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Campbell Brown
Obama Administration Apologizes
Aired July 21, 2010 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: CNN primetime begins right now.
CAMPBELL BROWN, HOST: Hi, everybody.
Day two of high political drama and another story that overshadowed the Obama's administration agenda. Twenty-four hours after the secretary of agriculture stood by his decision to force out an African-American employee accused of racism, both the USDA and the White House are now tripping over themselves to apologize to her.
That worker, Shirley Sherrod, watched today's extraordinary developments right from our CNN studios and you're going to hear from her along with these very humble officials with analysis from our political team coming up tonight.
Also tonight, a look at America's new drug epidemic: prescription abuse. People traveling hundred of miles to score a quick fix from something you might have right now in your medicine cabinet. We're going to take you on a ride down Roxy (ph) road.
And speaking of rides, ours is coming to an end tonight. I'm going to have some parting thoughts a little bit later in our broadcast.
But our number one story -- once again, grab the headlines today and all the buzz online tonight. There are major developments in the ouster of an African-American woman from the Department of Agriculture.
Both the USDA and the White House now profusely apologizing to Shirley Sherrod, offering her her job back.
But the scandal has once again put the Obama administration squarely in the middle of a controversy over race.
We start tonight with White House senior correspondent Ed Henry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack took one for the team, calling Shirley Sherrod to apologize, offering her a new job, and taking blame for the whole fiasco.
SEC. TOM VILSACK, AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: I am accepting that responsibility with deep regret. This is a good woman. She's been put through hell.
HENRY: It didn't get much better for White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. He was vague about the White House's role in Sherrod's firing and put the onus on Vilsack.
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: When the secretary reaches her, he will apologize for the events of the last few days. And they will talk about their next steps.
HENRY (on camera): This is the president's administration. It's bigger than Tom Vilsack or any department. This appears to be an injustice. Why wouldn't the president intervene instead of letting this all --
GIBBS: We have a fuller set of facts. A review is taking place. And the secretary's trying to reach Ms. Sherrod to apologize for the exact injustice that you talk about.
HENRY (voice-over): Gibbs tried to insulate the president by saying he was not informed Monday night when the tape first went viral. And Gibbs insisted nobody at the White House urged Vilsack to push her out.
But that runs counter to what Sherrod has told CNN. That Vilsack deputy Cheryl Cook called her three times Monday and told her the White House wanted her to go, out of fear the story was about to explode on cable.
GIBBS: I know of no conversations that have happened like that, as the secretary said.
HENRY (on camera): So, no one at the White House urged her --
GIBBS: I answered your question.
HENRY (voice-over): The president did not get his first briefing until Tuesday morning and agreed with Vilsack's initial decision. After White House aides saw the fuller context of Sherrod's remarks and realized they were not racist, the president got a second briefing late Tuesday. Someone at the White House then pushed Vilsack to put out an extraordinary middle-of-the-night statement, revealing his initial decision was now under review -- though Gibbs refused to say who made that demand.
REPORTER: Tell us that information --
GIBBS: The White House --
HENRY: It was one year ago this week the president slip-up on another sensitive issue of race, the arrest of Professor Henry Louis Gates.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry. Number two, that the Cambridge Police acted stupidly in arresting somebody, when there was already proof they were in their own home. HENRY: The ensuing firestorm forced the president to clarify his remarks. He called it a teachable moment -- that ended in a beer summit with Gates and the police officer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And Ed Henry is joining us right now from the White House.
And, Ed, boy, this controversy couldn't have come at a worst time for the administration. They were really looking to highlight a major accomplishment today.
HENRY: You're absolutely right. The president signed into law Wall Street reform. I just spoke to one of his top advisers who is furious at all this media coverage, saying it's not just overshadowing the Wall Street reform signing, something big on his checklist, but also, he's now gotten a victory on extending unemployment insurance, affecting millions of Americans who are out of work.
But this is exactly what played out last summer as well when that Henry Louis Gates fiasco popped up. That blew out the president's health care reform effort for a while as well. They're watching the same nightmare scenario play out right now, Campbell.
BROWN: All right. Ed Henry for us from the White House tonight.
As Ed just pointed out, for President Obama, this was supposed to be a big day of celebrating political victory, with the Wall Street reform bill. Instead, they are, once again, in damage control mode.
And here to help us make sense of all this is NRP and "Esquire" magazine contributor, John Ridley, who runs the Web site Thatminoritything.com. Also with us, "Washington Post" columnist Michael Gerson who was a speechwriter for former President George W. Bush. And senior political analyst David Gergen back with us once again as well.
Welcome to everybody.
David, I just want to listen -- or let people listen a little bit more to what Secretary Vilsack had to say in his mea culpa little earlier. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VILSACK: I did not think before I acted. And for that reason, this poor woman has gone through a very difficult time. There will be changes. One thing is there needs to be a more deliberative process. I need to do a better job of reaching out to get input before a decision of this magnitude is made. The buck stops with me as it should.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And, David, will this -- and the fact that he offered Shirley Sherrod a new opportunity at the USDA, close the chapter, as he put it?
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, first, Campbell, let me say that it's an honor to be here among your guests, as you close this chapter of your life and move on to the next.
BROWN: Thank you, David.
GERGEN: Thank you. Thank you for being here and thank you for all you've done.
I do not think this ends it. I think Secretary Vilsack was truly remorseful. I think he lived up to his reputation, being a very decent man. He deserved credit for stepping up to it.
But I'll tell you, Campbell, we still don't know the full the facts. The administration is being deliberately evasive about the conversations that occurred between the White House and the department over this issue and about what happened. I think -- I think that the -- it's not clear to me they've offered Ms. Sherrod a chance to go back to her old job and stay in her current house. She may not want to be uprooted and go to Washington, whatever the job is.
And, finally, Campbell, I think the president really ought to call Shirley Sherrod and apologize personally. Not because -- out of political calculations, because it's something he cares about.
BROWN: And how much damage, David, though, do you think it has caused? I mean, is there still an opportunity to sort of wrap this up and say, OK, we made a mistake, let's move on -- or is this something that's going to fester a little bit?
GERGEN: Well, I think it deepens the sense that they -- the administration's had a hard time dealing with racial issues. They've stumbled here a couple times. I mean, we had a teachable moment a year ago. Now, we got another teachable moment. I mean, at certain points, you sort of say, you know, hey, guys, there's supposed to be a learning process here.
And I don't know quite why there's sort of a blind spot for them. I mean, there are some obvious factors. But I do think that they need to -- I think they need to be introspective here and figure it out. And there is a very strong sense here that the very team -- the president, who's condemned cable as cable chatter, we don't pay attention to it, I never watch it, that they got stampeded by cable.
BROWN: Completely.
John, to David's point about why this hasn't -- why there wasn't a teachable moment a year ago. Ed Henry pointed out in his piece, you know, the beer summit that he hosted after the Gates incident. Why didn't they learn from that -- learn to sort of take a moment before diving into a racial dispute?
JOHN RIDLEY, THATMINORITYTHING.COM: Well, I think that these moments, these teachable moments, are a little bit different. I think there's probably more of a teachable moment about race with the Skip Gates, Sgt. Crowley incident.
With this, I think there's more teachable moment about just getting -- wanting to be ahead of the story, you know? Everybody wanted to be ahead of the story. FOX News wanted to be ahead of the story. I don't think they looked at what's going on. The administration wanted to keep ahead of the story.
And, by the way, I don't think this is so much about that tape in particular. Remember that FOX was flogging this New Black Panther, there was a secret memo going around in the DOJ saying that blacks were not to be tried the same way as whites. And I think there was, within the administration, the sense that we got to prove that we are not favoring people of color over whites and that this is what drove this particular situation. Certainly, a lot of people fell down. The facts were not straight. But I think there was more that was going on than just what we're talking about right here.
BROWN: And, Michael, it's not just the Sherrod incident that has brought race front and center. It's also been this battle that's ensued now between the Tea Party and the NAACP. And you wrote about this one. It's sort of fresh in everybody's mind right now. You wrote about it in "The Washington Post" this morning that within this sort of fiery debate there's an element of sanity.
I want you to expand on that a little bit.
MICHAEL GERSON, WASHINGTON POST: Well, before this incident, it wasn't a bad, you know, week for the racial dialogue in a certain way. The NAACP came out with, I think, a responsible statement, calling on the Tea Party to repudiate its least responsible members. And then, of course, the Tea Party Federation did that, with a racist statement by a radio talk show host named Williams.
And so there's some progress here. But there's also this broader problem. I completely agree.
There are people on the left and the right who are looking for incidents like this to run over and over on television, on the Internet. You know, they'll take something like a video clip or they'll take something like a picture from a single Tea Party rally of a questionable poster. And they'll try to turn an incident into a narrative for I think raw political reasons or to get attention.
That's a very dangerous thing in America, because race is really our unhealed wound. I mean, these are very close to the surface, these tensions. And people who try to exploit that are playing a very dangerous game.
BROWN: All right, guys, stand by for a second. I'm going to bring you all back, because we're going to take a quick break but on the other side on a night, as Mike just pointed out, when race is getting so much attention, we are going to bring in what's going on with the Tea Party, as it battles to protect its own image in the midst of all this -- right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: As we dissect today's developments in the controversy over Shirley Sherrod, there's another group that has been battling accusations of racism and that is, of course, the Tea Party Movement. Well, starting today, the Tea Party is gaining some new legitimacy in Washington.
CNN's Jim Acosta gives us an inside look on the newest voting bloc on Capitol Hill. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Tea Party doesn't have to protest outside the Capitol to go its message across. The growing political movement now has its own organization or caucus inside the House of Representatives.
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), MINNESOTA: Grandma isn't shovel- ready.
ACOSTA: And the leader of the new Tea Party Caucus, Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota says her group will routinely sit down with ordinary Americans who, she says, want their country back.
BACHMANN: I think it's going to be very interesting to listen to what real doctors and real housewives and real farmers and real small businessmen have to say. They live in -- they live in the real world.
ACOSTA: The Tea Party Caucus message of low taxes and small government has already lured about a dozen GOP House members, including Indiana's Mike Pence.
REP. MIKE PENCE (R), INDIANA: I'm proud to be a Tea Party- endorsed candidate for re-election. I was honored to join the Tea Party Caucus.
ACOSTA: But the caucus comes as the movement faces a big test. The NAACP has accused Tea Party leaders of tolerating racist behavior at their rallies. And one Tea Party leader, Mark Williams, was ousted from the movement after he posted a racially-charged commentary about the NAACP on his blog.
Booting Williams, Pence says, was the right call.
PENCE: When we see people in organizations over which we have influence that engage in rhetoric or commentary that is offensive to the American people, it is important that we speak out against that.
ACOSTA (on camera): So, the Tea Party needs to police itself?
PENCE: And I believe they are.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Bachmann says tea partiers have also been victims of offensive attacks. She points to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee's comments at a recent NAACP event. The Texas Democrat compared tea partiers to members of the KKK. REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D), TEXAS: Those who used to wear sheets and now being able to walk down the aisle and speak as a patriot because you will not speak loudly about the lack of integrity of this movement.
ACOSTA: When we called Jackson Lee's officer for an explanation of her remarks, an aide said she was unavailable.
BACHMANN: That's a highly offensive statement to make.
ACOSTA: As for Bachmann's take on the racial controversy surrounding the Tea Party Movement --
(on camera): Will you not appear at any more of their events?
BACHMANN: You know, that's really not the issue. The issue is what we're going to do here in Congress at the Tea Party Caucus. And what we're going to do is invite real people in and listen to them and get their great ideas out to other colleagues.
ACOSTA: As a sign of its new influence, this Tea Party Caucus is already being taunted by Democratic leaders. House Majority Steny Hoyer says he's anxious to see how many Republicans adopt the Tea Party agenda. But Michelle Bachmann notes, it's open to Democrats, too.
Jim Acosta, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And joining us once again, our panel: John Ridley, Michael Gerson and David Gergen.
Michael, talk to me about the influence of the Tea Party Caucus, whether you believe there will be any on the Republican leadership. Are they going to have any real clout?
GERSON: Well, I actually think it puts Republicans in a pretty awkward position. Republicans generally around the country want Tea Party support. This is a significant and fairly broad movement. But they don't want to be associated with Tea Party excess.
And I don't just mean race there. I think there's real anti- government excess -- you know, arguments against Social Security or Medicare or Medicaid. You'd have to be in a pretty safe district to associate yourself with that kind of, you know, policy views. So, I think it's kind of awkward for Republicans. There are, in fact about two dozen House Republicans who have joined. I don't think it's going to go too much higher.
BROWN: And that may be why, David, that Michele Bachmann, who is sort of behind the caucus, put a pretty big caveat on it when she talked today. Listen to what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BACHMANN: We are not the mouthpiece of the Tea Party. We are not taking the Tea Party and controlling it from Washington, D.C. I am not the head of the Tea Party. We are also not here to vouch for the Tea Party, or to vouch for any Tea Party organizations or to vouch for any individual people or actions or billboards or signs or anything of the Tea Party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Well, that was kind of a ringing endorsement.
(LAUGHTER)
BROWN: We are not the Tea Party.
But is that -- is that -- to Michael's point, is that why it sounded like she's sort of backing off before they even get off the ground?
GERGEN: Well, I mean, it's interesting. You know, the Tea Party has declared itself to be independent and she's sort of saying we're going to be independent of the Tea Party. So, it's a little weird.
Look, I think the Tea Party Caucus will actually grow after these elections. I wouldn't be surprised if it at least doubles in size. I do think Mike Gerson is right that it's awkward for -- it could be awkward for Republicans. But I also think that for some Republicans, it will be useful to have, and they'll be able to push off from that, in effect, say, I agree with the Tea Party on X, Y, Z, but I do disagree on A, B, C. In some districts in the country, that will be helpful.
Finally, let me just say, Mike wrote a very brave column today in "The Washington Post," making the assertion which I think is right, that the Tea Party is not a racist group, but there are racists within the Tea Party, and they need to be sort of, you know, pushed to the side, pushed out. I thought he put it exactly right.
BROWN: Are they, though, John, trying to become a legitimate third party here?
RIDLEY: Well, I think -- to David's point, if they want to become a legitimate third party, they do have to do these kinds of things to push out racism or the racist elements. I mean, look, we all carry some bigotry. I'm sure there are people in the Republican Party, in the Democratic Party,. Let's not forget Geraldine Ferraro, what she said about then-candidate Barack Obama, said pretty some incendiary things.
So, this is not unique to the Tea Party. But I think most politicians understand, if you want to get elected in 2010 and beyond, you've got to parse these things, you've got to protect yourself from seeming like something that you certainly don't want to seem like.
These guys have got to learn that they've got to push these things aside. I do think it's kind of interesting, though, what happened over the weekend with Mark Williams that it was David Webb, a black guy in the Tea Party, who visibly pushed this guy out. So, it's interesting times when the black guy in the Tea Party is sort of protecting the NAACP.
BROWN: So, if they kind of work out many of these issue -- I mean, let's look at the counter, I guess, David, couldn't this be -- I'd like all of you to comment on this -- a good thing for the Democrats in the long run, much in the way the green party could take things away from the Democrats? Wouldn't a real organized Tea Party be able to potentially split Republicans?
GERGEN: Well there are going to be ways that the Democrats will try to use Tea Party extremists to brand the whole Republican Party. Just as the Republicans have been very successful at sort of making Nancy Pelosi the brand name for Democrats. And that's helped them in several states.
But, you know, if you run candidates who are too far into the extreme, look at Nevada where Harry Reid seems doomed to lose his seat as majority leader, and now, he's got more than a fighting chance. He's ahead in some of the polls out there because he's running against a woman who is seen as too extreme in Nevada.
BROWN: Mike, what do you think?
GERSON: I agree with that. I would say that maybe the more difficult challenge for the Republican Party in light of the Tea Party Movement is really with Hispanics, not just with Africa-Americans.
GERGEN: Yes.
GERSON: Much of the language of elements of the Tea Party Movement is really problematic when it comes to Hispanic voters. That could be 20 years down the road --
BROWN: Right.
GERSON: -- the biggest problem, the biggest challenge than this represents.
BROWN: And, real quick, John, I want to give you the last word.
RIDLEY: You know, honestly, I hope the Tea Party to a degree works. I hope it becomes a party. I think we need more than two parties in this country. Where they are right now, I would have difficulty supporting them -- but nothing wrong with a new movement. Nothing with pushing all these politicians.
BROWN: All right, many thanks. David, Michael, John -- as always, appreciate you guys being here. Thank you.
GERGEN: Good luck, Campbell.
BROWN: Thank you.
RIDLEY: All the best to you, Campbell. Sincerely. BROWN: Coming up next: the final push to stop the oil that flowed into the Gulf for good. But now, there's word of a possible delay. We're going to tell you about that.
Plus, the new drugs -- prescription drugs. You're not going to believe how easy it is to buy them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: The threat of a tropical storm in the Gulf may put on hold BP's efforts to seal its damaged oil well permanently. If bad weather hits, officials say it could delay BP's work by up to two weeks. That's not the only thing that has people worried in the Gulf.
CNN's David Mattingly is in New Orleans.
And, David, I know there was this huge rally today in Lafayette. I know thousands turned out to protest the federal government's moratorium on drilling in the Gulf. And the big concern is obviously jobs, right?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Governor Jindal today is making it very clear that the 20,000 jobs might be at stake here in Louisiana over the next year to a year and a half, if that moratorium stays in effect.
And we've been talking the last couple of days about the pressure building up inside that well. Well, Jindal is now trying to raise some pressure of his own on the Obama administration to overturn that moratorium and he used a very loud and enthusiastic hometown crowd to get his point across.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: When they declared this moratorium, Washington, D.C., the secretary, the Department of Interior, they picked their own experts. We didn't pick the experts. The oil industry didn't pick the experts. They picked their own experts.
Those experts said they didn't recommend the six-month moratorium. Listen to what those experts said -- those experts said you can do drilling more safely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: This is a message that Jindal has been steadily beating ever since this moratorium went into effect. But today, Campbell, the volume just went up a couple of notches.
BROWN: And, David, there were signs just this week that activity was picking up again in shallow water drilling. Did Governor Jindal see this as a positive sign, I guess?
MATTINGLY: He did see that as a positive sign in the shallow water, but he says that deep well drilling needs to begin again because he's talking -- says -- they're talking about millions of dollars in payroll per rig when it's not drilling is not coming into Louisiana. So, he wants to make sure that everyone understands this is a very immediate problem that they're trying to deal with here Senate, not just the oil, but also the loss of oil jobs.
BROWN: All right. David Mattingly from New Orleans with us tonight -- David, thank you.
And a special programming note about CNN's oil spill coverage. Be sure to tune in to CNN this Saturday and Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time for "Rescue: Saving the Gulf." This is a special report by Rob Marciano, and he's part of an unusual air and sea tag team effort that is searching for oil slicks. That is Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.
And coming up: the power of pills. Americans' addiction to prescription drugs, how it's become a big business as it ruins lives. We're going to tell you the story when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Over the past decade, drug abuse in this country has skyrocketed. And it is not just street drugs we're talking about. A new White House report cites a 400 percent increase in prescription drug abuse. In Florida alone, deaths from Oxycodone jumped 26 percent in 2009.
CNN's Amber Lyon investigates Florida's notorious pain clinic that dispense millions of pills to users up and down the east coast.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It looks like you have a lot of --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Track marks.
LYON: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are track marks.
LYON: But what about when people say that these pills are only be swallowed and they're not being abused? What would you say to that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I say it's (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I've done 19 one day in one time. I've done stronger. I've done roxies (ph), diluted.
LYON: OK. That's a roxy, 30 Roxicodon.
J.B.: Roxicodone 30 milligram. You hold a needle. I put water. I pour water on it. And you push down. Don't waste anything.
LYON: Where does everyone get these Roxies from? J.B.: People who either go to pain management doctors and sell their scripts, or people who buy from people who go to pain management doctors.
LYON (voice-over): People as young as middle school aged are taking OxyContin, Roxicodone, Xanax. They're crushing them, snorting them, injecting them, just like cocaine or heroin.
(on camera): We decided to shoot the story in South Florida because this is the pain clinic capital of America.
(voice-over): It's about 5:00 in the morning on a Sunday. We've been driving up and down the streets of Broward County looking for pill users, and we found Amber just kind of hanging out in front of McDonald's and we asked her if she was using pills and unfortunately, the answer is yes.
(on camera): When did you did start using pills?
AMBER, 19-YEAR-OLD ADDICT: 14, 13, 14.
LYON: You look so young. What kind of pills were you taking?
AMBER: Roxies, Xanax, Oxies (ph). Well, one time when I was like 13, when I was in school, this girl had sold me a whole bunch, a whole bunch of Xanax bars for $20. I took them all in school and I almost died.
LYON: Amber, how are you getting these pills?
AMBER: They're cheap. People get them prescribed to them and then they just hand them out for $2 or $3.
LYON: And why did you pick to just kind of sit here in this McDonald's?
AMBER: Because this is where I panhandle. It's pathetic, right?
LYON: Pill users from not only Florida but all over the East Coast drive down here to get their meds. And just to see how bad the problem is, all you need to do is pick up a copy of the local newspaper, flip it over and you'll find 14 pages of pain clinic ads. There are hundreds of them in Broward, in Palm Beach counties. So what I'm going to do is pick three of these clinics, check myself in as a patient just to see what the heck is going on.
First thing you notice is the amount of security out there. There's a guy driving around in a golf cart monitoring everyone who comes in. The best way to describe them is they look just like DMVs, rows and rows of chairs. People are coming in and out, and some people only spent three minutes in the clinic and they already have a prescription in hand which they fill at the in-house pharmacy. I headed out to the smoking area, where a lot of these patients hang out.
One guy from Kentucky gave me his cell phone number and then told me he could get rid of my pills, if you know what I mean.
PATIENT: If you make it to Kentucky, I'll get rid of everything you got.
LYON: You what?
PATIENT: If you make it to Kentucky, I'll get rid of everything you got.
LYON: Everything I got? How much do pills go for in Kentucky?
PATIENT: $25 a piece.
LYON: $25 a piece.
We are out in front of one of the clinics in Broward County. The outside is covered in mirrors. It doesn't even have a sign on the front with a name, and you can see there's a line of people waiting to get in.
They told me I'd have to pay 350 bucks just to see a doctor. The volume of patients, some of these clinics are pulling in hundreds of thousands of dollars a day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I was just telling my friends, I was like, these are five legal dope houses. It's outrageous, but all these doctors are doing it. It's really the doctors that are doing it because they want easy money.
LYON: What kind of pills do you get?
PATIENT: Just pain medication.
LYON: Like OxyContin, Roxicodone.
PATIENT: Yes.
LYON: What kind?
PATIENT: Just Lortabs.
LYON: Lortabs.
There's guys walking around with big black shirts that say staff on the front. You almost feel like you're entering a night club.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To me it's really odd.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, this is crazy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is crazy as hell. I mean, you go to the doctor here. You get your medicine here and you leave. It seems to me like there ought to be more regulation on it.
LYON: We're here in a parking lot in one of these pain clinics and more in West Palm Beach, Florida. But you kind of feel like you're in Appalachia. Because look at these license plates, we got Virginia right there. Over here, Tennessee. Next to that, we have Kentucky. Almost every car in this lot is not from the state of Florida.
CLINIC WORKER: Get out of here. Get out of here.
LYON: Ma'm, we just want to know why all of these people have to drive thousands of miles to see your doctors.
CLINIC WORKER: I'm going to call the cops on you.
LYON: What are your doctors doing for all these people that they have to drive thousands of miles to see them?
CLINIC WORKER: Leave me (expletive deleted) alone.
LYON: Has your mom seen your arm?
J.B.: Yes.
LYON: What does she say to that?
J.B.: It makes her -- she's heartbroken about it. I want to stop. I want to get off the street. I don't like this life. It's ridiculous. It's dangerous.
LYON: So you just kind of roam the streets at night just walking all around here?
AMBER: Well, at nighttime usually I go to sleep at a church or something. But right now, I'm in a kind of a black hole. I don't really know what I want with my life.
LYON: Do you feel like you're living right now?
AMBER: Hardly. I'm telling you the truth.
LYON: I know.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: The Drug Enforcement Agency recently shut down two of the clinics that Amber visited but hundreds more remain open for business.
Still ahead tonight, young survivors of Hurricane Katrina and the Haitian earthquake working together to build schools and hope.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: They were just kids when their world was literally falling apart. First a hurricane, then an earthquake. How a young generation is trying to rebuild the places they called home. That's coming up. But first, Joe Johns is here with a look at some of the other stories we're following tonight. Hey, Joe. JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Campbell. President Obama signed the Wall Street reform bill today. It's the most sweeping overhaul of the nation's financial regulatory system since the Great Depression. The president says the reforms will put an end to taxpayer funded bailouts of banks. The law also creates a consumer protection agency that will set rules to curb unfair practices in consumer loans and credit cards.
Secretary of State Clinton announced tougher sanctions today against North Korea. They include freezing assets in an attempt to keep the North Korean dictatorship from buying and selling arms. The announcement was made as Secretary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited South Korea. They held a rare high-level meeting with members of the South Korean government.
A boat named after one of President Obama's best selling books may be heading to Gaza in an attempt to break Israel's blockade. "The Washington Post" reports the vessel would be named the "Audacity of Hope." The paper says Rasheed Khalidi, a friend of the president's is trying to raise money for the venture. The White House had no comment.
And finally, speaking of friends and Facebook, another milestone's just been hit. The world's largest social networking site has a population that is now larger than that of the U.S., Mexico and France combined. Facebook announced it's registered its 500 million -- that's a hard word to say -- "user" today. About 70 percent of Facebook's user base now comes from outside the United States.
And, Campbell --
BROWN: That's terrifying. They're taking over the world.
JOHNS: It's very frightening. You know, I tried to friend you just a few minutes ago and all I could do was like you, which is kind of strange. What's up with that?
BROWN: You know, I, like, so much going on with Twitter, I just -- I got to pick one or the other, right?
JOHNS: Well, you know, we've been friends a long time, anyway.
BROWN: I'll have you blocked, Joe Johns.
JOHNS: That's right.
BROWN: I would never block you, Joe.
JOHNS: I know. Well, I'm going to miss you a lot.
BROWN: I'm going to miss you, too, but we'll still see each other.
JOHNS: You bet.
BROWN: I know where you live, my friend. JOHNS: That's right. Let's keep in touch.
BROWN: Take care.
JOHNS: You bet.
BROWN: All right. Coming up just ahead, they were just children when Hurricane Katrina and the Haitian earthquake reduced their world to rubble. Well, now, they meet in an effort to rebuild. We're going to have that story coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Today, the International Monetary Fund announced it was canceling Haiti's near $270 million debt. Welcome relief. But it has been more than six month since the earthquake hit and there's still a whole lot of work to be done. Students around the world are answering the call to help to try to rebuild Haiti's schools. A program called "Students Rebuild" is born of a partnership between the Bezos Family Foundation, Architecture for Humanity and Global Nomads Group. And it recently connected teens who lived through Haiti's earthquake with those who survived Hurricane Katrina. As it turns out, they have a lot more in common than you might think.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS PLUTTE, GLOBAL NOMADS GROUP: Can you imagine being a kid from New Orleans and you feel a little bit isolated in your own country and then you connect with Haitian kids? Who are close but far, they're in another country. And then you realize that you have some type of similarity. Maybe you lost parents. Maybe you lost fellow students.
My name is Chris Plutte, and I'm the co-founder of Global Nomads Group.
We're giving these opportunities. We're making bridges where there are not.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: During the earthquake, I was inside and then the house started to shake and I didn't know what was happening. I thought it was a truck that hit the house. But when I went outside, I saw dust, people all dusty, and blood. There were also people that were underneath asking for forgiveness. And then we were scared. All of us started to pray.
HEATHER, FISHER MIDDLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: Coming back to New Orleans was like a ghost town. No one was there in my neighborhood. I had to hold my dad's, like, gun, in protection because of the looters. It was just really scary. I was -- I thought I was going to die, honestly.
PLUTTE: It's a whole different situation when you get off the e- mail, when you put down the phone, and you're face-to-face with somebody. You start empathizing. You realize that these stories that I'm hearing about in the news are actually happening to real people. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three years ago for Katrina, I had evacuated with my father. And my mother was eight to nine months pregnant, and they're divorced, so I had no way of communicating with her. I didn't even know if they were alive or anything like that.
JONATHAN, NEW AMERICAN SCHOOL STUDENT: I kind of felt the same way during the earthquake because my mom wasn't home. Nobody else was home. I was the only one there. So I can kind of relate to your story.
MEREDITH, ACADEMY OF SACRED HEART STUDENT: I know after the hurricane, whenever I hear of another hurricane coming, I'm petrified. Are you all afraid to be inside of a building?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I was afraid of houses for, like, months after the earthquake. I was afraid to touch the ground.
PLUTTE: When they're speaking to each other and they're being provoked and they're being asked questions, it's almost like they're relieved because they're able to tell their story. They're able to have somebody listen to them.
ELIZABETH, ACADEMYOF SACRED HEART STUDENT: My house is nine stories -- nine feet high ceilings and I got eight feet of water, so I lost all my possessions and my childhood memories.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did you feel, like, to lose your house and all your belongings?
ELIZABETH: It was really devastating and I realized though that they're just material possessions and they can be replaced. And I was just lucky to have my family with me and like, we made it alive.
PLUTTE: When you're connected with somebody, when you know somebody, your relationship with them changes. And you might -- you're going to act differently towards them. You're going to empathize with them when something tragic happens, and you're going to celebrate with them when something fantastic happens.
EMILY, ACADEMY OF SACRED HEART STUDENT: I just want to know how your day-to-day life changed from before and after the earthquake.
JONATHAN: Every Friday night, we always used to go party so no more kids, no more parties like that. Well, there's some places to party.
PLUTTE: The world is challenging. It's absolutely challenging. It's probably never been so challenging. But when you make these connections between young people, I do have hope that we'll be all right.
MITSU, NEW AMERICAN SCHOOL STUDENT: It was very nice to talk to you guys, to be able to share, exchange stories.
MARGARET, ACADEMY OF SACRED HEART STUDENT: One of the hardest things about Hurricane Katrina for me was that realizing a couple months after that the rest of the United States didn't seem to care about us and they seemed to forget about New Orleans and that we're still struggling. And I just wanted you to know that we care about you all and that we will still be thinking about you all years from now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: So far, students in the U.S. and in seven countries around the world have held bake sales, rock concerts and art contests, raising more than $100,000 to rebuild schools in Haiti.
"LARRY KING LIVE" starts in just a few moments. Larry, what do you have tonight?
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Campbell, what a story. A little boy, along with his brother, killed their father almost nine years ago. Alex and Derek King have grown up now. And Alex is going to join us tonight to talk about redemption and a second chance at life. It's all next on "LARRY KING LIVE." Now, they tell me, Campbell, that this is your goodbye night.
BROWN: They tell you that? Yes, it is indeed, Larry. It is my goodbye night.
KING: First, I can't tell you what a pleasure it's been working with you and doing these teases every night. What an extraordinary journalist you are.
BROWN: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
KING: I wish you nothing but the best with your family and whatever happens, life's trail, we shall meet on the road.
BROWN: Without a doubt.
KING: So good luck, Campbell. We love you, Campbell.
BROWN: And right back at you. Thank you, Larry. We'll miss you a ton. Have a great one.
KING: Thanks, Campbell. Bye now.
BROWN: When we come back, the sea so tranquil, so relaxing, yet it is still a jungle filled with wild creatures. Coming up, what happens when people come face-to-face with the unexpected?
Not quite "Jaws." Still pretty scary though. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: So, you're on a sailboat, taking in the sights and sounds of the seas when suddenly a visitor, an enormous sea creature, leaps out of the water and suddenly you have unexpected company. CNN's Jeanne Moos takes us aboard.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Imagine you're out with your boyfriend for a sail.
PALOMA WENER, CAPE TOWN SAILING ACADEMY: The next thing I hear him say, oh, (expletive deleted).
MOOS: When a whale about the size of your boat springs out of the ocean.
WERNER: This massive creature just going up next to the boat and smashing against the mast.
MOOS: This is the before. And this was the after. Sailing school partners Paloma Werner and Ralph Mothes both lived to joke about the encounter, just outside Cape Town Bay in South Africa.
WERNER: We said we had a whale of a time.
MOOS: Even if it will cost at least 5,000 bucks to fix their 32- foot boat, the whale seemed fine afterwards, though he left some blubber on deck.
(on camera): Were you thinking "Jaws"?
WERNER: No, not at all. I wasn't scared at all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to need a bigger boat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS (voice-over): All Paloma and Ralph need is a repaired mast. The photo of the encounter was shot by a tourist in a nearby boat. They'd all been watching the whale repeatedly surfacing when suddenly it crashed the yacht.
(on camera): Now, it's one thing if a flying carp flies into your boat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my --
MOOS: Or flies directly into you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh.
MOOS: We've even seen killer whales force a penguin to jump on a boat to escape. But when it comes to the most persistent boat crasher, take a gander at this goose.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my dog. Crazy goose, sucker won't leave her alone. Will you stop?
Damn it, get. This sucker's crazy. Look at that crazy sucker.
MOOS (voice-over): At least the whale didn't chase the sailboat. Actually, environmental officials are checking reports that perhaps the sailboat was harassing the whale by being too close. Paloma says that just isn't so. They were sailing without a motor. The whale didn't hear them and simply surfaced. If he'd landed on the deck, rather than smacking the mast --
WERNER: And we would have been -- we would have been as flat as a pancake.
MOOS: Estimated weight of a right whale, 40 tons. All fins on deck.
WERNER: It was amazing.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN --
WERNER: It was actually awesome.
MOOS: New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And now tonight's "Punch Line." Here's a taste.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON": You guys hear this. Lindsay Lohan's lawyer, Robert Shapiro, who was representing O.J. Simpson, he quit just a few hours before she went to jail. That's got to sting when your lawyer goes, I can't handle you anymore, why can't you be more like O.J. Simpson? That guy is a --
JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!": Lindsay is in the same jail that Paris Hilton was in. It's the coolest jail there is. It's, like, there's a line down the block, around, to get in. I'm -- well, actually hoping to get my daughter into that jail.
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": Bristol and Levi are getting married. And as a matter of fact, they spent -- you know who they were talking to today, Joe the wedding planner. Oh, boy.
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": The countdown is now under way for what a lot of people are calling the wedding of the year, July 31st, Chelsea Clinton getting married. Bill and Hillary are thrilled. They say they don't care who the groom is, as long as it's not Levi Johnston. As long as he's not that, they are fine with that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: "LARRY KING LIVE" starts in just a few moments. And I'll be back in a moment with the final thought.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: For those who may not already know, this is my last night hosting this program. And to each of you who tuned in every night or even every now and then, thank you. I mean that.
I have already said pretty much everything I want to say about me. But I cannot say enough about the people who work on this show. They are the most talented, dedicated, loyal, caring group of people. I have really loved working with each and every one of them. And they are here, as you can see, with me right now in the studio.
(APPLAUSE)
No, thank you. And I want to say thank you to you guys. I'm going to miss you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're awesome.
BROWN: That's it. Good night, everybody. Thank you.
