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Lowering the Drinking Age; Obama Administration's Making Home Affordable Plan Not Always Living Up to Promises

Aired August 31, 2009 - 10:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Seven active wildfires are burning across California right now. One of the fires in Los Angeles County is threatening 12,000 homes as well as a major communications center. The fire has two trademarks of a southern California wildfire. That's hot and dry weather. But even without a third common ingredient, it is a truly explosive fire.

Our Rob Marciano is joining us live from L.A. County. So Rob, we're talking about those Santa Ana winds. They are not in the mix this time around.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No. And that's the shocking thing about this. The fire commander, incident commander said he has never seen a fire explode like this without the help of Santa Ana winds. Those hot dry winds that come off the mountains.

It has been hot, exceeding hot for two weeks now. 100 degree- plus temperatures. And the ongoing drought has been an issue as well. Some new numbers for you as far as how large this fire is and it's striking now, over 85,000 acres have been burned. That has doubled, that number.

COLLINS: Yes.

MARCIANO: Since yesterday. So, in 24 hours, we've seen this thing double. And the amount of containment, that hasn't increased. So we're still looking at five percent containment. The east-west fire line of this thing about 20 miles. A number of communities threatened. So far the structures that have been burned, about 18 of them, have mostly been in remote areas.

But as this thing continues to burn towards these populated areas, this being one of them here on the south side and then farther to the east toward Pasadena, more evacuations may have to be ordered. They have not ordered any more evacuations as of this morning, but as they've told us, that may very well change as the afternoon progresses, especially on the north side.

One of the problems with this fire is because you don't have any sort of strong wind from any one direction you'll get a bit of a sea breeze in the morning, not enough to help cool things down but it changes the wind direction, shoots it up north, and then at night you get a bit of drainage winds, north-northwesterly winds and that will push the fire back to the south.

So, we've got communities to the north of the Angeles forest and also to the south where we are and to the east. And just now I don't know if you can hear, that but we're now hearing some aircraft...

COLLINS: Yes.

MARCIANO: ... launch now that the sun has come up so they can start hitting this from the top. One note on the Mount Wilson Observatory, they have a strike team in place there right now, but they're loosely telling us that they're thinking the fire is bypassing the Mount Wilson Observatory. They won't give us the all-clear yet certainly, but they're feeling a little more confident this morning than they did at this time yesterday when they were saying pretty much all hope is lost -- not a matter of if but when. A little bit more optimistic about the Mount Wilson Observatory this morning. Hopefully, that holds true for the rest of the day.

COLLINS: Yes. And just real quickly, Rob, so everybody understands why that is so important. All of those cell phone towers, TV radio towers that are located on top of Mount Wilson certainly help the emergency crews talking to one another and letting people, residents in the area know what the situation is. So obviously that's one of the reasons why they're trying to protect it so vehemently.

All right. Rob Marciano, we'll check back with you a little bit later on. Appreciate that.

Two firefighters working at Los Angeles County wildfire have died in the line of duty. The men were killed when their vehicle rolled over the mountainside.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEPUTY CHIEF MICHAEL BRYANT, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPT.: We ask you, please, for your understanding, for your patience, as we move through this difficult time. And please, prayers for the family of our two brothers that we lost.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: So tough. Authorities are still investigating the cause of that vehicle crash.

I want to let you know, we do have some more iReports to show you from the California wildfires. Mary Beth Trauma took these pictures Friday night from the city of La Canada, that's at Flintridge. She echoes what Rob has been telling us about how rare it is for this fire to be spreading without those Santa Ana winds.

In fact week, we've been hearing something like 60 years before they've had fires this bad in the area. And these pictures now from Tanner Goldbeck of the fires burning in the hills behind Los Angeles. He took these shots on Saturday. He told us the rising plumes of smoke were so thick they reminded him of volcanic ash.

Now to the bizarre case of a young girl kidnapped and held captive for nearly two decades. It turns out Jaycee Dugard may have had several opportunities to escape over the years. So, what went on during that time? Our Ed Lavandera has more now on Dugard's life in captivity.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jaycee Dugard appeared to have settled into an unimaginable routine during her 19 years of captivity. Behind the scenes, she lived in this messy backyard prison. But to the outside world, she was the creative force behind Phillip Garrido's printing business, designing business cards for clients all over the town of Antioch. Depaul Karruniranda describes her as intelligent with an attention to detail.

DEPAUL KARRUNIRANDA: She was always having a very great smile on the face. She comes talking to me and always smiling. And she's a very pretty girl. Very pretty young lady.

LAVANDERA: Even Dugard's daughters appeared to live a normal life. These are pictures of the young girls obtained by CNN. The 11- year-old went by the name of Angel, the 15-year-old, Starlet. We've blurred their faces to protect their privacy. The pictures were taken two weeks ago at a birthday party for Cheyvonne Molino's daughter. Molino says Garrido called Jaycee and the daughters, my girls and often brought them to Molino's wreck yard, delivering bottles of water on hot days.

CHEYVONNE MOLINO, GARRIDO BUSINESS ASSOCIATE: They made it seem like these little girls were living like wolves or jungle kids in the back yard, you know, dungeon. Perhaps that is it. But they didn't give the visual to me. They were polite. They were well mannered.

LAVANDERA: Molino says Angel and Starlet were huge fans of Hannah Montana. She says Jaycee dreamed of becoming a model. Always clean and well dressed. No hint of the tragic reality.

Investigators have expanded the crime scene at Phillip Garrido's home. They've brought cadaver dogs to search the property next door. Authorities are looking into whether Garrido could be connected to a string of murders in the 1990s.

JIMMY LEE, SPOKESMAN, CONTRA COSTA SHERIFF'S DEPT: What we also know is that Phillip Garrido had access to that property. He used that property, and it looks like he lived on that property in a shed.

LAVANDERA: As we've scoured Garrido's hometown looking for clues, we found this in a hardware store. The name Phil G. on a donation card. On August 17th this receipt shows Garrido bought a pressure switch and then left a $2 donation to the Children's Miracle Network.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Ed Lavandera joining us now live from Antioch, California. So Ed, we know that Jaycee's been reunited with her family. What an incredible adjustment that has to be. What's being done to help her out with that? LAVANDERA: Well, according to her stepfather, she's been going through that process the entire weekend and that process has begun in earnest. We understand she's been kept at a hotel here in the nearby area and has been moved around a couple of times but there is a -- from what we understand a team of psychologists that are with the family to help them through this process and also there are law enforcement authorities that are with them as well to protect their whereabouts. That is a tightly kept secret at this point, to give them privacy and that sort of thing.

But one of the things that her stepfather has acknowledged to us is that she's expressed some guilt about feeling a connection, a bond with her captor, Phillip Garrido. And I'm sure one of the things these psychologists are telling her is that that is a normal part of the process. But you know, there is a great deal of re-entry issues and that sort of thing getting back to this normal life outside of this street here in Antioch, California. That's going to take a long time to adjust to.

COLLINS: Quickly, Ed, about her daughters. Are her daughters with her? Do we even know?

LAVANDERA: Her daughters are with her as well as with -- they're with Dugard's mother and also a couple of other relatives. So a tight-knit group. But the three girls that were here at this house are all together.

COLLINS: All right. Good. All right. Ed Lavandera following the story for us, Antioch, California. Thank you, Ed.

Police in Brunswick, Georgia offering a $25,000 reward now for information in the killings of eight people. Seven were found dead Saturday in a mobile home. One of two found critically injured died on Sunday. Police have arrested a family member who lived in the home and called 911. Charges against Guy Heinze Jr., including lying to police. They won't comment on whether he's a suspect but do say there are others they want to talk to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF MATTHEW DOERING, GLYNN COUNTY, GA. POLICE DEPT.: There's somebody, at least a individual, that we would like to know about that's not at the scene. Whether they directly were involved with the assaults or not, it would be a fair assumption at this point to say there is somebody out there we're looking for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: All right. We'll continue to follow that story for you. Once again, out of Brunswick, Georgia.

The president and Congress ending summer vacations, and hopefully they got some rest in. They face a long and rough road ahead when it comes to the president's number one domestic priority, health care reform.

Here now, CNN's Kate Bolduan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Obama is returning from a week's vacation, and Congress will soon follow suit. All heading back to Washington, having made limited progress this summer in the debate over health care reform. Already one key Democrat is calling for a change of mood.

SEN. CHRIS DODD (D), CONNECTICUT: Put behind us the blistering days of August. And to enter the cool days of September and start acting like senators again, where we respect each other.

BOLDUAN: Sunday, following the burial of Senator Edward Kennedy, a champion of health care reform, Democratic lawmakers hope Kennedy's memory will inspire passage of the sweeping health care overhaul.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I hope it means that people are going to sort of step back, take a deep breath, and try to figure out how we can have a good, open discussion and get away from the politics.

BOLDUAN: But what of the government-run public option? The centerpiece of the House Democratic proposal and an issue that has left negotiations in the Senate stalled. The now senior senator from Massachusetts suggests democrats may need to follow Senator Kennedy's legacy of compromise.

KERRY: He would fight for it, but if he didn't see the ability to be able to get it done, he would not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

BOLDUAN: Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, a close friend of Kennedy's, says his absence will be felt as major issues like cost continue to divide both parties and chambers of Congress.

SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R), UTAH: In the long run, it's better to have a bipartisan compromise situation than it is to have one side just ram their own ideas through without any consideration of the other side. And you you know, we're talking about 1/6 of the American economy. That's pretty doggone important. You just can't do it in a partisan way.

BOLDUAN (on camera): President Obama will be in Washington Monday and Tuesday. He then leaves for the presidential retreat at Camp David for the rest of the week. Congress returns to once again take up the health care debate after labor day.

Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: We've been on the road this month getting your opinions on the health care debate with the CNN Express. But as our Ali Velshi traveled around the country, he learned there was much more on the minds of those he spoke to. So, he's taken the bus out again today to find the hot-button debates going on in your very own communities. So make sure you look for his reports coming up all week long.

Here are the town hall meetings going on across the nation today. Time is running out if you plan to attend one of these events to talk about health care or other issues. Lawmakers who've been hosting these leave their districts next week to return to Washington.

Struggling to make mortgage payments, some homeowners turn to the president's mortgage program for relief, but the program may not be living up to its promise.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: As you know, summer is coming to an end, and that means many college students are going back to school. So, along with the studying and all that hard work often comes the partying and the drinking. So, today we're talking about this issue. There are some people who think, once again, that the drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18.

So we're wondering what you think about that. You can just head on over to cnn.com/heidi, our blog page. Click on my name and let us know what you think. Should that legal drinking age be lowered to 18? We're going to be talking with the president of the Institute for Highway Safety plus a former college president and read some of your comments a little bit later on in the show.

Meanwhile, I want to take a look at the Dow Jones industrial average is right now. They are down about 76 points or so. So not so great for today. But really, overall it has been a good month on Wall Street. We're going to talk a little bit more about that with Susan Lisovicz. Coming up in just a few minutes.

President Obama's mortgage program was aimed at reducing the number of foreclosures so people could stay in their homes. And that would help stabilize the economy. Well, a CNN investigation revealed it isn't always living up to its promises.

Here now, CNN national political correspondent Jessica Yellin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Mark and Angela Kollar think they still have one shot left at holding on to their home.

MARK KOLLAR, HOMEOWNER: You and I will be discussing the Making Home Affordable plan.

YELLIN: The president unveiled the Making Home Affordable program in March to rescue four million Americans drowning in mortgage debt. A CNN investigation found the program is not always living up to its promise.

ANGELA BACCA-KOLLAR, HOMEOWNER: I don't wish this on anybody. And I know we're not the only ones. YELLIN: Here's how it's supposed to work. In return for taking all those bailout billions the banks agreed to give a little back. Qualifying homeowners would see their mortgages slashed to 31 percent of their monthly income. But that's not what the bank offered the Kollars.

MARK KOLLAR: You're holding my fee to the - who is your supervisor there today?

YELLIN: The couple makes $3,000 a month. So their new making home affordable loan should be 31 percent of that, about $1,000 a month. The offer they got -- $2,892, about 98 percent of their income.

MARK KOLLAR: Now I feel like, you know, we've been -- what's the proper word? Screwed?

YELLIN (on camera): They're not alone. Speaking to housing counselors, consumer advocates, and homeowners, we found endless complaints of banks rejecting apparently eligible homeowners or pressuring them into loans they can't afford.

But by far the most common complaint is that lenders keep giving homeowners the run-around, dropping calls, losing paperwork, all while the foreclosure clock keeps ticking.

(voice-over): The mortgage industry's top lobbyist says these are the growing pains of a massive program. Lenders are still hiring staff to handle all the applications, and he believes most complaints are from people who aren't eligible for the plan. Overall, he says it's a success.

JOHN COURSON, CEO, MORTGAGE BANKERS ASSOCIATION: This is a program where the interest of the homeowner and the interest of the lender are aligned because everyone wants to avoid that foreclosure and keep that loan on the books and the borrower in the home.

YELLIN (on camera): And how well is the program working?

COURSON: The program is working very well.

YELLIN: But even Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who oversees the program, has demanded lenders do better. The latest numbers -- 230,000, fewer than six percent of eligible homeowners, have new loans through the program. And some banks with the biggest bailout have the lowest participation rates.

ANGIE MORESCHI, CONSUMERWARNINGNETWORK.COM: It comes down to money, and it does not appear to be in the banks' financial interest in the long run to actually do these loan modifications. And that's the sad reality that we are dealing with.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Boy, Jessica Yellin joining us live now to talk a little bit more about this. So Jessica, is the administration aware of these problems? And then what are they doing about them? I mean, the enforcing of it looks like it's pretty tough to do.

YELLIN: Right. The administration is aware of the problems. They've heard complaints from congressional testimony, from the housing counselors. They say to us that they think the program is off to a strong start although they acknowledge that service performance is "uneven." They are pressuring the banks to do more, but again, they're leaving it in the banks' court. There is no mandatory effort. There's no requirement that they step up. There are no random unexpected spot checks at the banks' locations.

COLLINS: Why not?

YELLIN: They say they are working with the banks is the way they put it. They say they have investigators who show up at the banks after they've given the banks notice that they'll be there. They review paperwork that the banks submit to the Treasury Department. But again, none of this is random. None of this is unexpected. They want it to be a participation with the bank.

COLLINS: OK. Well, it sounds like there's got to be, I don't know, a hotline or the Better Business Bureau. Who do you call if you're a homeowner? Because I know a lot of times you can't even get them to answer the phone when you call and try to, you know, talk with them about your situation.

YELLIN: There is a hotline. It's 1-888-995-hope, H-O-P-E. 1- 888-995-hope. But I should point out, Heidi that I've spoken to housing counselors who say they never use it because not only is it ineffective when you're already dealing with a bank, sometimes they even give out bad information.

Now, it's important, Heidi, that I make the point that Bank of America says that that they are working with this couple we profiled here, the Kollars. They say they got bad information from a housing counselor, they're trying to work out the situation while they see what the Kollars can afford. And they say they're committed to participating.

And one last point, if I may, Heidi, is that we do have an I- report site up on-line. Where viewers can go and tell us about their stories working with this program. If they go to the ireport.com/desk, we can see if we can get answers for them from the banks and from the administration.

COLLINS: OK. Very good. Look out because I think you're going to get a lot of them.

All right. Jessica Yellin, great report. Thank you.

YELLIN: Thanks.

COLLINS: Companies struggling to keep up with rising health care cost, employee wellness program might be just what the doctor ordered. And to prove it one woman credits it with saving her husband's life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: Former vice president Dick Cheney is slamming the Obama administration. This time over the decision to investigate CIA interrogation tactics. Cheney told Fox News it's nothing more than a political move. Attorney General Eric Holder decided to appoint an independent prosecutor to the case last week. Cheney says that amounts to President Obama going back on his word to leave these incidents in the past.

Three Texas fishermen lucky to be alive today after spending more than a week lost at sea. Curtis Hall, James Phillips, and Tressel Hawkins were found a day after the Coast Guard called of the search on the Gulf of Mexico. All three clung to their capsized boat living off crackers, bubble gum, and what they called country boy know-how.

In today's health care in focus, employee wellness programs might do the trick to help some people struggling - some struggling companies with rising health care costs, that is. And in some cases programs like these can even save lives. Photojournalist Ken Tuoy (ph) introduces us to a very grateful employee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LINDA SUN: Come on in, take a seat.

My name is Linda Sun (ph). I'm an R.N. at Questside (ph) Diagnostics in Virginia. A program in March of 2005.

STEVE BURTON, V.P. HEALTH & WELLNESS SVCS., QUEST DIAGNOSTICS: Every year people take a very short health risk assessment that talks about their lifestyle risk factors. They have their blood drawn so we can look at over 30 different tests.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My cancer would have gone undetected for years and likely wouldn't have been nearly as treatable as it is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Blood pressure, pulse, vision check, color blindness. I'm Jeff Sun (ph). I'm Linda's husband. This one particular blood test had come back with a very high level. You know, abnormally high. It came as quite a surprise. I mean, because all my results had been normal for so many years. Then just in one year that particular number spiked.

Yes, it definitely came back early stage prostate cancer. So it was caught very early. I had some time to look at the different treatment options and decide how to proceed and had surgery back about six weeks ago today.

I believe it's a wonderful program. I'm back at work. Pretty much things are all back to normal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've made a significant difference in the health of our employees.

BURTON: The programs that we focused on are really the ones that drive a lot of cost and drive a lot of lost productivity. Maybe you know, helping assistance, losing weight, assistance stopping smoking, dealing with stress. We've seen fewer sick days. We've seen more engaged employees while they're here at work. And through our independent researcher we determined that for about every dollar that we invest behind healthy quest that we're saving about $4.80.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's a win-win situation for the employer, the employee, and they've given me my husband for many years to come.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: If you would like to know more about the health care debate and how the reforms could affect you and your family, check out the special health care in America section of our web site at cnn.com. You can get the very latest from town hall debates, fact checks, iReports and other health care news. Just go to cnn.com/healthcare.

It's a move that would eliminate the demand for fake I.D.s on college campuses. But would lowering the drinking age lead to more responsible behavior or just more drunk freshmen?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.

COLLINS: It's a conversation that bubbles up every once in a while. And now that we are off to a new school year, it's a discussion that's gaining ground again. Should the drinking age be lowered from 21 to 18? That's the question we're posing in our "Snapshot Across America" today.

Michelle Lee is a senior at Emory University in Atlanta and also the editor-in-chief of the school paper. Adrian Lund is the president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, joining us from Washington this morning. And John McCardell is with the Amethyst Initiative, which supports lowering the age. He is live for us in Burlington, Vermont this morning.

So, thanks to the three of you for being with us this morning. I want to begin with John McCardell, who's also the former president of Middlebury College.

Let me ask you this, John. Obviously for years, there's been this debate about drinking because kids can vote, they can even go to war, they can drive, obviously, but they can't drink. You say you want to reopen the discussion. What exactly do you want to have happen with the drinking age?

JOHN MCCARDELL, FORMER PRESIDENT, MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE: Well, for 25 years we have had on the books a law that has attempted to impose prohibition on young adults age 18 to 21. And I think we can see with our own two eyes how effective or ineffective that law has been...

COLLINS: So, you think it's totally ineffective?

MCCARDELL: Well, it has been successful in driving alcohol consumption from public places and public view. But it is clearly not succeeded in eliminating alcohol consumption. Instead, it has driven it behind closed doors, underground, off campus, into places where life and health are being put at much greater risk.

COLLINS: So, you came up with this idea about licensing. I want to talk about the Amethyst Initiative as well. But you say that we should sort of be looking at what happens you when you go to driver's ed. You go through a course, you learn about driving, and then you get a certificate and later on a license to be able to drive. You think that should happen with drinking?

MCCARDELL: Merely adjusting the age upward or downward is not the way to address the problem of alcohol in the lives of young people. We need to prepare them to make responsible decisions about alcohol in much the same way we prepare them to make responsible decisions about operating an automobile.

And the truth is, this is not an issue that has primarily to do with traffic safety on our college campuses. It is a public health question which is based on the statistical reality that by far the greater number of lives lost to alcohol by those under the age of 21 are lost off the highways. We need to prepare young people to make responsible decisions. We then need to certify that they have prepared them and treat them like the adults the law says in every other respect that they are.

COLLINS: All right. Well, we're going to talk more about that in a minute. Again, the Amethyst Initiative, as well, which is basically rethinking the drinking age, not specifically lowering it from 21 to 18, but opening up the discussion once again.

And what a great person to do that with. Michelle Lee, who's actually a college student right now at Emory University. And she's also the editor-in-chief of the "Emory Wheel." So, listen, you have your ears to the ground, if you would, on this whole issue. What do students think about this? Do they want the drinking age lowered?

MICHELLE LEE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "EMORY WHEEL": Well, when President Wagner didn't sign the Amethyst Initiative, he still wanted to open the discussion on campus. So, he encouraged students to debate about it. And there was a discussion held during Alcohol Awareness Week between students and office officials and alcohol and substance abuse programs -- awareness programs officials about it.

And the "Emory Wheel" -- we conducted a nonscientific survey to see what students were thinking about President Wagner's decision. And some students agreed with him. They said he made a prudent decision in not signing it. Other students said they think he should have taken a step toward lowering the drinking age. And then other students said that this is a complex issue, and they would like to see discussion on it.

COLLINS: Okay. Well, how aware are students at Emory of alcohol?

LEE: Well, when you first come to campus as a first-year student during orientation week, you go through a lot of awareness programs about alcohol policies at Emory and the dangers of underage drinking. One of it is the blackout policy at Emory, which means that until spring recruitment, freshmen aren't allowed at fraternity parties.

And another program we have is an Alcohol EDU, which is an online alcohol education program that all first-year students are required to take and pass. And lastly, we also we have the Medical Amnesty Policy which means students should be allowed to report themselves or other students who need medical attention because they're under the effects of alcohol or drugs without having it reflect on their permanent record and it being a violation.

COLLINS: Yes. Without getting in trouble, basically. All right.

Well, Adrian Lund, I'd love to talk with you about this as well -- the president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. About those numbers -- I mean, you're the man with the numbers. Have we seen fatalities or even accidents that are related to alcohol go down when that drinking age was raised to 21?

ADRIAN LUND, PRESIDENT, INSURANCE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY: Absolutely. You know, this is a debate that we've had over and over in this country. And we've had states raise the drinking age. We've had them lower it. And each time, we see a very clear effect. A higher drinking age means fewer deaths among teenagers in highway crashes. And lower drinking ages mean more deaths in highway crashes.

COLLINS: Really? Is it really just that simple? Or, what about what the former president of Middlebury College, John McCardell said, that it's just forcing the drinking to happen behind closed doors?

LUND: Well, when we look at statistics about how much drinking is going on among college students, there's been a survey that's gone on since 1980 of kids aged 18 to 22. And what you see is when the drinking age was raised, the amount of heavy drinking among the younger ones that are under 21 actually has declined over time. So whether it's clandestine...

COLLINS: Do you think they're being honest in those surveys?

LUND: Well, as honest as surveys ever are. But the statistics of the deaths we see on the highway don't lie. We see a reduction in deaths, in motor vehicle crashes, when the drinking age is 21. We see an increase in deaths when it's lowered to 18.

COLLINS: Very, very quickly because we have run out of time. You say this is also an issue about money, that states can't really make it much of a priority. There's also this highway penalty, isn't there? Ten percent or something if you have a drinking age that is lower than 21.

LUND: There is a penalty. Every state, in order to get highway funds, has to have a drinking age of 21. That is true.

COLLINS: All right. Well, we will continue the discussion once again. We have been hearing from a lot of people today who've been writing to us on our blog. In fact, to the three of you, we sure do appreciate your time. Michelle lee, John McCardell, and also Adrian Lund. Thank you very much.

LUND: Thank you.

COLLINS: Once again, we do want to know what you think. This is the topic of my blog today. Do you think that the drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18, depending on the state, of course? And we heard from a whole lot of people. Let's get over to the Heidi Mac now and get a look at what people are saying.

And here is the first one from Sally. In fact, I should tell you we've gotten more than 100 responses here since we first started asking you this question. "It should definitely be lowered. People can get married and fight for their country. Why shouldn't they be able to drink?"

The next one: "No. What we need is additional legislation restricting the use of alcohol for others. Prohibition didn't and never will work. However, the fewer people with access to alcohol will create fewer drunks and alcoholics. The last place we should encourage drinking is in our young people."

And then this one. "I don't really see why the legal drinking age was ever raised to 21. I recently turned 21, and it didn't change my views or perspective on drinking at all."

We should also let you know a whole lot of young people weighing in as we were hoping for, since we're talking about young people on this one. So, thanks so much for writing in to us. You can still do that at CNN.com/heidi. We'll share some more responses a little bit later on.

From the air and the ground, thousands of firefighters are working to contain at least seven wildfires spreading across California. Fire officials are particularly concerned about a Los Angeles County fire which has now doubled in size since just yesterday. Our Rob Marciano is covering that fire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The grim news came late last night.

DEPUTY CHIEF MIKE BRYANT, LOST ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPT.: Please. Prayers for that family of our two brothers that we lost.

MARCIANO: Two firefighters killed when their vehicle rolled down a mountainside. Part of a treacherous battlefield in these hills north of L.A., where the easiest approach is often from the sky. Helicopters and planes attacking what seems to be an endless wall of fire.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm afraid. MARCIANO: On the ground, more than 10,000 homes sitting in the fire's path.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All we can do is hope for the best.

MARCIANO: Police blocking off neighborhoods and ordering thousands of people to evacuate. A warning the governor urged them to take seriously.

GOV. ARNOLD SWARTZNEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: This is a huge -- and it's a very dangerous fire.

MARCIANO: Not everyone listened. Some, like this man, stayed behind, armed only with a garden hose.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm trying my best.

MARCIANO: But most grabbed what they could and left the firefighting to the professionals.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We left them our shovel and our hoses.

MARCIANO: Nearly 3,000 firefighters in the fight, taking mostly defensive positions, digging in and letting the fire come to them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The weather, the fuels, and the topography, are dictating our firefighting actions.

MARCIANO: Their biggest problem this time not wind, but unrelenting heat and too much fuel. The area hasn't seen a major fire in 60 years and is loaded with dense brush. Up north, wind becoming a very serious threat. Eerie pictures from the town of Auburn near Sacramento, where a number of homes and buildings burned to the ground. That fast-moving fire eating up 500 acres in just a few hours. Back near L.A., neighbors can only gather on corners and wait, hoping to avoid the same fate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's still fires here. And like I said, we've got a fire coming down the canyon behind us here too. So, we're pretty much surrounded.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Meteorologist Rob Marciano is joining us now live from the fire zone. Rob, give us the very latest now. The sun's been up a while, and last time we checked with you, we were hearing some of the aircraft overhead trying to fight it from above.

MARCIANO: Yes. That -- those sounds and those sights have certainly increased, although it's difficult to see around this fire. Very dense smoke and ash fall. Light winds. We don't have the Santa Ana winds. Fire commanders have been saying, you know, they'd just never seen a fire expand so quickly without the help of Santa Ana winds. Relatively still.

The winds do come and go throughout the day. What's challenging, though, is because you get a bit of a sea breeze throughout the day that pushes it one direction, then at night, the winds switch and push it in another direction.

So, they're fighting this fire from all the angles. Communities to the north of the Angeles National Forest act (ph) when they're on edge when the fire moves that way during the day. And the communities here in the south in Sunland and to the east toward Pasadena also worried about this.

And the fire continues to move in that general direction. As we mentioned, it's doubled in size since yesterday alone, and they have not increased the containment. So, five percent contained, you're not getting a whole lot of help from Mother Nature, at least in the next 48 hours. So, they expect at least a week before they have their hands wrapped around this thing. And obviously, they want to do that before it gets to the more populated areas. And there's no promises of that happening.

COLLINS: Absolutely not. All right. Rob Marciano covering those fires for us. Thanks so much, Rob. We'll check back a little bit later on.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Jimena headed toward Baja, California. Forecasters say it's a powerful Category 4 storm, packing winds of 145 miles per hour. The storm expected to approach the southwestern tip of Baja early tomorrow. A hurricane watch is in effect for that area.

It's a party of 13, way beyond the earth's orbit. The spaceship Discovery docked at the international space station, where the astronauts greeted each other with applause and handshakes. Crews congratulated the pilot for docking the shuttle smoothly after some trouble with the thrusters. Discovery will spend more than a week at the orbiting complex, where astronauts will perform three space walks.

A teenage boy at the center of a medical mystery, and his mother is desperate to find out why her son, without warning, will cry blood.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Very quickly want to take a moment to update you on this massive fire -- wildfire, several of them, in fact, that are happening in California. Looking at some live pictures from our affiliate there, KTLA, because this thing has doubled in size since yesterday.

We are now looking at the station fire that's grown to about 86,000 acres. Just unbelievable. And still only five percent contained. There are thousands of firefighters out there fighting this thing. You can see the aircraft overhead dropping their slurry and water as well.

Two firefighters have been killed. There was a vehicle accident. Their vehicle rolled down the mountain. So, there is an awful lot going on there. Thousands of people have been evacuated. A state of emergency has been declared. We will continue, of course, to follow this very, very closely for you here throughout the day on CNN. Opponents of big government taking their arguments on the road, embarking on a series of planned protests across 33 cities called the Tea Party Protest Tour. They kicked off with a rally in Sacramento on Saturday. On the 16-day tour, critics will protest everything from health care reform to the bailout.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROLYN ROWE, TEA PARTY PARTICIPANT: I believe he's trouncing the Constitution and taking control of our country in a direction that we don't want.

JOHNNY BURNWELL, TEA PARTY PARTICIPANT: They want to make us a socialist state.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're the sleeping giant that has been awakened. I mean, we're the silent majority that is no longer silent.

MIKE BRYANT, TEA PARTY PARTICIPANT: I think we're not an unruly mob. I think most of us are, you know, just average citizens, and we're trying to make a difference and we're trying to make our feelings known.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The Tea Party Express stops in Las Vegas at 2:00 p.m. Eastern today and in Arizona at 8:00 p.m. It ends on September 12th with a three-day march in Washington.

It is the last day of this make-or-break month for health care reform. Here are the town hall meetings going on across the nation today. Time is running out, by the way, if you plan on attending one of these events. Lawmakers will leave their districts next week to return to Washington.

The Supreme Court will hear new arguments next month in a case that could revamp how political campaigns are run. A lower court ruled the group Citizens United violated campaign finance law with Hillary: The Movie, a critical documentary about Hillary Clinton during last year's presidential campaign. Now, the McCain-Feingold law bars direct corporate funding of campaigns. Citizens United appealed, saying its 90-minute film on cable should not have the same restrictions as broadcast TV ads.

You can collect unemployment benefits if you are laid off, but what if you call it quits? Our CNN money expert reveals there are some exceptions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: On Wall Street, investors are getting ready to close the books on August, and what a ride it's been. But can that rally continue? If we look right now, there are questions. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange now with details. Yes, let's just hang out in August. SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. Because yes, the fall historically has some baggage, Heidi. August, I wouldn't say has been like a space shuttle takeoff, but the trajectory has certainly been higher.

The Dow, the S&P 500, the NASDAQ, each up two and a half percent, at least two and a half percent going into today's session. Six straight monthly gains now for the NASDAQ and the S&P. Unless the sell-off gets a whole lot worse.

Five out of six for the Dow. Why is that? Recent signs of economic hope. And we could get more this week. The manufacturing sector expected to show improvement. Auto sales likely to get a boost from the government's Cash for Clunkers program.

And as we've been telling you all morning, signs of confidence from corporate America. Disney, the house of mouse, buying Marvel Entertainment with Captain America, Iron Man, the X-Men, Fantastic Four, for $4 billion. Marvel shares are soaring 26 percent.

But right now, yes, we are seeing a sell-off in this final trading day. This final day of August. But it's been a real nice month.

COLLINS: Yes. All those guys are close personal friend of the Collins household.

LISOVICZ: Oh, yes.

COLLINS: All right, Susan, thank you.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

COLLINS: We'll find out how many jobs the economy shed this month when the August jobs report is released on Friday. Thousands of Americans are filing new jobless claims every week. But what about people who quit their jobs? Can they still collect benefits? Poppy Harlow has our "Breakdown" now this morning with more on that. What's the deal?

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Heidi, it's a great question. So, generally here's the rule. You can't get unemployment benefits if you quit your job.

But there are exceptions. And we actually, last time we talked about this without mentioning some of those exceptions, we got a lot of calls from viewers and e-mails. So, here's one of the scenarios. If you're harassed at work and you tell your boss, your company just isn't doing anything about it, if you leave, you will actually probably get those unemployment benefits.

Of course, you have to provide the documentation. This varies from state to state. But that's an important thing to know, Heidi. If your boss isn't taking action and you leave -- if you provide the proper documentation, you're probably going to get those benefits.

COLLINS: What if you quit, though, for something like health reasons?

HARLOW: Yes, of course, sometimes you're just too sick to work. It's a trickier scenario. We talked to folks at the National Employment Law Project. They estimate if this happens to you, you can collect benefits. But as you see here, less than half of the states right now in the United States will grant you benefits. And you can't get them while you're sick if you're not looking for work.

Here's an example. Let's say you leave your job, you get better after a few months, but your boss has already filled your position, so you're out looking for another job. Only then can you start collecting those benefits if your state approves. You have to be looking for work to get unemployment benefits.

If you quit your job to take care of someone else, Heidi, who's sick, a parent or child, they'll have a better chance of getting those unemployment benefits. More details are on CNNmoney.com, but some interesting questions that folks were sending in to us.

COLLINS: Yes. Absolutely. All right, Poppy, appreciate that, thank you.

HARLOW: Sure.

COLLINS: It's a bizarre story that has a Tennessee mother pleading for help. Take a look at this. He's your average teenager, but for some reason when he tears up, he actually cries tears of blood. That story in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A teen in Tennessee is dealing with a medical mystery. He cries blood. Reporter Jill McNeil from our affiliate WATE tells us his family is desperately searching for help to treat him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL MCNEIL, WATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At times like this, Calvino Inman (ph) seems like any other 15-year-old boy. But then, without warning...

CALVINO INMAN (ph), CRIES TEARS OF BLOOD: My eyes are bleeding.

MCNEIL: He says it happens at least three times a day and can last from a few minutes up to an hour.

INMAN: I felt it coming up like a tear. I felt my eyes watering. Sometimes it will burn as it comes out.

MCNEIL: This episode is mild, he says, but it gets worse. As you can see in these photographs.

INMAN: I've been called possessed by almost all my friends. I guess I'm used to it now. First it kind hurt my feelings.

TAMMY MYNATT, MOTHER: The scariest thing in my life is when he looked at me and said "Mom, am I going to die?" That right there broke my heart.

MCNEIL: The first time she saw it, Tammy Mynatt says she called 911.

MYNATT: They did an MRI, they did a Cat Scan, they did it with and without an IV, they've done ultrasounds...

MCNEIL: When every test came back normal, she took him to several specialists, but still no diagnosis and no treatment.

MYNATT This is what every doctor tells us: I've never seen nothing like this before, in so many years of being a doctor.

MCNEIL: Now this mother says she is running out of hope.

MYNATT: More than anything, I just truly want somebody to say, "I've seen this, I can help this family." I don't care where we have to travel. I don't -- I will go wherever we need to go. I'll do whatever I have to do. I just please want somebody to help my baby. That's all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: We talked to some experts on this extremely rare condition. It's sometimes referred to as hemolacria, which is often linked to a blood clot, a benign tourism growth near the eye or maybe even an infection. In most cases, the condition can be treated once the underlying cause can be determined.

I'm Heidi Collins. CNN NEWSROOM continues now with Tony Harris.