Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Cedars-Sinai Patient Talks about Hospital Error; Archeological Finds Near Babylon; Vicar of Baghdad Discusses Mission in Iraq; Louisiana J.P. Refuses to Marry Interracial Couple

Aired October 16, 2009 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Tony, thanks so much.

A matter of conscience or a black-and-white case of discrimination? A man and a woman want to say, "I do." A justice of the peace says, "I won't." No justice here, and no peace.

Ever seen a miracle? Watch the buggy. Watch the train. And don't believe your eyes.

Drugs flow out, cash flows in. Bodies pile up. Dealing death in Colombia. We go behind the white line, showing you what you won't see anywhere else.

Hello, every -- hello, everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The decision whether to send more troops to Afghanistan still weeks away. Now four more American troops coming home to be buried. The U.S. military says two of them were killed instantly when a roadside bomb exploded in southern Afghanistan. Two others died later from their wounds.

And at a mosque in northern Iraq, the end of Friday prayers was the beginning of chaos. At least nine people killed, some 30 wounded in an attack -- a suicide attack -- targeting Sunni Muslim worshippers. This area around the city of Tal Afar has seen a spike in violence.

Religion on the whole is very dangerous, and that's a quote from a man of God. An Anglican vicar is -- one of the last places you'd expect to find an Anglican vicar, smack dab in the middle of Baghdad. We're talking to him, just minutes from now.

Routine and dependence on machines may have led to a Los Angeles hospital's huge error. Less clear: why they didn't clue at least some of the victims in. So, one man is speaking out now about his Cedars- Sinai ordeal. More from Kara Finnstrom in L.A.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD BIGGLES, GIVEN OVERDOSE OF RADIATION: The side of my face went numb, and my speech was starting to slur, and I'm like, "Uh-oh."

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fifty-one-year- old Donald Biggles suffered a stroke in September of last year. Since then, he's been grateful to the doctors who treated him at Cedars- Sinai Medical Center, but now a frightening discovery about a test used to diagnose his stroke.

Cedars-Sinai is admitting to a major programming error with its CT scan machine. During a period of 18 months, the hospital says every stroke patient, 206 in all, received radiation doses six to eight times more than intended. Biggles says he was one of them.

BIGGLES: This paperwork is what they gave me when they released me from the hospital.

FINNSTROM: Medical experts say nobody knows exactly what risk Biggles faces, but agreed that risk grows over time.

DR. BRUCE FAGEL, MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ATTORNEY: They are now in a subset population that is, by definition, high risk for the development of various types of cancers. We don't know what kind. We don't know how long it's going to take for it to occur.

BIGGLES: They say, you know, cancer, it takes about 20 years for cancer to actually show up. And I'm, like, "So you're telling me I'm going to wind up with cancer around about age 70? That's it? Five years after retirement? I get cancer?" I'm, like, "What? I don't understand this."

FINNSTROM: Biggles is struggling to make sense of it all. Three weeks ago he says he got a phone call out of the blue from Cedars- Sinai. Dr. Barry Pressman, chairman of the hospital's imaging department, had some questions.

BIGGLES: He asked me had I had any blurred vision, headaches or hair loss. And I said, hair loss? Yes. I said, I had a perfect ring around my head. You just do like this and there it was.

FINNSTROM: But he says Dr. Pressman never said anything about a radiation overdose.

BIGGLES: He never mentioned the word "radiation" or that they had over-irradiated me. He said something -- there was an error with the procedure.

FINNSTROM: In fact, Biggles says the only reason he learned about the overdoses was this week's flurry of local news reports. State health officials were alerted to the problem by the hospital and investigated.

Two years ago, Cedars-Sinai faced state censure in another high- profile mistake. The newborn twins of actor Dennis Quaid were given 1,000 times the intended dosage of a blood thinner. The twins survived, and the Quaids launched a foundation to draw attention to hospital mistakes that kill as many as 100,000 Americans a year.

Biggles says he understands mistakes are made. What he wants are answers.

BIGGLES: They've taken me from my normal comfort zone until now I'm in a worry zone. I have a wife. I have a family. I'd like to see -- I'd like to be around to see my son graduate college and get married and, you know, that's my life expectancy.

FINNSTROM (on camera): Biggles says his next step will be to talk to his personal doctor about any risks he may face.

Cedars-Sinai turned down a request for an interview. But Dr. Pressman did release a statement, saying in part, "As a physician speaking with patients, the goal is to address any side effects that may occur, without unnecessarily alarming them. We continue to respond to patients' questions and concerns, and I sincerely regret if any patient feels that they did not receive the information they needed."

Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: The FDA does want you to get the swine flu vaccine, but not online. The agency's reminding all of us what's sold isn't always what's advertised, and they know from firsthand experience after ordering a bunch of swine flu drugs off the Web. None of them approved for U.S. sale. And all with different concentrations.

Got a baby or expecting one? You're going to want to hear this. A lot of moms and dads medicate their little ones to prevent a fever caused by shots. Turns out giving them Tylenol right before or after could compromise a vaccine's protection. Not totally, but enough that the CDC found a compelling case against doing it routinely.

A woman dying of cancer. Her power company threatening to cut her off over a $188 bill. Well, you know what? A power company is no match for the power of compassion.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Another big jolt for Indonesia. A strong earthquake rattled the island of Java this morning, sending panicked people into the streets of Jakarta. That quake, magnitude 6.1, was centered just over 100 miles southwest of the Indonesian capital. So far, no word of any major damage or injuries.

Just over two weeks ago, a much bigger earthquake struck Indonesia's Sumatra island, killing more than 1,000 people. Whole villages completely flattened.

You've got, off Mexico's Pacific coast, a new hurricane to worry about now. Chad Myers is tracking it.

Chad, what do you know?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's just amazing, Kyra, how busy the Pacific has been this year compared to other years, and compared to the Atlantic.

This is Hurricane Rick. Going to be a very significant storm. In fact, this wasn't anything yesterday. This didn't even have even any -- look of spinning at all. And now all of a sudden it's already a 75-mile-per-hour storm. And it's going to be a Category 3, possibly a Category 4 hurricane, before it makes the turn, maybe back at Baja.

The only good news is we begin to lose a little bit of strength here. But for a while, it's 135-mile-per-hour storm here, possibly hitting somewhere in Mexico.

And then this. Like they need another one. This is Typhoon Lupit. Where they get their names and so on? It doesn't matter. But there you go. There is the storm. It is now 75, as well. But forecast to be the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane as it hits the Philippines again. The exact same place that Parma hit.

And if you remember, we talked about the storm about three or four weeks ago that ran through Manila. Well, this thing only has to move about one or two degrees away from where it's going right now to the south, and Manila's right in the middle of a very large -- another devastating hurricane. And, you know, I mean, just millions and millions. Like, 20 million people just in that city alone, and then more, obviously, in the provinces around there.

And there you go, Buffalo back into State College, some snow coming down. And if you're maybe headed out to the airport today, LaGuardia, Newark and Philadelphia, delayed all over an hour already. By the time you get there, the plane that was supposed to leave at 10 a.m. may still be sitting there. See if you can get on it, because at least you won't have to wait for your delay, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: That's not fun to start off the weekend.

MYERS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Chad.

MYERS: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's one of the hardest places to keep your faith. But this guy is doing it. And then some. The vicar of Baghdad, faith on the front lines. He's something and someone you've got to meet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Top stories now.

Last week's sweat lodge deaths in Arizona now part of a homicide investigation. Police served a search warrant at James Arthur Ray's California headquarters. The self-help expert was holding a ceremony in that lodge when nearly two dozen people got sick. Two died. Ray is described as a person of interest now.

Off the coast of South Carolina, search crews looking for a missing F-16 pilot. His jet collided with another F-16 during training exercises off Charleston. The other pilot was not hurt. Both planes are stationed at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter. A lot of questions now for the family of that Colorado boy who grabbed the nation's attention yesterday when we all thought he was adrift in a makeshift balloon. His dad is lashing out at suggestions that it was all a hoax. Richard Heene says that that's extremely pathetic, and he says he's just glad his son is safe. The boy was found hiding in his garage.

Iraq, too often we think of that country in terms of daily death tolls, roadside bombs, insurgent attacks, but what we've forgotten is that Iraq was once home to the most powerful city in the world. Before London, Paris, even Rome, there was Babylon, just south of Baghdad. Ten powerful dynasties ruled from Babylon. Its hanging gardens, one of the top wonders of the ancient world. I find it pretty ironic that, while war is destroying so many historic treasures, archeologists are unearthing even more.

CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom takes us on the dig.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are some of the remains of ancient Iraq. A mud-brick village 2,000 years old, unearthed by archeologists just a few months ago.

Located in the country's south, the city of Hillah is just down the road from Babylon, where Mesopotamian kings like Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar once ruled.

Here, the soil may not be fertile, but it is rich with history.

(on camera) When archeologists first started excavating here, they knew they'd find some artifacts, but they had no idea how many or how significant this site would be. So far, the ruins of two palaces and the ruins of several households have been found, all over 2,000 years old.

Also found here? Over 600 artifacts.

(voice-over) Pieces of antiquity like these vases and utensils are dated from between 200 B.C. to 200 A.D. After they're cleaned off and cataloged, they'll make their way to Iraq's national museum.

Raad Hamed and his team are here every day, trying to protect Iraq's treasures from the looting and plundering that have become all too common. The dig is ongoing. The work is painstaking. Workers trained in proper excavation procedures cannot be too careful.

"This work is difficult and it takes a lot of precision," says Raad. "Any mistake you make can have a big impact on the rest of the work you're doing or could cause you to lose a big piece of the puzzle that will allow you to link up the other pieces."

Sifting through this sand, they're never sure what they'll find next. Today, they excavated the lid of a vase in near pristine condition. On other days, their findings were more unexpected. (on camera) One of the more surprising things they've come across at this archeological dig site is this grave site. They were digging in this area. They came across the edge of this casket, so they dug some more. They discovered this casket with the skeleton inside, but what really perplexes them is the fact that the bones of the feet are placed outside of the casket.

(voice-over) For Raad, the work may be arduous, but once in a while the payoff is worth it. "When we come across a very valuable piece, it makes us very happy," he says. "Because then our names are tied to a specific artifact in a specific location, which is very special and something to be proud of."

Mohammed Jamjoom, CNN, Babylon province, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, Babylon was also the ancestral home of Abraham. He's considered the father of three faiths: Judaism, Islam and Christianity. But conflicts within those faiths fuel much of the violence that we see in Iraq today.

Canon Andrew White knows that reality all too well. The Anglican chaplain to Iraq lives under constant death threats. He's been nearly -- or seen nearly 100 parishioners killed while serving there. But he's determined to bring about peace. He's been involved in 150 hostage negotiations, and he serves as president of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East.

The man known as the vicar of Baghdad is here in Atlanta to raise money for his relief group.

And after hearing about you and seeing you in action for so long, I can't believe I never connected with you in Iraq. It's such a pleasure to have you.

CANON ANDREW WHITE, ANGLICAN CHAPLAIN: Here I am.

PHILLIPS: You know, let me ask you, just looking at the piece that Mohammed Jamjoom did about Babylon...

WHITE: Yes.

PHILLIPS: ... I mean, it's so ironic when you think of the Tower of Babel, and you read scripture, and how it talks about the miscommunication and the division there in the Tower of Babel. And now look at what's happening right there in this country on that spot.

WHITE: Absolutely. And we see Babylon mentioned, very beginning of scripture, and at the very end. So, Iraq is central to us in the whole of scripture.

PHILLIPS: Why do you -- you've been there more than a decade.

WHITE: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Why do you stick it out? Why do you stay there?

WHITE: I stay there because I love the Iraqi people. The Iraqi people are the most wonderful people I've ever met. The religious leaders are great: Sunni, Shia, Turkmen, Azizi (ph), et cetera. But the most important people are the children.

PHILLIPS: You say that religion on the whole is a very dangerous thing.

WHITE: All religion is terrible. The former Archbishop Canterbury, William Temple (ph), said when religion goes wrong, it goes very wrong. And in Iraq religion has gone wrong.

PHILLIPS: Why?

WHITE: Why? It has to do with power. Religion has power. And power can either create something beautiful or cause total destruction. And sadly, too often, it's caused destruction.

PHILLIPS: And why is that ruling over everything else, the destruction? When you look at the history of Iraq? When you look at what was created there biblically and within so many faiths, and yet that's what's destroying this country on so many levels.

WHITE: The fact that is that so many people think that something has been taken away from them, whether it's power, money and de- Ba'athfication, influence. Ultimately we have got to give back to people something which will enable them to move forward.

PHILLIPS: I have to say, as many times as I've been to Iraq -- and it's not been nearly times as many times as you have been there, for sure -- I was extremely amazed by the faith of the people. I remember on Easter Sunday going to a Christian church. Everybody there was risking their lives just to be there.

WHITE: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Just to worship. You do that every single day. You've avoided kidnapping. You've avoided death. You've avoided the bombs. Tell me what has kept you alive. What has kept Christians like we're seeing right now alive, and so many others that refuse to give up on their faith.

WHITE: Well, a lot haven't kept alive. I had, as you said, near 100 people killed just last year. I've had 11 killed this year. And I've had all my church leaders killed.

What keeps them going is their belief in the Almighty and their trust in God. And it's very interesting that, on our work, we bring together the American troops chapel, which I look after, as well, and St. George's, the Iraqi people. And we meet every day, every week together as one. And it's wonderful to see the relationship which has built up between the people who were seen as enemies. Now they're seen as friends.

PHILLIPS: I have to ask you. From a professional level, you've negotiated with Yasser Arafat, all the way to the most extreme within Iraq. You're married. You have kids. I understand now you are dealing with M.S. You have a lot on your plate. Yet, you remain to do such remarkable things. Is that more than just the power of faith?

WHITE: The power of God. I think that's very important. That is ultimately what keeps me going. And the power of the love of the people. I've never received love like this from anybody. I love my people in Iraq.

And I now have the biggest church in Iraq, with 3,500 people. And we give them food. We look after them. We have a clinic at our church. We've four dentists, four doctors, laboratory, pharmacy. Most of our patients are Muslim. But we are taught in the Bible to even love our enemy, and we do.

PHILLIPS: Well, God surely selected an amazing man to be in the position that you're in. It was so wonderful to see you.

WHITE: Great meeting you.

PHILLIPS: My pleasure.

Well, a dying cancer patient at the mercy of her power company. Too bad there wasn't much mercy there. Sometimes it just takes a little outrage to make a difference. And we're going to tell you about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking the headlines now.

President Obama is heading to Texas for a face-to-face with George H.W. Bush. Mr. Obama's attending a forum on community service hosted by the former president and his Points of Light Institute. The president will thank his predecessor for laying the foundation for his own service agenda.

President Obama also has a war agenda, and his secretary of state is speaking out about it. Hillary Clinton's got a let to say about the way things were handled by the George W. Bush administration. Here's part of that exclusive interview with CNN foreign affairs correspondent, Jill Dougherty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: I think, unfortunately, over the last eight years, there wasn't the kind of expectation that should have been set for what the United States and the international community expected to be delivered. But we're going to change that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And you can catch the entire interview with Hillary Clinton, 6 p.m. Eastern on "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer.

Now, this story had us checking our calendar just to make sure it's 2009. From Eastern Louisiana comes a justice of the peace who swears he's not a racist. He just won't marry interracial couples.

Details now from reporter David Spunt from our affiliate WAFB out of Baton Rouge.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID SPUNT, WAFB-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Terence McKay says he's still in shock that his dream wedding turned into a racial nightmare.

TERENCE MCKAY, GROOM: It's disheartening. Seriously, you know? It's 2009, and we still dealing with a form of racism.

SPUNT: Terence and the love of his life, Beth, say they've been looking forward to getting married for a long time. When they called Keith Bardwell, a local justice of the peace with more than 30 years' experience, he said no way.

MCKAY: He's saying 99 percent of it wind up in divorce, but how many people getting married winds up in divorce? You know, white or black?

SPUNT: We spoke with Bardwell by phone after he declined to go on camera. He told us, quote, "I stand by my decision, and it is my right not to marry an interracial couple. It's wrong," end quote.

Terence McKay says he agrees. Something is wrong in this situation.

MCKAY: It's unethical to me, because he's an elected official. He cannot do it.

SPUNT: According to the Louisiana Judicial Code of Conduct, "A judge shall perform judicial duties without bias or prejudice."

After being denied by Bardwell, the couple came here and was married in this room by another justice of the peace, Terry Crosby.

TERRY CROSBY, JUSTICE OF THE PEACE: I consider performing a marriage a privilege, actually, given to me by the attorney general in the state of Louisiana.

SPUNT: When asked what he would like to say to Keith Bardwell...

MCKAY: Good luck. You know, that's all I can tell him. I wish him the best. I don't wish him any harm but, you know, he was wrong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Louisiana has a judiciary commission that judges judges, and state lawmakers aren't exactly holding their peace.

Elbert Guillory is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He joins me now live from Baton Rouge.

And please tell me that the license of this justice of the peace will be revoked. Can you please tell me that?

ELBERT GUILLORY, SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, LOUISIANA: Well, there's a good probability that some corrective action will be taken. We don't want to rush to judgment. But we certainly, from all the information that we have, it sounds like a damning situation, and it will require some correction. Justices of the peace take an oath to protect and to live out the laws of Louisiana and the constitution of Louisiana. Apparently there's been a violation, and so some corrective action will be taken.

PHILLIPS: And Senator, correct me if I'm wrong, but he's done this before. This is not the first time that he's denied an interracial marriage.

GUILLORY: Well, fortunately, the problem has now been brought to the attention of us and to the world. And we'd like for the judiciary -- this is a quasi-judiciary position, and so the judiciary will have its first bite at the apple, the first opportunity to correct the problem. If that does not happen, the attorney general can certainly take corrective action. And if that fails, certainly by the time that we go back into session, the legislature will do what is appropriate.

PHILLIPS: He's even come forward and made statements that he has piles of black friends. He invites them to his home. He even lets them use the restroom in his home. He says all of this proves that he's not a racist. Does that just bother you?

GUILLORY: Actually, I'm not concerned about his attitudes. I'm concerned about his behavior.

PHILLIPS: Obviously, his attitudes are affecting his behavior.

GUILLORY: Well, being a former human-rights professional, we like to zero in on behavior as opposed to attitudes. His behavior was violative of his oath and violative of the laws of Louisiana, the constitution of Louisiana. We are going to correct his behavior. I don't care if he has black friends or green friends. It doesn't matter who uses his bathroom.

PHILLIPS: He probably wouldn't let them marry either.

Well, Senator, I hope this guy gets the boot. And I'll tell you what, I'm going to follow up and see where this goes from here. I sure appreciate you joining me today.

GUILLORY: Absolutely. I'm just sorry that this kind of incident happens. Louisiana's a beautiful state. The people are warm and beautiful people. This is kind of a blot on our record. But like every other state, we have our share of nutcases. And that's not to say that this man is a nutcase, but it's...

PHILLIPS: I'll say he's a nutcase. It's OK. You don't have to say it.

GUILLORY: It's an unfortunate blot on the good people of Louisiana. PHILLIPS: Yes, and there are plenty of fantastic people out of Louisiana. Louisiana Senator Elbert Guillory, appreciate your time. Appreciate you.

GUILLORY: Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: Well, we did post this story on our Web site early this morning, and the tweets came pouring in. Here's one of them: "If he's not a racist, I'm a flying monkey with gray hair that drives a silver Dodge Viper with my hot model wife and 2.5 kids."

Another person wrote in, "Disgusting that in this present day, a U.S. judge, even a red state judge, would behave like this. Shameful." We also heard, "An Oregon preacher refused to marry Chinese ex-husband and me 45 years ago, citing members' objections and an old law book. We did find good clergy."

All right, brace yourself. Oh, no. A baby buggy and a train. I know exactly what you're thinking. This could not have ended well. Oh, baby, are you in for a surprise.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We told you about Mable Randon of Houston, who's fighting stage-four cancer and about the power company that threatened to disconnect her because of an unpaid bill. A couple hundred bucks that apparently couldn't live without. Well, the surge of outrage and compassion really lit a fire under this country and under Texas lawmakers.

Rucks Russell from our affiliate KHOU pushes the story forward for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUCKS RUSSELL, KHOU-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the seventh floor of the Park Plaza Hospital, in a room unlike most others, lies a cancer patient whose story captured the attention of the public.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hand out a dollar, pennies, whatever, hundreds of dollars, whatever you can do.

SYLVESTER TURNER, TEXAS STATE HOUSE: It was a very powerful, moving piece.

RUSSELL: And stirred the concerns of state lawmakers.

TURNER: Mable's story resonates -- is reflective of many, many others who are caught up in the system.

RUSSELL: That system left Mable Randon struggling for air. The stage-four cancer patient relying on an oxygen machine to breathe, facing a disconnect notice from her prepay electric service provider, Freedom Power, because she had fallen behind on her bill.

TURNER: I think people recognize that she is the sort of customer that is defined as a critical-care customer.

RUSSELL: Not according to CenterPoint Energy. The company rejected her application for critical-care customer status, the fact that Sylvester Turner wants to see the state legislature take up.

TURNER: We need to make sure that the definition is standard.

RUSSELL: And Turner just may have the power to get things done. His committee oversees electric service providers in Texas, including Freedom Power which has amassed some 500 consumer complaints and more than 200 violations of Public Utility Commission policies.

TURNER: We need to address that. More customer protection, if we're going to allow these prepaid plans.

RUSSELL: Freedom Power's new owner says the company welcomes the opportunity to improve.

PENNY BARFIELD, POWER PROVIDER SPOKESPERSON (via telephone): We're very attentive to the complaints that are processed through the utility commission and through, you know, other means. We're very responsive to them.

RUSSELL (on camera): We can't show you Mable Randon right now, because she's confined to a hospital bed, having been diagnosed with pneumonia. But her husband tells me she is overwhelmed by the countless offers of support and by the notion her case could help others in need.

TURNER: What about other individuals in the same or similar situation who are not on television, whose story is not being told?

RUSSELL: Perhaps through Mable Randon, now it is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Rucks Russell of KHOU doing a great job of staying on that story for us.

Let's bring in Sylvester Turner. He's Mable's state rep. So, Mr. Turner, what was it about this story that made you say, we lawmakers have to act?

TURNER: Well, this is a person who is fighting for her life with stage four cancer. One of the last things she need to be concerned about is whether or not she's going to wake up or go to bed without any sort of electric power.

That should not be a concern. She's a part of our system. She's on this prepaid electric plan. And, yet, she's concerned as to whether or not she's going to have electricity. And I think there's a much better way of addressing this situation, and we need to address it...

PHILLIPS: Tell me...

TURNER: ... quickly.

PHILLIPS: So, tell me what you're going to do. Tell me what you're going to do quickly, and how you're going to be able to make a change so this never does happen again to somebody like Mable.

TURNER: Well, number one, she applied to be considered a critical-care customer. What that means in the state of Texas that if your disruption of power would cause a life-threatening situation, you're placed on a list, and your power will not be disconnected.

She made that request to the utility. The utility turned her down. And so we need to make sure that there's a standard application, such that the utilities' definition of a critical-care customer is consistent with that of the Public Utility Commission. In this case, that would have prevented her power from being terminated.

PHILLIPS: Representative Sylvester Turner, appreciate this. I'm assuming that when you heard about this, that you were pretty shocked, I mean...

TURNER: I was shocked, dismayed, frustrated because there are many other Mables that are existing within the state of Texas.

PHILLIPS: It's not fair. And it happens all across the country, unfortunately. Representative Sylvester Turner, we're going to follow up on the efforts that you're making. Really appreciate your time today.

TURNER: Thank you for having me.

PHILLIPS: You bet.

Top stories now. We can get you anywhere, anytime seems to be the message from militants in Pakistan as they stage yet another brazen attack. Today, a suicide bombing near the Afghan border killed 13 people, mostly civilians.

A night training exercise goes horribly wrong. The search is on for a missing F-16 fighter pilot whose jet collided with another pilot off the South Carolina coast. The other pilot was not hurt.

A Florida judge won't throw out the murder charge against Casey Anthony. She's accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Kaylee, and she asked for the murder and child abuse charges to be dismissed. Her lawyers say that the charges are based on circumstantial evidence. Prosecutors say the defense request was filled with errors.

The boy trapped in the runaway balloon. Well, that story, a total bust. The rest of it? totally bizarre. The storm chaser, the wife, their kids and that so-called rap video. "What The...?"

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We don't use this word often, but this time we just can't help it -- miraculous. A baby in Australia at a train station with mom. Something goes terribly wrong. Then something incredible happens. See for yourself, but don't believe your eyes. Here's Dean Felton from Australia's Seven News.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN FELTON, SEVEN NEWS-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A young mother arrives at Ashburton station. In the windy weather, she fusses over her child and even pulls the pram away from the edge of the platform, but doesn't apply the brake. And in a split second, her 6- month-old boy rolls off the platform and into the path of a train.

JOHN REES, CONNEX: It's a miracle this baby wasn't killed. The baby somehow managed to escape with a cut to the forehead, we've been told. So, it's an absolute miracle.

FELTON: The Sydney-bound train comes to a stop 30 meters further along the tracks, the baby underneath shielded only by the pram.

REES: (INAUDIBLE) played a great role in making sure this baby was -- survived yesterday's incident.

FELTON: Mother and child are taken to hospital but released soon afterwards, shaken but unhurt. Police say the mother did nothing wrong. Connex workers back at the scene find the pram in pieces and belongings scattered as far along as the second carriage.

(on camera): Transit police say signage and supervision on railway platforms are already adequate, but that incidents like yesterday's are a startling reminder of how easily tragedies can happen.

SGT. MICHAEL FERWERDA, TRANSIT POLICE: Parents especially need to be vigilant, especially with toddlers that tend to wander off, especially with multiple kids as well.

FELTON (voice-over): The incident came just a day after the launch of a public awareness campaign warning of the dangers of prams on platforms.

REES: The potential for disaster is huge, and then the very next day this happens.

FELTON: Dean Felton, Seven News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Pushing forward to the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM, a pretty special hour of programming for us. We're taking you behind the white lines to meet some of the players in Colombia's cocaine cartels, from the guys cutting coke in mom's blender to the bigwigs and their babes. Amazing reporting from our Karl Penhaul, who's live with us from Bogota.

Plus, the law enforcement side of things, same drug war, different decade, or has the scene changed? The DEA's from Colombia. Its chief weighs in.

All right, as it sailed across the Colorado sky and TV screens nationwide, we were all left to wonder yesterday, who are these people that build flying saucers and moor them in the backyard? Well, as we learned, they're people who chase tornadoes with their kids, bring them on reality shows and think stuff like this is adorable.

Maybe you've seen this music video featuring the "balloon boy" and his two brothers. Their proud dad put it online, and while creativity is awesome, crude, cursing little kids not so much.

John Roberts asked about it on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD HEENE, FATHER: Our rule is that the kids can cuss in the house. They're not allowed to cuss outside. I don't want to be a hypocrite. I'm not going to tell my kid, you can't cuss, and yet they hear me do it? I'm not going to do that.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. But when it's on YouTube, as it is now, it has received thousands of hits, it's out there in public.

R. HEENE: Yes. You know, we were looking at it like a Beastie Boys thing.

ROBERTS: Right.

R. HEENE: And we figured that, you know, some funny comments would come in, the kids would go, hey, that's cool. You know, can't wait to take the next music lesson.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Beastie Boys thing.

He mentioned they were going for funny comments. Well, we just had a look at that YouTube page. And Mr. Heene, I got to tell you, a lot of folks out there see nothing funny about the kids' behavior and the language you let those boys use.

A live news conference from the Larimer County sheriff's department coming up in about 15 minutes. We'll bring it to you live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Every Friday with the help of our friends at CNN International, we get the "Backstory" on some pretty memorable CNN reporting from the past few days. It's something we look forward to especially today because CNN's Karl Penhaul has brought us some extraordinary and exclusive reports from the streets of Medellin, a Colombian city built on drugs, cash and death. That backstory is just as dramatic..

Joining me with that, my colleague Michael Holmes. I'll tell you what, all week we have literally been blown away by the access that Karl Penhaul has had. MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "BACKSTORY": Yes. I've known this guy for years. I've been with him in various war zones. However, even I, when this stuff was coming in, my jaw was dropping. I'm like, how did you do this? And had to know the back story.

And he did all these different packages that you've been running and you're going to be running again, and still at the same time did a "BACKSTORY" as well for us. And this "Backstory," I think's terrific.

And in fact, you're going to run the long version in the next hour. This is like we call a tease for the next hour. This is part of Karl's "Backstory," and you'll see the rest next hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN VIDEO CORRESPONDENT: So, we've been hanging out most of the day with one gang, and just come out for a breath of fresh air, actually, because it's full of marijuana smoke inside. They were making marijuana joints to sell.

What they're saying is they're expecting a kilo of pure cocaine to arrive, and then what they'll do over the next few hours is cut that with caffeine pills and some other kind of white pill.

As you can see, some more of the green stuff has arrived. This is marijuana by the pound. And I think they've just unpacked about three pounds of marijuana there. And what they are now going to do is get these little machines -- I mean, you've probably seen these yourself. You know, they're for roll-ups, you know, whether it's a joint or a normal cigarette.

They've been cutting the cocaine now with a fruit juicer for about the last hour, and there's dust going everywhere. Everybody's as high as a kite. They've been smoking marijuana. They've been doing lines of cocaine. They've been drinking beer. So, now might be a good time to leave.

So, if you've ever wondered what a kilo of cocaine, a kilo of pure cocaine looks like, that's what it looks like. Here in Columbia, coming straight from the laboratory, that will probably cost about $2,000.

Once it's cut, shipped and on the streets of the United States, anybody's guess, could be $50,000, could be $60,000 for that. But like I say, for those of you who are into it, that's a kilo.

You know, there's days when this is a great job, and there's other days when this jobs absolutely sucks. And, you know, I think today's one of those days. In fact, the whole week sucked, really. It's not because we haven't been able to get to the story. It's not because we haven't been able to get the pictures. It's just because when we get there and when we talk to people and find out what's going on, there just doesn't seem to be a (INAUDIBLE) anywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: You've got to love Karl Penhaul. He just lays it out there.

HOLMES: He does.

PHILLIPS: You know what was something interesting. I don't know if he told you this, but you know, in those pieces, you see them blending up the drugs and the fumes, and they're sniffing it, and they're -- you know, they're totally partaking all the drugs, I said, you know, did it affect you? He said he had raging headaches from being in those rooms.

HOLMES: It is hilarious, because we had not worked this out ahead of time. Scotty (ph), come back to me. Because I've been doing this for 30 years, and this is what we call a shot list. We're going to be very "Backstory," Robert. Get a shot of that. I've outlined a line here on what we call a shot list that Karl did.

And I'm not sure if it shows up, but I'll read it to you. At 02:38 on this tape, Karl says, bungled standup because gang members are giggling from marijuana. Right?

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: Because everyone's got -- (INAUDIBLE).

PHILLIPS: When do you ever see a shot sheet like that?

HOLMES: I said that to him. I said, in 30 years I've never seen that on a shot. I want to be in this business long enough to put something like this on a shot sheet. But the funny thing is, of course, it's at 2:38. What are we going to do on "Backstory"? We're going to show it to you.

This is Karl trying to do that standup.

PHILLIPS: OK.

HOLMES: And picture this, picture this. In a house, men with guns, locking, loading guns...

PHILLIPS: High.

HOLMES: ... using drugs...

PHILLIPS: Right.

HOLMES: ... and Karl's right there. Have a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PENHAUL: So, they've been cutting cocaine now for about the last hour with a fruit juicer and mixing...

(LAUGHTER)

PENHAUL: ... cutting cocaine for about the last hour using a fruit juicer, and everybody's as high as a kite. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Yes.

PHILLIPS: As his headache starts to rage.

HOLMES: Yes.

PHILLIPS: And I don't think a lot of people realize, he one-man- banded that.

HOLMES: He did. You know, I asked...

PHILLIPS: I mean, he got access, he shot it, he wrote it, he edited it, right?

HOLMES: Yes. Oh, yes, everything. He does everything himself. And I actually said, I mean, you can see in some of the shots where he's holding it. But in some of the shots, he's clearly not. Somebody else is holding it. I said, who did that? And he said, well, I had a mate for part of it, he said, and some of the shots, the gang members helped out.

So, they're there filming him while he's doing a piece to the camera.

PHILLIPS: Nothing like having high gang members, you know, shoot your video for you. That's a first.

HOLMES: This guy has nerves of steel, I'm telling you. I mean, I've always admired Karl. This is an unbelievable series.

PHILLIPS: Yes, it really is. And it's got of course a very serious message to it as well.

HOLMES: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: All right, we're going to talk about it next hour...

HOLMES: We are.

PHILLIPS: ... as a whole special hour of his reports and talking with you, and more from "BACKSTORY," and we'll see you in a little bit.

HOLMES: See you then.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Michael.