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Campbell Brown

Family of Senator Harry Reid Injured in Car Accident; America's Education Crisis

Aired March 11, 2010 - 20:00   ET

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

CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody.

We're starting with breaking news tonight: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's wife and daughter in a serious car accident. His wife broke her back, her neck, and nose when the vehicle she and her daughter were riding in was rear-ended.

We're going to have the latest coming up for you tonight in the "Mash-Up."

But we will begin with intense closed-door negotiations at the White House on health care, clock ticking right now on President Obama's latest deadline, March 18. But, today, there were signs the administration may have to move back the goalpost again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Our hope is to get this done as soon as possible. If it takes a couple extra days, after a year, it takes a couple extra of days.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It doesn't look like they're going to do it by March 18, which is the day that the president is leaving for his trip to Indonesia and Asia. That's the day he wanted the House to pass the Senate version. Nancy Pelosi is making it clear she doesn't think that that deadline is necessarily all that firm.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Well, the March 18 is an interesting date. We will take up the bill when we're ready to take up the bill.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The speaker won't call a vote on the bill unless she believes she has enough yes votes to pass it. And she's not there yet. Intense pressure tonight is on the 37 House Democrats who voted no on the House health care bill in November and are now being pushed hard to vote yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Pelosi says she is waiting for a report from the Congressional Budget Office on the cost of the changes to the bill. And she said the House would wait at least a week after that before voting.

And now, as we mentioned earlier, to Senator Harry Reid, he did leave those health care meetings. He rushed to the hospital in suburban Virginia where his wife and daughter were being treated after their car, again, was rear-ended by a semitruck. This was on a very busy highway right near D.C.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The Senate majority leader's wife and daughter in a very serious car accident here in the Washington, D.C., area, this emergency for Senator Harry Reid and his family during a crucial moment in the push for health care reform.

DIANE SAWYER, HOST, "WORLD NEWS": That is his wife there in the pink sweater.

BRIAN WILLIAMS, HOST, "NBC NIGHTLY NEWS": Both women suffered neck injuries. Mrs. Reid also has a broken back, but doctors said their injuries are at least not life-threatening.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A semitruck driven by a 59-year-old Ohio man who's actually been charged for reckless driving now, he rear-ended the Honda Odyssey that the Reids were in. That pushed their car into yet another car and then they ran into a fourth -- really a fourth car. So, this was a four-car accident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Reid later returned to his meeting with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on health care. His spokesman said he's going back to the hospital after the meeting. We're going to have a live report coming up a little bit later in the hour on how they are doing.

Protesters waving Bibles and crosses in the air filled streets of Nigeria's capital today demanding an end to sectarian violence that killed hundreds of Christian villagers over the weekend. The government has issued an alert amid fears of revenge attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brutal attacks are often followed by equally bloody reprisals. Women, children, and the elderly are often targets. Thousands have been killed. But analysts say it's too easy to simply call the problems religious.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These protesters have come to tell their government that they're tired of being ignored.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have ethnic religious violence with hundreds in Central Nigeria. You have the end of a militant cease- fire from the oil-rich Niger Delta region. And now, outside the gates of the house of elected representatives, the situation is really getting out of control.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The country's president, Umaru Yar'Adua, hasn't been seen publicly for over four months. Back in November, he was rushed to a hospital abroad with a heart condition. But the Nigerian cabinet has prevented his vice president from constitutionally assuming presidential powers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This crisis of underdevelopment, this crisis of corruption, this crisis of lawlessness in Nigeria can all be traced for lack of democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Nigeria's former president insists the violence is the result of ethnic, social and economic problems, not religion.

Returning to Washington, we learned today that President Obama is giving away $1.4 million, and it's all going to charity. The money is part of his Nobel Peace Prize award. It is going to an array of causes, from scholarships to aid for Haiti.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The $1.4 million will be divided among 10 charities, including the United Negro College Fund and Clinton/Bush Haiti Fund. The most money, though, a quarter-million dollars, will go to the Fisher House, which provides housing for families of patients being treated at military and VA hospitals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: The president accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in December.

Prom is canceled at one Mississippi high school, after officials found out a lesbian teenager wanted to attend with her girlfriend. Well, now she's suing, trying to force the district to hold the prom and allow her to attend with her date.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When the student talked about taking her date, school officials circulated a memo that informed students same- sex couples weren't allowed at the prom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just want to be able to go to prom and be myself and be happy and bring my date, just like everyone else gets to. I'm not going to pretend. I wasn't raised like that. I was raised to be proud of who you are. And I don't think that you should have to hide who you are to go to a school event.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: School board members say the request violates policy, and now they have decided to simply cancel the whole thing because of what they call a distraction.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The board said it canceled the prom because of -- quote -- "distractions," but it didn't mention the girl specifically. The ACLU's lawsuit now claims the school district is violating her First Amendment right to freedom of expression.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And here's the statement from school official -- quote -- "At this time we feel that this decision is in the best interest of the Itawamba County School District after taking into consideration the education, safety and well-being of our students" -- end quote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Eighteen-year-old Constance McMillen said she didn't want to go back to school after the prom was scrapped. But her father told her she needed to face her classmates and her teachers.

Time now for the "Punchline." Tonight, it's courtesy of Jay Leno, who found that the presidents of Haiti and the United States may have a little bit more in common than you thought.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": Earlier today, the president of Haiti was at the White House to meet with President Obama. He said the people of his country need jobs, they need places to live, and they need health care. And then the president of Haiti spoke.

So, that was interesting.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Jay Leno, everybody. That is the "Mash-Up."

Tonight, the crisis in America's schools, in one city, historic cuts, in another, signs of turnaround that could become a model for the rest of the country. We're going to show it all to you coming up right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Tonight, we are taking a closer look at our schools in crisis.

And the latest example is Kansas City, Missouri, where, last night, the school board voted 5-4 to make drastic cuts. They are closing nearly half of their schools, 26 campuses gone -- 285 teachers are going to get pink slips, all because of the lowest student enrollment in more than 120 years and a shrinking budget that has the superintendent scrambling to slash $50 million.

And it led to an emotional debate just before the vote. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now it's getting personal. I have a boarded up school on my block.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody on this board knows that the superintendent had told us that he needed to close schools in order to balance the budget.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I deserve the right to be able to make a rational choice based on facts. We haven't seen any facts based on student achievement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I'm asking you today to do is to give our children justice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Buildings don't count. Children do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And John Covington is the superintendent of the Kansas City, Missouri, School District, and he's joining me right now.

And explain to us how you guys got to this point. I mean, what happened to bring you to the point where you had to do something this drastic?

JOHN COVINGTON, SUPERINTENDENT, KANSAS CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT: Well, Campbell, over the last several years, our school district has drastically reduced its enrollment -- 20 years ago, we had 75,000 students -- 10 years ago, we had approximately 35,000 students. And today we have 17,500 students.

But yet we're operating approximately 61 buildings. So, we're operating far too many buildings than we need for the amount of students that we have enrolled in the district. And as a result of that it's causing a financial drain on the district's revenue.

BROWN: OK, well, go back a little bit. Like, where did all the students go? Is this because people moved to the suburbs, they moved out of the city? What happened?

COVINGTON: Well, in some cases, or in many cases, people left the urban core and they went to the suburbs. In 1995, the United States Supreme Court reversed a desegregation case, which led to the loss of approximately 8,000 students. And then, in 1995, the Missouri State legislature allowed for charter schools.

BROWN: Right.

COVINGTON: And then, in addition to that, in 2007, some of our schools were annexed by a neighboring school district, the Independent School District, where we lost additional students.

BROWN: OK.

So, what does this mean, the decision that you have made, which a lot of people are upset about? What does it really mean for the children and for their education? How are they going to be affected?

COVINGTON: Well, first of all, the whole notion about -- the whole notion behind right-sizing the school district is, in fact, about children. Right now, we're spreading our resources far too thin. And when you look at the performance of our children in 75 percent of our schools, we have 25 percent of them who are not even meeting the state standards.

And, so, as a result of that, we need to do something very radical to make sure that our financial and human resources are being used in a way that's going to assure that young people are getting the kind of education that they need.

BROWN: But you're not just shutting down schools in that sense. I mean, you're not just closing buildings. I mean, you are firing a lot of teachers -- 300 teachers are being laid off, right? So, what does that mean in terms of class size and, again, how the children are affected?

COVINGTON: Well, in addition to the number of schools that we're operating, we also have an excess number employees that we don't need, based on student enrollment. And, so, as a result of that, we needed to reduce the number of schools that we have, in addition to reducing the number of employees that we have for the amount of students that we have enrolled in the district.

BROWN: So, a lot of parents are clearly worried. They're losing their neighborhood schools in many cases. And they're worried about where their kids are going to go. Are they going to be bused to new neighborhoods? How are you trying to address all this?

COVINGTON: Well, in some cases, they will be bused. But, in most cases, I think the children will still be attending schools very close to their homes.

BROWN: And I guess there's a lot of fear that this is going to worsen, too, sort of inner-city blight. One city councilwoman called it scandalous, shameful.

Are you concerned that closing down these schools is really going to kill some of these neighborhoods, too, which could be equally dangerous for the children in many cases?

COVINGTON: Campbell, and I understand that. Any time you talk about closing one or two schools, it's always going to cause an emotional or an impassioned debate on the part of community members, and that's right, and rightly so.

No one wants to see their schools shut down. However, it is just as scandalous, if not more so, than a public school district to fail to adequately educate children and as a result of that relegate them to a life of poverty that their families have been in for three or four generations. That's unacceptable.

BROWN: Well, superintendent, we appreciate your time tonight. Thank you.

Thank you so very much.

So, how do we fix the education system? When we come back, one man's mission to find solutions. We will talk to him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: The historic cuts coming to Kansas City schools include mass teacher layoffs. That's what we were just talking about. And it's yet another example of the financial crisis devastating districts nationwide.

So, can our broken school system be saved? The man now running the schools in New Orleans -- and I did say New Orleans -- his attitude is pretty simple: Buck the system in the name of results. Take a listen.

Paul Vallas is the superintendent of the Recovery School District created seven years ago to turn failing schools around.

And, Paul, before we get into the big picture here and talk a little bit about New Orleans, you just heard the Kansas City school superintendent a second ago. He's made a very controversial decision to shut down so many of those schools. What do you think about it?

PAUL VALLAS, SUPERINTENDENT, LOUISIANA RECOVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT: Well, I think it was the right decision to make.

What happens in many districts is their obsession with keeping every school open, despite declining student population, results in educational services being delivered in a much more inefficient manage manner. I think you have got to consolidate these buildings. If your population has dropped 30 percent to 40 percent at some point you have got to consolidate schools.

Your schools -- you have to reduce the number of schools, or other programs get deprived. Class sizes increase. After-school programs, summer-school programs get cut back. So, i think he's making a courageous decision, a bold decision, a decision that needs to be made. And he's making up for lost time.

Of course, he's just arrived. You can't blame him for that.

BROWN: Right.

VALLAS: But, obviously, he's got to do it. I give him credit for having the courage to do it.

BROWN: Paul, you have created a lot of buzz and created some controversy yourself...

VALLAS: What controversy?

(LAUGHTER)

BROWN: ... but I think gotten a lot of credit for doing some pretty dramatic things in New Orleans, where that school system pre- Katrina was a disaster. And walk us through the big ideas here. Tell me the couple of things that you think are so key to saving our failing schools? I know you say curriculum is probably first and foremost something that has to be top priority.

VALLAS: Right. Well, let me just say this.

What I'm doing is I'm facilitating reform, because so many reformers from across the country, as well as local reformers, just saw post-Katrina as an opportunity to build a school district from the ground up. So, I have been removing more obstacles than creating things on my own.

But that said and done, let me tell you the things that -- the critical components to school reform. First of all, you -- you have got to select instructional models that are -- that are proven, that work. And you have to do the type of benchmarking, the type of assessment, so you can identify, periodic assessments, so you can identify which kids are falling behind and provide interventions early on.

School districts, charters, direct-run schools that have those type of instructional approaches are highly successful. Secondly, you have got to -- you need more instructional time on task. That means you have got to take your existing school day and spend more time on instruction, and less time on non-instructional distractions.

And also, you have got to...

BROWN: Wait. Let me stop you for a second, Paul, because we have been talking about this a lot lately. And we had someone on the show just a couple of nights ago talking about what they were doing in Minneapolis, which is going just down to a four-day school week.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: And you're saying there needs to be more time for instruction, and it seems like what's happening in this country is less.

VALLAS: Yes, well, you know what? Was it Hawaii that reduced their school year by, I don't know, 20 days? I hope I got the state right. It's crazy.

First of all, one of the reasons that this country consistently falls behind industrial countries and many of the developing countries when it comes to academic performance is not because they have better teachers. They don't. It's not because they have better curriculum strategies. They don't.

It's not because they have more committed parents. It's because their school day and school year is longer. You know, they -- you know, when you look at the United States, our K-12 system vs. many European countries, many Asian countries, you're talking about school days and school years that are 20 percent, 30 percent, sometimes 40 percent shorter.

And our school calendar is based on the Farmer's Almanac, for crying out loud. The bottom line is, we need to be lengthening the school day and lengthening the school year, rather than shortening it. I think it's a major mistake.

BROWN: Let me ask you about teachers, too, because we were following another story last week going on in Rhode Island where basically they fired all the teachers in one school because they were in sort of a standoff with the teachers union.

What are the challenges there, getting the right teachers and getting teachers committed enough to deal with the challenges, you know, you're trying to tackle?

VALLAS: Well, you know, I'm not one to ever, ever, ever trash teachers, because the overwhelming majority of teachers -- whether they're union, non-union, it doesn't make any difference. I think they're heroes and I think they're doing their very best, sometimes in the most trying circumstances, particularly in many, many high-poverty districts.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: And that said, how do you keep those teachers motivated when they're coming in there and they're just facing these -- like, you can't ask anybody to take on what we're asking them to take on.

(CROSSTALK)

VALLAS: Well, with that said and done, I think you need to do two things when it comes to teaching.

The first thing is, you really need to design evaluation systems that measure teacher performance, that factor teacher performance into decisions about who to hire, who to retain, who to let go, for that matter, who to promote.

I think personnel decisions in a school need to be based on performance and need to be based on qualification, and not on tenure and not seniority. The second thing you need to do is, you need to expand the pull of highly qualified individuals. You need to go beyond the traditional teacher colleges and embrace alternative certification programs like Teach for America or for that matter the New Teachers Project.

That expands the pool of highly qualified, highly motivated teachers. It gives you more highly qualified individuals to pick from. It has a way of really increasing the caliber of teacher candidates that is coming to the table. So, I think those two things need to be done.

BROWN: Paul Vallas, it is always fascinating talking to you. Really appreciate you taking the time tonight.

VALLAS: Thank you.

BROWN: More on tonight's breaking news, the car crash that has left Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's wife with a broken neck. Reid's daughter also has been injured. We're going to have an update for you in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: More now on tonight's breaking news: the car crash that has seriously injured the wife and daughter of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Our congressional correspondent, Brianna Keilar, is in Washington with the very latest.

And tell us what Mrs. Reid's condition is. What do we know, Brianna?

KEILAR: Campbell, right now, we know that Mrs. Landra Reid is in serious condition. She has a broken back, a broken neck, and a broken nose. We should mention, though, these are not life-threatening injuries, according to the senator's office.

She is 69 years old. And her daughter, Lana Reid, who is 48 years old, also suffered some injuries, but less so, a neck injury, facial lacerations. Tonight, Mrs. Reid is going to remain in the hospital, though her daughter is going to be released.

And, you know, it's interesting because Mrs. Reid and Senator Reid were just in Nevada on Monday. They were there because he had to sign papers for his reelection bid coming in November. This is a couple that is known to be so close. They actually met when they were teenagers and they just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this past year, Campbell.

BROWN: And this wasn't a simple accident. Describe what you are learning about what happened this afternoon, Brianna.

KEILAR: According to Virginia State Police, this was a four-car accident. Mrs. Reid was in the passenger seat. Her daughter was driving their Honda Odyssey that they were in.

And they were in stop-and-go traffic on I-95, which is obviously a very busy highway. This was about 1:00 p.m. this afternoon. So, they were braking. They were slowing down in traffic, and a semitruck hit them from behind, obviously didn't stop in time.

And what happened was, after hitting their Honda Odyssey, it pushed their car forward into the car in front of them, and even that car went into the next lane and hit yet another car. All of the drivers in all four cars were wearing seat belts. All of them went to the hospital. And the driver of the semitruck, who is 59 years old, an Ohio driver, he has been charged with reckless driving, Campbell.

BROWN: And, Brianna, obviously, those health care negotiations have been intense and ongoing. Where is Senator Reid right now? What's going on?

VALLAS: I just spoke with his office. At this very moment, he's at the Northern Virginia hospital where his wife and daughter are and where his wife was getting some tests still even earlier this evening. But he actually, even though he -- when he heard of this accident this afternoon, he went to the hospital, went right to the hospital. But he had actually come back to Capitol Hill for health care negotiations with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and also with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

There were reporters who asked him, or who asked his spokesman, why not cancel the meeting? And the spokesman said, look, he loves this woman more than life itself, but she's in good hands at the hospital, she was getting tests, and he needed to continue to work on this key legislation.

And I should also mention, Campbell, President Obama called Senator Reid this evening at about 5:00 p.m. to check on Mrs. Reid and her daughter.

BROWN: All right. Brianna Keilar with the very latest on that for us. Brianna, thank you very much.

And as we were saying, President Obama, top House Democrats back at it right now, making a big final push to pass health care. The White House has been pressing to get it done before March 18th. One week away, a deadline that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called, quote, "interesting."

The president's spokesman today said it may not be doable after all. Certainly not the first time a deadline has been set and missed. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Congress owes the American people a final up-or-down vote on health care reform.

(APPLAUSE)

The time for talk is over. It's time to vote. I ask you to help us get us over the finish line these next two weeks.

So let's fight our way through the politics of the moment. Let's pass reform by the end of this year.

This is the time where we've got to get this done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So, can Democrats make it happen this time? And at what cost?

So let's get the experts in here. Candy Crowley is, of course, the host of CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION," and David Gergen is CNN's senior political analyst.

Candy, let me start with you here. The president set this March 18th deadline for the House to pass health care reform. This is not Speaker Nancy Pelosi or Majority Leader Steny Hoyer deadline. And they're not ready, are they, with the 216 votes they need?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: They're not ready, so far as we know. I have talked to some people on the hill and at the White House, all of them Democrats, thinking that they're fairly close. And you know, the key is can they get that 216 votes? But then after that, can they put together a package of fixes that will clear the Senate? So we have the House having to take the Senate bill and they're still working on that, getting the 216 votes. And then we have the Senate having to pass what will be the fixes that the House put together.

So certainly Senator Reid has an easier job because he needs 51 votes. He's got 59 now. So obviously do the math and he can lose a fair amount and still get what he needs. But they're still working on it.

The 18th looks like it's not going to happen. And even at the White House they're pretty sure that this may slide, but as you pointed out it's not the first deadline to slide. They don't think the process will matter in the long run. They'd like to get this done as soon as possible, but they do know it's probably going to slip.

BROWN: David, President Obama, whether it slips or not, I think laying a lot on the line politically with this legislation. Democrats, you know, dusted off the Obama campaign database, sent out text messages today to all their supporters to call their congressmen and say, you know, everything depends on this. But at what cost, ultimately? What other parts of the president's agenda have remained on the back burner as a result?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, Campbell, first of all, I think all of us are saddened by the accident that Mrs. Reid and her daughter suffered. Whatever you may agree or disagree with Harry Reid on policies, he's a good fellow. And I think it is going to -- the sadness here is -- but there's also going to be just complications. I mean, they're down to the final stretch of trying to figure out what's in the bill. Until they figure out what's in the amendments and what they can agree on, they can't even do the House vote.

I think March 18th is definitely gone. The big question is whether they can make March 28th when the House does go home. And if the House goes home without passing this, the bill is in much more serious trouble. I think that's generally agreed upon. I think Candy would agree with that.

But in the meantime, to go to your question, Campbell, this hasn't stopped anything, but it's put everything else on the slow track starting with jobs. Had there been the focus on jobs the president promised in his State of the Union, I think we would have two or three or four bills either passed or just about to pass in the House and Senate and there would be a sense of progress. But all of that is on the slow track now.

In addition, financial reform I think has been slower. Clearly, energy legislation has been slower. Immigration is, I think, sort of on the distant horizon. So there's been a real slowdown while they do this. And that's why both the House and the Senate, as Candy will tell you, want to get this done so they can clear the decks and get on with jobs.

BROWN: And to David's point, Candy, if they don't get this done and then they go home for the Easter recess, lawmakers are going to get an earful, aren't they? When they're back in their districts about why has this taken priority over everything else and then you're not even able to get it accomplished?

CROWLEY: Well, and what's interesting is, yes, the White House wants to get this done because, you know, time is not on the side of legislation. The more it hangs out there the more it becomes a pinata. This has been true of health care for the last year plus, so obviously the White House wants to get this done.

But I hear more urgency, believe it or not, up on Capitol Hill now, particularly when you look at this Easter recess at the end of March. I have had Democrats say to me, if we can't get this done by the end of March when we come back, we have to do jobs. We have to do job legislation because when they go home, what do they hear about? They hear about two things. One, why can't you get anything done up there? And two, what about the economy? What about this 9.7 percent jobless rate? So they really on the hill, the Democrats, want to turn to the economy and get health care done. So I hear much more urgency meeting that end of March deadline from Capitol Hill than I do from the White House, although clearly they don't want it sitting out there.

BROWN: And, David, finally, if it doesn't get done and you're looking at November, what does that mean politically for Democrats?

GERGEN: Well, it clearly means if they don't get it done that the Democratic base will be demoralized and they'll have a hard time getting their voters out. And that's been the fear the Democrats have felt all along. On the other hand if they do pass it, of course, there's a danger it will mobilize the other side even more.

So this is a dilemma. And Democrats, at some point, you've got to not consult the polls but consult your conscience about what's best for the country. And that's the big issue for the Democrats now as they go forward.

BROWN: David Gergen and Candy Crowley for us tonight. Guys, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

GERGEN: Thank you.

CROWLEY: Thanks, Campbell.

BROWN: Coming up, Conan O'Brien's life-changing tweet. How an unsuspecting teen became an overnight sensation. Her story after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: Conan O'Brien's life after late night is filled with surprises particularly for Sarah Killen. The 19-year-old became an instant web celeb when the out of work talk show host picked her as the only person he would follow on Twitter. In a tweet last Friday, he wrote, quote, "I've decided to follow someone at random. She likes peanut butter and gummy dinosaurs. Sarah Killen, your life is about to change."

And Sarah Killen joins us right now. So, Sarah, has it, has your life changed dramatically since this happened?

SARAH KILLEN, CONAN'S LONE TWITTER FOLLOWER: Yes, it has. It's changed dramatically. Our wedding is basically paid for from donations and people have been donating so we can do the three-day Walk for the Cure.

BROWN: Back up a little bit if you will, for me, and tell me how you first learned about this and learned that Conan had picked you?

KILLEN: I got a message on MySpace asking if Conan O'Brien could follow me saying that I would be his only follower. I said, sure. I didn't know I was the only person who received that message. Then just a few minutes later, he was following me and I was getting hundreds of followers to the minute.

BROWN: So did you think it was a joke?

KILLEN: I didn't really take it seriously. I thought that message had got sent to a lot of people. They're just getting permission and doing something. And then I saw my name and his tweet and it was crazy.

BROWN: You mentioned you're getting married soon, right? And you said people are donating stuff for your wedding? Tell us.

KILLEN: Yes. We were not -- we weren't going to have a very nice wedding. We didn't have a lot of money for it, and people found out and we've gotten a wedding dress and we've gotten the wedding bands. We've got everything you can think of. It's basically covered.

BROWN: Wow. And I know you've also -- you said you're donating some of it. You've been able to sort of use it to raise money for charity as well, right?

KILLEN: Yes. People have been donating to Susan J. Komen so we can do the three-day Walk for the Cure. And I've been trying to shout out, Children's Relief Fund because they're a great organization.

BROWN: So how many followers do you have now?

KILLEN: Over 24,000.

BROWN: And how many did you have before Conan started following you?

KILLEN: Three.

BROWN: OK. Sarah, do you think, now, do you think harder, I guess, before you tweet something out, given that you have this whole audience out there of Conan fans, presumably, and now Sarah Killen fans following you?

KILLEN: No, I try not to. I think that's what Twitter is about, whatever you're doing or whatever you're feeling. If I overthink it, I won't be able to write anything.

BROWN: I hear you've invited Conan to the wedding, too?

KILLEN: Yes, my fiance would love for him to be his best man.

BROWN: Have you heard back from him? Has he agreed?

KILLEN: No, we have not.

BROWN: I read an example of something that Conan tweeted just this weekend. And I just want to read it for folks. He said, quote, "Sarah likes Twizzlers and craves cantaloupe. I like Raisinets, but melon feels creepy in my mouth. Twitter pals 4 eva."

I mean, what do you think when you read this?

KILLEN: It's really weird. It's weird to see your full name in something. And he put the Twitter pals forever. And the other day he put, my pal Sarah. It's really strange.

BROWN: Finally, I got to ask you, were you a Conan O'Brien fan before this?

KILLEN: Definitely. I was following him. That's how he found me.

BROWN: Yes. I have a few people on the staff, Sarah, who are so crazy jealous of you, it's not even funny. They would have died had they been chosen.

Sarah, good luck to you. And congratulations on your wedding. Many, many best wishes to you.

KILLEN: Thank you.

BROWN: And still ahead, Anderson Cooper is going to join us with a preview of something special he has tonight. Up close with Chaz Bono, what it's like to change from a woman into a man. That coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Breaking news just coming in at this hour. A major lawsuit by more than 9,000 first responders in the aftermath of the World Trade Center bombing have learned of a settlement which is expecting to be $657 million. The payouts would come from a federal financed insurance fund, federally financed insurance fund. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg weighed in telling "The New York Times," quote, "The resolution of the World Trade Center litigation will allow the first responders and workers to be compensated for injuries suffered following their work at Ground Zero."

This has been a long, long fight. We are joined now by former New York firefighter, first responder, Kenny Specht. He's on the phone with us right now.

Kenny, are you there?

PENNY SPECHT, FORMER NEW YORK FIREFIGHTER (via telephone): Hi, Campbell. I am. Good evening.

BROWN: Good evening to you. I know this has been a long time coming for you. Just give me your reaction that the resolution from what we're learning right now has, in fact, been reached.

SPECHT: I have a very stand-and-wait attitude right now, Campbell. This settlement comes from the captive insurance fund, which has been around now since about 2003.

BROWN: Right.

SPECHT: The captive insurance fund paid a total of six claims since 2003 totaling a little more than $330,000 since its inception.

BROWN: It's a billion-dollar fund, we should say, too.

SPECHT: Correct. It's a billion-dollar fund. My wait-and-see attitude comes from the fact that we have been pushing members of Congress to pass the new James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act which would have let $5.4 billion for compensation. So I'm just wondering now whether the city wanted to settle this because it fears that the new James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act was going to go forward. My question to the city is why didn't they settle these lawsuits earlier than they have now?

BROWN: Yes. No kidding. Tell me what the money will mean for you. I know you're not there yet, or convinced, anyway, but if it all does work out.

SPECHT: Campbell, if this is a way to give people back a little part of their life, I guess that at the end of the day is the most important thing. And I'm not going to judge anybody who chooses that this is the best avenue for them to pursue. As far as me, I'd love to just get on with my life, to be honest with you. I was diagnosed with cancer in 2008 at 37 years old.

BROWN: I was going to say that. You have thyroid cancer, is that correct?

SPECHT: That's correct, Campbell. And I'm currently coming out of probably the worst cancer-related illness that I've had for the past two years. As I speak to you tonight, I'm going to visit my cancer doctor tomorrow to review a current set of blood tests I had to take yesterday because I just haven't been doing very well. So you know what, Campbell, it's not only my story. It's the story of thousands of others that were there eight and a half years ago. And I guess that this gives them a little measure of civility back. I guess that's the most important thing and you really can't put a price on your health. So I hope that this settlement was, indeed, done the right way and I hope it was done with people's health, safety and future in mind, to be honest with you, and not the bottom dollar. Because like I said, it looks like the Congress of the United States of America was going to pass the James Zadroga Health and Compensation Act and would have provided much more in the way of compensation. So we'll see. I think this is just the city's way of stopping a bigger precedent from occurring.

BROWN: Well, I think everybody does want resolution here. Kenny, we wish the very best to you. Kenny Specht joining us. Appreciate you taking the time to talk to us tonight.

We're going to take a quick break. We'll be back right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Few things are as explosive as gender identity. And this weekend, CNN explores the issue with "Her Name was Steven." This is a documentary about a man who decides to become a woman. But maybe the best known transgender person is Chaz Bono. You may remember him as Chastity, the only daughter of Sonny and Cher. And tonight, Anderson Cooper has an "AC 360" preview of his dramatic transition. He's joining us right now -- Anderson.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I talked with Chaz just a short time ago. We're going to play that tonight at 10:00. But it was really fascinating. I mean, he talked about how even as a little child as Chastity Bono, when we all remember little Chastity on stage with Sonny and Cher, that she then felt that there was something different. And at a very young age said that she didn't want to wear dresses anymore, that she wanted to wear pants. And actually on that show you see her transitioning into pants.

She made the change a year ago. She's now celebrating her one- year anniversary -- his one-year anniversary. And he talked a lot about the transition both psychological but also physical that he's gone through. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHAZ BONO, TRANSGENDER ACTIVIST: Look, I mean, in a lot of ways other than using the men's bathroom, you know, I did -- I mean, I felt like a male. I, you know, wore almost exclusively male clothing, and it was, you know, it was just a matter of starting the hormones and then eventually, you know, doing the top surgery.

COOPER: What -- so you start taking hormones. Is that injection?

BONO: There are different ways to take it. You can take it topically. You can take it with injections.

COOPER: And what starts to change? How does that feel? What does it feel like?

BONO: What starts to change? You know, everything it's kind of like -- it's like going through puberty as a 14-year-old. Your voice starts to deepen. You start to grow hair. You start to gain muscle mass. And --

COOPER: So your voice is -- your voice is much changed from what it once was?

BONO: Oh, yes. Definitely. I mean, my voice sounded like a woman's voice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So, Anderson, what did he tell you about, I guess, the biggest challenges really that he's faced during this transition?

COOPER: Well, unlike a lot of people who go through this transition, he has had the support of his family. He's also been involved in a relationship for five years with a woman who has remained supportive throughout this and they continue to live together and have a relationship. He said really the most difficult thing was going through this in the public eye. That, you know, this is obviously something most people go through just only their friends and family knowing, if that at all. But he's had to do it very much, you know, being followed by cameras every step of the way.

BROWN: Right. Well, we'll be watching. Anderson Cooper, thanks so much. And, again, you can see the full interview with Chaz Bono. That's tonight on "AC 360" at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time right here on CNN.

And be sure and tune in to CNN's two-hour documentary "Her Name was Steven." And that's Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

"LARRY KING LIVE" starts in just a few moments. But first, is Tiger Woods getting ready for a comeback on the links? We've got more when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: More news happening now, and Mike Galanos is here with the "Download."

Hi, Mike.

MIKE GALANOS, HLN PRIME NEWS: Hey, Campbell. Let's talk some Tiger Woods here. He could stay away from professional golf until at least April. Now reports have Woods coming back for the Masters at Augusta National foregoing a warm-up at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Masters first week in April. Now his last tournament, mid November. Meanwhile, former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer would not confirm or deny reports that he's been hired by Woods to help him with his comeback, help him deal with the media. He's helped support stars in controversy in the past.

Well, today a federal appeals court upheld the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance ruling the language does not endorse religion. Well, the court also OK'd the phrase "In God We Trust" on American currency. The suit was brought by San Francisco parents who argue the words violate the constitution's separation of church and state. Now they can still take their case to the Supreme Court.

Well, if you want a Pink Floyd song online, you're going to have to buy the whole album. Today, a British court blocked the group's record company from selling their songs one at a time as downloads or ring tones. A judge upheld the clause in their contract that preserves, quote, "the artistic integrity of their records." And two blushing brides made history in Mexico City today, becoming the first two women to legally marry in Mexico. Joining them, four other same- sex couples who went under Latin America's first law. It will allow gay marriage. The federal government is trying to overturn that law arguing the weddings are unconstitutional.

Campbell, back to you.

BROWN: All right. Mike Galanos for us tonight. Mike, thanks. See you tomorrow.

And that is it for us. You can follow me any time on Twitter. Have a great night.

"LARRY KING LIVE" starts right now.