solutions, compromises.

I'm very practical, pragmatic, open-minded. I want an even, balanced solution here. And so I think when stakeholders understand that, the more they realize that, the more easily we'll come together and find some agreements.

HARRIS: At the end of the day, aren't you going to have say to these stakeholders -- you won't use this language but I will -- pipe down, it's the best we can get done at this time? We're going to be dealing with this legislation and changes to it, and improving the system for years to come, so pipe down for now, this is the best we can do?

BAUCUS: Or to state it differently, this train is leaving the station. There's a great sense of inevitability. We're going to pass health care reform. So, it's much better to be part of the solution than opposed to the solution. And I say to groups, hey, as much as possible, let's figure out a way to do this together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK. And next hour, we will hear from GOP lawmakers about what's next in health reform.

In Florida today, child welfare workers are deciding whether to remove an obese boy from his Orlando home. Thirteen-year-old Josiah Lewis (ph) weighs 400 pounds. His mother says he won't take medication to help curb his weight and he won't stop overeating despite health problems.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRENDA LEWIS, MOTHER: Because of his weight, he has gained diabetes and he has high blood pressure.

These people are going to come in my house and take my child and sign me over as unfit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Yes. Florida law allows the state to take custody of a child in cases of a life-threatening medical condition. South Carolina authorities recently took similar action to help a 555-pound teen.

A 10-year-old boy in Texas is being praised as a hero who saved his teacher's life. Art teacher Sheri Lowe says she was eating an apple when she started choking. That's when Kyle Forbes (ph) went into hero mode and performed the Heimlich Maneuver.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was the first time I have ever saved someone's life in an accident. That's the first time I have ever done.

Before, I was, like, just a normal kid with always getting being picked on. But then I was, like, a super hero.

SHERI LOWE, TEACHER: He's in my prayers. And -- tell me not to cry. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't cry.

LOWE: OK.

He is my hero.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Kyle (ph), who is autistic, says he learned the life- saving technique in Cub Scouts. He is being honored by his scout troop and his school.

Four years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is back in the spotlight. President Obama getting a firsthand look at a devastated city in the rebuilding process.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So, in less than three hours, President Obama holds a town hall meeting on the recovery effort from Hurricane Katrina. This will be the president's first visit to New Orleans since taking office. White House correspondent Dan Lothian joins us live from New Orleans with more on the president's trip.

Good to see you, Dan. What kind of reception is the president expected to get there?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're seeing two things, Tony. First of all, I think by all accounts, people are quite pleased here with what the administration has done so far in terms of helping the recovery effort, clearing up red tape to provide a billion dollars for assistance here, promising another billion dollars in stimulus money and billions more for the entire state. So, they feel good about that.

But what you're hearing is a lot of people are criticizing this administration for not spending enough time on the ground during this visit. The president only expected to be here a little less than four hours, making a stop at a charter school in the Lower Ninth Ward, which was an area hard hit during Katrina. It's a school that was one of the first to -- public schools to reopen. Then he comes over here to the University of New Orleans to hold that town hall meeting. And then he takes off, spending the night in San Francisco.

And so, there's that sense here that the president should have spent more time on the ground, that he should have taken a tour around not only here in New Orleans but some of the outer communities, perhaps even going over to Mississippi as well, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, which was hard hit after Katrina. What the administration, though, is saying is that the president previously, five visits he made here when he wasn't president, he did get a chance to go out and view the landscape and view the damage, get a real good sense of what was going on here.

But what he didn't get a chance to do was to sit down and talk to people and to listen to them. And so, that's what he's doing this time. He will be here at this town hall meeting getting a chance to hear from the residents. And the administration's saying that they don't believe that any of these criticisms are valid. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This president has been active. His Cabinet has been active. This has been a destination unrivaled by almost any other for Cabinet officials and for administration officials. I think if we're judged simply on what we've done, which is all we ever ask that people do, I think they'll understand and see we haven't just made promises, we've delivered.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: And they point out the president is very committed to continuing to keep the focus on New Orleans, bring the resources and funds here to help this city and this region recover. And again, they point out, Tony, that since January, more than 20 senior administration officials have visited here some 35 times, not only to New Orleans but to the Gulf Coast region -- Tony.

HARRIS: All right. Our White House correspondent Dan Lothian in New Orleans ahead of the president's town hall meeting there. Dan, appreciate it. Thank you.

Got to tell you, with all of the billions -- trillions, really, being spent to help rescue the economy, we want to know where all the money is going. We're sure you do as well.

Our Josh Levs has been keeping an eye on that, including some new figures out today. Good to see you, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good to see you, too, Tony. Let me tell everyone the basic idea here. You know, we followed recovery.gov, which shows what happened from a lot of that American Reinvestment -- Recovery and Reinvestment Act, right, that $787 billion...

HARRIS: Yes, yes.

LEVS: ... that was put out there. Where is it actually going? What's popped in today is a list of what's been reported by the people out there who are actually spending some of that money. So, the government doled out a lot of money. There are contractors doing some projects with it. They had to send in their reports. That's brand new today.

Let's zoom into this screen. I'll show you what we do know. I don't have lots of pretty graphics because this just popped up.

HARRIS: OK.

LEVS: But this is it, recovery.gov. And I'll show you one figure and tell you something reality-checkish to keep in mind. They say that -- from what's been reported so far, 30,000 jobs, Tony, have been created by what's been spent. Stay on that for a second. I want everyone to understand. Jobs in this context don't necessarily mean work that you go to, you get benefits that last. A lot of these jobs are temporary work on construction sites...

HARRIS: That's right. That's right.

LEVS: ... last a couple weeks. So, when you hear jobs, there's different values from what that means. But they are saying from what's been reported so far, 30,000 jobs have been created in that context from the spending so far.

There's also something else I can show you here that's at recovery.gov. It's very well designed. Plus it's one of the things that looks pretty good on TV, so we're going to do it.

HARRIS: OK.

LEVS: This is a map. And what they have is, you can click on any state here, and then within that state you can zoom in to the projects in your state. So, check this out. Let's click on Texas for an example.

HARRIS: All right.

LEVS: And here, when it shows you Texas, it will show you right down here how many contracts, what's been awarded, how much has been spent. And you can get more complex. Check this out. You want to know how many contracts in any part of the country, you click on that little green button for contracts. Then you go -- you zoom in here.

You can zoom into your city. You can even stretch to street view. It will show you how close to your actual home any of the spending has been, and everywhere you see a little green button, Tony, you just click on it, and it shows you what's been spent there, how much, what came from it, what it was aimed at. So, this is a really good resource no matter where you are in the country.

HARRIS: Well, that's pretty cool, Josh.

LEVS: It's really cool stuff.

HARRIS: And we can play? I mean, it sounds like we can go on ourselves -- remind everyone of the site address again -- and we can sort of click on in our neighborhood and our town and find out if we've been getting any stimulus dollars.

LEVS: Anywhere in the country or where you used to live. Anywhere in the entire country, the most up-to-date info should be on here. And the address is on your screen, recovery.gov.

I will also tell you there's a private one that's doing this as well. Let's go over here to recovery.org. I've talked to people about this before. This is run by a group called Onvia. They're tracking this information as well. They're a private group that's pushing for contractors to get their hands on some of this government work, so they've created something similar at recovery.org. And there have been times that recovery.org has had more information than recovery.gov.

And just to get you one more figure because, you know, I do like the hard figures. This is from CNN Money. Here's how much was promised in the bill, $787 billion. And to the right of it is how much has been spent so far. Three hundred billion has been spent from the 787.

So, when we're back at this, when we're looking today at the latest figures, what do we know about the contracts? There's still a lot of spending out there. So, you might say not a lot's happened in my town, but there's still a lot that's yet to be spent, Tony. So, we'll see that show up eventually.

HARRIS: I wonder -- 30,000 jobs saved or created to this point. I wonder -- it would be helpful to have that compared to what the administration promised us. Maybe we can do one of those thermometers, you know, where this is where we are and this is where we need to be. Maybe we can do something like that as well.

LEVS: We do know that, you know, the administration's prediction from a long time ago very early on in pushing for the act, they're not close to what they said would happen. But obviously, there are a lot of realities that came forward after that. Yes, I'll check on that for you.

HARRIS: Here we are. Here's what was promised.

LEVS: I think everyone would love that.

HARRIS: Yes. All right, Josh. Appreciate it. Thanks.

LEVS: Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: On Wall Street, there have been some upbeat signs on the economy lately. The Dow topped 10,000, and some earnings are showing corporate America is doing better these days, but millions of people are not sharing in the recovery.

The latest evidence of that, a record number of foreclosure filings in the last quarter. That would be the third quarter.

Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with details. And these are pretty bleak numbers, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And that's why, you know, when we say "recovery," we do it with the full acknowledgement that there are millions of people who are distress, millions of people who are looking for jobs, and that this is not an even, steady kind of thing.

HARRIS: Yes. LISOVICZ: That's just the way it works. And unfortunately, we continue to see real distress from the housing implosion -- 937,000 homes received a foreclosure filing in the third quarter, so just under 1 million in a three-month period.

All in all, since the recession was officially declared in December of '07, 5.7 million filings. Hardest-hit states, no surprise there. Nevada, which saw so much speculation, there was one filing for every 23 households followed by California, Florida and Idaho.

On the other side of things, the best record is Vermont, where there's one filing for every 5,000 households. But even Vermont, the Mountain State, Green Mountain State, saw filings nearly triple in the third quarter.

Why is that? Well, home prices are still falling. And many folks owe more on the loan than what their home is worth, so some are walking away.

HARRIS: Yes.

LISOVICZ: And that is a phenomenon we have seen quite a bit over the past year -- Tony.

HARRIS: Folks being upside down in their homes.

LISOVICZ: Upside down mortgage.

HARRIS: Yes. But I thought the government, Susan, was stepping in to help qualified borrowers avoid foreclosure.

LISOVICZ: That's a good point, Tony, and that's something we talked about last week, the government's foreclosure prevention program, saying that it helped prevent 500,000 homeowners from going into foreclosure by putting them into that trial program with the modified mortgage that you just mentioned. But still well short of the ultimate goal of 4 million.

And there's -- there are a lot of other efforts obviously to help out folks who are strapped right now. In fact, today the Obama administration is pushing for a $250 check to seniors.

HARRIS: Yes.

LISOVICZ: If approved, that would go out next year. It would help to offset no Social Security cost-of-living increase next year. This is also phenomenal because wages -- I should say prices overall are actually falling year over year.

HARRIS: Right. Right.

LISOVICZ: And it's the first time that we're not seeing COLA, the cost of living adjustment, put into effect since it was actually factored into Social Security. That was in the mid-'70s, 1975. So, it's a very rare event.

And this $250 check actually is sort of like an increase, obviously...

HARRIS: Yes.

LISOVICZ: ... because it amounts to about a 2 percent increase for the average Social Security recipient.

We're not seeing an increase on Wall Street, unfortunately. Dow is real close to 10,000. Not there right now. We're seeing a modest sell-off after that milestone reached yesterday...

HARRIS: Yes, yes, I (INAUDIBLE).

LISOVICZ: ... the first time in a year -- Tony.

HARRIS: Hey, we've got some big plans for you next hour, so don't go too far, all right?

LISOVICZ: I'm not going too far. I'm there for you.

HARRIS: All right, Susan, appreciate it. Thank you.

The people tracking foreclosures describe this past summer as the worst there for months -- the worst three months ever. I will dig a bit deeper on the numbers with real-estate expert John Adams. That's next hour in the CNN NEWSROOM.

It is October 15th, deadline day for tax dodgers. It's the last day of an IRS amnesty program that promises no jail time and reduced penalties for Americans who disclose amounts and those accounts in foreign tax havens.

This summer, Swiss banking giant UBS said it would turn over the names of more than 4,000 U.S. account holders. The IRS says response to its amnesty program has been unprecedented. About 7,500 people have come forward.

And a quick check now of our top stories. Dozens are dead following multiple attacks in Pakistan with militant bombings and shootings. Police facilities and local government offices were targeted.

A plea for clemency in the D.C.-area sniper case. John Allen Muhammad is scheduled to die next month for his part in a string of shootings that killed 10 people seven years ago. Muhammad's attorney says he will ask the state for clemency and file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court. Muhammad's teenage co-defendant, Lee Boyd Malvo, is serving a life sentence.

A live picture now from the Capitol. We're awaiting a news conference any minute now from House and Senate Republican leaders. Senator Mitch McConnell and Representative John Boehner are expected to talk about the work on health care reform that is still to come. We'll be listening in to hear what they have to say.

Rush Limbaugh is out as a possible owner of the St. Louis Rams. But your thoughts keep pouring in. We'll take a look at both sides of this debate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You may have heard the term near-death experience. Well, what would it be like to be clinically dead and then brought back to life? A high school football ref who went without a heartbeat for almost three minutes shares his emotional story with our Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's worth talking about sudden cardiac arrest when we talk about cheating death. It kills more people in the United States than strokes, cancers and HIV/AIDS combined. And if you have a sudden cardiac arrest in the field or outside a hospital, your chance of survival is around 2 or 3 percent. But there are some simple things, very simple things that can make a huge difference.

Bob Schriever knows. Take a look.

It was right here, September 14th, 2002, about a minute into the third quarter, and Bob Schriever, the referee, was suddenly down. The fans, the players, the television audience were about to be in for a shocking sight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my goodness. A referee has just collapsed on the field.

GUPTA (voice-over): For 65-year-old Bob Schriever, that video is sometimes still difficult to watch.

(on camera): You're suddenly down.

BOB SCHRIEVER, SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST SURVIVOR: I'm down. I'm dead. Yes.

GUPTA: What did you experience? What did you -- I mean, did you have pain?

SCHRIEVER: Nothing. Nothing.

GUPTA (voice-over): Schriever was in cardiac arrest on this very field during a high school football game. A team trainer, armed with the school's brand-new AED, or automated external defibrillator, shocked him back to life.

SCHRIEVER: That's scary.

GUPTA: Schriever was choking up as he showed me the video that day. And then he started to talk about what he remembered.

(on camera): What were you experiencing when everyone was seeing this?

SCHRIEVER: It's very peaceful. It's very serene. And it's extremely, extremely bright. I mean, it is bright. And I was -- I saw a place that I was supposed to go. I saw that halo, and something was saying, go towards the halo.

GUPTA (voice-over): He says he was dead for two minutes and 40 seconds.

(on camera): So this is the first time Bob's been back here. He just visited the place where he had his sudden cardiac arrest for the first time since it happened. He's going to toss the coin, something he hasn't done in a while.

SCHRIEVER: What do you call it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tails.

SCHRIEVER: He has called tails. It's the heads. You won the toss, your choice.

GUPTA (voice-over): But what happened on this field still haunts him.

(on camera): How often do you think about it?

SCHRIEVER: I think about that every morning when I wake up, first thing, during the day, I don't know how many times, and every night before I fall asleep.

GUPTA: You know, sometimes it's the simplest of things that can really cheat death, move that line between life and death. And in this case, something like this. This is an AED or automated external defibrillator. Most buildings, most public places have these now, and they're really simple to use. You just open up the box, and it literally has voice instructions on what exactly to do.

First thing it will tell you to do is call 911 if you haven't already, and then where exactly to place the pads on someone's chest. The pads actually measure the heart rhythm. And if it determines that it needs a shock, it goes ahead and delivers one. It's a very simple thing.

And in the case of Bob Schriever, it obviously made a huge difference. He was down, his heart wasn't working, and an AED like this saved his life. So, it is really worth educating yourself.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Sanjay, appreciate it. Don't miss the prime-time debut of his special series, "ANOTHER DAY: CHEATING DEATH." That is this Saturday and Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.

Coming up in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM, if the U.S. is going to send more troops to Afghanistan, where will they come from? A report from our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr.

And scary new foreclosure figures are out. We're going to talk to a mortgage expert about where the housing market is right now. Stay with us. Those stories and a whole lot more coming up in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Talk show host Rush Limbaugh no longer in the running for an ownership stake in the NFL's St. Louis Rams. A group bidding to buy the team dropped Limbaugh as a partner, saying his involvement became a complication and distraction. On his radio show, Limbaugh called it an ongoing effort on the left to destroy conservatism.

This story really has a lot of you pretty fired up, no matter which side you're on. Here's the question that got you going: How would you feel about Rush Limbaugh owning an NFL team?

And our Josh Levs has been following your take on this. What are you hearing, Josh?

LEVS: We were talking about this this morning, Tony. Everyone's all over this story. They've got a lot to say. Let's zoom right in. I want to tell everyone Sports Illustrated is part of CNN.com. Get the latest facts, SportsIllustrated.cnn.com, all bout this.

Now, this is the question to you. It's up at the blog. We'll show you in a minute how to join. Here's a couple blog posts we've gotten: "I personally do not care for Rush Limbaugh, but as an American and a veteran, I would defend another American's right to the end. Unless a person's a felon, he has the right to enter any business he chooses.

Let me scroll down here to get to the second one we pulled up for you: "I will not attend any Rams games if Rush Limbaugh buys the team. I also feel all the NFL players and fans should boycott." That was from Eugene.

You could see how it shows up here on the blog. We're getting all sorts of posters.

A lot of people bringing up Michael Vick. I highlighted one example from Reggie: "Sadly, Rush is getting the same if not worse treatment than Michael Vick in his return to the NFL."

We're also hearing from you on Facebook. This is from Linda: "Did I wake up in Russia? Just because you don't like what he says, he can't own a business?"

And let's go to one from Twitter here. "I hope he does not get it or else it was a joke. He does not respect anyone but RL."

You all are very fired up about this. You're telling us a lot. Let's show you how to weigh in. We've got the graphics. It's at Tony's blog, CNN.com/tony, plus me, same exact thing, CNN.com/josh. There's my Facebook and Twitter, joshlevsCNN. Keep these discussions going.

HARRIS: Yes, yes.

LEVS: And I'm going to encourage you, you know, listen to each other, respond to each other in a respectful way.

HARRIS: Respect one another. My goodness, folks...

LEVS: Respect, r-e-s-p-e-c-t.

HARRIS: ... get on, and they just lose their minds.

All right, Josh, appreciate it. Thank you.