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Tea Partiers Target Harry Reid; What's in Store for Health Care Reform?; GM Recalls Thousands of Vans; The Andre Sobel River Of Life Foundation Lends A Financial Lifeline To Parents Of Terminally Ill Children

Aired March 27, 2010 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: As they are calling it a showdown in Searchlight. Tea party activists held a rally today in Searchlight, Nevada, the hometown of Senate Democratic majority leader Harry Reid. The main speaker was former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

The Tea Party movement is a loosely organized campaign to reduce government spending and taxes. And members say Reid is a big part of the problem. CNN national political correspondent Jessica Yellin joins us now from Searchlight. So the guest of honor has appeared, has spoken. Now what?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're now hearing from local leaders and people who are affiliated with the Tea Party movement. I got to tell you, Fredricka, Sarah Palin, was the big draw. This crowd was elated to hear from her. And Palin hit hard on the themes that have drawn people to this movement.

As she put it the government that governs least governs best. A big focus of the attack is the health care bill which folks here think literally - a literally challenges their freedom. It takes away their liberty. They say it's government delving into their lives. Here's a little bit of what Sarah Palin had to say earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN (R), FMR. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What is going on in our country? What's going on in D.C.? Washington has broken faith with the people that they are to be serving. That's why here in Searchlight and across the country we're sending a message to Washington. It's loud and it's clear. And in these upcoming elections, we're saying that the big government, big debt, Obama- Pelosi-Reid spending spree is over, you're fired.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: And the big message here is for these voters to go out and vote. One speaker said that too many Republicans stayed home last time around and they won't make that mistake this time, Fredricka. And the event goes on still thousands of people out here in this field in rural Nevada.

WHITFIELD: And while the primary objective, I suppose, was, you know, her talking about this campaign to defeat Harry Reid, she also took an opportunity really kind of defend some of the language she and others have used post-health care debate. She said there's nothing wrong with saying reload. She's not inciting violence, nor is anyone else. She says it's her way of trying to encourage people to stand up. How is that received?

YELLIN: That was received with enormous applause and enthusiasm. It's a message both she and other Republican leaders have been delivering lately, as they've been on the defensive - they've been on the defensive after some violence or alleged violence visited members of the Congress who had voted for the health care reform bill. And she is defending not only her use of the term "reload" but she also put on her Facebook web site pictures of people they want to defeat in the elections in the cross hairs.

So the message again here is not violence, but voting. And it is, though, it's a rallying cry. She uses it to say that the liberal media is mischaracterizing her words. I got to say everybody here has a lot of anger toward what they perceived as the liberalism in the media, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: You know, what's interesting still, Jessica, you know, she says it's the rallying cry. She defends her Facebook page that had the crosshairs on those states where those lawmakers, you know, she believes should be defeated. However the Republican party and many major Republican leaders have said they don't necessarily agree with that kind of language or even approach.

So is she being embraced wholeheartedly by the Republican party or more so by this Tea Party, or is it one and the same?

YELLIN: No, it's not one in the same. There are many people here who are dependents or even reject the Republican party. There are many who are members. I'll point out that even John McCain said, look, this is - they have not necessarily rejected Sarah Palin's characterization.

A number of Republican leaders have come out saying violence is not appropriate. That they are not condoning violence. That it should not take place. But that, as McCain put it, this language of politics as war is common through our history, where we see we're going to take you down or I'm going after you or we're going to - those kinds of imagery, that kind of imagery is not unusual. So they've defended her.

I'll point out today, also, Harry Reid is here in this state, Fredricka. And he, today, is at a shooting range with one of the leaders of the NRA. So everybody here is claiming their independence and their right to the second amendment, but not any violence, of course. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK. Jessica Yellin, thanks so much from Searchlight, Nevada.

All right. There's a major announcement now coming from the White House this afternoon. President Obama is taking a controversial step to fill some vacant jobs. He's making recess appointments.

CNN White House correspondent Dan Lothian is on the phone with us now. Dan, what can you tell us about these appointments?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (ON THE PHONE): Well, the White House is putting out a statement this afternoon saying that the President does, as you pointed out, intend to make these recess appointments. 15 names that the President laid out in this release, including for undersecretary for domestic finance and assistant secretary for tax policy.

The importance of this, at least from the White House view is that, these are people that have been nominated now for quite some time and has been stuck in the Senate. And this White House has been critical time and time again, saying that there's a lot of politics at play here. And that, you know, the longer the time goes by where these folks who the president has nominated have not been confirmed by the Senate, then some of the agencies where they should be working are impaired.

So the president is doing this, planned to do this. It's not unusual. This is something that other presidents have done. In fact, the White House pointing out that President Bush about this same time during his presidency also made 15 recess appointments. But what they point out is that he had fewer outstanding nominees. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK. If I'm reading this properly, the White House saying that there are 217 nominees pending before the Senate and that is in part why the President has made this move. Dan Lothian, thanks so much.

LOTHIAN: OK. My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: With all the talk now about health care reform and the number of people who don't have insurance, a clear example of the problem today in suburban Atlanta. A one-day free clinic for the uninsured is so overwhelmed that organizers had to actually cut off patient registration. And then they have apparently sent out an urgent call for more volunteer doctors and nurses to help out.

So the new health care reform law will mean big changes for small businesses. The National Federation of Independent Business lobbied hard against the legislation.

CNN's Allan Chernoff has been asking entrepreneurs how they will deal with the new realities and the uncertainties, as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Health care reform is sparking mixed emotions for Richard S'dao, owner of baby gift maker Silly Phillie Creations. He's proud as an American, worried as a businessman.

RICHARD S'DAO, SILLY PHILLIE CREATIONS: A country that's as big as ours is and as rich as we are, we should be able to afford that. As a businessman, however, I have lots of concerns and trepidations.

CHERNOFF: S'Dao supports the concept of universal health care but says his business is already squeezed by rapidly rising health insurance expenses.

S'DAO: I'm covering as many as I can right now.

CHERNOFF (on camera): Of the 26 employees at Silly Phillie Creations, eight have health care benefits. If everyone were to receive health insurance, Richard S'dao says he would have to fire some workers.

(voice-over): Fortunately for Silly Phillie, the new law doesn't require employers with fewer than 50 workers to provide health insurance. But in the past when business was booming the company did have a staff larger than the cutoff. And S'dao hopes to expand once again.

With his current number of workers, S'dao would miss out on an incentive to provide health insurance. Tax credits from some businesses employing 25 or fewer workers, which he says could be a motive for companies to pear their workforce. But he has no plan to do so.

S'DAO: Those companies that are close to that minimum, that would be a big incentive to reduce their workers to get under that 25 worker force. Big incentive.

CHERNOFF: S'dao says he wants to offer health insurance to more workers, he doesn't know how just yet. The one step he says is certain for him and other businesses, prices for consumers will have to go up.

S'DAO: Someone has to pay for this. Whether, you know, if we're going to implement this, it has to come from somewhere. And if it means higher prices, well so be it.

S'DAO: The law also creates state run pools allowing businesses like Silly Phillie to buy health insurance together. But that alone is unlikely to cover the additional costs for businesses that are going to be paying for more coverage.

Allan Chernoff, CNN, Brooklyn, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Ken Thorpe is here with us now. And he is with the Rollin School of Public Health at Emory University. We've got a lot of questions from people who are wondering about health care reform, what does it mean for me. Not just the small business owner that we saw right there, but other folks who are saying, "I have pre- existing conditions. What will this mean for me?" So let's kind of tick through some of them.

Dean is asking, "Can we expect our insurance premiums to increase while we wait for the bill to take effect?" KEN THORPE, ROLLIN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Well, it's a good question. We're hoping that the states will continue to do a vigilant job at really regulating health insurance premiums. Most states require health plans in the individual, the small group market to submit premiums.

There's a determination if they're fair and actually (ph) justified. So in the interim we're going to have to rely on the states to continue to provide that function for us.

WHITFIELD: And of course, we've already heard a number of states through their attorney general are actually suing to see if, you know, this is constitutional, if there's a way in which the state can say, "we don't want to be forced to enforce people to have health care insurance."

Diana asks this. "My daughter was denied health insurance last week due to a pre-existing condition. Is there anything we can do before 2014 when many of these conditions kind of kick in with health care reform?"

THORPE: Well, that's one of the good news parts of this legislation. Really starting within the next 90 days there's going to be a national high-risk pool for everybody. So if you have a pre- existing condition, there will be a health plan available to you that you can't be denied.

And starting this year as well, children cannot be denied coverage based on pre-existing conditions as well. So those are both pieces of good news in this legislation.

WHITFIELD: All right. This is good news for her. This is part of that mantra where the President said this year, these things are going to happen. This was one of them. Dave said "I thought the health care premiums would not increase unless you were earning $250,000 or more. Now it's $88,000. And is that gross or taxable income?"

THORPE: Well, what the legislation does is raise taxes on families over $250,000 in income. If you are an uninsured family of four, let's say, under $88,000 in income, you'll get some financial assistance to buy coverage. So, for example, a family of four who earns $40,000, they pay about $2,180 for a health plan, their cost well over $11,000 in the open market. So that's a very substantial amount of financial assistance to help them buy health insurance coverage.

WHITFIELD: These figures are mind boggling, aren't they? And Bill asks, "The health care bill makes huge cuts in the Medicare program. What does this mean to Medicare patients? Will coverage be reduced? Will costs increase? Will doctors refuse to take Medicare patients?"

THORPE: Well, in the traditional fee for service Medicare program most of the savings are really putting more efficiencies in the program. Trying to find ways to keep people healthier, reducing readmissions to the hospital, keeping people out of the hospital in the first place. There are new benefits in the Medicare program, as well, for seniors. A health risk appraisal, a personalized care plan.

Starting in year one, you'll get a $250 rebate if you have a lot of expensive costs for your drug benefit. So there are a lot of new benefits built into this for seniors to kick in this year.

WHITFIELD: And a lot of times prescriptions, a lot of, you know, seniors have to make a decision, "Do I eat, do I get my prescriptions." So many are saying they look forward to that.

And let's go to this last one. This is from Mary. And sadly, this has become a very typical scenario. Mary says, "I have no insurance, a pre-existing condition, and no money to buy anyway. I'm 57 years old. What does this mean for me?"

THORPE: Well, within the next 90 days there's going to be a plan available to you, to buy health insurance, that you can't be denied.

WHITFIELD: 60 days.

THORPE: I'm sorry, 90 days.

WHITFIELD: 90 days, OK.

THORPE: So the secretary of Health and Human Services has to develop a plan available nationally that can't discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. And the premiums are going to be subsidized. Meaning that there will be financial assistance to help you buy the premiums as well. So for somebody in that situation, again, this is very good news.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Hopefully she can hold out another three months then. Ken Thorpe of Emory University, thanks so much. Good to see you.

THORPE: Well, thank you. Thanks for having me on.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it. I know we will have you back because I know people still will continue to have a lot of questions as we get inch closer to the 90 days or just over the next course of weeks to understand it. Thanks so much.

THORPE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. A boy challenges tradition. His culture and his Viking dad in "How to Train your Dragon." We'll look at what's playing this weekend at the movies with film critic, Ben Mankowitz.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. A time traveling hot tub and animated dragon and a jobless New Yorker trying to figure out life. All coming to a theater near you. This weekend. Film critic and host of "Turner Classic Movies" Ben Mankowitz joining us now from Los Angeles. Missed you last weekend, Ben.

BEN MANKOWITZ, HOST "TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES": Well, I missed you as well.

WHITFIELD: OK. Good.

MANKOWITZ: I tried calling.

WHITFIELD: You did? I did not get the message. All right. Let's dive right into it. Let's talk movies here with "Hot Tub Time Machine." That's how I kind of want to say it but let's look at the movie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the hell happened last night?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there kind of retro thing going on this weekend?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Definitely. What's going on here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excuse me. What color is my (INAUDIBLE)?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Black.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. Looks silly, fun. I don't know how I missed a trailer on this one. Didn't know anything about it until this weekend. Did you like?

MANKOWITZ: Well, you know, the trailer is really got a lot of the best moments in the movie there. A lot of people, a lot of good people there. Rob Corrdry, very funny guy. John Cusack is in a lot of wonderful films. Craig Robinson who is in "The Office," and a lot of funny movies.

You know, it's about a bunch of guys who go on a vacation because one of them Rob Corrdry is depressed. They go to a place they used to go and they go into a hot tub actually that transports them back to 1986.

WHITFIELD: Oh, gosh.

MANKOWITZ: But one of the problems of the movie is like all the great sort of cultural 1986 references, references sort of happened at once. They're in that ski lodge, they're inundated with Reagan and Iran Contra, David Bowie referencing "I want my MTV" and Michael Jackson what color is he. It all happens at once.

There you see Chevy Chase. There's some incoherent scenes with Chevy Chase. It's written by the same two guys, Sean Anders and John Morris who wrote "She's Out of my League," which is, you know, I like and as I think back on it, I like it even more. This falls flat in a lot of ways. There's some funny moments in it but it feels rushed. The script feels like a lot of people worked on it and it lost its way. Some funny moments but -

WHITFIELD: So you gave it a little bit of a less than average rating, a C minus.

MANKOWITZ: Yes, I gave them a C minus. I feel like maybe I was too harsh on it and maybe in a year when you see it on Cinemax, I'll like it more. You know, John Cusack had a great line. He called it the "Citizen Kane" of hot tub movies. But I feel like it's more than "Battlefield Earth" of hot tub movies.

WHITFIELD: OK.

MANKOWITZ: Like I said, I gave it a C minus. I think it's unworthy of your time.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk about - this could be a fun family movie, right, teenage Viking, spunky dragons. This is called "How to Train Your Dragon." Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look for this blank spot. Every dragon has one. Find it, hide in it, and strike.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you ever bathe?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You'll like it. Just get your own spot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, it looks kind of cute. What do you think?

MANKOWITZ: Well, it's really - it 's in 3D -

WHITFIELD: Oh, another 3D.

MANKOWITZ: Because now seven out of every nine movies now, Fredricka, are in 3D.

WHITFIELD: No, no, no. You are being funny.

MANKOWITZ: I forget I'm on CNN and I can't make stuff up. That's Fox.

WHITFIELD: That's right. We're about the truth here.

MANKOWITZ: It's in 3D and it is really, really, really beautiful. It has incredible depth. And a wonderful cinematographer Roger Deakins sort of oversaw this and it really looks fantastic.

WHITFIELD: Is this kind of an adult animated flick, you know, or little kids get it and like it?

MANKOWITZ: It's not rated "G." It's rated "PG" and there's some scary moments with the dragons. That said, there are a lot of little kids in my screening, they all seemed to love it. And again, it will work for adults. I don't think it's from Dreamworks that brought you "Kung Fu Panda" and "Shrek." I don't think the characters are as memorable as some of those characters.

WHITFIELD: OK.

MANKOWITZ: You know, it's about a Viking boy named Hippo and he's not as tough as the other Vikings. But he learns - Vikings are at war with the dragons but he learns that the dragons are misunderstood. We don't know all that we knew about dragons isn't so. The dragon character Toothless turns out to be memorable. But I don't think the characters are as developed and that keeps them from being a great movie but it's a good movie.

WHITFIELD: B minus.

MANKOWITZ: I gave it a B minus.

WHITFIELD: That's a nice grade from you.

MANKOWITZ: And like I said, I think it's a movie that you can take your five or six-year-old to and that you will enjoy, too. I think it is worthy. And by the way, just a real quick thing to impress people at cocktail parties. Jay Baruchel, who is also in "She's Out of My League," which keep coming up, he voices - I think I called him "hippo." I keep calling him "Hippo," his name is "Hiccup" in the movie, the Viking boy.

He went to the same high school in Canada as William Shatner. So guys can go to cocktail parties and I think girls will instantly give you their phone number if you mention that.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that's a cute little trivia.

MANKOWITZ: There you go.

WHITFIELD: OK. Ben Stiller, a little different than what we're used to seeing him in. And this is called "Greenberg." Your thoughts.

MANKOWITZ: Yes, this is Ben Stiller. I'll be very quick.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

MANKOWITZ: This is Ben Stiller as Roger Greenberg. He's being funny but this is a much more dramatic turn.

WHITFIELD: Kind of angry, isn't he?

MANKOWITZ: Yes. He's angry, constantly writing letters to Starbucks and American Airlines telling them what's wrong with their companies. And I think he's being somewhat criticized as not being sort of a worthy actor here. This is a Noah Baumbach film. Greta Gerwig, you see there is in it. I think Ben Stiller pulls this off. I think he's good. I think this movie is sharp. It's depressing at times. Ultimately though I think Stiller lives up to it. I liked it a lot. I gave it a B plus. I think it is definitely worthy. It is Ben Stiller in a way you haven't seen him before. He's still funny and I think it's definitely worth seeing.

WHITFIELD: OK. We're going to have you back in a few minutes. We're going to have a breather, a little popcorn break maybe. And when we come back we'll talk DVD of the "The Blind Side," and "The Fantastic Mr. Fox," and finally I saw "The Blink Side." Thanks to a DVD release.

MANKOWITZ: Good for you.

WHITFIELD: So we'll talk. OK. Right after this.

MANKOWITZ: Right.

WHITFIELD: All right. And earthquakes in the U.S. they often hit the west coast, but the next big one could strike the deep south.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Another look at our top stories right now. Iraq's former prime minister declaring victory for his coalition. Election results released on Friday shows Ayad Allawi's blocked one, 91 seats in the March 7th election. The most in Parliament. But his rival, current prime minister Nuri Al Maliki is alleging voter fraud and wants a recount. Allawi still faces the tough challenge as he tries to put together a coalition government.

And a new vehicle recall to tell you about. This one from General Motors. GM is recalling 5,000 heavy-duty vans because of an engine fire risk. They include Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana passenger and cargo vans made this year. If you have one, GM says stop driving it, park it away from buildings and other vehicles. The company is calling for a halt in production and sales until it finds a fix.

Basketball star Gilbert Arenas has been sentenced to two years of probation in a gun case. The Washington Wizards; guard will also spend 30 days in a halfway house before serving 400 hours of community service. Arenas pleaded guilty in January to illegally bringing guns into the team's locker room. The judge said Arenas showed genuine remorse and he believes Arenas is a good and decent man.

A single mother facing a desperate choice, care for her ailing daughter or go to work.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And now you can't work?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't work, period.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can't pay those bills?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't pay those bills.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: How she found compassion and help to make ends meet. We'll meet her and the head of the foundation giving single parents the freedom to spend precious moments with their terminally ill children.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Taking care of a critically ill child is always tough, not only emotionally, but financially. And it can be even more difficult for a parent trying to do it all alone. If you work, who takes care of your child? If you stay home, how do you get the bills paid? One foundation is stepping in to make those choices a little bit easier for families like this one.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANIELA JOEL, BRAIN TUMOR SURVIVOR: I'm in like a river --

WHITFIELD (voice over): Fourteen-year-old Daniela Joel, of Lilburn, Georgia, is reading a passage from her blog.

D. JOEL: You cannot touch the same water twice, because the flow has passed will never pass again.

WHITFIELD: A blog that chronicles this once avid tennis player's fight against an inoperable brain tumor, and the journey of her family. Daniela's mother, Bernardine.

BERNARDINE JOEL, MOTHER: My world stopped, period. I had no -- I couldn't think, you know. I thought, Daniela has inoperable brain tumor? I couldn't believe it.

WHITFIELD: Daniela was initially given only about six months to live. That was more than a year ago, on Thanksgiving day 2008.

B. JOEL: In the beginning, Daniela, she couldn't talk or, you know, walk, eat.

WHITFIELD: So Bernardine, whose husband died of a heart attack three years earlier, decided to leave her job as a massage therapist to be her daughter's side, putting everything on the line.

B. JOEL: How about if you're a widow, and then on top of that your child diagnosed with brain tumor, and requires you 24 hours there.

WHITFIELD (on camera): Now you can't work.

B. JOEL: I can't work, period.

WHITFIELD: Can't pay those bills.

B. JOEL: I can't pay those bills.

WHITFIELD (voice over): Friends and family helped pay those bills as long as they could. Until a relative learned about the generosity of a non-profit support group that helps single parents with terminally ill children.

B. JOEL: I had like God's gift send me this foundation.

WHITFIELD: The Andre Sobel, River of Life Foundation. Valerie Sobel is the founder.

VALERIE SOBEL, FOUNDER, ANDRE SOBEL RIVER OF LIFE FOUNDATION: I have seen children dying alone in hospitals. I didn't realize until much later that it is a privilege to be with your child when he needs you and when he's terminally ill.

WHITFIELD: Sadly, Sobel knows firsthand. She started the foundation after her teenage son, Andre, died of a brain tumor in 1995. Within a year, her husband took his own life. She turned her personal pain into a mission, to help single parents like Bernardine.

(On camera): They've been able to help you pay your mortgage?

B. JOEL: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Pay your car bill?

B. JOEL: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Keep the power on?

B. JOEL: Yes.

WHITFIELD: And food?

B. JOEL: Everything. Sometimes food bills if I need it. They don't give you the money, you fax your bills.

WHITFIELD: How does it's work ordinarily? Counselors like Nancy Mansfield in Los Angeles identify families in need through the foundation's network of 12 hospitals across the country.

NANCY MANSFIELD, EXEC. DIR., INSTITUTE FOR FAMILIES: Families that come in here that have been living in their car for two weeks, but didn't want to tell me because they're embarrassed.

WHITFIELD: Or they don't have transportation or, like in the case of Patti Rabei, can't pay rent.

PATTI RABEI, MOTHER: It was a big, big weight to be lifted off my back, that I didn't have to worry about my rent.

WHITFIELD: Her daughter Robbie was diagnose with a brain tumor 10 years ago. Now 20, multiple brain surgeries left half her face paralyzed.

MANSFIELD: When I first met Robbie and Patti and her other children, how this woman did it was beyond me.

WHITFIELD: But Rabei says it's the founder of this organization who has really worked miracles. RABEI: She can understand my situation, because she was in a similar situation herself. That's the beauty of this organization.

WHITFIELD: As for the Joels, they're taking it one delicate step at a time.

B. JOEL: Every day, I mean, every day is just a miracle to me. Every day is a gift, it's a blessing.

WHITFIELD: That together this mother and daughter are able to embrace, in large part because of the commitment from others, who know how precious time is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And Daniela Joel's MRI last month showed that her tumor is stable. Joining me now from Hanover, New Hampshire, is Ann Swire, she is the CEO of the Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation.

Good to see you, Ann.

ANN SWIRE, CEO, ANDRE SOBEL RIVER OF LIFE FOUNDATION: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So we know why Ms. Sobel started this foundation 10 years ago, her own personal experience meant that she was incredibly empathetic to the struggle of other single parents with terminally ill children. How is it that this organization is able to continue to help so many people? We're talking about bills in the 100s, and sometimes 1,000s of dollars.

SWIRE: That's a great question. The Sobel family made the initial gift to seed the foundation. But as time has gone by we've been helped by some very generous donors, foundations, corporations, individuals. Our largest donor is the Genentech Foundation that helps us with all of our cancer-related cases and other generous individuals and companies that have taken on our cause as theirs.

They believe, as we do, that a child needs their parent at their side when they are terminally, or catastrophically ill. And together, with their resources, and our know how, and our network of social workers, we give these families the gift of time. We consider it the greatest gift that we can give to a parent, is time, precious time, to be with their sick child during a very, very difficult time, when their family finances often might be fragile, or completely falling apart.

WHITFIELD: How did you get on board?

SWIRE: My son, who is 21 and actually a college student here at Dartmouth College, was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 11. My husband and I had the greatest gift. One of us was able to be at his bedside throughout his entire 26 months of treatment.

But one of the most searing memories that I have was two nights that I spent sharing a room with my son and another little boy, age 9, who was dying of a brain tumor. He had lost his ability to speak, he had lost his ability to move, and during those two days, his parents, neither his father nor his mother were able to be with him. And I said to the nurse, why is it? Where is his mom? Where is his dad? And she said to me, it's not because his mom doesn't want to be here. It's because she can't be here. She has siblings at home. She lives far from the hospital. It's just too hard for her to get to see her son.

And it's really for that mother and all those families like her, those single parents who have to make these impossible choices between working or with their child that we have created our mission to give them that special and very precious time together.

WHITFIELD: Ann Swire, I know a lot of folks are intrigued by this foundation and so many are inspired by families just like we saw, and that we met that were profiled in this piece. I know the Joels after meeting them are so incredibly grateful of what you all do.

This is how you can find out more about your organization. The AndreSobelRiverOfLife.org is the website in which to locate you, perhaps people want to make a contribution or learn a little bit more about what you do. I know folks have a lot more questions, because there are so many people in this situation, who have to make a decision. How do I spend time with my sick child, or do I go to work and pay the bills? Ann Swire, thanks so much for your time, CEO of the Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation.

SWIRE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much for your time.

Top stories coming up next. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Back now to look at our top stories.

It is back to drawing board for the White House when it comes to picking someone to lead the Transportation Security Administration. Their second nominee retired Army General Robert Harding has withdrawn his name. He admits over-billing mistakes as a Defense contractor, and says that would be too big of a distraction.

And the commandment of the Marines is raising new concerns about gays in the military. General James Conway spoke with the website Military.com and he says he won't ask heterosexual Marines to share rooms with openly gay Marines. Conway says if don't ask, don't tell is repealed the Marines may have to build new barracks with single rooms.

Dennis Hopper now has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The 73-year-old actor is very ill with prostate cancer. But he was able to attend the unveiling ceremony. His six-year-old daughter, Galen, was also by his side. Also attending, Jack Nicholson, who appeared with Hopper in "Easy Rider" in 1969, that motorcycle movie that made Hopper a real big star. The movie that earned Sandra Bullock an Oscar comes to DVD. Can you believe it already, as well as three other films? Let's see if we can zip through them real quick. Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz is back with us from Los Angeles.

OK, so "The Blind Side", you liked it, so did the Academy awards. So we all should like it as a DVD, right?

BEN MANKIEWICZ, FILM CRITIC: Yeah. I think you should like it as a DVD. The adaptation of Michael Lewis' book, the story of Michael Oher, who is now starting on the offensive line for the Baltimore Ravens. It's a nice story. Lord knows Sandra Bullock, I think everybody is on her side right now. Should be the happiest time of her life and she could use some good press. I gave it a B. I think it's certainly worth seeing. Her performance is wonderful. I think people who didn't see it, it's certainly worthy of seeing.

WHITFIELD: Good. If I recall properly, "Fantastic Mr. Fox", you like this one a lot, too, yes? George Clooney one of the voices?

MANKIEWICZ: I did. George Clooney voices it. Meryl Streep voices it. Directed by Wes Anderson. Uses stop motion animation, technique made famous by the great Ray Harryhausen who also, last time he did some stop-motion animation was for "Clash of the Titans" which is being remade, and premiers next week.

I like this a lot. It's a really delightful film. I gave it a B, too. I think it's worth seeing.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that George Clooney, he's so busy. The other film that he was in, "The Men Who Stare At Goats."

MANKIEWICZ: Yeah, you know, "The Men Who Stare At Goats," Clooney is good in it. There's a wonderful actor named Steven Lange in it, who is also in "Avatar." But you know when satire falls short, Fredricka, you're in dangerous territory. There this is another adaptation of book. And I think the satire here does fall short. Jeff Bridges' character, a little over the top, Ewan McGregor's character, not that strong here. The satire, again, doesn't quite make it through. Some parts of it believable, some parts not. I thought this movie dragged and didn't quite know where it was headed. I gave it a C. And I don't think-again, I'd stay away.

WHITFIELD: Some things look different when you're at home versus the movie theater?

MANKIEWICZ: I know. Sure, look, you can -- it's not going to kill you to watch it, you'll be all right. I wouldn't do it. I think you can go do better.

WHITFIELD: How about "Brothers"? Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal. What are your thoughts on this one? I don't think you like this one.

MANKIEWICZ: For years, I got Tobey Gyllenhaal-look, I just said Tobey Gyllenhaal. For years I got Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal confused.

This is a real actors movie and Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman all deliver good performances, here, but it is just a movie of performances. It seemed like everybody was trying really hard to deliver a performance. But the story, again, the story didn't seem to weave its way successfully through the movie. It's a movie filled with actors giving powerful performances, but it's a little bleak. And at the end of it I think you come away a little unsatisfied. It's dramatic, but it lacks a little humanity.

WHITFIELD: Great people.

MANKIEWICZ: Great people, good performances. I gave it a C.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

MANKIEWICZ: At the end, you're left unsatisfied.

WHITFIELD: OK. Ben Mankiewicz, thanks so much. We're always satisfied with your reviews.

MANKIEWICZ: I'm not sure that's entirely true.

WHITFIELD: It is, that's what I said, come on. I'm telling the truth.

MANKIEWICZ: All right. I'll see you next week.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ben, good to see you. Bye-bye.

MANKIEWICZ: Bye.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk about another reality, a violent quake in the southern U.S.? Could it happen? It already did. That's the reality. But might it happen again? Jacqui Jeras has the pictures to show us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: People think earthquakes in this country, in the U.S., they think California, certainly not the South, or the Deep South. Jacqui Jeras kind of went on a study, went on the hunt, for answers as it pertains to earthquakes in this country, and the history, and the future.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. But we've had so many big ones in other parts of the world and that got us thinking, well, what kind of risks are there here in the U.S.

And everybody knows, yeah, most of the quakes happen out West, particularly in California. But some of the most powerful earthquakes in U.S. history have actually happened in the U.S. as well as the Southeast. So we're going to take you to Charleston, South Carolina, where a very complex fault system could trigger a very impressive earthquake, as powerful as the one we had in Haiti that we had in January. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD COTE, AUTHOR, "CITY OF HEROES" (voice over): It was a most catastrophic earthquake ever to hit any place east of the Mississippi in all of U.S. history, struck Charleston with a ferocious roar.

JERAS: Author and researcher Richard Cote describes the horror that filled the steamy Charleston air on August 31st, 1886. And estimated 7.3 magnitude earthquake devastated this charming Southern city.

COTE (on camera): Two-thirds of all the brick structures in Charleston were either destroyed or severely damaged.

JERAS: And it was felt from Montreal to Nebraska, Cuba to Bermuda.

(On camera): So, this is the church building. And this was severely damaged in the earthquake?

COTE: This is one of the most magnificent churches in Charleston, St. Michaels Episcopal Church. The entire bell tower separated with a huge crack through the side of the building.

JEAS (voice over): Amazingly the church was put back together with earth quake bolts as were many other buildings in town.

(On camera): So these are the earthquake bolts?

COTE: These are Charleston's legendary earthquake bolts. What you see on the side of this building is not actually the earthquake bolt itself. That the long iron rod that runs all the way through the building.

JERAS: What are we going to see at the fort?

PRADEEP TALWANI, FMR. GEOLOGY PROFESSOR: You're going see the effects of the earthquake.

JERAS (voice over): Retired geology professor Pradeep Talwani has spent decades researching the 1886 quake. He says the fault zone is deep and runs right through nearby historical Fort Dorchester.

TALWANI: So, you can get an idea of the force of the earthquake, which caused this to break and moved this one towards -- in a right lateral sense. Sorry, in a left lateral sense, so this sense-

JERAS (On camera): This comes out and this is pushing back.

TALWANI: Right.

JERAS: It goes like this, right here?

TALWANI: Exactly. Exactly. So we have -- and here, the displacement is about four inches or 10 centimeters. So to have the earthquake be so strong that it breaks this and moves it gives you some clue what is going on.

JERAS: And 95 percent of all earthquakes happen where two plates come together and shift, like what happened with the earthquake in Chile. However, South Carolina sits right in the middle of the North American plate. Now, there can be some weaknesses within that plate and there is one just north and west of Charleston. When pressure builds upon that area, stress builds and the earth moves.

Talwani's research has shown the 1886 earthquake was one of at least seven quakes to happen here.

TALWANI: The frequency of earthquakes we're getting is about every 500 years, on an average.

JERAS: So it's not a matter of if another powerful quake will rattle Charleston, but when. And is the city prepared? Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley says earthquakes are fused into Charleston's history and future.

MAYOR JOSEPH RILEY, CHARLSTON, SOUTH CAROLINA: We've made our buildings stronger, so they would more-well, withstand an earthquake than they did 144 years ago. And then we're poised and ready to get through it and to recover.

JERAS: The South Carolina emergency management division released the results of a study that outlines what could happen today if a 7.3 magnitude earthquake were to strike the same area. The report estimates that 900 people would be killed, 800 bridges would be damaged beyond use, 36 million tons of debris would be generated, and total economic losses would reach $20 billion.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JERAS: So those are just some amazing numbers to think about. I mean --

WHITFIELD: I don't want to think about those numbers. I love Charleston.

JERAS: I know. It's a beautiful, very charming city. But the risk is real. The problem is, you know, you don't get a lot of warning. I was talking to the mayor. He said he knew Hurricane Hugo was coming, you have a couple days to prepare. When you're talking about an earthquake, it just happens in an instant.

(CROSS TALK)

WHITFIELD: I lived in Charleston. We lived there knowing about the threats of hurricanes, but certainly not earthquakes. This is not something we talked about. As these projectors look forward, are they talking about a when, how probable this really is?

JERAS: Well, Professor Talwani, that we had in the piece said every 500 years. But there's no way to know when within that period. So this could happen tomorrow, it could happen next month. It could happen in 200 years. It's not on average every 500 years. WHITFIELD: Big earthquakes-well, any earthquake is tough to predict. If we had that mastered, of course, folks would be out of harm's way long before it actually happens. What is next for this? This is just the first installment; this is not the only place you are focusing on, though.

JERAS: Right. That's right. Well, I just got off the plane last night from Memphis, Tennessee. And this is the location of our next piece. This gives you an idea of where those risks are across the United States. And really kind of focus in on the red, so you can see over here in the Charleston area. That's the spot we were concerned about here. This is the new Madrid fault system. And a lot of people have heard of the new Madrid fault, so I don't think that's too much of a surprise for them, but you might be surprised about what kind of an economic impact this could have, not just in the nation's mid section but globally.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right, Jacqui, thanks so much. Good to see you and of course we look forward to that next weekend as well.

JERAS: Two weeks.

WHITFIELD: Oh, in two weeks. OK, very good. Thank you very much.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Don Lemon is coming up next. More of the NEWSROOM straight ahead.