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Student 'Suicide Cluster'; Some Hospitals Ban Kids; Boosting the Economy; Obama Signs Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act into Law

Aired October 22, 2009 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour now. Here's some of the stories making headlines.

A push forward on improving the way Medicare pays hospitals and doctors. House Democrats say that they have locked up a deal that would ensure Medicare payments that reward the quality of health care, not the quantity of tests and procedures.

Some of Wall Street's big money execs are about to see some big- time pay cuts. The government's pay czar is announcing major salary cuts for companies that extended their hands for your bailout dollars.

Plus, the Federal Reserve is proposing for the first time to police the pay policies of banks. The goal? To make sure they don't repeat the reckless deals that helped spark the financial crisis.

And just minutes from now, President Obama will sign the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act that basically ensures that veterans will get the money that they need when they need it for medical care.

It's been an incredibly tough year Gunn High School. Four funerals in six months, all of them students, all of them killed on the train tracks that crisscross Palo Alto, California. Experts are calling it a suicide cluster. Four kids dead and at least 13 more spotted and saved by police.

The community wants action. The school wants advice. And parents want answers. Why and how do we stop it? A town forum was held last night.

More now from Lloyd LaCuesta of our affiliate KVTU.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN SKELLY, SUPERINTENDENT, PALO ALTO SCHOOL DISTRICT: It is a cruel irony that despite all these efforts and our increasingly strong community outreach on this topic, that we haven't yet found a solution.

LLOYD LACUESTA, REPORTER, KVTU (voice-over): There was a sense of apprehension because of the lack of easy answers. Three of the victims attended Gunn High School. One was scheduled to enroll. All chose to end their lives by stepping in front of a Cal train. All of the incidents were essentially at the same spot, a track crossing at East Meadow Drive.

IVAN TEEME, GUNN HIGH SCHOOL PARENT: I'm concerned that that condition has to exist in the high school and that the kids have to deal with it and feel about it. And I as a parent, I couldn't even imagine what it would be like for a family to have to go through this.

We don't need it anymore. Enough.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It seems to just be happening here, and that's a puzzle. I don't know why. I don't know why, but it's more than a coincidence now. And I almost wonder if it's starting to become some sort of -- like a siren call to kids who are in this area who are not feeling well.

LACUESTA: One child psychiatrist is advising the news media to be restrained in covering this story.

DR. SHASHANK JOSHI, CHILD PSYCHIATRIST: With a lot of coverage at the school, at the train tracks, that that could inadvertently draw attention, potentially glorifying the act and the events.

LACUESTA: But Dr. Joshi, a Packard Children's Hospital adolescent psychiatrist, says up to 70 percent of teen suicides involve a mental health disorder.

JOSHI: These are not random events. For the most part, these are events that occur in youth that may be either high risk, or there may have been something that happened that tipped them over.

LACUESTA: Parents we talked to tonight said they are trying to keep in touch with their children, including one woman who lost her mother to suicide.

MONTSE ARMITANO, PARENT: I'm aware of it and I try to keep abreast of what's going on with the kids. And hopefully they'll be fine and stable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, we're going to bring back our friend Jane Velez- Mitchell to talk about all of this. Her take on the Palo Alto suicides and her personal experience with depression, sadness and shame.

And you wouldn't believe how busy H1N1 has been the last few days. On Monday of this week, 11 schools in five states were closed thanks to the swine flu. Yesterday, 198 schools in 15 states closed.

More than 65,000 students stayed home yesterday. On Monday, that number was just past 2,200 kids. You've got to wonder what Friday's numbers will look like.

And red marks the spot for H1N1 cases. The Southeast, great lakes region and West are seeing the biggest numbers right now.

No kids allowed. Some hospitals in California won't even let children in the door because of H1N1.

Take a look at what Ted Rowlands found out for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Five-year-old Jack and his 8-year-old brother Michael are waiting with Grandma on the front steps of Cedars-Sinai hospital while the rest of the family visits their aunt, who just gave birth to a baby boy.

H1N1 cases in Los Angeles County have shot up over the past two weeks. Many hospitals, including Cedars, are restricting children's visits, as a precaution.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I think that's a good idea. It's the best for everyone.

ROWLANDS: Inside the hospital, there are plenty of antibacterial stations and reminders for people to wash their hands. The reason children aren't allowed, according to Dr. Rekha Murthy is simple. The evidence shows that with this virus they are the most vulnerable group, meaning the odds are higher they'll either get it here or spread it here.

DR. REKHA MURTHY, INFECTIOUS DISEASE DIVISION, CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER: We're experiencing an epidemic that appears to be actually escalating in our community, and hospitals have to respond to that escalation until we know it's going to peak and reduce.

ROWLANDS: Hospitals around the country have instituted similar investigation restrictions. The new policy at Cedars went into effect Monday, with security guards turning away children at hospital entrances.

JOHN SAIZA, SECURITY GUARD, CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER: Hardly any problems at all. I think maybe 90 percent of everybody who has come through here are very understandable of what's going on.

ROWLANDS: Jack and Michael's new cousin scheduled to come home at the end of the week. Cedars and other hospitals say they are hoping that children will be welcomed back soon.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Now, be sure to check out CNNHealth.com. All kind of health stories and advice on H1N1, and pretty much any other health topic that you can think of.

The next step in Afghanistan, what's it going to be? When are we going to take it?

President Obama is holding yet another meeting with his top advisers. This morning, he went to the White House Situation Room to talk with Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry, U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan. The president, as you know, is weighing whether to send tens of thousands more troops into the country.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai tells CNN he's ready as he faces a presidential runoff election on November 7th. In an exclusive interview with our Fareed Zakaria, his first since the runoff was announced, Mr. Karzai downplayed fears that the vote will be marred by the same fraud that tainted the original election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": You know there are many people who worry that there will be a lot of fraud in this runoff election. Is there anything you can do, is there anything you can say that would assure people that this election will be free of fraud?

HAMID KARZAI, AFGHAN PRESIDENT: Well, the last election wasn't as bad as it was claimed. It was a lot better. This election, we should try to have better.

Afghanistan is a poor country. In the western terminology, a third world country, has gone through years of war.

The institutions are just young toddlers in this democracy that resembles a toddler. It walks and falls. We have to understand that and we have to accept the Afghan elections in the context of the Afghan situation, and the poverty and lack of means in this country.

Whatever happens, this election must present a clear result, and that result must be respected. But, of course, the international community us, the Afghans, must do everything that we can to make it better, to make it much more legitimate, and to make it worthwhile of the effort of the Afghan people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And you can see Fareed Zakaria's complete interview with President Hamid Karzai this coming Sunday, 1:00 and 5:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

Well, a lot of people have an eye on the Capitol today. The Senate plans to vote on a bill that would make it a federal crime to assault a person because of sexual orientation. Supporters of that law attached to it a $680 billion defense bill. That measure has already passed the House, by the way, and President Obama has promised to sign it into law.

Also on Capitol Hill, one of President Obama's top economic advisers testifying about where the economy is headed. Christina Romer says that the president's stimulus package has already paid its biggest dividends.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINA ROMER, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS: Most analysts predict that the fiscal stimulus will have its greatest impact on growth in the second and third quarters of 2009. And by mid-2010, fiscal stimulus will likely be contributing to further growth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, a simple question now. If the first stimulus package already had its greatest impact, do we need another one? A lot of Democrats think the economy could use another boost. Just don't call it a stimulus package.

Here's CNN's Dana Bash

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: A very important meeting...

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four-hour meeting with economists, where House Democratic leaders heard a lot of doom and gloom.

MARK ZANDI, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MOODYSECONOMY.COM: ... and the possibility of the economy slipping back into recession next year are uncomfortably high.

ALLEN SINAI, PRESIDENT, DECISION ECONOMICS: It's an unsatisfactory recovery, still with a lot of risks.

ROBERT KUTTNER, ECONOMIC COLUMNIST: We have avoided a Great Depression, but we're at still risk of a great stagnation.

BASH: The economists offered a slew of ideas to address the still ailing economy. Some, no coincidence, mirrored what Democrats are already considering, extending unemployment insurance benefits, now set to expire at the end of the year, through 2010, extending the tax credit for first-time homebuyers, expiring next month, into 2010, sending emergency funds directly to the states, and extending some tax breaks to small businesses.

KUTTNER: I think just about everybody in the room feels that there needs to be more stimulus.

BASH: But, when we asked the House speaker if she planned to push a second stimulus package, the answer was no.

PELOSI: We do not have plans for an additional stimulus package. But we do have plans to stimulate the economy in the -- the work that we are doing here.

BASH: In other words, Democrats will try to pass new proposals intended to spur the sluggish economy, but do it piece meal to avoid the label stimulus. Democratic leadership sources tell CNN there are two big political reasons why. One is this:

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... and show us what a world-class credit binge looks like.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) BASH: Bailout and spending fatigue in the country and Congress.

Second, CNN is told the White House opposes anything appearing to be stimulus two, for fear it would be a tacit admission that the president's $787 billion package didn't work, and undermine arguments like this.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, there's no question that our Recovery Act has given a boost to every American who works in a small business or owns one.

BASH (on camera): Regardless of what Democrats call any new economic proposals they're pushing, Republicans have a refrain that they're not letting go of, that the president's economic stimulus plan so far has not created enough of what everyone agrees matters most -- jobs.

Dana Bash, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: If you played pro football, you'd become a millionaire, right? Well, not always. Former Miami Dolphin Alphonso Roundtree tells us why. He's our "30 Second Pitch."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Issue number one for more Americans these days, sorely needed jobs. The Labor Department says the number of first-time filers for unemployment went up by 11,000 last week. Five hundred and thirty-one thousand people filed for initial jobless benefits, ending two weeks of significant drops. Analysts tell CNN it seems that companies are still leery about hiring, and it could stay that way for a while.

Well, top players in the NFL can make more than $20 million a year. And today's "30 Second Pitch" thought he was going to be one of those millionaires.

Alphonso Roundtree, the Tulane University quarterback, played for a while in the Canadian Football League. His salary? Forty-five thousand.

Then he got his big break with the Miami Dolphins and played for two years. His top salary? One hundred fifty-seven thousand dollars, including his bonus.

But that NFL career ended much sooner than he thought and long before the millions rolled in. He did get a job in the corporate world, but family issues forced him to leave that one, and now he's looking for work.

Alphonso Roundtree is today's "30 Second Pitch." He's joining us live from Houston, Texas.

So Alphonso, what happened to football? Was it the typical injury?

ALPHONSO ROUNDTREE, FMR. NFL PLAYER: Well, it was a combination of things. It was an injury, and also just dealing with the hardship of overcoming adversity again, time and time again.

And, you know, I had a long-fought career. I started out in the CFL for three years, I did my time with the Miami Dolphins, and back in the CFL, and then the Arena Football League. So it was just a combination of a lot of things -- injuries with, you know, timing, and just the business of the NFL and football as well.

PHILLIPS: You know, and you've got an interesting lesson here, Alphonso, because as soon as we heard about your background, all of us said, well, wow, he played pro football, he should have had millions of bucks tucked away. And you're a smart guy -- Tulane University, you've got a marketing degree, you did make six figures for a couple of years.

There's definitely a lesson here about being frugal and saving, yes? I mean, you've probably learned a lot of lessons about that.

ROUNDTREE: Oh, yes. There's definitely a lesson to be taught. And I think it was one of the misconceptions about -- like you just mentioned -- about playing in the NFL, is that everybody thinks you're going to make millions of dollars and stuff like that, and that's not necessarily the case, especially for the majority of the guys that play in the NFL.

And then if you make it past the average career span, which I think may be two and a half to three years, you're lucky. And, you know, even in that there's a lot to be said.

But there is some different things I think about the learning process in terms of saving and being frugal, as you mentioned, until you know that things are going to turn around for you. So it definitely was a learning process for me.

PHILLIPS: Well, I know you're looking for work. In your spare time you do motivational speaking to kids. You're still young, you have a lot to offer. Let's get to it.

Are you ready for the "30 Second Pitch?"

ROUNDTREE: Yes, I am.

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's start the clock.

Alphonso, take it away.

ROUNDTREE: Hello. My name is Alphonso Roundtree, and I'm a talent and marketing professional with proven success and experience in management, strategic planning and business development.

I'm a creative thinker and problem solver with excellent communication skills, and would also bring a sense of ownership to projects and responsibilities. I'm a leader who motivates others to reach their maximize their full potential and reach their goals. I'm also interested and have experience with all media outlets.

So, if you're looking for the consummate professional to join your organization, then I'm your guy. And I hope to hear you from soon.

Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Wow. Thirty seconds on the money.

And Susan Lisovicz, our financial guru over here, saying, wow, he's good.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: He wants our job.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: That's right. He should have our job.

Hey, Alphonso?

ROUNDTREE: Tell her I need a job. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: OK.

So, Susan, you've got to help him out, too.

Alphonso Roundtree, what a pleasure. So great to meet you.

Not only are you looking for work, and we really hope that we help you, but you really do have a terrific message. I know you speak to a lot of kids and you tell them about good and bad decisions, and I admire you for that and really appreciate you reaching out to us.

ROUNDTREE: Thank you so much. And thank you for giving me the opportunity. I really appreciate it.

PHILLIPS: It's absolutely my pleasure.

Once again, Alphonso's e-mail: roundtree.alphonso@gmail.com. You can also find his e-mail and information on our blog.

And if you want to be part of the pitch, just e-mail us at 30secondpitch@CNN.com, or tweet us at KyraCNN.

We're going to bring you more pitches next Thursday.

Now, every day 7,000 Americans are losing their jobless benefits. Seven thousand. That's almost as many people as our parent company here at CNN employees around the entire globe.

Susan Lisovicz joins me now to try to explain what the heck is going on here.

LISOVICZ: Right. Kyra, well, it's just -- we have a 26-year high unemployment rate. Seven thousand people losing their benefits per day refer to what has happened since Congress introduced legislation to extend jobless benefits for a third time. Currently, folks out of work can receive up to 79 weeks of benefits, and a lot of those people still can't find work.

So, the House and the Senate, each have introduced bills where you would get an additional 14 weeks. If you live in a high jobless state, up to 13 weeks on top of that.

But those bills, as you know, Kyra, have to be reconciled. These things don't happen overnight. That happened a month ago, and that's what the 7,000 figure refers to.

PHILLIPS: So, and while these lawmakers are going back and forth and bickering about this, you know, bottom line, people are falling off the jobless roles left and right, right?

LISOVICZ: Quite literally. One estimate, 200,000 this month alone. This is from the National Employment Law Project. It estimates 1.3 million will fall off the rolls by year's end if Congress doesn't act.

And, you know, it's interesting Kyra. You were talking about initial claims jumped a little bit. Well, continuing jobless claims fell below six million. Huge number, below six million, for the first time since March.

One of the reasons why, not necessarily because things are getting better, but because they are falling off the rolls. They have exhausted their benefits.

And the law project has another interesting stat. More than one in three people out of work have been out of work for six months or more.

It's tough out there. And that's why somebody as presentable and articulate and succinct as Alphonso Roundtree are having a hard time.

PHILLIPS: Alphonso Roundtree, yes.

Wow.

And it's not -- I mean, these are educated, formerly very successful individuals. I mean, we haven't seen anything like this in decades.

LISOVICZ: Well, one of the goods things, there used to be -- and we put that in quotes -- there used to be some sort of sense that if you had been out of work for a little while, well, it must say something about you.

PHILLIPS: Right.

LISOVICZ: Not in this environment, because there are so many other people like you. PHILLIPS: Right.

LISOVICZ: So you have to work that much harder to get that next job.

PHILLIPS: That's why we want more people to write in, so we can do more "30 Second Pitches." We hope it somehow makes a difference.

LISOVICZ: I think it does, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Susan.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Appreciate it.

Our other top stories right now.

A four-year drug operation comes to a close with 300 new arrests. The suspects picked up in 19 states. The target? A Mexican network known as La Familia. In the last four years, federal agents arrested 1,200 people and seized nearly 12 tons of illegal drugs.

James Arthur Ray says he won't stop his spiritual warrior program despite the three deaths at one of his ceremonies at an Arizona sweat lodge. Ray says it's been a difficult time but he's not quitting. Right now the case is being treated as a homicide investigation. No charges filed.

In the Bahamas, it could be next year before a new trial in the alleged extortion plot against John Travolta. A judge declared a mistrial because of an issue with one of the jurors. Two people are accused of demanding $25 million from Travolta. They were allegedly threatening to release private info about the death of the actor's son Jett. He died of a seizure in the Bahamas in January.

And you know if a veteran gets shafted by Washington, we're all over it, right? It's happened way too many time. It's still happening. But maybe a VA bill that the president's signing this hour will push forward a change.

That new law requires Congress to approve VA budgets well ahead of schedule. And the goal? To help veterans get the care that they need when they need it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Now the president of the United States, hoping to give the vets the care that they need, getting ready to sign the VA bill.

Let's listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS) OBAMA: ... a few words about something that is of interest to the broader public. Obviously, how we treat our veterans is hugely important, but I just want to make a quick comment about the decision made public today by Ken Feinberg on executive compensation.

You know, I have always believed that our system of free enterprise works best when it rewards hard work. This is America.

We don't disparage wealth, we don't begrudge anybody for doing well. We believe in success. But it does offend our values when executives of big financial firms, firms that are struggling, pay themselves huge bonuses even as they continue to rely on taxpayer assistance to stay afloat. And that's why last summer, we gave Ken Feinberg and his team the task of making an independent judgment on the executive pay packages for firms that received extraordinary assistance from the federal government. He was faced with the difficult task of striking the proper balance between standing up for taxpayers and returning a measure of stability to our financial system.

Now, under these competing interests, I believe he has taken an important step forward today in curbing the influence of executive compensation on Wall Street while still allowing these companies to succeed and prosper. But more work needs to be done, which is why I urge the Senate to pass legislation that will give companies' shareholders a voice on the pay packages awarded to their executives. And I urge Congress to continue moving forward on financial reform that will help prevent the crisis we saw last fall from happening again.

Now, in just a few days, a few weeks, we will be observing Veterans Day. And we'll pause again to pay tribute to all those who have worn America's uniform. We reflect on their sacrifices and those of their families, citizens who have done their duty and who have fulfilled their responsibilities to their nation. .

As a nation, we'll pledge to fulfill our responsibilities to our veterans, because our commitment to our veterans is a sacred trust, and upholding that trust is a moral obligation.

On that day, on Veterans Day, after all the parades and all the solemn ceremonies, a lot of veterans may ask, "Does America really mean it? Will America keep its promise, not simply with words, but with deeds?"

And since taking office, my administration has worked hard with many of you to make sure that America fulfills our obligations to our veterans and their families.

With Secretary Rick Shinseki in the lead, we're building a 21st century V.A., we're harassing technologies to cut the red tape and backlogs, we're investing in mobile clinics to reach rural areas, we're moving towards a single lifetime electronic health record for everyone in uniform, we're making it a top priority to end homelessness among our veterans. We've dramatically increased funding for veterans health care, more care for women's veterans, for our wounded warriors from Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. For 500,000 Priority 8 veterans we're restoring V.A. health care coverage.

All told, we have made the biggest commitment to veterans, the largest percentage increase in the V.A. budget in more than 30 years.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: This includes funding the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill and making sure it works as intended so our newest veterans and their families have the chance to pursue their education and live out their dreams.

So, we're keeping our promises. We're making real progress for our vets, like those with us today, including Maryland Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown, the highest ranking elected official in the nation who has served a tour of duty in Iraq.

Thank you, Colonel Brown.

(APPLAUSE)

But we're here today because a problem that's gone on for far too long -- the delays and uncertainty that often plague funding for veterans' health care. Over the past two decades. the V.A. budget has been late almost every year, often by months.

At this very moment, the V.A. is operating without a budget, making it harder for V.A. medical centers and clinics to deliver the care our vets need.

The hard-working folks at the V.A. know this. And I was there at headquarters this spring. Michelle was there, if I'm not mistaken, Rick, just this Tuesday.

It's frustrating for them, and it's frustrating for our vets, who pay the price when budgets are delayed. The new doctors, nurses and critical staff that aren't hired. The new medical equipment that isn't purchased. The construction of new facilities and clinics that isn't started. The new programs for medical care that are delayed.

This is inexcusable. It's unacceptable. It's time for it to stop. And that's just what we'll do with this landmark legislation, The Veterans' Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act.

I want everybody to know: Today is a victory for all the veterans' organizations who are represented on this stage, who fought for years for reform.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: And they deserve a big congratulations.

(APPLAUSE) OBAMA: Today is a tribute to those who led the fight in Congress. Senator and World War II vet Danny Akaka, Representative Bob Filner, thank you for your leadership.

(APPLAUSE)

All the leaders who made this possible, starting with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who made this commitment to veterans' organizations when she became minority leader. And I was just told...

(APPLAUSE)

I was told some people didn't believe Nancy when she made that promise.

(LAUGHTER)

Nancy keeps her promises. And I want all our vets to remember that.

Senator Tim Johnson, for his great work in the Senate.

(APPLAUSE)

Somebody who has been fighting for veterans since he entered into Congress and is just tireless on this issue, Chet Edwards. Please give Chet a big round of applause.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you, Chet.

The other members of Congress who worked so hard, Michael Mishaw (ph)...

(APPLAUSE)

... Phil Hare. Phil's right here.

(APPLAUSE)

Harry Brown -- Harry Brown did great work on this...

(APPLAUSE)

... and -- and so many others. This is a reminder of what's possible when we come together, Democrats and Republicans, to do right by our veterans.

And let me say that I take special pride in this legislation because, as a senator, I was a proud cosponsor of this legislation. I served on the Veterans Affairs Committee. In the campaign last year, you all remember I made a promise to pass it, and today as president I'm fulfilling that promise, and I'm going to sign it into law.

(APPLAUSE) OBAMA: So with this legislation, we're fundamentally reforming how we fund health care for our veterans. With advance appropriations, veterans' medical care will be funded a year in advance. For the V.A., this means timely, sufficient and predictable funding from year to year. For V.A. hospitals and clinics, it means more time to budget, to recruit high-quality professionals, and to invest in new health care equipment.

And most of all, for our veterans it will mean better access to doctors and nurses and the medical care that they need - specialized care for our wounded warriors with post-traumatic stress and traumaticbrain injuries and the staffing to welcome back to the V.A. those half-million priority 8 vets.

In short, this is common sense reform. It promotes accountability at the V.A. It ensures oversight by Congress. It is fiscally responsible by not adding a dime to the deficit. And it ensures that veterans' health care will no longer be held hostage to the annual budget battles in Washington.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Of course, as we all know, keeping faith with our veterans is work that's never truly done. Today's veterans expect and deserve the highest quality care, as will tomorrow's veterans, especially our men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And should they ask this Veterans Day: Will America back up its words with deeds? Because of everyone in this room, because of this reform legislation, the answer will be yes.

The United States of America will keep our promise to our veterans. And we will fulfill our responsibilities. We will uphold our obligations to all who served.

That's why I am thrilled to be signing this legislation into law right now.

Thank you very much. God bless you.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: It's hard when you got this many pens.

There we go.

(APPLAUSE)

PHILLIPS: All right, giving veterans the care that they need and giving it to them on time. We have been so passionate about the needs of veterans here on our program, especially when they have gotten shafted left and right. We talked about the dirty colonoscopy equipment, leaving them exposed to HIV, PTSD claims ignored, warnings of suicide ignored, receiving letters from the VA saying they have Lou Gehrig's Disease and they never did. We have covered all these stories and they have outraged us, and time and time again, we have heard from the VA, we don't have money.

Well, now the goal of the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act, which you just saw the president sign right there, hopefully is going to do this.

Here's why it's been needed. Congress actually failed to approve a VA spending bill on time in 19 of the past 22 years. So, this new act requires lawmakers to okay veterans' health care budgets in a much more timely manner. V.A. managers say that the current tardiness on Capitol Hill gives them big headaches, especially since there is an exploding population of aging veterans that demand more care. And the V.A. complains of not being able to hire qualified staff, replace aging equipment and cut down on patient wait times. We have all seen the results of that.

Now, it also said that it's often forced to cut back to keep up with the soaring medical inflation costs. Now, the president says the VA is going to get the money that it needs, you can be darn sure we're going to follow up on all of that.

Straight ahead, teens throwing themselves under trains. The story really made us all sit back and wonder, why? Why? just one after another, after another, all from the same high school. We told you this unbelievable story at the top of the hour, and you know our Jane Velez-Mitchell wants to weigh in. She's here with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The Gunn High School home page. This looks pretty standard, right? Til a link up top catches your eye. Crisis resources, top of the page there, and also the top of mine for a concerned Palo Alto community.

It's lost four kids to suicide in the past six months. The most recent was Monday night, a 16-year-old junior. His reasons? His own. His method? The same as his classmates, suicide by train. Transit police have seen and stopped 13 other suspected attempts right there in that same area.

For Americans ages 10 to 24, suicide is the third leading cause of death. About 4,500 lives lost every year. In 2007, the CDC found that teen suicide rates had climbed to a 15-year high, raising questions about the stress and the pressure that our teens are facing today.

HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell, host of "Issues With Jane Velez- Mitchell" and also author of "I Want" back with us today for more on this.

Let's talk about your book and the personal side of why you can sort of identify with the struggle here. Let's get to the whole romanticizing conversation that you and I were just having. Because I think it plays in really well to the fact why -- it's not just one. It's not just two. It's four that have done this, and 13 others that tried. JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST, "ISSUES WITH JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL": Suicide can be romanticized. And that's very dangerous when that happens. This has happened over the course of time many times. In the 18th century, (INAUDIBLE) wrote "The Sorrows of Young Werther" (ph), which was a novel that romanticized suicide, and it sparked a rash of suicides across Europe.

So, it can happen in clumps like that, where kids want attention, they're feeling isolated, alienated, ignored, wow. They see somebody getting a lot of attention by doing that and they say I'm going to do the same thing and I'm going to get attention too. Unfortunately, they die in the process.

PHILLIPS: In your book -- you never attempted suicide, but, boy, you sure talk about struggling at a young age, and that stayed with you and as successful as you are, in your book "I Want," you talk about how difficult it was, too. You identify with these kids?

VELEZ-MITCHELL. Totally. Sure. I was sad, depressed, I didn't feel like I fit in, I felt alienated. In my case, I went to substance abuse; I started drinking to become popular. And it worked for a while. Then it stopped working, and then it became a problem that I worked very hard to overcome.

The book is really my story of my journey to recovery. The first step for me, and it's not really the answer to drug abuse -- or substance abuse, but the first step for me was to go into therapy. Until I went into therapy, I was flying blind. I was just a reactive being. I would have a negative feeling, I would try to run away from it, do something destructive or stuff it.

Once I went to therapy, I was able to say, OK, here's a feeling. Let's talk about, let's peel the layers of the onions back. Let's understand why I have this feeling, let's explore the emotion, let's sit through the feeling. And this is what kids need because they're being bombarded with these feelings that are coming up that they have no idea how to handle.

So, they're going to go to drug abuse or alcoholism or, in the worst-case scenario, suicide. So, why don't we as a society do something to help kids deal with their feelings? Why don't we have group therapy in public schools that could be based on a 12-step format where these kids could sit in a circle and talk about their feelings?

You know what? If they did that, they would find that everybody feels alienated, that none of the kids fit in. And then after they'd share they'd say I feel the same way. And here's what I do. And they could share some of their experience, strength and hope to work through it instead of feeling like they're the only ones in the world going through this.

PHILLIPS: You bring up an interesting point because parents now in this community are all coming together saying -- as a matter of fact, I thought this was a very powerful quote that came from one of the parents. "How do we move beyond the conversation about preventing teen suicide to something that's strategic, institutionalized, funded and comprehensive so that we really make a meaningful impact on this and not just have intentions."

You bring up an interesting point. Here at our company, for all of us that are struggling with various things, we have the employee assistance program. It's free, it's confidential, we can get counseling if we need it. You bring up a great point. Why not have that in our high schools? I mean, kids sometimes need it even more than we do because they do feel so alienated and where I do turn?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Sure. And I was looking all at the solutions and they were all of the educational variety. We're going to have classes that emphasize mental health. That's intellectual. What we're dealing with here when we're talking about something as profound as suicide attempt is emotional. How do you help kids, and for that matter, adults or anybody dealing with suicidal thoughts, unless you're talking about severe mental illness, psychosis or something that really needs to be dealt with really professionally in an institution?

You're talking about people who are having unpleasant feelings that they don't know what to deal with. And they have to learn that a, these feelings don't last forever. That's one thing I learned in sobriety, sit through the feelings. Two, there's healthy ways to deal with the feelings. Talk to somebody, maybe journal, have a hot bath with aromatherapy. Get a massage, exercise, go to a movie. There are healthy ways to deal with unpleasant feelings, but they're not going to learn that on their own.

You learn that in a therapeutic setting, and I don't understand why everybody's so afraid of therapy. It's still got this sort of stigma attached to it when it shouldn't, and we should be incorporating group therapy in public schools. That I really feel very strongly about.

PHILLIPS: Amen. And for the record, for all the high schoolers struggling out there, you and I will be the first ones to say, therapy rocks. There we go.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: It sure does.

PHILLIPS: Jane Velez-Mitchell, don't forget her book "I Want." Made The New York Times bestseller. Congratulations. Host of HLN's "Issues." Great to see you again.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Delighted to be here, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right.

A Massachusetts man becomes a millionaire, but believe me, you don't want to be him. He actually earned that money and more by giving up part of his life.

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PHILLIPS: A Massachusetts man now a multimillionaire. But I doubt anyone would want to take his place. Shawn Drumgolds spend 15 years in prison for nothing. Wrongfully convicted in the murder of a little girl. More now from Bryan Bennett (ph) of our affiliate WHGH.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm happy that justice came.

BRYAN BENNETT, WHGH-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A jubilant Shawn Drumgold after a jury awarded him $14 million for his wrongful conviction.

SHAWN DRUMGOLD, WRONGFULLY CONVICTED OF MURDER: I'm just excited. I want to thank the jury, I want to thank my family, my lawyers. It's been an amazing ride.

BENNETT: Drumgold, now 44 spent 15 years in prison for the 1988 murder of 12-year-old Darlene Tiffany Moore, who was struck by gang gunfire in Roxbury. A jury found that Boston poice detective, Timothy Callahan, now retired, violated Drumgold's civil rights by concealing the fact that he supplied a key witness with housing, food and paid him $20. Drumgold was freed in 2003.

DRUMGOLD: To erase it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

DRUMGOLD: No, it couldn't erase it. But it could help my family and I. But it can't replace the memories and different things that we experiences, you know, we lost.

ROSEMARY SCAPICCHIO, DRUMGOLD'S ATTORNEY: The jury has sent a message to the Boston Police Department that Shawn was wrongfully convicted. Detective Callahan was at fault.

BENNETT: Drumgold's lawsuit was against Detective Callahan. Another trial in December will determine if the city of Boston will pay the damages.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll look at our legal counsel to review it and see if we'll appeal the case and where we go on the case.

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PHILLIPS: Shawn Drumgold was an admitted drug dealer at the time of the crime, but he earned his GED in prison, took college classes and says he's totally changed his life.

Stuck in a dog kennel, hosed down and forced to simulate oral sex. No, not fraternity hazing. It allegedly happened in the U.S. Navy. What comes around goes around, and one petty officer is paying the price.

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PHILLIPS: A former sailor says he was tied up, hosed down, forced to fake sex acts. And he said he wasn't the only one. Now a follow-up. The Navy says it has no place for the man accused in the hazing. Carol Costello has the latest.

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CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's what Joseph Rocha and others in his Navy unit had hoped for - accountability.

JOSEPH ROCHA, FORMER NAVY DOG HANDLER: I feel good about what the Navy has chosen to do.

COSTELLO: Rocha was 18 in 2005 when he joined the Navy's Canine Unit in Bahrain. He played by the military's rules and kept his sexual orientation under wraps. But even though he says no one in his unit knew he was gay, he still suffered because of something the Navy had long outlawed - hazing.

ROCHA: I was ordered to get on my knees, pretend to have oral sex with another service member. I was instructed as to how to be more queeny, more queer, more homosexual, more believable and...

COSTELLO: And who was instructing you to do these things?

ROCHA: My chief.

COSTELLO: Rocha says the hazing was widespread: Gays, straights and women in his unit were targets, too. And in its own investigation of the Bahrain unit, the Navy found more than 90 incidents of hazing and other abuses.

If the man who allegedly ordered the hazing, Senior Chief Michael Toussaint, was promoted and assigned to the elite Navy SEALS - until now. After Congressman Joe Sestak told the Navy to further investigate and CNN's own investigation, Senior Chief Michael Toussaint has been removed from his current leadership position and forced to leave active duty in January.

ROCHA: This is a great day for everyone, for our men, our women, heterosexual, lesbian or gay - for everyone, this re-establishes what Navy leadership is, that anything less than leadership that meets the core values will be punished.

COSTELLO: For Jennifer Valdivia's family, Toussaint's punishment comes too late. Valdivia was Toussaint's second in command. Fellow sailor Shaun Hogan.

SHAUN HOGAN, NAVY RESERVIST: On video, I witnessed another training scenario where Michael Toussaint ordered Jennifer Valdivia, his second in command to - well, she was dressed apparently only in a bed sheet and she was handcuffed to a bed in a barracks room and she was in a - almost like a cat fight with two other women.

COSTELLO: Valdivia's family told CNN she expected to take the fall for the hazing incidents. She committed suicide after posting this message on MySpace: "Tired of being blamed for other people's mistakes."

We asked the Navy why Toussaint wasn't facing more serious punishment. The Navy told us, "Court martial is not an option. The situation presented unique circumstances," but that's not quite good enough for Congressman Sestak.

REP. JOE SESTAK (D), PENNSYLVANIA: That indicates to me that there's a failure of what accountable leadership is.

COSTELLO: Still, news of Toussaint's demotion has restored Rocha's pride in the Navy. Finally, justice, even after four years of waiting.

(on camera): We tried to contact Michael Toussaint for a comment. The Navy tells us he's not talking to the press. Also, the Also the Navy says the investigation is continuing and says again, these incidents were not in keeping with its values and standards.

Carol Costello, CNN, Washington.

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PHILLIPS: That does it for us. I'm Kyra Phillips. I'll see you back here tomorrow. Rick Sanchez picks it up from here.