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Deadly Attack on U.S. Aid Compound; Women on the High Court

Aired July 02, 2010 - 10:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In that predawn attack by Taliban militants in the town of Kunduz. That raid started with a suicide bomber on foot and another in a car detonated at the gate of the compound. Four other armed men stormed the facility, firing machine guns and hurling hand grenades.

The latest attack came on the day that General David Petraeus is due to arrive in Afghanistan. He is beginning his new job as head of the U.S. military operation there. The Senate unanimously confirmed Petraeus Wednesday. He replaces General Stanley McChrystal, who was relieved of duty after he and his staff were quoted in that "Rolling Stone" magazine article mocking key Obama administration officials.

Now a developing story and our top story of the hour. It's about our veterans, our warriors and the quality of medical care that they receive. All week long we have been telling you about the hundreds of veterans in St. Louis, possibly exposed to HIV and hepatitis because of dirty dental equipment.

Now we've got our hands on an internal memo from the VA. It is meant to crack down on some questionable medical practices at some facilities. In the memo, it talks about patient care compromise, vets kept waiting for appointments, highlighting, "inappropriate scheduling practices" referred to as gaming strategies, a tactic that was, according to this document, used to improve customer service scores.

And there is more, eight pages worth, in fact. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has been digging for us all morning. Barbara, you actually had a chance to talk to the VA. What can you tell us?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well,, Kyra, we spoke a little while ago to a top VA official, a Mr. William Shownhart, who is the top official in charge of this. He is the man who has written this eight-page memo to VA medical facilities saying cut it out, no more of these inappropriate scheduling practices.

Let me tell you that what he tells us is he wrote the memo not because he says he had any personal knowledge of these practices, but he wanted to write it proactively. He said, "this is a proactive step to set the tone that there will be zero tolerance." But when you read the memo, Kyra, he says it has come to his attention that, in fact, there are these inappropriate scheduling practices, these gaming strategies. What are we talking about? Things like veterans who may not read the absolute fine print on their paperwork, maybe they don't read it and then their appointment gets canceled if they don't show up technically 10 to 15 minutes before the appointment time at the doctor's. VAs cancels it and the VA statistics look better because basically everybody has full care, the whole list for the day looks like everybody showed up.

This is the kind of thing that the VA says they're not going to put up with because it isn't really centered on caring for the veterans. It is centered on making them look good, but how deep, how widespread the problem is is still something we're looking into. The VA says they think it's out there, Mr. Shownhart does, his memo suggests that there is a very widespread problem here. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Barbara, did you get a sense when you had a chance to talk to representatives from the VA this morning that something is going to happen on a much deeper level, a faster level when it comes to the auditing process, to the oversight process? I think that vets have been crying out for a very long time, desperately wanting some action to take place, and we still haven't seen it on a wide scale.

STARR: It is a tough question to answer to be totally honest with you, Kyra. I'm not sure I know the answer to that. The VA consistently on these paperwork issues, on scheduling, on appointments, on tracking veterans' problems says that it is doing the best it can, that some of these things they're taking proactive steps to try and fix it.

But the reality is after nearly nine years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, you have tens of thousands of new veterans entering the system from the war, getting out of the military with disabilities, with medical issues that need care, plus, of course, the whole backlog of veterans from previous wars, previous conflicts, and previous service.

And if you talk to the VA , he will be the first to tell you that in many places the Department of Veterans Affairs is simply overwhelmed by what it is trying to deal with. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes and I think probably one of the most heart wrenching things that we've seen is that alarming spike in suicides as well.

Barbara Starr, really appreciate your reporting this morning. Thank you so much.

And we really want to get more perspective on this from someone who has served and is directly involved in the advocacy here for our vets. Paul Sullivan joining us via Skype from Austin. He's with Veterans for Common Sense.

Paul, I think right off the bat, I want to get your - I mean, the headlines this morning with regard to this memo is Veterans Affairs cooking the books. Do you believe the VA is cooking the books? And is this a nationwide problem? PAUL SULLIVAN, VETERANS FOR COMMON SENSE: Absolutely. The Department of Veterans Affairs admits in writing they have 24 different ways they are cooking the books. And this most certainly is a nationwide scandal, impacting as many as five million veterans who seek care at VA every year.

VA's own internal audit shows one in four veterans wait more than a month to see a doctor. That means during the course of the year, as many as a million veterans may be waiting more than a year to see a doctor. That's wrong. That's unacceptable.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's wrong. It is unacceptable and it's outrageous. And if my guess is, if I were to ask you what is the worst case scenario here, you're probably going to tell me suicide.

SULLIVAN: Yes. I'm going to tell you suicide. It's tragic. Just last week I spoke with a suicidal veteran who was denied care in a VA facility. This is beyond unacceptable. This is tragic. And VA needs to get fixed. VA needs to stop the practice of turning away veterans and cooking the books to make it appear as if VA is seeing the veterans sooner.

PHILLIPS: How do you do that, though? Do you clean house? Do you have to fire everybody? I mean, we talked about this over and over and over again and we get the same statement from the VA over and over and over again saying that they're doing everything possible, but we continually see these spikes in suicide. PTSD cases not being dealt with and then the latest disaster coming out of a VA hospital about dirty dental equipment.

SULLIVAN: (INAUDIBLE) - the leadership of President Obama needs to clamp down. They need to change VA's culture so that VA puts veterans first. And to do that by making sure they have enough funding and the right training so that VA can see the veterans when they need to be seen.

And then when the training doesn't work and the funding doesn't work, and we find VA employees cooking the books, and delaying care and denying care, those employees and their supervisors, they need to find another job.

PHILLIPS: No veteran should ever have to wait to see a doctor to this extent. Paul Sullivan with Veterans for Common Sense. Appreciate you responding today.

SULLIVAN: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Day 74 of the gulf oil disaster. Let's get you up to speed on the latest details. EPA administrator Lisa Jackson heads to the gulf coast today. She'll hold town hall meetings in New Orleans and tour areas in Pensacola, Florida.

Jackson's trip happens a day after her agency and the Coast Guard issued a directive telling BP how the company should deal with recovered oil and contaminated waste collected in the clean-up operation. And yesterday, the House passed its first major bill linked to the oil rig explosion. It allows the families of the 11 workers killed on that rig to be compensated for non-monetary losses such as pain and suffering.

Usually beaches along the gulf coast are packed during the July fourth weekend but this year may not be the case. Business owners are really worried that the oil disaster will keep people away.

Let's check in with Bonnie Schneider to see which Gulf Coast beaches are open and there are still a lot of them that we can go to. There's a misconception, right, Bonnie? About a lot of the beaches.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. That's right, Kyra. Because some are open. You just maybe can't swim, but you certainly can go to the beach. I want to point this out because this is something that we're monitoring right now.

This low pressure that has been developing in parts of the gulf. You can see just off the coast of Florida and there is a low potential that this could develop into something tropical. The National Hurricane Center monitoring it. I wanted to just let everybody know that it is going to drift westward over the next day or two.

Here's the look at the beach status in Alabama. You can see that we have gulf shores has advisories, no swimming for Orange Beach as well. These are places where we had some oil tar balls reported. Significant oiling though here over parts of Fort Morgan into Alabama, also Dauphin Island, waters are closed, no swimming.

So some of the beaches are closed, some have advisories, the same for Mississippi. A little bit of better scenario for Florida. We're tracking a lot more as you can see here, more openings for beaches in the Florida area as well. So we're monitoring the situation, it's definitely changing. Here is a look at that. Panama City, for example, is open. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Bonnie, thanks so much.

Well, the economy is making news again, but this time it is not all doom and gloom. Earlier this morning we learned that the nation's unemployment didn't climb higher as expected. It actually fell to 9.5 percent in June. Just minutes ago, President Obama weighed in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This morning we received the June employment report. It reflected the planned phase out of 225,000 temporary census jobs, but it also showed the sixth straight month of job growth in the private sector. All told, our economy has created nearly 600,000 private sector jobs this year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And for more on the jobs report, let's check in with Alison Kosik, she's following it all from the New York Stock Exchange. So Alison, let me go ahead and start with the headline numbers.

ALISON KOSIK, FINANCIAL CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK. The first headline number, of course, Kyra, is that the economy lost 125,000 jobs last month. It is the first time we lost jobs this year but I want you to go ahead and put it in perspective. I want you to take a look at this chart. It shows where we have been the past year and a half and the low point was in January of 2009. We lost 779,000 jobs.

So the loss of 125,000 is really a major improvement since then. Although we got to admit the recovery is slowing. Now this drop that I mentioned that we had in June, the 125,000, that was expected because jobs for more than 200,000 temporary census workers, those were phased out.

Now the more important number that everybody is kind of latching on to is that private sector hiring number. We gained 83,000 jobs in the private sector. It is still weak, but it is better than last month.

And finally, another headline number, Kyra, that we're watching is that unemployment rate that you mentioned at the top, surprisingly it fell to 9.5 percent from 9.7 percent. But maybe not for a great reason. Because the improvement was mostly because many discouraged job seekers aren't bothering to look for work anymore. They kind of dropped out of the labor force and they're no longer being counted as part of the labor force and that's why we're seeing that dip in the unemployment rate. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Alison, thanks so much.

And as you were speaking, we got word as the Joint Economic Committee is meeting right now. We're getting Republican response, Representative Kevin Brady responding to the president's remarks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN BRADY (R), TEXAS: Instead of providing encouragement, President Obama and this Congress have given entrepreneurs reason to worry. Businesses aren't reluctant to hire because they're waiting to see what Washington will do for them. They're reluctant to hire because they're afraid of what Washington will do to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: At the bottom of the hour, help for job seekers. And it is coming from people who know the challenge all too well. They reached out to prospective employers as our guests of our 30-second pitch and now they're pitching in for other people who are out of work.

For one of the suspected Russian spies, loyalty to the service trumped love for his son. We got a confession.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, for one of the suspected Russian spies, loyalty to the service trumped love for his son. We've got a confession.

And CNN's Susan Candiotti joins me live from New York. So, a surprise that we find out one alleged spy confesses, Susan?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, it was a surprise, Kyra. And there was no formal announcement about this alleged confession. The court instead slipped it in some court documents for the bail hearing. Prosecutors say that Juan Lazaro of Yonkers, New York, admits he was on the Russian intel payroll. A court filing says Lazaro allegedly told federal agents "although he loved his son, he would not violate his loyalty to the service," meaning the intel service, "even for his son."

The government papers "State" that on the day the FBI arrested Lazaro last Sunday, he allegedly waved his Miranda rights and said that Juan Lazaro is not his real name, although he wouldn't say what it was, and added that the service even paid for his house in Yonkers. Now, prosecutors said Lazaro also admitted that he was born in the Soviet Union and not Uruguay as previously thought. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now, it sounds like he also implicated his wife?

CANDIOTTI: Yes, get that. He also said that his wife, who is the co-defendant, Vicki Pelaez, delivered letters to the service for him. So Juan Lazaro did wave his bail hearing for now but it seems unlikely that he'll be freed pending trial.

PHILLIPS: All right. So what's the government's main argument against bail? Too dangerous to be set free pending trial?

CANDIOTTI: You know, usually that is the case. But there is also the possibility of flight risk and that's what they're arguing this time. It is more like they could take off, like the defendant who is still missing in Cyprus after he jumped bail. That's involved in this case.

So prosecutors argue that these - the rest of these people shouldn't get bail because it would be too easy for them theoretically to just go walking down the street in New York and go to the Russian embassy theoretically and ask for help or possibly those who are arrested in the Washington, D.C. area could do the very same thing.

PHILLIPS: OK. And yet the judge granted bail for Lazaro's wife. How could that be?

CANDIOTTI: He did.

PHILLIPS: Yes.

CANDIOTTI: Well, good question. The judge said that him, Lazaro's wife did not appear to be a trained agent. And that he said, besides, she has more ties to the community. She's a Spanish-language journalist for "El Diario." So he did grant her a $250,000 personal recognizance bond in order for her to wear and electronic ankle bracelet and put her unto home surveillance. She has not been freed just yet. Yet she does have a child.

Bail was denied for a New Jersey couple, Richard and Cynthia Murphy, who are also accused of being secret agents. They have two children and it is not clear who is taking care of them. But you would think that might give them some ties to the community. Not in this case.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, some say the charges appear pretty slim, though. What is the Justice Department saying?

CANDIOTTI: Well, their argument is that we have a very strong case, we've been looking at these people for 10 years. We have got them on surveillance tapes, swapping computer information, and that we have taken in more than 100 encrypted messages that we have deciphered, including one that they say says this, "the only goal and task of our service," talking to these alleged agents, "is the security of our country," meaning Russia.

And so that is why the government is saying they were to go out and they were to recruit potential gents for the Russian government in order to protect Russia. It is all very strange, you know. Obviously we haven't seen the government's entire case and the lawyers for many of these people are saying this sounds extremely flimsy to them.

PHILLIPS: Strange story, but definitely an interesting one for us, right? It's a talker. Thank you, Susan.

CANDIOTTI: That's for sure.

PHILLIPS: Well, a look now at some international stories making news this hour. Al Qaeda wants you. That's right, the terrorist organization has launched its first English language online magazine. The move is seen by some as a way to recruit more U.S.-borne terrorists. The magazine was posted Tuesday on radical Islamist web sites.

And the U.K. wants to make its air space cleaner. That could be bad news for Britain (ph) accustomed to so-called binge flights to weekend getaways across Europe. Prime Minister David Cameron is limiting those flights by canceling plans to build new runaway at London's Heathrow and other small airports.

Of course, you've heard of groceries and pizza being delivered at home. How about condoms? Swiss health officials are dispatching bike messengers now to actually deliver condoms in a campaign to fight AIDS. The cost, that's when we cue the music, eight Swiss francs or 7.50 for three home-delivered condoms. Now that's protection.

All right. We're going to check the top stories straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. It's a wrap on Capitol Hill for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. She survived three days of intense grilling before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Next, the vote. Bu what could she bring to the high court? CNN's Carol Costello reports on the female touch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If Elena Kagan is confirmed, many women, especially those who lean left, will be elated. Gloria Allred, a lawyer known for representing high-profile women who have been victims of domestic abuse or discrimination, is one of them.

GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY: Where there are more women and not just a token woman or maybe even two, I do think that that is going to be important in terms of the court's ultimate perspective on issues.

COSTELLO: But is that true? The answer is not so simple. One study found no significant difference in the way female and male judges decided cases, except one. Sex discrimination. In those cases female judges were 10 percent more likely to rule in favor of the victim.

Judge Emily Goodman is a New York State Supreme Court Justice. She says women do look at issues a certain way, but -

JUDGE EMILY JANE GOODMAN, N.Y. SUPREME COURT: Whether that will dictate the outcome is a whole different story. Because you have to put your understanding, your experiences into the framework of the law.

COSTELLO: Take, for example, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Remember the Lily Ledbetter case. Ledbetter accused her employer of pay discrimination and the majority of the court ruled against her, not because it didn't happen, but because the discrimination had occurred years earlier. Justice Ginsburg, the only woman on the Supreme Court at the time, disagreed with the majority.

JUSTICE RUTH BADER GINSBURG, SUPREME COURT: The court does not comprehend or is indifferent to the insidious way in which women can be victims of pay discrimination.

COSTELLO: But what about abortion? In 2007, the court upheld a law that banned a type of late-term abortion. Again, the lone woman on the court at the time Justice Ginsburg spoke out calling the ruling alarming. But keep in mind though, three male justices sided with Ginsburg. So does gender necessarily color every decision?

MARCIA GREENBERGER, NATIONAL WOMEN'S LAW CTR.: What's so good about having both men and women as part of that decision is they can bring their experiences to bear to figure out what the law really was intended to mean and how it applies in practice and is it a richer decision making process for having both men and women on the court.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor famously said "a wise old woman and a wise old man will reach the same conclusion." And studies have shown she was right 90 percent of the time.

Unraveling the secret to living past 100. It's in your genes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Researchers haven't actually discovered the fountain of youth, but they are learning more about why some people are living past 100. They say it is all in the genes.

A study analyzed the DNA of more than 1,000 centenarians and found a set of small genetic markers that actually predict longevity with 77 percent accuracy. They need to do more studies on the genes because what they learned can be used to develop drugs for age-related illnesses like heart disease, Alzheimer's and diabetes. That study is published in the journal "Science".

Right after the break, tips from job seekers and the advice is hard-earned. It comes from people who first reached out to us and perspective employers within our 30-second pitch segment. Well, they'll tell you about their job searches and the lessons they've learned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right, there is a sliver of good news on the economy. Earlier this morning we actually learned that the nation's unemployment fell this month. It backtracked from 9.7 percent to May -- or in May, rather, to 9.5 percent in June.

Now most economists had actually expected the rate to climb. It's the sixth straight month of job gains across the country.

Now the new unemployment numbers got us thinking. Whatever happened to the job seekers who've joined us on air for our 30-second pitch segment? Did they actually find the jobs they were looking for?

We're about to check back with three of our former guests. They've had varying degrees of success, but have one thing in common. Today, they're all pitching in for each other and they're helping other people who are jobless. And they may have some lessons for all of us.

Let's go ahead and begin with Leeann Taylor. Shortly after she came on, she got her dream job at a radio station in New York. She has since helped several friends find work.

Leeann, you actually say you learned to think outside the box in terms of job seeking. What advice do you have? And I know you've been helping your friends a lot as well.

LEEANN TAYLOR, EMPLOYED & HELPING OTHERS FIND WORK: I have been. And what I've discovered is that you really have to think about who you are, and things -- and use those to get a job. List all of your skills, even the things you do at home, and then make a resume based on your skills.

Forget about your job experience. Go with what you know and what you've done in your life. And I've discovered it makes it easier for my friends to get their interviews and then it's all up to them.

But when they walk in the room to get that interview, they have to act like they're a superstar and they can help the company.

PHILLIPS: Well -- and you've actually been rewriting their resumes, right? And you've been going over how they've conducted their interviews and you haven't held back. You've said, OK, you blew that and this is why. This is what you have to do.

TAYLOR: Exactly. And, you know, I think that because I have such a hard time getting a job, I decided I need to help motivate my friends. And so, yes, I'm being honest with them and saying, look, you know, your resume is no good. We need to do this -- do it all over again.

We need to do something completely different, make it pop, so that stands out so you can stand out in the interview and the interview is crucial in getting that job. And you can't be meek and mild and you can't be conventional at all. You have to be completely different than they're used to seeing in the interview.

PHILLIPS: All right, Leeann Taylor, a rocking deejay. Hold on for a second. Our next guest is Erin or Eric Sheptock in Washington. He's an advocate for the homeless because he himself is homeless.

And, Eric, you've been reaching out. I've been following your blog. I've been following Change.org. And how tough has it been for you since we last talked? And I understand, though, you're still being very proactive, and you're even working now with the Department of Labor.

Tell us what you're up to.

ERIC SHEPTOCK, UNEMPLOYED & ADVOCATE FOR HOMELESS: Well, I'm working with other members of streets on what's called the Exit Strategy and what that is a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Labor and D.C. government's Department of Human Services.

We have Jane Oates who is the undersecretary of DOL. She's also the head of the Employment Training Administration, and Clarence Carter, who is the director of human services in D.C. government, and his deputy director, Laura Zilinger.

We're talking with the homeless about how to get them job training and working on creating a program that will employ them because D.C. government's 10-year plan and homelessness had nothing in it about getting jobs for the homeless.

PHILLIPS: Now here's what's -- what amazes me is that you are being so proactive. You're connected to the right people. You're helping. And I'm going to use a different word, I said homeless and you say members of the streets.

What a very respectful way to put that, Eric.

Why is it that you think that you still haven't been able to get a full pay job?

SHEPTOCK: Well, I'm not sure just how pertinent my skills are. I'm a homeless advocate. There aren't many job openings out there for that sort of thing. I've been really busy doing what I do, pro bono, and so I haven't put in an awful lot of applications.

I've been busy with this Exit Strategy effort. And actually, if it works out then what's going to happen is I'm going to benefit from it too because I'll get job training myself, and hopefully it will pay a living wage.

That's what we're working on is making sure that the homeless can get living wage jobs, can get out of homelessness and not be dependent on the system at all. And so what I'm doing is going to help me, too.

PHILLIPS: Well, and we should point out, you do have gifts and you do have a lot of talent. And we want more than anything for someone to hire you, Eric. And quickly, I want you to hold on but I want to quickly ask you, you know, just to make the point, the majority of the members of the streets that you deal with, they want to work, right?

SHEPTOCK: That's true.

PHILLIPS: And so what are they telling you? That people just stereotype them as soon as they walk in the door? Do you feel like you're stereotyped when you walk in the door to do an interview?

SHEPTOCK: Yes. When you're homeless or you've been homeless, you do get stereotyped a lot of times. And then what you have to remember, too, though, is that a lot of folk who are college-educated and who have a high-level of skill are losing jobs, and so if you're unskilled, then it's even tougher.

I mean there's a lot of competition out there. And so hopefully this job training that we're creating for the homeless will make them more competitive.

PHILLIPS: I hope Change.org does more with you because I know you get paid a little bit to write for them.

Stay with me for a second, Eric.

Let's bring in Edwin Duterte. He's a social media specialist. First he created a Web site that allowed jobless people to network with each other. Now he's hoping to give them a job himself with a business venture.

Now, once again, Edwin, I'm still surprised you don't have a full-time job because of what you're doing. And I understand even there are television programs reaching out to you to take advantage of your skills.

Give us an update. Tell us what you're doing to be proactive.

EDWIN DUTERTE, UNEMPLOYED SOCIAL MEDIA PUBLICIST: Well, what I'm doing to be proactive is I know that Larry King is leaving his position. So if there is a way where you can throw some bugs out, maybe I -- maybe that's a position for me. So think about that. Talk to me.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: You would do a good job. OK, I'll put that -- I'll pass the word.

DUTERTE: Thanks. Appreciate it, Kyra. Well, what I've been doing is I've been, you know, throwing job networking events, still trying to find a job for myself. But what I've learned also is we got to build small businesses and one way to build small businesses is to help small businesses get stronger, bigger and better, and hopefully by doing that they'll start hiring people as well.

PHILLIPS: And when I last talked to you, you created the PinkSlipsMixers.com. You were trying to collect all these people that got their pink slips to network and --

DUTERTE: Yes.

PHILLIPS: And try to help each other. How has that gone? Has that been successful?

DUTERTE: That has been very successful especially in the last few months. You know, I've been doing mixers all over the country. Been doing mixers in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas. And companies are now starting to come down to the PinkSlipsMixers.com events to hire.

You know, one case, in fact, is someone from Valley's Technology in Las Vegas came to our mixer and hired somebody on the spot. So that was really great. And since then, I've started a new company called the ViralPublicity.com and we're all about showing small businesses how do you use social media to grow.

And it's been really great. Since then -- also since then, you know, we've auditioned for the "Apprentice", Donald Trump's, you know, office, their casting directors came down to our events and said you have talented professionals. PinkSlipsMixers has mid to upper level professionals looking for jobs. We want those types of people. And, you know --

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: Well, we'll follow that to see what happens. I want to see you on that show, Edwin, for sure.

DUTERTE: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Leeann, before I let all three of you go, I'm just wondering. Maybe Leeann, you've got the gig there at the radio station, maybe, possibly, Eric Sheptock could to a little something- something on your show about what he's doing to get the homeless or members of the streets employed, and maybe, possibly a little segment with Edwin here on PinkSlipsMixers.com.

I don't know. I'm just throwing out an idea, Leann. Can you help them out?

TAYLOR: I actually really would like to talk to Eric in particular because there is no such thing as unskilled. I think everyone has skills. But what you need to do is find out what those skills are and exploit them.

And I would love to work with Eric for sure. And PinkSlips.com, I've been on there, I love that. And, yes, absolutely, they're both welcome on my show.

PHILLIPS: I love it. We're social networking. Eric, Edwin, does that sound good?

SHEPTOCK: Sounds good to me.

DUTERTE: That sounds awesome.

PHILLIPS: OK. All right, as soon as we wrap up this segment, we'll get our booker on that and we will connect all three of you.

Leeann Taylor, congratulations. And I also want to say it to Edwin Duterte and also Eric Sheptock. All three of you making a difference and not giving up. I really appreciate all three of you very much.

SHEPTOCK: Thank you.

DUTERTE: Thank you, Kyra.

TAYLOR: And you too, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: You bet.

All right, if you're out of work, you want to sell yourself to perspective employers, let us know. Send us your resume and a letter to 30secondpitch@CNN.com.

Now a wounded Iraq war veteran has a new mission. Saving the earth and saving some cash. Pretty cool, huh?

Coming up, we're talking to him about he's making his mark.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Finding work, saving money and protecting natural resources. It sounds like a pretty admirable life's mission, doesn't it?

Well, that's exactly what Susan Neisloss is doing with WorkingforGreen.net. It's a social movement that highlights everyday Americans who are doing something environmentally progressive without government or corporate help. Susan introduces us to an Iraqi vet turned green activist who despite debilitating injuries that he suffered during war he's making his mark and paying it forward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF WARRANT OFC. JUAN BELTRAN, U.S. ARMY (RET.): When I got deployed to Iraq, I -- I went with my heart in it. I gave up, you know, being with my family. My daughter was just born maybe a month before I got deployed.

I used to fly Apaches for the Army. And we went out and thought we had a good successful maintenance test flight and then we lost our tail rotor. We were at about a thousand feet and we fell out of the sky, basically. On impact I broke my neck.

I think it's important for people to be able to take care of themselves, to not depend on other entities. Sustainability is the way to go.

This is south-facing roof here. And we've already ordered the solar panels and stuff so the house is going to help me save energy, a lot of energy, a lot of money. I have a lot of people involved. They're actually volunteering. That's helping me out a lot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The shades, he said basically, you know, you can cut out 97 percent of the sun coming in so that should lower your air conditioning bill.

BELTRAN: I'd like to be part of the team. You know, I'd like to be involved. I like to know that I'm affecting their motivation. That I'm motivating them to do a good job, you know?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's left. We got three more eggs.

BELTRAN: We have eight hens. They're all producing eggs now. We got about three or four eggs every day. That's free breakfast, you know? You know, thanks to the goats, man, they -- well, they eat, they fertilize the grass.

Compost. That's probably the easiest thing you can do. We're going to fill it up with compost, grow our own vegetables and eat them. We have artichokes over there and some lettuce.

Learn to live off the land, learn to depend on yourself. I hope I'm able to give an example, maybe motivate people to at least think of small ways to sustain themselves, you know?

I'm not bitter. I'm happy. I'm happy with my wife and my daughter and this beautiful house that I have. Even if I'm in this condition, it doesn't matter.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Army Chief Warrant Officer Juan Beltran, sued and settled with that helicopter manufacturer after his Apache gunship lost that tail rotor on its maintenance test flight. That flight that left him paralyzed.

Well, you just saw firsthand what he's doing with that money that he won.

Juan and WorkingforGreen.net founder Susan Neisloss joining us live from Los Angeles this morning.

I'll tell you what, Juan, I salute you for your strength and how you have rebounded. And I just want to know -- I want to know from you what gave you the inspiration not to give up?

BELTRAN: You know, I have a 7-year-old daughter that inspires me on a daily basis. So I guess that's my inspiration there.

PHILLIPS: And Susan, what was it about Juan when you met him, when you heard about him, that inspired you to go out and do a piece and put it on your Internet social movement?

SUSAN NEISLOSS, FOUNDER, WORKING FOR GREEN: Well, as you said, Kyra, we're all about finding people and dedicated to the belief that everyday Americans, all of us, can find ways to save money, very important especially when people are out of work.

Millions of people can't keep a roof over their head and don't have enough food to eat. And it personally pains me. So we do a lot of research. And I found out through an acquaintance and going online about Juan. And it was such an incredible story. I wanted to see it firsthand.

And we have done stories around the country. About 60 to date about amazing individuals who are motivating and inspiring themselves, their community and others. And it's just extraordinary because this is a wave of the future.

PHILLIPS: And, Juan, you know, you could have done anything you wanted with that settlement money. But you chose to do something environmentally progressive. You chose to make a difference, not only for you and your family, but for other people as well. Why?

BELTRAN: It's the right thing to do. It feels like the right thing to do. You know, I noticed that when you do something right, when you do something good, you tend to inspire others.

And, you know, I have neighbors that used to call us hippies, but now they're growing their own vegetables and stuff like that, you know? And they're asking more about solar panels and things like that.

And I think that the best thing that you can do is provide an example for people to see. And I guess due to my condition, you know, people look at me and they think, wow, you know, how could you be that way? How could you be so positive?

And I just -- I guess -- I get that and I feed on that, you know? And it's just -- it just keeps going, keeps going, you know?

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: Well, you're a remarkable human being. Go ahead, Susan.

NEISLOSS: I'm sorry, Kyra. I was so inspired by Juan and some of the other people I've met in various towns and cities across the country that I too have become a little bit more eco-savvy.

And I must say, even though I was raised with a dad who grew his own fruits and vegetables, we didn't totally live off the land. But I was always inspired by nature. But meeting people like Juan, they've inspired me to turn off my lights, to unplug my appliances, and to even start composting.

So it's about hope. It's about in this world where we hear bad news every day, about providing some sort of example that people can follow and just take baby steps. It doesn't have to be a huge undertaking to improve your life.

PHILLIPS: That's so true.

And, Juan, thank you for what you've done for our country. Thank you for what you're doing environmentally. You're an incredible inspiration and I can just imagine looking into the eyes of your 7- year-old daughter and not wanting to give up. I just -- I appreciate what you're doing so much.

And Susan, WorkingforGreen.net, fabulous program that you've started. Thank you both so much this morning.

NEISLOSS: Thank you.

BELTRAN: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: You bet.

Well, oil cleanup workers living in those potentially toxic FEMA trailers, the ones left over from Hurricane Katrina. We told you about this yesterday. And mow lawmakers are taking action.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right, yesterday I told you about those potentially toxic FEMA trailers, you remember the 100,000 or so that were used to house people who lost everything to Hurricane Katrina.

Well, many of them has formaldehyde levels five times the level considered safe by the feds. Putting people at risk for itchy eyes, respiratory problems, even nasal cancer. They were banned from ever being used for long-term housing again.

Well, those trailers are back in the Gulf, being used to house oil cleanup workers.

My blood was boiling when I first heard about this. And it turns out I'm not the only one. A couple of congressmen are now asking for an investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. EDWARD MARKEY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: It is absolutely preposterous that workers who are asked to go out to clean up toxic materials are then going home to trailers, toxic trailers, loaded with formaldehyde that are not fit for human habitation.

Congressman Melancon from Louisiana and I wrote a letter today to the GSA asking that there be a full disclosure of what has happened with these trailers in the past, how did we get to a situation where the trailers are now being used to house people without notification to them that it could be dangerous to their health.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, that brings us to today's blog question. We wanted your feedback on this. And boy, did you give it.

This comes from Rick. "When our government found out about the health hazards inside the trailers, they should have gone out and got our money back and investigated the manufacturers and imposed fines if negligence was found. The government needs to get it in gear and start giving the American people what we pay for and deserve."

Michael says, "Those FEMA trailers are only fit for the BP executives." Christian says that, "Why wasn't the manufacturer of the toxic trailers sued for liability and prosecuted criminally for attempted murder on multiple counts?"

Remember, we always want to hear from you. Just log on to CNN.com/Kyra and share your comments. I sure appreciate them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Time now to honor our servicemen and women who made the ultimate sacrifice. Every day we do a "Home and Away" tribute. And we're going to tell you how you can be a part of it in just a second.

But right now we want to salute Captain Kyle Erin Comfort of Jacksonville, Alabama. He died May 8th in Afghanistan in a roadside bomb.

Kyle's wife Brooke says he died saving the life of another. Brooke also says that Kyle loved his family, his friends and loved being a soldier.

Kyle's big brother Kenneth says as kids Kyle was always able to pick up whatever his siblings were doing and just do it better.

Kyle's brother-in-law David Sayers also wrote us and said, "After five minutes of knowing Kyle, he either wanted to marry him or be his best friend. Our family suffered a great loss, but we're very proud of him and we're fortunate to have his beautiful wife and daughter Brooke and 8-month-old Kenley with us. They truly represent Kyle's spirit."

Please send us more stories like Kyle's. Just go to CNN.com/homeandaway. Put your servicemember's name in the upper right search field, pull up the profile, upload your thoughts and don't forget the pictures.

We love those pictures and we'll keep this living memorial on display for everyone to visit.

Happy Fourth of July, everyone. Have a great weekend. That does it for us. We'll be back here --