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Drug Cartels Expand Across U.S.; '30 Second Pitch'; Cash for Clunkers Runs Out of Gas on Monday; CNN Hero; A Family's Critical Condition

Aired August 21, 2009 - 13:59   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to push forward now with the second hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Is legalizing drugs the way to end a drug war? Sounds confusing to us. Sounds like common sense to Mexico.

Plus, she can't walk, talk or breathe on her own, and soon the people who nurse her might be long gone. So, who will care for little Jessica?

Dangerous rip tides, surging waves and torrential rain. That's what's in store for parts of the East Coast as Hurricane Bill heads that way. Right now Bermuda is in the bull's eye. Storm warnings already in place on the island, and while the East Coast of the U.S. isn't expecting a direct hit, the weekend will be a washout for a lot of folks.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Drug cartels outgunning cops and soldiers. Thousands of people killed.

What's the solution to Mexican's drug war? How about decriminalizing drugs? It might sound controversial to us, but it's common sense to Mexico. Cocaine, heroin, LSD, pot, just a handful of the drugs that Mexico says is now OK to possess in small amounts. Why? To allow police to track the big-time traffickers, keep dirty cops from shaking down casual drug users, and offer addicts free treatment.

So, this is Mexico's problem, right? Wrong.

Here is why people across America need to care. Take a look at this map from "The New York Times." We've showed this to you a number of times.

It actually shows cities across America where Mexican cartels and their accomplices have drug-trafficking networks, or where they supply drugs to distributors. And you see all these little red dots. I mean, From Washington to Oregon, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky. All those little red dots talk about the drug cartel activity -- marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin. And as you can see here in Atlanta, Georgia, that is the main spot where drug traffickers operate in this part of the region, smack dab here in Atlanta. Other areas, you'll see little dots across Texas. That's where all the cartel activity is. But when it comes to Atlanta, that's the main city in Georgia where the cartels are, and that's where our Brooke Baldwin takes us right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Drugs, weapons and cold, hard cash, it's a lethal combination fueling the Mexican drug cartels. And according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, now a new city has emerged as the staging ground for this deadly trade.

RODNEY BENSON, DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION: Metro Atlanta is a hub for business in the southeast. It's also a hub of operations for Mexican organized crime.

BALDWIN: Atlanta, prime real estate for drug distribution, according to the DEA's top Atlanta agent, Rodney Benson. He agreed to take CNN on a special aerial tour to illustrate how these deals go down, starting with the southern city's web of freeway.

BENSON: You can go east, west, north, south from metro Atlanta, moving shipments and drugs from the southwest border, all the way up the Eastern Seaboard.

BALDWIN: Before that can happen, the driver must wait here, a truck stop just like this one, often in broad daylight.

BENSON: A truck driver arrives into a place like this will then wait. It could be as soon as an hour; it could be two or three days. Then they'll receive instructions.

BALDWIN: Next the driver heads to a warehouse, Benson says there is plenty to pick from in Atlanta. There the drugs are parceled out and sent to dealers throughout the U.S.

But the drivers aren't done. They use the same truck to smuggle money and guns back into Mexico.

In 2008, Atlanta led the nation with $70 million in confiscated cash according to the DEA. And last September federal agents along with local law enforcement rounded up 34 members of Mexico's Gulf Cartel in the Atlanta area alone. Part of a nationwide effort called Project Reckoning.

(on camera): If you think drug cartels are keeping their high dollar drug operations in the gritty inner city, think again. The DEA says they prefer the suburbs. They move into quiet middle class neighborhoods just like this one, where they set up shop, stockpiling drugs and cash before distributing them.

(voice over): Last July a group of men with cartel connections lured a Rhode Island drug dealer to this Gwinnett County home. They chained him, beat him and held him hostage, demanding he pay $300,000 they say he owed. The DEA raided the home before it was too late. BENSON: There's no doubt in my mind if we didn't act when we did, he would have been dead.

BALDWIN: Three men got caught and pleaded guilty, but the rest escaped. Benson says the explosive growth of Hispanic immigrants in metro Atlanta is yet another reason why Mexican cartels come here, allowing them to blend in and disappear, enabling this deadly drug trade to rage on, spreading roots in this southern city.

Brook Baldwin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: So, should the U.S. adopt Mexico's tactics to win the war on drugs? And are we focusing on the wrong target?

Tim Padgett, Miami bureau chief for "TIME" magazine.

Tim, you know, as I mentioned, Mexico has decriminalized small- time drug possession. Would something like that work in Miami, other cities across the U.S.? Do you think we're going to see a domino effect?

TIM PADGETT, MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF, "TIME": Well, there are a growing number of people and especially officials in the United States who think it will. In El Paso, for example, earlier this year, the entire city council unanimously passed a resolution to ask lawmakers in Washington to consider legalizing marijuana because they feel that that would do more than the conventional interdiction that we're involved in on the border to put a huge crimp in the cash flow of the cartels that traffic marijuana.

PHILLIPS: I guess what's catching a lot of people's attention is, OK, there has been that debate about legalizing marijuana, right? But when you start hearing LSD, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, wow, that puts a lot of people on the tip of their toes.

PADGETT: Yes. I don't think anyone is really seriously calling for the legalization of those drugs. I think what people are pointing to is the fact that much research shows that marijuana, casual use of it, anyway, is in many cases no more harmful than casual alcohol use. I'm no doctor or scientist, but that's what a lot of people are basing their argument on.

And what they're saying in the end is, why are we spending so much of our energies and resources on busting the casual small-time user of a drug like marijuana, and so much resources in imprisoning that user, when we could be focusing more of our attention, for example, on rehab, where studies have shown, for example, by think tanks like the RAND Corporation that you get a lot more bang in terms of your drug war buck on drug rehab than you do on regular interdiction.

PHILLIPS: So, then, let me ask you this. So, do you think that in Mexico, with the passing of this new law, that now more money will go toward targeting the cartels, the dirty politicians, the dirty cops, and less on the casual user, therefore helping the battle in Mexico and impacting what we just showed our viewers a minute ago on that "New York Times" map, you know, the massive drug cartel activity here in the U.S., which you cover on a regular basis?

PADGETT: Right. Look, two things, two basic things fuel the drug crisis in this hemisphere, or at least in North America between Mexico and the United States.

On the Mexican side, it's police corruption. On the U.S. side, it's our voracious demand for drugs.

So, what I think the Mexicans have decided is that, on their side of the border, they can take the money that they would be saving by not spending, as I said before, so much energy and resources on busting casual users of pot, and they can redirect those resources toward building more professional and transparent police forces that won't be bought by the drug cartels. And on this side of the border, I agree with the argument that we do need to be finding more ways to channel our resources toward reducing demand, because as I said, on this side of the border, that's what's fueling the drug crisis.

PHILLIPS: Final thought, Tim, before I let you go, because this really is your baby. You know, you cover this on a regular basis.

Looking at the passing of this law, what are you going to be focusing on now? What's going to be your next inside story?

PADGETT: Well, look, I mean, we need regular drug interdiction. We need what the DEA and other anti-drug law enforcement agencies do. There's no question about that. But what's going to interest me the most is to see, as I just said before, if this kind of re- prioritization in the drug war in Mexico, if that does actually lead to a better focus on things that are really needed, like creating more professional police forces that can actually get at the big-time cartels and, more important, the politicians in Mexico who protect those cartels.

PHILLIPS: Tim Padgett, Miami bureau chief of "TIME" magazine. Always great to see you.

Tim, thanks a lot.

PADGETT: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: We've bee getting a lot of tweets on this topic, as you can imagine. This one coming from Teek (ph), saying, "Just because Mexico becomes more soft does not mean that the U.S. should too. What kind of example would we be setting?"

John Wesley (ph) says, "Yes, the way people do it these days, well, it might as well be legal. At least we could make some tax money off of it then."

This one coming from Yager Horn (ph). "If legalizing small amounts leads to tax revenue and less spent on enforcement and incarcerations, I'm all for it." Appreciate it. Keep your comments coming. You can find me on Twitter.

He's put his training and skills to work in war zones, guarding me and other CNN crews as we've covered the war in Iraq. He's now a refugee in the United States, and today he's our "30 Second Pitch."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Unemployment is high, credit is tight, but recovery is just around the corner. So says a guy who should know, Fed chair Ben Bernanke at a conference today in Wyoming. Bernanke says that the prospects for growth in the near term appear good.

And here's growth for you -- a seven percent surge in existing home sales, the fourth monthly jump in a row, and the biggest on record. Thirty percent of last month's resales actually went to first-time buyers.

And they were lured in part by tax credits and prices that have tanked for two years. The median resale price was $178,500, down 15 percent from July of '08.

Let's go ahead and look at the numbers real quickly on the Big Board there. Dow industrials up 134 points.

Well, as you know, it's tough enough finding a job in this economy. Just imagine if you had to move your entire family and find a job in a brand new country as a refuge refugee. Well, Hamdi Alkheshali has a lot of skills -- weapons training, he's bilingual, a body guard, and an electrical engineer. Think of a cross between MacGyver and James Bond, and you've got Hamdi.

And for full disclosure, he's a very special friend to CNN. He worked for us in our Baghdad bureau, guarding me and so many other members of our CNN crew as we covered the war there in Iraq. Now Hamdi is here to do our "30 Second Pitch."

Good to see you, my friend.

HAMDI ALKHESHALI, LOOKING FOR JOB: Good to see you as well.

PHILLIPS: This is a lot easier than working in Iraq, wouldn't you say?

ALKHESHALI: Yes, absolutely.

PHILLIPS: A lot less -- well, there might be more pressure to do this, maybe.

ALKHESHALI: Oh, there is a lot of pressure as well. I mean, still struggling to find a job, and still to organize my family. And the kids have to see the place and get used to it. This is a big move.

PHILLIPS: Let's talk about that for a minute. First of all, why did you decide to come work for CNN? I mean, obviously, the war happened and you had to make some choices. Why CNN?

ALKHESHALI: Well, I always liked the news and media thing. And this is my skill, security things. I have a big background on security.

So, one of my friends, he asked me, "So why don't you give them some help?" And they need advice. You know, sit with them and accept the job. And I have been working with them since that time.

PHILLIPS: And that was a remarkable thing about you. You knew stories, you knew Iraq. You knew the right people. And here we were in an extremely dangerous area, and you knew. You would come back and say, OK, we can do that story.

I mean, I remember wanting to do the story on the school for the blind for the longest time and you said, "No, Kyra it's in an horrible area." And then finally I remember you coming to me and saying, OK, it looks good today. We can go."

ALKHESHALI: Yes. On a daily basis you don't know. One day, you know, all the intelligence information I'm gathering when I was working with CNN in Baghdad, it depends on the day, on a daily basis. So, one day it could be bad, the second day it would be a green light and we could go. And we have to take precautions all the time.

PHILLIPS: Finally, you are here. I know it was very tough on the kids and really tough on your wife. But they have been amazing.

What do you think the hardest part has been finding a job? I mean, you got your license in a day, which cracks me up. They told you to read the manual and of course you passed it with flying colors. You got your Social Security number, you got a car.

I mean, you worked fast, like you always do, but what's been the biggest challenge? Because you have got fantastic credentials.

ALKHESHALI: The biggest challenge is for the kids. You know, I'm a family man. I mean, I just want to put the kids on the first step where they can move on smoothly.

They are moving now very hard because of the language, because of the new life for them. It's a new place. And, I mean, when I pass that, that will be easy for me. I'm trying to find everything for them and make everything happen for them.

PHILLIPS: Which is so much -- that's you. You've defined yourself.

All right. Let's do the "30 Second Pitch." We've got your e- mail. We're going to have your e-mail up here. We're going to start the clock. You're going to look right in there and, like you always do, very boldly, and with tremendous confidence, and tell folks what you have and what you can offer them. OK? Are you ready?

ALKHESHALI: Yes.

PHILLIPS: All right. Here we go. Start the clock.

ALKHESHALI: So, my name is Hamdi Alkheshali, and I arrived in America about eight months so far. And I moved my wife and my three kids to here. And I'm ready to do a lot of jobs here.

I have security skills. I have done five years of security with CNN in Baghdad. And I have an electrical engineering degree. And I am happy to relocate. I'm in Atlanta at the moment.

And my ideal job is anything suit me in these two skills.

PHILLIPS: Perfect.

Now, I'm being told we are having a little issue getting your e- mail up there on the screen, so what we're going to do, we're going to put it on our blog on CNNNewsroom. But let's -- here we go. Now we've got it. Yeah.

It was a little difficult there. It's H.Alkheshali@gmail.com.

So, there's the e-mail. We'll put it on our Web site.

And you're going to keep us posted, right?

ALKHESHALI: Yes, always.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Hamdi.

ALKHESHALI: Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: Appreciate it. It's our pleasure. Our pleasure so much.

You can watch all our pitches, actually. And if you want to be a part of it, you can let us know. Just go on to our blog, or tweet me and KyraCNN, and you'll be able to get Hamdi's information as well. Let us know if you're interested. We definitely want to follow up on Hamdi and also others that are interested in participating in our "30 Second Pitch."

Taking the brewing health care debate to the coffee House, how Seattle is drinking in health care reform with a cup of joe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Other top stories now.

He wrote the book on health care. OK, he wrote a book oon health care. Former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle sharing some of his expertise with the president today. Daschle, of course, was President Obama's first choice for health and human services secretary, but he had a little problem with his taxes.

And Hamid Karzai and his ex foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah each saying he's ahead in the vote count in Afghanistan. First results aren't expected until next week. Full results not until September 5th.

Just last hour, President Obama weighed in praising Afghan voters for courage in the face of Taliban intimidation. Twenty-six people were killed in election day attacks.

And four soldiers hit with cruelty and maltreatment charges for the way they dealt with some insubordinates in Iraq. Well, they are accused of verbal abuse, physical punishment and ridicule. All of this coming to light as the Army investigated a suicide in their unit.

When people in Seattle reach for their cup of joe, they might be getting more than a morning jolt. Some coffee shops are taking on the health care debate one java lover at a time.

CNN all platform journalist Patrick Oppmann is drinking it all in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN ALL PLATFORM JOURNALIST (voice-over): Fresh coffee. In Seattle, it's everywhere. After all, it's the home of Starbucks and drive-through espresso. And now coffee is part of the brewing health care debate.

(on camera): Printed on the back of this coffee cup it reads, "Support health care reform" and gives you a number where you can call your local congressman.

(voice-over): To find out what coffee has to do with health care, I went to a local coffeehouse where I immediate owner Jody Hall.

JODY HALL, CAFE OWNER: We're a small business, we're independent, and we're doing what we can do to maybe use our business as a platform for social change.

OPPMANN: Hall owns four coffee and cupcake shops. She came up with the idea of putting health care reform messages on coffee cups after struggling to pay for insurance for her 75 employees. Some of those employees say health insurance at a bakery job is a luxury.

NATALIE VORPAHL, BAKER: You know, otherwise it's really expensive, or you just kind of bite the bullet and go without and try to risk your luck, which is never fun.

OPPMANN: Health care is also on customers' minds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm scared that Obama is going for such a large reform, that it's not going to pass anyway.

OPPMANN: But not everyone agrees that the president's plan will help employers like Jody Hall. One small business association says it could lead to widespread layoffs.

What if her plan becomes law? Hall says she needs a break.

HALL: Every year our insurance goes up at least 20 percent a year. One year it went up 40 percent. It's pretty phenomenal that -- I mean, it's almost unsustainable. It is unsustainable.

OPPMANN: By the end of the year, Hall says health insurance will account for 10 percent of her business costs.

(on camera): Think of a small business as a $2.50 cupcake. You have wages, overheads like rent and supplies. But 10 percent? That is 25 cents from this cupcake goes just for health care. That's a pretty big slice.

(voice-over): Those numbers, Jody Hall says, should worry any inspiring entrepreneur.

HALL: And to think about the fact that we really do drive the economy. But who would want to in this day and age, with insurance costs the way they are, leave their plush job in corporate America to start their own company?

OPPMANN: While the health care debate gets louder...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes or no, sir?

OPPMANN: ... trying to be heard, one cup of coffee at a time.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Seattle.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And for more on the health care debate and how reforms could affect you and your family, check out the special "Health Care in America" Web site on CNN.com. You'll find the latest from the town hall meetings, fact-checks, iReports, and other health care news. Just go to CNN.com/healthcare.

Cheering crowds, "Welcome Home" signs and confetti, all of this for a convicted terrorist. And people around the world are angry about it, including President Obama.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: So, is this about politics? If you work in the upper ranks of government, that is not an off-the-wall question. And the answer's pretty obvious. But Tom Ridge now says he asked himself that question when he was secretary of homeland security. His answer reaffirmed his decision to quit.

In a new memoir, Ridge claims that former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld and former attorney general John Ashcroft pressured him to raise the nation's terror alert level just days before the 2004 election. Osama bin Laden had just put out a new video. But Ridge says he thought the real motivation was to scare voters, and he didn't go along with it.

Fran Townsend doesn't remember it that way. She was President Bush's homeland security adviser at the time and now a CNN contributor. She spoke about it on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRAN TOWNSEND, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER: I'm co-chairing along with Bill Webster a bipartisan task force to make recommendations to Secretary Napolitano now about the threat advisory system. One of the things we obvisouly did was we asked Tom Ridge and Secretary Chertoff to come in and talk to the panel. This is two weeks ago. And Tom Ridge never in that meeting ever mentioned any concern -- and he mentioned what concerns he had -- he never mentioned any concern about politicization of the thread advisory system. So, you've got to believe this is personally motivated in some way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Tom Ridge isn't the first administration higher-up to write a book. You may recall former White House press secretary Scott McClellan wrote this scathing memoir. He claims Bush's inner circle relied on propaganda to sell the war in Iraq.

Speaking of Iraq, the former commander of coalition forces also wrote a book. In "Wiser in Battle: A Soldier's Story," Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez describes chaos on the battlefield and blames the Bush administration once again.

Former Attorney General John Ashcroft looks back not in anger, but in awe in "Never Again: Securing America and Restoring Justice," Ashcroft writes about his role in the wake of 9/11 and his defense of the Patriot Act.

Still to come, Dick Cheney's memoir. That's scheduled for publication in spring 2011. He is expected to give detailed accounts with his differences with his boss, especially in their second term. And former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld has a book deal as well. It will cover his entire political career.

A convicted terrorist gets a hero's welcome. Crowds in Libya cheering the man convicted in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people. Scotland allowed the cancer-stricken Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi to return home on compassionate grounds. But just minutes ago, President Obama couldn't work up any compassion. Before leaving the White House, he was asked about Al Megrahi's warm welcome.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it was highly objectionable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: It took 11 years after the Lockerbie bombing to bring Al Megrahi to justice, two more years to convict him. That means he served eight years in prison.

Get them while you can. The Cash for Clunkers program may be at the end of the road.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A nightmare delay that trapped dozens of flyers on a Minnesota tarmac is not being blamed on Continental Express or its crew but a different airline. The Transportation Department says the pilot pleaded for the 47 passengers to be let off the delayed flight earlier this month. Instead, they were stranded overnight 50 feet from a terminal.

A representative for the Mesaba (ph) Airline apparently refused because CSA personnel had gone home for the day. But the passengers could have stayed in an isolated area off the airport.

A little boy beaten to death in Los Angeles just before his seventh birthday. Now his fugitive caretaker has been found and under arrest. Community outrage about the child welfare system has not quieted down. Police say that Marcus Fisher was in disguise and on drugs when he was busted in Las Vegas. He was on the run since last month when Devon Bailey's body was found. Fisher used to date Devon's mom and the boy was living with his suspected killer. The L.A. County child abuse hotline fielded a dozen calls about Devon, raising serious questions about how he came to be placed with this man.

With the money running out, the government is pulling the plug on the wildly successful Cash for Clunkers program. What do you need to know before it goes away?

Stephanie Elam has "The Breakdown" for us from New York. Hey, Steph.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra. You have to get the background. If you have a gas guzzler, time is running out to get some cash for that clunker. The government is shutting down the $3 billion program on Monday because it is almost out of money. Good reason.

Auto dealers have to submit all paperwork by 8 p.m. Eastern on Monday to guarantee they'll get paid back for vouchers worth up to $4,500. Some will stop offering the deals on Sunday or even sooner to make sure they have enough time to complete all the paperwork.

As we've been hearing on CNN, a lot of dealers have been frustrated by the program. Some have quit altogether. They say the government is taking too long to pay them back. The Transportation Department is adding more workers to try to speed up dealer reimbursements, Kyra. But some dealers out there are saying it's too much. We are going to sit this one out.

PHILLIPS: Well, dealers are expecting a big rush this weekend, right? So what should customers look out for, besides a heck of a lot of people?

ELAM: Something they haven't seen in a while. A crowd at the dealership, that is true. There are things to be aware of. No doubt about it. Some customers are being asked to sign a form saying they will pay back the voucher money just in case the government reimbursement doesn't come through. There are also reports that some dealerships are asking the customers to wait to take the car home until the government approves the paperwork. That's not allowed. That's against the rules. If you have a clunker deal, they have to give you the new car immediately. Now, remember, to qualify, your old car has to get 18 miles a gallon or less, it can't be more than 25 years old, and you need to have owned it for at least a year, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, now we're hearing about this Cash for Clunkers for appliances. Is that the next big move here?

ELAM: We are moving out of the garage and into your home now at this point. See where else you can go. Yes, the appliance industry is hoping that the government rebates program will help them like it helped the auto industry. Starting late this fall, rebates will be available on many EnergyStar appliances like dishwashers, washing machines, refrigerators, those big-ticket items there.

And $300 million program that was passed. This is part of the stimulus bill. Rebates could reach $200 on some appliances, but unlike Cash for Clunkers, you don't have to haul in your old fridge or washer to get the rebate. It might be nice if someone came along and took away the old one. I'm just saying. That would be a good thing.

PHILLIPS: Yes, it would.

ELAM: It is not part of it, though.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: I can't wait to see what is next. What could we trade in? Clothes. Clothes for Clunkers. You and I would have a lot of that. All right. Thanks, Stephanie.

ELAM: Sure.

PHILLIPS: The country's largest Lutheran denomination is trying to decide if it's OK for gay and lesbian clergies to have a sex life. Right now, they can serve the church but have to be celibate. A vote is expected today on ordaining pastors in committed same-sex relationships. Married straight clergy, of course, always good to go.

Surf's up this weekend for much of the East Coast. Hurricane Bill still hundred of miles out to sea, but it's really turning up in the Atlantic. Rip tides and high seas, even some flooding expected from Florida to Maine with Cape Cod potentially getting the worst of it.

Some of the best tornado video we've seen lately, coming to us from outside Toronto. Roll it and bring it in full, Scotty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SOUND OF WIND)

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: You can feel how scary it must have been. At least four funnel clouds reported across several communities. In one of them, an 11-year-old boy was killed.

Time for you to meet another "CNN Hero" nominee. Faith Coleman was one of the estimated 46 million Americans without health insurance, but then she turned a crisis into a career.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was completely denied all insurances.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have been unemployed and basically have no income.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They told me I have breast cancer. I did not have insurance so I came here.

FAITH COLEMAN, CO-FOUNDER OF FREE CLINIC: If they have no insurance and they have no money, what is going to happen to them?

In 2003, I discovered that I had kidney cancer. I am a nurse practitioner, but I had no health insurance. I was able to mortgage my house to pay for the surgery. If it can happen to me, then it can happen to anybody.

I'm Faith Coleman, I co-founded a free clinic for Americans who don't have health insurance.

Good morning, everybody.

We welcome every patient here who is uninsured and who meets the federal poverty guidelines. I'm Faith. Nice to meet you.

We have what I call controlled chaos. It is busy, busy, go, go, go. Having kidney cancer was one of the best things that ever happened to me because I can truly empathize with patients.

Any questions at all?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

COLEMAN: Nothing you can think of?

All right. I want to see you back in here in two weeks. Okay. Awesome.

I'm so proud of you! We all have the same right. I'm sorry, the right to health care is right up there with the rest of them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: You can follow "CNN Heroes" on Facebook and Twitter and find out more about Faith Coleman or any of our heroes on our Web site. Log on to CNN.com/heroes. Stay tuned. In a few weeks, we will announce the top ten heroes of 2009 in a few weeks. Dogs aren't very picky dressers. But a Michael Vicki jersey for your pooch? Seriously? Well, we couldn't believe it either. See where it's for sale, too. That's the topper.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: So, listen to this. A family trying to find peace with a sudden death instead finds someone else in the casket. At the viewing Tuesday in Philadelphia, mourners kept whispering that the body just didn't look right. The funeral home people kept telling them you are wrong.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANIN HOLSEY, WIDOW: They kept trying to tell us it was him. I knew it wasn't.

CLAIRE BEVERLY, DAUGHTER: I would like an apology for what happened, and make sure this doesn't happen to another person. This is ridiculous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Only after the two-hour viewing did the funeral home finally did admit, yes, it's the wrong guy. Our affiliate WPBI tracked down the home's director who did apologize for the big mistake and incredibly, the guy confessed this isn't the first time it happened.

Now, you wouldn't think college students need anymore incentive to drink beer, right. Well, it looks like Anheuser-Busch is giving it to them. A new marketing campaign features Bud Light beer cans emblazoned with various college's team colors. Some schools are urging the beermaker to stop the cans, saying they'll contribute to underage and binge drinking. Anheuser-Busch says it is targeting legal drinkers and notes that the cans don't bear any school names or logos.

Philadelphia Eagles sponsors are staying true to their team. Enough so that Michael Vick is now on the roster. Not a single corporate supporters has flown the coup since the convicted dogfighter was added last week. That doesn't mean there is uniform support for Vick. Dick's Sporting Goods stores are not carrying the quarterback's jersey, even though it has been the number one seller on the NFL shop Web site.

Jerseys for fans are one thing, but now you can dress your pit bull like Michael Vick, and it is officially sanctioned by the NFL, by the way. Take a look at this. For $39.99, a Vick dog shirt can be yours. The number seven jersey is not pre-made but you can customize it online. Some Vick-related words have been nixed by the NFL shop and his alias Ron Mexico (ph) is off limits and so is Bad News, the name of the dogfighting ring.

Rick Sanchez, seems like they have some sort of ethical control there. RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Doing some camera work for myself now. You ready? How is that?

PHILLIPS: OK, working your own camera. Well, did you see...

SANCHEZ: All right. Now I'm going to back up.

PHILLIPS: Did you see that story?

SANCHEZ: I didn't because I was too busy trying to be...

PHILLIPS: Trying to make yourself look good.

SANCHEZ: Cecil B. DeMill.

PHILLIPS: Time for your close up.

SANCHEZ: Oh, my God! Did you see that?

PHILLIPS: Yes. What happened to that?

SANCHEZ: That is crazy.

PHILLIPS: OK, you know what? Now you are looking blown out there , pal.

SANCHEZ: Hold on, Chris. You got that? I can' believe this. Like, all of a sudden...

PHILLIPS: I thought you had a big budget, Sanchez.

SANCHEZ: Yes. I have a big something, a big butt, probably is what you were thinking about. You know, not me, when it comes to budgets, what we do here is -- what? What do we got? we got Band- Aids? And we put stuff -- no. I'm kidding.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Would you just get to the point, Sanchez? This air time is valuable. You've got 20 seconds, pal. What are you talking about in about eight minutes?

SANCHEZ: Tom Ridge, important story. Especially when you consider that it's making Americans ask some very serious questions. We are talking about something else having to do with the Scottish authorities and Libyan authorities and whether this picture we saw yesterday of this terrorist arriving in Libya will change U.S. relations with Libya. We are drilling down on that. It is an important story. One all Americans should be paying attention to. We are bringing it to you.

PHILLIPS: Got it.

SANCHEZ: I can't believe this. Chris is actually holding the light up.

PHILLIPS: Hey, Rocky, can you turn camera two around and show you? Can you do this? Rick, I just want to point something out.

SANCHEZ: Go ahead.

PHILLIPS: I have a whole crew of camera folks back here. I just want you to see back here.

SANCHEZ: Wait. Go back to mine. I want to show you my camera guy. Hold on. Take the shot. There is my camera guy right there. Holding a light.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Here we go. Mine is much better looking. Rocky, give us the cameo, baby. There you go. Wave! I have a whole staff. See. Look at my whole staff.

SANCHEZ: Oh, mine can do that, too! Say hi, Chris! There's my guy.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: I'm getting in trouble. We have gone off the rails, I've been told, Rick. Have a great weekend.

SANCHEZ: All right.

PHILLIPS: All right. Much more serious news to talk about. One of the many faces of the economic problems plaguing our state, a 12- year-old girl literally struggling to survive California's financial crisis. You will meet her in just a second.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A family's critical condition. Their daughter suffers from a genetic birth defect that has robbed her of the ability to walk, talk or breathe on her own. And with state budget cuts in California, the home health care nurses that she relies on will be gone. Photojournalist John Turrago (ph) brings us Jessica's story in today's "Health Care In Focus."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

CROWD: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do we want?

CROWD: A balanced budget.

MARK LEONI, JESSICA'S UNCLE: I'm here to talk about how the home health care cuts might affect my 12-year-old niece, pictured here. Her name is Jessica.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do we want?

CROWD: A balanced budget.

M. LEONI: Jessica suffers from a debilitating disease called Nemanpit Type C (ph) and she receives home health care through the Westside Regional Center in Los Angeles.

LISA LEONI, JESSICA'S MOTHER (singing): Good morning. Good morning

BILL FREEMAN, WESTSIDE REGIONAL CENTER: You're looking at a family who, when I first met them over a year ago, they were exhausted. They were trying to be caregivers, nurses, doctors and then get up and go to work during the day and still support their family.

ANTHONY LEONI, JESSICA'S FATHER: We've been able to find how to take care of Jessica. If you'd have told me 10 years ago, this is what your life's going to be, I would have said, we're not capable of that. We don't have the training. We don't have the ability. We don't have the energy. The real key was that they all fell in love with Jessica and wanted to help.

L. LEONI: Remember how we say Carmen's going to the races. Who's going to win?

Carmen, when she came, she just said, I think I can do this. And we were so desperate for somebody to come in.

CARMEN BAILEY, CARING CONNECTION: I call her my angel. I bathe her, groom her, position her, massage her, to make her comfortable.

KRISTINA CARMICKLE, JESSICA'S FRIEND: Your hair is very pretty.

I've been her friend for so long that I feel that we've just always had a connection together. So I've wanted to keep it. Once you have a friendship that's big enough like that, you're always wishing for the best for her.

FREEMAN: We finally got everything in place where they can be parents again, which is a wonderful thing. And that's what scares me a little bit about these budget cuts.

A. LEONI: It's absolutely frightening to think what would happen if the services were no longer there. They're absolutely essential to keep Jessica going.

L. LEONI: I believe, worst-case scenario, if the services stopped coming, physically you just cannot do it. You can't 24-hour care give. We also wouldn't have like the medicine, the supplies that are required to sustain her life.

A. LEONI: Jessica would like to thank everybody for coming to her 12th birthday party.

CARMICKLE: This was her 12th birthday and it was really significant because we don't know how many more birthdays she can celebrate with us. It's just hard to think of that -- one day I'm not going to be able to see her anymore. And it comes bad -- sad, but then it also comes happy that she's going to be happier there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: For more on the health care debate and how reforms could affect you and your family, check out the special "Health Care in America" Web site on CNN.com. You will find the latest from the town-hall meetings, fact checks, iReports, other health news. And you can go to CNN.com/healthcare in particular.

Have a great weekend, everyone. See you back here on Monday. Rick Sanchez takes it from here.

SANCHEZ: Coming at you now.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It makes me sick. It is absolutely disgusting, and I don't want any apologies.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: He killed her daughter, blew up her plane and he gets a hero's welcome?

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

This man doesn't deserve our pity. All the innocent kids that died on that flight.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Calling Qaddafi. Hello, Moammar. About those normalized relations now.

Rick Scott, yes, this Rick Scott has an new anti-Obama ad criticizing his vacation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SCOTT: (INAUDIBLE)

SANCHEZ: How much more wrong can you be than what you just said? Not only is your company screwed up and you just admitted to it, you are saying look at all the other companies, they did the same thing.

SCOTT: No. I don't believe that at all.

SANCHEZ: That doesn't sound to me like a sterling system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)