Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Helicopter Crashes Into Pub, Eight Killed; U.S. Will Destroy Syria's Most Dangerous Chemical Weapons At Sea; Millions For Charity, Not Much For Kids; Wall Street Sets Record Gains; Home Prices Climb In Third Quarter; NFL Reviewing Tomlin's Sideline Incident; Police: Man Butt Dials While Hiring Hitman; Family Claims Amish Girl Is "Cancer Free" After Halting Chemotherapy; Deadline Today For Obamacare Site To Work; Bargains And Brawls On Black Friday; Politics Of Healthcare
Aired November 30, 2013 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: The 11:00 hour of NEWSROOM starts right now.
A police helicopter crashes through the roof of a pub, killing at least one person. Now the search for survivors. Hear what may have caused the deadly crash, next.
Time is up. We're just hours away from the midnight deadline for repairs to the Obamacare website. Can healthcare.gov be saved? A live report just moments away.
And a lifesaving butt dial. A man plotting a murder makes an accidental call while talking to a hit-man. It sounds like out of the movies. You won't believe who was on the other end of the call. Details coming right up.
Now, people may still be trapped inside a pub today after a police helicopter crashed into the roof. Authorities say at least one person died in the crash last night in Glasgow, Scotland, but that number could go up. Witnesses say the chopper dropped out of a skyline like a stone right onto the roof while a concert was going on inside the pub. Richard Quest has the latest from Glasgow.
QUEST: Miguel, the core question of how many people may still be buried in the wreckage behind, no one knows. All we've been told is that there was one confirmed fata fatality, but that that number is likely to rise.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST (voice over): All night and into the morning, search and rescue efforts continued after a police helicopter crashed into the roof of the pub filled with Friday night revelers in Glasgow, in Scotland.
A local member of Parliament, Jim Murphy, said he arrived moments after the crash.
JIM MURPHY, MEMBER OF THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT: Most of the helicopter appeared to be inside the pub. There was only part of it protruding from the top.
QUEST: Murphy says he saw at least ten people who were injured, including people who were struggling with consciousness and others with bleeding wounds to the head. Christina O'Neil, who saw the crash from her apartment across the street, said she heard what sounded like a low-flying airplane.
CHRISTINA O'NEIL, WITNESS: (inaudible) for a couple of seconds, and then I just heard a massive crash.
QUEST: After the sound of the impact, she saw smoke and people running from the pub. One witness, who was inside, reported not hearing the crash, because there was a band play playing, and all of a sudden, there was a whooshing sound and a lot of dust that came down from the ceiling. Then, more of the ceiling fell, and people started running out.
Hours after the crash, and the helicopter bearing the word "Police" on its damaged tail was still smoldering. There were three people on board, two police officers and a civilian pilot. People remained trapped inside the one story pub. Urban search and rescue specialists are working to make the Clutha Bar safe so firefighters can get to the victims still trapped says the Scottish fire and rescue service.
The British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted about the situation, saying, "My thoughts are with everyone affected by the helicopter crash in Glasgow, and the emergency services working tonight."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: And so, Miguel, the flags are at half-mast in Scotland. And the country comes to terms with what the first minister is describing as a black day for the city and the country -- Miguel.
MARQUEZ: Thanks, Richard Quest -- just awful. We do have some breaking news on that story. Scottish police say at least eight people have died in that crash now. We've also learned that the weather at the time of the crash was good, which is rare for Scotland. The winds were light, and it was cold, but there was no rain or sleet. A mystery -- very, very sad.
The NTSB is investigating a small plane crash last night in Alaska that killed four people, including the pilot. Police say there were ten people on board. The others survived. There's no word on how those six people are doing at the moment. The Cessna crashed in southwestern Alaska near St. Mary's Village.
And a plane went down in Namibia, killing everyone on board. That's according to the government official in Namibia. The Mozambique Airlines left Mozambique's capital of Maputo on -- yesterday it was heading for Angola. Authorities found the wreckage in Namibia near the border with Angola. There were 34 people on board that plane. It's not clear why that plane crashed.
And new images this morning of the California man being held in North Korea. This is Merrill Norman. The North Korean government claims the 85-year-old was a spy during the Korean War. It released video of Newman reading his alleged confession letter. No word if he will be let go. Newman had finished a ten-day tour of North Korea when he was pulled off a plane on his way out of the country.
Another day, another deadline for the Obama administration its new health care program -- the President's team says after the Web site's disastrous rollout two months ago, today is the day it's supposed to work smoothly for the vast majority of users.
This is a live look now at HealthCare.gov. Technicians took it down overnight, about 11 hours, for maintenance. But it is back up now.
CNN's Tory Dunnan is in Washington this morning. Tory we're just hours away from that deadline. It appears things may be working better with that -- with that Web site. Is all well in Washington, or the President's fixers are still scrambling to fix this thing?
TORY DUNNAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So Miguel wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall?
MARQUEZ: No.
DUNNAN: But in -- yes -- but in all seriousness, the latest is that the administration is on track to meet this self-imposed deadline, telling us that the site was shut down overnight for fixes, as well as updates. Of course, we now know it's up and running. And here's really what the goal is going to be in the next hours for this weekend.
According to the White House 50,000 people should be able to be on the site at the same time. We're told if there are any more users at any given time, the administration says they'll be putting in what's called a virtual queue. They'll get an e-mail that will tell them of a better time to come back and try. Also, in total, the goal is for some 800,000 users to go through successfully each day.
And one of the questions is, does the public think this is going to be ready to roll? Take a look at this, because a recent CNN/ORC poll shows that people actually think things are going to get better; 54 percent of Americans are saying, yes. The current problems facing the health care law will be solved. 45 percent say, no, that it won't be solved.
But Miguel, I think this weekend is going to be kind of a big indicator about whether or not that actually happens.
MARQUEZ: Absolutely. Well that's the big question. They're not releasing any statistics or metrics, as we call them in the biz, about how things have been going up until today. Are they going to start releasing those into the future, and how will we really know when this thing is up and running smoothly for users?
DUNNAN: Right. So we're going to have to talk to users, talk to tech experts, but basically, it's going to be a little bit of a guessing game until the administration releases that information really about whether or not it's working smoothly. In fact, here's what one tech expert has to say about this weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUKE CHUNG, PRESIDENT FMS INCORPORATED: Without having the internal metrics and status reports of what's going on, on the Web site, we on the outside will not be able to tell. But the people who are in charge of the system will certainly know what the load is and will be trying to balance that properly across their different servers. As an outsider, we're not going to be privy to that information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DUNNAN: All right. So the administration is not expected to release those numbers right away, but Miguel, we are told that there's going to be a conference call with reporters tomorrow, and Jeffrey Zions he's the man that the President put in charge of things to turn everything around, is going to be on that call.
So hopefully, that is when we'll get those questions answered about whether or not this is running at that level they want it to be running.
MARQUEZ: Big, big stakes and a lot of people relying on it. Tory Dunnan -- thanks very much for keeping track of it all.
DUNNAN: Sure.
MARQUEZ: Black Friday is over, but retailers are still trying to get even more shoppers into those stores this holiday weekend. Unfortunately, we've also been seeing a bit of this -- brawls that broke out on Black Friday.
Police in Odessa, Texas, had to use pepper spray to break up a melee over a display of tablets and headphones. In Tampa, a woman confronted a man videotaping her on his phone. And of course, a fight broke out.
Alexandra Field is at Columbus Circle in New York with her -- with her fists out, ready to go. Alexandra, things seem pretty calm there, don't they? Not as much craziness as yesterday, right?
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thankfully -- right, thankfully, Miguel, that crazy crush of shoppers is behind us. You know, it's that time of year and people are still going at it. Fortunately, the scene here in Columbus Circle, is a little more civilized than what we saw yesterday. Take a look at some video recorded at 2:30 on Friday morning. It shows you the very worst of Black Friday shopping.
(BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING)
FIELD: And what you are looking at here, these are two women in a Philadelphia mall fighting and brawling with each other when one woman pulls out a stun gun, nearby shoppers stop to watch. They thought they had seen everything before, but they'd never seen anything quite like this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL NAPOLITANO, WITNESS: I was definitely taken back for it, because everybody's out, like you know, trying to save money and shop for everybody and get stuff for themselves. And you just don't think that people are going to do stuff like that. You know I always wonder, what drives somebody to get in a fight like that. You don't just walk away. It's the holidays, everybody has to you know get along.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FIELD: And that chaos continued at some big-box stores across the country. There were fistfights in North Carolina. In Virginia police arrested two men in a Wal-Mart parking lot. One had a knife cut on his arm. The other was arrested for threatening that man with a knife and a rifle. And in Las Vegas, there was a shooter -- a shooting after one person tried to steal another person's holiday deal.
Again, the shopping still continues. A lot of time left before Christmas, but we are hoping that those are some of the ugliest scenes of the holiday season -- Miguel.
MARQUEZ: There is something ironic about the day after Thanksgiving where everybody sits down to give thanks for all they have and then get in a fight the next day certainly. But you know I was at Lennox Mall here in Atlanta yesterday, it was madness, but everybody was incredibly well behaved, except, of course, for me, who rushed through to get what I wanted. Do you -- what are the numbers like there -- Alexandra?
FIELD: Yes right, we can't give everyone a bad rap here, because remember there are a lot of shoppers coming out this weekend. 140 million people are expected to shop between Black Friday and Sunday. Together, between the months of November and December, shoppers will spend a whopping $600 billion and $80 billion will be spent -- will be spent through online retailers. If you wanted to sit home, if you wanted to miss out on the Black Friday madness and anything that follow, well cyber Monday is around the corner -- Miguel.
MARQUEZ: Oh, cyber Monday, we love it. Alexandra, thank you very, very much.
Well, it looks harming -- heartwarming, a charity granting wishes for sick children. But behind closed doors, its spending is raising eyebrows.
Plus there is -- it's times up for HealthCare.gov, but even if the Web site works properly, will the insurance work for people who want it? The stories from real people who are trying to sign up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: The countdown is on to President Obama's deadline to have the Obamacare Web site fixed for the vast majority of users. Most of the big problems are supposed to be repaired by midnight tonight. Still, some people are finding the new health care law is not a fix for what ails them, especially if their doctor doesn't take their plan.
CNN's Casey Wian introduces us to one Los Angeles patient who says he's become a victim of Obamacare.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM HARRIS, HANDYMAN: I thought it was a great idea.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tom Harris is a 62-year-old self- employed handyman, who had high hopes for Obamacare.
HARRIS: My expectations were that it would actually enhance my existing health care plan.
WIAN: So how has it worked out for you so far?
HARRIS: That wasn't the case. I was notified that my plan would be ended at the end of this year, in December. I was very surprised.
WIAN: Harris suffers from debilitating allergies. He's seeing a specialist. Dr. Robert Eitches at the prestigious Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, at least until January 1st, when his bill would go up.
HARRIS: I know if I go see him, it's completely out of network, and it does not apply against my deductible. So it's really out of network. It's almost in another orbit.
WIAN: The new Obamacare compliant plan being offered by Harris's current health insurance company will actually cost him $5 a month less, but Eitches and four of Harris's five doctors are no longer in that network.
DR. ROBERT EITCHES, ALLERGIES AND IMMUNOLOGIST: I've had patients come to me, saying, please do whatever you need to do, because I don't know if I'll be able to come back to see you after December 31st.
WIAN: Eitches says 10 percent of his patients now must either find new doctors or pay steep out-of-pocket costs.
HARRIS: It's mind-numbing. It's mind-numbing.
WIAN: Even for Dr. Eitches, less than six weeks before Obamacare takes effect, he still doesn't know which if any insurance plans he'll accept. He has already stopped taking Medicare.
DR. EITCHES: Honestly, what -- what I may think about is not taking any insurance at all. I have a lot of patients who have been seeing me for over 20 years, and we have a bond. It would be sad to lose those patients.
WIAN: For Harris, Obamacare has meant fewer choices and headaches untreatable by presidential apologies.
HARRIS: It's just so beyond it. I certainly wish him well, but the situation that I find myself in, the dynamic I find myself in, is a real struggle.
WIAN: Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Well for every bad story out there, there's seems to be at least one good one. Not everyone is having the same problems with Obamacare. And they don't think it's a bad deal.
I spoke with one insured California couple who told me the Web site was easy to use and the new insurance plan cost them less than they ever expected.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Today, Kate and Justin Leeper aren't insured. Come January 1st, that will change.
KATE LEEPER, NOT INSURED: I recently changed jobs so I took a contract position where I don't have benefits.
MARQUEZ: Keeping up that previous insurance would have cost $1,500 a month -- too much. She tried private insurers, but the application process onerous.
(on camera): You would have to fill out paperwork.
KATE LEEPER: Not just paperwork but trying to remember every doctor visit you had for the last year and every like procedure or major issue you've had for the last 10 years.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): And another problem for the 35-year-olds who were healthy -- writer, actor, stuntman and husband, Justin.
(on camera): You are a vegetarian.
JUSTIN LEEPER, NOT INSURED: No meat, no dairy. Never had coffee. Don't drink soda. No alcohol. No drugs. Work out four times a week.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): He's a bit of a medical mystery, suffering a condition doctors so far can't diagnose.
JUSTIN LEEPER: That was usually enough for them to say no, we can't cover you.
MARQUEZ: So they logged on to Covered California.
NARRATOR: Welcome to Covered California.
MARQUEZ: 10,000 Californians now signing up daily.
KATE LEEPER: I didn't have to know a whole lot. I just put in some basic information, our Social Security numbers and birth dates.
MARQUEZ: The Web site, working as advertised, presented them 30 insurance options. (on camera): What's it going to cost you?
KATE LEEPER: About $500 a month, less than that.
MARQUEZ: For both of you?
KATE LEEPER: For both us.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): The actual quote, $467.
(on camera): What does it feel like to know you are covered?
KATE LEEPER: It's a relief.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Now, waiting for their first bill, they say the real test for Obamacare, the day they'll need to use it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ: Now, of course, anything created in Washington has politics behind it. That won't come as a shock to you. The health care law is no different.
Coming up next, we'll unravel the politics behind the law, and we'll find out if Obamacare and Obama himself can survive the politics of Washington.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: Well, today is the day the White House has said the problems with the Obamacare Web site are to be fixed for the vast majority of users, but will this fix the president's agenda? Can he get back on track with other issues he's promised upon his reelection?
Joining us to talk about it, someone from both sides of the political spectrum, Crystal Wright is editor of the conservative blackchick.com -- a blog. And Peter Fenn is a Democratic strategist and former advisor to Al Gore.
First question to you, Peter, if this thing works, is it just a blip on the radar, or does the President have bigger problems down the road?
PETER FENN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well I think if this works, it will solve a lot of problems for a lot of democrats. There's no question about it. You know, the proof is in the pudding, Miguel. The question really is, will we get over this hump with the Web site, and then will people sign up?
And right now, we're finding that a third of those signing up are between the ages of 18 to 35, which is basically what folks want, is a lot of young people to sign up for this program.
MARQUEZ: Yes.
Crystal, it has been just head-smacking how poorly this thing was done. I want to show you the "New Yorker" cover from a couple of weeks ago. He's just been lambasted by every body. There's Sebelius crossing her fingers. There's a computer geek putting a floppy disk into an old computer. And there's Obama on a cell phone from what looks like 1920, or something.
Crystal, do you share Peter's optimism? Do you think this is just a blip on the radar? Or is everyone in the Democratic Party going to pay in 2016?
CRYSTAL WRIGHT, CONSERVATIVE BLACK CHICK: Well, you know, yes, yes, 2014, you mean.
MARQUEZ: Yes.
WRIGHT: I share -- I share -- Peter and I were talking about this a little bit before we got on air, and Peter's right. You know, a lot is riding on Obamacare and getting it fixed. I'm not as optimistic as Peter that it's going to be fixed.
I mean let's face it, guys, there's been delays out of the Wazoo for this thing. First, the President delayed the individual mandate. Now we find out small businesses won't be able to go online and enroll until, what, another delay, a year.
So for the President to really go down in history as achieving something, he's going to have to make Obamacare work. And if he doesn't, remember, this is his only piece of legislation, his only policy piece really that he's been able to accomplish in the first term, and we know he's lame duck right now.
So I think it's D-Day, it's do or die, and when you say vast majority of users, Miguel, that's not everybody. So it's just, you know, it's a lot of holes in it. I'm not optimistic that we're not going to see the Web site crash, healthcare.gov crash again come Monday. Or tomorrow, December 1st.
MARQUEZ: Crystal, sticking with you for a second, we have another fiscal deadline coming up in the New Year. Do you think Republicans are going to push that again, or are they going to stick with bashing Obama on health care?
WRIGHT: Right, right. Well, Peter will probably agree with me on this. You know, we, as Republicans, have been given a gift with the failure of Obamacare, the rollout, if you will. And we always manage to screw up these gifts we are given from Democrats on a silver platter. I mean the government shutdown. It didn't have to go like that.
So I hope my Republican brethren have learned a lesson and they won't shut down the government again. I don't think they will in January. But I don't think we're going to achieve a massive budget deal, either. I think we're going to have another continuing resolution. I think the sequester will continue. I mean I just don't see -- you know, they're not going to shut it down again, right, guys?
MARQUEZ: Pretty rosy scenario -- pretty rosy. Peter, Peter, she has talked to you.
FENN: Look, I think -- look, I think the Republicans, Ted Cruz notwithstanding, have gotten somewhat smarter on this. But you know, look, at this point, when the President pardons this Thanksgiving Day turkey, or when he lights the Christmas tree in a week or so, they're going to say this is a diversion from Obamacare. That he doesn't want to talk about Obamacare.
WRIGHT: Right.
FENN: So, you know, I think that, you know, basically, both Crystal and I have the same sense, which is that if this -- if this does get fixed, if it does have a good rollout in the next year -- look, Bill Clinton said, you know, with this kind of complicated program, you know, you'll fix it year one, you'll fix it in year two, you'll fix it in year three, and that's I think what we're seeing.
But you need the public to appreciate what's happening, to be positive about it, not negative. So that's -- that's the big political question for the next 12 months.
MARQUEZ: And very quickly, then, does this really affect the 2014 midterms? Because there are very few seats up for grabs -- Peter.
FENN: Well, I think it could, yes, absolutely. I mean, look, I will say this as a Democrat, if this goes down in flames, if everybody is absolutely furious at Obama --
WRIGHT: Right.
FENN: -- if his numbers were where George Bush's were at the end of his term, we have real trouble holding the Senate and the House is tough, too.
MARQUEZ: Crystal, you disagree? Yes or no.
WRIGHT: No. No, Peter and I are agreeing a lot. I absolutely agree.
The Democrats are going to be in real trouble in 2014 if Obamacare doesn't rise up, ok, and actually work.
MARQUEZ: All right. All right. Thank you very much, both of you. And happy Thanksgiving.
WRIGHT: You, too.
FENN: Happy Thanksgiving.
MARQUEZ: While the President has to worry about Obamacare working properly, he's also looking ahead to what life might be like after he leaves the White House.
Last night, Mr. Obama told Barbara Walters that the family may stay in Washington when his term ends. That's because his youngest daughter will still be in high school. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- be in college but Sash will still be in high school.
MICHELLE OBAMA FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Still be in high school.
B. OBAMA: Still be a sophomore in high school.
BARBARA WALTERS, ABC HOST: So you may want to stay in Washington because of Sasha?
B. OBAMA: Well --
WALTERS: I don't want to pin you down but I am.
B. Obama: Let's put it this way. Sasha will have a big vote, and obviously, they and Michelle have made a lot of sacrifices on behalf of my cockamamie ideas of running for office and things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Sasha has the votes.
Coming up in the 3:00 hour, we will talk with an expert on first families. We'll get the inside scoop on what life's like for the Obamas at the White House. And what they talk about around the dinner table each night. That's at 3:00 Eastern right here on CNN. Next, the latest from Glasgow, on that overnight helicopter crash into a Scottish pub.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: Welcome back. Hope you're enjoying a turkey and cranberry sandwich, one of my personal favorites. I'm Miguel Marquez in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Police in Scotland now say at least eight people have been killed after a police helicopter crashed into a pub there earlier today. There was confirmation of only one death. Richard Quest has the latest from Glasgow, Scotland.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Miguel, according to one of Scotland's most senior politicians, this was the news they'd been dreading but expecting. Having spent most of the day with only one person confirmed dead, everybody knew that the number of fatalities would rise, and now they're saying eight people perished last night. Nor are they able to say whether that is the final total.
Because, as the head of police Scotland put it, the helicopter is in the middle of the building, and until they can remove it, they don't really know what's underneath, removing the helicopter going to be an extremely difficult, complex, and intricate operation. The building is unstable, and they want to ensure the maximum safety before they try any further operations. Finding out what happened and why the helicopter fell out of the sky in such a disastrous way last night, again, the police described that as a sensitive and complex investigation, one that will take many weeks, if not months. Tonight, though, in Scotland, the people are mourning the fact that eight people perished. The number may go higher, and flags in the country are at half-mast -- Miguel.
MARQUEZ: Thank you very much to Richard Quest. We still don't know whether there was any mayday from this helicopter before it went down. Terrible.
The U.S. is offering to take the most lethal parts of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile and destroy them at sea, paid for by the U.S. operation is expected to happen aboard a U.S. Navy ship. The chemicals going to be diluted to safer levels using a process called hydrolysis. The goal is to have the most dangerous chemicals removed from the country by December 31st.
Giving to people in need is a priority for many over the holiday season. Charities get a major portion of the donations between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but some of those groups make better use of their donations than others.
Drew Griffin takes us on an in in-depth look at a charity that only uses a tiny portion of its funds to actually help children.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Incredibly frustrating.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These former employees say they are afraid to show their faces because they are afraid of getting sued for telling what they say is the real truth behind the Kids' Wish Network. The charity raises millions and millions of dollars, $22 million just last year, according to its most recent tax filing, but uses less than 3 percent of that cash to fulfil wishes of sick children.
The Kids Wish Network does fulfill wishes, but these employees say, not by buying them with cash. The trips, the airline ticket, the amusement park tickets are all donated and that includes the toys and school supplies and clothes given away when "Kids Wish Network" holds events for sick children.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whatever we had in the warehouse we would try to fit to that age group that we were giving it to.
GRIFFIN (on camera): Was it basically company's leftovers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. That's what it seemed like, yes.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): So what happens to all the actual donated money? In ten years Kids Wish Network raised $127 million and nearly 90 percent of that money went to professional fundraisers, not sick kids. The sick kids, they got at most 2.5 cents of every dollar raised. The charity's attorney insists there is nothing illegal about the fundraising.
Maybe not, but this former marketing associate said there was something wrong to him about how they did it. At events where sick children were given the surplus goods, his job was to photograph the kids for promotional purposes, and he was told the sicker, the better.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They wanted the most sick kids, and I can understand a little bit where they were going, but my view maybe they should show the kids being satisfied. But not just upset, sad kids. That was my thought process, just never heard.
GRIFFIN (on camera): So they wanted sick kids.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what will make them the money.
GRIFFIN: Who told you that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anna.
GRIFFIN: The boss?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
GRIFFIN: The boss, Anna Lanzatella, runs the charity we've rated as the worst in the United States, and no, she's not talking.
(on camera): Hi, Drew Griffin with CNN.
ANNA LANZATELLA, KIDS WISH NETWORK: Hi, Drew, nice to see you.
GRIFFIN: Nice to see you. Can we just ask you some questions about the ratings that have come out --
LANZATELLA: No, I'm sorry, there have been so many misleading reports that have been made we asked our attorneys to look into everything.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Local news channels and the Tampa Florida area have done several reports. Last year the city of Savannah, Georgia cancelled a Kids Wish Network event after Savannah's mayor criticized the charity's practices. But still people give millions and millions believing the dollars will help sick children when in truth, it is literally pennies of the dollars being used.
(on camera): Does it surprise you that after all the reporting done on this group they are still in business?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It surprises me every single day.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Drew Griffin, CNN, St. Petersburg, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ: Amazing. It is rivalry weekend here in college football and it doesn't get any bigger than this, number one, Alabama versus number four, Auburn, an iron clad classic, a preview next in "Bleacher Report."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: Well, November's been a record for the stocks. The Dow passed 16,000 for the first time ever, and the Nasdaq crossed the 4,000 mark for the first time in years. What does it mean for your pocketbook? Let's turn to business correspondent, Alison Kosik, in New York.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miguel. It's been a stellar week for stocks, even with the short week, because of the Thanksgiving holiday, stocks climbed to record highs. The Nasdaq passed the 4,000 mark for the first time in 13 years, and both the Dow and the S&P 500 hit new highs.
But Americans aren't feeling the wealth. A new CNN/ORC poll finds 59 percent think things are going badly in the country, and 39 percent believe the economy is still in a downturn. Holiday shopping is now in full swing. Stores open their doors for Black Friday, even earlier this year. Many on Thanksgiving night, an estimated 140 million people are shopping this weekend.
And people are also shopping for homes. Home prices continued to climb in the third quarter, up 11 percent year over year. That's the first double digit gain since early 2006.
And Men's Wearhouse is bidding $1.5 billion or $55 a share for JoS. A. Bank. Earlier this month, it was the smaller rival, JoS. A. Bank, trying to buy Men's Wearhouse. Alison Kosik, CNN, New York.
MARQUEZ: Thanks, Alison.
The NFL is trying to determine if the coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers crossed the line by getting a little too close to the action. Jared Greenberg is with us with the "Bleacher Report" this morning. What's going on there?
JARED GREENBERG, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, a ballerina or a gymnast, not likely in the future of Mike Tomlin. You know, with a few less dollars in his bank account, that's probably more realistic future of Mike Tomlin these days. The NFL reportedly looking into Tomlin coming so close to interfering with Ravens' return man, Jacobi Jones during Thursday night's game.
Now in the seventh year, and we say that because he's not a rookie on the sidelines. Pittsburgh Head Coach Mike Tomlin said he got caught up watching the jumbotron. He wasn't flagged on the field for a penalty. However, the league could levy a fine or even a suspension. We'll keep our eye on that. The biggest college football game of the year is now less than four hours away.
The iron bowl doesn't need the pomp and circumstance to draw the attention of locals and fans. However, for the first time in this tradition-rich rivalry, Alabama and Auburn will meet as number one versus number four. The winner punches a ticket to the SEC championship game. Alabama doesn't like Auburn, and Auburn has no love lost for Alabama, and you know it doesn't get any better than that, Miguel.
Trending right now on bleacherreport.com, the Bobcats have done enough to harm their fans over the years. Last night, Gerald Henderson may have taken it too far. No teammate within a mile of Henderson's pass, and a fan gets drilled in the head. She have would be OK, just a physical bruise to go along with the emotional scars of routing for the Bobcats over the years.
All kidding aside though, Henderson felt terrible and attempted to reached out via Twitter, right after the game, Henderson wrote, nailed the lady tonight with a pass. If you follow me on Twitter, please tweet me, I know that hurt, I'm not that good of a passer. I am so sorry. Henderson known more as a scorer, Miguel, not as much as a passer.
MARQUEZ: I don't know if a tweet is going to work. Nailing a lady may not have been the best choice of Twitter words.
GREENBERG: No, she was checked by -
MARQUEZ: She looked like she got clocked.
GREENBERG: Yes, at first, it looked scary.
MARQUEZ: Went down, as well.
GREENBERG: Medical personnel came over, and we found/by talking to the Bobcats, she returned to her seat and watched the entire game from her seat.
MARQUEZ: Jared Greenberg, thank you very much.
GREENBERG: You got it. Enjoy the football Saturday.
MARQUEZ: A good one.
It's a technology, oops, we've all probably experienced in the past, but this case led to an arrest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been here now for 25 years. I never recall a time to when a subject has accidentally, if you going to, butt-dialled someone, they're either trying to commit a crime against or the possible victim of a crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: The butt-dialling. Wait until you hear what the alleged crime was. The story just moments away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) MARQUEZ: Favorite story of the week here. Can you imagine getting a phone call and hearing someone plotting to kill you? An Arkansas man said that happened to him. He says a former employee butt dialled him. I just loved saying that on the air as the ex-worker was hiring a hitman. Allison Munn with our affiliate KAIT in Jonesboro, Arkansas, has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLISON MUNN, KAIT REPORTER (voice-over): Jonesboro Police say unbeknownst to Larry Barnett, while he was hiring someone to kill his former employee, he let the target in on it and explained in detail how and why he wanted it done. Sergeant Doug Formon with the Jonesboro Police Department says it started when Barnett, who owns Legend Motor Company on South Stadium Boulevard accidentally called his former employee.
SGT. DOUG FORMON, JONESBORO POLICE: And basically, he overheard a conversation between that individual and another unknown male, in that he was giving out his personal information, his address, where he lives.
MUNN: According to the probable cause affidavit, Barnett told the supposed hitman, "I don't care if you have to burn his house to the ground with him in it. Make it look like an accident." From there, the target called JPD, but since he lives in Green County, they were called in to assist. When they arrived at the intended target's home, the call had been going on for an hour and a half.
FORMON: The conversation on the phone had already ended, but the phone call was still active to Mr. Barnett's cell phone. It seems it didn't take long for the hit man to act so he would pay this man $5,000 up front and the remainder when the job was done. His reasoning behind the murder for hire plot?
The target says he overheard Barnett said I owe the little son of a blank a bunch of money and if he's gone I don't have to pay it. During an interview with police, Barnett admitted to mistakenly calling the admitted victim as well as discussing the phone number and address to that man.
FORMON: I never recall a time in 25 years when a subject has accidentally, if you going to, butt-dialled someone they're trying to commit something against and accidentally called them. No, I've never seen that happen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ: All right, so criminals aren't exactly brilliant, but we have two brilliant legal experts with us now, Avery Friedman and Richard Herman. How are you guys?
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hi, Miguel.
MARQUEZ: Richard, ever heard anything like this before? HERMAN: You know, Miguel, in the book of moron, this is absolutely chapter number 1. I have never heard of this before. Sometimes you hear about it with spouses or loved ones cheating on the other ones they pick up conversations. This is insanity. You've got conspiracy to commit murder here. When the attorneys not readily available for comment, that's a good sign there's a big problem and there is one now.
MARQUEZ: Avery, does it sound like an open and shut butt case, something, I don't know.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Nice one. Must be a variation because if that guy -- if Larry Barnett had that phone in his back pocket it would have been pulverized. But in any event, the victim heard it, 90 minutes, Miguel, if you can imagine. If the elements of conspiracy, two or more, planning to commit a murder, one an overt act. They meet the definition. Whether it's open and shut remains to be seen but man, man, it looks like a strong one.
MARQUEZ: It's open and shut. I'd hate to be against attorney. Guys, don't move. We have more coming up from another stunning story. A company has gone after a woman for writing a negative review online. They're trying to make her pay literally.
The family of an 11-year-old Amish girl with leukemia is in hiding. They've been a legal battle when the parents stopped their daughter's chemo treatments and using alternative medicine instead. As Nick Valencia reports, they're now claiming she is cancer-free.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Can holistic medicine cure cancer? The Ohio family of an 11-year-old Amish girl with leukemia says yes, according to their attorney.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (via telephone): The alternative treatments they've been pursuing have been very effective. She's had CAT scans down and those show that the cancer has significantly receded or may even be gone.
VALENCIA: But doctors at Akron Children's Hospital may not get the chance to see if she's cancer-free. Why? The family is now in hiding, refusing to comply with a court order to treat their daughter with conventional medicine. Her last chemotherapy treatment was in June. Doctors say if she's not treated again soon, she'll likely die.
DR. ROBERT MCGREGOR, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, AKRON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: At this point, we don't know to what extent the disease has become more aggressive or whether we really did get a little bit of a stall with the first round of chemotherapy. With treatment, it would be continuous from the time she presented. She has an 85 percent chance of five-year survival.
VALENCIA: The girl's father says his daughter's future is in God's hands.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our belief is natural stuff going to do as much as what that does if it's God's will.
MARQUEZ: Born and raised in Ohio's rural Amish country, the family of the 11-year-old has not been seen since this summer. Their lawyer says they left the U.S. to pursue alternative treatment abroad. She says it comes down to a parent's right to choose how they want to care for their sick child.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not just a constitutional right, but the moral right to refuse conventional medical treatment that carry their own risks that may be as great as the harm from the disease itself.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If we do chemotherapy and she would happen to die, she would probably suffer more if we do it this way and she dies.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VALENCIA: But with no proven track record of success using alternative treatment, doctors say the little girl's time is running out. Miguel, the attorney for the family going to be on at 2:00 p.m., lots of questions there that you can ask him.
MARQUEZ: Lots of question. Thanks very much, Nick Valencia. Take care.
Coming up next, one woman's amazing story of her near-death experience, hear what happens when she lay dying of cancer in ICI. Her riveting account next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: Well, everyone has their own vision of what heaven might be. Over my shoulder, you see how the director of the film "Resurrection" sees it. Tomorrow Anderson Cooper has the story of those who say they've seen it. A woman in the final throes of stage 4 lymphoma, comatose, she says she was given a choice to return to living or die. Her dramatic story is one of three told in the AC special report "To Heaven and Back." Our Randi Kaye has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: You could still see your husband. How was he reacting to the fact that you were in this coma and he thought he was losing you?
ANITA MOORJANI: He was very distraught. He was there by my bedside. He was holding my hand, and I could feel he was going toing me to come back.
KAYE: And you had a choice to make.
MOORJANI: I had a choice as to whether to come back or not. At first, I absolutely did not want to come back because why would I want to come back into this sick and dying body? But then it was as though in the next moment I understood why I had the cancer. All the years of beating myself up, feeling flawed, had turned my own energy against me and manifested as cancer. KAYE: Fear in a way poisoned your body.
MOORJANI: Yes, it did. And I understood that now that I knew this, my body would heal.
KAYE: You had this huge revelation. And Sony and your father both affirmed what needed to be done.
MOORJANI: Both of them said to me, go back and live your life fearlessly. And it was around that time that I started to come back.
KAYE: So how long were you in the coma?
MOORJANI: About 30 hours. I was in the intensive care unit, but within four days, they were able to take off the oxygen. They were able to take out the food tube and the tumor shrunk by 70 percent.
KAYE: And the doctors, they kept testing you, right? They kept looking for cancer. They kept treating you.
MOORJANI: They were saying, there's no way that cancer disappears like that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ: "To Heaven and Back" an Anderson Cooper special report airs tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
We have much more ahead in the NEWSROOM and that all starts right now.
