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Killer Faces Victim's Family; Big Pay With No College Degree; Free Tax Help
Aired April 01, 2010 - 10:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: It is Thursday, April 1st. The big stories we're covering for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A school-door interview with a Massachusetts high school principal and this morning CNN's Alina Cho talks with the school district's superintendent about a bullying case that ended in suicide.
Plus, jobs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This recovery is going to show that this is the future, that people are going to start. They're going do whatever work there is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Is temping the new permanent? Companies hesitant to hire, so many workers go freelance.
And dream jobs, they're out there. How about sipping champagne on a beach? Somebody's got to find out if a resort is honeymoon- worthy. Tough job. Someone's got to do it.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Those stories, your comments, right here, right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.
So let's do this -- let's get straight to a Kansas courtroom where a convicted murderer is coming face to face with relatives of the man he killed. Dr. George Tiller was an abortion provider. Scott Roeder testified he killed Tiller to save the unborn.
Today, a Tiller family friend spoke out on behalf of the family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEE THOMPSON, FRIEND OF TILLER FAMILY: -- his devotion to his family, his dedication to medicine, his defense of women's rights and, most interestingly, his belief in the rule of law. And when you contrast that with this person, the convict, who has committed this heinous, atrocious, cruel act of domestic terrorism, his arrogant, complete lack of remorse and the nature of this murder which is, in reality, a hate crime, that contrast becomes particularly vivid.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: OK. Ryan Smith is here, host of "In Session" and an entertainment attorney.
Ryan, we know Roeder faces a mandatory life sentence, but what's at issue here for the judge today?
RYAN SMITH, HOST, "IN SESSION": The issue is whether he serves a minimum of 25 years or possibly 50 years, what they call a hard 50 in Kansas.
HARRIS: Yes.
SMITH: And the idea here is he's not up for the death penalty, so what they can do, the maximum they can do, is this hard 50, which is you've got a crime that's particularly cruel or heinous, and that's the max you can sentence him to with -- just on the parole basis.
HARRIS: Was he not death penalty eligible?
SMITH: He wasn't, because in Kansas there has to be what's called aggravating circumstances. So we're talking about a murder committed in the course of a robbery, or during the course of a rape, or against a child under 14 years of age. So that wasn't what happened here. So because of that, he wasn't eligible for the death penalty. At least the prosecution decided that.
HARRIS: Yes. OK. So Scott Roeder said on stand he did not dispute any of the state's evidence against him, right?
We want to listen to a portion of his testimony on the stand, and then I have a question for you.
SMITH: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT ROEDER, DEFENDANT: I got up at that moment and followed him out, and into the foyer area, and I did what I thought was needed to be done to protect the children. I shot him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Wow. Wow.
So this lack of remorse, a pretty matter-of-fact statement --
SMITH: Right.
HARRIS: -- will that factor into the judge's decision today?
SMITH: It will. It's going to factor into what the prosecution argues, because when they're talking about giving him a hard 50, the idea is the aggravating situations of this crime, the factors, have to outweigh the mitigating factors. So this remorse, this lack of remorse, may lead the prosecution to say, hey, you know what? He could do this again. In that case, you've got to look him up for at least 50 years.
HARRIS: OK. So you mentioned aggravating circumstances, right? Roeder himself testified that he had gone to Dr. Tiller's church with a gun the week before the shooting. That's part of what you're talking about here when you're talking about aggravating circumstances.
SMITH: It's part of what I'm talking about. What the prosecution is going to want to argue, when you talk about sentencing, the idea is -- we want to think, hey, it's going to keep criminals off the street, we're going to keep away people who might do this again, and that, I think, will be one thing that the prosecution will focus on. Because if he has no remorse, and he's already planned this before, who is to say that if you let him out in 25 years he's not going to do it again?
HARRIS: What are you anticipating? The judge is being pretty strict here about what he is going to allow in terms of statements from Roeder and those who are testifying as character witnesses on his behalf.
SMITH: Right.
HARRIS: We're kind of set up here for some real fireworks, aren't we?
SMITH: We really are, and this was very interesting. The judge started the hearing off with, hey, you know what, character witnesses? All you can do is testify to Scott Roeder's mitigating circumstances, how he's a good person, maybe he won't do this again, things like that that would reduce it from 50, would not give him the hard 50. Instead, 25 years.
But Roeder himself can elocute and at some point talk about what he thinks. The question will be, how long will the judge let him go? Because he is allowed to get up there and talk about that, but there is an extent, and the judge can always say, hey, you know what? That's too much.
HARRIS: Hard 50 today? What do you expect?
SMITH: You know, it's tough to say. I think it leans in the favor of hard 50 because of the lack of remorse and because the prosecution has a very good setup to say he might get out and do this again.
HARRIS: That's life in prison. He's 51, 52 years old.
SMITH: That would be life for him.
HARRIS: Yes, that would be life.
SMITH: Yes.
HARRIS: OK, Ryan. Good to see you. Thanks for the help.
SMITH: All right. Good to see you. Sure.
HARRIS: Other big stories we're following for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(NEWSBREAK)
HARRIS: Just ahead, your jobs, your money, your life. We will tell you about big-paying jobs and how to get them.
Blustery conditions whip up extreme fire danger in the Southwest, while much of the rest of the nation enjoys some beautiful warm weather. Jacqui Jeras is tracking all that for us.
But first, the latest on the Dow, New York Stock Exchange right now.
We are in positive territory, up 65 points, just ahead of the big jobs report for -- coming up tomorrow.
We are following these numbers throughout the day for you, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. Some positive news on the jobs front this morning.
The number of people filing new claims for unemployment fell slightly last week. The Labor Department says initial claims for jobless benefits dropped by 6,000 to 439,000. That's still a pretty big number, isn't it? That's the fourth drop in five weeks.
Also on the jobs front, President Obama is promoting more flexibility to help employees juggle demands at home and in the workplace.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Workplace flexibility isn't just a women's issue. It's an issue that affects the well-being of our families and the success of our businesses.
It affects the strength of our economy. Whether it will create the workplaces and jobs of the future, we need to compete in today's global economy. And ultimately, it reflects our priorities as a society.
Our belief that no matter what each of us does for a living, caring for our loved ones and raising the next generation is the single most important job that we have. I think it's time we started making that job a little easier for folks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: I like the sound of that.
Do you think you have to have a college degree to get a good- paying job? Well, think again. A top master plumber brings in $110,000 a year. A medical equipment repair man needs only on-the-job training and can earn $95,000 a year.
Christine Romans live from New York now with a look at some six- figure jobs that don't require a four-year degree.
OK, Christine. I'm ready. You've got me -- I'm at attention here.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: What do you want to be when you grow up, Tony? Because I've got a whole bunch of things here that -- look, it costs a lot of money to go to college, and I want to be very clear that you are still much better off in this economy with a college education.
The Census data shows that over the course of your lifetime, you'll make a whole lot more money if you get a degree than if you don't. These are those numbers, median earnings here from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
No high school diploma, you'll only make $23,000. Right? An advanced degree -- these are median, meaning half make more, half make less. Advanced degree, $68,000.
Now, that being said, I have to give that caveat. It's always better to have the degree. But there are places in the economy that reward experience, talent, ambition very well, and you don't need a four-year degree.
Among them, in the service and trade sector, some pretty lucrative careers. Remember when we talked about ladder jobs?
HARRIS: Yes.
ROMANS: Some of these are ladder jobs -- a construction superintendent, for example, someone who shines on the construction site, really begins to do well and has at least eight years experience, moves up the pay. By the time you get to the top of that field, it's $116,000.
HARRIS: That's good money.
Supermarket store managers, look, $71,000, median pay there for the overall manager of a big supermarket store.
Manager of detectives of police also have a very good living. This is on-the-job training. They work their way up.
A hotel executive chef, $63,000 is the median pay. The top pay, just about $100,000.
Now, there aren't a lot of these jobs, but, look, if your kid or your grandkid is showing that flair, don't despair. There are these jobs there.
The other thing, medical jobs. We've talked about this all week. It's a huge growth market.
Nursing, lots of specialized nursing areas pay very well. Now, you're going to need an Associate's degree, you're going to need experience. You're going to need continuing education.
I want to be clear -- you can't just get in these jobs and then, somehow, miraculously, you're making $100,000. These are the people who are really continuing their education, but don't necessarily need that four-year degree to start.
ICU registered nurses, MRI technologists -- I love this one, medical equipment repairer. A lot of this is company-sponsored training as well. And we have such a proliferation of new medical equipment, that they need people who can understand this stuff and can figure out how to fix it. And ultrasound technologists, you get to look at those little babies, right? Up to $91,000 for the people who are at the very top of this career.
HARRIS: Look, those are good jobs.
I agree, you're absolutely right, get the degree. If you can work that out, that's a better way to go. But, you know, don't despair. There are opportunities out there.
ROMANS: And if you find yourself in a medical career, we talked about those low, low-paying home health aide jobs and the like. If you can figure out a way to use that as your foot in the door and move your way up through -- you know, with more education -- again, more education and training is the key here. But the president making a commitment to community college education, new places, more Pell Grants. They're trying to make it so that everybody has a shot out there.
HARRIS: Yes, you just need a shot. Yes. Yes, hustle, but you've got to get on your grind. You've got to hustle.
ROMANS: No, you've got to hustle. You've got to hustle.
HARRIS: Yes. All right. Christine, appreciate it. Good stuff. Thank you.
ROMANS: Sure.
HARRIS: And here's what's ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We are staying on issue number one, your jobs. We will be talking to another member of the CNN Money team, Stephanie Elam, with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's latest take on employment.
And many of you are work several part-time jobs. We will take a look at the freelance nation.
And our Josh Levs goes to the islands, to wine country, to show what you may consider a dream job.
Keep it right here, the CNN NEWSROOM. We're back in a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. Tax Day only two weeks away, and with the stimulus offering all sorts of deductions and credits, it's time to make the most of it all, don't you think? I do.
For those of you who need some advice, Stephanie Elam is here with some tips.
Good morning. Help, Stephanie!
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I know. It's getting close. You know, we're in April now, so people have got to start thinking about this if they haven't thought about it already.
But Tony, I can tell you, no matter your income bracket, there are some great options for some low-cost, quick help with your taxes. Let's start with households that are earning $57,000 or less, and that's about 70 percent of the nation's taxpayers.
So, folks, listen up.
Now, if you fall into this category, you can use the free online program to file. This is a partnership between the IRS and the 20 tax software companies.
All you have to do is go to IRS.gov/efile, and you can choose your own software and file electronically. If you qualify for a refund, you'll get it in as little as -- get this -- 10 days. And if you owe money, you have until April 15th to send in your payment. Something to keep in mind, if you are taking advantage of the homebuyer tax credit, you can still use the free file program, but you have to print your return, attach proof of your home purchase, and then mail it all in.
Now, if you make less than $50,000 a year but are not so tech savvy, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program and the AARP offer free over-the-phone or in-person tax assistance. Keep in mind, the AARP targets people over a certain age, but anyone can actually go here to get assistance -- Tony.
HARRIS: Good, good, good, good.
All right, Stephanie, what about folks earning a little more? Any free help out there for them?
ELAM: OK. Well, I won't exactly use the word "free" here, but there are plenty of low-cost options. If you're making more, I guess they figure you can pay for it.
Tax software is really the least expensive option if you earn more than $57,000 a year. The costs will depend upon your needs, but most people will pay between $50 and $100 for federal and state preparation and federal and state e-filing. Lots of folks don't realize there's actually a separate charge for filing. And check in with your bank or credit union. Some provide discounts on tax software. If your taxes are more complicated, there's always the option of having someone else prepare them like Jackson Hewitt or H&R Block, or even a private CPA. But this will generally run a few hundred dollars, and the preparer is basically filling out the exact same software you can do yourself -- Tony.
HARRIS: Got you.
All right. A little birdie tells me you're hosting "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" this weekend. If that's true, would you give us a bit of a preview, please?
ELAM: That is in fact the truth, Tony. Yes, with just two week away until taxes are due, we're going to tell you how to avoid an audit. Really important stuff there.
Plus, sweeping changes to the way you pay off student loan debt.
And we're asking, should you even bother to save for college anyway? But where the jobs are and the money rules your kids need to know, all of that. This is all going to be on the show that saves you money, Saturday morning 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time, right here on CNN with yours truly.
HARRIS: Hey, if you get some good information from some of your guests, will you pass that along to us next week and we'll run chunks of that show?
ELAM: Yes.
HARRIS: Can you do that for us?
ELAM: We can bring it all together, and we'll do it when we do my market tips.
HARRIS: That's synergy, synergy, synergy. Let's make it happen.
ELAM: Synergy -- love it, Tony.
HARRIS: Stephanie, appreciate it. See you next hour.
ELAM: Sure.
HARRIS: Temp jobs, today you are here, tomorrow it's there. Well, some say temporary is becoming the new permanent.
We will explain next, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: While we focus on jobs, well, you can actually take part in the CNN challenge. OK. It's back online at CNN.com.
Today's question -- bear with me for a second here, a lot of material to get through.
According to the Center for Work-Life Policy, why are fewer American workers choosing employers' offers to work from home? A, because fewer company us offer it; B, because working from home is too stressful; C, because they fear losing their jobs; D, because those jobs offer less pay?
The answer when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right. Keeping jobs in the spotlight, our CNN challenge today asks -- where's the music? Oh, there it is.
According to the Center for Work-Life Policy, why are fewer American workers choosing employers' offers to work from home? A, because fewer companies offer it; B, because working from home is too stressful; C, because they fear losing their jobs; D, because those jobs offer less pay?
Here's the answer. Ready? Revealed -- bang, there it is. C, because they fear losing their jobs.
You know, on the jobs front, new signs that layoffs are slowing. The number of people filing for first-time unemployment benefits fell last week. The Labor Department says there were 439,000 initial jobless claims. That's down 6,000. It is the fourth drop in five weeks.
We all know finding a job in this economy is pretty tough. That's why so many people are becoming temp workers, moving from job to job just to make ends meet.
CNN's Richard Roth reports some say we are becoming a nation of freelancers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Clients of this Brooklyn Trapeze Academy dangle without a net, but it's freelance worker Jethro Rebollar who is in a precarious position.
JETHRO REBOLLAR, FREELANCE WORKER: Good morning.
ROTH: It's not exactly like getting shot out of a cannon, but Jethro's desk job is his fifth freelance assignment since losing a full-time job more than a year and a half ago. Not much stability and no benefits.
REBOLLAR: It's been a struggle to either decide to move back home, which is really the last thing I want to do, or do this.
ROTH: Jethro also freelances at this architectural design firm, the one that laid him off as a staff employee during the recession.
ANTONIO ARGIBAY, DESIGN FIRM PRINCIPAL: We were approximately 30-some-odd people, and now we're about 12-plus freelancers.
ROTH: Welcome to freelance nation. The latest U.S. jobs report show the fifth straight monthly increase in temporary workers. Some say they will be a more permanent fixture in this economy.
SARA HOROWITZ, FREELANCERS UNION: This recovery is going to show that this is the future, that people are going to start -- they're going to do whatever work there is. And there will be traditional jobs, of course there will, but this group is never going away, and it's only growing in size.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Susan. It's Melissa McElroy.
ROTH: Melissa McElroy uses her home as her base of work operations. She lost her job at an interior design company two years ago. She's done short-term projects since, but her income has been cut in half and she's trying to make ends meet.
MCELROY: I don't know what I'm going to do for health insurance. I have absolutely no idea. I can't even, like, focus on that because I'm still worrying about how I'm going to pay rent and thinking about how am I going to survive the next three months?
ROTH: The not-for-profit Freelancers Union helps this changing labor force. It provides health insurance at a group discount rate for freelancers, 30 percent less than comparable individual plans, they say.
HOROWITZ: We really want to build the next safety net so that as people go from job to job and project to project, they have a whole safety net that makes them feel secure.
ROTH: It's a net that needs to cover more people left hanging by a thread in these shifting economic times.
Richard Roth, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: OK. All this week we've been asking, what should be next on the president's agenda? So, if you were President Obama right now, what would you tackle next? A, jobs on the economy; B, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; C, immigration; or D, financial industry reform?
Here's what some of you are saying.
Karen says, "Jobs, jobs and more jobs. It's always about jobs and he must address this in a huge way...however this didn't just happen...it took the last eight to ten years to blow up in our faces...and now the American people want it fixed in just a few months...go figure."
And Rick says, "The economy should be our priority, however, I don't hear anything about high-tech jobs growing or shutting down those loopholes that ship our jobs elsewhere. It's because of this that students are reluctant to pick a major or are regretting the major they have chosen."
We want more, we want to hear from you. Send us your comments to my blog page. Here's the address -- CNN.com/Tony.
Sipping champagne on a beach with that special someone and getting paid for it sounds like a honeymoon of a job and it could be yours.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Well, first, Tiger Woods entered sex addiction rehab. Now Jesse James is undergoing treatment for what his spokesman calls "personal issues." The husband of Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock is the latest celebrity alleged to have had affairs with multiple women.
According to the Advancement of Sexual Health -- who knew? -- an estimated 3 percent to 5 percent of Americans could fall into the category of having an addiction to sex. But is sex addiction a real disease or a cop-out? What do you think? We want to hear from you. Go to CNN.com/Tony. We will share some of your comments on the air right here on the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, it is all about promoting tourism and all you have to do is take it easy, soak up the rays and blog. Now, that sounds like an interesting job there, Josh Levs. You interested?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These are real, Tony. All these jobs.
HARRIS: They're real?
LEVS: They're real jobs.
HARRIS: They're not stimulus jobs, are they?
LEVS: No, they're not stimulus jobs. I am allowed to talk about things once in a while that are not the stimulus.
HARRIS: But be quick about it, right?
LEVS: Exactly. I want you to know -- you are going to love this. This is the one, take a look here, CNN.com has been talking about this -- Honeymoon tester. They refer to it as the ultimate dream job. It's posted at a website called runawaybrideandgroom.com. It's from an Irish Travel Agency.
Now, here's the description, I'm going to read it to you, Tony. Would you be able to sip champagne --
HARRIS: Hey now.
LEVS: Listen to that sound. Thanks, audio.
HARRIS: We have piped in -- this is crazy.
LEVS: Would you be able to sip champagne while lying in a hammock slung between two palm trees on a white sandy beach with your romantic partner? Then this job is for you.
HARRIS: Jacqui Jeras says count me in.
LEVS: Oh, man. I'm totally real. These people get to hang out at resorts, they're treated like honeymooners, they write about it for "The Irish Times" once a month, Tony. Now it's not like a ton of money, it's $27,000, but that's just for six months and they're already being given everything for free -- place to stay, all of the food you can eat. That's some money.
HARRIS: Sounds like a reality show we're teeing up here, but just a thought.
LEVS: You know where this came from? They got this idea after this thing last year that was called the "Best Job in the World" campaign --
HARRIS: I remember that.
LEVS: -- out of Australia, remember? Hamilton Island, it really is this gorgeous. Tourism Queensland paid someone to live there, Hamilton Island, for six months. Six months, Tony, $140,000.
HARRIS: Wow!
LEVS: To blog about it and promote tourism and the thing is it works. Like, it works because there's so much publicity about that job they don't need to do ads because everyone's hearing about it from that guy. That guy is actually still at it. This is his website right here. He's still traveling around and telling everyone to go to Australia.
HARRIS: Not bad.
LEVS: I know, it's awesome.
A few other takeoffs I'm going to tell you about. Check out this couple here. This website is called 67 days of smile. It's from the Orange County Convention and Visitor's Bureau in Florida. They paid them $27,000 to spend 67 days visiting every theme park and attraction in Orlando and write about it. Here they are.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a coming. The star of the show. Star of the show.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look who is right behind us -- Mickey and Minnie.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEVS: So they keep posting these videos, Kyle Post (ph) and Stacy Dornbass (ph) and, Tony, they're making money on these. Two more real-life examples before we go.
Is this amazing? You're loving this. I knew you would.
All right, wine country lifestyle correspondent. There's a Murphy-Goode Winery in California paying someone $60,000 for six months to promote the money through social media.
And the last one might that I think might be your favorite. Have you seen this? The tanning butler? Do you know about this?
HARRIS: Yes, that's what I need.
LEVS: Drop the banner, guys. I want you guys to get the full scope of the picture there. The tanning butler at the Ritz Carlton there at South Beach, 20 bucks an hour to lather sunscreen and spritz Evian on guests and that does not include all the tips he gets for working there at the Ritz. Not bad, Tony.
HARRIS: Oh, my, I couldn't apply for those jobs. I'd feel too guilty. Mom worked hard, dad worked hard. I have enough time explaining wearing makeup every day, you kidding me?
LEVS: I know. It's the first thing my son sees every day, daddy comes home and takes off his makeup.
Oh, listen. Tell us your favorite job or what your dream job would be. Obviously weigh in right here -- we got CNN.com/Josh, we got Facebook and Twitter, joshlevsCNN. Also, at my Facebook page, I'm posting the links of all of the jobs I just told you about and how you can apply next time around. And of course, any time you're online, an online experience is not complete unless you've gone to CNN.com/Tony, number one website in the world.
HARRIS: Come on now. All right, Josh, see you next hour. Appreciate it.
Otis, kill the music.
OK, still to come in the NEWSROOM, one woman, one dog, one mission. The only female dog handler on duty in Afghanistan helping to take down the enemy. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right, checking top stories now.
It could be days before all of the floodwaters recede across the northeast. The flooding there, the worst in two centuries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDDIE FLYNN, FLOOD VICTIM: I lost everything, once I shut the pumps off. My furnace is under water, hot water. Everything. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Boy, that is tough. School shut down, hundreds evacuated, tens of thousands without power. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will head to Rhode Island tomorrow.
The White House unveils new rules for carmakers. Starting with 2012 models, they will have to improve their fuel efficiency -- 35.5 miles a gallon is the target by 2016. President Obama projects it will save 1.8 billion barrels of oil.
The dogs of war, animals and their handlers trained to keep soldiers out of harm's way. CNN's Chris Lawrence profiles a special pairing in Afghanistan's Helmand Province.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One Marine and her dog on the hunt for IEDs, the only partnership like it in all of Afghanistan.
CPL. ASHLEY ENTRIKIN, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Fourteen dogs that came out here, and I am the only female.
LAWRENCE: Corporal Ashley Entrikin is the only female dog handler; Hugo is her Dutch shepherd. He can bring down an enemy and detect up to 17 scents -- explosives, detonation cord, and fertilizer used to make IEDs.
(on camera): Now the one thing we can't show you is how Hugo trains, the specific things he does and looks for as he searching for IEDs.
(voice-over): But he allows Marines to keep a safe distance from, say, a suspicious car.
ENTRIKIN: We can send a dog in there without anybody getting close to the vehicle and you're not risking harm to anyone directly. The dogs can indicate to me whether there is anything in the vehicle or not.
LAWRENCE: Hugo is OK. It's Entrikin who has to live on a remote base with tough infantry Marines deployed deep in Taliban territory.
ENTRIKIN: Honestly, you just have to prove yourself. You have to prove that you can hang in there.
LAWRENCE: Sometimes that means marching all day with fellow Marines hauling 70 pounds of gear in sweltering heat.
ENTRIKIN: The first couple of really long hikes that we went on, they don't expect you to stay in on them. But once you stay in the first couple or two, it is not that hard. We condition ourselves along with our dogs. So I'm used to wearing this gear doing training back in the States.
LAWRENCE: And Hugo doesn't get off any easier.
ENTRIKIN: Before we came out here, I would take him on runs. I would take him out in southern California in the hottest parts of day and take him on a run.
LAWRENCE: Just like the Marines, he has got to be conditioned for long, hot days.
ENTRIKIN: It is definitely not your average house dog that we are bringing out here.
LAWRENCE: And not your average handler.
ENTRIKIN: I have been places with other females, and they just kind of fall into the background and they're scared to step up and say, this is my job, this is what I am here for. So it takes somebody that's willing to stand on their own two feet.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Boy, CNN's Chris Lawrence for you.
Violent threats against police put officers and a city on edge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF RICHARD DANA, HEMET POLICE: We want a public that feels safe, and it's kind of hard to make them feel real safe when you don't yourself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Wow. A small California town with big-city problems. Police on heightened alert.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: I need you to reach out to the program, talk to me directly. A couple ways to do it. First of all, CNN.com/Tony takes you directly to this -- bam -- our blog page. To send us your thoughts on Facebook, here's what you do. Tony Harris, CNN. Here's my Twitter address, tonyharrisCNN. Call us. Pick up the phone. 877- 742-5760. Let's have more of your thoughts on the program. CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, police in a small California town are on heightened alert after a series of attacks. Booby tracks, torched city vehicles -- someone is gunning for police officers. The question is who?
CNN's Ted Rowlands reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A new fence is going up behind police headquarters in Hemet, California. On the side of the building, an armored vehicle stands guard on a street now closed to traffic. Police officers here in this small town about 90 miles southeast of Los Angeles have been targeted by someone or some group that wants to kill cops; there have been four attacks in the past four months.
CHIEF RICHARD DANA, HEMET POLICE: We want a public that feels safe, and it's kind of hard to make them feel real safe when you don't yourself.
ROWLANDS (on camera): The first incident took place here on New Year's Eve on what was at the time Hemet police's Undercover Gang Unit's secret location. Somebody took a piece of tubing and rerouted a gas line into that rooftop unit, sending gas inside the building.
(voice-over): Officers smelled the gas and cleared the building before anyone was injured.
A month and a half later, again, at the gang unit's no longer secret location, this gate was bobby trapped with a loaded gun which went off and missed an officer by a few inches.
After that, an officer found what's been described as a crude pipe bomb that had been attached to his car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The device itself was designed and intended to hurt or kill the officer.
ROWLANDS: The last incident was last week, four city trucks torched outside city hall.
In the wake of the Michigan militia indictments, a case in which police officers were the alleged target, could these attacks be the work of a militia? Initially, investigators say suspicion fell on the Vagos Motorcycle Club.
(on camera): Across the street from the gang unit is a church. And according to police, two days before the first incident, there was a huge gang funeral at that church.
(voice-over): Investigators speculated that someone at the funeral may have figured out the gang unit's secret location. But a source close to the case tells CNN investigators now think it's unlikely the gang is responsible. Through his attorney, the president of the Vagos Motorcycle Club is publicly denying any involvement.
We asked former FBI profiler Jack Trimarco to weigh in. He says the crude but lethal attacks -- the gas, the gun taped to the fence, and the pipe bomb -- leads him to think it's an individual with a grudge or a small group with similar views. He says established gangs would avoid at all costs the backlash from a police killing. A small, albeit very unprofessional militia type group, however, he says isn't out of the question. JACK TRIMARCO, FORMER FBI PROFILER: It may be one or two or three. But it's not going to be a large group of people. It's going to be someone who is angry or has an ax to grind with law enforcement.
ROWLANDS: The FBI, along with several other agencies, has established a task force to work the case. They won't comment on whom at this point they believe could be responsible.
Meanwhile, until the case is solved, police officers here are protecting themselves while they investigate who is trying to kill them.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Hemet, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: OK, here's what we're working on for the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.
Jobless in America, is there an end in sight? We will tell you what Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has to say.
And the bloody cartel wars in Mexico set to music. Our Thelma Gutierrez profiles a band singing about murder and mayhem.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, you look around a typical middle school classroom, researchers say at least two kids in that classroom are being probably bullied. An estimated 160,000 stay at home from school each day to avoid a bully. The Massachusetts girl who killed herself after months of alleged abuse is putting a really hard focus on the issue. She is not the only one to commit suicide. There was a funeral in Texas today for a 13-year-old, Jon Carmichael. His parents talking with Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: So the school was saying they didn't know --
TAMI CARMICHAEL, MOTHER OF JON CARMICHAEL: The teachers need to broaden their --
COOPER: -- about it?
TAMI CARMICHAEL: Yes. Yes. They had no clue, supposedly, when I went up there Monday and had a meeting with all of his teachers and his counselors.
COOPER: And you -- you --
TAMI CARMICHAEL: Yes, they said they knew nothing. COOPER: You knew about this, but -- but -- but he didn't want you to do anything about it because he was afraid it would get worse, right?
TAMI CARMICHAEL: Yes, exactly.
TIM CARMICHAEL, FATHER OF JON CARMICHAEL: Yes, exactly, because -- right. He thought they would retaliate more.
COOPER: Do you have any idea what --
TAMI CARMICHAEL: Yes.
COOPER: -- what the final straw was, I mean, what pushed Jon to take his own life?
TAMI CARMICHAEL: No. No. No. I have no clue.
TIM CARMICHAEL: I would ask him everyday how school went. And --
TAMI CARMICHAEL: Yes.
TIM CARMICHAEL: -- he would say it was OK --
TAMI CARMICHAEL: Yes.
TIM CARMICHAEL: -- it was OK, even though in his heart he knew it wasn't.
COOPER: Reverend Whitley, what has this done to the community? I mean, a 13-year-old boy, this is -- it's just -- it's unspeakable.
REVEREND LARA WHITLEY, CARMICHAELS' PASTOR: Yes.
There has been an incredible community response, an outpouring of love, and a lot of people asking -- the question that really is unanswerable, the question of why; but a lot of people beginning to really talk about the issue of bullying and how we treat one another.
And I think that in the midst of the tragedy of Jon's death and the recognition of how much pain he was in, people are beginning to realize in this community, at least, that our -- our words and our actions have consequences, consequences that we may not realize in a given moment, but that are far-reaching.
COOPER: And Tami, that's your message to parents out there, to teachers out there, to even to other kids out there who may be watching, that -- that this has got to stop, this has got to be taken seriously?
TAMI CARMICHAEL: Yes. Yes. And if the students see it, they need to report it. They need to do something to protect these children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK, new developments. A Massachusetts school superintendent is defending the staff at South Hadley High and questioning a prosecutor's version of the facts. He tells "The Boston Globe" people assume bullying led to Phoebe Prince's suicide. CNN's Alina Cho talked with the superintendent a short time ago.
Alina, before we get to the superintendent and those comments, you have a clarification to make.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, listen carefully, because it can be a bit confusing. But basically, every news outlet in the country, possibly the world, has been reporting all week that nine students were indicted on criminal charges, accused of bullying 15- year-old Phoebe Prince so severely that she killed herself. Turns out only six students were indicted.
Here's the reason for the confusion. The district attorney in the original indictment laid out three additional juvenile charges. What she did not make clear, Tony, is that those charges were being leveled against some of the original six who were named in the indictment.
Now having said that, within the past hour or so, I spoke with the superintendent of the school district. There has been incredible outrage in this community of parents, many people here have been calling on the superintendent and the principal to resign, saying that they knew about the bullying against Phoebe Prince and did nothing to stop it.
Well, the superintendent, Gus Sayer, told me that school officials had no idea about the bullying until a week before Phoebe Prince committed suicide and that there were other reasons, too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUS SAYER, SUPERINTENDENT, SOUTH HADLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT: Phoebe was a very -- apparently a very private person. She bore a lot without talking with her friends or with her parents or with anybody at school.
CHO: Are you suggesting that she had a lot of other issues she was working through that had nothing to do potentially with the bullying?
SAYER: I'm not -- I'm not suggesting that. I'm just saying that she didn't reveal to people what she was being subjected to. And unfortunately, until January 7th, we were not aware of what she was being subjected to. So there's very little way we could have intervened in the bullying that took place.
Do I wish that we had known more about what was going on with Phoebe? Of course, I do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Now, what about the calls to resign? Well, the superintendent says he has no plans to resign when his contract is up in May. He says he works for the school's committee and he has the full support of them.
He adds that there is much work to be done. In fact, it has been reported that an anti-bullying committee has been created. And the superintendent, Tony, tells me that what he's going to focus on are programs, programs designed to teach children about civil behavior and to make them learn about the dangers of bullying too, Tony. He calls that an important first step.
HARRIS: Alina, I hope we get an opportunity to talk to you -- OK, pipe down in the back. I hope we get an opportunity to talk to you next hour, because I tell you, the story that you're getting from the superintendent seems to be in direct contradiction to the stories surrounding the suicide of Phoebe.
And I've got to tell you, I would love to get into that deeper with you. And it seems to contradict what we're hearing from the D.A. as well.
We have time now?
If you would, comment on that. What you're hearing from the superintendent seems to be in direct contradiction to the story we've heard from the D.A.
CHO: Well, what the D.A. basically laid out was that school officials did know, were aware of the bullying that was going on in the school, in South Hadley High School with respect to Phoebe Prince. They called that inaction, if you will, on the part of administrators, troublesome, but that it did not rise to the level of criminal behavior.
What the superintendent is telling me is that Phoebe was a very private person, that she did not talk about that. What he did lay out were two incidents, one in the cafeteria, one in a classroom, dealing with bullying of Phoebe. That was a week, he says, before she killed herself, and that they had no knowledge of any bullying with respect to Phoebe Prince before that time -- Tony.
HARRIS: Boy. And is there any acknowledgement of part of the story suggest that this all parted because Phoebe was dating an athlete, a popular kid, and once that relationship broke up, that's when the taunting and the bullying started? Was there any acknowledgement of that chain of events, that chronology from the superintendent?
CHO: Well, to be frank with you, Tony, I can't talk about what he told me off the record.
HARRIS: Got you. I got you.
CHO: There is no official confirmation of that. But what I can tell you is that I have spoken with many parents and many people who knew Phoebe, including the pallbearer at her funeral, a young man named Nick (ph), who told me that, essentially, Phoebe Prince was dating, as an underclassman and a new student from another country, from Ireland, a very popular upper classman, a senior who was the quarterback of the football team, who happened to be dating someone else at the time.
You hear all of this talk about mean girls. Well, these girls at the high school apparently didn't like that, and they lashed out, allegedly, against Phoebe.
HARRIS: OK. Alina Cho for us. Good stuff.
Alina, appreciate it. Thank you.
