Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Chicago's Deadly Crime Wave; Immigration Battle in Arizona; Killer Storms Hit Southeast
Aired April 26, 2010 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Tony Harris.
Top of the hour here in the CNN NEWSROOM, where anything can happen. Here are some of the real people behind today's bigger stories.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's dangerous. It's too dangerous right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they need them. This is ridiculous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whatever we have to do. The police, they need some help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: All right. Calls for the National Guard to step in and help fight crime in Chicago. Has it really come to that?
And on the job front, it has certainly come to this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just hope I can get the job. I mean, I've been unemployed for two years, and it's like the last hope.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a chance, that's all. That's all we want, a chance to get a good job to provide for our families.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Can you believe it? People camp out through the weekend in New York for a chance at just 100 job openings as an elevator mechanic. Sign of the times.
Let's do this -- let's get started.
Deadly violence on the streets of Chicago leads to a drastic idea. Two state lawmakers want to bring in the National Guard. They say 113 people have been killed so far this year in a handful of Chicago neighborhoods. The crimes are mostly gun violence.
In one night last week, seven people were killed and 18 were wounded. The lawmakers want Guard troops to help police get a handle on the violence. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN FRITCHEY (D), ILLINOIS STATE HOUSE: Is calling for National Guard deployment a drastic action? Of course it is. Is it warranted under these circumstances? Without question.
There should be no mistake, people may be quick to equate National Guard deployment with martial law. We are not talking about rolling tanks down the street. We're not talking about armed presence on every corner. We are talking about individuals, men and women, that have been specifically trained to assist law enforcement and assist with civil unrest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, Chicago's police chief says bringing in the National Guard is not the answer. He says mixing military and law enforcement functions can lead to trouble.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUPT. JODY WEIS, CHICAGO POLICE: Let's go back to 1970, you know, at Kent State. The National Guard comes in, four students, shot, killed. You know, I don't think we want that here in Chicago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Some Chicago residents say deploying National Guard troops in neighborhoods would be dangerous. Others say the situation is already dangerous and they support bringing in the troops if it will make them safer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really and truly think it will work, you know, for a short term. You know, whatever, at least to try to get some of the violence down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty drastic, but it's life we're talking about. People are dying.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's dangerous. It's too dangerous right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So what do you think would be wrong with having, like, you know, armed soldiers outside on your street?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It won't be good.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, because I have children. I have grandchildren. And they can't even come outside to play because it's so dangerous. Yes. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't think that would be scary for your kids?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. No. They're scared right now because we have no one to protect us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: We have the scenes (ph) for a hot debate here. Joining us to talk about possibly deploying National Guard troops to help combat violence in Chicago, State Representative John Fritchey, one of the lawmakers who proposed the idea, and Victor Woods, a community activist and author of "A Breed Apart: A Journey to Redemption."
Representative Fritchey, let's start with you.
What impact do you believe the Guard will have on this problem in Chicago?
FRITCHEY: Well, I think we need to look at this from two fronts -- short term and long term. Obviously, the long-term answer is to provide economic opportunities, job opportunities, have parents step up and be parents. And get, you know, hope in and opportunity again.
There's a culture of complacency where people just accept this as part of their daily life. But in the short term, we need to do something.
We're losing people every day to gun violence, and we need additional resources to help combat that. The majority of these crimes in the city are happening on just nine percent of the city blocks. So, if we can target these hot spots like the police superintendent has talked about, and put more personnel out there, we want to prevent having a spike in violence this summer like we usually see.
HARRIS: Representative Fritchey, this idea of culture of complacency, what are you referring to here, that people in these neighborhoods have resigned themselves to being poor, underemployed? What are you talking about?
FRITCHEY: No. They've resigned themselves that violence is part of their daily life, that sitting out on their porch can get them shot, that sitting out in your car outside can get you shot, that they have to worry about whether or not their child is going to make it home from school alive.
They accept this, and that's not something they should not be accepting. But in order to get them to break that cycle, we first need to put a stop to that violence, and then provide the after-school opportunities, provide job opportunities, provide training, and get the community to reclaim the community for itself.
The economic impact of this violence is staggering. You have businesses that can't stay open because people won't come and shop there. Home values are through the floor in some of these communities. And we need to start to do something to address this.
HARRIS: Got you. I'm with you.
All right, let's -- Victor, as we bring you in, let's put up a map here. We're talking about neighborhoods -- Joe, let's see this map -- south and west of Chicago highlighted in the red here. What about this idea of bringing in the National Guard? I mean, we're not talking about -- let's be clear here. We're not talking about tanks rolling through these neighborhoods. But what about using the National Guard maybe to assist police in intelligence-gathering? Is that a bad idea?
VICTOR WOODS, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: Well, first of all, good afternoon, Tony.
And let me say this -- I respect the representative. But I disagree with him profusely.
First of all, let's look at how we got into this situation. We have a long history of police not getting along with the community in the first place. We have to go back and understand how we got in this situation.
This is years and years and years of neglect on both the south and west side of Chicago. We've got to look at the juvenile detention center where these kids are being released with no infrastructure, no database in terms of whether they're going back to school or whether they have a point.
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: Yes, but you've got a long -- you're talking about -- Victor, you're talking about some longstanding issues that begin to take the shape and feel of something that's systemic, and we've got summer coming. What do you want to do?
WOODS: Yes. Well, first of all, we've got to reach -- first of all, the police are going to have to take off their guns and take off their vests and go into the community and regain the trust of those communities. You can't open up dialogue with people with a gun and a bulletproof vest on.
I can't have a civil conversation with you right now with a gun. It sends the wrong message.
We had a young man that was killed a week ago. In his dying breath, while blood was rushing from his body, he said -- when the police officer said, "Do you know who shot me?" he said, "Yes, I know who shot me and I'm not going to tell you anything."
There is a huge trust problem in the community. That's one of the major problems we have right now. And we also have to have --
HARRIS: Well, let the state representative respond to that.
WOODS: Sure.
HARRIS: On one hand, it seems that maybe one of the things you would want to consider is flooding the zone with -- and we can show the map again -- with police officers in some of these -- the most violent crime-concentrated areas, figure out a way to maintain a presence there so the officers can get to know the people in the community. And Representative Fritchey --
WOODS: They need to knock on some doors.
HARRIS: OK.
And Representative Fritchey, you and your colleagues in the legislature figure out how to pay for it.
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: Victor, let him speak.
WOODS: I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
FRITCHEY: Thank you, Tony. I appreciate it.
Victor and I actually don't disagree with each other that much. We do need to improve the relationships, but we're talking about long-term and short-term strategies, and I don't think they're mutually exclusive.
Tony, as you indicated, we need to do something now. And what's interesting to me is, the strongest support for this proposal is coming from the people in the affected communities.
They're not worried about tanks rolling down the street or their doors being kicked in because that's not what we're proposing. We're proposing additional eyes and ears on the street to help work with the community, to help get the bad people out of the neighborhood, get the criminals off the street, and let them be able to live in their community the way that they should be able to.
HARRIS: Yes.
Victor, last word to you.
WOODS: Who are the criminals? We don't know who the criminals are.
FRITCHEY: They're the ones shooting at the police. They're the ones killing --
(CROSSTALK)
WOODS: No, no, no. We cannot send in the National Guard, because it is like sending in a militia. And the majority of the people on the west and south side of Chicago do not want armed security like they are a bunch of animals running around terrorizing a community. They don't want that.
We need to implement some programs where we put some money into those communities. I haven't heard anybody say anything about investing hundreds of millions of dollars in that community.
We have a governor that is now wanting to take $15 billion over a five-year period for construction. And I bet none of that money is going to reach the south or west side of Chicago.
Let's implement some money into this situation. These people have no jobs, Tony.
HARRIS: Let's do this -- let's continue the conversation.
And Representative Fritchey, I want -- maybe you can send us an e-mail on specifically how this would take shape, what the role of the National Guard would be. We would love to see that. And let's continue the conversation.
FRITCHEY: I would be happy to continue to work on this. Hopefully it's a problem that can go away.
HARRIS: Let's do it. Let's keep talking about it.
Gentlemen, appreciate it. Thank you.
FRITCHEY: Thank you.
WOODS: Thanks for having us.
HARRIS: You know, it would be up to the Illinois governor to deploy National Guard troops in Chicago. We contacted Governor Pat Quinn's office, but they had no comment on the request.
We want to hear from you on this one. Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot. Should the National Guard be called in?
Go to our blog, CNN.com/Tony. If you would, leave us a message and we will share some of your comments on the air later in the hour -- I think we can get some in -- in the NEWSROOM.
A test vote is set for this evening on legislation to change the way Wall Street works. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid moving ahead with the Senate's version of a financial reform bill. Republicans say they still don't have a bipartisan compromise, and say they will try to stop movement until they do.
Economist Diane Swonk told me earlier there is a big problem the legislation does not deal with.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIANE SWONK, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MESIROW FINANCIAL: It's the first step in a long road towards rethinking how we lend and manage money in the U.S. And it will prevent some of the things from happening again, but the elephant in the room is Fannie and Freddie, and underwriting mortgages, none of which are being addressed by this legislation.
HARRIS: Make the Fannie and Freddie argument for me here. What needs to happen there?
SWONK: Well, you know, one of the key issues in the Fannie and Freddie situation is back in 2004, Congress said that Fannie could buy subprime mortgages. And immediately, the mortgages that they bought, mortgage-backed securities on the market, allowed lenders to lend. We call them NINJA loans, no income, no job application.
HARRIS: Right. Right.
SWONK: Those loans went bad almost overnight in 2005.
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: Well, Diane, let me stop you there. The legislation allowed Fannie and Freddie to buy and permitted these kinds of loans to go forward?
SWONK: You got it. Encouraged them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The president continues his White House to Main Street tour this week. Tomorrow he will visit an energy facility in Iowa and hold a town hall meeting at a community college.
He says the listening tour is designed to hear from the best and brightest CEOs and small business owners about their ideas to grow the economy and put Americans back to work. On Wednesday, the president makes stops in Missouri and Illinois.
A killer tornado rips through the Southeast. That's just one of the places we're taking you the rest of this hour in Choctaw County, Mississippi, where devastation is deep and people are wondering how to begin rebuilding their lives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was based here. I grew up here. I don't know if I even want to live here anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Dateline, Phoenix, Arizona, where a soldier joins the protest against a controversial new immigration law there.
And we are going to London, where suggestions that Pope Benedict come up with his own brand of condoms, among other things, is leading to, "Oh, please, Father, forgive me" from a government agency.
First, though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: I've got to tell you, you know, when the world's top astrophysicist says there is extraterrestrial life out there, that's news. When he says we should stay the heck away from them, it becomes our "Random Moment of the Day."
Stephen Hawking admits the sheer size of the universe means there's probably alien life out there, but he says we shouldn't go all gaga and be ready to throw out welcome mats and red carpets. These guys, says the famed scientist, will try to take us out for our natural resources.
Message to all you Trekkies out there waiting for first contact: Be careful what you wish for.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, the most restrictive immigration law in the country is set to take effect in Arizona about 90 days from now. Already, it is reverberating around the country.
Here was the scene: demonstrators from far and near descending on the state capitol to voice opposition. They fear racial profiling because the law requires police to demand proof of citizenship from anyone suspected of being an illegal resident. Passage of the law has pushed immigration reform back on the front burner on Capitol Hill. Senators were expecting to pass landmark energy legislation, but Majority Leader Harry Reid now says immigration reform is his top priority.
The wider fear is that Arizona's law could spark other states to pass similar legislation.
Our Casey Wian looks at how law enforcement officers view the new law. But first, comments from a U.S. soldier who was born in Mexico and grew up in Arizona.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PFC. JOSE MEDINA, U.S. ARMY: I felt I had a huge debt to this country that has given me so much. When I heard of the law that passed, I couldn't believe it, because the America that I know, freedom, liberties that we enjoy, are for everyone.
It's a shame because I love this state. I grew up here. But a state that doesn't even want you here? I might take this uniform off, and I'm just another Hispanic.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Why do people feel indignant about being asked to produce an I.D. that they ought to have?
MEDINA: It's an insult, almost, because the color of your skin, because you're not white.
GUTIERREZ: Is this that you resent the fact that you could be stopped and asked for your papers while you're fighting for this country? Is that what angers you?
MEDINA: It's not so much anger, it's hurt that, you know, that could happen to me, it could happen to my family, my friends.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Protesters outside Arizona's state capitol are angry over a new law requiring local police to help enforce federal immigration law. JOSE ACOSTA, PROTESTER: People are going to be stopped just because of the color of their skin. And it ain't right. Are they going to be looking for Europeans as well, or is it just the brown people?
WIAN (on camera): What do you have to say to those concerns?
CHIEF JOE MARTINEZ, KEARNY, ARIZONA, POLICE DEPT.: They're really unfounded. The Arizona law enforcement community is made up of many Hispanics. We've never had a policy of racial profiling. In fact, quite the contrary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our law enforcement people --
WIAN (voice-over): At a town hall meeting, police chiefs criticized opponents of the law and the news media for spreading fear and disinformation.
CHIEF DON DANIELS, CASA GRANDE, ARIZONA, POLICE: As a law enforcement officer, I'd like to say to trust us, we will do what we're expected and able to do. We have no interest in violating the law that has been brought to us.
WIAN: Arizona's U.S. Senator John McCain also attended. He did not take a position on the law, but says he understands why it passed -- rising violence and crime associated with illegal immigrant and drug smuggling.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: But I believe that they acted out of frustration because the federal government had not complied with its constitutional responsibilities.
WIAN: For those who believe their constitutional rights may be violated, one police chief urged them to report any problems to authorities.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a huge historical context for individuals that perceive they're treated a certain way by local law enforcement. For those individuals, that's real. And we in law enforcement have to understand that when we interact with them.
WIAN: Arizona police chiefs say crimes related to illegal immigration are stretching their budgets and manpower to the breaking point. They hope controversy over the new law will pressure the federal government to take action.
Casey Wian, CNN, Phoenix, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: The tornado hit fast and hard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They always talk about, you hear the train. There was no train. There was a bomb. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Oh, man. We will take you to a Mississippi community where three young girls were killed and a community is still reeling.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Checking our top stories now.
Massey Energy says there was no warning sign before the explosion at the Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia. A company officials tells reporters that air samples taken just before the blast showed -- quoting now -- "Everything was OK." Twenty-nine miners died in the April 5th disaster, which may have been caused by explosive gases.
And still no word on how long it will take to stop that oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. The spill started after an explosion last week at an oil rig 50 miles off the Louisiana coast. It is now flowing at a rate of 42,000 gallons a day and an oily sheen covers some 600 square miles.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CMDR. MARK MCCADDEN, U.S. COAST GUARD: Certainly people are concerned. And we're concerned here. And that's why we're working very closely with all stakeholders in the states and elected officials to keep everyone informed.
Right now the oil remains 30 miles off shore. The weather is still looking favorable for us to continue with our cleanup operations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: We will get another check of our top stories in about 20 minutes.
They are still cleaning up in Mississippi and Alabama after storms and tornadoes blamed for a dozen deaths.
CNN's Ed Lavendera reports now from Choctaw County, Mississippi.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, the preliminary report from the National Weather Service shows that this tornado at its widest point at times reached a mile and three-quarters on the ground. And at times, the winds reached up to 175 miles per hour.
This was an incredibly intense storm. Just look at what's left of this church right behind me. Essentially, the tornado dropping here and making it explode.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): We found Matthew McCray and his wife, Jo, on a back road in Choctaw County, Mississippi. Their house blown 40 feet off the foundation. His guitar is muddied, but it's days like these that inspired the Mississippi blues. (on camera): What was it like being in there when this happened?
JO MCCRAY, TORNADO SURVIVOR: It just went -- whoomp!
MATTHEW MCCRAY, TORNADO SURVIVOR: And it said "whoomp" again and its top (ph) was down.
LAVANDERA: Was it incredibly scary?
J. MCCRAY: I just started praying, asking the lord to save us, save us. I told my husband, I looked around, and I said, "Honey, I don't believe he's going to save us."
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Along this dirt road the tornado killed its three youngest victims, two sisters and a 3-month-old baby girl.
(on camera): This is where 13-year-old Brittany Jobe (ph) and her 9- year-old sister, Tian (ph), were killed. They were here with their parents when the storm hit. The force of the storm so powerful, that it essentially disintegrated their mobile home. It was thrown beyond that tree line right over there.
The girls' grandfather tells us that their bodies were found back in the woods over here.
J.W. CARTER, VICTIMS' GRANDFATHER: Nice kids. Good grades in school. And just amazing.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Ron Sullivan and five others were able to walk out of this grocery store.
RON SULLIVAN, TORNADO SURVIVOR: There's a Coke machine turned over there that kept that roof from falling on me.
LAVANDERA (on camera): Can we go see it?
SULLIVAN: Oh, certainly.
And I never touched the ground.
LAVANDERA: From here, all the way back to over there?
SULLIVAN: No. When it hit, it blew me back. The next thing I felt was that wall and myself falling backwards.
They always talk about you hear the train. There was no train. There was a bomb.
LAVANDERA: What goes through your mind when something like this is happening?
SULLIVAN: The only thing that went through my mind, two things -- please don't let anything else fall on me, and I hope my wife is OK.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): His wife, Peggy, was just a few feet away. (on camera): When the tornado struck here, it launched that 5,000- pound gasoline tank into the back of the grocery store. It rolled this way.
Peggy Sullivan was standing right behind this white freezer. The tank lodged up against it and saved her life, keeping her from getting crushed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: Tony, what we've heard over and over from survivors as well over the last couple of days is that this area of Mississippi is very hilly, that there are a lot of trees. So they really never had a sense of exactly where this storm was, and many people kind of felt that they didn't realize that the tornado was on top of them until they saw it bearing down on their homes.
So people say they had very little time to react to it. And that's why you get the sense around here when you talk to people that they also feel very lucky to be alive -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK, Ed. Appreciate it. Thank you.
Ed Lavandera for us.
The carnage and destruction from a tornado captured through the lens of CNN iReporters. These images we're showing you here are from Neal Moore, resident of Mississippi. Just take a look here.
The devastation goes on for about a mile. We'll sort through more of these photos.
And what happened next, nothing short of incredible. A school teacher and his family are unhurt as the powerful storm literally rips through their trailer.
Man, oh man.
It is a story that shows both determination and desperation. We're talking about hundreds of people camping out in the rain for days. The reason? They all desperately want a shot at a job fixing elevators.
We will show you what happened when they finally got to put in their application.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, OK, how was your weekend? Probably pretty miserable for hundreds of people in New York who spent theirs camping out on the streets in Queens, all for a shot at a job application. Not a job, a job application.
Our Ines Ferre in New York has been all over this story for us.
And it pretty much shows that people are willing to work, but the jobs are just scarce right now.
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Tony. But they're willing to camp out.
Today, we saw hundreds and hundreds of people lined up along this sidewalk. There were tents earlier this weekend. There were also chairs for these people.
These folks were all lined up for 750 job applications. Just the applications to take a test, and later to be interviewed for an elevator mechanic job. There's about 100 elevator mechanic job openings with this local union here. And you can see here now, this sign says, "Sorry. There are no more applications."
Union reps tell me that well over 1,000 people showed up just for these applications. And we spoke to some of those people that were waiting here for hours, some of them since Friday. And they told us what it was like. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FERRE: Andy, how long have you been waiting in line for?
ANDY TORRES, JOB SEEKER: I've been here for 17 hours with my cousin, Isaac (ph).
FERRE: And what are your hopes of getting an application today?
TORRES: Well, to get the application and hopefully succeed. Get the job I'm trying to be here for. You know, getting a job.
FERRE: How long have you been looking for a job?
TORRES: Well, the last five months, I would say.
FERRE: When you heard that this opening was -- that they were going to have this -- these openings, what did you think?
TORRES: Well, I got excited, of course. I wanted the opportunity. And I'm here for it.
NELSON TORRES, JOB SEEKER: I've been here for 10 hours. Actually, since 12:00 midnight.
FERRE: And what's it been like?
Hectic. A lot of arguing, people cutting in line. You know, there's a lot of things that you've got to go through. But if you want a job -- I've been unemployed for three months already. And it sucks. It sucks to be unemployed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FERRE: And Tony, we spoke with Jeremy, who was the first person in line who was here since Friday at 4:00 a.m., and he said he had been out of a job for six months. And he said, "Look, my job right now is to get a job."
Tony.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Boy, oh boy. Just all those folks lined up since Friday just to get an application.
FERRE: Yes.
HARRIS: All right, Ines, we appreciate it. Thank you.
You're about to meet a young man for whom health care reform isn't just a political debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELVIN ARIAS, CROHN'S DISEASE PATIENT: I've cried so much, I don't want to do it anymore, you know? I just want to try and -- whatever obstacles I have in my life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: His biggest obstacle right now, he doesn't have insurance and can't afford medication to control his disease. What's being done to help him could help thousands of 20-somethings who really need coverage. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras in the severe weather center.
The same storm system that produced deadly tornadoes in Mississippi over the weekend continues to bring threatening weather to parts of the U.S. today. We're focusing in on south Florida, where a Doppler radar indicated tornado over Florida Bay right now has prompted a tornado warning for the upper keys in Monroe County. Key Largo is in the line of this storm as it moves eastward around 40 miles per hour. So you need to be seeking shelter now, getting to the lowest level of your home or your building that you happen to be in, away from doors and windows. So this is a potentially dangerous storm here moving through the upper keys at this time. There is a slight risk of severe weather across south Florida through the rest of the afternoon.
We we've got some new video in that we want to show you from the Mississippi storms from Yazoo City from storm chasers. And there you can see that huge wedge tornado. It is wrapped in rain a little bit, but this funnel is so wide, it's just a big wedge on the ground. And the National Weather Service has been out assessing some of the damage. And they're estimating that this was a mile and three- quarters wide as it moved through parts of Yazoo City. It was on the ground for about 97 miles. And the most extensive damage likely had winds around 170 miles per hour, which is what we would call an EF-4 tornado.
This is still very preliminary, by the way, Tony. They're going to continue to kind of do the CSI or the forensics, you know, of tornado investigation over the next couple of days. But this was really a giant of a tornado. And so sad and so devastating, it's actually, you know, when you think about it, 10 people lost their lives, which is just terrible. But it's amazing that there weren't more lives lost when we're talking about such a huge storm.
HARRIS: Hey, you remember, I don't know why this just popped in my head. We were on the air together, maybe it was a year or so ago, and just looking at those pictures, it reminded me of that storm that we were talking about together where we actually had the funnel cloud, remember? And there was a horse -- was it a horse farm?
JERAS: Oh, Oklahoma.
HARRIS: Do you remember that? Was it Oklahoma?
JERAS: Yes. We had an Oklahoma one. That was a much weaker tornado. But, yes, we watched that live on the air.
HARRIS: But the pictures were amazing. We were on the air together. And it just popped in my head as I was looking at this and the people and all of this. It's just -- it's that time of year, isn't it?
JERAS: It is that time of the year. And it's actually been a crazy, slow start, Tony. We've had a record length of time in this spring months where we haven't had a significant tornado outbreak. So this is really late in the game. But, boy, when those conditions are favorable, man, they are favorable, aren't they?
HARRIS: Oh. All right, Jacqui, appreciate it. Thank you.
You know, thousands of southern California residents will get some free health care. More than 5,500 people turned out at the Los Angeles Sports Arena yesterday to register for a seven-day health clinic. They've got special wrist bands that will allow them to return starting tomorrow to see doctors, dentists and other health care professionals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had a blood infection this year. It went into my heart muscle. Because of my teeth.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to see if my heart condition has gotten worse or if it's gotten any better.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really do need my teeth repaired. And it does look ugly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Oh, man. So health reform has passed. What now? You know, one of the most significant measures kicks in later this year. Young adults will be able to stay on their parents' insurance plans until age 26. Cnnmoney.com's Poppy Harlow is in New York.
And, Poppy, you actually sat down with someone who could really benefit from that change.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Yes, we could. It's Kelvin Arias. He's 24-years-old. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
And, you know, Tony, we've covered health care reform so intensely and focused so much on what the politicians said and the pundits. But it's these people that don't have insurance that it really matters for. For Kelvin, he's too old to be on his parents' insurance. He doesn't have enough hours under his belt yet to qualify for insurance through his employer. He makes too much money, though, through working at his employer, Whole Foods, to qualify for Medicaid. He's one of the many people, Tony, in this country that is stuck squarely in the middle of this ongoing debate. But that may change for him soon. But we sat down with him to see how he's doing right now. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELVIN ARIAS, CROHN'S DISEASE PATIENT: I feel like I don't have my life because I don't have my health. I've cried so much, I don't want to do it anymore, you know? I just want to try and -- whatever obstacle I have in my life. I want to be able to live instead of worrying about it so much.
HARLOW: What would help?
ARIAS: First of all, for me to get good health insurance. Without health insurance, I'm nothing. I'm not able to get my medicine. I'm not able to go see a doctor.
HARLOW: And that makes it worse, your disease worse?
ARIAS: Yes. It definitely aggravates it. If I don't have any medication, my disease is not in control.
HARLOW: How much does the medication cost you right now, without insurance?
ARIAS: For a generic 30 day supply, it's $640.
HARLOW: $640? That's a paycheck.
ARIAS: Yes. It's more than a paycheck for me.
HARLOW: So do you go without it sometimes?
ARIAS: I've been going without it since January.
HARLOW: And you've spent a lot of time in the hospital, even recently?
ARIAS: Yes. I went to the emergency room to get admitted. I was feeling stomach pains. And a whole bunch of other side effects from my condition.
HARLOW: Are you going to have to pay for part of that?
ARIAS: I'm going to have to pay for everything.
HARLOW: Do you know how much that's going to cost?
ARIAS: Hundreds and hundreds of dollars, if not a couple thousand, at least.
HARLOW: Do you ever try not to go to the hospital because you think, I can't afford it?
ARIAS: Yes. That's probably why I wait so long, is because I know I can't pay for it. I was robbed of my childhood because I wasn't able to run and play basketball, or play baseball. I was in little league and I had to stop playing little league because of my condition.
HARLOW: You really think that if you get insurance, it's going to make this situation at least better for you?
ARIAS: Most definitely. Like I said before, if you have your health, you have everything.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: And we are going to check back in, Tony, with Kelvin in a few months and see if reform has changed anything for him. But we wanted to do this because it's one thing that the law's through, it's another thing if it really changes people's lives, like Kelvin who needs it. Hopefully he's going to get on his parents' insurance, at least for the next two years. The question that has parents had for us, Tony, is, well, then what? Then what happens?
HARRIS: Then what happens to him, yes. Maybe he'll be able to shop at the exchange a little bit.
HARLOW: Yes.
HARRIS: But, boy, he is so right about that one statement, when you have your health, you have everything.
HARLOW: Everything.
HARRIS: Man. All right, Poppy, good to see you. Thank you.
HARLOW: You got it.
HARRIS: You know, when it comes to your health care, it is a pretty good idea to shop around. CNN's Elizabeth Cohen brings us the story of one man who saved himself literally tens of thousands of dollars on surgery. Wait until you hear how he did it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: We're checking top stories now.
The Senate is nearing a test vote today on legislation to reform how Wall Street operates. The Senate financial reform bill seeks to prevent big bank bailouts and shine a light on complex financial contracts known as derivatives in those credit default swaps.
A memoir written by President George W. Bush will hit bookshelves a week after the November elections. The book titled "Decision Points" will focus on 14 decisions the former president has made, both in the White House and in his life. We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, everybody loves a bargain, right? But is it really a good idea to shop for rock-bottom prices when it comes to medical care? Some Americans are looking for cheap surgery deals overseas. CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen introduces us to one of them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So Godfrey Davies, you're quite the bargain shopper there. Look at those coupons.
GODFREY DAVIES, BARGAIN-SHOPPED FOR SURGERY: Absolutely.
COHEN: And you've had to do this not just with food.
DAVIES: You're quite right.
COHEN: So what other things do you bargain shop for besides, you know, applesauce and pasta?
DAVIES: Well, big-ticket item right now that I'm confronted with is having nasal surgery.
COHEN: You actually went surgeon shopping? You went from place to place to find the cheapest price because you don't have insurance?
DAVIES: That is correct.
COHEN: So how exactly does one go surgeon shopping? Can you show me?
DAVIES: I can. It's quite an adventure.
COHEN: OK. Let's go have an adventure.
DAVIES: Sure.
COHEN: So, Godfrey, this is the first place that you went to, to get a price quote.
DAVIES: That's correct.
COHEN: If you had had it done by these surgeons, what would have been the total bill for the entire procedure?
DAVIES: Almost $34,000.
COHEN: I mean $34,000, you're semi retired, you have no insurance. DAVIES: That's correct.
COHEN: Could you even pay that?
DAVIES: I wish I had $34,000 sitting around. No, we don't.
COHEN: So what did you do? I mean $34,000. What was your next step?
DAVIES: I thought, I'm going further. I'm going surgeon shopping again, because this is ridiculous.
COHEN: All right. So let's go to that different surgeon. Let's go and see what that price was.
DAVIES: Absolutely.
COHEN: OK.
So, Godfrey, what was your next stop. This surgeon's office.
DAVIES: That's correct.
COHEN: What would it have cost, the entire procedure, to have it done by these folks?
DAVIES: It would have been approximately $33,000.
COHEN: Oh, so only $1,000 less than the first place?
DAVIES: That's correct. My shopping didn't do much for me really, did it?
COHEN: So what you found is that you basically could not afford to have your polyps removed in Indianapolis?
DAVIES: Absolutely not.
COHEN: And so you needed to think outside the box.
DAVIES: I went way outside the box for this.
COHEN: So you're going to go to the United Kingdom, right?
DAVIES: Uh-huh, that's correct.
COHEN: You're getting on a plane and getting this surgery in Wales. The airfare, the surgery, the whole thing, what's that going to cost you?
DAVIES: $3,600.
COHEN: And the cheapest price you could get here was $33,000?
DAVIES: Yes. Terrible, isn't it?
COHEN: Oh, my gosh. It's almost ten times less expensive. Give me a call. Let me know how it goes. And the best of luck.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Are you kidding me here? Elizabeth Cohen joining me now.
OK. So we're talking about one particular procedure here. But prices overall, generally speaking, are they that much higher here in the states?
COHEN: Oh, they're a lot higher here in the states. And so that was for nasal polyps.
HARRIS: Yes.
COHEN: But now let's talk about bypass surgery.
HARRIS: OK.
COHEN: OK. Take a look at this. If you want to have bypass surgery in India, it will cost you $8,500. Costa Rica, $25,000. And you don't have the answer, so I'm going to get you to --
HARRIS: Yes, yes.
COHEN: Yes, what do you think? Well, OK, I was going to have you guess, but now it's
HARRIS: Glad you're not. Yes, there it is.
COHEN: But, yes, $144,000.
HARRIS: I would have been really smart on this one.
COHEN: Yes, you would have been. So you can see the huge difference there.
Now with a hysterectomy, $5,000 in Thailand, $6,675 in Mexico, in the United States, they would ask someone for $15,000 to do a hysterectomy.
HARRIS: Wow.
COHEN: So, yes, the differences are very clear. It's across the board. It's over a large number of procedures.
HARRIS: I kind of want to know why it's so expensive. But this idea of medical tourism, right, I mean is this a growing trend? Are a lot of people leaving the states to go elsewhere for medical care like this?
COHEN: It is. Absolutely. I mean hundreds of thousands of people are leaving the United States to go get medical care because it's cheaper. Because either they're uninsured or they just don't have great insurance.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes.
COHEN: Or, this is sort of an interesting growing trend, people have insurance and the insurance says, you know what, Mrs. Smith, you can have that hysterectomy here in the United States but you're going to have to pay 20 percent. So that's a couple thousand bucks. Or you can go overseas and get it for free. And so Mrs. Smith gets to make that decision. So, yes, it is a growing trend.
And what's interesting about it is that, in a way, Americans are sort of profiting from the fact that these other countries have a -- not necessarily some of them have socialized medicine, or some of them have medicine that is just more socialized than in this country. But if you want to know how to bargain shop for health care outside the United States, please read a column by my colleague Sabrina Wrights (ph). She did a fabulous job. Cnnhealth.com.
HARRIS: She did, Sabrina?
COHEN: Of course she did.
HARRIS: Oh, yes, she's pretty good.
COHEN: Yes, she's fabulous.
HARRIS: She's pretty doggone good or she wouldn't be on your team.
COHEN: That's right.
HARRIS: Hey, does she take on the issue of whether or not it's safe? Because a lot of folks would -- might consider this, but they have this thing in their head where, you know, I'm not going to go there because it's not as safe as the quality and it's not as good.
COHEN: Right.
HARRIS: Does she take that on?
COHEN: It is difficult to know absolutely if it is as safe.
HARRIS: Right.
COHEN: But there is one thing that's interesting, which is that the group that accredits hospitals in this country, they give them and give them their accreditation, they've started to do it overseas as well.
But there is one thing. Let's say they goof. Let's say they make a mistake.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes. Yes.
COHEN: When they make a mistake in this country, what do you do? You sue?
HARRIS: Right.
COHEN: You can't sue when you're overseas. So that's an important thing to keep in mind. You lose that legal standing.
HARRIS: Yes, good stuff. Elizabeth, good to see you. Thank you.
You know, a new immigration law inspiring all kinds of controversy and protests. We will have your thoughts on it just ahead right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Well, the Vatican got the memo, but they didn't like it much. A to-do list for Pope Benedict sent from inside the British foreign office, but in very poor taste. Sasha Herriman breaks down the fallout.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SASHA HERRIMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): It was an internal memo after a foreign office brainstorming session. The aim? How to welcome the first papal visit to the U.K. since 1982. The blue sky thinking wasn't supposed to go public, but it got leaked to a paper. Top suggestions for the pope include, asking him to open an abortion clinic, bless a guy marriage, launch a range of Benedict-brand condoms, sack dodgy bishops, and launch a help line for abused children. Clearly the writer doesn't get any marks for tact. But for humor?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a bad move. Definitely a bad move.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why would you sell condoms with the pope's name on it? The pope made me use contraceptives.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I understand. I think I understand the theory, because, obviously, you know, moving into the 21st century and the pope kind of has to move along with it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think most of the things they said are true.
HERRIMAN: Lest we forget, this is a Catholic church still reeling from an alleged child abuse scandal.
POPE BENEDICT (through translator): After the celebration, I decided to meet some people who were victims of abuses by clergy. I share their suffering and I prayed with them, with emotion, assuring them of church action.
HERRIMAN: The pope only spoke publicly about that last week.
PETER TATCHELL, PROTEST THE POPE COALITION: I think the reaction of the foreign office to the leaked memo has been out of all proportion. You know, they have bent over backwards to apologize and grovel to the Vatican, even though this is just a light-hearted, humorous quip by a lower-level official. It wasn't, you know, a government statement. It wasn't government policy.
HERRIMAN: The British government's been quick to comment. "This is clearly a foolish document that does not in any way reflect U.K. or FCO policy or views. The individual responsible has been transferred to other duties."
MADELEINE TEAHAN, CATHOLIC VOICES: Obviously the fact that the foreign office apologized so quickly, they actually said that it was appalling, shows that it's not representative of the foreign office, you know, officially. But I think, at the same time, if it doesn't ally an ignorance or a disillusionment, then we have to address that and we should talk about it.
HERRIMAN: This being election time, and with more than 4.2 million Catholics in the U.K., they'll be keen to nip this issue in the bud. But the other parties in the U.K. election have been quick to get a word in, too. The conservatives, issuing a statement, saying, "this memo should never have been written, let alone circulated in the foreign office. Ministers were right to apologize immediately for this completely unacceptable blunder."
HERRIMAN (on camera): The pope's due here in early September. And the Vatican said that, for, them the case is now closed. And they've accepted the apology from the U.K. foreign office. But it remains to be seen how long the diplomatic fallout will last.
Sasha Herriman, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: A race to stop a huge oil spill. That is ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
