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Romney in the Holy Land; Colorado Shooting Suspect Due in Court; Arab League: "War Crimes" in Aleppo; Influencing Your Child's Career; Remembering the Heroes; Romney in the Holy Land; Columbine Survivor's Show of Support; Postal Service on the Brink; Comedian's Hero were Drug Addicts; Shooting Survivors Turn to Faith

Aired July 29, 2012 - 19:00   ET

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

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Deborah Feyerick in tonight for Don Lemon.

Let's get you up to speed on some of the stories making news this hour.

A movie theater turned into a murder scene. The Colorado suspect linked to that mass shooting spree, he'll be in court tomorrow. James Holmes expected to be formally charged with 12 counts of first degree murder.

Police say Holmes killed 12 people at that theater, 58 others were injured. Court documents filed Friday show Holmes was a patient of a psychiatrist at the University of Colorado just before the attack.

Getting the VIP treatment, almost presidential treatment today in Jerusalem; the presumed Republican nominee for the White House, Mitt Romney, today, he weighed in on one of the stickiest issues of the Middle East conflict -- the status of Jerusalem. Romney tells CNN he considers Jerusalem the capital of Israel and believes the American embassy should be there. The U.S. embassy's currently in Tel Aviv.

Also today in Jerusalem, Mitt Romney and his wife visited the Western Wall, one of the old city's holiest sites. We'll have details on Romney's day with Israeli leaders. That is going to be coming up in just a moment.

The Arab League says war crimes are being committed in Aleppo, Syria; the Syrian government battling rebels for control of the country's largest city. The U.N. estimates roughly 200,000 Syrians have fled the city over the past couple of day. Activists say the government is stopping supplies of fuel and food from reaching neighborhoods controlled by rebel fighters.

A memorial service held today for the 15 victims of a rollover crash in Texas. The truck was filled with undocumented immigrants. Customs enforcement agents say they were from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. A damaged front right tire is blamed for the cause of the accident.

And this man and this woman tried to get married in their own church -- the answer, no; the reason -- because they're black. It happened in Mississippi. They are angry and they're doing something about it. Stay with CNN, they will be with me live right here later this evening.

And it's becoming a very long, hot summer for a big chunk of the country. Extreme heat is making life miserable for folks in the southern plains. Heat advisories and excessive heat warnings blanket parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas. Temperatures spiking -- listen to this -- from 105 to 113 degrees and that's the forecast through Thursday.

There he is, getting the VIP treatment, almost presidential treatment in Jerusalem. The presumed Republican nominee for the White House, Mitt Romney, today, he weighed in one of the most troubling issues of the Middle East conflict -- the status of Jerusalem. Romney tells CNN he considers Jerusalem the capital of Israel and believes the American embassy should be there, not in Tel Aviv. He also specifically mentioned Iran on the subject of Israel's regional defense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We recognize Israel's right to defend itself and that it is right for America to stand with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Also today in Jerusalem, Romney and his wife visited the Western Wall. You can see him there putting a little piece of paper in -- usually it's a prayer or a wish. The Western Wall of course, one of the oldest shrines in the old city. You can see him there making a prayer.

One of the men running President Obama's re-election efforts says Mitt Romney is not doing himself or America any favors on his trip abroad. Listen to Robert Gibbs, President Obama's senior campaign advisor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GIBBS, SENIOR CAMPAIGN ADVISOR FOR PRES. OBAMA: Mitt Romney wondered aloud whether London was ready for the Olympics and I think it's clear that voters in this country wonder aloud whether Mitt Romney's ready for the world. And I think the world is not yet ready for Mitt Romney. I think there's literally to go overseas, stand in the country of our strongest ally and the Olympics that they've been preparing years for and question whether or not they're ready does make me wonder whether or not he's ready to be Commander-in-Chief.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Mitt Romney is in Israel. He's expected to head to Poland on Monday.

And the Colorado suspect linked to a shooting rampage at a movie theater is due in court tomorrow. James Holmes, he is expected to be formally charged in the case. 12 people died, 58 others were injured.

David Mattingly joins us live outside the courthouse in Centennial, Colorado. Dave, it's interesting, the building behind you, we know that he's being housed in the jailhouse. There's an underground sort of tunnel that leads into the courthouse.

What are we expecting at tomorrow's hearing? He was wearing a bulletproof vest at the last hearing.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's true. But tomorrow, when we see everything going on, expect to see the prosecutors taking center stage. That's because they are going to have a chance now to tell us exactly what they plan to charge the suspect with.

We had 12 people killed that night. We're looking at 12 possible premeditated murder charges. All of them potentially in the state of Colorado could carry the death penalty.

We also have 58 people wounded. There's another couple -- or several dozen people there where they could possibly have attempted murder charges as well, not to mention charges that could come from his apartment.

The improvised explosive devices that he had set rigged to go off if someone went in the apartment. He actually had music playing sort of as a bait, trying to entice someone to go in there and set off these charges. Authorities said after they were able to get in there they were able to determine if these explosives were strong enough that they could have caused someone, at the very least, some serious harm, but most likely, death if they had gone through that door. So again, more charges in that regard as well.

FEYERICK: And what's so fascinating is that clearly, the prosecutors -- you and I have covered a lot of different cases -- and the prosecutors tend to overcharge in the sense that they have a whole range of different charges and they basically build the years up one after another, so that if he is convicted, then clearly, he will never be out ever again.

Of course, there is that aspect of the psychiatrist, the treatment and prosecutors or his defense team could argue that in fact he was suffering.

But another heartbreak today for a young mom who lost her 6-year-old daughter in the shooting; she's now lost her unborn baby as well as she was just recently pregnant, right?

MATTINGLY: Right. And you see how the pain continues to go on and get worse for some of the families involved here. Ashley Moser was wounded that night very severely. Her 6-year-old daughter, Veronica, was sitting to her right. Veronica was shot and killed in that theater; she was the youngest victim of that shooting.

And her boyfriend Jameson Tate (ph) was sitting on her left. He was also injured in the head. He still has shotgun pellets, he says, lodged in his head right now. But Ashley, very severely wounded, very serious injuries; she went in for surgery again yesterday and that's when she miscarried. She was eight weeks pregnant. She knew at the time of the shooting. They had just found out; they just had the ultrasound done, so they were very excited. This was a child between Ashley and her current boyfriend, Jameson, and they were talking about what to name the child, hoping that it might be a boy, making all sorts of plans for their future. And all of that just abruptly ended with those gun shots. And now for this one family, this tragedy mounting as time goes by.

FEYERICK: All right. Dave Mattingly for us there in Colorado; thank you so much. We'll check in with you a little later on. Appreciate it.

Well, a criminal defense attorney who knows Colorado law is weighing in on tomorrow's court appearance for the accused theater shooter. Next, we're going to ask about the chances of an insanity defense and the likelihood that prosecutors will go for the death penalty.

And later, before Aurora, there was Columbine, a day in history that Coloradoans hoped to never ever see again. We will hear from a Columbine survivor. We'll hear his heartfelt advice to those who were in the theater and survived when the shots rang out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: The orange-haired suspect linked to a shooting rampage at a Colorado movie theater is expected to be in court tomorrow. James Holmes is said to be formally charged in the shooting. How might he respond to the charges?

Attorney Sharon Liko joins me now from Centennial, Colorado. Sharon, are we expecting an insanity plea from James Holmes?

SHARON LIKO, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I would expect an insanity plea, but it's not going to be tomorrow. Tomorrow is just a formal reading of the charges and believe me, there's going to be a laundry list of charges.

The prosecution has to determine whether or not they're going to be seeking the death penalty. That's going to drive this case. If the prosecution does seek the death penalty, then you can expect the public defender to go all out. And this is a case that will cost the taxpayers of Colorado millions of dollars to defend and to house this guy in prison while the appellate process takes it course.

(CROSSTALK)

FEYERICK: So basically what you're suggesting is that even if he is -- what you're suggesting is that even if they do go for the death penalty and he does get the death penalty, it will take so many years to appeal. It could be like 20 years before anything happens.

But when we talk about insanity and the death penalty together, do you think that his defense team will be able to convince that he is crazy? Especially since what we're hearing about the psychiatrist and the meetings he was having with her. He sent her a package, all of that -- what does that suggest to you? LIKO: Well, I think that the defense has a lot to work with. I think first of all, remember, he goes and slaughters these people in a movie theater, yet he has the presence of mind to tell the police his apartment is booby trapped, when he set that so that it would kill a lot of people in his apartment complex.

So, does this set the stage for him to say well, I went through a psychotic break, but then after the milieu settled, I realized what I did so quickly I told the police and warned them against future harm that I had set up at my apartment complex.

There's so much information that we have yet to develop.

FEYERICK: And that's what is so fascinating. It's clear that we're going to be seeing pictures in the movie theater when this goes to trial, pictures of how he booby-trapped his apartment. When should we expect to see a trial? Are we talking one year, two years; are we talking six months?

LIKO: No way six months. I would expect that a trial, a year, year and a half from now. There's a lot of preparation. There's a lot of steps that have to happen prior to getting there.

First of all, is the defense going to file a motion to change venue because they're going to claim that he can't get a fair trial in Arapahoe County because the minds of the jurors are so tainted and people are so upset that they can't be there. That would be a consideration.

Is he competent to stand trial? Is the defense going to have him evaluated to determine one, does he even understand what's going on? Is he capable of communicating with his lawyers, understanding the nature of the proceedings? And the (inaudible).

Now, I have to tell you, that is a very low threshold. And absent being a babbling village idiot, he'll be competent to stand trial. Then they have to determine if they're going raise an insanity defense.

FEYERICK: Right. Well, it's going to be very interesting to see how strategically this all plays out over the coming months and for that matter, over the coming years.

Sharon Liko, thank you so much for joining us today from Colorado.

Liko: Right.

FEYERICK: And ahead, neither side backing down in Aleppo, Syria and the civilians caught in the crossfire are not waiting around to see who wins.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: You don't have to be in front of a television to watch CNN. You can do what I do. You can stay connected. You can do it on your cell phone or you can do it from your computer at work. Just go to CNN.com/TV.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Syrians are fleeing Aleppo, trying to avoid what could be the civil war's next huge battle.

The U.N. estimates that some 200,000 have left over the past couple of days. Ironically, many civilians took shelter in Aleppo when they left their own battered towns. But Syria's biggest city is no longer is as safe as the Arab League says war crimes are being committed in Aleppo.

CNN's Ivan Watson witnessed a rebel attack on an army base north of the city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): For the past hour and a half, I've been watching a rebel attack on a Syrian army base located just outside the northern limits of that city of Aleppo. It started around sunset with a great deal of rocket fire and mortar fire and machine gunfire. And we've basically been watching constant tracer fire at night focused on this Syrian army base and emerging from this Syrian army base.

The rebels seem to be attacking this base, which has an estimated 14 tanks and about more than 200 soldiers from many different directions. And I've traveled in the villages around this army base, they are almost surrounded by sympathizers and supporters of the rebels.

The army base appears to have called an outside artillery support. It sounds like it's come all the way from the city of Aleppo just a few miles away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Pro-democracy activists say 100 people have been killed across Syria today alone.

Well, stories of sacrifice and medical miracles pouring out of Aurora, Colorado. Ahead, some stories that are worth hearing again and again.

But first, influencing your child's career because you're paying for college? CNN education contributor, Steve Perry warns parents that that can be a mistake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: I'm not just a principle. I'm also a father and it's very, very easy to get caught up in your own dreams. You see some potential in your child and you think they should be a doctor, they should be an attorney. But they may not want to be that.

Parents can keep the expectations high because you can demand that they perform well in school, that they do their homework, that they participate in extracurricular activities, and then they do something in the community. You can demand that they work to their full potential -- whatever that full potential is.

One of the most important things that parents can do is expose your children. Expose them to different careers and within a career, the different career tracks. Take them on a visit to a corporation. Find a way to make sure your child is going to stay focused on a career.

Simply because you're paying for college, it doesn't mean that you should determine what a child should be. You're investing in their future, not yours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Amid the incredible grief and sorrow in Colorado, there is a push for the positive. This weekend Don Lemon spoke with former education secretary, Bill Bennett. He says Americans can learn a lot from some of the bravest who were killed inside Theater 9 nine days ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: With the chaos erupting all around them, some of the victims thought only of others and lost their lives in the process. Heroes like Jon Blunk, Alex Teves, Matt McQuinn -- all three threw themselves in front of someone else to save them. All three were killed, but the people they were protecting lived. From here on out, the men will be forever remembered as heroes.

And CNN contributor and former education secretary, Bill Bennett joins me now live from Washington, D.C. Bill, it's good to see you. Wish it was under better circumstances.

You know, I like the op-ed you wrote. I thought it was very well written and very thoughtful. You wrote about these heroes. You believe all of them lived what you call a code of honor.

BILL BENNETT, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, they certain did at a critical time. Yes, it was a dark night -- night of that movie, but there was light, Don, and Stephanie obviously, what she did for her friend.

But these three men, what they did instinctively or because they were brought up to believe in a code of honor, they did the right thing. Each of them got in the way of the bullets, protecting the woman they were with. None of them married to these women. No legal commitment. No vow of marriage. These were girlfriends, but these men did the right and honorable thing.

And you know men -- the stock of men is down these days, you know. Men are not achieving. They're not graduating from school. They're growing into manhood -- there's a lot of statistics, but these three guys when it came to it, they measured up, big time.

LEMON: Yes. Yes. And the role of men changing now, the perception of men changing, what the role should be --

BENNETT: Yes.

LEMON: -- especially now with the economy, so many men out of jobs. And you know, it used to be the swashbuckling hero that would save the woman or you hear about, you know, the guy in church who was a deacon --

BENNETT: That's right.

LEMON: -- and what have you. But these were guys. This wasn't a church as you said to me. It wasn't a church. They weren't boy scouts. They were just every day guys who were going to the movies.

BENNETT: Yes. It wasn't the Navy League meeting or the Bible study or the Eagle Scouts. This was a midnight showing of a movie -- these were regular, average American guys.

McQuinn and his girlfriend met because they were both working at Target in Ohio. These are stories of people -- everyday people, everyday men, everyday Americans. So at a time when people are wondering, you know, and writing books and asking questions -- which need to be asked. What's happening to men? Are they growing into, you know, boys growing into the kind of men we'd like to see, this is a very reassuring thing.

You know, St. Paul says whatsoever things are good and true, think on those things. It was a dark night, but there was light that night brought by these men and these women will never forget. And one wonders about what kind of effect this will have on the lives of those women when they see what some men, a man, is capable of doing.

LEMON: You know, as you were saying that, I thought, you know, it's not just these guys saved their girlfriends. Women were heroes, too. And I'm sure there were women in --

BENNETT: Sure. Sure.

LEMON: -- there were women who were heroes. There was one young lady who saved her friend's life by putting her hand over a vital organ -- a vital artery -- the President spoke about that -- and saved her life; went to the hospital with her even though she was in the midst of all this. So there were women who were heroes as well.

BENNETT: We take nothing away from Stephanie. Her story is remarkable, but in a time when men need a little bucking up, a little encouragement people have said what's happened to the boys? You know, there are books coming out about the decline of man, the end of man. This suggests man will prevail a William Faulkner said. At least some men will.

And what an encouraging thing; what a good story to be told to little boys about these men. And again, the affect on the lives of people who know them I think will be profound. And what I was trying to do in the CNN piece, Don, was to write it so that a lot more people can know the story of these men. All honor due to them. (END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And you can read more of Bill Bennett's op-ed piece on the heroes inside Theater 9 on CNN.com.

And at the top of the hour, we're looking back at the lives of those lost inside the Colorado movie theater. Watch "MADNESS AT MIDNIGHT", the dramatic story of what happened inside that theater tonight at 8:00 Eastern and then again at 11:00 Eastern.

Well, before Aurora, there was Columbine -- a day in history that Coloradoans hoped to never ever see again. Ahead: a Columbine survivor and his heartfelt advice to those who were in the theater and those who survived when the shots rang out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Half past the hour now, let's take a look at the headlines.

Another busy action-packed day for athletes at the London Olympics. The U.S. men's swim team took silver losing out to France in the 4-by- 100 meter relay. In basketball, the U.S. men beat France 98-71. And American swimmer Dana Vollmer set a world record. She became the first woman to swim the 100-meter butterfly in under 56 seconds.

There he is in Israel getting the VIP treatment. Almost the presidential treatment. The presumed Republican nominee for the White House, Mitt Romney, and today, he weighed in on one of the stickiest issues of the Middle East conflicts, the status of Jerusalem.

Romney tells CNN he considers Jerusalem the capital of Israel and he says he believes the American embassy should be there. The U.S. embassy is currently in Tel Aviv.

Also today in Jerusalem, Mitt Romney and his wife visited the Western Wall. One of the old city's most holy sites. There he is putting a little wish or a prayer into the wall.

The full details of Romney's day with Israeli leaders, that's coming up in just a minute.

In Syria, the Arab League says war crimes are being committed in Aleppo. The Syrian government battling rebels for control of the country's largest city. The U.N. estimates roughly 200,000 Syrians have fled the city over the past couple of days. Activists say the government is stopping food supplies and fuel supplies from reaching neighborhoods controlled by the rebel fighters.

Well, this man and this woman, they tried to get married in their own church. Sounds simple? Well, the answer came back no. The reason, because they're black. It happened in Mississippi. They're angry and they're doing something about it.

Stay with CNN. They are going to be with me talking about it right here later this evening. And it's becoming a very long, hot summer for a big chunk of the country and you know if you live there, extreme heat making life miserable for folks in the southern plains. Heat advisories and excessive heat warnings blanket parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas. Temperatures are spiking from 105 to 113 degrees. That is the forecast going through Thursday.

And take a look in Texas, a memorial service held today for 15 victims of a rollover crash. That truck was filled with undocumented immigrants. Customs Enforcements agents say they were from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.

The cause of the accident, well, a damaged front right tire is being blamed.

And an image that has become too familiar. A movie theatre turned into a murder scene. The Colorado suspect linked to the mass shooting spree is going to be in court tomorrow. James Holmes expected to be formally charged with 12 counts of first-degree murder among other charges. Police say Holmes killed 12 people at that movie theatre, 58 others were injured when he opened fire at midnight.

Court documents filed Friday show Holmes was a patient of a psychiatrist at the University of Colorado, where he was attending school, had been attending school, before the attack.

Well, before Aurora, there was Columbine. The school shooting in 1999 also outside Denver. It killed 12 students and one teacher. Two students were to blame in that attack.

Craig Scott was wounded that day. His sister Rachel, she was killed. Craig sat down with CNN to talk about this theatre shooting in Aurora and offer his advice to the victims to help them try to move past the tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG SCOTT, SISTER KILLED IN COLUMBINE SHOOTING: I think they can expect times of obviously sadness and grief and expect times of obviously sadness and grief. And expects times where they're questioning what's -- why this happened. Expect times where they'll see the shooter's face and they're going to feel very angry.

For the people that were in the theatre that are going to have post- traumatic stress disorder symptoms, they might have problems with their memory. They might have nightmares. Paranoid feelings. They might have survivor's guilt. And all of those things can heal over time and there are definite things that you can do to heal and there are friends that I have today from Columbine that are still struggling.

I have friends that are still in a very negative place. I have friends that didn't want to deal with it. I had a -- I had friends that wouldn't talk about it. That ran away from it. And I've talked to some of them. Some of them regret that. And I didn't do that. I felt like it was too important to run away from. I wasn't going to let fear hold me back. I've heard talk of -- from people I'm scared to go to the theatre at night now or -- and I understand that. But I would say don't let fear hold you back. Don't let this shooter rob you from anything that he's already robbed people enough. And not just things like going to the movies, but if people aren't careful, they can let him rob them of peace, joy, life.

They can be turned into a bitter person because of this or a better person because of this. And I truly hope that they can become better, stronger, deeper because of what happened.

Well, I would say to all of the survivors that were in the room together, they have a special bond that nobody else in the world shares. And I would really hold on to that bond. I would -- I would say get to know everybody that was in that room.

I didn't do that with all of the people that I was in the library with, which was the scene of the most intense shooting at Columbine. And we were trapped like they were. We thought it was a prank at first, and we feared for our lives, and I wish that I had stayed in contact with all of them, but I didn't, and to this day, I still wonder what some of them experience because your memory starts to get a little fuzzy.

It is harder when the cameras leave, when there is no more attention. When you've -- when it seems you've lost some support and you're alone. And now you're dealing with this situation. The sense of comfort that you get when you have a lot of people coming, rallying around you is incredible. And that will dwindle over time and so I would say prepare for when you go through tragedy and you have that initial support.

I would say prepare for the days ahead when you're going to be alone and it's just going to hit you in a different way. And that sadness is really going to be concrete, but you know what? There is a light on the other side and you can get through your loss. And you can get through and you can get through and you can come out shining. You can come out smiling.

I want to share one story, after Columbine, I went to South Africa for a couple of months and I had this driver, this big African man, who was always singing songs and really joyful. And one night, I kind of felt sorry for myself and I shared with him my story, and in turn, he shared with me his story and he came home to find 17 members of his family slaughtered. His wife, his kids, his siblings, his relatives.

It was during the Apartheid in South Africa and what struck me was that he told me his story with a smile. Not a fake smile. A genuine smile. And what I never forgot about this man was that life's circumstances can't rob you of your inner life. Unless you let it.

This is a man who lost everything and chose to continue on, and I would say you've suffered tremendous loss, you're going to suffer a lot of sadness, a lot of emotions, but don't let it define you in a negative way. Let it -- let it be a catalyst for you becoming a greater person. Maybe the person that you've longed to be for a long time.

My family and I, after Columbine, it was years after doing a lot of speaking and media interviews that we finally started Rachel's Challenge, which is a program that reaches schools with my sister's story and we share a story of a girl who believed she could make a difference through acts of kindness and she believed she could start a chain reaction of compassion where if one person did something kind for another, it could have a ripple effect on other people, but it took time, work, and it kind of happened organically and now the organization is the largest of its kind in the country.

And we'll speak to four million people this year in person. And so if someone has just, they want to do something they're not sure what, they want to make something good, I would say follow your heart. I would say that you have a platform right now. People want to hear from you. Take advantage of that platform. There's nothing to be ashamed of doing media interviews and going out and speaking in public. It's not about you. It's about the message that you have to share.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: The clock is ticking for the U.S. Postal Service. It is losing millions of dollars a day and needs congressional help to get back on track, fast.

CNN's Athena Jones has more on the complicated issue that's putting the postal service, unions and Congress at odds.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. Postal Service is losing money and the situation is growing more serious by the day. Something the postmaster general acknowledged on Capitol Hill this spring.

PATRICK DONAHOE, U.S. POSTMASTER GENERAL: We've got to get our finances stabilized. The quicker we act to get ourselves back on firm financial footing, the better for the entire industry.

JONES: If Congress doesn't act by August 1st, the service will default on a $5.5 billion payment to the federal government to cover retiree health benefits. It would be the first default in its more than 200-year history.

JENNIFER LIBERTO, CNNMONEY.COM: The Postal Service has said that they are going to continue to pay employees and they're going to continue to pay their bills and pay their subcontractors, so in some respects, this default is largely symbolic.

JONES (on camera): But it does highlight that there's a crisis here.

LIBERTO: Correct and as they move towards September when they have to make the second payment, you're getting to a point where they are really going to run out of cash eventually to even make their more basic needs.

JONES (voice-over): Losses from a sluggish economy and the growing number of people paying their bills online have forced the service to tap a nearly $13 billion Treasury Department loan to make ends meet.

The service has a plan to cut costs by $22.5 billion by 2016 and return the service to profitability. It's already shutting down some processing plants and is offering retirement packages to thousands of employees. It's also cutting hours at some post offices and wants to end Saturday service.

Unions want to reduce the money set aside for health benefits and don't want to see services cut.

CLIFF GUFFEY, AMERICAN POSTAL WORKERS UNION: I think there's got to be some closings and consolidations. That's -- that's modernization. It just doesn't need to be as draconian and as quickly done as what is necessary right now.

JONES: The Senate has passed legislation to help shore up the service's finances, but the House has yet to act. Despite Donahoe's warning about what will happen by October of 2013 without help.

DONAHOE: We would be out of cash as it stands now, but would strongly encourage Congress to move now.

JONES: The Postal Service and postal workers are still waiting.

Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: My heroes were drug addicts. Do I have your attention? Well, those are not my words. They're the words of comedian Marc Maron. Next, he'll reveal the ups and downs of being center stage in the world of comedy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: In this week's "Red Chair Interview," comic Marc Maron, host of the WTF podcasts to talk about his drug struggles and not having a plan B for his life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC MARON, COMEDIAN: My hero was always drug addicts. It wasn't a sports guy, you know, there's always like the beatniks, you know, Burrows, Keith Richards and Leni Bruce, and anyone who was on drugs, yes, that's my guy.

Well, hearing voices in your head, checking into a hospital is a low point. And I always had this agreement with myself. Like, you know, if I ever lost my mind, you know, I would stop. And that's giving yourself a lot more credit than you were capable of because if you lose your mind, you're not going to know that. A day for me was, it wasn't -- it was usually just booze and pot and coke. But you know when I went to L.A. and I was hanging out with (INAUDIBLE), you know, I did my graduate work and, you know, chopping coke for Sam, and sitting next to Sam and making lines and doing the thing, and we'd go hours and sometimes days without sleep, and just talking, getting into it.

And it got weird. I thought by the time I left college, I was, like, you know, I know how to do drugs. But, you know, after almost a year in L.A., I literally, between the sleeplessness and the coke, I realized I was hearing voices in my head and, you know, I was sleeping in the closet, panicky on a kind of cosmic level.

It's weird when you hear voices in your head, it's never one. It's always many. And you spend a lot of time trying to get them to pick a leader.

I don't like when people say that my podcast is like therapy session for me or anybody else, it's just conversation, it's something that human beings should thrive on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I could have used you. I got divorced, I got a show canceled. You know, I had some tough times. I could have used a friend.

MARON: Approaching jealousy as being the root of, you know, my problem with Louie, you know, that took a certain amount of courage. You don't know what you're going to get back. You know, and I've been -- you know, I've been a deustchbag in my life. I've been mean. You know, I have -- I've hurt people's feelings, I've been dismissive. You know, you move through that. So there are a lot of people that I've had experiences with them, I'm bringing up things, like, I'm sorry about that thing.

And you know in my mind, it's been sitting in my head for years. And I'm like, I don't even remember what you're talking a bout. I'm like, why do you need to put that out there. And there are still people I have tension with.

And I don't have a plan B. Yes, what's my plan B? What am I going to do, you know, play in a band? Be a teacher? I mean what do I do? I never had a job before. I mean this is comedy. It's been my whole life. I've been doing this since I was I was 20 -- 19 years old. I was never designed to be -- you know, to have a job. You know, I was always designed to be an artist or some kind.

I'm OK with myself. Yes, I still -- my biggest problem is, you know, some ridiculous body image issues that my mother gave me. It's weird. I'm not proud of it. It's not necessarily a male issue. But my mother, you know, until like five years ago, she's like, you know, if you were fat, I don't think I could love you. I mean she said that. With no irony.

You know, when it gets right down to it, after everything I've been through, all the addictions and all the struggles and everything else, that's really the thing that screws with me the most on a day-to-day basis. It's just weird relationship with food and fat.

Well, there you go. You've got an exclusive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And you can see more fascinating interviews like this one online on our Web site, just go to CNN.com/video and search "Red Chair."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Some of the Colorado theater shooting survivors are turning to faith to help them heal. And one of them made an emotional return to church today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's put our hands together and let's welcome Pierce O'Farrill (INAUDIBLE).

Could you walk us back to the night of the shooting?

PIERCE O'FARRILL, COLORADO SHOOTING SURVIVOR: We walked into that theater. And the whole place was completely packed. And here were two seats, like they were just waiting for us.

I do believe the Lord wanted me in that theater. I believe he protected me for a reason. Maybe this is -- you know, the reason is to show what I've been praying for the last year every day is Lord, help me, help me, give me a way to show the world who you are. And, you know, if this is that reason, then hallelujah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's got a long ways to go. You know, he's got a lot of healing that's got to take place. And obviously, this has been extremely difficult. But I think he's very optimistic and very positive, very upbeat for the future.

O'FARRILL: The bullet went straight into my arm I was laying on my side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He doesn't dwell, he doesn't -- not want to complain on how he's feeling, what's going on, this is so bad, it's happened to me. He's not the victim at all when you talk to Pierce about it. He's very strong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's always been so positive and he's just been full of joy and love.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Saturday he came out and said that he had forgiven the gunman. I think Pierce knows who he is and what he's about. Forgiveness is very important. It can damage relationships, it can even cause health issues, unforgiveness, it can make us miserable people.

O'FARRILL: After the trial and everything is done, I want to meet him and the very first thing I'm going to say is, James, I forgive you. (END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Big heart on him.

Well, I'm Deborah Feyerick at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Thanks so much for joining us. I will be back and see you then at 10:00 Eastern. Right now "CNN PRESENTS, MADNESS AT MIDNIGHT." Filled with interviews and the recap of the investigation, along with powerful stories of survivors and the things that they are doing to help them heal and to help carry on the memories of those who were lost and the struggle for life.

Thanks so much. Deb Feyerick. See you at 10:00.