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Senate Agrees to Take Up Health Reform; Protecting Your Finances; Corrosive Drywall From China

Aired November 23, 2009 - 14:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Let's push forward now on the hour's top stories. Time to get angry about guns, blood and death. As we speak, Al Sharpton's National Action Network organizing anti-gun violence rallies in more than 20 big cities. He calls it a national day of outrage.

Also, President Obama plans one more meeting with his war council on Afghanistan and Pakistan scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Eastern. But don't expect any big announcements before Thanksgiving. This is the word we're getting from the White House. Just got that moments ago.

Also, astronauts due to wrap up their third and final spacewalk of their 11-day mission. They're installing an oxygen tank on the International Space Station and celebrating the birth of Abigail Mae Bresnik. She was born to spacewalker Randolph Bresnik Saturday night in Houston, while daddy was away on a business trip.

We do want to begin though on Capitol Hill, where backers of Democratic health care reform plans have something to be thankful for. You won't see them pop any champagne, however. In fact, you won't see them at all. You won't see anybody doing anything in Congress this week.

Yes, recess for them, House and Senate, recess for Thanksgiving already. The House, having barely passed a reform bill. The Senate, having barely opened debate for one.

Here now, a taste of what lies ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JEANNE SHAHEEN (D), NEW HAMPSHIRE: Listen, in the end, this is going to be a compromise. It's not going to be a perfect bill, but it's going to be a very important starting point. And I think it's important to point out that this bill is not just about, how do we deliver health care in a way that is more cost effective? Because families can't afford it anymore, businesses can't afford it anymore, and the economy can't afford it.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: I don't often ignore the wishes of the American people. They are literally screaming, many of them, telling us, please don't pass this. Don't pass this bill.

If the majority is hell bent on ignoring the wishes of the American people, they have 60 votes in the Senate. You would think that they might be able to do this. But I believe there are a number of Democratic senators who do care what the American people think and are not interested in this sort of arrogant approach that everybody should sort of shut up and sit down, get out of the way, we know what's best for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right.

Seriously, Gloria, they couldn't stay and work until Tuesday or Wednesday at least? I don't know anybody who took off on their Thanksgiving recess on a Monday. We're all still working.

But sure enough, let me bring her in, our senior political analyst, Gloria Borger, here now.

Gloria, the last time they took a break and had a little recess, and people got to talk about health care some more, it didn't work out so well, when it was earlier this year. So what does this break allow them time to do now?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, that was the August break you're talking about, and the Democrats learned a big lesson there. This break allows them to get home, eat their Thanksgiving turkey, and turn around and come right back, and make sure they don't pass a turkey out of Congress.

They want to get something done really on the Senate floor. As you know, there are very few rules limiting debate in the Senate. So they want to get this bill off the Senate floor, the Democrats do, in three weeks, so they're not here New Year's Eve. However, if they don't, I guarantee you, they're not going to take a long break, because they are wary of what happened in August.

HOLMES: Well, Gloria, you say how bad they want to get it off the floor. They certainly want to get it passed. They say they want to get something to the president so he can talk about it in his State of the Union Address coming up next year, in January. But are they willing to do this at any cost?

This is not sitting right to a lot of people. Do they seem to be making any kind of deals they have to with fellow Democrats to get this thing through?

BORGER: Well, as you know, this is very tight. In order to avoid a filibuster in the Senate, to get anything done, you have to have 60 votes.

And we were talking about this yesterday on "STATE OF THE UNION," that this is kind of like a game of Whack-A-Mole; right? You get somebody here who likes the public option, you get a liberal to sign on, and you lose a moderate.

You know, the Democratic Party is not a monolith. So there are all kinds of issues that they have to resolve. And what's going to make the moderates and the conservatives happy is not going to make the liberals happy. Throw in the social issues, throw in the concerns of the insurance industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the labor unions, and you've got a real mess on your hands. So it is a long, long road ahead of them -- T.J.

HOLMES: OK. And you're talking about the mess on their hands. Will this look like just a Democratic mess to the American people?

We're talking about Senator Landrieu from Louisiana. She's got some legislation stuck, in there that would give money to her state. Now, hundreds of millions of dollars nobody would argue with. Great for Louisiana, people recovering down there from the hurricanes. Nobody would argue with that.

But for the American people, many of whom this legislation doesn't sit right with anyway, to hear that that kind of deal-making is going on, is that going to end up looking bad on President Obama, who promised the change, just this type of Washington -- I guess horse trading?

BORGER: It really could. You have to be very, very careful about that. You don't want this bill to become a pork-laden measure, because, already, the large concern about this bill out there is the question of the deficit.

Now, the White House says that health care reform will reduce the deficit by about $130 billion over 10 years. But there are lots of people who say that is not the case. So, cost is a huge issue.

And I guarantee you, there's not going to be a lot of room for those earmarks we hear about. I think, honestly, the big issues here are going to be what people can buy so they can get reelected next time. And the big question, of course, is going to be that public option versus something else. The big issue here is the deficit and whether people really trust their government to manage their health care.

HOLMES: Yes. Well, why not? We trust the government to do everything else, don't we, Gloria?

BORGER: We do. And we trust the government to do Medicare, correct?

HOLMES: Yes.

BORGER: There aren't a lot of people complaining about Medicare.

HOLMES: That's absolutely right.

BORGER: But, you know, trust in government is at an all-time low, and this is the president's really big problem out there. He's asking people to buy a package that is big government.

HOLMES: All right. Well, Gloria Borger, we appreciate you, as always.

BORGER: Sure.

HOLMES: Good to see you. Thank you so much.

BORGER: Good to see you.

HOLMES: If I don't see you again, enjoy your Thanksgiving.

BORGER: You too, T.J.

HOLMES: All right.

Well, health care in America, all the facts and figures, words and pictures on this critical debate. Any time and, most importantly, how it all affects you, just go to CNN.com/healthcare.

Well, support for abortion rights putting some Catholic politicians on bad terms with their church. It's been revealed that in 2007, the bishop of Rhode Island asked Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy not to receive communion. And that is because Kennedy, like many, certainly not all Democrats, breaks with Catholic teaching that abortion is evil and must be opposed no matter what. Kennedy says he still considers himself a Catholic and still receives communion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You should get off the train.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please get off the train now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right. What you're seeing here, let me explain.

A California man in jail, a transit cop on leave because of what you're seeing here. There was a weekend scuffle at a Bay area train station. Now this video is, where else, all over YouTube.

According to BART, which is the Bay Area Rapid Transit, BART says the suspect seemed to be drunk and was clearly disorderly. He was yelling profanity, he was challenging passengers to a fight. Both he and the officer were treated for cuts and BART is now investigating.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINTON JOHNSON, BART SPOKESMAN: The video was posted by somebody who has jumped to conclusions as to what he believes happened. And we're not saying that that person is wrong or right, but we do need to say to that person and to the rest of the world that we're going to look at all the facts, not just what you see on the video, and then we'll make a conclusion as to what happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, Michael Joseph Gibson is the suspect there's name. He's now charged with battery on a police officer, resisting arrest and public intoxication. His sister says he is bipolar and schizophrenic.

Well, we don't know if it's because of the holiday week or maybe just because they're hoarse, but students protesting tuition hikes at the University of California appear to be standing down for now. Meanwhile, the fee increases simply stand. Next year's cost of a UC education will top $10,000.

That does not include books. That does not include room and board. Nothing. They could add an extra $16,000 -- could add up to an extra $16,000. The college board says it blames California's big budget hole for this mess.

When a hero was needed, they answered the call. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things around the world. It was hard to pick just one, as our CNN Hero of the Year from a top 10 list. But almost three million people out there voted, and they named Efren Penaflorida CNN's Hero of the Year. And some of Hollywood's biggest names turned out this weekend to honor him and the other nominees.

Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARRIE UNDERWOOD, MUSICIAN: This award show is about people, about your neighbor, about your friend, about somebody that you work with. It's normal people that are really making the world a better place. These people are really touching the lives of so many more people than we could ever do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And you can watch the entire all-star tribute here on CNN on Thanksgiving night. The show starts at 9:00 Eastern and Pacific Time.

Well, she unknowingly signed away her home with the swipe of a pen. Now Uncle Sam has a plan to close the gaps on risky investments and confusing contracts by predatory lenders.

We are talking your money next.

Also, a new day in Africa. Four years ago today, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was declared the winner of Liberia's presidential vote, making her the first on that continent -- the continent's first ever elected female leader. And this grandma and former exile known as Liberia's "Iron Lady."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, it may be the recession's silver lining. With money so tight, consumers are getting better at dealing with their debt. And for the first time in a decade, more of you paid your credit card bill on time in the third quarter than the last one. In fact, the delinquency rate at bank credit cards dropped some six percent, and personal savings rates also dropped as people shifted from socking money away to paying down their bills. Well, if you have ever been hit with an unfair credit card fee, maybe confused by a contract's fine print, you are certainly not alone. And help now could be on the way. Consumer advocates want to change how you're treated by your creditors and your banks, but big business not happy about it.

CNN's Jessica Yellin explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ETTA HUNTE, HOME WAS FORECLOSED: It's cooking.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Etta Hunte is a victim of the kind of consumer abuses that helped take this nation to the brink of economic crisis.

HUNTE: I went on my own thought I was doing the right thing, and this is where it ended.

YELLIN: She lost the house she lived in for 17 years after she signed a new mortgage she didn't understand and couldn't afford. Her broker did not make it clear her payments would skyrocket.

HUNTE: Yes. I'm reading and signing this thing, signing my home away, and had no idea. And no one was informing me that it's an adjustable rate.

YELLIN: The problem? No single federal agency oversees all mortgages. Instead, five agencies have a hand in it. And during the subprime mortgage crisis, some companies worked the loopholes.

Elizabeth Warren is a watchdog for Congress.

ELIZABETH WARREN, CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT PANEL CHAIRWOMAN: And there are gaps in between and overlaps in the regulatory structure.

YELLIN: Mortgages are just one piece of a much bigger problem for consumers. Across the federal government, seven different agencies set rules for everything from loans to mortgages, credit cards and insurance products, so some companies play one regulator against another.

Now Democrats in Congress are pushing a major overhaul that would organize these powers into one new consumer protection agency.

SEN. CHRIS DODD (D-CT.), BANKING CHAIRMAN: Our plan will stop abusive practices by creating an independent consumer financial protect agency with one mission, and that is standing up for consumers.

YELLIN: Congressional Republicans oppose the Democrats' plan but do support new streamlined consumer protections.

REP. JEB HENSARLING (R), FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE: I believe in regulation that makes markets more competitive. I believe in regulation that respects the rights of consumers. I don't see this happening with this particular agency.

YELLIN: But business interests, they are ready for battle and have spent more than $334 million lobbying this year. They are led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

TOM QUAADMAN, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: You've just seen a multiplication of agencies. Big government isn't the answer.

YELLIN: He says the powerful new agency will hurt business innovation.

QUAADMAN: It creates a scheme where you have regulators who are really starting to decide who winners and losers are.

YELLIN: Etta Hunte just wants someone to speak for her.

HUNTE: I would like them to have somebody to keep tabs on these -- all of these mortgage companies.

YELLIN (on camera): Supporters say the agency could mandate simpler contracts, sue companies for unfair practices, and try to close regulatory loopholes. But critics insist it will stifle business innovation and limit consumer choice. It will be a fierce fight in the months ahead.

Jessica Yellin, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, dangerous building materials that could be in your home, and it's not just your house that could be hurt. It's also your health.

Have you checked your walls lately?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, is your house making you sick? It might if you used drywall imported from China. New government findings say it's corrosive to metal and emits a toxic gas -- hydrogen sulfide. A lot of Chinese drywall was used to rebuild houses hit hard by hurricanes.

Well, CNN's Sean Callebs introduces us to one of those homeowners.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Taking over the Saints after Hurricane Katrina, Sean Payton has always had sympathy for storm victims. Now he also knows what it's like to be displaced.

Payton's North Shore home was built almost entirely with tainted drywall from China, drywall that emits noxious and potentially damaging gases.

SEAN PAYTON, HEAD COACH, NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: When something like this happens to the head coach of the New Orleans Saints, or somebody that might be a little bit more visible, I think it draws attention to the fact that this thing really could happen to anyone.

CALLEBS: Investigators say they think they've traced the harmful drywall to a single coal mine in China, the source of hazardous waste used as filler. Scientists say human conditions bring out dangerous gases that attack and corrode metal.

PAYTON: We had five computer failures. We're on our fourth hard drive right now. We had 13 air conditioning service calls, three different coil failures. We're on our third microwave oven panel. We had to install a second set of phone lines, a second alarm system.

CALLEBS: Drywall from China came pouring into Florida and the Gulf Coast states after a series of hurricanes in 2004 and 2005.

It isn't all bad. The problem is, homeowners don't know what is tainted until it's too late.

Toxicologist Patricia Williams says investigators have consistently found three different toxic gases in the drywall, and she's getting a growing number of calls from people worried about their health.

PATRICIA WILLIAMS, ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY EXPERT: They begin to think, well, if they can do this to copper wire, what is it doing to my lungs? What is it doing inside of my body? I think they have to get out, first and foremost.

CALLEBS: Few are as lucky as Sean Payton. He, his wife and two children have moved to the comfort of their beach house in Florida while his million-dollar house is gutted.

The host of lawsuits in the South have been rolled into a massive class action suit being heard in New Orleans, but it's an uphill fight.

CALVIN FAYARD, ATTORNEY: I don't see this as an easy situation for the consumer or for the homeowner or the property owner. It will take some effort to collect.

PAYTON: You get mad at the reaction of those people that you were counting on in the beginning. This product is passed through a lot of hands, and the problem is it takes a lot of time to sort through who's at fault here.

CALLEBS: That is the question -- the contractor who put it in, the supplier who sold it, the Chinese producers. Many like Payton, a plaintiff in the class action suit, just want the drywall replaced, but it could end up that so many victimized by nature are being victimized again.

Sean Callebs, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, we turn to some of our top stories now.

In Phoenix, arraignment awaits the parents of an 8-year-old Liberian girl who was allegedly gang-raped by four boys back in July at their apartment complex. The girl's father and mother each now facing eight counts of abuse and neglect.

Dr. Conrad Murray back to work today. The doctor -- you see him there, you might recognize him -- he's been at the center of the controversy following the death of Michael Jackson. He, however, says he did nothing wrong. He's now back at a Houston clinic where he practiced before becoming Jackson's personal doctor in April.

You heard the saying "When pigs fly." Well, there's a reason they don't. Because when they do, they sometimes can be dangerous.

Take a look at this. Celebrity chef Paula Deen, she was hit by a low-flying ham today while she was donating 25,000 pounds of food at a charity in Atlanta.

She took the pork to the head, took a brief timeout, however. She got an ice pack as well. She's doing just fine. But, yes, trying to do a good deed, and she got hit in the face with a ham.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, let's turn to what we saw last night. Country's teen queen and the late King of Pop, the headliners at last night's American Music Awards.

Taylor Swift won five AMAs. And, in fact, she actually beat out Michael Jackson for Artist of the Year. But in the end, Jackson earned four posthumous awards. His brother -- you see him there -- Jermaine accepted on his behalf.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERMAINE JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S BROTHER: The message that Michael had will live on forever -- start with love and let's love each other.

Thank you very much.

We're going to miss you, Michael, but you'll always be in our hearts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, Michael Jackson now racked up more than 23 American Music Awards, and that is a record.

Let's turn now to a story we have been following closely here -- our Special Investigations Unit. An Iraqi canal, Iraqi blood spilled. American soldiers accused, tried and convicted. A war story you won't forget. Details and insights that you will only see on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Live by the gun, die by the gun is one thing. But whole lot of people just minding their own business are dying by the gun as well. And today, people are saying enough is enough. From Chicago to the Carolinas to California, Jersey to Georgia, 23 cities holding simultaneous vigils this hour. A National Day of Outrage is being called against gun violence and in memory of the victims it has claimed. Community leaders, concerned citizens coming together, grieving parents as well, pastors, all of these folks outraged, all of them in the streets today.

This whole thing has been led by the National Action Network's Reverend Al Sharpton and he is leading a vigil about two miles down the road from where we are here in Atlanta's West End. Our Brooke Baldwin is there.

Brooke a lot of people are fed up with what's happening, but still people wondering what in the world can you do about it?

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, T.J. People are wondering what in the world they can do about it. Who should take responsibility here? And I got to tell you, Reverend Al Sharpton just took to the stage just a couple minutes ago and this group is fired up. I'm going to get out of the way so you can get a closer look as to this group out here; young, old, black, white, all converging at the National Action Network headquarters here in Atlanta. You said it, 20 cities across the country holding these rallies, calling attention to what they're really calling an epidemic violence in urban communities.

You mentioned from Chicago, we know about Derrion Albert, the 16 year old, the fatal beating at a bus stop there. Just some examples here in Atlanta, the 19-year-old Spelman student who was hit by a stray bullet and killed; also, a bartender at a popular in-town neighborhood murdered, a former boxing champion. The list, sadly, goes on and on.

And part of this story when they talk about people taking action, we're talking about our country's youth and we had this great opportunity earlier today to sit down with about six of these kids. I say kids, but they act like young women, they're 12, they're 13, they're 14. And we spoke about gang violence in their schools. One of them started up this organization, the Shake Off the Violence Organization, amazing young woman. Listen to her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY PAT HECTOR, RALLY PARTICIPANT: People nowadays when they get in gangs, they don't think about tomorrow because they could get shot today. They don't think about their future. And I just want them to know, dream big because what you do dream can happen one day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Twelve years old, 12 years old, hard to believe.

Reverend Al Sharpton, we spoke with him earlier today. One interesting point he made, T.J., is he talks about the glorification of the gangster. He says it is so important. Our youth today thinks that it's almost this rite of passage to join a gang. And he's saying that needs to stop, it is a conscious choice. These young women agreed, it is a conscious choice. And the point here today, raise awareness and know that the answer to that choice quite simply is no -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right, our Brooke Baldwin. Thank you so much today, Brooke.

We're going to turn now to a story that CNN has been following closely, it's confessions of a soldier convicted of murder and we're hearing from him in his own words. He and two other Army sergeants gunned down four Iraqi detainees in Baghdad execution style. Now you'll hear why and how. The Americans have all been found guilty, but some believe they should be praised, not punished.

Part 2 now of our continuing special report. We'll let you be the judge. CNN exclusively obtained 23.5 hours of interrogation tapes which include the confession you are about to see, and you can only see it here on CNN.

So was it murder? Was it justice? Here now, CNN's Abbie Boudreau of our Special Investigations Unit with part 2 of "KILLINGS AT THE CANAL, THE ARMY TAPES."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Oh, wow. Don't you love it?

JAMIE LEAHY, WIFE OF SGT. MICHAEL LEAHY: I do. It was the most beautiful thing I had seen and it just looked wonderful on.

BOUDREAU: Yes.

J. LEAHY: It's really good to see it again and it's kind of bittersweet but I know it's going to happen.

BOUDREAU (voice-over): Life is on hold for Jamie Leahy.

J. LEAHY: I will wear it, I'm determined to wear it someday with him.

BOUDREAU: They were married by a justice of the peace when her husband was between deployments. But they wanted a traditional wedding, the beautiful gown, the big reception in her grandparents' backyard.

J. LEAHY: This is exactly where it was going to be. The ceremony was going to be over here with an arch. We were going to have round tables just placed all around.

BOUDREAU (on camera): Did you ever have the ceremony and the reception?

J. LEAHY: No, we haven't yet because our plans were in February of 2008. But the investigation started in January, so...

BOUDREAU (voice-over): Her husband, Sergeant Michael Leahy, a purple heart recipient and a medic, was charged with the unthinkable -- premeditated murder. He was one of three Army sergeants accused in the execution of four Iraqi detainees and the dumping of their bodies into this canal.

It was a secret he eventually would have to tell his wife. He described that conversation in this Army interrogation tape.

SGT. MICHAEL LEAHY, U.S. ARMY: I told her that, I said, "Honey, I'm going to tell you something and I understand if you don't forgive me, but I'm not a good person because I murdered someone in Iraq. I killed someone in Iraq"

BOUDREAU (on camera): Did you ever think that your husband was capable of killing like this?

J. LEAHY: No, I didn't. That's why I am trying to understand what was going on in his head, what was going on around him that could bring him to something -- a situation like that.

BOUDREAU: We've obtained the nearly 900-page investigative case file, as well as 23.5 hours of Army interrogation videotapes, including tapes we asked for but the Army would not release to CNN.

(voice-over): Those tapes show the agonizing confession of a decorated American soldier. Sergeant Leahy was the only one to confess on tape.

UNIDENTIFIED U.S. ARMY INVESTIGATOR: When you shot the guy in front of you, what did you do to him?

M. LEAHY: It was in the back of the head and I guess center of the back of the head.

BOUDREAU: Leahy admits he fired two shots, but only killed one detainee.

So who killed the fourth Iraqi? That was the question Army investigators were trying to answer.

M. LEAHY: My arm went up to the right and I fired again. I'm pretty sure it didn't hit anybody. But I'm not going to say that because I don't know for sure. I wasn't looking when I shot the second time.

BOUDREAU: The interrogator warned him not to lie and presses him for a full confession.

UNIDENTIFIED U.S. ARMY INVESTIGATOR: But if you did that, and you know you did it, cause you know whether or not you did it, no reasonable person is going to believe that you shot and then this guy fell back on you and then your arm went at this angle. If you shot this dude, just say you shot him. Just be honest about it.

M. LEAHY: This guy did fall in my arms...

UNIDENTIFIED U.S. ARMY INVESTIGATOR: I don't doubt the guy fell on you. But if you purposely shot this guy, Mike, just say it. You've already manned up. You've already shown us what you're made of. I know it's hard, but I know that's what happened, dude. You wouldn't have so much question in your mind right now if you didn't know it happened. And I know it's hard.

M. LEAHY: You're right. And it -- I'm like 80 percent sure, yes I turned and shot this guy, but I'm not 100 percent sure I turned shot the guy.

BOUDREAU: At this point, the Army investigator tries to sympathize with Leahy, a technique commonly used during interrogations, and it works.

UNIDENTIFIED U.S. ARMY INVESTIGATOR: You are not a killer. You are not a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) murder. You acted way out of character and shot somebody, something that you would have never, ever done. And it's something you'll never do again and you would have never done it without that influence. That's something that's extraordinary in your life. It's something that you'll never do again.

M. LEAHY: Yes, I shot the other guy.

UNIDENTIFIED U.S. ARMY INVESTIGATOR: OK. All right. Well, talk to me exactly about how it happened, what you remember.

Hold on.

M. LEAHY: I shot. The guy did fall and I did turn, and the other guy was right there in front of me and I shot again. And that guy -- he didn't -- that guy didn't die right away. That guy fell down and he was still I'm going to say crying, making noises.

UNIDENTIFIED U.S. ARMY INVESTIGATOR: Fair enough.

M. LEAHY: And I hate to point other fingers, but I know later on, later on the first sergeant came and shot that guy in the chest. Now, that's what I know about the situation.

BOUDREAU: Leahy was accusing First Sergeant Hatley of shooting and killing not just one, but two of the four detainees.

UNIDENTIFIED U.S. ARMY INVESTIGATOR: After you fired the two shots and you shot them, how did you feel at that point in time?

M. LEAHY: Scared.

BOUDREAU: The secret Sergeant Leahy had kept for nine months was now in the hands of Army investigators. He would soon reveal what drove him to murder and why the Army's policy for detaining prisoners wasn't working.

Jamie remembers when her husband told her about the investigation.

J. LEAHY: He was like, are you going to be with me? Are you going to stick with me through this? I understand if you don't want to. And then it was kind of like, how do you -- do you feel the same way about me. And I told him, I feel the same way about you. I mean, I don't feel any differently because it's wartime and it wasn't like he just went out on the street and shot somebody or something like that.

BOUDREAU: But this former soldier says wartime is no excuse. He's the man who tipped off the government to what happened at the canal, breaking the brotherhood. But at what cost?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Breaking the brotherhood, as we just heard you say. And Abbie Boudreau joining us here now.

How did this all come out? Did it take that? Breaking the brotherhood. Someone had to come forward.

BOUDREAU: Absolutely. One of the soldiers who was at the canal that day ultimately came forward. It took him about nine months to come forward, but he came forward to his lawyer and said this is what happened. His lawyer then went to the military and said, you guys need to investigate this, and that's when the investigation began.

HOLMES: OK, but you said nine months and it's a secret all of them were holding on to, so why nine months? Why the nine-month delay in the first place? What took them so long?

BOUDREAU: He said the reason it took him so long was because he was scared. He had all this fear that if he told what really happened while he was still on the battlefield that something bad might just happen to him. And so he waited until they got back to their base in Germany and that's when he ultimately came forward and the whole investigation ensued.

HOLMES: All right, fascinating reporting here. Again, our Abbie Boudreau and our Special Investigations Unit have done just an excellent job with this. We're going to be hearing a lot more on this story.

Again, this is a special report you can only see here on CNN. For even more details, you can check out CNN.com/specials.

Abbie, thank you so much. We look forward to more of those reports.

Well we do have now a quick look at some of the top stories now. In Arizona, a court date for an Iraqi immigrant accused of killing his daughter. Police say Faleh Almaleki ran over his 20-year-old daughter because he thought she had gotten too westernized. She died last month from her injuries.

Also, South Carolina's governor, you remember this guy, don't you? He's making some more news because Mark Sanford is now looking at 37 ethics charges. State panel says he broke the law with some of his air travel and campaign funds. Sanford's accused of using state planes for his own personal and political trips, flying in the expensive seats when he should have bought the cheap seats and reimbursing himself with campaign money. Lawmakers could use these charges in an attempt to get him out of office.

Also, millions of Muslims flying from all over the world to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for this year's Hajj and carrying with them serious fears about the spread of h1n1. The Saudi Health Ministry announced over the weekend that four people died from the virus; one was a teenager, three were elderly.

Well, reforming health care, keeping health care costs in check, the two go hand in hand and you can't have one without the other. But then again, maybe you can and it's not very healthy, however.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Getting health care passed, getting that health care bill passed into law will require a compromise. But will the search for votes weaken efforts to rein in health care costs. CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow in New York for us.

Poppy, good afternoon to you. Still a lot of debate. We just had a debate about whether or not to debate, but the debate goes on about the best way to achieve reform and what reform will look like.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right. What we're seeing right now, T.J., is some people would argue sort of trading off some of the things they wanted to see with health care in order to get some votes. You've got to come to a compromise. And the overall goals here, one, you have got to bring down costs and you have to cover millions of more Americans. It's a tough challenge to do both.

Looking at the cost picture first, take a look at this chart, we'll pull it full so you can see what we're talking about. It measures the amount that health care coverage costs have increased over the last ten years. That top number, over $3,500 for the average American family to pay out of pocket for health care costs in this year. That's unbelievable.

And proponents of health care reform say bringing down costs not only is going to be beneficial for you and for me, but actually beneficial for American businesses as well. That's a controversial statement, but Jacob Hacker is known as the father of the public option, a Yale University professor. He says this is the case, he came up with the concept for the public option, T.J., all the way back in 2001.

Here's his take.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACOB HACKER, YALE UNIVERSITY: Most corporations that provide health insurance today do so voluntarily. And if reform broadens coverage so less cost is getting shifted onto privately insured patients, if it puts in place the tools for long-term cost control, then it's going to help American business provide that coverage voluntarily for less.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: All right, that is his take. Some would disagree.

The remaining question, how do you pay for reform? Well, this is what the Senate is doing. One way they're doing this is they're raising the Medicare tax on individuals that make more than $200,000 a year. Now the Congressional budget office says add it up over ten years. OK, that's going to help by giving us $54 billion more to help pay for reform. As you know, reform will likely cost much, much more than that.

The problem with that argument, T.J., is that doesn't really do anything to rein in overall costs. Sure you get more money, but how do you control the cost picture? That's the really difficult part, T.J.

HOLMES: Yes, that's always the trick and some people say some funny math is going on around here. We'll see how this all adds up.

Poppy Harlow, we appreciate you, thank you so much. We'll see you again soon.

HARLOW: You got it.

HOLMES: Moving on here to a story about a credit rating being six feet under. That's what one woman found out when she went to refinance her mortgage. Turns out, she was dead. Well, there she is. She looks all right.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Rick Sanchez, just a couple of minutes away.

How are you doing, young fella?

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: What's up, T.J.? How are you?

HOLMES: I'm well. I'm real well. And I'm feeling a lot better, because you're here, that means I can leave in just a couple of minutes. Not that I'm not enjoying my job today.

SANCHEZ: That's funny how we around the holidays we all tend to be real honest about wanting to, well, spend time for ourselves.

HOLMES: Yes, you know.

SANCHEZ: You know somebody who might end up spending a lot of time for themselves, maybe not voluntarily? Governor Sanford of South Carolina, 37 counts, these are ethics violations and now there's a possibility this could possibly lead to a criminal probe. So this guy's not out of the woods, by any measure at this point. We're drilling down on this in a little while and we're going to bring you all the information that we're getting from folks who have been watching this thing for several years now, or for a long time in his case.

And then there's another very important person, Senator Sanders, Bernie Sanders from Vermont. You know, there's a lot of talk, folks, about the fact that the republicans are doing everything they can to block health care reform. Well, this is not a republican. In fact, he's as liberal as they come and he's saying, he won't vote for it if it doesn't have the public option. There's resistance on both sides and we'll bring it to you.

Back to you, sir.

HOLMES: It's not just about me getting off, actually. It's about looking forward to what you have coming up. Always some interesting stuff.

SANCHEZ: Thanks.

HOLMES: Always. We'll see you in just a minute, my man.

Well, some senior citizens just don't get the credit they deserve. All kinds of excuses they hear sometimes for being turned down, but "sorry, you're dead, we won't refinance you" that's a new one. It's one tale a woman from Washington state is alive to tell, though not very happy about it.

CNN affiliate KOMO in here now, Connie Thompson with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CONNIE THOMPSON, KOMO REPORTER (voice-over): All Ann Howe wanted was lower mortgage payments, the last thing she expected was more stress. Months earlier she discovered her husband of 55 years dead in his sleep.

ANN HOWE, LISTED AS "DECEASED": And then I was misdiagnosed with a problem I had on my forehead.

THOMPSON: It turned out to be cancer. Days after that surgery, she need open heart surgery, and almost died.

HOWE: I was still grieving and I -- and then all of the surgeries and the radiation.

THOMPSON: Then, when she applied for refinancing,, the bank said no.

HOWE: Because somebody made a real ignorant mistake when they -- when they told Experian that I was dead. I mean, that was a terrible blow.

THOMPSON: Her Experian credit report had her listed as deceased. One of her creditor's had reported her as dead. Correcting the mistake was a nightmare. An interstate nightmare that took the full time attention of Ann's daughter in California. Letters, faxes, notarized explanations, long distance phone calls. For months a brick wall.

JULIE KERR, DAUGHTER: We don't care, we have to get a credit score, and without that credit score we can't make the loan and we can't get a credit score because you're deceased. Now, we know you're not deceased but they think you are so we're not going to do this loan.

THOMPSON: In desperation, Ann's daughter contacted our ABC affiliate in San Francisco, one phone call did the trick. The creditor admitted their mistake and sent an apology.

KERR: It was just mind boggling.

THOMPSON: Ann got her loan, but she's still furious.

HOWE: Because it was just stupid. And nobody should go through this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right, and that was Connie Thompson reporting.

Now what happened to that lady is proof enough for everyone, you need to check your credit report as often as possible, certainly annually, at least especially if you're upright and breathing and especially if you are credit worthy.

Well, also we've been talking about today, a Canadian woman's been saying, "what in the world," since her disability checks were cut off unexpectedly. Seems her insurance was checking up on her online. We're getting your thoughts ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: A Canadian woman on sick leave, long-term sick leave, with severe depression. But however, take a look. She seemed to be the picture of health and happiness on our Facebook page, at least according to her insurance company, which promptly cut off her monthly checks.

We wanted your thoughts on the latest Internet privacy issue coming down the pike. So let's go to some of the tweets you've sent in about this story. Just share them all from my Twitter site here.

One says, "I'm an insurance agent in Illinois and there's so much fraud in the industry, I feel it's good to prevent higher costs."

However, the person right under that says, "This is America. You can't take a person off disability because what they put on the Internet."

Actually, it seems like you can. And right under that, another person says, "Shaking my head. Since when are Facebook pictures on par with medical examination and diagnosis?"

And one here finally says, "This is ridiculous. So she's never allowed to have any fun because of her depression?"

And she says the doctor actually told her to have some fun.

Well, that's all of our fun here for this hour. Time to turn it over now to the 3:00 pm NEWSROOM with Rick Sanchez.