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Mormon Church Supports Equal Rights For Gay Utahans in Housing and Employment; Convicted Murderer Strikes Again; Former New York Governor Speaks at Harvard Ethics 101; Germany Puts Local Afghan In Charge; Abortion Issue Threatens Health Reform Efforts

Aired November 12, 2009 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The number of H1N1 cases and available shots likely the big headlines. Big headline out of the CDC's briefing today, they're revising the estimated Swine Flu death toll from about 1,000 to about 4,000.

A Missouri man and his four sons making their first court appearance in a horrific sex abuse case. Police today digging up some property that the family used to own, looking for evidence and possibly bodies. A live report in just a few minutes.

Thirteen counts of premeditated murder. The latest headline from Ft. Hood; preliminary charges against the one and only suspect in the shooting that happened one week ago today almost to the minute. Army Psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan being prosecuted in the military system and the charges makes him eligible for the death penalty.

Besides the 13 people killed, more than 40 people were hurt, Hasan among them. But exactly how was shot and by whom is now in some question. Also in question, the actions of the Feds who intercepted Hasan's contacts with a radical cleric in Yemen almost a year ago, but didn't take action. President Obama is said to be ordering a probe in to how that intel was handled.

As you saw live in THE NEWSROOM, investigators at Ft. Hood briefed reporters last hour, and briefly addressed the issue of how the rampage ended.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER GREY, ARMY CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION DIVISION: Our investigation thus far indicates that two responding police officers, one male and one female, arrived at the scene and both engaged the armed suspect. I would caution anyone from drawing final conclusions concerning the actual engagement, in terms of who did what, until all the evidence is fully analyzed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Grey says that Hasan may face more charges at court- martial.

Has the Mormon Church made a conversion when it comes to gay rights? The organization spent millions of dollars campaigning against same sex marriage in California's Prop Eight battle. As you can imagine, that led to a backlash. Gay groups staged kissing protests in front of the church's Salt Lake City headquarters.

But today, gay organizations are praising the church. The reason? The Mormons are supporting a Salt Lake City ordinance that bans discrimination against gay men and lesbians when it comes to housing and employment.

Will Carlson is with the Equality Utah, the state's largest gay rights group. So what do you think, Will? Were you shocked or did you see this coming.

WILL CARLSON, EQUALITY UTAH: We have been having conversations with the LDS church and members of the church for years. But we were very pleasantly surprised by their announcement earlier this week.

PHILLIPS: Were you involved in these behind the scenes talks that were taking place, very intensely, within the last couple of months.

CARLSON: You know, there were a few official behind the scenes talks, but the talks and the conversations that really changed the perspective of the church, I think, are the conversations that happened in families and in homes across the state of Utah.

PHILLIPS: What do you think it was that triggered this move?

CARLSON: There's this myth that there are LDS people and gay and transgender people. But especially here in Utah, most gay and transgender people were raised Mormon. So I think the divisions that were happening within the family, especially in the wake of Prop Eight, forced the church to face this issue that there are faithful families that have loved ones who are gay and transgender. And they shouldn't lose their homes or their jobs for reasons that have nothing to do with their ability to work or pay rent.

PHILLIPS: Now, the church still considers traditional marriage as God's plan. So is this move enough? And do you think this is one step toward the church changing its philosophy on gay marriage?

CARLSON: You know, there's a time to find common ground and a time for division. And on the issue of marriage equality, we still disagree with the position of the LDS church. But in the state like Utah, where you can still lose your job for being gay, or be evicted just for being transgender, we appreciate what the church has done. And we praise them for the support they have offered.

PHILLIPS: We'll continue to follow up, Will Carlson, Equality Utah. Good talking to you, Will.

CARLSON: Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: Now spokespeople for the Mormon church were not available during our newscast. But they did give us this statement. Quote, "the church has been very open about its position on same-sex marriage and related issues, so there's no surprise about that. The reason the church spoke publicly and strongly was that the city managed to draw a bright line between religious freedom and family issues and civic issues, like housing and employment." So what do you think? Do churches have to evolve in order to survive? That's our Twitter question of the day.

Here's what some of you are already saying: Lovey Honey Bear -- I love that name -- writes this: the only way for religion to survive now adays is to adapt. These are different times and they alienate too many people if they don't change with them."

This person wrote, "religions are outdated, just superstitious BS about strange spiritual beings judging humans. I used to fall for that, but no more."

Chris Tweeted, "yes, look at the Catholic church in the US, for example, not changing, losing members, fewer priests. Perhaps they should allow married priests."

Thanks to all of you for writing. You can always Tweet us at KyraCNN.

Police today dig into the past of a Missouri man and his four sons and into a property that they used to own. It's the latest twist in a sordid case of child abuse, a case that cops now say could go way beyond molestation, possibly to murder. The men have just made their first court appearance, by the way.

Let's go ahead and bring in John Pepitone, our reporter with WDAF. John, bring us up to date.

JOHN PEPITONE, WDAF CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, 77-year-old Burrell Mohler Sr. and his four sons did appear in Lafayette County Court this morning to face multiple charges of sex charges against children. These charges have been described as horrific. They involve things like incest, bestiality, and violent sexual assaults against children as young as five.

Now, this news came to light in August, when a 26-year-old granddaughter of Burrell Mohler Sr. came forward and said that she had suppressed memories of this abuse, but provided investigators with the evidence they needed to make these arrests. And since news of these sex crimes hit the airwaves yesterday, more people have come forward, saying they too have been sexually abused as children by Burrell Mohler Sr., or one of his four sons.

They were active in their community, lay ministers at church, public servants. Many of them had access to children on a daily basis. So that's why the Lafayette County Sheriff here says this may just be the tip of -- these initial charges may just be tip of the iceberg in this case.

PHILLIPS: John, we were reading about this. It's disgusting what these men allegedly did, and these victims, as young as 11 years old, getting pregnant, it is just horrifying. But the other part of this story that really caught my attention, the fact that these children wrote notes about what was happening to them, putting them in jars, and burying them in the yard? Is there anything you can tell us about that. PEPITONE: Yes, there's still an active crime scene and investigation going on looking for those jars that the old Mohler farm stead, near Bates City, Missouri. It's no longer owned by the family, but the property owner has given detectives and police permission to search the grounds there. And they have been digging for the last day or two, searching for those glass jars, which the victims in this case, the grandchildren of Burrell Mohler Sr. say they buried on that property.

After they experienced this abuse, they apparently wrote some handwritten -- they made handwritten notes describing what happened to them, stuck them in a jar, and then buried these jars on the farm property. And an active search for those jars is still under way.

PHILLIPS: I hope they find them and hold these men accountable. John Pepitone, appreciate it.

Eight high level meetings, four options, and still no decisions on what to do next in Afghanistan. In high level meeting number eight, President Obama gave his war cabinet plenty to keep them busy while he's overseas. He asked for new ideas aimed at boosting, not discouraging, the growth of Afghan forces, so U.S. forces can eventually leave. But the weakness and perceived corruption of the Afghan government is a huge problem. And it's the reason the US ambassador in Kabul is said to be strongly recommending against more troops.

Much more now on that angle from CNN Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence. He's actually in the Afghan capital.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. embassy here in Kabul confirms that Ambassador Eikenberry has given advice to President Obama. But they won't confirm exactly what that private advice was. But a senior State Department official confirms to us that, yes, there are some real concerns among diplomats and among some senior officials about how reliable a partner the Karzai government can be.

They pointed to some recent statements that President Karzai made, which seem to disparage some of the Western nations that are involved here in Afghanistan. And this is not confined only to Americans. It's not confined to the last few days. As far back as a few weeks ago, when another senior diplomat, who's not an American, said they had some real concerns about how reliable Karzai's government could be. He said it's centered on corruption.

And he said that the first few weeks of President Karzai's new administration would be crucial in establishing how the relationship between the Western nations and Karzai's government would be going forward.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Kabul.

PHILLIPS: U.S. troops aren't in Afghanistan alone, of course. In just a few minutes, we're going to look at German troops doing more with less. Or are they? Team player, hands on, good manager skills, ex-con; imagine having that on your resume. Makes the job search a little bit harder, don't you think?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, we're hoping that these numbers keep on going down, but they got a long way to go. First-time claims for jobless benefits fell to 502,000 last week. That's 12,000 less than the week before. It's the fewest claims in almost a year. Continuing claims dropped 139,000 to around 5.6 million.

Keep in mind, unemployment still tops 10 percent. It's tough for anyone to find a job. Now imagine what it's like for an ex-con. CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow in New York. Poppy, how tough is it for former prisoners to get work? I can just imagine people stereotype them immediately.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Exactly. They are, no question, Kyra, at the back of the line when it comes to trying to find work. You see a lot of employers looking at their resume, seeing they've got this rap, and saying, no, we're not even going to look any further at how qualified you might be.

What our team did, two of our really great colleagues here, Anne Orfice (ph) and Aaron Smith (ph), they found an ex-con who was struggling to find permanent work. He had just gotten out of prison after 32 months in prison. His name is Greg Headly (ph). Now he has a temporary job thanks to a nonprofit group that helps these folks. It's called the Center for Employment Opportunities. Without them, he might not have this work.

We caught up with him in Harlem one early, early morning. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GREG HEADLY, EX-CON: My name is Greg Headly. I just came home from upstate New York, serving a prison sentence of two to four. This is how I'm getting my life back on track.

I'm on my way to work. Every day I wake up at 5:30. I'm out the door by 6:00. You know? So starts my day.

My biggest fear is being asked that question, you know, what crime did you commit? How can you sugar-coat criminal sale of a firearm?

You know, 40 dollars a day hardly seems like enough. But, you know what? I'll take working making minimum wage any day now, as opposed to prison and death.

It's almost 9:00 a.m. You know, little rough commute or whatever, so I'm about to start my work site now. Basically anything that's going to pay the bills right now, you know, help me get on my feet. So right now, I'm the trash man.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: All right, Kyra, he may just be, as he said, the trash man. May just be making 40 dollars a day. But, you know what? He said he wants to go to college. And Kyra, he wants to work back at that nonprofit that helped him find that job. Sometimes you've just got to let those folks tell their story. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Is Greg one of the lucky ones that have found work? I imagine most people in that situation would have a pretty tough time.

HARLOW: No question about it. We don't really have a read on the unemployment rate for ex-cons, because there's no national results for that. There is an independent study here in New York. What it found is that 60 percent of those former prisoners, a year after they're out of prison, they still don't have work. That means hundreds of thousand of prisoners that are released every year. A lot of them head back to crime because they don't have another option.

Case in point is Greg. He told us he used to make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year as a criminal. Now 40 bucks a day, Kyra. It's a hard argument. But it's a very interesting story. A lot more with Greg right here on the site. Some great reporting by my colleagues. It's a moving story. And you got to hope there's more nonprofits out there doing stuff like that. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Love our nonprofits, that's for sure. We're all involved with them, right, for just this reason. You know it. Thanks, Poppy.

In a sagging economy, one of the first things people take off their to-do list is a face lift. Just ask Lisa McGarr. She had a successful career in the plastic surgery industry, but she got laid off because people just don't have the extra cash for an eye lift or a wrinkle treatment.

So Lisa's not here to give us a nick or tuck. She's actually here to give our 30-second pitch.

You would think even in a bad economy, people are so vane, Lisa, that they still want to get stuff done.

LISA MCGARR, LOOKING FOR WORK: They do. It has became really popular, with all the extreme makeovers. It became the thing to do, it was actually the in thing to brag that you got your eyes done or your breast augmentation. And things have changed, though. People are not doing that. Food on their table is a priority.

PHILLIPS: Because about a year or so ago, we did a piece on how people were actually having plastic surgery to look younger, to be more attractive, to try and get a job. So has that faded away as well?

MCGARR: I don't think it's faded away. I think it's still a necessity that you look professional and you keep up your look. But I think you can it in a way where, right now, maybe it's not plastic surgery. Maybe it's just good skin care or wearing the right outfit. But those are more of the priorities than spending 15,000 or 20,000 dollars to do those treatments. It's always going to be in the workplace, though, that you have to look professional. That is never going to change.

PHILLIPS: You look professional, and would never need plastic surgery. But you need a job.

MCGARR: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Take your beautiful self and look right over here at Camera One and give us your 30-seconds pitch. Are you ready?

MCGARR: I am ready.

PHILLIPS: Go for it, Lisa.

MCGARR: OK, well, my goal really is to find a challenging career. My dream job would be to be a spokesperson for a brand. I really think I'm the kind of person that I enjoy speaking and training groups of people. So bringing something new, some sincerity and value to a brand is something that I think I can convey to the consumer, and do it in a way they can really identify with.

And so basically, my thing is America put me to work. And in the words of the great pitch men, here's how to order.

PHILLIPS: Look at that. And there rings the bell. Let us know if you get any bites, OK?

MCGARR: I will. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Lisa. And once again, Lisa's email is LisaCamLac@yahoo.com. Her address is also on our blog. If you want to be part of the pitch, just like Lisa, e-mail your resume to 30SecondPitch@CNN.com or Tweet me at KyraCNN. If it's Thursday, it's 30 second pitch day.

Well, here's a bartender by trade, but what he pours saves lives around the world. And he's tapping into his regulars for help. He's our hero and you're going to meet him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Top stories now; did you think the case of the run away balloon was over? Well, not quite. The Colorado couple at the center of it all will plead guilty to some charges and serve probation. That word from their attorney now. He says that Richard Heene will plead guilty to a felony charge in the alleged hoax. His wife, a Japanese citizen, will plead guilty to a misdemeanor. That would keep her from being deported.

In Cleveland, investigators have now identified a tenth woman whose remains were found at the home of murder suspect Anthony Sowell. She's a 25-year-old who had not been seen since August of last year. The remains of the 11 bodies were found at Sowell's house, after police served a search warrant in an unrelated rape case.

Slow but steady progress for a Florida teen allegedly set on fire by schoolmates. Michael Brewer is now breathing on his own. He had been on a ventilator. Three other teens who were friends with Brewer at one time face attempted murder charges in the case. They will be tried as adults.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: You have heard of turning water into wine. You're about to meet a guy who turns wine into water. Doc Hendley tapped into his regulars while bar tending his way through college, turning them into regular life savers. He actually started a group, Wine to Water, hosting wine tasting fund raisers. And with the money, Doc has now delivered clean water to more than 25,000 people in Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, India, Cambodia. That's why he's one of our 2009 top ten CNN Heroes.

Doc joins me from Raleigh, North Carolina. Is Doc short for something? We were trying to figure out.

DOC HENDLEY, CNN HERO: My real name is Dixon. But my sister, just a little bit older than me, she couldn't pronounce Dixon when I was growing up. So she actually called me Dick Doc. And that really didn't fly in the business world. So a lot of people started calling me Doc. I'm definitely not a doctor, by any means.

PHILLIPS: OK. Does she call you Dixon now that she's grown up?

HENDLEY: Actually, my whole family and all my friends have been calling me Doc since I was little.

PHILLIPS: OK, Doc. Probably gets you good access to things when the Doc is calling.

HENDLEY: That's right.

PHILLIPS: All right, so why did you do this? What struck you? What moved you? Was it somebody? Something?

HENDLEY: I'll tell you, when I started researching the water crisis on my own, just independently, back in 2003, I was learning things like at any given time in the world, over half of the hospital beds are taken up by people that are sick from unclean water. I was learning facts and figures like that; 1.1 billion people don't have access to clean water. And I was shocked.

But what I was more shocked about was that nobody really knew how severe this water crisis is. Here in the U.S., 80 percent of our funding and research goes to three main diseases: HIV/Aids, Malaria and Tuberculosis. But water kills more children than all three of those combined.

So I was learning these things, and I kind of was a little upset that nobody knew about it. So I decided to do what I could to spread the word and then try to fight this water crisis on my own, if I had to. PHILLIPS: What's interesting is that we learn about facts and figures all the time. And we think, man, that is just sad or isn't that a shame. But you changed your whole life around to do something about this. Why?

HENDLEY: That's a really tough question to answer. I really -- I couldn't do anything else. When I began raising money for the water crisis, that was January 2004, six months later, I found myself living in Darfur, Sudan. And after I saw what I saw in Darfur, how water was used as a weapon by Janjaweed there, the different sites that I saw, that the majority of the people that were dying were because of the water crisis, not the military influx there -- I have not been able to do anything since then. There's nothing on my mind else in this world to do, for me, than to continue fighting this water crisis.

PHILLIPS: Now, I know not only have you been doing these wine to water fund-raisers. But you actually perform, sing, play the guitar at these events?

HENDLEY: I do. One of the ways that I supported myself before we went full-time as an organization was not only still bar tending, but I also played music out in different bars and nightclubs around. So I would play music at my own events. And bar tending and playing music and pouring wine.

PHILLIPS: Twenty seconds, give me a little something. Give me a little taste.

HENDLEY: You want me to sing live right now?

PHILLIPS: Give me a little something.

HENDLEY: I'll do my favorite for you.

PHILLIPS: OK.

HENDLEY: Try this.

My daddy left home when I was three. He didn't leave much for ma and me, just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.

PHILLIPS: I love it.

HENDLEY: I love Johnny Cash.

PHILLIPS: My producer would fall in with you in two seconds. Too bad you're married. Doc Hendley, great talking to you. Congratulations. I'd drink your wine any time. Come play for us.

HENDLEY: I sure will. It's great to be here.

PHILLIPS: Our pleasure. You can go to CNN.com/Heroes to vote for the CNN Hero of the year. Doc Hendley is right there. They'll be all honored, by the way, at an all star tribute, hosted by Anderson Cooper, on Thanksgiving night, only on CNN.

We're all big Johnny Cash fans here.

Think the health care battle has been heated so far? Just you wait. The House overcame hurdles involving abortion. But some senators are in no mood to compromise. Will that derail a deal?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Rethinking Afghanistan over and over. President Obama asking for changes to the four options he's already been given as he works to reset U.S. strategy. At his eighth meeting with his war council, Mr. Obama told advisors the U.S. troop commitment is not open-ended. He's still considering a request by the top U.S. commander for up to 40,000 more troops. The meeting happened amid reports that the U.S. ambassador into Afghanistan, a former general, opposed the deployment of more U.S. troops.

As the president weighs his options, some say our Germany allies have hit on the right strategy in Afghanistan, mixing a military presence with a heavy dose of local control. Here's Frederik Pleitgen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With the U.S. and NATO rethinking their strategy for Afghanistan, is a troop increase really the answer? The Germans say they have something that's working better: fewer soldiers, more civilian reconstruction.

(on camera): The big question for everyone in Afghanistan now is which sort of approach is working. Do you think yours is working here?

CAPT. SEBASTIAN, GERMAN ARMY: Yes, I think our approach is working here. Since a long time we've been conducting this way of operations and therefore the local population is used to us and see that we are doing no harm, we're just supporting them.

PLEITGEN: In southern Afghanistan, which is under Dutch command, but with the majority of soldiers are American, there are more than 34,000 troops fighting the Taliban. By comparison, in the north under German command, less than 6,000 soldiers are on the ground -- instead, a myriad of civilian reconstruction projects.

Aid agencies say the key is putting locals in charge.

TANYA CARBONE, GERMAN AGENCY FOR TECH. ASSISTANCE: The peace dividend is that people first of all stay here. They stabilize. They own environment. They are satisfied with their work.

PLEITGEN: But things are not as rosy as they sound. Much of the territory the Germans are operating in has always been anti-Taliban. There's not much of an insurgency to speak of here and in other places, the Germans are feeling the pressure as well, like Kunduz, where the Taliban are gaining ground.

A ground commander had to call an air strike after insurgents captured two NATO tanker trucks. Still, so far, Germany is resisting calls to put more boots on the ground.

In the south, many U.S. troops say more boots on the ground is a must.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need the help down here. Even though we're handling our own, but we need more forces down here. This area is too big for just one company to be here.

PLEITGEN: Reinforcements have been coming in for months. Whole battalions being airlifted from Iraq to Afghanistan as America shifts its focus. Now, the president is weighing whether to send up to 40,000 additional soldiers, and America wants its allies to step up their efforts as well.

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Other nations have put more than 35,000 troops on the ground in Afghanistan. And their views are important to us as we consider the way ahead.

PLEITGEN: More troops however would also mean more casualties. And so far, most European nations, chief among them the Germans, want to scale down their presence, not beef it up.

MARKUS KAIM, CENTER FOR POLITICS AND SCIENCE: Lack of completion (ph), I would say reluctance to do more which has more to do with a special German perspective or maybe strategic culture.

PLEITGEN: But all sides agree, security in Afghanistan ultimately can only be achieved by Afghan security forces.

ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN, NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL: We have to realize that our training mission in Afghanistan must be stepped up in the coming years if we are to achieve our goal, the transition to Afghan lead.

PLEITGEN: The aims are the same. But America and its NATO allies are deeply divided trying to find the road to success in Afghanistan.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: President Obama is in the air. He's setting out on his first presidential tour of Asia with a brief layover in Alaska. Over the next eight days, he'll visit Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea. He'll also take part in two international forums that will bring him face-to-face with even more leaders, including the presidents of Russia and Indonesia, where he spent part of his childhood.

Across the border, economic growth is issue number one, but war, climate change and nuclear proliferation will also be on the table.

Higher taxes on the rich -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is looking into whether that's the way to pay for health care reform. "The A.P." says Reid is considering higher payroll taxes on people making more than 250,000 grand a year. He's also trying to keep the projected cost of the bill at about $900 billion over the next 10 years. Reid says that senators could begin debate on their version of the reform bill next week.

Beyond the cost, health care reform is entangled in the battle over abortion -- specifically the restrictions added to the House bill that passed last week.

Here's our CNN congressional correspondent Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jubilation over passing health care in the House.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: The bill is passed.

(CHEERING)

BASH: But many of these cheering Democrats are already threatening to block a bill from going to the president's desk, unless strict prohibitions on abortion are removed. What are those restrictions? Ask advocates on different sides of the abortion debate and get different answers.

CHARMAINE YOEST, AMERICANS UNITED FOR LIFE: People still have the choice of having abortion coverage if that's what they want. But you can't have federal dollars going to abortion coverage.

CECILE RICHARDS, PLANNED PARENTHOOD: It's a very far-reaching amendment that would fundamentally change women's access to getting health insurance that covers all of the reproductive health care.

BASH: So, which is it? Let's take a closer look. It would ban abortion coverage in a new government-run health insurance option. Private insurance companies in a new government-related exchange would also be prohibited from offering abortion coverage to anyone getting taxpayer money for health care. But private insurers would be allowed to offer separate coverage that includes abortion only to people paying with their own money.

RICHARDS: The intent of this amendment was to ensure that no one under health care reform could purchase a plan that included abortion coverage.

BASH: Abortion rights advocates argue that in practical terms, insurance companies aren't likely to offer two plans and say, even if they did, middle income women eligible for government assistance probably won't pay for additional abortion coverage with their own money.

RICHARDS: How ludicrous is it to think that a woman would ever plan to have an unintended pregnancy and plan to have an abortion.

BASH: But anti-abortion activists say, if government-assisted health care coverage is expanded, current law restricting abortion coverage must be as well.

YOEST: This simply extends what current federal policy is. The ultimate objective of the abortion lobby in this whole fight is to define abortion as health care.

BASH (on camera): Most abortion rights advocates do call it part of health care for women. It's one of the many reasons there is such a depth divide on this issue. Now, several female senators are trying to come up with a compromise to ease the abortion restrictions passed in the House. But anti-abortion Democrats say they won't budge -- strict prohibitions on abortion or they won't vote for health reform.

Dana Bash, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: What is buried beneath the surface at this rural Missouri farm? Police want to know if there are bodies or maybe glass jars with notes written by sexually-abused children. A 77-year-old man and his four adult sons appeared in court for the first time today charged with a string of felonies against children, forcible sodomy, rape between the years of 1988 and '95.

Need an alibi? Try Facebook. Nineteen-year-old Rodney Bradford has been cleared in a New York robbery case because of a late-morning status update. He posted "Where's my pancakes" just before noon on October 17th, one minute before the crime was committed in Brooklyn. He claimed he was in Harlem using his dad's computer. Once prosecutors verified his location, Bradford was a free man.

A Tennessee dad is in the clear after trying to get his kids back from his Japanese ex-wife. Japan is dropping all charges against Christopher Savoie, who was arrested in September as he tried to enter the U.S. consulate with his 9-year-old and 7-year-old daughter. His ex-wife violated a U.S. custody decision by whisking the kids to her native Japan.

Mortgaging a capitol building, slashing school budget. You may have your spending under control, but how about your state? We're calling out the 10 worst offenders.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. You're clipping coupons, counting pennies, cutting back in this recession, but can you say the same for your state? A Pew Center study says that 10 states now are barreling toward economic disaster.

Take a look at this map. California is a top offender, issuing IOUs just to make ends meet. But check out its neighbors -- Arizona, Nevada, they're feeling the ripple effect. And on the other coast, Rhode Island scored the worst, a D-minus to match California.

But if you want to see how your state is doing, all you have to do is check out CNNMoney.com. We got the Web site up for you. You can actually click on, for example, unemployment and go to any state here in the country -- say, Arizona, boom, unemployment, 9.1 percent; Texas, 8.2. Then, you can click over to foreclosures and look at whatever state you want: Oregon, 4.99 percent of foreclosures; Illinois, 8.62. CNNMoney.com. Lots of folks at Harvard, more crimson than usual over big lecture on campus today. Ethics 101 with client number one. Aka, that escort loving Eliot Spitzer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, right now, police in Baltimore are looking for a convicted murderer who they say has struck again. This time they say he brutally killed a 15-year-old child. And the clincher, he was released from prison because of a mistake. Police have issued a warrant for this man, 35-year-old Dante Parrish. They say Tuesday night, Parrish stabbed 15-year-old Jason Madison Jr. with a box cutter and suffocated the boy with a pillowcase and then sexually assaulted him. Parrish then allegedly stuck the body in a closet of the boy's family home.

Parrish was released from prison in January after serving nearly ten years of a 30-year sentence for a killing in 1999. Errors made by the attorneys in that trial alleged the original conviction being overturned and prosecutors struck a plea deal for time served after they could no longer find the murder weapon and they had no other evidence. Bottom line, Parrish was let go and is now accused of this horrible crime. Joining me on the phone, Chief of the Baltimore Homicide Division, Terry Mclarney. Chief, this has to be one of the most frustrating things for you, seemingly you had this guy behind bars, now he's on the loose and now you think he murdered again.

MAJ. TERRY MCLARNEY, BALTIMORE POLICE HOMICIDE DIVISION (voice-over): Yes, very frustrating.

PHILLIPS: So, what are you doing now to try to find Dante Parrish?

MCLARNEY: We have a working prevention task force is out in the streets looking for him and we had the u.s. Marshall service involved on the chance that he left the city of Baltimore.

PHILLIPS: And let's go ahead and keep this mug shot up because I want everybody in this entire country watching cnn right now to get a look at this scum bag and hopefully somebody will find him, see him, know something and contact you, so you're able to put him behind bars once again. He should never been out on the street. But, chief, let me ask you about the errors made by the attorneys in this trial. Is that why this guy let go? Or was it because they could no longer find the murder weapon that they needed to prove this guy should stay behind bars?

MCLARNEY: My understanding is that he was granted a new trial based on some statements that were made by a state attorney who had the case then, who's no longer with the state's attorney's office. And then at the new trial, there were going to be some evidentiary issues simply because of the passage of time and that is what motivated the state's attorney to enter the plea deal for time served.

PHILLIPS: How can there be a plea deal though with someone with a rap sheet like this? MCLARNEY: I would have to go back to the passage of time and the evidentiary issues, things get old, witnesses die, things along those lines.

PHILLIPS: But Chief, what about the murder weapon? I mean, that should still be locked under a tight room, somewhere within the department. How could the weapon, the murder weapon be gone?

MCLARNEY: I'm not familiar with that situation. That would be more with the state's attorney's office. I don't feel like I can answer that.

PHILLIPS: So that weapon was not in your evidence room.

MCLARNEY: That, I'm not positive of either. All we have been doing since Jason was murdered Tuesday morning is working on the case we have.

PHILLIPS: Well, the most important thing obviously that all hopefully everybody will be held accountable for what happened to that murder weapon and also indeed what happened on behalf of those attorneys that apparently made some errors that led to the original conviction being overturned. But bottom line, the Chief there saying he needs your help in finding this man, 35-year-old Dante Parrish who they believe once again committed a crime, stabbing a 15-year-old, Jason Madison Jr. with a box cutter, he's on the loose, considered extremely dangerous and the authorities need him. Appreciate your time, Terry Mclarney.

MCLARNEY: OK. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: As always, team Sanchez, back there working on the next hour of "Newsroom." Rick, what have you got?

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Why are you laughing?

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Well, because Jim just helped me put my coat on. He said you need a coat on, so he came over here and he helped me put it on.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: Do you think perhaps you need more than a coat?

SANCHEZ: You're right.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: I get the same thing at home, abuse. Listen, if you're a teacher and you go to Europe, you're going to do what everybody else does when they go to Europe. You visit all of the fancy places. You go to the Guinness factory and you take a picture on the Guinness factory standing next to a beer, right? Famous Guinness beer, even holding one up. You put that on your face book, you come back, you get fired. Fired. I mean it just doesn't seem like that is fair. It doesn't seem to me like standing next to a beer factory with a beer from that factory, the Guinness factory is such a horrible, heinous crime. But the woman who's had that happened to is going to join me here live and she's going to have a story to tell.

PHILLIPS: All right. We will listen to that Rick.

SANCHEZ: All right a year and a half ago, Eliot Spitzer had to step down in disgrace over a pretty serious ethical laps. But I guess, the former New York Governor has been brushing up in that area. Apparently she's speaking tonight at Harvard, his law school alma mater, headlining at the schools, get this, "center for ethics." You know, the Harvard folks were pretty quick to say, hang on, he's actually talking about institutional corruption and stuff like that. But seriously even the madam (ph) who supplied your hooker is ticked off. Something to state right here. Kristin Davis actually wrote a letter to Harvard protesting Spitzer's appearance on ethics.

Two tours in Iraq, three promotions, but this soldiers unfit to serve, at least that's what the army finally decided nearly two years after he came out.

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PHILLIPS: Well, when gay for lesbian troops come out, it can mean a quick booting right out of the military. Or in a case of an Iraq vet, one very delayed reaction. His story now by our Photo Journalist Pelin Sidki.

DARREN MANZELLA, IRAQ WAR VETERAN: I'm Darren Manzella as the United States Army from 2002 until 2008. My division deployed to Iraq. I used to be here in the streets of Baghdad doing combat patrols. After returning from my first deployment in Iraq, after seeing death and violence, losing friends and comrades, really made me look over my life and I looked over some issues I always had some trouble with. And I had always debated, you know, am I gay? Growing up I never had that conflict because I didn't know anybody that was gay. I had my two brothers and we did everything together, we worked in the farm together, we played football together.

But after returning from Iraq, I decided to come out to myself. I've got a boyfriend and it's very hard when you're at work, you can't talk about your significant over if it's the same sex. But I started soon after, I began this relationship getting this e-mails and this phone calls from different people saying I was being investigated for being gay. So I told my supervisor about the phone calls, about the e-mails what had happened was he went to the legal department and turned me in for breaking, don't ask don't tell.

After a month of the investigation, my commander called me in and said, the investigation was closed and despite my admission, they were told that they found no proof of homosexuality. In 2006, we deployed back to Iraq again. And I was able to serve that entire deployment nearly15 months openly, but it's something that 65,000 men and women serving in the military that are gay, lesbian or bisexual, they could. CBS was interested in doing a segment about a gay service member serving in the combat zone. I looked at the pros and the cons, and the con was pretty much I can be discharged for speaking out publicly. I finally decided to participate in the interview. And when we returned back to the States, I didn't hear anything from my superiors and June of 2008. I received honorable discharge on the Army and I receive my full benefits, but on my discharge paper, it says homosexual conduct.

Since "don't ask don't tell" was enacted in 1993, about 13,000 women have been discharged. And the military is one of the most, ever, scoop I have ever encountered and if any group can adapt to change it is the military. And I think when "don't ask don't tell" is repealed, it won't be a huge issue. It'll be, Okay, this is how it is now, and that'll be it. You're a soldier, you follow orders. You're told something, you do it.

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KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Today's "Veterans in Focus" piece shot and edited by our incredible photojournalist Helen Sidky (ph). I'm a little biassed. We work together a lot. She does a great job.

That does it for us.

Rick Sanchez takes it from here.