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Suspect in Synagogue Shooting Sought; Pelosi Presents Compromise Health Bill; Maine Senator Weighs in on Health Reform Bill; N.C. Governor Delays Early Release for Lifers

Aired October 29, 2009 - 13:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you very much, Tony.

You know, many people could have stopped a brutal attack on a 15- year-old girl. At least, they could have tried. But could someone have prevented it?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were laughed at last summer for asking for 13 security guards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: A troubled school in a violent town cries out amid a tragedy that many saw coming.

Plus, the speaker has spoken. Will 218 House Democrats sign on to her blueprint for health care? We're about to find out.

Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon in today for Kyra Phillips, live at CNN headquarters in America, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We have a lot to talk about this afternoon, but first we want to get to a breaking story we have been following out of Los Angeles this hour. A shooting this morning at a synagogue as prayers were getting under way. Our Kara Finnstrom is on the scene that -- where there's a manhunt.

Kara, it's going on right now, and a Jewish community on alert.

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Don, it's still a very active crime scene here. Police continuing to search the perimeter here. Four potential suspects.

But this is what happened, as far as we know. At about 6:30 this morning, witnesses say that two people were getting out of their car at a -- at a synagogue here in the north Hollywood area. They were going to worship. And witnesses tell police that a man wearing a hoodie pulled out a gun, opened fire, shot both of these two men in the lower extremities.

Now, the good news is both of those men are now said to be in stable condition, in good condition, actually, was the most recent update at a local hospital. Police have continued to search for a suspect. They have detained one person. Now, they've been very careful not to call this person a suspect. They've been interviewing him, actually, just behind us in this LAPD van.

They say he is a person of interest. They say they have a very loose description of their suspect, and he matches that description.

I do want to pull in here -- appreciate you joining us, Lieutenant John Romero. And if you would, update us on the latest. You've been questioning this person of interest. What can you tell us?

LT. JOHN ROMERO, LOS ANGELES POLICE: Well, we know that the suspect was a male black, and he wore a black hoodie. That's a very weak description. But we did find someone in the -- in the containment perimeter within a reasonable time after the incident, and so he was detained. He's being questioned.

A lot of people saw him get taken into custody on -- on live TV, and just the appearance of someone getting thrown down and handcuffed and walked away with, you know, police officers on both arms, it gives the appearance that we're sure he's the guy, and we are not sure he's the guy. Very important that we let people know that he might be eliminated and might be released.

And then if he is -- if he turns out to be the suspect, and we know that he had a gun and doesn't have one now, we know the gun is in the area. So it's a complicated situation. We don't want to lead people to believe that we definitely have the suspect.

FINNSTROM: and you've also been careful not to label this as a hate crime, but you say you are proceeding with caution, that it could potentially be. Explain that to us.

ROMERO: Sure. Well, absent some other motivation, we have to assume that -- that it's a hate crime, because the victims arrived in separate cars. They arrived to attend a religious service. They -- prior to their arrival here, you know, they were not -- they were not targeted. And they -- we don't know that there were any words exchanged, just a very angry, menacing-looking fellow who shot one, and then turned his attention to the other.

So until we establish some other motivation, we're going to keep people informed and let these -- the other religious groups, the other schools -- there's a school associated with this facility -- schools in the area and the region know what's happening here so they can make informed decisions and activate their emergency plans as they see fit.

FINNSTROM: All right. Thank you so much.

So again, Don, two people shot at a synagogue here in the North Hollywood area this morning. Both those men said to be in good condition. Police still searching for a suspect.

LEMON: All right. Kara Finnstrom from Los Angeles. Thanks so much for that reporting. We'll get back as soon as there's more information there.

We want to turn now to health care, where the real debate starts on Capitol Hill. That's because each House now has a bill to kick around. Days after Democratic leaders in the Senate merged two bills into one, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled a measure, cut and pasted from three bills passed by committees. She says it meets three key goals of affordability, security, and responsibility.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: It reduces the deficit and meets President Obama's call to keep the cost under $900 billion over ten years, and it insures 36 million more Americans, 36 million more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, the Pelosi plan is estimated to cost about $894 billion over ten years. That is 36 million -- that 36 million figure she mentioned would bring the number of insured Americans to 96 percent of the population.

Her plan includes the so-called public option, but it would peg doctor and hospital payments to Medicare rates like the speaker initially wanted. Instead, it would let providers negotiate rates with the government.

A whole lot of numbers there, but the one that matters the most is 218. Two hundred and eighteen. That's how many House members need to vote for this bill or any bill to pass it. And assuming zero Republican votes, well, Pelosi needs 218 Democrats.

CNN's Brianna Keilar is on Capitol Hill for us.

Brianna, can Pelosi keep the Democrats together? That's the question.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, she certainly seems to thinks that she can. She has a little time here, Don, because this bill isn't going up for a vote for at least a week, maybe a week and a half.

And we spoke with Steny Hoyer and James Clyburn, the No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in the House of Representatives, and they seemed to admit they don't have the votes yet. But they're very confident they will have those 218 votes by the time they get to actually voting on the floor here.

So who are they trying to arm twist and get into their camp on this? Well, moderate Democrats and liberal Democrats. Some liberal Democrats who may say, "You know what, this public option, which is watered down a little, it's just not as liberal as I would like it to be."

And some moderate Democrats who might say, "You know what? It is -- it's too liberal for what I would like." And so those are really the Democrats that leaders will have to target.

LEMON: So I heard you mentioning Democrats here. Republicans have been against a public option all along, and also the high cost, they believe, of this. What about some Republican support? Is there any hope for a token Republican or token Republican support at all?

KEILAR: You said assuming there's no Republican support before? I think that's a pretty safe assumption. The understanding right now is, you know, we're not hearing any sounds from any Republicans that they would jump on board with this.

So as of yet, we don't see anything with that. And they're really hitting this bill that came out today pretty hard for a number of reasons. One, the public option, that government-run insurance plan. They have said all along, Don, that this is going to lead to a government takeover of insurance. This is going to, in their opinion, crowd out private insurers who cannot compete with a public option that they say would have an unfair advantage.

And also, one of the ways, really a big way that this whole bill is paid for is by taxing wealthy Americans. In the Senate, they're trying to pay for this by the Cadillac high-end plan tax. This is a tax on wealthy Americans, and Republicans say, "You know what? That's going to hit a lot of small businesses and cost jobs."

Just listen to what minority leader John Boehner said a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), MINORITY LEADER: It's going to raise the cost of American's health insurance. It's going to kill jobs with tax hikes and new mandates in it. And it's going to cut seniors' health-care benefits.

And if all that isn't bad enough, the mandates on states will bankrupt what are already states that have huge financial problems today.

We've got better ideas, and we'll be talking about them over the next week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And you see that bill there, Don, that stack in front of John Boehner? That's 1,990 pages, I believe, so almost a 2,000-page bill. We've got our work cut out for us here.

LEMON: My gosh. Some quick reading if you want to read before you go to bed and stay up for two weeks after that, right?

KEILAR: Yes.

LEMON: OK. Brianna, appreciate it. thank you very much. Well, soon after his top domestic priority took its latest step forward, President Barack Obama stepped before an audience of small business owners who have a huge stake in the outcome.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALAN GRAYSON (D), FLORIDA: "My nephew, Andrew Michael, died at ten days old."

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Bottom line is that too many Americans like you can't afford to build the kind of businesses you'd been hoping to build. Too many budding entrepreneurs can't afford to take a gamble on a smart idea, because they can't give up the health insurance they get in their current job.

Too many of you not only can't afford to provide health insurance to your employees, too many of you are having a tough time just affording health insurance for yourselves. That's bad for our economy; it's bad for our country; and that's what will change when health insurance reform becomes law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right, you expect talk about bottom lines and vote tallies as the health-care battles -- rages on in Capitol Hill, but tears? Representative Alan Grayson, a Democrat from Florida, got choked up reading stories from uninsured Americans. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAYSON: "My nephew, Andrew Michael, died at ten days old. And she died from an aneurysm caused by the infection passing the blood brain barrier. In the space of one week, I became an aunt and then an only child."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: You know, this isn't the first time Grayson has plunged into the health-care spotlight. He's the same guy who accused Republicans last month of wanting sick people to, quote, "die quickly."

Over in the Senate, the only Republican lawmaker to vote for any health reform measure so far says she won't be doing that again. Not barring major changes in this possible legislation.

Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine joins me now on her take on this process to date and where we go from here.

What do you think of what's happened so far here, Senator Snowe?

SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE (R), MAINE: Well, I think obviously, it remains to be seen. The majority leader has submitted his proposal to the Congressional Budget Office for a final score on that legislation, though we have yet to see it. And so until we do, it's very difficult to evaluate. But what we do know is that he has included a public option with an opt-out for states, which is certainly something I do not support. I don't think we should have a government-sponsored entity at the -- at the outset of the process, because it could undermine the very competitive environment we're trying to create that would drive down prices. And...

LEMON: It appears to me you agree with -- soon after Representative Tom Price of Georgia, head of the Republican Senate Committee, says that this is a government takeover that will limit choice, that it's going to kill jobs, raise taxes. Mike Pence was on, saying similar comments. Do you agree with that?

SNOWE: Well, you know -- you know, it depends on the -- on the proposal. And the House proposal is different from the Senate finance proposal which I did support, that did not include a public option.

I would prefer to have a fall-back of a safety net, similar to what occurred in the prescription drug benefit program. So that in the event that we have an affordable -- we don't have an affordable plan, then a plan would kick in immediately to provide affordable choices to consumers.

An opt-out really leaves it to whims of a state, regardless of whether or not they have affordable choices. If you have an individual mandate in this legislation, how does that -- where does that put people in those states that don't have affordable plans?

So mine would guarantee affordability in the sense that if the industry doesn't measure up and provide affordable choices, then a fall-back would immediately kick in for those consumers in any given state or region of the country. I think that is a better and far more preferable approach that would achieve savings. And in fact, the Congressional Budget Office said it would be a very effective lever for driving the industry to be competitive.

LEMON: I have to ask you this, because you have been one of the only Republicans that are willing to negotiate. You spent months trying to negotiate a compromise here. So how do you feel about Harry Reid, his decision to start health care debate off with a public option, when you said that you'd be opposed to it all along?

SNOWE: Well, I have said I'm very disappointed, because I think there's a better way of accomplishing the goal without putting government in the driver's seat and driving and running health care. And that is through the fall-back.

The central goal of health care reform is to achieve affordable -- affordable plans for individuals. And by doing that is to make sure the industry measures up to the reforms that are in this legislation. If they don't, the fall-back would be, the threat of the fall-back would be of a public option run by a government, non-profit entity that would provide affordable choices for people in that region.

It would save 10 to $15 billion over ten years without putting government in the driver's seat and running our medical system, which is where the opt-out process would work. Not to mention the fact it's indiscriminate, because it won't make -- states could opt out, even if they don't have affordable plans available to their consumers or their constituents in their given state. That doesn't simply make sense.

LEMON: Senator Snowe, thank you. Much more to talk about in the days, weeks and probably months to come. We appreciate it.

SNOWE: Thank you.

LEMON: Five suspects now in custody and linked to the gang rape of a 15-year-old girl outside a high-school dance in Richmond, California. More young people allegedly watched the crime happen over two and a half hours, and they did nothing.

Last night, the community had to vent. And here's what a friend of the victim says she saw on Saturday night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At the dance, there were four officers, none of them patrolling the area. I looked outside of the gym, and I saw 12 to 15 guys sitting there with no I.D.s. The officers, not only did they not check the I.D.s of those students or men sitting outside of our campus, but the security officers who are employed here did no job checking, either. The assistant principal looked outside and actually saw those men and did nothing about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, police think -- police think as many as ten young men might have taken part in the attack. The victim reportedly out of the hospital now.

Other people at that forum said security has been an issue at the school for a long time now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Safety is a big issue, and it's a right for these students. About a year ago, I know a lot of you remember, CBS 5 did a report on the security cameras. Why was nothing done then? They waited until something happened. And a lot of us remember that. And I'm sure CBS will be -- will be happy to give you a clip of that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were laughed at last summer for asking for 13 security guards. We are laughed at when we said we need $80,000 worth of cameras. I went to Dijon (ph) Middle School myself to look at their camera systems to make sure that those would be the best quality for Richmond High. Our school approved them. We never got them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Powerful reaction at that forum last night. We're going to push forward in just a few minutes with Cammy Baker (ph), the victim's friend you heard just a moment ago. She'll tell us more about what she saw that night and why she doesn't feel safe.

Killers, rapists, prison lifers. They've been crossing off or "X-ing" out the days on their calendars until today, the day a controversial rule was supposed to let them out. Well, their life sentences ending long before their lives, the governor saying, "You're not going anywhere."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The toll of war. The commander in chief salutes fallen Americans while he considers sending more of them into the battle zone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It is time for our top stories now.

Tehran has sent what's being called an initial response to the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog. No word on what that response is, but Iran's president has suggested he is ready for nuclear cooperation with the west.

A radical Islamic leader is dead, killed in a shootout with the FBI in suburban Detroit. The feds say Luqman Abdullah and ten followers were targeted yesterday by heavily-armed agents. Five are due in court today. They're said to be in a group called Ummah, pushing for a separatist or separate Islamic nation in the U.S. No terror charges here. Conspiracy and weapons charges instead.

In a safety strikeout for a Louisville Slugger, the bat maker is paying $850,000 to a Montana family after their 18-year-old son died on the pitchers mound. Brandon Patch was hit by a speeding ball in 2003, and the hitter was using an aluminum bat. The jury says there should be a warning on metal bats, that they pack a bigger punch than wooden ones.

Well, today was supposed to be the day, the day some prison inmates in North Carolina, rapists and killers among them, were supposed to get out, all thanks to an old rule that rewards good behavior.

The rule is now being challenged. Opponents argue that good behavior never was supposed to apply to these folks and that corrections officials overstepped their authority.

On the other side, well, you have people who say you can't go back and change the rules to suit you. So for now, the prisoners aren't going anywhere. The government is trying to ensure they never do.

Bev Purdue, Democrat, elected in 2008, joins me now from Raleigh, North Carolina.

Governor, thank you for coming on. It's so good to see you. OK. So you're saying that these rules -- I guess these points or credits or whatever, you don't believe that they were meant for this? You can't go back -- you're saying you can't go back and be retroactive about that? Explain it.

GOV. BEV PURDUE (D), NORTH CAROLINA: No, Don, I don't. The law is the law. In the '70s, when these folks were convicted, life imprisonment in North Carolina meant 80 years. And that's what life means.

And in the '80s, you had a superintendent of corrections who changed the rules, changed the way -- the time that a person serves was counted. And the law didn't intend for that to happen. The governor at the time didn't intend for that to happen. And on my watch, we're doing everything to see that it is not going to happen.

LEMON: Do you think that you have the power to do that, with the legislature there? I've been seeing stories and on the local television there. I saw a few online and also reading in the newspaper. You know, these stories about these men who thought that they were going to get out now. Do you think that you can keep them in there?

PURDUE: Yes, I do. We're trying everything that we can do to keep them in. We are in the process of appealing the case. As you may know, we won the case in the initial round of the courts. The decision was on appeal.

I disagree with the ruling of the courts, with all due respect. And we are trying in every way that we can to keep these folks in prison.

You should read, Don, what these men and women were convicted of. Many of them were on Death Row in the '70s when the federal Supreme Court said that the death penalty in North Carolina was illegal. Rape, murder, heinous crimes.

The question becomes, do you want those folks to live next to you in an unsupervised capacity? I don't, and I don't believe anyone in North Carolina does.

LEMON: How are the people in North Carolina reacting to this?

PURDUE: Well, the people in North Carolina, I believe, want safe streets, and that's what kind of governor I am. This is unsupervised release from prisons for men and women who were convicted and sentenced to a life sentence in North Carolina. That doesn't mean they get a get-out-of-jail free pass in North Carolina, and they can roam the streets. It is wrong for our state, and we're working to keep these folks in jail.

LEMON: Governor, there is a very real concern and legitimate concern about prison overcrowding, and there are those who say this helps to that end, at least somewhat. What do you say to them?

PURDUE: I think that's a ridiculous argument. This is not how you relieve prison overcrowding, by letting out murderers and rapists.

LEMON: OK. I guess that will have to be the end of that. Let us know, what is the next step in this? PURDUE: Pardon me, Don?

LEMON: What is the next step? You said you're...

PURDUE: Yes, the next step is we're in court. I'm working with lawyers, trying to -- to be sure that we have done everything we can do to prove that the -- the method that was used to compute these suggested releases was wrong.

You know, I intend to keep these people in jail. That's where their sentence intends for them to be, and that's what's going to happen in North Carolina.

LEMON: Governor Bev Purdue, again, thank you so much for coming on. Let us know what the movement is here. We'll have you back on. OK?

PURDUE: Thanks so much, Don.

LEMON: You know what? You give us 30 seconds, and we give you the opportunity of a lifetime. Today's "30-Second Pitch," a sales exec in the chemical business, looking for the right reaction. He'll try to win you over right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

You're going to win me over and these guys, as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope so.

LEMON: You ready?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

LEMON: All right. Let's get ready.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. So you may not have noticed, but at some point between the first of July and the end of September, the economy stopped shrinking, and it started growing, and by more than economists expected.

An annual rate of 3.5 percent is the first increase since spring of 2008 and the biggest, really, in two years.

So is the recession -- is the worst recession, I should say, since the Great Depression over? Is it over? Well, not officially, but it's close. That's what we hear, and a lot closer for some people than others.

So people like maybe Joe Orr, take his case, Joe Orr and some others? A senior sales executive in Georgia, sole bread winner in his family. He left Ashton Chemical last year, taking a management opportunity at a British chemical firm's American branch. Well, guess what? Things took a turn for the worse across the pond, and he was laid off after just ten months.

So he's ready to go back to work. He's here and he is our 30- second pitch.

So you thought it was a great opportunity, but really, had you stayed with your same company, you may have been laid off, as well.

JOE ORR, JOB SEEKER: Absolutely. Yes. There were several of my good friends and colleagues at Ashland that were laid off, as well.

LEMON: OK. All right. So don't we have a picture of him before we go? We have a picture of him with his kids. I think we showed it, but let's show it again, because these guys are at home.

ORR: That's right.

LEMON: And their daddy, they want Daddy to bring home the bacon, right?

ORR: That's right. Absolutely.

LEMON: And that's why you're doing this, I'm sure, for these guys.

ORR: Right.

LEMON: OK. Are you ready, Joe Orr?

ORR: I'm ready.

LEMON: OK. Let's go. You have 30 seconds, counting now. Go.

ORR: Hi, my name is Joe Orr, with 20-plus years of consultative selling experience. I'm an honest, hard-working, results-oriented professional with a proven track record of successful sales.

One of my greatest assets is the ability to build and secure deeper relationships with customers than most salespeople can typically achieve. So please give me an opportunity to transfer my selling skills into your industry and with your company.

LEMON: And you did it in 15 seconds. No, 30. Twenty-five, so you got 5 seconds. I'll give you 5 more seconds. What do you want to say?

ORR: Five more seconds? You know, the industry that I came from is -- is the construction building industry, adhesives. We sold into manufacturing there. And, you know, I'm looking at any opportunity, and I'm willing to look at other industries, look at different opportunities: marketing, PR work, anything.

LEMON: You just want to have some sort of livelihood.

ORR: That's right, some type of job, some type of income.

LEMON: All right. So that's Joe Orr. If you like him, contact him.

Joe, thank you. It's a pleasure to meet you. ORR: I appreciate it.

LEMON: Best of luck -- luck to you.

ORR: Thank you to the people of CNN for allowing me to come on.

LEMON: Well, thank you.

ORR: All right.

LEMON: We really appreciate it. And I'm not done with him yet, because I want to tell you, his e-mail address. His e-mail address is JoeOrr4hire -- that's a number "4," right? Hire at Charter.net. And you can find that on our blog.

And if you want to be part of the pitch, right, e-mail us at 30SecondPitch@CNN.com, or you can tweet us at CNN -- @kyracnn. It is Thursday. If it is Thursday, it is a "30-Second Pitch" again. His e- mail address is JoeOrr4hire@charter.net. Go to our blog if you have any questions about that.

Once again, thanks to Joe Orr and best of luck to him.

A two-hour gang rape at a California high school this past weekend. Students and teachers say they saw the trouble brewing long before then.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were laughed at last summer for asking for 13 security guards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, nobody is laughing now, and we're talking to the victim's friend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Richmond High School in California, a 15-year-old girl gang-raped there Saturday outside a school dance. Five suspects in custody today. Many more people reportedly watched the two-hour attack, two hours. They watched it. They didn't do anything or say anything. We've heard a lot from police and school officials, but last night, teachers and students had their chance to vent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMI BAKER, FRIEND OF RAPE VICTIM: This story's disrupted the school's morale greatly, including mine. I am friends with the girl. When I started here, I felt extremely unsafe, and so did she, due to the lack of police officers and security officers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right, so let's talk now to Kami Baker, a friend of the victim. She is with me by phone from Richmond, California. Kami, thank you. Very brave of you to come on. How is your friend doing?

BAKER (via telephone): She was released from the hospital, but I haven't had any contact with her because I haven't had her phone number, her home phone number.

LEMON: And what about the students in the community there? How are you guys feeling today? I saw that you guys had a chance to vent last night, but I can't imagine how tough this is on you.

BAKER: Well, right now we are currently in a circle in our second-period classes, and we're discussing how we feel about the entire situation, how we heard of it. And talking about morale of the students and how greatly it's affected us.

LEMON: Kami, how can -- do you have -- I don't know if you have an answer for this. Maybe it's police. I don't know. How can people watch for two hours, so many people watch and not do or say anything. Has anyone spoken to you about that, why they didn't say anything?

BAKER: Well, a lot of the students are stepping up now, but most of them were scared of snitching. The idea that I have of it is that it was mob mentality. Because most of the kids at our school, they conform to what society believes, and society today, like pop culture, is, like, females are viewed as pieces of meat, so it's, like, violence against females, and that's why I'm talking today to show that it's not OK to attack females. It wasn't just an attack on our schools, but it was an attack saying that females -- this is OK.

LEMON: I want to talk to you a little bit more about the snitching part and all of the violence that we see going on across the country when it comes to young people. A big part of it, Kami, is this "no snitching" thing. Nobody wants to snitch because they don't want to sell their friends out, but also because they're afraid, too, of retaliation.

BAKER; Yes. That's mostly what it is, scared of retaliation. But now that the police have announced the anonymous tips that you could use, a lot of the children have given their side of the story, and we've had three arrests so far in the past 24 hours.

LEMON: You talked about, you said that this was an insult to females or what have you. What do you want the people who are responsible to know and the people who sat by idly and did nothing. What do you want to say to them, Kami?

BAKER: I want them to know that they have sisters, they have mothers, they have aunts, grandparents. They have females in their society. And what they did to the female that is an acquaintance of mine, certainly they would not have done it if it was their own mother.

LEMON: There's been a lot of talk about security at the school and police, whether or not there was enough present. Do you know enough about that to speak on that, Kami?

BAKER: I know enough that the school isn't provided with enough security officers. We've been asking for 13 officers -- security officers, in the past four years, and our school has only received four that were on duty. We've actually gone from seven to four in the past school year.

LEMON: All right. Kami Baker. Thank you, Kami, we appreciate it. Best of luck to you and to your friend as well and to everyone there in the community and at the school, OK?

BAKER: Thank you.

LEMON: All right, that last point that Kami made brings up this point. We reached out to police today for a response. They did not get back to us. But police have spoken out a short time ago, and we want you to hear what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. MARK GAGAN, RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA, POLICE DEPARTMENT: As we began talking and hearing rumors, we realized that because of the length of this ordeal and the fact that several people were encouraged to come to view what was going on and that rumors had spread in various ways, that the number of potential suspects is now 10 and that the number of potential observers or people whose involvement is unknown is close to 20.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That was police last night at that event held there in Richmond, California and again today. So far no comment from police.

We are staying on this story into the next hour. We'll talk with a school board member about security, the cameras, the guards, and if changes are going to happen there. And we're going to stay on the story tomorrow, as well.

We're going to push forward with the real Coach Carter. Remember him, Coach Carter? That movie with Samuel L. Jackson? The real Coach Carter found his great challenge at Richmond High School. And again, we're going to be reading your comments as well in the next hour right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

A slow, silent salute. Flag-draped caskets pass by the president as he reflects on the true costs of a war in Afghanistan.

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LEMON: Our top stories now for you. House Democrats are out with their health care reform bill. It could cost $894 billion over 10 years and includes a public option, but gives states a chance to opt out of that.

Two Jewish worshippers shot and wounded outside an L.A. synagogue just before morning prayers. Now police are asking, was this a hate crime? They're stepping up patrols around other synagogues and near schools as they hunt for the gunman. The two victims are in stable condition right now. A white Georgia man accused of beating a black female Army reservist is out of jail. Troy Dale West was granted bond of just over $320,000 and released. He was ordered to wear an ankle monitor. The attack took place last month at a Cracker Barrel in suburban Atlanta.

Eighteen Americans killed in Afghanistan's war zone get a silent salute from their commander in chief. President Barack Obama flew into Dover Air Force Base before dawn today, witnessing the solemn homecoming of 15 U.S. troops and three DEA agents. The president also met with the families of the fallen. The flag-draped transfer coffins brought Mr. Obama face to face with the realities of the eight-year war as the White House considers adding troops to Afghanistan.

Well, some of those Americans died this week when their helicopter crashed in westarn Afghanistan. But the Army is not blaming enemy fire, instead pointing the finger at low visibility.

Our Elaine Quijano talked to Army chopper pilots just back from Afghanistan.

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ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For U.S. helicopter pilots, this thick dust is just one of many punishing elements working against them in Afghanistan. Mountainous terrain, unpredictable weather, night missions and enemy fire can all prove treacherous.

LT. COL. BRAD NINNESS, COMMANDER, ARMY HELICOPTER PILOT: I have been shot at.

QUIJANO: Army Lieutenant Colonel Brad Ninness served two combat tours in Afghanistan and knows firsthand the unforgiving conditions there.

NINNESS: Flying in the mountains is very difficult, primarily because of the thin air. It requires more aircraft power. Your engines have to work a little bit harder to fly at altitudes that are normally higher than you see here in the United States.

QUIJANO: But defense officials say the threat of improvised explosive devices along Afghanistan's few paved roads, combined with the need to transport troops and cargo to remote outposts means relying heavily on the 245 military choppers the U.S. now has in Afghanistan. Yet that comes with a significant cost. An analysis by the Brookings Institution found that helicopter crashes, both accidental and due to enemy fire, account for 12 percent of all U.S. troop deaths in Afghanistan versus 5 percent in Iraq.

CAPT. BRIAN BLAKE, ARMY HELICOPTER PILOT: As a company commander, I felt confident in every single one of my aviators and crew chiefs.

QUIJANO: Army chopper pilot Captain Brian Blake remembers a white-knuckle moment in Afghanistan, the mission captured in this extraordinary photo as he gingerly balanced his Chinook's back two wheels against the side of a mountain.

BLAKE: And I see 2,000 feet down, nothing, and completely trusting the guy in the back of the aircraft to keep me on the spot to get troops on or off the aircraft.

QUIJANO (on camera): Now, you'd think that enemy fire would be the biggest concern when being ferried around by helicopters, but that's just not the case. The Brookings Institution found that a majority of death and helicopter crashes was caused by non-hostile factors, again, those treacherous conditions chopper pilots talked to us about, including weather and rough terrain.

Elaine Quijano, CNN, the Pentagon.

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LEMON: All right, Elaine, thank you very much.

The gears are turning, and there's a bit of spring in the economy's step these days, something we haven't seen in more than a year. Will it continue?

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LEMON: Break out the noisemakers. It's not for Halloween, either. The economy is finally moving again. A new report says economic activity grew last quarter at an annual rate of 3.5 percent. And that's something we haven't seen in more than a year.

Susan Lisovicz now at the New York Stock Exchange with all the details. So, Susan, we hear about this turnaround, but what does that mean, 3.5 percent? What does that really mean?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It means things are getting better. And...

LEMON: No matter what it is, right?

LISOVICZ: ... it may not feel that way, but it is a start. It is a good start. And you can certainly attribute it to massive amounts of government spending, or as some call it, fiscal steroids.

Look, all this stimulus was designed, Don, to get consumers to spend, and we did. Spending for big-ticket items rose by the biggest amount in eight years. Why? Well, think of Cash for Clunkers and success of that with auto sales. Investments in residential real estate surged by the biggest amount since 1986. Why, well, think about that homebuyer tax credit and how popular that is.

Businesses even stepped up and spent more on equipment and software. First increase we saw in a couple of years. And even the weak dollar contributed because it made things cheaper overseas.

Why is this important, Don? The GDP is the kitchen sink of economic reports. It's the most dramatic evidence yet the recession may be over. We don't know officially. It may take some time. But it's a very nice start.

LEMON: Yes, and it's going to -- I mean, it's going to be a while before we actually feel it because it's got to move down, trickle down, as they say. So, listen, one of the big reasons, the big reason why the economy's growing because of the government stimulus money, is that correct? Is that kind of growth sustainable?

LISOVICZ: No. I mean, you've got to pull the punchbowl away, and we got accustomed to drinking out of that punchbowl. The hangover, Don, is the $1.4 trillion deficit. And we have got, as you know, a 26-year high in unemployment. We've got a jobs report next week. We could see unemployment rise to 10 percent. Big problem with making that growth sustainable.

LEMON: Susan Losovicz, you know everything when it comes to the economy, and we appreciate it. Thank you so much.

LISOVICZ: Thanks, Don. Good seeing you.

LEMON: Good to see you as well.

Want to push ahead now to the next hour. Epidemic teen violence in Chicago. A brutal gang rape in California. What is going on with our kids? We talk to a child psychologist about these shocking headlines for you.

Then send our troops help or send them home. Just down the road from the White House, veterans sound off about that.

And weeks have dragged by and emergency aid you helped paid for isn't getting to tsunami victims in American Samoa. Why the delay? Why the delay? Wait until you hear what CNN's special investigations unit found out.

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LEMON: In the weeks after American Samoa's killer tsunami, the U.S. rushed over tons of supplies, and you helped pay for it all. But a lot of the people who need it still aren't getting it.

CNN Drew Griffin of our special investigations unit went looking for some answers.

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DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE UNIT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In village after village, recovery in American Samoa is a do-it- yourself operation. On this day, a church group has come to hand out water. Workers at a fish cannery are clearing debris. College students clean clogged streams.

For most of those devastated by the tsunami waves, like this boy picking through rubble in search of furniture, the cleanup and recovery will be purely self-help. The government of this island of just 65,000 people seems to be absent. WILLIE TANU, SAMOAN VILLAGER: I don't know what happened to the government. They said they were going to be here pretty soon, but not even coming.

GRIFFIN (on camera): It's been a couple of weeks.

TANU: Yes.

GRIFFIN: And they haven't showed up?

TANU: No.

GRIFFIN: Why should you care? Take a look around. The United States taxpayer has spent $2 billion in money to American Samoa since 1995, more than $200 million every year in direct grants to the government here. Yet three weeks after this tsunami, destruction is everywhere, and any signs of help from the local government hard to find.

HEINRICH TAVAI, LOFATONOA PENTACOSTAL CHURCH: The government gets a lot of money from the U.S. federal government. Every year, they get millions and millions of dollars. As you see, we look like a Third World country when we should be looking more like a U.S. territory.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): The tsunami, much like the hurricane that hit New Orleans, has unleashed long-simmering complaints about government money being misspent, government grants going nowhere.

A.E. PULU, PAGO PAGO VILLAGE CHIEF: And this is my old village.

GRIFFIN: A.E. Pulu is a former lawmaker here. He points to an area where a federal grant was to build a gym.

(on camera): Where's that?

PULU: Nothing.

GRIFFIN: It's not here.

PULU: Not here.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): A creek that had a $2.9 million grant for upgrades, it never happened. The money, he says, just seems to vanish. Remember, Samoa is an American territory, so we're talking about your money. While there have been some federal investigations, many government agencies that send money here, he says, don't seem to care.

PULU: They need to come down and look, make sure they follow up the report.

GRIFFIN (on camera): See, this is you -- you were a member of this government. And you are telling the federal government, you need to come here and look at where you're throwing money.

PULU: Exactly right.

GRIFFIN: Because it sounds like you're telling me they're throwing it away.

PULU: Well, that's what I'm saying.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): The one person who should know where the money is going is the person who takes much of the credit for getting it here. The Web site of Samoa's longtime congressional delegate, Eni Faleomavaega, is filled with notices of government grants he has won for this tiny island. But in a satellite interview, he told us his responsibility doesn't include making sure that money's spent correctly.

ENI FALEOMAVAEGA, AMERICAN SAMOA DELEGATE TO CONGRESS: I'm very much aware of the fact that, yes, we do have a lot of federal funds that come here in the territory. And I make no excuses. This is the American taxpayers' money. The public's entitled to know how this money should have been spent or should be spending.

GRIFFIN (on camera): Is there in your mind any responsibility on the American Samoa government, which the Department of Homeland Security says is at high risk for corruption and misuse of these funds, and that's why many of these funds were indeed frozen?

FALEOMAVAEGA: If the local administering authority is not in compliance with the federal requirements on how that grant is supposed to be spent, then by all means, they should be noted and grants should not be given.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Federal investigative sources in Washington tell CNN American Samoa is simply too hard to keep track of, too far to send investigators, too much trouble to find out if taxpayer dollars are being spent correctly.

And in the meantime, you are about to send even more: $24 million in emergency housing funds just announced and, yes, even stimulus money for an island of just 65,000 people.

(on camera): Among the $68 million in stimulus funds heading to this island, $7.4 million from the Department of Energy to develop, among other things, solar power on an island that receives 200 inches of rainfall a year.

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LEMON: That was CNN's Drew Griffin of our special investigations unit reporting from American Samoa, and we're going to keep an eye on this story.