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GM Expected to File for Bankruptcy; GM Town Worries about Future; Tensions Escalate with North Korea; Supreme Court Nominee's Religion to be a Factor?; Fort Campbell Has Army's 1st Suicide Prevention Coordinator; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Addresses North Korea's Actions
Aired May 27, 2009 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Tony, thank you very much.
Pushing forward on a mortal threat to U.S. service men and women. We're talking about suicide. A major U.S. Army base is putting all other business on hold to help its troops confront the battles they too often fight and lose alone.
When it comes to deadly accidents, look no further than your own home. The shocking death of Mike Tyson's daughter points to household dangers that are prevalent but largely preventable.
Can anything prevent more cuts, more closures, more pain for GM. That is a question with bankruptcy now a virtual certainty. For workers at GM's plant of the future fear their better days are behind them, in the past.
Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Kyra is off. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Well, GM is about to go from the brink of bankruptcy right over the cliff. The company couldn't strike a deal with bond holders to swap debts for stock. That was pretty much the last chance to avoid Chapter 11.
Now, here's a sign that a bankrupt filing is very close here. The company is paying workers and suppliers today and tomorrow. That's earlier than usual. Once the company files Chapter 11, it would need court approval to make payroll. Washington gave GM until Monday to restructure its debt or file for bankruptcy.
Well, it looks like they're tying up loose ends now and could file bankruptcy on Friday. We're going to talk about what this means for workers, what it means for customers and what it means, frankly, for the country.
Peter Valdes-Dapena from CNNmoney.com, he joins us now.
Peter, you know, that old saying, "as GM goes so does the rest of the nation." Has this really struck an ominous tone now? What does it mean? What's the immediate impact of this?
PETER VALDES-DAPENA, CNNMONEY.COM: Well, I think we need to realize this is actually not terribly surprising, especially since we saw Chrysler go into bankruptcy last month, and Chrysler seems like it's close to emerging -- or a new Chrysler seems like it's close to emerging from bankruptcy. That means this path has already been gone down by another auto company. It seems like it's probably going to be successful for Chrysler. I think that made it more likely that GM would look to this path to get work for its competitor.
And so it's not entirely unexpected. And we are talking about a Chapter 11 restructuring here, of course. GM is not going out of business starting this weekend. They're going into -- into a restructuring time of bankruptcy.
LEMON: You bring up a good point here, because given how smoothly this process -- some say it's been pretty smooth, that it's gone for Chrysler. Is there a sense that this might not be as bad an option for GM as many predicted?
VALDES-DAPENA: Sure. And by the way, I'm one of those people who said that you cannot have a car company operating under bankruptcy. But to be honest, along with all the other people who said that along with me, I don't think we envisioned the type of bankruptcy that Chrysler is seeing, which is very different from your usual bankruptcy.
Chrysler is not as big as GM, but they're still a very big company. And it looks like they could go through this process in about a month and come out with a new company that has Chrysler's more valuable assets at the Chrysler name moving forward. That does set a path that GM could take. It is an indication of what GM will probably do, as well.
HARRIS: Talk to us about the number of plants closing. How does this affect workers here?
VALDES-DAPENA: Well, they're -- right now GM has already announced some time ago they would be closing plants for this summer. At the time they said that's just because they have too many vehicles in inventory, and there's no sense making more vehicles when you have more on the lots than people are ready to buy right now.
Of course, that does coincide nicely with filing for bankruptcy. Chrysler also shut down their plants for the period that they're under bankruptcy. So it looks like GM will probably do the same thing.
But those workers are not going to be fired or let go. Under their -- under their union plans, they will receive nearly their entire pay for the time those plants are shut down. That doesn't mean there might not be plant closings in the future and there might not be layoffs in the future. We can't say for sure.
LEMON: So -- so Peter, we've got Chrysler now. We have GM. Is this going change the way that cars are bought and sold here in the U.S.?
VALDES-DAPENA: No, it's not going to change the way cars are bought and sold. They have cut a number of dealers, both Chrysler and GM have, but cars are still going to be sold by independent auto dealerships in various communities. It will change the level of competition out there for GM.
In many cases one reason GM is cutting dealerships and brands like Pontiac is that GM was competing against itself in a lot of cases. You could go to a Pontiac dealer or a Chevrolet dealer just blocks away from each other and negotiate with two dealers competing, selling you virtually the same car.
So there's going to be less competition out there on the landscape for these vehicles. Prices may go up some. But the process of buying a car is, fortunately or unfortunately, going to be pretty much the same from here on out.
LEMON: The only thing we know for sure is that it's going to change. We'll see. Time will tell exactly how it's going to change.
Peter Valdes-Dapena from CNNmoney.com, we appreciate it.
VALDES-DAPENA: Thank you.
LEMON: General Motors changed the town of Spring Hill, Tennessee, forever when it planted the Saturn facility there in the early 1990s, and recently, workers shifted from making Saturns to other GM models. Now another change could be coming: Spring Hill without GM.
Jamie Tucker, from our affiliate, WKRN, reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Living just about two miles from the plant myself, I worry about property taxes, the value of my home going down.
JAMIE TUCKER, WKRN REPORTER (voice-over): You can learn a lot about what's going on at Spring Hill at the Old School Cafe. It's where school teachers eat their lunches, next to executives from GM, and where almost everyone is wondering about the plant down the street.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We think about it due to our kids and our parents, but as far as us, we really don't worry about it as much. It doesn't affect us personally.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sure. I mean, it affects Spring Hills as a community in general. We have a great community here. But, you know, it affects everything about our town.
TUCKER (on camera): Do you sense that there is a level of concern just sort of simmering under the surface as people go about their daily lives?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. That's it. Everybody is concerned with it.
TUCKER (voice-over): Gayland (ph) Pierce is about as old-school as the cafe he's having lunch at. He thinks Spring Hill is poised to do well with or without the plant. He hopes GM keeps it open. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, they have to do what they think they need to do. And as we know from past experience over the last few years, they don't always know what's right.
TUCKER: Property values and the impact on businesses are the chief areas of concern, but Kara Myer (ph) can think of another.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, we have close friends, a couple of close friends that are employed there. And I just -- you know, it would be a big loss, a huge loss for us if they lost their jobs and had to leave the community.
TUCKER: That's a lot to worry about, especially for people who don't even work at the GM plant.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And as far as bankruptcy goes, Chrysler is already there, and they're already doing that.
Today, the company is asking a judge to let it sell its best factories and dealerships to a new entity, headed by Fiat. It is a controversial deal, and it could take all day and all night to seal.
Several hundred dealers, bond holders and former employees, well, they object. Some claim the government is pushing the company through bankruptcy too quickly.
Chrysler claims a deal is about the only way it can save itself.
Don't get used to this recession. It's not going to last forever. In fact, the turnaround could start before the end of the year. At least, that's the word from a panel of experts that we have been hearing from. We'll find out more about that next hour right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
First, a nuclear test, the missile tests. Now North Korea is threatening military attacks against U.S. and South Korea warships. This follows South Korea's decision to join an international effort to intercept ships suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction.
Now, Pyongyang says it considers that action as a "declaration of war." But it's issued similar statements before without taking further action.
The North also says it no -- it is no longer bound by the armistice that ended the Korea War in 1953.
Since the end of the Korean War -- Korean War, thousands of American troops have been based in South Korea. Today they number about 28,500. Many are at the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas, serving as a constant warning that North Korea, that war against the South is war against the U.S.
Former President Bill Clinton calls the DMZ the scariest place on earth. And CNN's Pauline Chiou is there. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULINE CHIOU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Paula Chiou at the DMZ, the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. It may seem calm and serene, but it's the most heavily-fortified border in the world.
I want to show you a couple of landmarks. Behind me is southern boundary fence, which runs the length of the DMZ, which is 248 kilometers long and 4 kilometers wide. In the distance you can see the North Korean flag. That's where the North Korean propaganda village sits. It's still unclear if anyone actually lives there. It was built for show several years ago.
Over my right shoulder is the Kaesong Industrial Complex. This is a joint venture between North and South Korea to make goods to sell. Thirty-eight thousand North Koreans work here; 2,000 South Koreans, mostly factory managers, also work there.
It was considered a symbol of cooperation when this started back in 2003, but since then, it has become a symbol of tension, especially this week after the events that started on Monday, with North Korea undertaking its nuclear test and then following up with several short- range missile launches.
This is a story we've seen over and over again, where North Korea appears to be opening up to the rest of the world, saying, "Yes, we will dismantle our nuclear weapons program in exchange for economic aid and food aid," and then talks unravel and North Korea pulls back.
Tensions are especially high this week after South Korea said that it wanted to become a full member of the Proliferation Security Initiative. This is an initiative aimed at stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
As we are standing here, we have seen vehicles going back and forth along the western corridor, which is one of two roads in the DMZ. This corridor goes from South Korea into that Kaesong Industrial Complex. Trucks go in with materials. They come out with a finished product.
So as of now it seems that it's business as usual on the surface.
In the DMZ, Pauline Chiou, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. Pauline, thank you very much for that.
The highest court in the land will look a bit different if President Obama's nominee is confirmed, but in one way, Sonia Sotomayor will fit right in. She is Catholic.
For more information on the judge and her decisions, make sure you keep an eye on the flipper right at the bottom of your screen here and check out CNN.com/Sotomayor. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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LEMON: Remember that? Bueller? Bueller? That was a scene from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Well, now you can pull a Cameron Frye and kick your own vintage Ferrari out of that very garage into those very woods. The house from this scene is up for sale. It's beautiful. It's in Highland Park, Illinois. I've seen it in person. It is gorgeous. It's $2.3 million, and it's yours.
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: She graduated at the top of her class at Princeton. Editor of the law journal at Yale. Prosecutor in the Manhattan D.A.'s office. Corporate litigator. Six years as a trial judge on the U.S. district court. Her 11th year on the U.S. Court of Appeals, the second highest court in the land. Nobody can say she's not qualified to be on the Supreme Court.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. So the lobbying begins for and against the federal judge whom President Obama tapped to replace David Souter on the Supreme Court. Her name, as I'm sure you know by now, is Sonia Sotomayor.
And while the president considers her qualifications sterling and her life story inspiring, critics are questioning her objectivity and her judicial philosophy.
And so what about -- what about her religion? If confirmed, Sotomayor will be the court's sixth Catholic out of nine justices in a country whose Catholic population is one in four, at most.
Barbara Perry is a professor of government at Sweet Briar College in Virginia, and she has been writing a book on this phenomenon. And she joins us now from Charlottesville.
Thank you very much for joining us today here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
BARBARA PERRY, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT: Great to be with you, Don.
LEMON: Yes, it's good to be with you. We couldn't have asked for a better person to do this, since you've been writing this book. So tell us: what does this mean? I mean, it's very interesting. Not that long ago we -- you know, the U.S. would not -- would not elect a Catholic president, and now it seems that we have more Catholics on the court.
PERRY: You're right. Should Judge Sotomayor be confirmed by the Senate, she would become the sixth Catholic out of nine justices. And, in fact, there would be two Jewish justices on the bench, so the court will be down to one protestant, Justice John Paul Stevens.
LEMON: So what does this say about -- you know, the administration is saying that her qualifications are sterling. They stand behind her qualifications. But we said -- we talked about, you know, the critics, and they're saying that, "Oh, she may be a judge who is -- you know, who may try to push her agenda."
What does this mean, if anything at all, for Roe v. Wade?
PERRY: I think it means that probably her vote in a case to uphold Roe v. Wade would not be based on her religion, given the fact that she is viewed as a moderate liberal by most. She would probably vote to uphold the core of Roe, which would allow access by women to abortion. So I don't think her religion would have an impact in that way.
LEMON: What in her background or any of her rulings might give us any indication about if she would stand one way or the other on this issue or how she might vote?
PERRY: The Second Circuit Court of Appeals, on which she serves and has served since 1998, has not had a lot of abortion cases. But she has ruled in one that actually was a pro-life decision, and that was to deny a claim by a group of pro-choice advocates to try to overturn a law in the United States that forbids foreign organizations that accept U.S. money to perform or to advocate abortions. So the one time in which she did vote in a case dealing with abortion, she was, in effect, on the pro-life side.
LEMON: You know, it seems to me that everyone is saying, the critics are saying, "Oh, this is going to change Roe v. Wade," or what have you. But there -- aren't there enough conservatives on the court, even now, that if there was a decision to change Roe v. Wade, they could do it now? So why would she make the difference?
PERRY: You're absolutely right, Don. There are currently five members of the court who, not perhaps by coincidence in their instances, are Catholic, who voted most recently in 2007 to uphold the federal ban on partial-birth abortion.
So Judge Sotomayor would not change that lineup, and particularly since she would be taking the place of David Souter. So probably Roe is safe under a Sotomayor regime.
LEMON: Let's talk about affirmative action, because that always gets people riled up, either one side or the other. Connecticut we're talking about. We're talking about white firefighters where she ruled in favor of the city against white firefighters who said they were discriminated against.
What might that say on how she might rule in future cases, and should people who oppose affirmative action be concerned about that?
PERRY: You know, I would think that those who do oppose affirmative action might be a bit concerned, based on this ruling that Judge Sotomayor made. And it looks as though the court is headed in the next few weeks to overturn her ruling and vote in favor of the white firefighters.
So I should think that she might be more along the lines of Justice O'Connor and the Michigan affirmative action cases to uphold certain kinds of affirmative action.
LEMON: I hate to ask you this, because I know you don't have a crystal ball. But you have studied this. What do you think her chances are of being confirmed?
PERRY: Very strong. Given the fact that the president has probably up to 60 votes on his party side in the Senate, I think the chances of her being confirmed by the Senate are very, very high.
LEMON: Professor Barbara Perry, Sweet Briar College. We appreciate it. You're writing a book on it, so you know all about this. Thanks very much. Have a good day, will you?
PERRY: Thank you. Good to be with you.
LEMON: Good to be with you, as well.
We want to tell you what happens next. What happens next now? Well, the Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearings and votes. If the vote is in the nominee's favor, the full Senate votes, and Sotomayor becomes the next Supreme Court justice, or not.
The house has no role in this process. Again, the house has no role in this process. Hearings can be as short as a few days or dragged on for weeks or even months. The committee hears from the nominee, of course, along with colleagues, supporters and opponents.
Questioning usually zeros in on controversial topics such as abortion and the death penalty.
And again, I want to tell you, for more information on the judge and her decisions, make sure you keep an eye on the flipper that you see right there at the bottom of our screen. You can check out, also, more information at CNN.com/Sotomayor.
Let's talk about just a horrific accident here. We're talking about the death of Mike Tyson's daughter. It is a sad reminder that hidden dangers are in every single home, and parents need to be aware of them. We'll check in with our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: Let's go to the White House now. We're expecting the White House briefing at any moment. Robert Gibbs will walk through the door and will probably be taking some questions on the economy, GM, as well as the new Supreme Court justice nominee. As soon as that happens -- we see them walking in now -- we're going to get to it.
Do we want to go now, or do we want to move now? OK. We're going to go now to Robert Gibbs at the White House briefing in Washington.
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Good afternoon. My condolences to all of you that were not allowed to go to Las Vegas and Los Angeles, including myself.
Let me get organized here. And -- OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A few questions on the Supreme Court. As expected, the debate to try to define Judge Sotomayor is under way from interested parties on the left and on the right. The president had his say yesterday to the American people. But I'm wondering, as this debate unfolds toward confirmation, what is the White House's plan today, every day, to try to influence the debate, to make sure your message stays out there?
GIBBS: Well, look, as I said yesterday, I think the most effective advocate for making the case for the confirmation of Judge Sotomayor is, in fact, Judge Sotomayor. She's begun reaching out to senators, talking on the phone today with senators Reid -- Senator Reid, Senator McConnell, Senator Leahy and Senator Sessions. We're working on a readout of those calls. I don't have that handy at the moment.
We anticipate that -- right, calling one of you weighty senators to weigh in on her confirmation. That -- we expect that as the Senate comes back next week she'll begin visits up on Capitol Hill, and as soon as we get scheduling information, we'll certainly let you know that, as well.
But then again, I think that this is somebody who brings, as I said yesterday, a richness of experience, 17 years on the federal bench. And that if -- if people take an objective and fair look at her record, we think they'll come to the conclusion that she's highly qualified to be a member of the Supreme Court.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) ... the judge herself talking to senators. Obviously that happens in a private setting. Meanwhile, the debate is happening that the American people are going to be hearing about. Do does the White House have a role in that debate?
GIBBS: Well, look, I think we'll -- we'll probably find a way to make it easier on you, the fine legal experts, and her colleagues that share the president's enthusiasm about the pick. I don't -- I don't doubt that we won't do that. I mean, I think it's -- I think that we'll certainly play a role in that. I think, again, we're -- our strong belief is that she has a record that speaks highly of who she is as a judge. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One more thing. You made a comment yesterday that I think the president picked the person he believes is best suited for the job at this time and in his interview a few days ago the president said different times call for different justices. And he mentioned civil right movement in particular in that comment.
So I'm wondering, what is it specifically about this time that makes Judge Sotomayor the right -- right pick? What does the nation's current state have to do with this?
GIBBS: Well, I don't necessarily mean that in relation to, you know, six months from now would he have picked someone else? I think -- I think what he got in -- in the pick of Judge Sotomayor, as I said yesterday, was somebody who brings a wealth of experience. The president was impressed with her approach to judging.
And the compelling life story that I think underscores the president's desire to have somebody that understands the role the Supreme Court plays in the every day lives of American people, looking for somebody to bring their common sense and that perspective to the court.
Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A couple questions. First on North Korea. What's the administration's reaction to North Korea's threat to attack South Korea after it said it would join a U.S.-led plan to check vessels suspected of carrying materials that could be used for weapons of mass destruction? Is the U.S. taking any precautions, militarily or otherwise, to cope with this?
GIBBS: I don't -- I don't have any information on any military precautions. I would say this. The threats are not going to bring -- threats won't get North Korea the attention it craves. Their actions are continuing to further deepen their own isolation from the international community and from the rights and obligations that they themselves have agreed to live up to.
But as an example, I think a rough count -- this is the fifth time in 15 years that they've sought to nullify the armistice governing the Korean War. I think their actions would be better focused on living up to their rights and obligations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you're not really taking that threat seriously?
GIBBS: No, we're certainly concerned and take any threats seriously. But my sense is they're trying to get renewed attention through saber-rattling and bluster and threats, and I think the attention they're trying to gain is not going to be successful, given what they're trying to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the subject of oil, oil prices have doubled over the last six months. The Saudi oil minister said today that the global economy could -- was strong enough to cope with oil prices of $75 to $80 a barrel. What's the administration's reaction to that? And is there any concern in the administration that rising oil prices could derail an economic recovery?
GIBBS: This is something that the administration obviously watches. But I don't have anything directly on the $75.
Look, obviously, the president is concerned about anything that raises the cost of living in a fragile economic time. I think it underscores again the president's call and commitment to greatly reduce our dependence on foreign oil. I think one of the steps that was taken in the last couple weeks were renewed and strengthened fuel mileage standards. And obviously, legislation's working its way through Congress that would further decrease that dependence on foreign oil, and we'd certainly like to see that passed.
LEMON: All right, the White House spokesman Robert Gibbs there, taking questions from reporters today. It's a daily briefing. Talking about the economy. Also bringing up North Korea and those missiles, those test missiles that they have been firing, and talking about the SCOTUS nominee, the Supreme Court justice nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, saying that she is -- her background, she has riches of experience. She says 17 -- he says 17 years on the federal bench, and he hopes that everyone, including the people who will be making the decision, will take a fair and objective look at her and her experience.
And again, if you want more information about her, about her rulings, anything, you can look at that flipper right at the bottom of our screen. It has all the information you need. Or, just go to CNN.com. You can get more information there, as well. If any news comes out of that briefing, we'll bring it to you here on CNN.
A major U.S. Army base is putting all other business on hold to help troops confront the battles they too often fight and lose alone. And wars are indelible experiences. They're also personal. We'll meet three GIs, person to person, in Afghanistan.
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LEMON: Fort Campbell, Kentucky is home of the 101st Airborne Division and one somber distinction. Fort Campbell leads the U.S. Army in soldier suicides. At least 11, maybe more, just this year. And for a while, the post averaged a suicide a week.
But it's not just a Fort Campbell problem. Army wide, a record 140 soldiers took their own lives in 2008. And since the Iraq war started in 2003, Army suicides are up 60 percent. At Fort Campbell today begins a three-day stand-down aimed at making sure its 19,000 soldiers know when and how to get help when they feel overwhelmed.
It is a mission that Joe Varney takes very personally. Varney is Fort Campbell's suicide prevention manager, the first on a U.S. military base anywhere, and he joins me now phone to talk about this growing problem. Thank you so much, sir, for joining us. It is an escalating problem. You're the first on a U.S. military base. Just since today -- I know it started today, but do you think that this will help, even starting today, to get those men and women to open up?
JOE VARNEY, SUICIDE PREVENTION COORDINATOR, FORT CAMPBELL, KENTUCKY (via telephone): Well, Don, I do. You know, the strongest tool we have in our arsenal right now is awareness. And just making our soldiers aware of things that are occurring with their buddies standing next to them, getting them involved, getting them to pay attention to the warning signs is going to be a great benefit to us.
LEMON: Why are numbers so high? Is it because of multiple deployments? Is that one reason? Can you say at this point why the numbers are so high, Mr. Varney?
VARNEY: Sir, we cannot. There's multiple issues at work here. A lot of range of factors affect the soldiers and the average American citizen. We really are unable to pinpoint any specific factor because every suicidal incident is unique in itself.
LEMON: But you have to -- someone who knows about this, this is very personal for you and you've done your research. You have to have at least some idea about what might be causing this spike in suicide.
VARNEY: Well, sir, we do see a leading trend which tends to be rooted in personal relationship issues.
LEMON: Does it -- personal relationship issues. Explain more about that. What do you mean?
VARNEY: Well, sir, everyone needs their own social network to help them cope with everyday stresses. For most of us, it's a spouse. It might be a boyfriend, girlfriend or parents, our friends and neighbors. And when that social network breaks down, we no longer have shoulders to lean on. We tend to lose our connection with reality.
LEMON: They're seeing the horrific scenes in war, experiencing them over in Iraq and Afghanistan and wherever they may be posted, and they're coming home, and they're being put right back into the family situations, right back into their situations as they were before, before they had seen any of these issues or experienced any of this. Are they getting support they need once they get back?
VARNEY: Yes, Don, they are. And we have several very well thought-out and organized programs to help ease our soldiers back into their social networks, into their family relationships. And the stand-down that we're currently conducting today is just another step in that process to help make our soldiers aware that their buddy standing next to them might be having difficulty, and they need to be aware of what the warning signs are to help them transition back into their social networks.
LEMON: I want to talk to you about these different scenarios that you have on videos and role-playing that you do with them. But do you think the economy, once they get back, does the economy have anything to do with this, do you think?
VARNEY: For our soldiers, Don, I don't believe so, because the military is a chosen career. A lot of these young soldiers have volunteered to participate in their chosen profession. It's a stable environment. It's a steady paycheck. And I really do not see how the current economic situation has affected military soldiers.
LEMON: OK. What you do is you have different scenarios, role playing, where you talk to people about it. You let them see the men and women if one of their buddies, one of their fellow military men or woman may be vulnerable to suicide. How is this working, and explain to our viewer how you do this.
VARNEY: We have this very well-produced Hollywood-quality product that we have trained facilitators present to a group, usually a military unit. The presentation is actually observed by mental health professionals to observe the crowd for any adverse reactions, any signs of distress. And as the video plays, the audience is given an opportunity to make choices which lead the characters in the video through the process.
LEMON: Well, let's hope it works there. Joe Varney. Joe Varney is a Fort Campbell suicide prevention manager, the first on a U.S. military base anywhere, to try to help with this situation. And we certainly do hope it works. Best of luck to you, OK?
Thank you very much for that. Repeated tours in Iraq or Afghanistan -- we talked about that -- or both are assumed to be a factor, one factor, in the suicide surge, but that hasn't been proven yet. One thing is certainly for sure: People who've never shipped off to war can never completely relate to those who have. And we want to revisit three U.S. troops in Afghanistan whose stories we first aired on Monday, Memorial Day.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STAFF SGT. EMMET JARVIS, U.S. ARMY: I joined before September 11, 2001. So, I have no idea it was going to happen.
SPC. JONATHON ERWIN, U.S. ARMY: My name is Jonathan Erwin (ph) and I'm a specialist in the U.S. Army.
SGT. ELIZABETH MARSTELLER, U.S. ARMY: I am Sergeant Elizabeth Marsteller.
ERWIN: If any infantry man or cavalry guy says he didn't want to go to war, I don't believe him. Because this is what you sign up for.
JARVIS: It's a privilege, really, to be a part of building a country, you know, and helping their people out. So, I take a lot of pride in what I do.
ERWIN: At first it started like a bad training exercise. But, the day we took our first contact, I mean, that's when my eyes just opened up and realized this wasn't a game and this was serious stuff. And if I didn't do my job, somebody could get hurt.
MARSTELLER: A suicide bomber had hit a gate and blew off legs and limbs and lower body parts and lots of burns. It was really crazy, actually. It was one particular week that that happened back to back. We'd get a lot of people. I guess that's one moment in time.
ERWIN: No one will understand war until they go to war. And the individuals back home that don't understand and don't have concept of it and don't understand why, won't ever know.
JARVIS: Unless you walk in our shoes, it's very hard to really understand the mental effects and emotional effects that it has on you.
MARSTELLER: You can't really describe to people that haven't been there. They can't really know unless they're there. Sometimes that's difficult. But then you realize they haven't been there and you have to realize where they're coming from, too. Maybe they don't want to hear about goriness of it, or -- most people just want to hear the happy times.
JARVIS: When you get home and get off that airplane and you don't have your weapon, it's pretty important to just embrace your family, your friends, your loved ones, and just, I guess, bask in the moment of, well, I'm not there. I'm here and I'm safe.
MARSTELLER: Obviously as a medical provider you want everyone to live. You want everyone to go home with all digits, all arms and legs. You want them to be OK.
ERWIN: The worst day for me was the day we left because I knew we weren't coming back with everybody.
JARVIS: You know, it's like I told my guys. If we could go this entire deployment and not have to fire one shot, that would be a very successful deployment.
MARSTELLER: I don't know how to explain them why I keep coming back because I don't think they'll ever truly understand other telling them I love what I do. I love helping people. I love the medical field. I love helping soldiers. So, that's my reason anyway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Their stories today in their own words.
Reading a couple of your responses here, today. One, someone e- mailed me saying, "Divorce and time away, Don, are leading causes." That was on my personal e-mail. Now, check this one out. This one is from Twitter. And these responses are frank.
Pawilliamsaz says -- or Arizona says, "It irks the hell out of me that so many troops soldiers have seen their lives and families destroyed and committing suicide."
NavyBrat1972 (ph) says, "We need to take the stigma off of PTSS, PTSD and do better diagnosing. Navy suicides would drop."
AgapeEternal (ph) says, "Surprised about the suicides? Look at the war we are fighting."
And the final one we're going to read here -- it says NeoBayeth (ph) -- I think that's how to pronounce it says, "That's a damn shame."
Frank but obviously the truth here, talking about the escalating suicide rate among people in the armed services especially at Ft. Campbell.
Keep comments coming. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com
Meantime, police in a small Texas town accused of highway robbery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It happened on the highway and they were robbed. And it just so happened the people had uniforms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: How did confiscated cash end up in the pockets of city employees? CNN investigates the money trail.
Also, for more information on President Obama's pick for the Supreme Court and her decisions, make sure to keep an eye on the flipper right at the bottom of the screen and check out CNN.com/sotomayor.
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LEMON: Former heavyweight champ -- heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson is asking for privacy after the death of his 4-year-old daughter in a bizarre accident.
Exodus Tyson died yesterday, at a Phoenix hospital after her neck apparently got caught in a cord dangling from a treadmill at her home. Now investigators say she either slipped or put her head in the loop of a cord hanging under the console and suffocated.
Well, the death of Mike Tyson's daughter may prompt parents to look at hidden household dangers, things they don't think about a lot like power cords.
CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at some of the less obvious dangers.
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, I am a parent myself. So, I think this is something that I think about as well, as anybody parent thinks about. A couple things to keep in mind. First of all, we tend to overestimate our child's intelligence and underestimate their abilities, especially small children when it comes to potential hazards in the house.
A very sad story about Mike Tyson's daughter. The key is to try to prevent these sort of things and the key to that is really supervision more than anything else. That's the first caveat.
When you think about these cords, for example, there are a couple rules of thumb. Unplug the cords as much as possible. Tie them up. So, unplug cords to appliances, but also tie up cords that may be to your blinds, for example. Kids can push a piece of furniture over to the blinds and they can get to those cords and that can be a choking hazard.
Again, when you think about -- sort if, if you look around your house, things that could potentially be dangerous, think about things that can tip over and potentially hurt your child. A flat screen TV, appliances, furniture. About 15,000 kids go to the emergency room every year because of these sorts of tip-overs and those are some of the most common culprits. There are some fairly inexpensive mounting kits that you can probably put in today, to try to prevent your child from being a causality or being injured by one of these types of injuries.
Now, we don't think a lot about falling out of windows anymore because of better windows, better screens. But it still happens. Think about your child being able to move a piece of furniture over to a window, pushing that screen out -- potentially, could that happen? That's another thing you may want to check today.
You can't be around 24/7. You can't supervise your kid all the time. And there's a lot to think about, certainly, when keeping your kids safe in a home. But the key is I think, awareness. Spending a little bit of time going around your home trying to make it a little bit safer could possibly help and prevent a lot of heartache in the long run.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, Sanjay. Thank you very much for that.
North Korea knows all about saber rattling. Lots of experience there. But these latest sabers are rattling a it louder than last time. We'll push forward next hour with the Pentagon's take on what is happening.
Plus, a soldier's ongoing battle with the policy that ended his career. Don't ask, don't tell. Today he is hoping the president hears his protests with his own ears.
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LEMON: An inspired artist using a few thousand balloons and some lung power is creating sculptures you have to see to believe.
Gary Tuchman has the story on "The Edge of Discovery."
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GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It starts with a single balloon. Then grows and grows and grows. Until eventually it looks like this. These balloon sculptures are described as surreal sea creatures, or whimsical toys. But their meaning is in the eye of the beholder and they all come from this creative mind of artist Jason Hackenwerth.
JASON JACKENWERTH, ARTIST: My job is to make interesting and fun things happen. My life is, you know, about doing that. It's the most wonderful experience.
TUCHMAN: He started five years ago in the New York City subway.
HACKENWERTH: when people could come around the corner and see that, they would just light up. It was so obviously I was on to something really beautiful.
TUCHMAN: And he's been doing it ever since. Even when it meant sacrifice.
HACKENWERTH: Right after New Year's Eve, I was out in Times Square trying to earn 60 bucks for some grocery and laundry money for sure. Times are tough.
TUCHMAN: That didn't stop him from taking simple balloons and turning them into something we've never seen before. Hackenwerth's art has been shown in galleries and museums all over the world.
HACKENWERTH: I would love to inspire young people to believe that anything is possible. I mean, ultimately, you have to -- you have to attempt the absurd to achieve the impossible, and I think that's part of what's happening here.
TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN.
(END VIDEEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. Let's talk now about the class of '09. 90 percent of the (INAUDIBLE) graduates. So they might be doing something right, right?
An ambitious scholarship program tries to help city kids and college campuses.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. North Korea firing missiles and defying the international community. Well, the U.S. Secretary of State speaks out and she has some very strong words. Her words in just a moment.
But, first, it is a scholarship program built on the power of posse, called the posse. Students of inner city public schools sent off to college in groups.
CNN's Brooke Baldwin explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jasmine Vereen (ph), actress, star student, class of '09, high school senior.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is my last year.
BALDWIN (on camera): Little Jasmine. How old were you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was -- that was first grade.
BALDWIN: And look at you now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes.
BALDWIN: All grown up, ready to go to college.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. That's me.
BALDWIN (voice-over): Jasmine is graduating from Atlanta's DeKalb School of the Arts, before heading to Worcester College, come fall.
(on camera): You had never heard of Worcester College.
(voice-over) : If she didn't know before, Jasmine definitely knows now. Worcester is a predominantly white school in a small Ohio town, quite a change of scenery from this diverse public school that Jasmine says, that is precisely the point.
I want to embrace their culture, who they are, just as much as I want them to embrace me.
BALDWIN: Jasmine won't be going alone. She will have her posse be her side.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Malcolm Perry (ph, the college of Worcester.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Julian Rainwater (ph), the college of Worcester.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jessica Pringle (ph), the college of Worcester.
BALDWIN: These 11 students are Posse scholars nominated and then selected to be part of the Posse Foundation, a leadership and diversity program created by education expert, Deborah Bial, in 1989.
DEBORAH BIAL, THE POSSE FOUNDATION: There was a student who said he never would have dropped out of college if he had his posse with him.
BALDWIN: Last week, posse celebrated its 20th anniversary in Manhattan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's up, posse?
BALDWIN: The purpose of Posse, according to Bial, is to identify public high school students from six cities with extraordinary leadership and academic potential, and then send them to college with supportive, multicultural teams or posses.
BIAL: Our top institutions of higher education still have much too much a homogeneous student body. Posse's helping them to diversify their student body, but also to get young people into their environments who are really dynamic leaders.
BALDWIN: Over the last 20 years, Posse partner colleges have awarded 2,650 scholars, more than $265 million in four-year, full- tuition scholarships. And the students' graduation rate? 90 percent
Alumnus Tiffany Schiffner says Posse not only taught her leadership skills and self-confidence --
TIFFANY SCHIFFNER, POSSE ALUMNUS: It also, you know, taught us a lot about being sensitive and aware to diversity and multicultural issues, just really embraces the notion of support.
BALDWIN: This high school senior already feels that support from every one of her Posse peers. But before she can think about college, Jasmine's focus right now? Graduation.
(on camera): You'll be a big high school grad.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I will be.
BALDWIN: Moving on to big Worcester College.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes! Well, I don't know about big, but it is big in the step I'm taking.
BALDWIN (voice-over): A big step, but a promising future.
Brooke Baldwin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
