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Mother and Son on the Run to Evade Medical Treatment; Abuse of Special-Needs Children; GPS on the Blink?; Celebrating the Life of John Lennon; Environmental Volunteer Opportunities for Returning War Veterans; Packing Heat in the Park

Aired May 20, 2009 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to tell you exactly what happened to Cedric's teacher in just a minute. But first, imagine this -- your 4-year-old daughter has cerebral palsy and is diagnosed autistic. You drop her off at school, where unbeknownst to you, someone uses leather straps to tie her down in a seat that resembles a mini electric chair. Your little girl ends up badly bruised and suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress.

This is just one of the nightmare scenarios laid out in that GAO report that we just mentioned. And believe it or not, in 10 cases involving criminal or civil action, five of those teachers are still in education.

Let's bring in Gregory Kutz. He's managing director of Forensic Audits and Investigations at the GAO.

And we are going to talk about Cedric's teacher in just a minute, the fact that she was allowed to be put back in the classroom. We'll update that in a second.

But Greg, first, I want to ask you, when did you this report, what do you think was the most shocking thing that you discovered?

GREG KUTZ, MANAGING DIRECTOR, GAO FRAUD AUDITS AND SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT: The age of some of the children. I'm a father of a 4-year-old girl, and four of the 18 children whose cases we investigated were preschool kids, 4 years old. So, the fact that people were strapping these kids up, secluding them in closets, and abusing, in some cases, torturing them, at that age seems completely out of line.

PHILLIPS: Were you also shocked not only with the actions that were taking place in the classrooms at the hands of these teachers with special-needs kids, but the fact that there were no standards or laws or any type of action that could protect them once it was discovered it was happening?

KUTZ: I wasn't shocked at that. I mean, we looked at residential programs for troubled youth over the last two years and found the same thing, a loose configuration of state laws and regulations. In some cases, states had prohibitions of the use, for example, of prone restraint. In other cases, states had no laws or regulations that addressed these issues. PHILLIPS: So, what -- it's just astounding, but what do you hope that your report can now lead to? I mean, could this -- finally, what we heard yesterday and, finally, with your report, you think Congress will be forced to act?

KUTZ: Well, I think public awareness is the first step here. And your network and others have put this on the map here, and I believe, with the United States of America, these are human rights violations in some instances and torture and abuse of children, especially disabled children. That just should not be tolerated in this country.

PHILLIPS: All right. So, what needs to happen? After doing this report, after all of us sitting and listening to the testimony on behalf of these parents, the parents that lost kids to this type of abuse, what should be done on a national level? What could really make a difference in stopping this type of behavior?

KUTZ: Well, it needs to be focusing on prevention, preventing this from happening to children in the first place, teaching people about the use of these types of mechanisms, possibly a national type of registry of people that have abuse and neglected children. Those are the types of things that need to be looked at.

I don't have the solution, necessarily, but it's something that needs to be addressed. And whether it's federal or improved state, it's something that I know that the committee is going to take a look at.

PHILLIPS: Are you still collecting information? Are there parents or advocacy groups that are still reaching out to you since all this coverage has come forward?

KUTZ: Yes, we've gotten a lot of information from parents, advocacy groups, parents of victims or the people that have known parents of victims. And certainly, it appears -- you know, we had reported in our testimony hundreds of allegations. It's looking like it will approach thousands if we keep getting this information from these parents and advocacy groups.

PHILLIPS: And so what -- now, I know you have a Web site. It's FraudNet@GAO.gov. You can write in and tell your story, and even lets you know of criminal acts that maybe going on. Correct?

KUTZ: Yes, we have a hotline, and it's something that we use for tips, for fraud, waste and abuse, and other improprieties. And it's something certainly people can contact us on.

PHILLIPS: OK.

So, finally, you know -- and this is probably -- this may be too much of a -- kind of a broad question for you, but I'm just going to put it out there, because I've got a mom who has been working within special ed for decades. And, you know, she said that as soon as you get into a bad economy, or as soon as there is budget cuts, or as soon as there is a tough time in the state, you know, the first thing to go, besides the music programs and the art programs, it's the special ed training and classes. KUTZ: Yes, I'm not aware of those cuts, but again, training is very important here, and particularly with respect to children with disabilities. There are many more challenges.

You're talking about autistic children, children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Some have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. These people need special attention and specially trained teachers, and they deserve our best.

PHILLIPS: Well, Greg Kutz, we sure appreciate your report. We're glad that somebody did it, glad it was you. And we were glad that there were hearings yesterday. We're going to continue to follow up.

KUTZ: Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: Well, we want to update you now on the case of Toni Price's foster son, Cedric, that we have been telling you about since yesterday, who died after his teacher, Dawn Marie Hamilton, forced him down and sat on him. She soon left the state, moved to Virginia, and actually resumed teaching.

Well, we just learned that the GAO -- and that's who we just talked to, Greg Kutz there, from the GAO -- actually contacted a Virginia schools official before releasing that abuse report that we have been talking about. Well, Ms. Hamilton was placed on administrative leave with pay last week.

And one more note. The U.S. secretary of Education has now asked for state education officials to report to him on the use of seclusion and restraint. And you can see the entire GAO report on child restraints and seclusion. Just log on to our blog, CNN.com/newsroom, click on "Kyra." You can read the whole report.

We first broke this shocking story weeks ago right here in the NEWSROOM -- mentally disabled people at a state school in Corpus Christi, Texas, forced by employees to fight each other. Five nightshift workers, now former employees, were arraigned yesterday on felony charges, pleading not guilty. A sixth defendant still faces arraignment.

Well, you'll want to be right here in the NEWSROOM tomorrow, when we will have an exclusive interview with one of the victims of this brutal fight club.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A big setback today for President Obama. The Senate voted to deny him money to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and block the transfer of Gitmo detainees to the United States. You may recall in one of his first moves in office, the president vowed to close Gitmo by next January.

Also today, a federal judge ruled the U.S. can hold Gitmo detainees indefinitely without charging them.

President Obama speaks on his plans for Gitmo tomorrow. It's set to begin at 10:10 a.m. Eastern. We'll bring that to you live.

And just 20 minutes later, Dick Cheney touches on one of his favorite topics of late: keeping America safe. It's live on CNN, beginning at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.

Green energy, new jobs, new regulations all on the table today as President Obama convened the first meeting of his Economic Recovery Advisory Board. It's a lot of big names, big thinkers, putting in a lot more than two cents on the economic crisis of the moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK H. OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They are helping to advise us in our approach to the financial regulations, a regulatory regime that we are looking to put before Congress this year. They're helping us in thinking about employment, manufacturing. There is a whole host of issues that this group is providing wonderful expertise for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: It turns out there's more to green energy than economics, or even the environment. It's also helping vets get back to civilian life after months at war. We're going to hear their stories later this hour.

Now to those banks that didn't quite pass their government stress tests. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner telling lawmakers that banks have already raised $48 billion of the $75 billion that the Fed told them that they needed. He also says that banks that passed their tests have raised about $8 billion to partially repay their bailouts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIMOTHY GEITHNER, TREASURY SECRETARY: Today I'm pleased to report that there are encouraging signs that the financial system starting to heal. Concern about systemic risk has diminished and overall credit conditions have started to improve. These are welcomed signs, but we have a long way to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Geithner says that repaid bailout money will go back into the fund for other bailouts.

Richard Ramirez, the serial killer known as the "The Night Stalker"; Scott Peterson, the convicted murderer of his pregnant wife, Laci, infamous killers that may not have a home if San Quentin Prison is sold. This is just one proposal that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has pitched to try and help close the state's huge budget deficit.

Voters defeated five of his six budget propositions in a special election already, and the sole proposal that did pass says that lawmakers can't get raises while the state has a deficit. So now the governor says that bigger cuts have to be made, so he says closing San Quentin and other state-owned properties could raise up to $1 billion to help with that deficit. He also talked about cutting tens of thousands of jobs in education and laying off nearly 5,000 state employees.

What happens if the global positioning system goes down? Will your phone calls get through, and will you get lost on the highway? Will your bank transactions get messed up?

Well, ,those questions today after a government warning that the GPS satellite network needs updating.

Here is CNN's Elaine Quijano.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From cars...

OPERATOR: Rescue 911. May I help you?

QUIJANO: ... to emergency call centers, the global positioning system has transformed the way Americans live and work. But a report by the Government Accountability Office says some military and civilian users of GPS could be adversely affected unless the Air Force, which maintains the system, gets new replacement satellites soon.

ALAN CAMERON, GPS WORLD: Some of the satellites on orbit have been up there since 1992. They have lived well beyond their design life. It's anybody's guess as to when some of them might fail.

QUIJANO: Expert says for most people, a failure would have no discernible impact on, say, getting directions to the local coffee shop. But military operations need accuracy down to centimeters.

Congressman John Tierney, who sits on the House Oversight Committee, says that could affect national security.

REP. JOHN TIERNEY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: We don't want to take the risk of having the wrong blind spot at the wrong time.

QUIJANO (on camera): Congressman Tierney says that is why he recently held a hearing on the matter, to keep government officials on schedule and on budget for maintaining the GPS satellite. Now, in a statement, Air Force officials said they are committed to maintaining at least their current level of service while striving to improve service and capability through ongoing modernization efforts.

Elaine Quijano, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BUSINESS REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Also, it's a touching new exhibit about John Lennon's life and death. We're going to tell you what Yoko Ono made sure was on display to draw attention to gun violence. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

PHILLIPS: Music man, Beatle icon, victim of senseless tragedy. A new exhibit now open in New York celebrates the life of the late John Lennon.

Our Lola Ogunnaike talks with Yoko Ono as they walk down memory lane.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: He purchased this at an Army surplus store in New York...

YOKO ONO, JOHN LENNON'S WIDOW: Yes, a surplus store. Yes.

OGUNNAIKE: ... but it was one of his favorite pieces.

ONO: Yes. And he wore this when he first met my parents in Tokyo.

OGUNNAIKE: He wore that to meet your parents?

ONO: And he was like this, various (ph) attitude, you know.

OGUNNAIKE: How did New York change him as a musician?

ONO: He would tell you that he hasn't changed at all. He was like a New Yorker from the time that he was in Liverpool.

OGUNNAIKE: These videos, they just must take you right back to that moment.

ONO: Oh, I know.

OGUNNAIKE: You know, there are a number of people who come in here, and they just sit down and they're riveted. They can't take their eyes off the screen.

ONO: He had many talents. He -- you know, he was a video maker, he was an artist, and he was a musician. And also, he was a peacemaker, of course.

OGUNNAIKE: This is obviously one of the most important pieces of this exhibit. Why did you decide to showcase this photo and the bag that his belongings were brought to you in?

ONO: This came back from the coroner's office. They gave me this brown paper bag. And the brown paper bag just sat on my lap. And I just felt like it's very strange that this guy who was like the king of the world, you know, just turned into a brown paper bag.

OGUNNAIKE: He had this amazing life, traveled the world, touched people across the planet, and it all came down to a brown paper bag.

ONO: Yes, I know. I know. (MUSIC)

OGUNNAIKE: So, he would wake up in the middle of the night and just start playing? How did you deal with that when you were sleeping?

ONO: Well, I'm an artist too. I didn't mind it. I mean, I would say, "Oh, maybe that chord or maybe you can..." Or whatever.

OGUNNAIKE: Like, oh, honey, C minor, I think that's better.

This is his most popular song.

ONO: I know.

OGUNNAIKE: But I thought it was so interesting that you had a lot to do with this song.

ONO: Well, I was there.

OGUNNAIKE: Well, look what he said.

ONO: Well, he said that.

OGUNNAIKE: But he said, "Yoko actually helped a lot with the lyrics, but I wasn't man enough to let her have credit."

ONO: Well, look, I mean, you know, it's his song. OK?

OGUNNAIKE: But it's your song, too.

ONO: Yes. Yes, in spirit, yes.

OGUNNAIKE: OK.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Lola, that's what I love about you. You know exactly the right questions to ask, and you just really saw her humble heart there. You really did.

OGUNNAIKE: Yes, you did see her humble heart there. And you know, I have to say, Kyra, there's so many things that have been said about her, but I found her utterly delightful. And she was so open about how she felt about John and their relationship, and she was also very clear about how she feels about gun control.

She thinks there needs to be stricter laws regarding gun control. She was unabashed about it. And that's really -- that was really the driving force behind this exhibit. That's why she showed the bloody glasses. That's why she had the bag that contained his belongings that were brought to her, because she really wants to drive that message home.

PHILLIPS: And I don't think anybody -- we've never seen the glasses like that, up close. I mean, we've never even heard her talk about her react to the fact that there she was, sitting there with this paper bag in her lap, and that's everything that her husband turned into for that moment. Yet, it's incredible to this day, how you pointed out, people still come, no matter what their age, where they come from. They still cry, they are still drawn in by him.

I mean, it's really pretty amazing.

OGUNNAIKE: Kyra, they said busloads have pulled up to this museum to see this exhibit. People were crying, people were singing along with the lyrics.

I spoke to a number of people, and they told me exactly where they were when they heard that he had passed away, that he had been killed. They were watching "Monday Night Football," they were in their kitchen cooking. Everyone had a story. It's one of those days that people have indelibly printed in their heads.

PHILLIPS: You know, you appreciate so many different types of cultures and music. When you were going through there and spending time with her, I mean, I could tell that you really enjoyed being with her. But was there anything else in the exhibit that moved you, or anything else that's featured in that exhibit that we should know about?

OGUNNAIKE: Well, you know I'm a fashion girl.

PHILLIPS: Yes, you are.

OGUNNAIKE: He had a smoking jacket that he used to wear all the time, apparently, and he had an Elvis pin attached to it. And I just thought that was the coolest thing. I mean, who walks around New York City with a smoking jacket and an Elvis pin attached to it?

Apparently, he was an Elvis fan, so he wore it on his chest, on his heart. So there you have it.

PHILLIPS: Well, it was a fabulous piece. I really enjoyed it. Thanks, Lola.

OGUNNAIKE: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, another story that we have been talking about all afternoon, and that is of this 13-year-old boy that has been stricken within cancer. He is from Minnesota, and it's reigniting the debate over parents' rights, why he and his mom are now on the run from the chemo that could save his life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY HAUSER, SON EVADING CHEMOTHERAPY: I'd like to tell him, you know, come back and be safe and be a family again. That's what I would like to tell him.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: That plea from Anthony Hauser as police search for his wife and cancer-stricken son. This just in. It's an interview that he just conducted with CNN.

Hauser believes his wife and son have left the country. Colleen Hauser skipped a child welfare hearing, fled with her son to escape court-ordered chemo for the boy's Hodgkin's lymphoma. Doctors say the treatment could save his life.

Let's go ahead and get to CNN's Chris Welch, who just interviewed the father.

Chris, what else did he tell you?

CHRIS WELCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra.

Well, when I talked to Anthony just a short time ago, Mr. Hauser is now saying he believes that his son, his 13-year-old boy, and his wife may have, in fact, fled the country. He's not saying specifically where he thinks they may be, but he says he does have ideas.

He said he knows of someone who they may be with and he said he's made a call to them, but he's not telling anyone anything else as far as who this person may be, where they may be. I mean, Canada is hours away from here in Minnesota, but he's not even going as far as saying that they are, in fact, in Canada.

But, he is, at this point, saying he thinks they are not in the United States.

PHILLIPS: And so, OK, so -- to this point, is he wanting his son to get the chemo or not?

WELCH: Well, where he stands today with this, he's basically saying he's comfortable with a combination of the alternative medicines that they had turned to and a low-dose chemotherapy regimen.

Now, if the doctors come back and say no, we want to do more than low dose because he needs it, Anthony Hauser says, no that's not going to be good enough and he doesn't want his son to take part in that.

But again, if, you know, if the mother and son return, technically, he is, at this point, now under the custody of Brown County. So whether or not it will -- the parents will have any say when they return, if they return, who knows.

PHILLIPS: Chris Welch, appreciate it.

Now for more on the Hauser's case, here's our Randi Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Take a good look at this boy. His name is Daniel Hauser. At just 13 years old, he's on the run. Running from court-ordered treatment for his cancer. If the law doesn't find him soon, he could die. Diagnosed in January, with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, doctors say he likely won't survive without chemotherapy and radiation. But that treatment is why he and his mom were a no-show at a welfare hearing. Daniel and his family were supposed to bring the results of his latest chest X- ray to court, but only the boy's father showed up. He told the judge he last saw his wife Monday evening. He said she'd left her cell phone behind and he doesn't know where they are. A family friend who came to support them was shocked.

DAN ZWAKMAN, HOUSER FAMILY FRIEND: It was probably a case of stress upon the family. They're not accustomed to this type of thing. The courtroom is pretty intimidating to them. They're a close family that sticks pretty much to themselves.

KAYE: Still, the judge ordered that Daniel be apprehended and issued an arrest warrant for his mom. This all stems from the family's beliefs. They are Roman Catholic, but follow the beliefs of some Native Americans, who only approve of natural healing.

COLLEEN HAUSER, MOTHER: It is our religious freedom and right to do this.

KAYE: So, instead of chemotherapy, Daniel has been treated with herbal supplements, vitamins and ionized water. This was Daniel on the family farm not long before he disappeared.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm feeling really great lately.

KAYE: But Daniel's doctor said his cancer has spread significantly.

Last week, Daniel's mom testified she didn't believe her son was in any medical danger. But the judge ruled Daniel had been medically neglected and against his parents wishes, ordered Daniel to undergo chemotherapy.

C. HAUSER: We're a simple, honest family. We not out to harm anybody. We never -- this is just our way of life and why people weren't want to infringe on it, I don't know.

KAYE: Daniel tried chemotherapy once but later told the judge he believes it had would kill him and that if anyone tried to force it on him, he'd punch and kick them.

The judge ruled Daniel did not understand the treatment's benefits, in part, because his reading and writing skills are extremely limited.

(on camera): If and when Daniel is found, the judge ordered he be placed in protective custody so he can get proper medical treatment. Doctors have said Daniel had a 90% chance of survival with that treatment. Without it, they say, there's just a 5% chance he'll survive.

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: Daniel Hauser's emotional story is touching off a huge debate among the legal ramifications of refusing treatment. Listen to the fiery comments that it set off last night on CNN's "ANDERSON COOPER 360."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE OF UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you compel treatment it has to be something that's well established and proven. This is. Chemotherapy success rate for the cancer that this boy has, if we can get it going soon is about 95%. It's very, very good. You wouldn't push this hard if you had an experimental treatment or something that was iffy.

Other fact, if you look at the situation with the chemotherapy, the alternative the parents proposed is well known to have a success rate of zero. So, sometimes you can say well, you know, the parents propose surgery, we propose chemo, let's go with what they want first. We got a cure. You've got to move to save this child's life. Parental rights are strong, but they do have a limit when you're basically sacrificing your child for religious beliefs that they, themselves, can't articulate.

JEFFERY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Often times, prosecutors exercise their discretion and say look, they have lost the child, they've suffered enough. But the point is not to prosecute later. It's so save the kid now. That's the focus of everybody's effort.

And what makes this case so excruciating is that you have a real cure here, 90-plus percent and a zero percent chance for the others. So, as Art was saying, this one is a particularly easy case. Sometimes you have cases where there's only a 10 percent chance of saving the child and the parents just want to take the kid home and, you know, do hospice care. That's an understandable situation under circumstances. This is not. This is, as far as I'm concerned, just child abuse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Other parents have battled the courts over medical care for their children with mixed results.

Our Tom Foreman takes a look at the sometimes tumultuous struggles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four years ago, Katie Wernaki (ph) walked out of the Houston hospital after being separated from her family by state authorities for five months because her parents would not approve radiation treatment for her Hodgkin's disease.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't need radiation treatment and nobody asked me what I wanted. It's my body. FOREMAN: Katie's parents believe the treatment could hurt her and wanted to pursue alternatives, including specialized nutrition plans. A judge listened and overruled the state, saying the parents should decide.

DARRELL AZAR, TEXAS DEPT. OF FAMILY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES: We don't question the motives. We believe they want the best for their child. However, we had to disagree with their judgment and all the medical experts who are involved here did as well.

FOREMAN: Over the past 20 years, numerous cases have pitted the beliefs of parents against authorities charged with protecting child welfare.

In Virginia, a family faced neglect charges for having their son's cancer treated with herbal remedies. But, a judge cleared the parents of neglect and allowed them to pursue alternative treatment.

In Idaho, a little girl was given an emergency spinal tap despite her parents' objections. And in New York, Shirley Chang says she was twice taken from her mother over disputes over medical care. Today, she is an outspoken critic of laws that gift states such power. (on camera): That power comes from a World War II legal case. A Jehovah's Witness in Massachusetts, was charged with violating labor laws for having her 9-year-old niece distribute religious pamphlets at night. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, where the justices said, parents and guardians have rights, but when it comes to work and health, those rights are limited.

(voice-over): The right to practice religious freedom, the court said, does not include liberty to expose the community or the child to communicable diseases or the latter to ill health or death. A ruling that was decided by a single vote more than 60 years ago and remains controversial still.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, we want to hear what you think. Should parents have the right to withhold life saving medical treatment if they're against their beliefs?

You can comment on my blog at CNN.com/newsroom, or send me a tweet at twitter.com/kyracnn.

Take a good look at this artist's rendition. Police in Albuquerque, New Mexico, say it's the little boy found buried in a public playground. They don't know who he is or how he died or why he was left there. Police estimate that the boy was 3 or 4 years old, either Hispanic or Native American, and they need your help.

Well, for some vets of Iraq and Afghanistan, it's more difficult than combat. We'll tell you about one program helping some of them get their feet back on the ground.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: As we mentioned earlier, we got a new feature for you, one that aims to take the edge off hard news and perhaps give you a little bit of a lift. This one about a unique program that aims to help our vets of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan make the adjustment back to life at home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's one of the restoration projects -- today, working on the river, getting rod of the species, just restoring it to a more natural, native setting

My name is John Shore (ph). I spent six years in the military Army. Deployed to Iraq two times. First time, I was a sniper. I like the working outside, doing something with my hands, helping to restore the environment. The environment needs us, we need it. It's a win-win. Working around Veterans, other people I can talk to, just felt more comfortable dealing with people I was used to, as opposed to jumping straight into civilian life. Made an easier transition.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vets need -- a lot of the combat returning vets need something in their life. They feel that sense of loss, of sense of disorientation that -- what is meaningful, you know? After seeing people die around them and friends die and maybe other people. And if you don't have a new mission to go back and create for yourself or someone help you create it then can go a lot of bad ways.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Kyle Lemieux (ph). I was in the service for just about six years. I went to two deployments in Iraq. My first one was about a year long. It was up north, (INAUDIBLE). I want to go to school. Getting a job is not a good idea because they're probably going to go out of business or -- you know, you think about it.

You're a lot more cautious nowadays. Especially guys coming out of the Military at this time, it's horrible. I mean, there's a lot of guys that are reenlisting now because they don't want to do what I'm doing. It helps me out because it gives me something to do. And it gets me out there for volunteer work. It's hands on, it's a stress reliever, very big stress reliever. You know, if I'm having issues, that day, I don't have them. I definitely don't have them. Even out here volunteering, I'm still able to learn a lot -- a lot of things that maybe I don't really learn in class. And coming out here and you've got all your buddies next to you and there's no other place I'd rather be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, if you'd like more information on this program, you can go to the Washington State Department of Veteran Affairs web site. That's dva.wa.gov.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead -- struggling family just weeks away from foreclosure. Find out how they got out of their mortgage mess. It's going to give you a little bit of hope, I bet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: New fallout from the dry wall that seems to be rotting new homes and making had homeowners sick. It's made in China, and now the EPA has found evidence to back up some of the claims. Scientists tested the wallboard in two homes in Florida and found sulfur along with compounds associated with acrylic paint. None of that stuff was found in American dry wall, by the way. Several agencies are investigating complaints the Chinese product is causing near constant illnesses among families who live with it. There are also reports that the dry wall is corroding copper pipes and blackening jewelry and silverware. Congress is also holding hearings.

In CNN NEWSROOM, we have covered stories about so many of you in some pretty bad situations and that's why we really want to get your stories out there and directly connect to you a possible job, home, better mortgage, getting out of debt. Our goal is to try to and make a difference in your lives as we all struggle through this brutal economy.

And this leads me to Nicole Botkin. I interviewed her back in March. She's a mother of three and was very close to foreclosure. Her mortgage rate was high and her self-employed husband's business had dried up in the bad economy. Her failed efforts to negotiate with her mortgage company were frustrating.

Well, Nicole's luck has changed and we get to report the good news for a change. She e-mailed us this week to tell us that after she appeared on CNN NEWSROOM, that her mortgage company began the process of a loan modification. Her rate is now almost half of what it was and her payment has dropped significantly.

This is what Nicole wrote to us, "We can now afford groceries, I'm ever so grateful... We purchased the home with the hope of our grandchildren visiting us here, and that has become more of a reality now than it was two months ago."

Thanks, Nicole, for sharing your story.

So, on that positive note, I want to plug our "30-Second Pitch" as well, our way of connecting job seekers with potential employers. If you have lost your job and want to be part of the pitch, we want to hear from you. You can reach us through our blog, CNN.com/newsroom or you can send a tweet to kyraCNN.

As always, "Team Sanchez" back there working so hard for his money.

What are you working on, Rick?

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: I'm talking to Vince (ph), he's telling me all about something having to do with our show. And he didn't know that the Kyra Phillips at the time was talking to me as well. So let me give you a little bit of my intention. Listen, we have got this unbelievable video that's coming in right now. I want to share this with our viewers, go ahead and hit that if you can. This is incredible. There has finally been a ruling on this case that has been so debated. Watch that cop out there trying to put one of those -- whoa, yes, this is bad. And the guy who is driving that car, he is doing 20 years. But unfortunately, he has taken some, well, some might not argue good cops but other people would argue good cops with him as a result of what they do when they finally get this guy's car to flip over, to turn and we've got the rest of this. We're going to show it to you.

In fact, going to start the newscast with this. We've got Brooks and Banfield, Ashleigh Banfield and of course Mike Brooks, who are going to be taking to on this topic. We think it is incredibly interesting, especially since the video has never been seen until now and police are saying now that the five police officers have been fired for what they did as a result of what this guy did to their fellow officer. They're now going to release the video and in fact they have.

Oh, and by the, the Michael Vick story. Sitting a few feet away from me now a former Atlanta Falcons football player. He's in here with us, he was just having a conversation with me. He's going to join us to give his perspective on Michael Vick and what should happen to Michael Vick. As well as a writer for the "Detroit Free Press" who is taking an opposing position. And these guys are going to debate the Michael Vick saga, as have so many Americans at dinner tables all over this country. But we're going to have it live - Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Rick. Thanks.

Well, a follow-up to a story that we've been all over here in the CNN NEWSROOM. An internal review in a school bullying case sparks cries of outrage and even some arrests today. The Georgia School District found that there's no evidence that Jaheem Herrera was bullied before he committed suicide. Jaheem is one of the 11-year-old boys who hung himself last month after complaining that classmates taunted him and called him gay. His family says that school officials brushed off their complaints in the months just before Jaheem's death. Well, they've retained a lawyer and now other parents have come forward about bullying at Dunn Air Elementary School outside of Atlanta. The DeKalb county DA continues to review this case.

A right to bear arms in the Credit Cardholder's Bill of Rights? Only in America, folks.

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PHILLIPS: The votes are in and so-called Bill of Rights for Credit Cardholders is headed for the president's desk. Assuming he signs it, gun owners will be allowed to pack heat in national parks, which has nothing whatsoever to do with credit cards.

Our Brianna Keilar connects the dots.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What do guns, credit cards and national parks have in common? Congress has made a connection with some legislative maneuvering, it stands poised to allow concealed, loaded guns into national parks in an amendment attached to the Credit Cardholder's Bill of Rights.

Republican Senator Tom Coburn is pushing the provision.

REP. TOM COBURN (R), OKLAHOMA: We are going to allow the states the rights to determine under their gun laws who can have a gun and where, as long as it meets - passes the muster of the U.S. Constitution.

KEILAR: If a person holds a state permit to carry a concealed weapon, that permit would apply in marks located in that state. In the Senate, 27 democrats, including leader Harry Reid, signed onto the change. But democrats for gun control, like New York Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, whose husband was shot and killed by a man on a commuter train, are incensed.

REP. CAROLYN MCCARTHY (D), NEW YORK: The NRA is basically taking over the House and the Senate. And if the NRA wins on each and every bill, the American people are the ones that are going to suffer the most.

KEILAR (on camera): Democrats like McCarthy found themselves in the minority when it comes to guns. That's because, though, the 2008 election brought an influx of democrats to Congress, by and large, they are conservative democrats. And that means republicans have found some support across the aisle on this issue.

Brianna Keilar, CNN, Capitol Hill.

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PHILLIPS: We'll see you back here tomorrow. Rick Sanchez takes it from here.