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Obama Nominates First Hispanic Supreme Court Justice; California Same-Sex Marriage Ban Upheld; Cancer Patient, Mom Return Home Voluntarily; Conservatives to Look at Sotomayor's Statements, Not Just Rulings; California Court Keeps Prop 8 Result; More Whooping Cough in Unvaccinated Kids; Children Suffer Recession's Impact on Families; U.S. Pushing for Strong Response to North Korea; Life Remains Rough for Ordinary North Koreans

Aired May 26, 2009 - 13:00   ET

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

ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Pushing forward on major news from two Supreme Courts today. Any minute now, California's highest court will decide the fate of Prop 8. That's that voter-passed ban on same-sex marriage. We're live at the San Francesco courthouse.

And at the White House, a U.S. Supreme Court pick like none other. Sonia Sotomayor, Judge Sotomayor. If you don't know her name now, you soon will.

Hi, everybody. So glad you're with us on this very busy day. I'm Alina Cho, in for Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And we begin with a story that everyone is talking about today. Federal appeals court Judge Sonia Sotomayor today is still a long way from the highest court in the land but today, well, she's a lot closer than most judges.

The Bronx-born, Ivy-League-education judge is President Obama's choice to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter. If confirmed by the Senate, Sotomayor would become the third woman and the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.

From the White House today, we heard from Judge Sotomayor in her own words. In emotional remarks this morning, she talked about her background, her family, and also her resume.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE SONIA SOTOMAYOR, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: I was raised in the Bronx public housing project but studied at two of the nation's finest universities. I did work as an assistant district attorney, prosecuting violent crimes that devastate our communities. But then I joined the private law firm and worked with international corporations doing business in the United States. I have had the privilege of serving as a federal district court trial judge and am now serving as a federal appellate circuit court judge.

This wealth of experiences, personal and professional, have helped me appreciate the variety of perspectives that respect themselves in every case that I hear. It has helped me to understand, respect, and respond to the concerns and arguments of all litigants who appear before me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: And we turn now to the GOP response, not exactly a ringing endorsement. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says, quote, "We will thoroughly examine Sotomayor's record to ensure that she understands that the role of a jurist in our democracy is to apply the law even-handedly, despite their own feelings or personal or political preferences."

Sotomayor's last confirmation was to the federal appeals court bench. That was back in 1998, and that confirmation process took about a year. Sotomayor was ultimately confirmed, 67-29. All 29 who opposed were Republicans.

Some say the historic nature of Sotomayor's nomination makes a Republican filibuster highly unlikely. But never say never. Our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, is here with some insight.

Nobody knows the court better than you, Jeff. We should mention your recent book, a best seller, by the way, on the "New York Times" best-seller list for many, many months, "The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court." And Jeff joins us now from New York.

So Jeff, before we get to the content, I want to talk about the picture that we saw today of President Obama and Sonia Sotomayor, standing side by side in the East Room of the White House. You say it represents the changing face of America.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It does. You know, 43 of the 44 presidents have been white men; 107 of the 111 Supreme Court justices have been white men. And here you have an African-American president and a would-be justice of the Supreme Court who's an Hispanic woman. This is a different picture. And that is a -- I think, a big part, far from the only part of the appeal of a Sotomayor selection.

CHO: Jeffrey, I want to interrupt you for one second, because we're just getting word into CNN now from California's Supreme Court that the high court there has decided to uphold Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. And there you see a live picture outside the courthouse there.

But interestingly enough, and this was expected, those 18,000 same-sex marriages that happened between June and November will stand. They will still be valid.

And Jeffrey -- this is according to the Associated Press. Jeffrey, I want to get your quick response to this.

TOOBIN: Well, based on the oral argument about three months ago, this is an expected decision. It was pretty clear that the California Supreme Court was not going to overrule the rule of the voters who voted for Proposition 8, but they were also uncomfortable with the idea of essentially granting a divorce to all 18,000 people who got married in a completely legal manner while gay marriage was legal in California.

CHO: Well, Jeffrey, how unusual is this, though? Because it seems like a bit of a mixed bag of a decision, does it not?

TOOBIN: Well, it seems like a pretty reasonable compromise, because it is -- judges are very reluctant. They don't always stop -- it doesn't always stop them, but they are reluctant to overrule the voters when the voters have spoken so clearly on an issue, as they did in this case.

But also there was an issue. The wording of Proposition 8 was not explicitly retroactive, so it did not specifically say what should happen to the marriages that were performed during those few months when gay marriage was legal.

CHO: Jeffrey, I want to interrupt you for just a second. Because we're just taking a live look there outside the courthouse there in San Francesco on the right. Just an incredible picture of people gathered there in San Francesco, obviously awaiting this decision there.

But just to continue your point there, I'm just curious, because both sides have vowed to appeal. Is this going to satisfy both sides, do you think? I mean, looking at the crystal ball, what's next?

TOOBIN: Well, I think clearly, the anti-gay-marriage forces won here. If this is really a victory -- interestingly, the lawyer for the side that was defending proposition was Kenneth Starr, the former Whitewater prosecutor. He won this case.

Yes, it is true that the 18,000 marriages will remain legal, but there should be no mistaking that this was a victory for the anti-gay -- anti-gay marriage forces.

The real question, I think, in California is when do the pro-gay marriage people put the issue in front of the voters again?

CHO: Right.

TOOBIN: Because there has been a lot of change in sentiment on this issue since Proposition 8, even just since last November.

CHO: Jeffrey...

TOOBIN: We've seen many states now approve gay marriage. I think their best chance is with the voters, not with the court.

CHO: All right. Jeffrey Toobin, CNN senior analyst, doing double duty today on Judge Sotomayor and the decision in California.

Jeffrey, we want you to stand by, because we want to talk to you a bit later on about Sotomayor and that big decision today on the part of the White House.

We want to move now, though, to the courthouse at San Francesco. Our Dan Simon is there with reaction there. Hey, Dan, what do you have?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, obviously a lot of people upset by this ruling. We heard behind us just a short while ago hundreds of people chanting, "Shame on you; shame on you" to the California Supreme Court.

Among the people who is very disappointed here is Catherine (ph) White.

And you and your partner got married when?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We did October 25, 2008.

SIMON: And I see tears in your eyes. Tell me what's going through your mind.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I guess I'm just sad that in 2009 that we're still fighting for civil rights. I mean, basically what this measure on the ballot did was say, "Here's a single group of people. We're going to single you out, and we're going to vote to take away your rights."

And the fact that we can have a civil right put on -- put on the ballot and taken away in 2009 is appalling to me.

SIMON: Well, as you're aware, the ruling states that the 18,000 or so couples who got married prior to Proposition 8, those marriages remain valid. So you -- you're still married in the eyes of the law here in California. Do you take any solace in that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not really. I mean, it's nice that my marriage is still intact, but that's not the point. The point is that everybody should have the same civil rights across the board.

I mean, to me this is the equivalent of saying -- putting a measure on the ballot that says people over 50 can't vote or people of a certain race can't own property. It's just -- it's appalling that California, which has always been the forerunner of social change, is so at the back of the bus right now.

SIMON: Catherine White, thanks so much for joining us.

Obviously, reaction is going to continue to pour in, Alina, but even before today, even before today, gay-rights supporters had already vowed to put this issue back on the ballot as early as next year, in 2010. It's unclear whether they will be able to marshal the resources to get the marriage issue back on the ballot, but that's what they have been talking about.

And as Jeffrey Toobin alluded, this is a decision that, really, a lot of people had expected. I was actually in the courtroom back in March when the justices took oral arguments on this issues -- on this issue, rather, and based upon what we were hearing then, the justices seemed to indicate that they would have a difficult time overturning the will of the majority. And that's what has happened in this case. Prop 8 was passed by a narrow majority back in -- back in November, a 52-48 percent margin.

And so what we're seeing here today is that the justices will allow Prop 8 to continue to be the law of the land. Same-sex marriage from here on out is illegal in the state of California. But for people like Catherine, whom we just spoke to just a second ago, those 18,000 or so marriages here in California will remain valid in the eyes of the law -- Alina.

CHO: Our Dan Simon live for us outside the courthouse in San Francesco. Dan, thank you.

And we should mention that CNN just confirming now what Dan has been reporting, which is that they are upholding the ban on same-sex marriage, otherwise known as Proposition 8. But those 18,000 same-sex marriages conducted between June and November will stand. We will be talking to both sides of the issue, talking on both sides of the issue throughout the next two hours. So please stay with us.

Meanwhile, moving on to other news now. International condemnation appears to be having no impact on North Korea. Just a day after conducting an underground nuclear test, the communist nation tested two more short-range missiles today. A South Korean news agency says those missiles, with a range of about 80 miles, were test- fired from an East Coast launch pad. The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. is promising new resolutions, quote, "with teeth," to punish North Korea for what she calls its provocative a threatening action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN RICE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: North Korea's actions over the last several days have been provocative and destabilizing and do pose a threat to international peace and security.

That's why you heard the entire international community yesterday from various capitals and from the Security Council come out swiftly, forcefully and in unity to condemn this. And we agreed yesterday that we're going to propose a new resolution, a strong resolution, with teeth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: Tough words that insiders say the only options right now for the U.S. and its allies are more sanctions, and so far those sanctions have had little, if any, impact on those calling the shots: the North Korea government, and the military.

Any new sanctions imposed on North Korea will hurt those who are already suffering. Most of the ordinary North Koreans. Most face severe food, medical, and other basic shortages. We're going to hear from recent defectors about just how bad it is, later in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: We're watching two breaking stories, the first out of California. The high court there announcing that it will uphold the ban on same-sex marriage, otherwise known as Proposition 8.

The other big story we're following today, President Obama's choice for the U.S. Supreme Court: Sonia Sotomayor.

Another story we are following: a 13-year-old cancer patient and his mom no longer on the run. But what's next for the boy as he heads back to court?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Welcome back. Eighteen minutes after the hour.

As we've been reporting, California's Supreme Court has upheld that state's ban on same-sex marriage, otherwise known as Prop 8. But the ruling allows existing same-sex marriages to stand.

Three people with a lot of interest in this case, Frances Nicholson and Cynthia Allard were married last year in California, and their 18-year-old daughter, Mary Kate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Prom shopping.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The search for the dress.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

MARY KATE NICHOLSON, DAUGHTER: Being able to stand up and say, "My moms are married" instead of saying, "Oh, my moms are partners." And in one night it was all taken away from us.

I turned to my mom and said, "If you can't get legally married by the state, I don't want to get married."

They're there for each other constantly. It's just not fair. It's love either way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: Frances and Mary Kate Nicholson, along with Cynthia Allard join us now from Los Angeles.

So Frances, I have to go to you first, because when I asked you during the break what you thought of this, you said it sucks. Now, your marriage stands. It's valid. So why are you so upset about this?

FRANCES NICHOLSON, PROPOSITION 8 OPPONENT: Because we don't want to be the only one. It's heartbreaking to be left in a pocket of people with a right that should be available to everybody. It's terrible. California is a forward-thinking state.

And to be in a place where -- where we were advanced a right of equality that is now denied to the generation that my daughter represents, friends of hers. People my son's age -- he's in his 20s -- who haven't found someone yet and now will be denied the right that we were given. It's terrible.

CHO: Mary Kate, I want to get to you, because your mom just referred to you. You're holding Cynthia's hand there. What is your response to all of this?

M. NICHOLSON: I have to ditto my mom's response. But I'm -- I'm more disappointed in, like, people who are, in my opinion, against love. And like I said, it's love either way. They love each other, and they take care of me. I am a perfectly normal kid, and it sucks that they can't love each other.

CHO: Cynthia, I want to get to you, because a senior pastor of a church in San Diego that we're going to be talking to in the next hour says that he supports Proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage and that that does not mean that he is anti-gay. Do you believe that?

CYNTHIA ALLARD, PROPOSITION 8 OPPONENT: No. I...

CHO: Why not?

ALLARD: I think that this is -- all of this talk about marriage and sanctity -- we were married in the church, as well. We definitely take our marriage just as seriously as anyone else does. And I think it's a matter of prejudice and ignorance.

CHO: France, what do you say to the people, though, that -- that say, "Listen, I'm all for giving you benefits and all of those other equal measures. I just think marriage is between a man and a woman"? What do you say to people who say that?

F. NICHOLSON: I -- I say that I respect their opinion, but you have to understand, this is not about even a religious rite. This is about equality and equality of terminology.

You have no idea how much difference it makes to not refer to each other as partners, as a separate kind of unit, but to talk about ourselves as married. People would say to me, "Are you married?"

And I would say, "Well, sort of." But to say yes, it's amazing what a difference that made, to simply be the same. To be the same. Because our love is the same.

CHO: Cynthia, you're nodding. I'm just curious how you -- you've been together for seven years. You were married last year. In a way, I know it's a bittersweet moment, but are you -- are you glad? Are you happy that you were able to just eek in there, you were one of those 18,000 same-sex couples that was able to get married?

ALLARD: Well, obviously, yes I'm very happy about that. And I'm a little surprised that they decided to uphold our marriages at the same time that they're denying it to others who didn't take that leap.

I -- we were also -- we had a ceremony in a church in 2005. So last year when the opportunity came up to make it legal, we took that, because we thought it was an important statement to make about the nature of our commitment. And this is all that all of us are asking for, is to be the same as other people in this country. And we don't understand why our marriage should bother anybody else.

CHO: Frances Nicholson, Cynthia...

F. NICHOLSON: And our family (ph).

CHO: Frances Nicholson, Cynthia Allard and Mary Kate, just 18 years old. You've had a lot of great things to say. We thank you so much for joining us from Los Angeles today with your perspective.

F. NICHOLSON: Thank you.

CHO: We want to point out -- thank you. We want to point out that in the next hour of -- in the CNN NEWSROOM, we're going to hear from the other side I alluded to just a bit ago. A supporter of the ban on same-sex marriage, the Reverend Miles McPherson. He is a senior pastor of the Rock Church in San Diego, a church with 12,000 members.

After nearly a week on the run, a cancer-stricken boy and his mother are heading back to a Minnesota court this afternoon. Daniel and Colleen Hauser voluntarily returned home from California yesterday after fleeing the state to avoid chemo for Daniel's Hodgkin's lymphoma.

CNN's Susan Roesgen has more on the homecoming.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHERIFF RICH HOFFMAN, BROWN COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: It is a good day as Daniel and Colleen Hauser have been safely returned to Minnesota.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After a week on the run, Colleen Hauser and her 13-year-old son Danny got on a plane in California and came home. A film production company flew them on the company jet and did this interview.

COLLEEN HAUSER, MOTHER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Danny was going to run away. Then what do I have? I mean, he was going to run. That just broke my heart.

ROESGEN: Danny has Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer that's treatable with chemotherapy. But after the first treatment, Colleen says Danny was in terrible pain and wanted to try holistic therapy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's people that are saying that this was your mom's decision. Your mom's the one who basically convinced you not to do chemo. What would you say to those people?

DANIEL HAUSER, CANCER PATIENT: I'd tell them to back off.

ROESGEN: Now Danny will most likely get his court-ordered chemotherapy and, keeping a promise, the local sheriff won't charge Colleen with any crimes.

C. HAUSER: Can't have (UNINTELLIGIBLE) my children running away from something. There should be basic (UNINTELLIGIBLE). We don't think he needs it; we know he's going to beat it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: Susie Roesgen, outside the courthouse in New Ulm, Minnesota, right now.

So Susie, what do we expect out of the hearing today?

ROESGEN: Well, Alina, we hope to get some answers. We don't really know where Colleen and Danny went on their journey. We know that they went to California, but we don't know if he got any holistic therapy.

The judge is expected to ask Colleen about what her objections are to the chemotherapy and do they still object to it and really just sort of tell us why they decided to come home now, and will they keep fighting.

Alina, last time that Danny Hauser was here, he told the judge that he would physically fight any more chemotherapy, that he would punch and kick anybody who tried to give it to him. So we have to see whether or not he's going to go ahead now and go with the court- ordered chemotherapy.

CHO: Still a lot of questions in this case. Susie Roesgen, outside the courthouse in New Ulm, Minnesota. Susan, thank you.

Well, it is a California Case, but Americans everywhere have very strong opinions about Prop 8. We've been getting a ton of tweets on today's ruling. We're going to be reading some of them on the air.

The nomination is heard, not so the job. Well, not yet. We're going to chart the historic rise of Sonia Sotomayor and the politics surrounding the next big step in her career.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Hi, everybody. Glad you're with us. I'm Alina Cho, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

An ordinary person left with an extraordinary opportunity. That's federal appeals court Judge Sonia Sotomayor describing herself as she seized her biggest opportunity yet: nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States. You saw it right here live: the first African-American president introducing the first Hispanic nominee to the highest court in the land.

Sotomayor calls it the most humbling honor in her life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOTOMAYOR: It is a daunting feeling to be here. Eleven years ago, during my confirmation process for appointment to the Second Circuit, I was given a private tour of the White House. It was an overwhelming experience for a kid from the South Bronx, yet never in my wildest childhood imaginings did I ever envision that moment, let alone did I ever dream that I would live this moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: Sotomayor was tapped for the District Court bench by the first President Bush. That was back in 1991. President Clinton put her on the Court of Appeals in New York in '98, but not without a long confirmation fight. That took about a year.

Two decades earlier, she left her home in the South Bronx to attend Princeton University and then Yale Law School. Stints as a New York prosecutor and corporate lawyer followed.

Pushing forward, Sotomayor faces some of the Republican senators who opposed her last time. But for now, they're treading lightly. CNN senior political analyst Gloria Borger joins me now from New York.

So, Gloria, let's start now with how Sotomayor clinched this historic nomination. I was hearing you earlier. You were saying of all the final nominees, she was one Obama knew the least.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, it's true, and in many ways, you know, the president of the United States did not know her. He wanted to meet with all of these nominees. She was the fourth person that he interviewed, the last. And I was told by a senior White House official that the interview kind of clinched the deal for her.

We all know that they have some of the same life experiences. They don't come -- they come from humble beginnings. They were raised by single parents in many ways. And so, I think that the two probably clicked. I also believe that she is somebody who believes that her background, where she comes from, influences how she thinks. And I think the president likes that.

CHO: That's right. In fact, you know, just touching on her remarks this morning, our Suzanne Malveaux was reporting there wasn't a dry eye in the room when she talked about her mother and said that she is half the woman that she is, referring to her mother.

I want to talk a little bit about Sonia Sotomayor's own words. She said at a speech in Duke University back in 2005, I believe, that the federal appeals court is where, quote, "policy is made." Now, Jeff Toobin says that she's going to be a target to oppose, but really, is this the opening for the GOP to go after her?

BORGER: Sure. Sure. Absolutely. And in fact, I've spoken with a bunch of conservatives this morning who are opposing her, and one of them said to me, in many ways it's not going to be the cases that she's ruled on, although there will be some of those. But it's going to be the statements that she's made and the panels she's participated on like this one at Duke University, where she said, you know, I know we're not supposed to say this, but the Court of Appeals is where policy is made.

And that, of course, leads you to the basic argument we always seem to have when it comes to the confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee: Do you believe that you should make policy from the bench? Is that permissible? Or -- as many do believe. Or is that not a judge's role?

CHO: Gloria, take me a little bit more inside the Beltway, because I want to get behind President Obama's decision. You know, obviously, this is one of the most enduring decisions that a president can make in terms of legacy. You're talking about the third woman, potentially the first Hispanic American on the highest court in the land. How much of the race part of that decision do you think played into this?

BORGER: You know, it's very hard to know because we don't know exactly what the president was thinking. But I think it does not go unnoticed at the White House that she is Hispanic, that Hispanics are a large voting bloc, and if Republicans in the Senate want to take on Hispanics, as one person in the White House said to me, so be it. So, I -- you know, obviously that doesn't go unnoticed.

But when you talk to them, they will also say to you, predictably, that the president chose the person he believed is most qualified to serve on the court.

CHO: That's right. And he said even his wife, Michelle, told him that. Gloria Borger...

BORGER: Then it must be true.

CHO: That's right. Gloria Borger always getting the inside scoop for us. Thank you so much.

BORGER: Sure.

CHO: All right, we're not done yet. In the next hour, GOP strategist Leslie Sanchez is going to weigh in on the high court pick and (INAUDIBLE). We're also going to hear from senior political analyst David Gergen and a judge who has known Sotomayor for 20 years.

In California, a mixed bag today for supporters of same-sex marriages. The state's high court has upheld the ban that voters approved in November. But the ruling also allows existing same-sex marriages in the state to stand. About 18,000 same-sex coupled were married before the ban was put in place.

CNN's Dan Simon joins us now again from San Francisco. So, Dan, give us the early reaction there.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Alina. Obviously, for gay-right advocates, a major blow. They had been hoping that the Supreme Court would somehow overturn Proposition 8. But they did not get that today. If you look behind me, you'll notice that the crowds are noticeably thinner. But these people just didn't leave.

A lot of people now, hundreds of people now marching the streets of San Francisco in protest of this decision. This was a 6-to-1 ruling by the California Supreme Court upholding Proposition 8. So, what this means going forward, what it means going forward is that same-sex couples cannot get married in the state of California. As you put it, however, those 18,000 or so couples who got married prior to the passage of Proposition 8, those marriages will still be considered valid here in the state of California.

And let's again review what Proposition 8 was. This was a voter initiative that appeared on the ballot back in November. And what it did, it defined marriage between a man and a woman, and it was approved by a narrow majority of voters here in California, 52 to 48 percent. So, obviously, California deeply split on this issue, like much of the country.

And even before today, gay-right advocates have vowed to put the marriage issue back on the ballot, perhaps as early as next year. We'll just have to see how this plays out -- Alina.

CHO: Dan Simon with early reaction outside the courthouse in San Francisco. Dan, thank you.

You know, this morning we put out a call for your thoughts on Prop 8 and the future of same-sex marriage. Some replies from our Twitter page. Take a look.

Flashgordon says -- great name -- "It's only a matter of time until it's everywhere. People are going to have to understand that it's just not fair, like segregation."

Hugh_Jee says, "Gay marriage -- it can't be left to the individual states. Two people can't be considered married in one state, not married in another." Mkrtown says, "I'm surprised we in the Northeast are ahead on this social issue. California is usually the liberal state." And from Geolarson2, "Equality is equality is equality. To deny equal rights and protection from one group is to deny it from others later."

We're asking you to keep those Tweets coming. We're going to try to read some more of them on the air a bit later.

Childhood vaccines, some parents don't think they're needed. We have some important health news for parents skipping some of their kids' shots.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: The death toll is rising again from the swine flu outbreak. Checking the latest developments, the latest U.S. victim is believed to be a Chicago resident with undisclosed health problems. The CDC has yet to confirm the case, but it has been confirmed locally. There are now more than 6,700 confirmed infections in the United States alone and nearly 13,000 in at least 46 countries worldwide.

Well, if you think your kids don't need to be vaccinated against whooping cough, a new study could change your mind. Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: A new study looks at what happens when parents decide not to get their children vaccinated for whooping cough, also called pertussis. Let's take a look at the results.

They found that among these children who were vaccinated, they had a 1 in 500 chance of getting whooping cough. But among the children who were not vaccinated, 1 in 20 of them got whooping cough.

Now, whooping cough is not some little disease. It can go on for months and months. Children often feel terrible, and there could be some serious repercussions. Let's take a look at what some of those are. People who have whooping cough sometimes get these complications: pneumonia, seizures and brain damage.

Now, some children, not a large group, but some babies do sometimes die of the disease. So, what's a parent to do? Well, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and others, they say get your child vaccinated for whooping cough. The vaccinations go in this order. It is five doses between the ages of two months and kindergarten. And also, children and adults are supposed to get boosters every 10 years.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: The face of homelessness is getting younger. The recession making families implode, putting kids on the streets and forcing them to grow up way too fast. We're going to tell you where some of them end up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Somali pirates, Britney Spears, President Bush and CNN's parent company, Time Warner. What on earth do they all have in common? We'll tell you in two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Well, if it doesn't get done by midnight, bankruptcy for General Motors could go from probable to unavoidable. GM is demanding that its bondholders make a deal to restructure by midnight tonight. This deal has been a real hurdle for the company, and it's why GM's CEO has said Chapter 11 is probable. The Obama administration is giving the company until June 1st to restructure its debt or go bankrupt.

Well, it's been another rough quarter for home prices. The National Home Price Index dropped more than 19 percent during the first three months of this year. That's compared to the same period last year. And it's an even steeper drop than the previous quarter, when they fell by just over 18 percent. And get this, home prices have fallen by nearly a third since they peaked in the second quarter of 2006. And there's an even more disturbing cost of the housing crisis in this recession -- homeless children. When their families can't make ends meet, the kids are paying the price. CNN's Erica Hill introduces us to a teen who's had to grow up way too fast.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are collateral damage of the recession.

SARAH, LEFT HOME: He couldn't take care of us. That was it.

HILL: Sarah says she and her twin sister left home the day they turned 18. Her dad, a widower, could barely pay the rent with his $8- an-hour security job. There was no food. The electricity was shut off more than once, and Sarah says that's when her dad started picking fights.

SARAH: It was creepy because you're like, no, you know, Daddy wouldn't do that, but he was serious. He'd just fight with us every day. You guys are this, you guys are that. Get out. I don't want you here. And every time when he finished having an argument, he said, get out.

HILL: So, they did. Sarah spent the next year shuffling between family and friends until finally ending up at Covenant House, a shelter for homeless, runaway and throwaway youths.

KEVIN RYAN, PRESIDENT, COVENANT HOUSE: Over the last six months, we have seen the number of homeless kids all across the country surge. Unemployment is causing poverty, and poverty is causing families to implode. And when families implode, kids are hitting the streets.

HILL: Some of those kids end up at one of 15 Covenant Houses across the country, and they are the lucky ones. Here they have a safe, warm bed, food, clothes, even job training.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Walk up from here to the door and then back to the chair.

HILL: But Ryan says with demand for their services up 40 percent in just the past six months and donations taking a serious dive, Covenant House is in trouble.

RYAN: It's harder and harder to keep the doors open. And when we don't, that means that there's going to be a kid two blocks away who has nowhere to go. We have a promise that we must live out with them, that we're going to keep those kids safe. We're going to give them an option to the darkness of the streets.

HILL: For kids like Sarah, those options are also an opportunity.

(on camera): Do you ever worry, though, that you could end up at some point in the same situation that your dad felt that he was in, that you wouldn't be able to take care of your kids? SARAH: I pray and hope that that doesn't happen to me. But if it does, I hope I would handle it a different way. I don't want my children to go through it.

HILL (voice-over): And yet, for all Sarah has been through, she doesn't hold a grudge.

SARAH: Sometimes parents kick you out. It's not because they don't love you. It's because it's a little bit of selfishness and pride because of they can't take care of what they brought to the world.

HILL: For now, Sarah is taking care of herself. Covenant House helped her get a job at a local pharmacy. Eventually she plans to go to college. She's interested in fashion design and psychology and above all, in finding the man who forced her out.

SARAH: I walk on the streets and I literally look at all of the old people, and I'm looking for him. I'm like, maybe that's my dad. Every time. Every time. He was a good father.

HILL: With a daughter as positive as Sarah, he must have done something right.

Erica Hill, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: Well, we know what the president's Supreme Court looks like on paper. His Supreme Court pick, that is. But what does Judge Sonia Sotomayor's resume leave off? We're going to push this story forward in the next hour with someone who can tell us.

Plus, we're talking same-sex marriage with a San Diego pastor. Among his flock of 12,000, the outspoken Miss California.

A prisoner in the federal pen not really helping his cause here. He is suing the "Guinness Book of World Records" to stop them from naming him most litigious. How about that?

Jonathan Lee Riches is infamous with court clerks across the land. He has filed lawsuits against President George W. Bush, Somali pirates, Britney Spears, even CNN's parent company, Time Warner, among many, many others. Some of his 3,124 cases aren't even against people. Defendants include the Lincoln Memorial and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. Riches, by the way, acknowledges he's being seen by mental-health professionals.

North Korea in the news for its military tests, but life for many North Koreans means struggling to find food, 365 days a year. We'll hear from some recent defectors.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: We have this just in to CNN. We are watching a developing story out of North Korea. The communist nation today fired two short- range missiles just a day after conducting an underground nuclear bomb test. Clearly, more saber-rattling, and now there's reaction from the State Department. Our Jill Dougherty is there with that reaction. Hey, Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Alina. Well, even as the United States is gearing up, going to the United Nations, talking with its allies and trying to push for a very strong response, at the same time, they're saying that the door is still open. This coming from Ian Kelly, the spokesman from the State Department, just a few minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IAN KELLY, SPOKESMAN, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: Yes, well, patience obviously is not infinite, but we feel the door does still remain open, that we are ready to engage, and we hope that North Korea will make the right choice and choose to engage constructively.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGHERTY: So, even as North Korea is setting off a nuclear device, a test, they're testing missiles, the United States still seems to be going ahead with its policy of trying to engage and trying to get them back to the negotiating table. Kelly was saying at the same time they have to pay a price. They feel that they have crossed the border. They need to be told that this is unacceptable.

But, Alina, at the same time they're saying, we hope ultimately this is going to work to bring them back. And, by the way, Secretary Clinton has been on the phone. She spoke with the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and they are looking for what they call a quick, unified response.

CHO: Jill Dougherty live from the State Department with reaction to this. Jill, thank you.

If you're not an elite member of the North Korea's communist government or in the military, daily life is a fight for survival. CNN's Pauline Chiou spoke with recent defectors about the life they fled and why they think the government conducted its latest nuclear and missile test.

PAULINE CHIOU, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She was once an entrenched member of the North Korean Workers Party, but left everything last year, including her family, when she defected to China. Now living in Seoul, South Korea, Kim Hwa, who's using a pseudonym, says her former regime may be turning on the propaganda machine about Monday's nuclear test, but surprisingly, it may not be working as effectively as it did in the past.

"KIM HWA," NORTH KOREAN DEFECTOR (through translator): Some people are saying that with the money the North used to develop weapons, the people would have been able to feed themselves.

CHIOU: Because China and North Korea are allies, Kim Hwa uses a Chinese middlemen to get messages and money to her children and husband in Pyongyang. Communication between defectors and their relatives in North Korea has become easier, though, still dangerous in the isolated regime of supreme leader Kim Jong-Il.

A journalist for Daily NK, a South Korean-based Web site on North Korean issues, says North Koreans along the border of China are able to get outside news using smuggled Chinese cell phones. Moon Sung Hwee, a North Korean who defected four years ago, now writes for Daily NK. He thinks the timing of the nuclear test is critical.

MOON SUNG HWEE, NORTH KOREAN DEFECTOR (through translator): North Korea is facing a lot of problems with pressure from the U.S. human rights issues and also a food shortage. So, to solve these issues, it needs to create a breakthrough by showing people they're strong and that they can win against the U.S. In other words, by showing the rest of the world they're powerful, the North is trying to bring about internal unity.

CHIOU: Moon also believes Kim Jong-Il wants leverage with the international community and perhaps increase the bargaining power with the U.S. before the upcoming trial of two American journalists arrested along the China/North Korea border in March.

We also spoke with another North Korean, who defected with the help of a North Korean border guard. After witnessing so much death IN the famine of the 1990s, gut instinct told her it was time to leave. Today, she still has hope for her homeland.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I hope that people in North Korea can live their dreams like we do here, instead of struggling under a military dictatorship. I want everyone, not only us, but all of North Korea to be happy and see that happen very soon.

CHIOU: But Kim Hwa knows change will be slow. She recently talked to her family in North Korea. They said things are even worse than a year ago.

KIM HWA (through translator): When kids go on outings, what they ask their mothers for is to pack them an egg in their lunch box. That's how tough things are at the moment.

CHIOU: And if current sanctions are tightened because of this week's nuclear test, life could get a whole lot tougher.

Pauline Chiou, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)