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Philippines Desperate after Storm; Americans Strive to Make Difference in Philippines; Teaching Leaders, Not Training Fighters in Mideast; Preventing Workplace Violence; Nicotine Vaccine in the Works; Latino Students Juggle School, Family

Aired October 07, 2009 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Eight years in, and no end in sight. We're "Pushing Forward" on a milestone in the war in Afghanistan. Will it also be a turning point?

(VIDEO CLIP)

A war against banks. Free markets. Capitalism. On the streets of Istanbul. You'll see it and feel it just the way our reporter did.

And teens who put the "X" in texting. They could face a cell phone charge they never expected. It's a felony.

Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Can't pull out, can't stay forever. So, whatever President Obama decides for year nine and beyond in Afghanistan, he's got to push forward like never before. He'll convene another meeting of his war council this afternoon at the White House. And here's why a new strategy grows more urgent by the day. The bodies of fallen soldiers, flying into Dover Air Force base on an all-too-regular basis.

The Taliban say, and a lot of observers agree, time is on their side, and new blood is one reason why. An endless supply of Afghan and Pakistani children just waiting to be recruited, brainwashed, trained and sent off to die. Back in August, CNN's Christiane Amanpour revealed this hideous practice to the world in "Generation Islam." Here's just a taste.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "You will find my body in little pieces," sings one young boy in this Taliban propaganda video. It's targeting children, celebrating suicide. The Taliban recruits its young martyrs from madrassas on the Pakistan/Afghan border. Shaki Rola (ph) was one of them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): My dad was teaching me a couple of pages of the Koran. Then he couldn't do it, and he sent me to a madrassa.

AMANPOUR: His father send him to a madrassa when he was just 10 years old for a free education. But they didn't realize what else lay in store for him. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I was studying in the madrassa when I finished reciting the Koran. A mullah told me I should go to commit a suicide attack. When I said, "No, I am not going," he forced me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Here's what we want to know: will the U.S. always be at war in this part of the world? And how can the forces opposed to terrorism, specifically the U.S., win? And what exactly does "win" mean?

Rescuing the next generation is Greg Mortenson's mission. His Central Asia Institute has set up dozens of schools, serving thousands of Afghan and Pakistani children. In 2006, he co-wrote the best- selling "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations." Greg will join me this hour from Pittsburgh.

Now, more help, more hope, less violence. The mayor of Chicago, the U.S. attorney general, the U.S. education secretary, making a plea to deal with Chicago's wave of teen violence. The three held a news conference just a short time ago. Mayor Daley asking Uncle Sam for help to bring up gangs inflicting so much of the city's pain, and for money to keep kids out of trouble and in community programs. Eric Holder stressing that Chicago's problem should be everyone's concern.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Youth violence is not a Chicago problem, any more than it is a black problem, a white problem, or a Hispanic problem. It is something that affects communities big and small and people of all races and all colors. It is an American problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: So, need more proof that violence has become part of life on the South Side? Here's one example: a little boy sleeping in his mom's car, hit by a bullet meant for someone else, shot within an inch of his life. The shooter still free, even though the boy's mom says she knows who he is, and where he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you think people know who it was?

LAKEESHA RUCKER, MARTRELL'S MOTHER: Yes.

TUCHMAN: You're sure about that?

RUCKER: Positive.

TUCHMAN: No one's talking?

RUCKER: No one. TUCHMAN: No one wants to snitch?

RUCKER: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Notice the yes-or-no, one-word answers. Even little Martrell Stevens didn't want to tell our Gary Tuchman what exactly happened to him. Said it was a secret. You got to hear the full story next hour.

Anderson Cooper and CNN education contributor Steve Perry shook their heads when they heard Gary's interview. They talked more about the veil of silence that's helping criminals and hampering justice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: It's also stunning that she talks about driving by the man who shot her child every single day. She knows; she's scared to come forward. Others may have witnessed this. No one's coming forward. No one's willing to kind of break that code of silence.

And that whole thing of being labeled a snitch. I mean, a snitch used to be another criminal who was involved in a criminal act ratting out his fellow or her fellow criminal. Now it's -- that horrible term incorporates anybody who witnessed a crime and comes forward.

STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: It's unconscionable. And what we've created in our communities are -- and when I say our communities, I'm talking about urban centers where education is at an all-time low -- is a loss of hope. When people feel like there's no hope for the future and they don't have the capacity to move forward through education or other reasonable means, they begin to check out. They begin to become disengaged, and they don't care what happens. As long as it's not them that it's happening to, they begin to pull back.

I'm saying that we as the community -- and the community extends beyond the black community, but the community extends to the community of people who care. If we don't begin to hold people's feet to fire, the adults who create these circumstances, than this -- then the blood will run through the streets.

Because I tell you this, if the child who had been beaten to death, whose skull had been crushed just a couple days ago had been shot or killed by a white person, blood would run through the streets.

COOPER: People in the black community and elsewhere...

PERRY: They would come together. Churches would come together. Religious orders, individuals from all throughout the community, parents and the like, would find a way to galvanize. We've marched the soles out of our shoes. I'm so sick and tired of civil rights workers -- I mean, civil rights activists talking about what we need the government to do. Enough with the doggone government. This is about us. These are our communities. We've created these circumstances. Let's undo them now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And tonight, Anderson Cooper live in Chicago, taking a look behind what's behind the epidemic of teen murders. A special "AC 360," live from Chicago, tonight, 10 Eastern on CNN.

You thought the G-20 protests in Pittsburgh were out of hand? You ought to see these protests. Even covering the story hurts.

(MUSIC)

PHILLIPS: It's been eight years since that war began in Afghanistan. We now salute fallen heroes, the men and women who have given their lives in that war.

Private 1st Allen Newton Jr., killed by a suicide bomber. The 25-year-old was planning to surprise his family by showing up for Thanksgiving this year. Newton was the father of a 2-year-old daughter.

His mother says Private 1st Class Brandon Owens was the light in the darkness. His brother says the 21-year-old was always ready to give you a smile. Owens was killed October 2 by enemy fire.

And Private 1st Class Aaron Smith was his mother's oldest son. The 25-year-old was killed by small-arms fire on October 2. He was scheduled to go on leave just ten days after that. His mother says he was a very gentle and caring soul.

These are just three of the 778 U.S. servicemen and women who have died in the war in Afghanistan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: How do you change the world for the better? One young CNN hero found a way. Get behind the cart and push it forward.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Imagine hundreds of people swarming your house, desperate for food, for water, for anything. That's what American troops on the ground in the Philippines are dealing with right now. The country's in desperate need after getting battered by a tropical storm, a typhoon, and massive flooding. CNN's Eunice Yoon is in manila.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EUNICE YOON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're here with the U.S. military. This is the 3rd Expeditionary Force, the Marines, as well as the Navy. And they said that they're going to be seeing about 1,300 people today. So, this is what usually happens just because there's so many people that it gets pretty crowded. This is, like, a makeshift hospital and it operates like a hospital.

They have people in a waiting area. And these people all have medical problems. They're waiting for the doctor. So, if you're a patient, this is -- this is the first stop.

They take people's blood pressure. They'll also take people's temperature, if it's necessary. And once they are able to make an initial diagnosis, they'll send them off to different stations.

And this is the dental station.

Now, down here is the wound-cleaning station. So -- have you had any problems recently with people who have wounds or lacerations today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, just seeing a lot of antibiotics we have to give out. Little infections here and there, but not too much.

YOON: So not too much. Some of the supplies are brought in from the U.S. Military. They're also brought in by the Philippine military. And one of the medical doctors said that they're bought locally, as well, so that people can recognize the medication that they are taking.

Now, this is where the more severe patients come. What kind of cases have you been seeing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've seen a little bit of everything. It's been quite a mix. We've seen wounds on the legs. We've seen, like this lady, she had, you know, fever, feeling pretty fatigued. We see some sick babies. Also, we've seen folks in for just general body pains. Pretty much just a normal representation of a normal population, urgent care-type scenario.

YOON: The medical doctors told me that they have to be really careful when they diagnose and when they give out medication, because they really have only one shot. Once they come here and diagnose them, they don't have a chance to see these people, again. So there is no follow-up care or in very few instances is there follow-up care.

This is where they pick up their prescriptions. And the whole process, from beginning to end, is free.

Eunice Yoon, CNN, Manila.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Now, a man that is helping people survive the typhoon's devastation, delivering supplies to those hardest hit. We'll get to that in just a minute.

But why was Efren Penaflorida even in the Philippines in the first place? It wasn't because of the weather. It was gang violence. He's taken on that battle with his organization, Dynamic Teen Company. Their weapons? Pushcarts. Rolling out these mobile classrooms to the garbage dumps and streets where kids grow up. That's why Efren is one of our CNN top ten "Heroes," and he joins me on the phone from the Philippines.

Efren, before we talk about your amazing organization, tell me what you and your teens are doing right now to help the typhoon victims.

EFREN PENAFLORIDA, DYNAMIC TEEN COMPANY: Hello. What we're doing right now is we're collecting goods. It's, like, last Sunday. Right after Katsana hit, we gathered Dynamic Teen Company volunteers to -- to have the new food gathered so we could give to the typhoon victims. And still ongoing right now.

PHILLIPS: Well, and you were -- what's so amazing is you were already there, working on -- on your organization that you started, which is what led to you becoming nominated as a top ten "CNN Hero." So folks there are so lucky to have you there and your organization.

But I want to give everybody a background now on -- that your Dynamic Teen program and what led to what have been doing for kids there on a daily basis. Let's go ahead and meet Rhandolf.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RHANDOLF, AGE 16 (through translator): My gang mates are the most influential thing in my life. I would probably be in jail right now or most likely a drug addict if I hadn't met Efren.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Tell us about Rhandolf and how he has become such a dynamic teen.

PENAFLORIDA: Rhandolf is the gang member, first. He was actually -- indirectly killed his mother, and was fighting with his brother, so his mom had a heart attack. And -- and we're able to have him out from the gang. And now he was able to help more children by volunteering with us, and I think he is -- he is a changed man.

PHILLIPS: He, indeed, is a changed man because of you. Efren, before we let you go, how did you come up with this idea, Dynamic Teen Company?

PENAFLORIDA: Actually, it's -- before in our school, gangs and fraternities are very rampant. And just wanted to have another alternative to gang, since kids were encouraged to join gangs. So we, together with classmates, joined this group, the American company, to have an alternative to gangs. So they would not join unproductive things, for them to be productive.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's amazing. Dynamic Teen Company, actual pushcarts, as you saw the video there, kids coming through this organization, trained teenagers, reading, writing, other basic skills to the children living in the Philippine slums.

Efren, congratulations. Thank you so much.

PENAFLORIDA: Thank you very much. Thank you. PHILLIPS: My honor and pleasure.

And if you'd like to vote in our CNN heroes, jut go to CNN.com/heroes. Plus, watch our all-star tribute, hosted by our Anderson Cooper. That's on Thanksgiving, only on CNN.

They could be going through your e-mail right now. Tens of thousands of account names and passwords posted online by hackers. How'd they get the information in the first place? Probably from you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, we've been talking a lot about the future of the war against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Eight full years after U.S. forces moved in, the limits of U.S. resources and capabilities are pretty clear. But the enemy has a near endless supply of potential fighters. Afghan and Pakistani children, recruited and groomed to die.

Greg Mortenson wants to change that. He has been changing that. His Central Asia Institute has set up dozens of schools educating thousands of kids. And in 2006, you probably remember, he co-wrote the best-selling "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations." Greg joins me now this hour from Pittsburgh.

Greg, it's always good to talk about you. We were trying to brainstorm this morning. You know, eight years into this war, and we're still seeing this movement, this younger generation, wanting to fight the U.S., wanting to take part in al Qaeda training camps. Why is that? How come that force is still so strong?

GREG MORTENSON, CENTRAL ASIA INSTITUTE: Hi, Kyra. I've been working for 16 years in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and one thing that has always taken a back seat or little initiative is education.

The Taliban and occasionally al Qaeda, they are very deliberate in destroying the fabric in society by breaking the relationship between the elders and the young -- younger people. And there's very deliberate attempts -- by force, extortion -- to pull young kids, especially boys, out of school -- villages. They get indoctrinated. And it's still going on today.

The good news is that -- and there is about 25,000 extremist madrassas in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Probably around 4 million, mostly boys and young men, at those madrassas.

There's also an incredible thing happening in Afghanistan. In 2000 there were 800,000 children in school, mostly boys. Today there are 8. percent million children in school, including 2. percent million females. But I really think that there should be more initiative to help those children go to school.

The other thing is I think it's important that we also educate girls. You know, if you educate a boy, you educate an individual. If you educate a girl, we educate a community. Women who are educated have much more influence over their sons to encourage them to, you know, get an education, get a job.

There's also -- women are able to read newspapers, so they're more aware of what's going on around them. The infant mortality drops; the population explosion slows down. So, I think the top priority should be education.

PHILLIPS: All right, so let me ask you, then, Greg, you know, with all these resources in Afghanistan, you know, U.S. troops, NATO troops, should the target be going after these madrassas, going after al Qaeda, and going after the training camps? Is that what will eliminate this continued growth of these young fighters? Young fighters that we are seeing to this day, they're getting younger and younger, killing U.S. troops, going after those that are trying to rebuild this country. Is that the answer in your eyes?

MORTENSON: Well, I don't think so. And I also have tremendous respect for the military. I think in many ways our military is far ahead of the State Department, our political leaders. Many of our military commanders, NCOs, they have been in Afghanistan three or four times and they really get it.

And the keys are, No. 1, we are there to serve the good people of Afghanistan. No. 2 is that we're listening more, and especially like the McChrystal report, was based on hundreds and hundreds of discussions and dialogue with the Shura. These are the tribal elders who are really the power base in Afghanistan. And we haven't really listened to them. And they have -- they want to run their own country. They want to protect their people, and we need, I think, to listen to them more.

And all of them -- and they all plead, they say, "What we need most is education." And even -- I've spoken many times to Admiral Mike Mullen, General Petraeus, Admiral Colson, General McChrystal, and they will all say there's no just military solution in Afghanistan. It has to be much broader. And the key to it is education.

PHILLIPS: Yes. Yes, but how do you -- how do you do that when you've got all these madrassas, like you mentioned, and you have these young kids being recruited daily? It's this ongoing cycle.

I mean, I understand how important it is to have the type of schools that you have created, the ones that the U.S. troops are helping create, working with the village elders. But with regard to these actual training -- these schools that are training young boys to be terrorists, how do you do that? Is it Pakistan's responsibility? Is it -- is it Afghanistan's responsibility? Is it the U.S. troops' responsibility?

MORTENSON: Well, Kyra, that's a very good point. And ultimately, governments and people themselves have to set up schools and education. So, what we -- what I think is so critical, though, is that there's an emphasis on girls' education. I mean, obviously, the short-term solution is helping the boys find an alternative path. But unless the girls are educated, nothing will change in the society. And so I think it's imperative that also girls get an education, then become mothers, and that value go on in the community. And the -- if you put a school in a village, 95 percent of the kids will go to the school. I'm talking about secular education. If there's no school, then it becomes ripe, fertile recruiting grounds. And the Taliban deliberately target illiterate, impoverished society, because many educated women that I meet, they refuse to allow their sons to join the Taliban.

PHILLIPS: I love that, Greg. I love how you point out just the power of women and the influence that they can have. And you point that out, obviously, in your writing.

So good to talk to you, Greg.

MORTENSON: Well, thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes, it's amazing; it's been eight years. Thanks for your time today. I appreciate it.

MORTENSON: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Let's check the top stories now.

A hot time in Istanbul. Protesters throwing rocks, venting their rage at international fat cats. Riot police fighting back with tear gas, arresting some 80 hot heads. All this as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund wrapped up its annual meeting.

Heads up, folks. Get vaccinated for swine flu. It's safe and secure. That's the word today from Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. She also warns new cases of the H1N1 virus are popping up, particularly among the young.

Their dad might be rolling over in his grave. The children of Martin Luther King Jr. have until today to settle their fight over who controls the money from their dad's estate. If no agreement comes, the battle shifts to court on Monday.

Quick question: how many passwords do you have? Are they safe? Are you sure? Well, guess what? Hackers recently stole thousands of them. Probably yours. Josh Levs here to tell us about it -- Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Possibly. You know, it's amazing that people keep getting away with this, isn't it?

PHILLIPS: And, you know, how do you really protect your password, and can you?

LEVS: I know. I'm going to take you through that right now. Because it's incredible, the kind of things. There are people out there who will always try to do it. That's why we have this section on dot-com called "Don't Click on That."

Let me tell you basically what's happened now, is that there are tens of thousands of people who have lost their user names and passwords to people who are doing these things called phishing scams. Basically, they send you an e-mail. You fall for it. You say, "OK, I want that information, I'm going to type my user name and my password." Boom, these bad people have it.

Here's a quote from Google. They said that they noticed that one of the many companies, they say, "As soon as we learned of the attack, we forced password resets on the affected accounts." We're also talking some accounts in AOL and Microsoft, which is one of the first we heard about. Also Yahoo!

So, let me show you some examples of the passwords they picked up. This is interesting, because some of the passwords that they got through this scam, Kyra, they honestly shouldn't even -- people shouldn't be using these passwords in the first place. Some of them were using 123456 or the numbers 1 through 9 or "iloveyou." They're so guessable. People, do not use passwords like that. Even without some clever scam out there, someone could guess your password.

But this gets even more interesting. It gets complicated here. Take a look at this. I've got a Web site behind me called Acunetix. And they write -- wrote down what some of the most popular passwords are that were caught through this scam. You have numbers, but you also have "Alejandro," "Alberto," "Tequiero," "Alejandro." And what they think is that this was originally targeting people in the Latino community, who fell for it. Then it ultimately extended to become tens of thousands of more.

Kyra, mentioned some advice. Let's go right to these screens. I want you to see what to do to protect your computer and yourself. First, update your virus protection. That will help look out for some of this malware that might send you some of these things that want your information.

Also have an updated firewall. And if someone sends you a link that you don't recognize, try typing it yourself. Sometimes a slight typo will confuse you, and you're really going somewhere else. Don't open unknown attachments, and use Site Adviser on your Web browser. A lot of Web browsers offer those. It's called Site Adviser. Just Google it. You'll see what to do.

Those are some things to help you out. Also, keep complicated passwords. Everything you need to know is posted on this place for you. Let's show everyone. I posted a whole bunch of links how to protect your computer, CNN.com/josh, Facebook and Twitter, joshlevsCNN.

So Kyra, hopefully, the more people empower themselves with these tools, the less often these hackers and others will get away with stealing their personal information. Just the worst -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Josh.

LEVS: You got it.

PHILLIPS: When teen hormones and technology collide. Students around the country clearly are not getting the message. Another crop of kids facing kiddy porn charges for "sexting." Parents, you better listen up. Top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Live look right now at the White House. Any moment, President Obama honors some of the finest minds this nation has ever produced. He's actually going to hand out the national medals of science and national medals of technology. You might not recognize the honorees, but I tell you what, their work has definitely touched your lives, the lives of your parents, the lives of your children. We're going to take you to that ceremony as soon as it gets under way.

All right, let's talk about where you work. How safe do you feel there? How about the people who work with you? How safe do you feel around them? Workplace violence can happen to you, it can happen to me, it can happen to anybody. So, how do you keep yourself from becoming another statistic?

CNN's Alina Cho has some advice that you can actually live with.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OPERATOR: 911. What's your emergency?

CHO (voice-over): In just the past few years, a factory worker in Kentucky goes on a shooting rampage, killing five co-workers before killing himself. A transit worker guns down two co-workers in San Diego. And in Connecticut, police accuse a lab technician of strangling a Yale University student and fellow employee.

These fatal incidents get the most attention. But workplace violence, threats and assaults, can happen to anyone.

LARRY BARTON, PRESIDENT, THE AMERICAN COLLEGE: You know, what you and I experienced as children in the schoolyard has migrated its way now into corporate America. We are seeing more people that are acting as jerks. They are bullies. They are yelling and ranting and raving.

CHO: So, how do you protect yourself? Experts say diffuse the situation before the problem escalates. Their advice, lesson one, let the angry co-worker vent.

BARTON: Sometimes just giving them the dignity of allowing them to talk for a couple of minutes can have a profound impact, and all of a sudden it gets back to normal.

CHO: Sometimes it doesn't. Lesson two, speak up.

BARTON: If they feel that they are being intimidated or they're frightened, they need to verbalize that, and they need to know that somehow the company's going to step up.

CHO: Tell a supervisor or the HR department. And if you feel the threat is imminent, go directly to police. Experts say some workers are lulled into a false sense of security at work.

Lesson three, have a plan. BARTON: If I had to suddenly run out of here, how would I do that? Know how to notify someone, know where you would hide. Know where the dead ends are.

CHO: But some feel this just isn't enough. Like J.R. Cardenas, who brings his gun to work following a so-called parking lot law that took effect last week in Arizona, one of nearly a dozen states that allows licensed gun owners to bring a firearm to work as long as it's locked in their vehicle.

J.R. CARDENAS, BRINGS GUN TO WORK: If I was to come to work, and I feel threatened, and I see somebody coming in to try to harm another person, and on top of that going ballistic on other people, of course, I am going to use my gun, and I am going to protect myself and the safety of others.

CHO: Cardenas works at an amusement park.

BARTON: My concern is that we're heading into the O.K. Corral. Having weapons at work and actually empowering people to do that I think is a very dangerous proposition.

CHO: Which brings us to what experts say is the most important lesson -- use your intuition. If you feel something's wrong, it probably is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And here's some numbers that will really open your eyes. The government says that homicide was the leading cause of death for women at work, 42 percent of on-the-job fatalities. Overall, homicide is the second leading cause of death in the workplace. And right behind people getting into car crashes, to and from work.

Almost a month after he was found gagged, bound, naked and hanging from a tree, a census worker's body has been released back to his family. Bill Sparkman's son, Josh, says that relief is mixed with anger and frustration.

You see, this still isn't officially a murder case, and Josh said there's no way that his dad killed himself. Authorities will only say circumstances have complicated a ruling on manner of death. Cause of death? Asphyxiation.

A march honoring Bill Sparkman will be held this Sunday in his hometown. No date yet for a memorial. Josh Sparkman's trying to find enough money to may for it and a funeral home to host it.

You tried the patch. Well, you tried the gum. But you're still lighting up. And no wonder. They say quitting smoking can be tougher than kicking heroin. Time for more extreme measures. We'll tell you about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: All right. You tried to go cold turkey. You tried gums, patches, but you're still smoking. Now a new vaccine might help you. It actually blocks nicotine from ever reaching your brain. But is it too good to be true?

Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a look at it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly could be promising, as nicotine is so addictive. A lot of interest in this type of research. But it's worth stressing right off the top here that this is still in clinical trials, so this isn't something that is ready for the mass audience.

But let me show you what we're talking about here. When someone smokes, they take a puff of a cigarette, the process I'm about to describe to you takes place very quickly over a minute. These Ns in here, they represent the nicotine, that substance that we talk so much about.

It crosses into the blood, and then eventually, this is the blood, this is the brain, this is the blood/brain barrier, and nicotine is crossing across this barrier and binding to certain things that release dopamine and gives people this sort of pleasure surge. Crossing the blood/brain barrier is something that nicotine can do, and part of the reason it's so addictive.

Now, when you talk about a vaccine, let me show you specifically what might happen here. Same thing, someone takes a puff of cigarettes, but now you have these in the bloodstream. Those are antibodies, and they're binding to the nicotine. Why that's important, they try to cross from the blood into the brain, and they simply can't do it because they have those antibodies bound to it. That's simplistically sort of what happens with a vaccine like this.

Now, obviously a hot of attention for lots of reasons. Smoking one of the biggest killers and one of the biggest cancer causers as well. So, a lot of interest in a vaccine. But as far as what we can tell so far, it's about six-month endpoint, seems to work for about six months. It's possible that people would need vaccines again in the future.

And the side effects still need to be worked out as well. At least initially, the side effects seem to be minimal. Will those side effects stay the same in the larger populations. And we also have no idea what this might cost. But, again, a lot of interest today in a specific nicotine vaccine.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Teen violence center stage in Chicago again. This time, two of the president's top men and Mayor Richard Daley looking at ways to end it. It's all happening in the wake of that brutal beating death of a 16-year-old honor student.

Taliban rebels launch a new rocket attack in Afghanistan, killing two people and wounding 20 others. The bloodshed underscores the continuing danger on this eighth anniversary of the war. President Obama meets with his security chiefs this afternoon, trying to decide how to push forward in the year nine.

They steal your identity, threaten your bank accounts through phishing e-mail schemes. Well, now the FBI is reeling them in. They've arrested dozens of suspects in California, Nevada, North Carolina and Egypt today, breaking an international I.D. theft ring.

Latino teens want to get ahead, but the hurdles in their way might include their own loved ones. Nearly nine in 10 Hispanics, more than any other ethnic group, by the way, say getting a college degree is key. But according to the Pew Hispanic Center, 74 percent of Latinos who drop out of high school or college say that they did it to support their families.

Our Soledad O'Brien met one teen who's determined to defy the odds.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cindy Garcia's a senior at Fremont High School in South L.A. It's severely overcrowded, almost entirely Latino, and 70 percent of its students don't graduate on time.

CINDY GARCIA, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: I don't want to fall into the 70 percent. No. I know I deserve better than that.

O'BRIEN: It's not going to be easy. Cindy is more than a semester behind. And there's just three months until graduation.

(on camera): What happened your ninth grade year?

GARCIA: I guess I didn't find it important. Like, I didn't even care and...

O'BRIEN: Did you go?

GARCIA: To school?

O'BRIEN: Yes.

GARCIA: No, I went -- I would go...

O'BRIEN: You cut every day?

GARCIA: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Every day?

GARCIA: Kind of, yes. O'BRIEN (voice-over): Now, she's trying to make up for lost time, but family often trumps school. Cindy lives in this three- bedroom house with her mother, two sisters, baby brother and a 2 1/2- year-old niece.

GARCIA: Close your eyes.

O'BRIEN: She's constantly pulled out of school to take care of the kids and help out at the family store, which barely makes ends meet.

GARCIA: I'll check if there's some more in the back, because I don't think so.

O'BRIEN: Cindy also acts as a translator for her mother, Onelia, who speaks no English. She's been sick and eats needs help navigating doctors' appointments.

(on camera): Do you ever want to say to her, I need to be in school?

GARCIA: Yes, I do.

O'BRIEN: And do you say that?

GARCIA: No.

O'BRIEN: No. Why not?

GARCIA: Because I'm the only one that can help her sometimes, you know? So, I can't -- I mean, if it was something else, like, go to the store with me, then OK. But, like, if this is very important so, I kind of have to be there.

O'BRIEN: It's a lot of responsibility. You're 17.

GARCIA: I guess, yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, we're just two weeks away from CNN's special presentation of "LATINO IN AMERICA." Soledad O'Brien will bring you a comprehensive look at how Latinos are changing the nation. The show begins October 21st and 22nd, only on CNN.

If you like it, put a ring on it. All prop to Beyonce. Ha-ha, but that ain't a ring! This is a ring. Single ladies, you've got nothing on Saturn.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: She's no single lady. She's the solar system's second-biggest planet. And now, a ring around Saturn we haven't seen before. NASA just discovered the nearly invisible ring. It's so big it would take nearly 1 billion earths to fill it. But the ring's dust and ice particles are so far apart that if you stood in the middle of it, you wouldn't even know it.

Chad Myers, are you dancing, Chad?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That bothers me a little that they just found that.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: You know, I'm looking here, billions and billions of earths to fill it.

MYERS: What about those asteroids that are flying at us? I want them to find those in a hurry. I want to know!

PHILLIPS: I don't know, I want a ring full of dust and ice. I think that would be kind of sexy.

MYERS: That would be better.

PHILLIPS: Yes.

MYERS: It could be more things flying around. We got H out of the way. Number eight, H, Henry, Henri, if you will. San Juan, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands here. U.S. way up there to the northeast. And this storm is not worth even talking about. It is just going to die off here in the North Atlantic.

Too much wind here across parts of the Atlantic Ocean here. We will see wind advisories here across the northeast, and I think we'll probably see some airport delays as well. There's the wind. I mean, wind gusts probably 30, 40 miles per hour here, and we are seeing those airport delays. Newark, LaGuardia, all the way down to D.C. and Philadelphia, DCA and Las Vegas.

And in the next hour, if I get some time, Kyra, I want to talk to you about two typhoons -- they're dying off, but the Japan and in the Philippines, and what they're doing there -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We'll track it. Thanks, Chad.

MYERS: You got it.

PHILLIPS: Pushing forward to the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM now. So much crime tape you could circle the city with it. Chicago's student body count this year, 40. We're going to talk to a teenager who's in the heart of it.

And teens in a different kind of trouble. All you students who are sexting, forgot the honor roll. You could end up on the sex offender registry instead. No "lol" here.

So, Australia has taken a bold new step in responsible drinking. Talk about hard core, man. Listen to this. There's a huge car race this week, no speed limit on the track, but a beer limit in the stands. Yes, a beer limit for race fans. That's like telling the Atlantic Ocean, hey, cut down on the salt water. Now, listen. Police are actually capping the number of 12-ounce cans that fans may drink per day. Twenty-four cans per fan, per day. That's it. After that, forget it. You're cut off. You don't want fans getting, you know, hammered or anything. But for you more lightweight fan who drink a lower-octane beer, hey, guess what? You get 36 cans per day.

How about a pace car in the stands? And who the hell's going to drive these boozers home?

Bad segueway. Really apologize. But, got to go to the president of the United States now. On a more serious note, the finest minds of the nation ever produced getting national medals of science and national medals of technology. The president beginning the ceremony right now.