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Church Shooting in California; Uncovering Previous Police Investigations Involving Alleged Alabama School Shooter; Will 10 Americans Be Freed in Haiti?; "Scattered Resistance" in Afghanistan Offensive

Aired February 15, 2010 - 10:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Top stories starting with the Sunday service silenced. Five gunshots rang out in a Richmond, California church, two teens were hurt. Even police shocked.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is in the middle of church service, 12:30 in the afternoon -- very brazen attack.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can't be safe at church, where can you be safe at?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a church. To me, it's like they committed a cardinal sin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, there's no known motive. The three gunmen are still out there.

A tragedy at an apartment complex in Illinois. A fire killed seven people including a three-day-old infant. Among the other victims, 16-year-old twins and a three-year-old boy. Investigators don't know the cause. They do not suspect arson.

Morning rush hour in Belgium turned into a nightmare this morning. Two passenger trains collided. 10 people killed, 11 were hurt. Investigators are trying to figure out how exactly it happened.

A mother of four, a university professor and now a capital murder suspect. Here's what we know about the University of Alabama Huntsville shooting. Amy Bishop is being held in the shooting of six fellow faculty members. Three of them died in the Friday attack.

Investigators are not talking about a motive. But colleagues say Bishop complained about being denied tenure. Her husband was detained and questioned by police but has not been charged. Students were shocked by what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOURTNEY LATTIMORE, STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE: She didn't seem like, you know, she would do anything like this. She wasn't, you know, I don't want to say crazy, but it wasn't anything like that. She didn't seem that way. She was a teacher, you know. You went to class and asked questions.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

LATTIMORE: Not at all. Not at all. She made jokes and everything. She was a normal, normal professor.

LAUREN BREEDEN, STUDENT, UNIV. OF ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE: She was known for her difficulty and there's no way around taking her like - everybody's like, gosh, now I have to take Bishop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now there are two new twists to this case. It turns out this woman shot her brother 23 years ago. She and her husband were also suspects in a pipe bombing case. Brooke Baldwin running down the angles for us in Boston. She's on the phone with us. So, Brooke, tell us about the pipe bomb plot.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (ON THE PHONE): (INAUDIBLE) I'm sitting in a Boston suburb. I've been knocking on the door of Amy Bishop Anderson's mother. She has not come to the door. I managed to get her on the phone, though. This is a tough time for her. She told me through tears that she is very distraught and told me to please leave them alone.

Back on that bomb plot, here's what we've learned. In 1993, this is according to the "Boston Globe," Dr. Amy Bishop and her husband had been questioned in this case involving a pipe bomb that was targeting one of her colleagues from Children's Hospital here in Boston. That was Dr. Paul Rosenberg (ph), who is also a Harvard Medical School professor.

Now according to these reports, he'd come home from vacation with his wife, checked his mail, noticed there were some wires, some batteries coming out of two pieces of mail. Went running out of his house, he called police. It was Dr. Bishop who was questioned. It's important to point out no charges were ever filed against her.

Also "The New York Times," a reporter spoke with her husband down in Alabama yesterday. And Mr. Anderson said that somewhere in his files he had a letter from the ATF after this whole bomb investigation back in '93, essentially saying that he and his wife were cleared, no longer the subject of the investigation. But he told the "Time" reporter this is one thing from the past I hoped would not be dredged up -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now, the shooting in 1986 of her brother, it was called accidental, right?

BALDWIN: Right. It was called accidental. When you take a look at the Massachusetts Police report that was just re-released. They were saying essentially the incident was ruled an accident. And Dr. Bishop was never charged. But the current Braintree police chief - Braintree is a suburb of Boston. That's where she has lived when this accidental shooting had happened, the current chief said that the other investigating officers at the time back in '86 said the shooting came after some kind of argument.

And in the wake of what happened over the weekend in Alabama they went to go dig up the records detailing the shooting back in 1986 and those records are missing. Also important to point out that back in '86, Dr. Bishop's mother had served on the Braintree Police Personnel Board. And according to the current Braintree police chief, Dr. Bishop had been arrested after shooting her brother, but the then police chief had called for her release in the midst of the booking process.

Now CNN has reached out to the then Chief (INAUDIBLE) who's now 87. He's retired, who denies ever calling for her release. Also denies any notions that are popping up now of any kind of cover-up. But again, Kyra, yes, the shooting, according to the state police report was ruled accidental and did not recommend any further action.

PHILLIPS: All right. Brooke Baldwin, appreciate it. We'll continue to catch up with you as you learn more about the investigation.

BALDWIN: Got it.

PHILLIPS: Appreciate it. You can see more of Brooke's coverage from Boston. She's going to have a live update on "Rick's List." That's right here, CNN, 3:00 p.m. Eastern time.

So bail or jail? Any minute now we could learn if 10 Americans being held in Haiti on child kidnapping charges are granted bail. John Vause is at the courthouse in Port-au-Prince. He joins us via phone.

So John, what are the chances for bail?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, yes, at this stage no one really knows. This is a long process. It could happen today. The judge could receive that brief from the prosecutors. He could be making his decision within the next couple of minutes or it could take longer.

In fact, we heard from one the lawyers who is representing most of the missionaries. And he said that the lawyers are not turning up today because they're not expecting any decision on bail today. But we have a crew out actually at the detention facility where the 10 Americans are being held. Laura Selby, basically the leader of the group, says they're feeling fine. They're feeling good. She is confident she'll be released. Don't know if it will be today. She said she had not heard any of that information at this stage.

Our crew down there says that the women were looking quite relaxed. They're reading bibles and they're all in good spirits and chuckling. But the bottom line, Kyra, is this is a process which the Haitians are going to go through. It appears they're going to do it on their own time. PHILLIPS: Got it. And John, you know, it's amazing that with all the loss that Haiti is suffering that they actually have the time and the resources to focus so much on this specific case. You know, what more do you know about that with regard to time and money and support to actually keep them in a detention facility and go through a judicial process?

VAUSE: Yes, well, look, there are no real working jails at this stage. They've started work on the main penitentiary which was damaged in the earthquake. That's going to be opening in the next couple of days to take prisoners. But certainly, the 10 missionaries are being held at the judicial police headquarters. It's a special provision to be held there.

The essence of this case for the Haitians is one of national sovereignty, one of national pride. They believe that their laws may have, in fact, been violated. And you know, just because the Americans are leading this rescue effort, they believe that - and the U.S. State Department and other support that Haitian justice must be seen to be done.

Because child trafficking in this country is a huge problem. So they're determined to go through with this. It's almost like a national cause now, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: John Vause. We'll be tracking it. Let us know if anything happens. Appreciate it.

VAUSE: OK.

PHILLIPS: A 911 dispatcher in training helps save a life. Turns out, it's his own son.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 911. What are you reporting?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chris. He's choking on something.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who is?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Not only is the boy fine, but Dad passed his tests with flying colors.

And U.S. troops on the move in Afghanistan, taking control of the Taliban stronghold. We're live on the frontlines.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN severe weather center. A storm rolling through the Ohio River Valley heading to the east. Another snowstorm for New York, Philly, D.C.? We'll talk about the forecast in just a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. We want to take you to cnn.com. We try and track the stories that are most popular to you minute by minute. Every 15 minutes it's updated. We want to go right to the news polls page here on cnn.com. And a number of these stories we've already got in our newscast today.

This rogue wave that injured a number of spectators during at a surfing competition. Our Rob Marciano is all over that. We've also been talking about these teens, three hooded teens walked into this church and fired shots during the California service. It was amazing even after that shooting they continued their church service.

But we didn't cover this for you today. This is one of the most popular stories. Trace Adkins, the well-known country singer, his bus actually crashed. A number of his band members injured. You can get the details on that. And then an Israeli cult leader charged with rape. One of the most popular stories right now on cnn.com.

Go to news pulse and you'll see what everybody's tracking. We're trying to stay on top of what's most important to you as well. Every 15 minutes, that page is updated.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Facing only scattered resistance. That's what Afghan official is saying right now about the offense in southern Afghanistan. About 15,000 U.S. and international troops swept into the Taliban stronghold over the weekend. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen joining us live, once again from Kabul, Afghanistan.

So Fred, we're talking about the largest joint operation with Afghan forces playing a huge role here. How are they doing?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, the Afghan forces themselves and also the U.S. military are saying that the Afghan soldiers are actually performing quite well. They are saying that they are an integral part of this operation.

Now what we've been hearing from the Afghan government, Kyra, is that apparently this force of the 15,000 soldiers is now in control of most of that area there in Marjah. However, they do believe that possible hundreds of Taliban fighters might still be out there, might still be waiting to retaliate. Let's have a look at what happened over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): It started with a massive air assault. Thousands of mostly British and American troops as well as Afghan soldiers landing deep in Taliban territory. But the insurgents had prepared and riddled the area with homemade bombs and land mines.

MAJ. GEN. GORDON MESSENGER, BRITISH MILITARY SPOKESMAN: The IED is the biggest threat to our troops. And it's something which these guys are living with minute by minute. PLEITGEN: Still, NATO says the Taliban have been putting up less of a fight than expected. Dozens of insurgents have already been killed.

MAJ. GEN. NICK CARTER, NATO COMMANDER FOR SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN: It would appear we caught the insurgents on the hop. He appears to be completely dislocated. A very impressive operation so far.

PLEITGEN: But hundreds of fighters could still be in the area waiting to strike back. So far the force led by the Marines has seized tons of explosives, weapons and ammunition.

Marjah is a swath of agricultural land in Helmand province. Under Taliban control for years, it became a breeding ground for insurgents and poppy cultivation has flourished. With drug money funding the insurgency. Now on day three of the operation, the Marines say they are still facing scattered pockets of resistance as they expand their control over the area.

The goal is to get an Afghan administration in place as fast as possible. To provide services to the people of Marjah and convince them to turn their backs on the Taliban.

GEN. STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL, COMMANDER, U.S. FORCES-AFGHANISTAN: President Karzai approved the conduct of this operation. He gave us some very specific guidance. And that guidance was to continue to protect the people of Afghanistan. And so this operation has been done with that in mind.

PLEITGEN: While the fighting may be over within a few days, the U.S. says only the coming months will show whether the Afghan government can actually hold on to the territory that was under Taliban control for so long.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: Now, Kyra, of course, one of the things that is so key to this operation that NATO has always been telling us is to minimize civilian casualties. There was one incident on Sunday when a rocket was fired into a compound, killing 12 civilians. Now NATO has apologized for that incident to President Hamid Karzai. It is under investigation. Still not clear whether or not a rocket artillery system fired into the wrong house or whether or not they actually fired into a house with Taliban in it that simply had civilians in that house as well, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Fred Pleitgen, thanks so much.

And we're going to talk at the bottom of the hour with a Lt. Colonel who's involved in that offensive. He's with the Marine Corps. One of the commanders on the commanders on the ground. We'll talk about what's next. That's about 15 minutes away.

It's hard to know who to feel more sorry for. The first driver in this pile-up or the last one? How this insurance nightmare happened in Kansas. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Winter came crashing through this skating rink just south of Pittsburgh. Heavy snow on top of the building probably caused it. A kids' hockey tournament was going on inside. Luckily, nobody was hurt. And slick roads led to this 40-car pile-up on I-70 in Kansas.

Emergency workers actually had to climb over the cars to get to the people. At least 15 people were hospitalized. There was another pile-up too on i-30 that was almost as big as this one. Luckily, nobody died in either one of those crashes.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: We can't stop talking about this story. Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn using an Austrian cheese to heel her shin injury. After just a few doses of the stinky stuff, well, she says she's ready to race again. We want to know, do you have any magic cures up your sleeve? Go to cnn.com/kyra. Tell us about your homemade remedies. I'll read some of the best ones on the air later this hour.

Top stories now. Former President Bill Clinton could be back at the office as early as today. It's not like he has taken much time off after heart surgery just last Thursday. Two stents were placed in one of his coronary arteries. When he got home from the hospital on Friday Clinton quickly issued a statement on relief efforts in Haiti.

Iran moving toward a military dictatorship? That's secretary of state Hillary Clinton's fear. She wants a tougher global response to Iran's plan to hike production of highly enriched uranium.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We do not believe that Iran should be a nuclear weapons power. We believe they do have a right to peaceful nuclear power. And we stand ready to engage with them. But we're going to have to move forward in the absence of any positive response.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And at the U.S. Islamic World Forum in Qatar, Clinton says the U.S. is working with allies to convince Iran to change course.

Some competition for John McCain. A challenger coming forward today for his Senate seat. Republican J.D. Hayworth leaving his radio show to join the race. The former congressman calls himself "the consistent conservative." Hayworth says he plans to pound McCain for his positions on health care reform, the national debt and illegal immigration. The primary, by the way, is in August.

A month ago she was trapped in the rubble of Port-au-Prince. Now this 12-year-old is finally reuniting with her family and the man who saved her life. Our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We went to cover the story in Haiti and became part of the relief effort. Now our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta is reuniting with the young patient nearly a month after he performed clutch surgery to save her life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): January 18th. We got a call. Come quickly. A 12-year-old girl broken by the rubble. Cement embedded in her brain. The U.S. military asked me to help. That was the last time I saw Kimberly. Until today.

We received word that Kimberly is alive, doing well, and, in fact, ready to go home. It was time for a follow-up visit. A house call.

(on camera): Now, we expected her father to actually come here, meet us for this reunion. But we're told he didn't have enough money to get transportation to come down to this port. So instead the rescue worker who helped rescue Kimberly is going to come and collect her and take her back to her father.

(voice-over): Kimberly was healed. It was so good to see that smile. Aboard the world class "USS Comfort," just a typical 12-year- old showing off all the new toys that she's received.

GUPTA (on camera): One thing that's sort of surprising is, Kimberly, really didn't know up until now that she was on a ship. It's such a big place that she actually thought she had been transferred to the United States. So she's actually about to see the water outside for the first time and recognize where she's been for the last several weeks.

(voice-over): Kimberly knows just moments from now, she'll be reunited with her father. Truth is, I wish I could end the story right here. But that would be unfair to Kimberly. And thousands more like her.

This is part of what happens here in Haiti. You know, Kimberly obviously is doing well medically. But now this is really about the rest of her life and what's going to happen to her. How she recovers from all this. They used to have a home. Now they don't. He used to have a job. Now he doesn't.

(voice-over): What you're looking at is her new home. Her recovery room. Confusion sets in. Her eyes shift with the tragic realization. You see, because she's been in the hospital the last month, she doesn't even remember the quake.

The quake that she now learns took away her home, her sister, her mother. Her dad, also confused. He asks me what to do next. No medications were sent with Kimberly. And the instructions? They're in English. Which he can't read.

(on camera): It says you need certain medications. Ciprofloxacin and clindamycin. Are you going to be able to get these medications?

(voice-over): Without money, he says there's no way. In this case, we pointed to the direction of a free clinic. But what about all these other people? This was a remarkable day for Kimberly. Full of moments like this. But the image I'm left with is this one. A young girl with a brain operation, struggling to recover in a place, in a country, so devastated.

(on camera): It's a tough story to tell in so many ways. Because we all want the story to end well. We want the happy ending. Sometimes it doesn't work out that way and Kimberly has become emblematic for so many thousands of people who aren't exactly her position.

We'll continue to follow her along as she heals slowly, but does heal both physically and emotionally. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: A smashing success so far. U.S. international troops team up to take on the Taliban. The major offensive moving to its next phase now. We're going to go live to Afghanistan. We'll get an update on the operation from one of the Marine Corps officers right there on the ground.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Clearing out the booby traps. It's the next phase of the major offensive in Afghanistan. About 15,000 U.S. and international troops swept into the Taliban stronghold over the weekend. U.S. and NATO troops fighting side-by-side with Afghan forces trying to root the Taliban out of one major city and the area's poppy fields. Our Atia Abawi told us that U.S. forces were still finding some resistance, but less than expected.

Joining us now live from Camp Dwyer (ph) Afghanistan, Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Mark Dietz (ph). And Colonel, I was reading about the details with regard to the insurgents constructing tunnels and bunkers, bringing in heavy weapons. We talked about the booby traps. Actually, stir (ph) landmines right there in Marja. And now we're getting the report that 90 percent of the population remained trapped in the town by IED belts that are kind of ringing through the terrain. How are you dealing with that?

(INAUDIBLE)

All right. Looks like we're having -- we've got a communication issue with the colonel there. We apologize for that. We'll try and make some tweaks and get that fired back up. A quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Lieutenant Colonel Mark Dietz, can you hear me okay? Have we linked up?

LT. COL. MARK DIETZ, EXEC. OFFICER, REGIONAL COMBAT TEAM 7: Yes, we are, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Okay. Outstanding. What I said just before the break, I was getting some more information about how the insurgents are remaining a tremendous challenge for you right now in Marjah. Apparently they've constructed these tunnels and bunkers, brought in a lot of weapons, set booby traps, land mines throughout the area there. And now we're hearing that 90 percent of the population remain in that town, trapped by these IED belts that are sort of strung through the terrain.

How are you minimizing the loss of life for, you know, both you guys and the civilians there in that area, taking on these challenges?

DIETZ: Well, I tell you, Kyra, the planning that we did for this, instead of going headlong into the prepared IED belts on the outskirts of the city, we did hellaborne (ph) assaults into specific objectives in the interior of the city to bypass those and take key locations in the city in order to gain control. Then we'll clear from the inside out, effectively bypassing most of that IED belt that lies around the outside of the city.

PHILLIPS: Got it. So why did you...

DIETZ: The going so far has been...

PHILLIPS: Go ahead.

DIETZ: Go ahead, Kyra.

So far, the going has been very smooth. The units are moving very slowly and deliberately. They had a great deal of success against the IEDs. I believe there's only been two strikes with no casualties against vehicles. The very judicious use of fires both aviation-delivered and surface-delivered fires has been something that has been key to our plan since the beginning. Reinforcing that down to the individual Marine level, both with use of rifle and use of cannon artillery of course and aviation-delivered fires.

PHILLIPS: And Colonel, explain to our viewers here in the States the importance of taking down this area. This has been a very influential Taliban stronghold. They've got a relationship with the farmers there that run those poppy fields. Drug trafficking is a huge problem. Raises a lot of money for the bad guys.

DIETZ: Well, it certainly does. In Marjah right now, certainly within the Marine corps area of operations in Helmand province, is the last bastion of the Taliban stronghold. Really the key to securing the entire Helmand River Valley area.

A lot of our analysis shows that with regard to the opium and the poppy trade in Marjah, which has been in years past a very large part of their agricultural crop, the farmers there have been hedging their bets, planning and top dressing a lot of their wheat and largely kind of waiting on the opium to kind of see what became of this operation. And investing mostly in the wheat crop and other alternative crops.

PHILLIPS: And we know you've been training those Afghan forces. It's a big reason for the troop surge, so you guys can come home and the Afghan people can take over their country when it comes to security. How have they been helping you in this offensive? What have they been able to offer you guys culturally, militarily?

DIETZ: Well, I'll tell you, Kyra, this has probably been the largest-scale integration in partnering with the Afghan army and police forces thus far certainly since the Marine Corps has been here in Afghanistan.

In the weeks preceding the operation, we brought two Marine infantry battalions here along with three Afghan candaks (ph) where they lived together, ate together, trained together for almost a month prior to doing the operation. And they were partnered, every Marine company was with an Afghan company. They heloed (ph) in together on D-day. They've partnered since the start.

It's been a very strong partnership. They've worked together hand-in-hand since both the Afghan units have come here to the Camp Dwyer and the Marine units arrived in from the states.

PHILLIPS: Regional Combat Team 7, Lieutenant Colonel Mark Dietz, we'll continue to follow the offensive. Mark, thanks so much.

Straight ahead, time for a little home country bragging. Check out the medal standings from the Winter Games. We're two days in, and the U.S. already has six medals. That includes the first ever U.S. medal in Nordic (ph) combined. That's ski jumping and cross-country, by the way.

And let's go ahead and hear it for Alexandre Billedow with his win. He's the first Canadian to win a home gold.

We're hoping even more medals will be earned today. One of the big events is the speed skating where a couple of Americans could both finish with the gold. CNN's Mark McKay live in Vancouver for us this morning. What events are we looking forward to?

MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: We are looking forward to that speed skating event, Kyra. But over the weekend one of the gold medals that the U.S. won went into the hands of Apollo Anton Ohno as he claimed silver medal on the short track in the men's 1500-meter short track speed skating event here in the Vancouver games.

It was an exciting night because Ohno now is the most decorated male Olympian in U.S. history. One of his teammates would certainly like to make his mark on the longer track later today here in Vancouver.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) (voice-over): By most measures, Chad Hedrick's 2006 Olympics was a huge success. He won a gold, a silver and a bronze medal in his Olympic debut. Impressive by most standards. Just not his own.

CHAD HEDRICK, 2006 OLYMPIC MEDAL WINNER: I'm here to be the best. I don't train going to win a medal. I train to win a gold medal. I think that's the difference between me and other people at times. It may rub people the wrong way, but that's how I was raised.

MCKAY: Hedrick's Texas swagger did seem to rub his own teammate wrong in Torino, where he and (INAUDIBLE) Davis dueled, not only on the ice, but in the media as well, bashing each other over perceived slights that others saw as just that. Slight.

CATHERINE RANEY NORMAN, FOUR-TIME OLYMPIC SPEED SKATER: I think what happened in '06 was unfortunate. I think the two of them are just competitors. I think it got blown out of proportion a little bit. They're just competitive. That's it.

HEDRICK: The last time, the media, everything, it just turned into a big circus. It's history. It's over. We're competitive guys. We drive each other to be the best we can be. That's what it is.

MCKAY: If Hedrick wasn't happy with his three medals and one large distraction in Torino, satisfying himself in Vancouver may be even tougher. Now married and with a baby daughter, the 32-year-old is still trying to regain his Olympic form after taking time away from the sport.

HEDRICK: It's been an uphill battle for the last couple years. Speed skating is all about the Olympics. It's not about World Cup. It's not about world championships. It's about coming every four years and showing the world what you have. And I feel like I have a lot to show the world again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCKAY: Hedrick gets his chance to show the world what he has tonight here in Vancouver, Kyra, as he takes part in the men's 500 meters long track speed skating event.

PHILLIPS: All right. And just the talk of the day has been Lindsey Vonn, Mark. You and I talked about it last hour. Olympic favorite skier. She has an issue, but she has a cure. Fromage.

MCKAY: Do you think there's going to be a run on that Austrian cheese, Topfen? Not necessarily...

PHILLIPS: Apparently it's hard to get in the U.S.

MCKAY: We better find a way to get it. Because this has got a miracle cure. Or is it, perhaps, the fact, Kyra, that Lindsey hasn't been on the slopes for a while because of the weather. Yes, she's apparently been rubbing this Austrian cheese on her injured shin. A badly bruised right shin. She says, you know, if it is working, it's working. Something's happening, because it's making her feel more and more confident about the ability to go out and ski in all five of her events. She's a gold medal favorite in at least two, maybe three of them. If the formage is working, why not, right?

PHILLIPS: There you go. Placebo effect, the coldest of the cheese, I don't know. But you're right. It's working. Mark, thank you so much.

And that brings us to today's blog question. We're talking about skier Lindsey Vonn's magical cheese remedy and asked you for your home remedies. Here's some of them. You guys were pretty creative.

John says, "When I was a young boy and would sprain my ankle, my grandmother would wrap my ankle with potato skins. When I woke up the next day, my ankle would be just fine."

This one coming from Norah. "My father's family remedy is to strap bacon to a wound of any size to, quote, 'suck out the poison and speed up the healing.'"

Here's a pretty creative one from Michael. "Spray shin with WD- 40. Take two to four Vicodin, wash down with one point of Southern Comfort, and this will kill the pain quickly."

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Remember, we want to hear from you. Just logon to CNN.com/kyra and share your comments.

So, how do you make up for discrimination that goes back for decades? a group of black farmers say that they're owed more than a billion dollars. And today, they're marching in Washington to try and get it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Just coming into CNN, we're getting word that Senator Bayh is expected to announce his retirement today. Evan Bayh is not going to seek a third term in the Senate, we are told. That is coming from a source close to the Indiana Democrat. Bayh, as you remember, former governor, was first elected in 1998. When he steps up obviously to the mike to give the official announcement, we will take that live.

The tractors will be silent on many farms run by African- Americans today. A large group is marching on the Department of Agriculture in Washington. The farmers say that the government denied them loans and subsidies in the '80s and '90s because of the color of their skin. They're demanding more than a billion dollars in settlement money to split among tens of thousands of farmers. Similar rallies have happened throughout the South this month. President Obama did set aside settlement money in his budget. But Congress has to approve it before it's paid out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ARTUR DAVIS (D), ALABAMA: There's a bureaucracy in Washington, D.C., that's been around before this president got there. The old tricks of resisting these claims, trying to find every excuse in the world to slow this stuff down. We're trying to get the bureaucracy to be true to the promises that the president has made.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: John Boyd is president of the National Black Farmers Association. He's one of the organizers behind today's rally in Washington. John joins us now on the phone.

John, give us a feel for how it's going. How many farmers are there? and do you have you're being heard?

JOHN BOYD, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL BLACK FARMERS ASSOCIATION (via telephone): Good morning. And we'd like to thank CNN for reaching out to the black farmers. Farmers are still coming in. There's so much snow in Washington that we have shovels. We had to dig out a spot so we can have a rally here in Washington. There's a lot of snow.

But this is a very important day for black farmers where we've been fighting the United States Department of Agriculture to get justice almost two decades. As you mentioned earlier the president put $1.15 billion in the budget to help bring closure to black farmers.

We need leadership like Speaker Pelosi and Senate Leader Harry Reid to help appropriate these funds. It's just been a very long wait for our black farmers. And we're in Washington to say, no more waiting and when Congress opens up tomorrow, we want them to act and act swiftly to bring justice for thousands of black farmers who've been waiting for decades.

PHILLIPS: And John, just to put it in perspective for our viewers. This protest stems from this discrimination lawsuit against the Department of Agriculture. And the money has been approved to be paid out, we're talking about $1 billion in settlement money from 1999. So, what's taken so long?

BOYD: I tell you, it's been a very frustrating wait. It took from 2000 to 2008 and Senator Obama and Vice President Biden passing legislation in the Senate to pass in the farm bill in 2008 that would allow 80,000 black farmers to have their cases heard based on merit. And here it is the year 2010 and the black farmers still haven't received the money.

So, we're here pressing and letting the world know that it is a story about the plight of the black farmers that has been under the radar screen in national media for years. And we've rallied from Arkansas to Jackson, Mississippi where there's 1,500 people, and Montgomery, Alabama, there's 2,000 black farmers, all throughout the South saying the same message. It is time to compensate black farmers for discrimination. And we've been waiting for far too long. PHILLIPS: Before I let you go, we're talking about 50,000 black farmers that have proven these claims that they're eligible for this money. We're talking 15,000 -- or $50,000, rather, plus about $12,500 in tax credit. And just to let our viewers know, what type of farming are we talking about? If we didn't have these farmers, we would be lacking...

BOYD: That's right.

PHILLIPS: Many essential -- go ahead.

BOYD: These are farmers who certainly paid their cost here in this country. Sharecroppers and things of this nature. We've been shut out of federal programs such as the U.S. farm subsidy program. The largest subsidies average the top 10 percent over $1 million. And the average farm subsidy to a black farmer is $200. For processing time for black loan applications is 387 days on average -- a little over 29 days on average for a white loan application.

So, we're talking about some very, very wide disparate treatment for black farmers. At the turn of the century, there was over 20 million -- I'm sorry, 1 million black farm families in this country. Today, we're down to a little over 35,000 black farmers that make a living full time.

We need the government's assistance. We need to be part of American fabric and American agriculture. We need the USDA to start treating the black farmers like citizens in this country.

PHILLIPS: John Boyd, we'll follow it. I can promise you that. Thanks for your time. You bet. Thanks so much.

Take a quick break. You bet. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Massachusetts family heartbroken on Valentine's Day. Their 19-year-old's daughter's body had been found in the rubble of a hotel in Haiti. Kimberly Bookman of affiliate WCBB reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She loved these lights.

KIMBERLY BOOKMAN (ph), WCBB-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In memory of the light of their lives, the Gengel string their daughter's favorite white Christmas bulbs along their Rutland home. Inside, it's dark as the family learns their beloved Britney, missing in Haiti for over a month, was recovered and identified by the State Department.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even though our hearts are breaking, we are so grateful.

BOOKMAN: Our cameras followed the family's journey to this point. It began with optimism as Len and Cheryl Ann Gangle flew to their daughter's college university in Florida, hoping to reunite with Britney after a report that she was found a live. But that information turned out to be wrong.

LEN GENGEL, DAUGHTER KILLED IN HAITI QUAKE: We were told our children were safe and rescued. Now we're told they're not.

BOOKMAN: With one last glance at her dorm room, Len set off to Haiti to see for himself the efforts to find his daughter. Pictured here three hours before the earthquake. Meantime, loved ones prayed for them.

(on camera): Rutland posted these yellow ribbons around every tree and every sign. But the 19-year-old's story went far beyond this tiny town.

(voice-over): It seemed the entire state and country cried as the Gengels came to accept their daughter's fate.

L. GENGEL: Someone who -- you know, we put our whole life into is gone.

BOOKMAN: But now the true heartbreak on Valentine's Day as they get the answer they needed but never wanted.

CHERYLANN GENGEL: Our worst fear was she was going to be in Haiti forever. We didn't want that. So as horrific as it is that we finally received the phone call, we're glad that we did. We're just going to be glad to have her back home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Mom calls 911 when her baby can't breathe. The dad picks up the phone. Wait until you hear the rest of the story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Yes, he is quite the smooth operator. A 911 dispatcher in training took the call of a worried mom whose baby wasn't breathing. So, he calmly told her what to do. Reporter Drew Mickelson of affiliate KING takes the story from there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

911 OPERATOR: 911. What are you reporting?

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Help! He's choking on something.

911 OPERATOR: Who is?

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (INAUDIBLE)

(END AUDIO CLIP)

DREW MICKELSON, KING-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Six-month-old Jacob Scott is just fine now. But last week, he was unconscious and had stopped breathing. JANNA SCOTT, MOTHER OF JACOB: His eyes rolled back in his head. That was a moment where I thought, oh, my god.

MICKELSON: His mother called 911 looking for help. The dispatcher who answered was her husband.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

911 OPERATOR: Is he breathing?

J. SCOTT: No! Not really.

911 OPERATOR: Is he coughing or crying?

J. SCOTT: He's not doing anything.

911 OPERATOR: OK, listen carefully. I'll tell you what to do next.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

MICKELSON: The couple recognized each other's voices but had no time for pleasantries.

J. SCOTT: I didn't want to say, hey, Chris, you know it's me, right? It wouldn't have helped in that moment.

CHRIS SCOTT, DISPATCHER DAD: Just trying to separate myself from the actual relationship, I guess, so I wouldn't take it so personally and just do it as professionally and calm as possible.

MICKELSON: He calmly directed his wife to clear the boy's airway by slapping him on the back five times. Jacob coughed up the piece of plastic he was choking on.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

J. SCOTT: He's breathing again.

C. SCOTT: OK. I just let the fire department know. You did a good job. Alright. Take a deep breath. I know it's really scary right now.

J. SCOTT: OK.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

J. SCOTT: He's a pretty calm person.

MICKELSON: Jenna says there's no doubt her husband's demeanor saved her son's life.

C. SCOTT: That's just how I am with every call. Really calm. Nothing really flusters me that much.

MICKELSON: And Jacob is proof of that. C. SCOTT: I could have lost you, little crazy monkey!

MICKELSON: Drew Mickelson, KING-5 news.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And by the way, Chris' supervisor says he has passed the test, that he's ready to be a full-fledged dispatcher. I don't think he needs anymore training, Tony.

TONY HARRIS: Yeah, are you kidding me? You get through that, you should be a supervisor - right to supervisor grade.

PHILLIPS: There you go.

HARRIS: Kyra, you have a great day.

PHILLIPS: See you tomorrow!