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New Campaign Launched to Fight Town Hall Disruptions; Obama to Attend Summit in Mexico; Bodies and Wreckage Pulled from Hudson; Typhoon Rakes Asia; Mexico's Drug Cartel
Aired August 09, 2009 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Free-for-all: It's a state of town hall meetings these days and it doesn't show any signs of letting up. Now, a new campaign to fight back.
South of the border: The president on his way to Mexico as we speak. Are illegal drugs on the agenda? Our Michael Ware shows us why they should be. We'll do that live.
Bringing down the house: An overseas typhoon releases a torrent. Will anything be left standing?
And lottery for life: A family auctioning off their home, selling lottery tickets in hopes of saving a little boy's life.
All right now in the news.
Good evening, everyone. I'm Don Lemon.
We begin tonight with the furious debate over health care reform, growing more unhealthy by the day. Across the country, we are witnessing town hall meetings on health care devolving into shouting matches -- just worthy of a "Jerry Springer" episode. Now, with people lashing out over who ultimately pays the bill for millions of medically-uninsured Americans.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
JONATHAN BETZ, WFAA REPORTER (voice-over): The event remains largely civil. Huge crowds overwhelm the meeting hall with hundreds more gathering outside.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're very, very scared.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When the Republicans control Congress and the Senate, why didn't you introduce and pass health care reform?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My biggest fear is this is going to get rammed down our throats.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a mob. Do we look like a mob?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This doesn't look like a mob, this looks like home. MATT SZESNY, KMOV REPORTER (voice-over): Some estimated that as many as another 800 couldn't get in and were locked outside.
(CROWD CHANTING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They won't even let us in. They've blocked us out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son has the right to live.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No doubt about that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son has the right to health care.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't really think you're going to get that, ma'am, in this bill, do you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have to do something.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what they -- that's what I hear from the liberals. We've got to do something. A bad bill is better than nothing, I guess.
KONIJI ANTONY, WMC REPORTER (voice-over): This health care reform town hall meeting in downtown Memphis spawned more than one screaming match.
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll make this my first priority and yes, I have read the bill.
(CROWD CHEERING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... taxes!
REP. STEVE COHEN (D), TENNESSEE: Please don't yell out. This is America. This is Memphis, Tennessee. Take two aspirin and come back in the morning.
(CROWD BOOING)
ANA CABRERA, KMGH REPORTER (voice-over): Boos and cheers greeted Representative Ed Perlmutter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I need health care reform for my daughter.
CABRERA: Proof people are passionate when it comes to health care reform.
REP. ED PERLMUTTER (D), COLORADO: I just appreciate the fact that you're all willing to take time to come out. Thank you for exercising your civic duty of talking to your congressman.
(CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
LEMON: Scenes like that playing out all over America. And it's not only the crowds losing their cool at these town hall shout downs, listen to Georgia Congressman David Scott get fired up when the topic came up at a town hall meeting just last week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DAVID SCOTT (D), GEORGIA: Not a single one of you had the decency to call my office and set up for a meeting, OK? Then do that! Do that! But don't -- don't come and take advantage of what these individuals have done. You want a meeting with me on health care, I'll give it to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, next hour, we'll tell you why that may not exactly be true in this case and show you much more on this very heated exchange -- much, much more on this.
In the meantime, who or what is behind the course of dissent we're hearing at these town hall meetings? Supporters of health care reform accuse special interest groups, insurance companies, and Republican rabble-rousers of hijacking the discussion. Critics say they have a right to oppose what they see as a government takeover of health care.
It has been the partisan point of contention on the Sunday talk show circuit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), MAJORITY WHIP: I'll tell you what's wrong with it. When there's a group of people sitting in the middle trying to ask the important questions and get the right answers, and instead, someone takes the microphone and screams and shouts to the point where the meeting comes to an end. That isn't dialogue. That isn't the democratic process.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: To demonize citizens who are energetic about this strikes me as demonstrating a kind of weakness in your position. In other words, you want to change the subject and rather talk about the half a trillion dollar in Medicare cuts, let's talk about somebody at some town meeting who misbehaved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. Let's bring in CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano, bring her into this discussion.
Elaine, the administration had dismissed the critics at town halls. And it seems like they have done that just last week. But now, we're hearing there's an effort by Democrats to start to control this message.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes -- well, that's right. Last week, as you said, officials really did try to dismiss this as Astroturf. In other words, not genuine grassroots organizing. They said this is manufactured anger. But at the same time, it was interesting to see the White House still took the step of launching a video on YouTube featuring Linda Douglass who is basically the administration's message person when it comes to health care.
And so that video was out there, and now, we're seeing White House allies coming forward trying to rally supporters to the cause, as well. A group called Organizing for America sent an e-mail today telling people to visit their local lawmakers offices trying to counter the message and let lawmakers know -- counter the protestors' message, I should say, and let lawmakers know that there are, in fact, people who do support health care reform legislation -- Don?
LEMON: And, Elaine, I'm sure the administration is aware of this. But they have to be really careful, I would think, because you can't lump all the people at these town halls as extremists, not all of them are extremists.
QUIJANO: Yes, that's exactly right. And, you know, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs talked a little bit about this on Friday. And, you know, he basically said, "Look, the White House just wants the temperature to be lowered a bit here." He said the president, of course, thinks that town hall meetings are useful places where discussions can actually happen.
But he said, you know, "It's one thing when someone basically objects and respectfully does so. It's another thing when you've got people who are yelling and pushing and shoving, and you've got, perhaps, the threat of violence," he said. You know, that in no way, shape, or form is constructive at all. It doesn't really help anybody.
LEMON: All right. White House correspondent Elaine Quijano -- Elaine, thank you very much for that.
President Barack Obama arrives in Guadalajara, Mexico, at this hour, to attend the North American Leaders Summit. The president left the White House several hours ago and should be wheels down in Mexico in just about 15 minutes.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is traveling with the president and joins us now live from Guadalajara.
Hello, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.
We'll expect the president to arrive in about 20 minutes or so. His first order of business is to sit down with Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon, and then, a working dinner, he'll be joined by Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Now, what is happening here -- informally, the media calling it the "summit of the three amigos." But there's some serious business that these leaders have to deal with in just a day and a half. It's going to be a quick summit. No major announcements, but really meant to set the agenda for these three leaders, these three countries.
And what you're going to actually hear one of the primary concerns is going to be about the economy, about the recession. All three leaders talking about ways of making sure that they overcome the worst of this, and that they are coordinated in their ways of dealing with it.
The second thing, Don, interestingly enough, is that I traveled here commercially aside separate from the White House press corps, got a chance in customs, first thing that happens, they greet you with Purel. They actually squeeze it in your hand to make sure that you are sanitary, that your hands are sanitized, because of concern over the swine flu H1N1 virus that all three leaders are going to be talking about. They expect a resurgence in this flu that happened started and originated in Mexico.
It is going to be a tough flu season. So, all three leaders are going to make sure that they have a coordinated effort to make sure that that doesn't prohibit people from crossing the border, commerce, things like that. Also, on the table, immigration.
These are going to be some of the primary topics that they're dealing with in just 36 hours or so, Don.
LEMON: All right. We shall see. Suzanne Malveaux, thank you very much. Stick around, Suzanne. We'll see you in just a little bit once the president does arrive.
Escalating drug violence in Mexico is also bound to come up at that discussion at the summit. CNN's Michael Ware is in Guadalajara. He is covering that part of the story. He's going to join us live at the bottom of the hour to talk about that.
And CNN political editor Mark Preston joins us right now from Washington.
Mark, with all of the recent focus on health care reform, the president's quick summit in Mexico, it kind of seems like an afterthought. What do you make of it?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes, Don. No question, and there are some serious issues the president is going to deal with over the next couple of days. You know, Canada and Mexico -- two very strong allies, two very big trading partners for the U.S.
But you're absolutely correct, the number one topic here in the U.S. is health care and how it's going to get done -- and, of course, the escalating violence that we're seeing at some of these health care forums.
LEMON: Mark, most people would agree that providing health care for all is really a moral imperative. But the trillion dollar question really is: how do you get there?
PRESTON: You know, you're absolutely right, Don. And it is. I think many people would say that, you know, with a country as wealthy as the U.S., is how do we not take care of all of our citizens? But that is how do we get to the end result, how do we insure 46 million people.
And given the fact that the president really has laid a lot on the line, he's put a lot of money into the auto industry, into the mortgage industry, into the baking industry. And now, he wants to prop up health care. You know, Republicans are pushing back saying, where's the money?
LEMON: So, Mark, you know, let's talk about these town halls. With all of these town halls and all of the rowdiness that we have been seeing happening in a lot of them, what are the risks for both Democrats and Republicans?
PRESTON: Well, Don, you know, this is probably -- the most understated thing that we've talked about so far is the political risks to both parties. For Democrats, they're describing these folks at these rallies as mobs and saying they're extremists and what-have- you. And let's not forget, these are people who do vote, these are American citizens and the fact that you should be able to speak your mind here in the U.S. So they have to walk a fine line when pushing back against some of this -- some of this mob activity we're seeing.
At the same point, for Republicans, when you have supporters out there hanging members of Congress in effigy and showing Nazi symbolism and swastikas, and really getting violent at some of these things, I can tell you, the Republican Party doesn't want to see that either.
LEMON: All right. Political risks on both sides. Thank you, Mark Preston.
Members of Los Zetas, they have earned their reputation as the most feared among the Mexican drug cartels. And we'll show you why the U.S. is offering a $50 million reward for their capture. CNN's Michael Ware will take you behind the scenes.
Also, what if your child had only one shot at survival and your health insurance might not cover it? How far would you go to raise money? We'll tell you what one family is doing.
Also, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com, that's how you get in touch with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Two fights, two family vacations, same horrific end and New York sky. When a tourist helicopter and a small plane collided over the Hudson River, nine people, three of them teenagers, are dead now. And now, we're seeing the faces of this tragedy.
Sixty-year-old Steve Altman was piloting a single-engine Piper plane when it apparently slammed into a sightseeing helicopter just before noon on yesterday. Now, his brother Dan and Dan's 15-year-old son Doug were on board heading to the Jersey shore. Already a video tribute of the smiling Pennsylvania teen is posted on YouTube. In the helicopter, a pilot and five Italian tourists celebrating a wedding anniversary, 15-year-old James Gallazzi and his parents were killed in that crash, along with 16-year-old Filippo Norelli and his dad.
Seven bodies have been found. There are still missing in the Hudson, the murky waters there.
And our national correspondent Susan Candiotti is live in Hoboken, New Jersey, now, where recovery crews have been pulling out bodies and debris since early this morning.
Susan, what's going on right now? I imagine they're going to end the search once night comes, right?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, we can tell you that actually now -- just now, they have called off the work for the day after working throughout the day to recover more victims. They're calling it off because of an approaching storm and near zero visibility conditions where they've been working.
So far today, only two of the nine victims, as you indicated, remain missing from those killed in the crash, the midair collision when that small plane collided with a sightseeing helicopter.
Again, they've been working throughout the day since about 7:00 this morning and did locate four more victims. But as we indicated, conditions have been extremely difficult working in near zero visibility.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBBIE HERSMAN, NTSB CHAIRWOMAN: The divers had extremely challenging conditions with current and visibility. At times, the visibility was no more than one foot in front of them. Our investigators have advised me that the helicopter sustained significant damage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Now, at one point, a crane was brought in to lift the helicopter wreckage from the bottom of the Hudson River and that was brought to a nearby pier. At that time, the investigators put a big blue tarp over the top of it. Two victims were trapped inside that wreckage and have been recovered, of course, there'll be a very difficult identification process and, of course, autopsies will be conducted on all of the victims.
We are also learning more tonight, Don, about a bit of the history of the sightseeing helicopter, a sightseeing tour company called Liberty. They've been in business, according to record, since 1986. And today, the NTSB revealed, according to its own records that the company has had eight accidents since 1995. And just last year, there were two accidents and one incident, which is less severe than an accident. This is one of the things many areas that the National Transportation Safety Board will be looking at along with the physical conditions of the pilots, of both aircraft in this case, to check on their situation whether there was any possibility of human failure, whether there was mechanical failure. But, of course, the task is just beginning, and the NTSB has a lot of work ahead of them.
LEMON: Susan Candiotti in Hoboken, New Jersey -- thank you, Susan.
A prison riot raging for over 10 hours in southern California, it is under control tonight. But more than 250 inmates are hurt.
Roaring flames and flashing police lights outside the bars at the California Institution for Men in Chino hints at the violence that happened inside. A spokesman says 55 prisons are seriously injured, hospitalized with slashes and head wounds from the riot which broke out at about 8:30 last night in a medium-security wing. About 80 officers helped bring the situation under control earlier this morning, no employees or officers were hurt in this. No word on what sparked the violence.
Mother Nature's fury, hope there was no one in that building. Take a look at it. We'll take you overseas. Wow.
Plus, Mexico's drug violence spills over to the U.S. We'll tell you why police think the Mexican mafia is linked to the Billings family murders.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: At the beginning of this newscast, we told you about the president's trip to Mexico. There's Air Force One at the airport in Guadalajara, Mexico. The president is meeting with Mexican leaders and leaders in Canada as well to discuss a wide range of issues crossing the borders of all three countries there, Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. They're going to be talking about swine flu, trade, climate change, and also drug trafficking. President Barack Obama is arriving in Mexico right now.
Let's move on to talk about the weather overseas, as well, because the Typhoon Morakot is dropping ridiculous amounts of rain now in southeastern China. And check out what the storm did earlier today in Taiwan.
(VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Look at that. That is unbelievable there. It's unbelievable amounts of flood waters, too, that undermining this hotel and ultimately bringing down the house. We're told all 300 guests were safely evacuated before the building toppled.
Take another look. It's being called the worst flooding in Taiwan in 50 years. Hundreds of houses leveled or destroyed. At least 50 people have died in Taiwan and also in the Philippines and plenty of people are either missing or unaccounted for. Wow, unbelievable.
A million plus people in southeastern China were evacuated in advance of Morakot. Here's why, some major storms surge generated by this typhoon. At least one person was reportedly killed when the storm slammed into the Chinese coast. Morakot, well, may be running out of gas. We're hearing word of less rain and diminishing winds as the storm appears to be losing some of its intensity.
We turn now to our Jacqui Jeras because there's also extreme weather here. We're talking about a twister in Minneapolis, in a suburb there.
And what is going on in Taiwan and overseas?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, yes. The pictures have just been incredible.
Right over here in our Google Earth, we have a satellite picture to kind of show you where the storm is. So, here's Taiwan right here. The storm made landfall here and the center is over land now. So, the maximum winds only about 40 miles per hour right now, which will be the equivalent of a tropical storm. You know, the storm wasn't even that strong when it was over Taiwan, by the way.
LEMON: So, what gives?
JERAS: Well, it stalled out.
LEMON: Yes.
JERAS: It sat there for about 24 hours over the island, and so they literally had nearly seven feet of water.
LEMON: In a small amount of time.
JERAS: Just from rainfall, we're not even talking storm surge. So, really, really incredible.
LEMON: Is that the hotel right there that you have?
JERAS: Yes, this is the hotel and that was incredible pictures, as well. This is like a six-story hotel. It's very well known in that area. And there you can see, you know, it just gave way because the ground underneath it, right all that soil just everything got washed away. Incredible video of that taking place and they were able to evacuate that hotel, by the way. So we're hearing everybody got out of the way.
So, they're going to continue to have problems with rain in China and this is heading toward Shanghai. And so, it's really dumping some very heavy rain there. And a lot of people have relatives here in the U.S., a lot of business travelers heading over there and this is going to be problematic at least for probably a good three to five days before we start to see things quiet down.
Now, check this out, we've got problems of our own. We've got Felicia.
LEMON: I'm going to get out of your way.
JERAS: All right. You want to come over here and play with this wall, I know it, Don Lemon.
Hey, this is Felicia, this is a tropical storm. It's not going to do anything compared to the video that we saw there from China and also from Taiwan. It looks like your satellite picture's kind of jumping a little bit. But it's 50-mile-per-hour storm, maximum sustained winds. It is heading towards Hawaii and it could potentially be making landfall here maybe as early as Tuesday morning.
Now, we are expecting that this is going to be bringing in some very, very heavy rainfall. In fact, we could see several inches of rain. So, flashflood watches have been posted across many of the islands. A direct hit is a possibility, but the storm is expected to continue to weaken. So, that's a little bit of good news for you folks.
We don't think the wind will be a big factor. A lot of beaches were closed here today, and that was as a result of some of the big waves coming in. The waves today only maybe one to two feet or so, but we'll watch them increase. We could even see some good eight footers out there, I think, before all is said and done.
And then let's go ahead and talk about some of the stormy weather. There you can see some pictures out of the Twin Cities. There were confirmed tornadoes touching down in the Mound area, also in Long Lake. And there you can see some of the damage that was caused. We know that a church was damaged, as well. No injuries reported with that tornado and that just ripped right through the heart of the Twin Cities, right along the northern tier of the suburbs and even made its way all the way into Wisconsin with some funnel clouds.
Now, we do have some severe weather to talk about today, as well. There you can see that we have some watch box lined up across parts of the Midwest, extending over into parts of Michigan.
And we also have some severe weather here into the northeast -- and I want to zoom in. We are listening to Susan Candiotti earlier talking about the thunderstorms that they're having to stop their recovery mission going on there. There you can see the storms moving in. This is also causing some major delays in the airways.
So, if you're trying to travel, have a little bit of patience. These storms are going to stick around for a couple of hours -- Don?
LEMON: All right. Jacqui Jeras, thank you very much. We appreciate the forecast and the advice.
I want to tell our viewers again. The president is just arriving in Guadalajara, Mexico, meeting with the leaders of Mexico and also with Canada, talking about the problems that all three countries face on the borders. They're also going to be doing some talking about the drug cartel -- which is very interesting because our Michael Ware is in Mexico as well and has been doing some unbelievable reporting, taking us inside the Los Zetas.
Members of the Los Zetas, they have earned their reputation as the most feared among the Mexican drug cartels. We'll show you why the U.S. is offering a $50 million reward for their capture.
And what does a Mexican mafia have to do with the murders of a Florida couple? It is one of the latest leads investigators are chasing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: President Barack Obama arrived in Guadalajara, Mexico, just moments ago for a three-way summit with the leaders of Mexico and Canada. Just moments we saw him there, he is getting off of Air Force One. The three leaders have an aggressive agenda tonight and tomorrow, including climate change, swine flu, and international trade.
We'll update you on the meetings and all the progress right here on CNN. So, don't go anywhere.
This summit takes place against a backdrop of increasingly deadly violence by Mexican drug cartels. An estimated 10,000 people have died in drug-related violence over the past two years.
And CNN's Michael Ware recently visited the Mexican coastal city of Veracruz where one drug cartel in particular has emerged as law enforcement's worst nightmare. They are known as Los Zetas, the zeros, a name that strikes fear across Mexico and perhaps one day inside the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The dead always tell a story, and here in Mexico, that story is the war raging on America's doorstep, being fought for the right to supply America's demand for illegal drugs -- a war becoming more violent, more ruthless, mostly because of one group.
(on camera): To even begin to understand that violence, come with me here in the barrio in southern Mexican city of Veracruz. Imagine if you will, a band of Special Forces Green Beret soldiers go rogue and offer their services and their fire power to the drug cartels. Well, that's precisely what's happened in Mexico. In the 1990s, commandos from the Mexican army deserted and set up their own cartel known as the Los Zetas.
The Los Zetas are a group that the U.S. government now says is the most technologically advanced, sophisticated, and dangerous cartel operating in Mexico. And this is an example of some of their most recent work. And until not so long ago, this was the home to a local police commander, promoted just two months before.
And at 5:00 a.m. one morning, two cars pulled up in these streets. Eight or nine gunmen got out armed with assault rifles and 40 millimeter grenade launchers. They blasted their way into this house and it took them less than five minutes to execute the father, the police commander, his wife, a policewoman, and in the blaze that they started to kill four children.
This is the drug war in Mexico. This is the war that the Los Zetas are fighting and this is the war on America's doorstep that shows no sign of ending.
(voice-over): And with their fearsome weaponry and military expertise, U.S. agencies considered the Zetas America's most formidable enemy in the drug war.
RALPH REYES, MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICAN CHIEF, DEA: The Zetas have obviously assumed the role of being the number one organization responsible for the majority of the homicides, the narcotic-related homicides, the beheadings, the kidnappings, the extortions that take place in Mexico.
WARE: From this Washington, D.C. office, DEA Central American Chief Ralph Reyes directs America's fight against the Zetas, a fight, he says, that will take years.
REYES: They continue to train new recruits through several campaigns. One of them is a very public and open narco banners they place around the country of Mexico, specifically tailored to the military in that they will offer better pay and better benefits if they join the ranks of the Zetas.
WARE: With their mastery of combat, this organized crime network operates more like a U.S. infantry company patrolling the streets of Fallujah in Iraq than they do a street gang. And they're only getting stronger.
(on camera): Veracruz is a popular tourist destination with powerful plazas just like this one. But it's actually a thin veneer for what's really going on beneath. Local newspapers almost daily have headlines of the horror of the bloody violence of the drug cartels, cartels that here in Veracruz are more often than not linked to the Los Zetas.
The American Drug Enforcement Agency tells me that while it is originally based on military lines, it's been built on a business structure with quarterly meetings, business ledgers kept, even votes on key assassinations.
And now the Los Zetas are taxing businesses beyond even their drug reach. From human trafficking across the American border to one recent scandal shows, they've been imposing a kind of tax on the Mexican government itself. The state-run oil company, it's just been revealed, has been bleeding billions through corrupt officials linked to the Los Zetas.
And as a DEA agent told me, the American border makes little difference to the Los Zetas. To them, it doesn't matter if their violence is on the Mexican side of the border or on the American side. (voice-over): On that American side, one of the instruments of assassination was teenager Rosaleo Rheta (ph). He was just 13 years old when he first killed.
"I love doing it," says Rheta (ph) in this police interrogation. "Killing that first person, I loved it. I thought I was superman."
But you can be certain there are more like him. And there will be until America can defeat adversaries like the Los Zetas and end the drug wars across the border.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DON LEMON, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: All right. CNN's Michael Ware is in Guadalajara, Mexico. He is standing by. We're going to talk to Michael in a little bit about what's happening there. And what should the leaders be talking about when it comes to Los Zetas and the drug cartels.
Meantime, here's some of your feedback. Michael's going to join us on the other side of the break.
Brian8907 says, "I'm tired of the town halls. Insurance companies already pay for lobbyists. Get the people who are only there to distract out."
Joethemailman says, "Representatives work for the people not the other way around. Representatives need to listen to their boss."
Stevendavis says, "How do you plan to get across the shouting when all CNN does is cover the fringe side of the issue."
Jazzfanforlife says, "The media needs to stop paying so much attention on these stupid people and focus on the people who don't have insurance."
NCinsight45 says, "Let's be clear, the purpose of the mob is disturbance and media play not substance and Q&A, mission accomplished."
AdministerDO says, "Here we go again. People who act like leftists or extremists, at least you admit that some aren't."
EllianSmith says, "How do I find out where and when town hall meetings are in my area?"
Another viewer says, "Michael Ware needs to take some time off. He has worked so hard. It seems like he is trying to save the world by himself sometimes."
Well, Michael loves what he does. So we're going to let him do it.
Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com is how you get on the air. We're going to continue our conversation on Mexico's drug violence. Plus, how it's spilling over in the U.S. We'll tell you why police think the Mexican mafia may have links to the Billings family murders.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Before we went to the break, we saw a report from CNN's Michael Ware about the Zetas, Mexico's most dangerous drug cartel.
CNN's Michael Ware joins us now from Guadalajara, Mexico.
Michael, thank you very much. The drug violence seems like, you know, extremely urgent issue when it comes to the U.S., to Canada, and to Mexico, obviously. We're not hearing that much about it. It doesn't seem like it's that high on the agenda. What can the U.S. expect to get out of this, if anything, out of this summit?
WARE: Well, Don, President Obama has, we're told, landed now in Mexico, so he should be here in the city of Guadalajara. And we do know that the drug war is on the agenda.
Now, what everyone will be looking out of any discussions about the drug war from President Obama is two things -- money and guns. America is partnering with the Mexican government in the war against the drug cartels. The Mexican government is risking everything. Mexican President Felipe Calderon has spent more than 40,000 army troops into the streets of his own city.
But one could understand if he feels like he's doing that alone. America has promised $1.4 billion over three years, but that's $400 or $500 million a year.
Now, el Chap Guzma (ph), the head of just one cartel of many, one individual, his net worth is estimated at more than double what America is putting into the drug fight every year. America really is not yet fighting this war. And I think the Mexican government will be hoping that Obama will have something to bring to the table and something to announce, some real involvement in terms of money. I mean, Mexico's still waiting on delivery of helicopters that they've been begging for.
Also guns, the guns that are being used to fight this war are coming from America. This isn't just stopping at the border and increased border control. It means preventing the sales in the first place. Mexico's calling for a weapons assault ban. Let's see if the Obama administration can actually step up on any of these fronts and actually begin to fight the drug war in Mexico, Don.
LEMON: You know what, Michael, a lot of people are asking this. In your report you said it was upwards of $40 to $50 billion a year that the drug cartels -- at least one of them, that they can make, that they can generate. So the question then becomes, why not regulation and taxation, especially now with a sinking economy, if you have that much revenue coming in. WARE: Well, that's the thing, Don. If you look at the grand scheme of this drug war, I mean, it's not about the American border. It starts in the Andies of South America and goes to the streets of Canada. In the Andes, you have production. In Central America, you have warehousing and transshipment of the drugs. In Panama, you have the money laundering and the banking. And Mexico is the retail end. By the time you get into the United States, that distribution.
Now, the profit incentive is not going to go away until America's demand for this multibillion dollar supply of elicit drugs, every year perhaps up to $30 billion to $40 billion a year, goes away, until this demand disappears. I don't know about you, Don, but I don't see that American demand disappearing any time soon.
So America's got some tough choices. It's got to get real about this war. You either send 101st Airborne Division into Mexico and really seal that border, which isn't that possible, or you start thinking about regulating some of these drugs and taxing them and looking at earning some revenue. There's tough choices ahead for any American administration that really wants to tackle the war on drugs, Don.
LEMON: CNN's Michael Ware in Guadalajara, Mexico. Michael, we appreciate it.
The Mexican mafia and the murder of a Florida couple known for adopting special-needs kids, police say one man links the mob to the murder victims. and now he's being questioned in connection with the deaths of Byrd and Melanie Billings.
CNN's Sean Callebs has more on how this investigation is becoming more tangled as time passes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 61-year-old Henry Cab Tice was a long-time friend and business associate of Byrd and Melanie Billings, according to the Escambia County Sheriff, David Morgan.
DAVID MORGAN, SHERIFF, ESCAMBIA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: They were business partners in a series of businesses. Both in a finance company, which financed cars and other things and, of course, in a couple of small car dealerships.
CALLEBS: However the relationship soured. Tice owed Billings about $30,000, according to the sheriff. And he was arrested Thursday on a year-old charge of writing more than $17,000 in bad checks to the Billings.
The sheriff is also not ruling out the Billings' murders could be a contact hit.
Another intriguing connect, Tice, according to the sheriff, was also close to 35-year-old Patrick Gonzalez Jr., the man authorities portray as the ring leader in the murders of the Florida couple who adopted 13 children, many with special needs.
MORGAN: He's had an ongoing relationship with Patrick Gonzalez Jr., as he described it, a father and son relationship, where they spoke on a daily basis.
CALLEBS: The sheriff says he's surprised by the information that Tice volunteered, like a connection to organized crime.
MORGAN: He inferred that because he got into financial trouble in the business and he needed some money that he made connections with what he referred to as the Mexican mafia and secured a loan from them in order for the business not to fail.
CALLEBS: CNN was unable to locate Tice, but in an interview with NBC, he says he had nothing to do with the killings.
HENRY CAB TICE, MURDER INVESTIGATION SUSPECT: That anybody would say that I had anything to do with the murder of Byrd or Melanie is a liar.
CALLEBS: The Billings family issued a statement saying, "We have faith that Sheriff Morgan will be diligent in determining whether there is any connection between Cab Tice and the murders."
Authorities say the big break in this case came when someone involved in the murders failed to turn off the Billings' security system. Cameras rolled as the gang roamed the Billings house and caught images of the suspects in a red van leaving the house.
MORGAN: It would not be unrealistic to assume that Mr. Tice was aware of a security system. He had been in the home many times, also at the office. Mr. Billings was known to pull up on his security system, his home system, so he could observe the children and how the home life was going.
CALLEBS: Tice had been working at this car dealership and living there, as well. Tice has since been fired and told to move on.
(on camera): Tice frequently goes to Mexico for business dealings and, authorities say, he also travels to Colombia where he has a wife or a girlfriend. While he remains free on bond, the sheriff told Tice not to leave this area.
Sean Callebs, CNN, in Pensacola, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, Sean.
Lottery for life, a family auctioning off their home by selling lottery tickets in hopes of saving a little boy's life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK. Notice anything different at the gas pump? Like how much extra it is costing you to fill up? Prices are up nearly 16 cents over the past two weeks. The results of rising crude oil prices. But on the bright side, the national Lundberg Survey says the rate of increase is slowing. Gas prices are still $1.20 cheaper from the same time last year. So a little bit of good news.
Then there is the job market. Unemployment numbers are down. Hopes are up, but not too much.
CNN's Money.com's Poppy Harlow joins us live from New York.
Hello, Poppy. You know, I've got to ask you, my first instinct is to ask you is this the light at the end of the tunnel? But when you're so far into the tunnel, I don't think you can see light this far IN.
(LAUGHTER)
POPPY HARLOW, CNN MONEY.COM: It's sort of a case of "we'll take what we can get on Friday, a much better than expected number. The unemployment rate, which most economists thought would go up in July, went down .1 percent in the month of June. And the headline numbers are strong. You've got the health care sector adding 20,000 jobs. Of course, manufacturing and retailers still shedding jobs. But when you take a look at most groups, the picture's improving.
Look at these numbers when you look by gender, adult men and adult women, the unemployment rate is dropping slightly for both. A better situation for women, below the national average there.
Then look at it by race. By race here, for white people, down a little bit. Hispanics, a different story, the unemployment rate is rising, and for African-Americans, unemployment down. For Hispanics and blacks you have higher unemployment, much higher than the national average. A little bit of good news there.
But not all good news here, Don because the unemployment rate for folks collecting those checks for more than six months, long-term unemployment, that is at a record high of nearly five million people.
Also, you have to know the unemployment rate counts people that are actively looking for work. So if they have stopped looking for work and heading back to school in September or if they are just frustrated, they're done looking all together, or early retirement, they don't count in that number. So the headline number is strong, but we still have a lot of concerns out there.
LEMON: What people are concerned about is, as they are being laid off and unemployed, benefits, how long their benefits are going to last.
HARLOW: Right.
LEMON: What will it cover? Again, for how long?
HARLOW: We have something I want to point out on CNN Money.com that people can use, state by state. Unemployment benefits vary per state. Take a look there, how many weeks you get. It's on our site. I want to look at Michigan. It has the highest unemployment rate in the nation, 15.2 percent, but the longest term, in terms of unemployment benefits. You have up to 79 weeks. If you are not getting that, look into extending benefits.
Let's you at Alabama. They have 10.1 percent unemployment, so still over the national average, 59 weeks there, 20 weeks less than Michigan.
Let's look at Utah, where the story is great, relatively speaking, 5.7 percent unemployment, but they only have 46 weeks of unemployment benefits.
Check out that map. See where your state stands. Make sure you are getting all the benefits you deserve.
I want to point out some real-people stories. If you are living on unemployment, and maybe your benefits have run out, a harsh reality. That is going to kick in for many people this fall according to a number of reports.
Take a look at this. It is a gallery that have people dealing with this.
That's Mary Ortega. I want it to you. Mary is 42. She is from Pennsylvania. She wrote to us that she was a store manager at a retail chain that shut down. She said was laid off when she was younger, but she never thought it would last this long. She has been out of work since May 2008. And Mary said, quote, "Our savings are exhausted. It is going to be very tight for the next 45 days. If I don't find a job before that, I truly don't know what I'm going do."
Share your stories with us. We want to know how you feel.
Don, we're going to be profiling some people, doing some stories on some real folks dealing with this because we have to get ready. In the fall, we're going to see millions of people and those benefits are going to run out. The administration is talking about whether they and Congress can extend those further. We'll see.
LEMON: When you hear the rate of unemployment has slowed and you hear that story, not until you have a job do you actually start feeling better.
HARLOW: It's a real story, so much more than these numbers.
LEMON: Thank you very much, Poppy.
HARLOW: You're welcome.
LEMON: We appreciate it.
Want to register to win a home and maybe save a little boy's life in the process? I know it is an odd question. I'll explain it straight ahead. But first, Montreal's new public transportation system is trading toxic taxis and power-draining subways for handle bars and pedal power.
CNN's Gary Tuchman has tonight's "Edge of Discovery."
(EDGE OF DISCOVERY)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: A hundred bucks gets your name in the pot for a lakeside home and you can help save a little boy's life at the same time. It is a heck of a gamble this family hopes will pay off.
Diana Davis from our affiliate right here in Atlanta, WSB, has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REID THORNTON, RAFFLING HOUSE: This is the house we are raffling off.
DIANA DAVIS, REPORTER, WSB (voice-over): This house on Lake Spivey in Clayton County could save Payton Thornton's life. He was born with a rare skin condition, called epidermolysis bullosa. His skin blisters and tears at the slightest touch.
THORNTON: Does it hurt? You are pretty tough, though, ain't you?
They say anything past 13, it is going to be worse and more painful...
DAVIS: Payton has spent his life wrapped in bandages.
THORNTON: You can see his hands are starting to mitten from the scarring.
DAVIS: A stem cell transplant may cure A.B. University of Minnesota researchers transplant umbilical cord stem cells to make healthy collagen.
THORNTON: Every child that has had it, has made unbelievable strides.
DAVIS: Payton's brother and his parents aren't matches. But the Thorntons are expecting a baby who is a match.
THORNTON: What about this new baby mama's having. Do you think mama's baby is a boy or a girl?
PAYTON THORNTON, HAS A.B.: A girl.
THORNTON: She is going to help you get rid of you're A.B., ain't she? What is she going to do? She is going to give you new blood?
PAYTON THORNTON: Mm-hmm.
THORNTON: Will you be glad?
PAYTON THORNTON: Mm-hmm.
DAVIS: The transplant costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and insurance may not cover expenses. Payton's cousin is raffling off her house for $100 a ticket. It had been on the market for years. The idea for a fund-raiser came at her grandmother's funeral.
TOMMIE ANNE MCLEOD, COUSIN: At the home, Payton's grandmother was there and she was talking about how desperately they needed to raise money for his transplant.
DAVIS: 1,300 tickets have been sold. They need at least another 3500. The baby is due January 1st. The Thorntons hope that will be the start of two healthy lives.
DAVIS (on camera): If they do not sell a minimum of 3500 tickets for the house, each buyer who bought a ticket will get a full refund.
From Clayton County, Diana Davis, Channel 2 Action News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
