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CNN Saturday Morning News

New Poll Gives Obama Slight Lead; Interview with Lenny Curry; Homeless Man Earns $19 an Hour; State Ordered to Pay for Inmate's Sex Change; Fund Helps Ground Zero Workers; Puppy Love at First Sight

Aired September 08, 2012 - 08:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Randi Kaye.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. It's 8:00 on the East Coast, 5:00 out west. Thanks for starting your day with us. Let's get you up to speed on some of the stories we're working on this morning.

First, Mexican police have arrested a suspect in the killing of a U.S. border patrol agent that blew the lid off the botched U.S. gun smuggling scheme known as fast and furious. Leonel Sanchez Jesus Meza was taken into custody about 60 miles south of the Arizona border. He's the second person arrested in the case. Three other suspects are still at large.

The Pentagon wants answers about the bombshell tell-all "No Easy Day." It recounts the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden. CNN has learned exclusively that the head of the U.S. operations contacted members of the covert team to find out if the book's version of bin Laden's death was accurate. In "No Easy Day," author Matt Bissonnette writes that bin Laden had been shot already and was lying on the floor of his room when Bissonnette and other SEALs entered. He says they shot bin Laden again and that's when they killed him. The Pentagon says that's wrong. It says bin Laden was standing when the SEALs entered and they shot him because he was a threat.

Two young children are now safe and their father is in custody after a Coast Guard rescue off the California coast. The man is accused of abducting his kids from their mother's home and then stealing a sailboat at a local marina. Officials turned their search to the water after the mother suggested a boat might be involved. Police say the children's parents had been involved in a custody dispute.

Well, now to politics and the fight for votes in swing states. Mitt Romney is heading to Virginia where a recent poll conducted by Quinnipiac University, the "New York Times" and CBS News shows the president with a slight edge over Romney. He's up 49 percent to 45 percent over his Republican rival in that battleground state. That's where we find CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser. Paul, good morning. Both campaigns working hard to get the vote out, of course, in Virginia, a battleground both on air, on the ground. How much are we talking about when it comes to this ad spending?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: We are talking about a lot of money, Victor. This is a very important battleground state. Remember, Barack Obama won the state four years ago. He was the first Democrat victory since 1964 to win. As for the ad spending, take a look at this. Almost $12 million spent by President Obama's reelection campaign and those super PACs that are backing him. What about Romney? Look, it's very competitive, just under $12 as well spent by Romney, a lot of those independent super PACs that are backing him. So the ad wars in this state and they're focused right here in the Virginia Beach, Norfolk, tidewater area, in Richmond and of course in northern Virginia, right outside of DC. Those are the big markets here in Virginia and those are the big swing areas here in Virginia. Victor.

BLACKWELL: They are spending a lot of money on the ads and a lot on gas too to get there because they are going to Virginia over and over and over this season.

STEINHAUSER: They sure are. Overall the president's made seven trips or swings through Virginia most recently just on Tuesday. Remember, when he kicked off his first rallies back in May, he started in Ohio, but that second rally was right here in Virginia. Romney, this will be the seventh trip. He's already made six swings through Virginia since the general election started. Remember, where did he announce his running mate Paul Ryan, just down the street here in Norfolk, Virginia. Yeah, it's an important state for both of these men.

BLACKWELL: And they will be back. We yesterday got the numbers from the Labor Department about the unemployment rate. How were each campaign, how were they responding to these numbers?

STEINHAUSER: The Republicans, Romney campaign and Republicans were very quick to attack saying, listen, if the convention in Charlotte was the party, these numbers that came out Friday morning were the hangover. Take a listen to what both men said on the campaign trail yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: After losing 800,000 jobs a month when I took office, business has added jobs for the 30th month in a row. We've added more than 4.6 million jobs. But we know that that's not good enough. We can do better. We need to create jobs even faster.

MITT ROMNEY (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There were four times as many people who dropped out of the workforce as the net new jobs created under this president. It's not just a one-month figure. The White House has, I think, now for 31 straight months said don't look at the monthly numbers. Monthly numbers aren't that critical. If you take 30 months and put them together, that's pretty critical.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Of course the economy remains the top issue on the minds of American voters and the top economic issue, jobs, jobs, jobs. That's why you're going to hear so much more of that. I got the CNN express bus behind me here. We're going to be watching Romney here today and then he goes to a NASCAR race up in Richmond a little later today. Victor.

BLACKWELL: Using up the gas budget yourself following the candidates around the country. Paul Steinhauser in Virginia. Thank you.

KAYE: President Obama is turning his attention to the battleground state that could decide this year's election. He's kicking off a two- day bus tour in Florida today. His first stop is St. Petersburg and that's where we find our chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin. Jessica, good morning to you. We talk so much about Florida. If Obama plans to stay in the White House, is Florida a must win?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Florida is one of those states that if the president wins it, it will be very hard for Mitt Romney to find a path to the White House. That's because it is so rich with electoral votes. The president already has the advantage on the map that it gives him that crucial edge. There are other ways for the president to win if he loses Florida, but picking up this state sure would make it an easier path for the president, Randi.

KAYE: Some Jessica say, some base supporters are saying that they are the ones, not the undecided voters, who will actually decide this election. A lot of folks agreeing with them. How true is this in Florida, do you think?

YELLIN: He certainly needs to turn out the original Obama supporters including young voters and Latino voters especially in this state. But in Florida he's got to get those swing voters along the I-4 corridor known for its swinginess, if you will. So he needs to win back those Republicans who voted for him last time around. That might be one reason he's campaigning today with former governor and former Republican Charlie Crist. And then he also will try to appeal to the seniors, no doubt, who are such a big vote here in Florida, have been something of a reach for the president this season. But he senses an edge the Democrats have now that they have taken on this Medicare battle. I expect to hear that on the trail as well today, Randi.

KAYE: And of course we got the jobs report yesterday. The new unemployment rate is down to 8.1 percent. But Florida's unemployment rate still stands at 8.8 percent. Pretty likely, you think, that Obama will address this later today.

YELLIN: He doesn't take the number on directly, but he talks about consistently the fact that the nation, in his words, needs to do better, needs to do more. Yesterday he found the silver lining if you will in the new jobs report focusing on the fact that jobs, new jobs had been created but saying there's still a big hole in the economy and then pivoting quickly to argue that his vision for economic growth is the way to fill that hole into the future. I expect that message to be repeated again today. Randi, finally, with his new attack on taxes where he makes these jokes saying the Republican solution to everything is more tax cuts, more tax cuts to solve the economy, more tax cuts to lose weight, more tax cuts to heal a cold. This is his new riff on the campaign trail that started at the convention. Randi.

KAYE: And when he speaks later on in our 10:00 Eastern hour, we will, of course, bring that live to our viewers. Jessica Yellin, thank you very much. Appreciate that. You can get an up close and personal look at the two men vowing to hold the country's future in their hands. Find out what Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are really like tomorrow night beginning at 8:00 p.m. When we profile the Republican presidential nominee in "Romney Revealed, Family, Faith and the Road to Power." That's followed at 9:30 by "Obama Revealed, the Man, the Ppresident," right here on CNN.

We have so much more ahead this hour.

BLACKWELL: Here is what's coming up.

KAYE: A murderer in prison granted a sex change by a judge. Guess whose paying for it? We'll explain.

It's got sunny beaches and tanned bodies but it's those 29 electoral votes that have the candidates coming back for more. All morning we're putting Florida in focus.

Sweet, cuddly, and doomed to the gas chamber. We have an inside look exposing a little known truth about some animal shelters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It's pretty clear that this presidential election is coming down to the swing states. We have the traditionally blue states, the rock solid red states and then there are the ones in the middle that can change year by year. Those are the ones of course in yellow. Florida is one of those states, maybe the most important of those states and that's why we are focusing our attention there today. Joining me now from Jacksonville is Lenny Curry, the chairman of the Florida Republican party. Lenny, good morning to you. First of all, there are less than 60 days left until the election, hard to believe. Less than that though for people who will be voting early. What is the Florida Republican party doing to rally support behind Mitt Romney?

LENNY CURRY, CHAIRMAN, FLORIDA GOP: Absentee drops that are going out to get people to get their absentee ballots in early. It's all about a ground game now. It's about, in addition to the rallies, making sure that we're calling Republicans and soft Democrats, knocking on their doors and encouraging them to come out and vote for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.

KAYE: People talk about the three Florida's, I'm sure you're well aware of this, the north which is traditionally conservative, south Florida which trends towards the Democrats and central Florida, which always seems like a toss up. Is that where the Republicans are really focusing their efforts?

CURRY: We can't take anything for granted in Florida because it is such an important state for Mitt Romney. It's a must win for Mitt Romney. North Florida while it's traditionally conservative, President Obama came really close in Duvall County and Jacksonville back in 2008. He got 49 percent of the vote. We can't let that happen again. But then the I-4 corridor is critical, Hillsborough County has called every presidential election since 1960 with the exception of one. So Orange County, Hillsborough County is a big deal for us.

KAYE: Mitt Romney rolling out some new new ads in Florida like this one. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FORMER GOV. MITT ROMNEY, R-MA, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president can ask us to be patient. This president can tell us it was someone else's fault. But this president cannot tell us that you're better off today than when you took office.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here in Florida we're not better off under President Obama. Home values collapsed, home construction jobs lost, high rate of foreclosure. Romney's plan, provide alternatives to foreclosure, end the mortgage lending freeze, create over 700,000 new jobs for Florida.

ROMNEY: I'm Mitt Romney and I approved this message.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: All right. So Lenny, we have seen that home prices are up and foreclosures are actually down since Obama took office. How do you square those numbers?

CURRY: Well, in Florida, since Governor Scott took office, the economy started to turn around in Florida. In fact I know President Obama is campaigning today with former Governor Charlie Crist, which is odd to me. But if you look at the year that Charlie Crist and Obama were in office together, Florida lost over 200,000 jobs. Since Rick Scott took office, created over 120,000. We've started to turn things around here. We've got a ways to go. We believe that we would be in much better shape with a Mitt Romney as a president.

KAYE: Let me just pick up on that, because I know you said that you do give a lot of the credit to Governor Scott there. But we've heard this a lot in the battleground states like Ohio and Florida and Wisconsin. And GOP, everybody in the Republican party still seems to be saying that. Is it possible they are all recovering in the same way like that? We had Alex Sink, a Democratic candidate for governor there in 2010 in Florida and she laughed at that when that was brought up to her today. I want you to react to that.

CURRY: Here is what I know, my experience on the ground in Florida. I know Governor Scott personally. I see how he works every day. He's not just a politician that's out shaking hands, trying to make the case. He gets up at the crack of dawn every morning, goes to bed late at night and actively working to make sure that Floridians are getting back to work. This is a direct result of his efforts and the Florida legislature. There's no question in my mind. I see it every day.

KAYE: A couple of weeks ago you said the Romney plan for the economy was plain and simple to just stop the nanny state. Doesn't he need to give people more specifics than that and more than he gave in his convention speech? CURRY: Well, Mitt Romney has a five-point plan. Let me talk about this criticism of Mitt Romney and what are you going to do specifically compared to President Obama. When you have someone that's been in a CEO role for a number of years and they haven't performed, their response shouldn't be what's my successor's plan going to be? When someone comes in to interview for a CEO role, you typically look at their resume. History is a pretty good measure of how someone is going to perform. In interviewing Mitt Romney for this job, you look at what he did at Bain Capital and job creating with Staples (ph) and Sports Authority. You look at what he did with the Olympics. Mitt Romney has a record of success and that's how you interview someone for a job and ultimately hire them.

KAYE: He talks about his five-point plan though. We know there's a plan but what are the five points?

CURRY: It includes energy. It includes small business. It includes tax reform. If we got into specifics here, we could sit here and talk for an hour and I'd be a policy wonk at that stage. But again the point is, Mitt Romney has a record. He has a history.

KAYE: You think he's laid out the specifics though you're saying compared to the president?

CURRY: I think he's laid out more specifics than he's getting credit for, absolutely.

KAYE: All right. Lenny Curry, we don't have an hour to talk specifics. But thank you very much, appreciate it. We've got more of our Florida focus coming up in our 10:00 hour. We'll look at which voters could swing the state one way or the other plus we'll take you live to the president's campaign stop in St. Pete. Victor.

BLACKWELL: A suicide bomber targets NATO headquarters in Afghanistan. There are several casualties and a claim of responsibility. We have details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Let's take you overseas now. In Afghanistan, at least six people, including children, are dead in a suicide bombing near NATO headquarters in the capital of Kabul. Police think the bomber may have been as young as 13 years old. Four people were hurt but officials say there were no casualties among NATO personnel. The Taliban is claiming responsibility.

An all too familiar and deadly sound is ringing out in Syria. Shelling and fresh fighting has killed at least 23 people across Syria today. That's according to opposition activists and the violence is now spilling across their border. Iraqi interior ministry officials say a four-year-old girl died when four rockets fired from Syria landed in an Iraqi town. Tonight CNN's Nick Peyton Walsh (ph) takes us on a journey to see what people living in the most populated city are facing day to day. The sounds of gunfire and bombs haunt the streets. The hospitals are ill equipped to handle the injured. Watch crisis in Syria, inside Aleppo. That's tonight at 7:30 Eastern right here on CNN.

KAYE: To China now where at least 80 people have been killed and 700 injured after a series of earthquakes rocked the country's southern region. The four earthquakes were all considered moderate in strength. Thousands of homes have been destroyed and damaged forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.

In Canada Iranian diplomats have been given days to get out. Canada cut off diplomatic ties with the Islamic republic yesterday. They say Iran is the most significant threat to global peace and security. Canada's foreign affairs minister accuses Iran of not complying with UN resolutions pertaining to its nuclear program and engaging in racist, anti-Semitic rhetoric.

BLACKWELL: A Federal judge in Massachusetts makes an unusual ruling. The judge grants this convicted murder permission to get a sex operation. Wait until you hear who is paying for it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Twenty three minutes after the hour now and we're taking you cross-country this morning. Let's start in Florida. A parking garage collapsed in the middle of the day and was caught on surveillance video. This is it. The garage is for the Broward County courthouse. They were going to demolish this thing anyway. That's why it was empty. No people, cars inside. There was so much dust that at least one person thought it was a terror attack. Good news here is that no one was seriously hurt.

Now to Georgia, a woman is steaming mad that she got two speeding tickets on the same road at the same time. The first, she was stopped for driving 56 in a 35. And after the officer wrote the ticket, he said, wait here, ma'am. There's another officer here to write you another ticket. That one was for driving 62 in a 35.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said, ma'am, we're giving you a second ticket and this is to make an example of you.

NYOKA PATTON, DRIVER: They are on the same exact minute of the same exact day. Then I just went into total shock. I was like -- I was so upset I couldn't even cry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The police chief says the two officers were at opposite ends of the road and the driver sped up between them. And look at what's visible in Alabama as a result of hurricane Isaac. It's wreckage from a schooner that ran aground in 1923. The high surf from Isaac washed off all the sand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am stoked that it's as well preserved as it is. JENNY TUCKER, FORT MORGAN, ALA. RESIDENT: It's just really incredible to see history laying right here on Fort Morgan on the beach.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The wreckage is in a remote part of the shoreline. It's uncovered every few years when a big storm hits.

KAYE: One family is threatening legal action after their 16-year-old son with Down's syndrome was kicked off an American Airlines flight. Take a look here. This is him. Beatty (ph) Vanderhorst is his name. American Airlines called the teen a security risk saying that he might interfere with the pilot if he was seated in first class near the cockpit. The family says it was a clear case of discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT VANDERHORST, TEEN'S FATHER: I think the pilot was concerned that my son was in first class. I think the pilot felt that my type of son, my disabled Down's syndrome disabled son shouldn't be in first class.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Now the family is considering filing a discrimination suit. They will join us live next hour. But American Airlines did release this statement, saying in part, the young man was excitable, running around and not acclimated to the environment. The pilot attempted to calm him down and acclimate him to the surroundings. His efforts were not successful. For the safety of the young man and the safety of others, American Airlines offered to book another flight for the family. The family said Beatty wasn't misbehaving and that he's flown dozens of times in normally just falls asleep. So we want to get your opinion on it. Do you think that the teen's parents actually have a case for discrimination? You can tweet us at victorcnn or at randikayecnn. We'll read your responses later on this morning.

BLACKWELL: A convicted murder gets the OK to have a sex change operation. When you hear who is paying for it, you might call the judge yourself. We'll examine the unusual case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back, everyone. CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Randi Kaye.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Our first morning together, are you feeling all right?

KAYE: I'm feeling it. I'm feeling good. Yes, yes.

BLACKWELL: Ok, you're feeling good. Picking it up where I'm putting it down.

KAYE: Oh yes. (CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: All right, thanks for starting your morning with us.

All right, a serious issue now.

Most classrooms in America, in the third largest public school system in America, could be empty on Monday. That's because teachers in Chicago are threatening to go on strike if they don't get a new contract. Now the issues are pay and hours and job security.

Negotiations are scheduled today. But if there's no breakthrough, this could be Chicago's first teacher strike in a quarter century.

Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., has checked out of the Mayo Clinic where he was being treated for depression. He's 47 years old and he's not been on Capitol Hill since late May. And asked whether he'll be back at work on Monday, a top aide said, quote, "We hope."

In New York City a police officer mistakenly shot a robbery victim. According to officials, 20-year-old Reynaldo Cuevas had managed to escape from three robbers when he, quote, "Became entangled with a police officer whose gun accidentally went off". Remember, this is the robbery victim.

Police have been under great scrutiny in New York since nine pedestrians were wounded on August 24th. Police shot and killed the murder suspect but their bullets also wounded the bystanders.

To the NFL now and a reprieve for the four players suspended for their roles in the New Orleans Saint's bounty scandal. They can all play this weekend that's the decision of an appeals panel. Now the NFL commissioner is reviewing suspensions of Jonathan Vilma, Scott Fujita, Anthony Hargrove and Will Smith. After he heard the decision that he can play Vilma tweeted, "Victory is mine".

When the monthly jobs report came out yesterday, people called it disappointing and said the economy didn't add enough jobs. Even if you have a job you still may face a lot of hardship of that's the case for one man in Santa Barbara, California. He's got a fulltime job but he still can't afford rent, so he's living out of his van.

CNN's Kyung Lah has the story.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, politicians have been taking jabs at each other over this jobs report. But the numbers only tell you part of the story. Talk to people who are considered the working middle class and they will tell you they can't keep up even if they have a full-time job.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAH (voice-over): Julius Torrevillas is behind the wheel of the Santa Barbara MTV bus five days a week; a fulltime job that pays $19 an hour to the jovial driver with the unforgettable beard. When his workday is over, he moves from his bus to another vehicle, his van where he lives.

JULIUS TORREVILLAS, HOMELESS BUS DRIVER: A regular full-sized mattress.

LAH: This is home, because he makes too much to qualify for public housing but can't afford rent in the high-cost city of Santa Barbara.

(on camera): A lot of people think that if you have a fulltime job in America, you're ok. That's not really the case for you, is it?

J. TORREVILLAS: No. You know I've got a fulltime job and barely making ends meet.

LAH: Debt from a failed small business piled up and he and his wife are still digging out. So this county parking lot is where they sleep, joined by more than a dozen others who live in their cars.

It's called the safe parking program. A 114 spaces spread out across the county with a waiting list of more than 40.

NANCY KAPP, NEW BEGINNINGS: I have senior citizens, I have couples, I have families.

LAH: A third of the people, says the program manager, have jobs but are underemployed like approximately 17 percent of Americans.

(on camera): What do you think it says about America when somebody who has a job, who wants to work, still has to live in a car.

KAPP: I think people would be shocked. I think they would be shocked if they would come and meet some of these people. Because I tell you when they come into my office, I want to cry because it reminds me of someone that could be my mother, my sister, my brother.

LAH: Or your bus driver --

J. TORREVILLAS: Good morning.

LAH: -- who starts his day on the move. Breakfast with his wife Mary is at the doughnut shop.

J. TORREVILLAS: Toothbrush, toothpaste.

LAH: The bathroom, a public one; the dressing room, the back of the van.

MARY TORREVILLAS, JULIUS'S WIFE: Normal life is watching this, you know, if living in a van is not the norm.

LAH: Has the middle class in America changed?

J. TORREVILLAS: I think the middle class has slid down the scale a little bit more towards the lower class and it's a little tougher for the middle class people to survive and to actually pursue the American dream.

J. TORREVILLAS: I love you.

M. TORREVILLAS: I love you, too.

LAH: Torrevillas keeps chasing his dream hoping whoever wins this election will be able to shift the economy into gear.

J. TORREVILLAS: Good morning. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: Torrevillas says he and his wife have considered moving to a more affordable city but he's worried he wouldn't be able to find a new job -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: Kyung Lah thanks.

And this problem is not unique to Santa Barbara. The average home price there is more than $600,000. Now that's a lot, right? Well, it doesn't even rank in the top 100 in terms of cities with the highest average home prices.

KAYE: Next the legal case of a convicted murderer who was granted a sex change operation from a federal judge. Why it's affecting your wallet. We'll examine this very unusual case next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back, 36 minutes past the hour.

In Massachusetts a federal judge has ordered sex reassignment surgery for a transsexual prison inmate ruling it is the only adequate treatment for the inmate's gender identity disorder.

Michelle Kosalic once known as Robert is serving a life sentence without parole for murdering his wife in 1990. Advocates praise the ruling as legitimate treatment of identity disorder. But critics, including Senator Scott Brown, called it an outrageous abuse of taxpayer dollars.

CNN legal contributor Paul Callan joins me now to talk about this; Paul -- what a strange case here certainly. Is this transsexual surgery an abuse do you think of taxpayer dollars or legitimate medical treatment.

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well a great question. You know this case makes people crazy. I was discussing it in office with my attorneys who work for me and even attorneys really argue about this. Is it a waste of taxpayer money? Well, both senate candidates in Massachusetts say it is. And I think most people think it's outrageous.

I mean, frankly this surgery costs about $20,000. This particular inmate, who is in prison for murder, life without parole, murdering his ex-wife -- his wife; she came into the emergency room once with a fork in her head that he had put there. And they said it was an accident. They sent her home. She was subsequently murdered. The federal judge has said under the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, that it would be cruel and unusual punishment for him not to get gender reassignment surgery, in other words, to be transformed from a male into a female. This judge says the Eighth Amendment gives him that right.

Now ironically citizens at home, who don't go to jail, don't have the right to get this paid for by taxpayers.

(CROSSTALK)

KAYE: Yes certainly not.

CALLAN: But apparently a prisoner in Massachusetts does.

KAYE: But this is the first decision in which a court has actually ordered a prison to provide this sex reassignment surgery as necessary medical treatment. What are the chances, do you think, it could be overturned?

CALLAN: Well, I think that it probably will be overturned. This is a decision by a district court judge in Massachusetts. Now, he's a federal judge and so this does have national precedent but only in a limited way. Other courts will look at it they are not bound by it. It'll now go up to the Circuit Court of Appeals.

The judge makes a compelling argument in his decision. He writes over a 100 page decision. And the biggest thing going for it being affirmed, approved by the Appellate Court, is that unfortunately the Department of Corrections in Massachusetts didn't contest it in any strong way.

I mean, they said, listen, our big problem with it is a security problem. If we have to move him to a woman's prison or we have to put him in a special wing of a man's prison that's going to create security problems and expense for us. But they don't contest that medically he needs the surgery. He claims that -- or his lawyers claim that he tried to commit suicide twice.

KAYE: Right.

CALLAN: He tried to castrate himself in prison. And that the only cure for his problem which is his desire to become a woman is the surgery.

KAYE: But I mean, you bring up an interesting point. Because if he has to be transferred, if he becomes a woman and then he has to be transferred to an all-woman's prison, you know this is a guy who was convicted of killing his wife, as we discussed.

Doesn't that put those female prisoners possibly in danger?

CALLAN: Well, you know that's the ultimate irony of the case, Randi. Here he -- you're right. He's in prison for killing a woman, for abusing a woman over a lengthy period of time. And now what are we going to do, let's put him in a women's prison.

Ironically though, he might be more in danger in a woman's prison than the women. Because think about the women in women's prisons. You've got to be a pretty -- have committed a pretty violent crime to go to prison if you're a woman, a lot of them are gang members. And actually -- he might be more in danger from them than they from him.

But -- that's the ultimate result of this case. And which is why as I said at the beginning, it makes people crazy. People are saying, you can't be serious that the state of Massachusetts is going to pay for gender reassignment? They are going to turn a man into a woman and then transfer him to a woman's prison? This actually is a federal court decision that is going forward in Massachusetts.

KAYE: When so many states are struggling around -- around the country in this economy, you think that's where our tax dollars are going, it is pretty amazing.

Paul Callan, nice to see you. Thank you.

CALLAN: Always nice being with us -- Randi.

BLACKWELL: Well, as the anniversary of September 11th approaches we're taking a closer look at a special fund. It benefits the men and women who helped New York clean up in the aftermath of the attacks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: They were the first people on the scene in the minutes after the September 11th terror attacks and for more than a decade they have been trying to get financial help to cover illnesses resulting from their work at Ground Zero.

Athena Jones explains why their wait may soon be over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERNIE VALLEBUONA, 9/11 FIRST RESPONDER: I live on Staten Island at the time. And I could see the smoke coming from the tower.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ernie Vallebouna rushed to the World Trade Center site on September 11th, 2001 to help with rescue and recovery efforts.

VALLEBOUNA: There's a lot of confusion, a lot of smoke. You couldn't -- you couldn't see -- when you were trying to walk through the smoke to search for survivors, you know, you could barely see your hand in front of you.

JONES: Then a New York City police detective, Vallebouna spent six months at the site. A few years later, he was diagnosed with cancer.

VALLEBOUNA: 2004 is when I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

JONES: His cancer now in remission, Vallebouna had to use his retirement savings to pay bills his insurance didn't recover and is hoping to recoup some of that money. But eleven years after 9/11, Vallebouna and other first responders made sick by chemicals and dust are still waiting for compensation from the government.

Payments to some who developed respiratory, digestive and other conditions should begin in the next couple of months under a law President Obama signed in January of 2011. The Zadroga Act named after New York police detective James Zadroga, who died of a respiratory illness after working at the World Trade Center sites.

While 9/11 victims and their families were compensated soon after the attack this law makes people who are hurt or got sick from living near or working at the site eligible for compensation. It sets aside some $2.8 billion to cover their claim.

The government will announce soon which of more than 50 types of cancer, an illness left off the original list of ailments will now be covered under the act.

Attorney Noah Kushlefsky plans to apply on Vallebuona's behalf as soon as the announcement is made. He represents nearly 4,000 first responders who became ill.

NOAH KUSHLEFSKY, KREINDLER & KREINDLER LLP: Now, people are terribly sick. People can't support their families.

JONES: For those just now getting sick, Vallebuona hopes the fund will ultimately send this message.

ERNIE VALLEBUONA, 9/11 FIRST RESPONDER: Just fight your cancer, man. Don't worry about money. Don't worry about co-payments or medications. We got your back.

JONES: Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: It is a dog story that even cat lovers will find touching; a woman falls in love with a puppy in need of a home but her adoption efforts turn to rescue after she discovers the dog's alarming background.

The shocking story of Blue and thousands of others just like him and why you, the taxpayer, are footing the bill.

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KAYE: For my next guest, all it took was a picture, just one picture posted online for her to fall in love. Who can blame her? This adorable little puppy was in desperate need of a home. His picture was posted on petfinder.com. And Kim Kavin was smitten. She named her new dog Blue.

But what she discovered about his background might shocked her. You see Blue was just a day away from the gas chamber, this very gas chamber right there -- a fate thousands of other innocent animals face every single day across America. And you, the taxpayer, are footing the bill.

Kavin writes about her discovery in a new book called "Little Boy Blue, A Puppy's Rescue from Death Row and his Owner's Journey for Truth". And Kim Kavin joins me now from New York along with Blue.

Good morning Kim, so nice of you to bring Blue to the studio this morning.

KIM KAVIN, AUTHOR, "LITTLE BOY BLUE": Good morning.

We're trying to get him to look at the camera for you, Randi.

KAYE: Well, I see you brought him some treats. That was a good idea. Let's talk about how you and Blue came to be. You live in New Jersey and unbeknownst Blue was actually in North Carolina when you found him online. Tell us and our viewers just briefly how he made it from rural North Carolina all the way to your home in New Jersey.

KAVIN: The way that petfinder.com is working these days is that rescue groups in the south where there are very, very high rate kill shelters are working hand in hand with rescue groups in the north. So a rescuer named Rhonda Beach pulled Blue out of the shelter in rural North Carolina and she worked with a group called Lulu's rescue up in Pennsylvania which marketed him for adoption.

So when I typed my zip code into pet finder, he came up, even though he was really 500 miles away. Then it was just a matter whether he was going to come by RV or by private plane, which sounded crazy to me at first. But then I started to understand how Blue's story is really a story of rescue all across America.

KAYE: Absolutely. And you were actually able to track down the shelter where Blue was basically pulled from death row. It's in a very small town in North Carolina, called Roxboro in Person County. You traveled there and you discovered some pretty disturbing things. Tell us about that.

KAVIN: I did. I had heard rumors before I went down there that this shelter was killing more than 90 percent of the dogs that were left in its care unless the community intervenes. The first thing I did was get ahold of their records through the freedom of information act. It turned out to be true, year after year after year. Unless volunteers come in and get dogs like Blue out, 95 percent of those dogs are being killed.

They have very long rows of cages, very few cages for the dogs who are to be saved and those cages sit right next to that gas chamber you showed a picture of. Dogs can hear it. They can hear the other dogs inside of it. It's really rather horrible to see.

KAYE: You also write that killing cats and dogs in gas chambers is banned in 22 states. But in those other states, it's either illegal or there are no laws at all on the books. North Carolina you say is the worst offender. I mean the number of 95 percent of them being killed there is just horrible to hear. But we contacted Person County Animal Control who tell us they will now phase out the gas chamber by July 1st, 2013. Director Ronald Shaw denied that your book is the reason why and Blue's story is the reason why but he did tell us, quote, "The gas chamber is not cruel but animal activists don't agree with it and I'm fed up with dealing with it."

I want to get your response to that. I mean his comments saying that the gas chamber isn't a cruel way for animals to die?

KAVIN: Well, I think that we have a different opinion of cruelty. To me when you put a dog like Blue into a metal box and suck the oxygen out of it while he's conscious and they scream and they cry and they claw and they try to get out that to me doesn't sound anything like euthanasia. That's why it's banned in 22 states. That's why there's a bill before congress right now to try to get rid of these gas chambers all over the country.

And I would say further say that anybody who's fed up with animals, people trying to save a dog like Blue should do their jobs and start saving the dogs themselves.

KAYE: What was the attitude when you went down to the shelter? What was the attitude of some of the workers there? Were they sort of out of touch with what was happening to these animals?

KAVIN: No, everyone is very aware of what's going on there. And I tried very hard in "Little Boy Blue" to be very fair to these folks, you know. They are dealing with -- they are in a rural area. There are not a lot of doctors. The economy is very bad right now and they need help is what they need.

They don't necessarily have the tools and skills to do what they need to do. In some cases they are not trying to do what they need to do. In some cases they need a little bit of help.

KAYE: Let me share just one passage from your book that really struck me. It reads this. "If just two in four people, instead of one in four people, went to shelters instead of breeders or pet stores to get their next dog, then the entire problem of killing dogs like Blue would be statistically eliminated across the country."

That is pretty remarkable. I guess why don't more people adopt from shelters? How do activists like yourself discourage people from going to breeders and getting those sorts of puppies?

KAVIN: I think there's two things that play there, Randi. I think the first thing is that all of us have been marketed to since we were children to believe that purebreds are quite simply better. Nobody is going to pay $1,000 or $2,000 for a purebred puppy if they believe that a dog like Blue who they can get for a couple of hundred bucks from a shelter is just as good. The first problem is marketing. We have fallen prey to marketing.

The second problem I think is that people don't want to step into shelters. And I completely understand that. I had to go into several of them to report Little Boy Blue. And it's heartbreaking. And you don't want to walk in there, especially if you have kids.

But that's the beauty of a thing like petfinder.com. It's why I'm so thrilled that my publisher Barron's is donating a portion of proceeds to the Pet Finder Foundation. You can just go on like I did, click on the picture and the rescue groups have done all the work for you. You don't even have to get out of bed this morning.

KAYE: What if they -- listen no, I know it's tough to take your children to a shelter but what a great lesson to teach them to try and save a life of one of these puppies.

You also write about importance fostering animals in need, certainly it's very important to spay and neuter them. You have actually fostered several dogs, including the one that you just adopted this week. This is Ginger, correct -- right Blue's new sister?

KAVIN: That's right. Spay and neuter is the ultimate solution. We also have to help the ones who are already here. Ginger is my 19th foster dog with Lulu's Rescue.

KAYE: Adorable.

KAVIN: We tried a few times to adopt her out. She's like Blue was, a little nervous around new people and probably rightfully so. I just got a little bit tired of people doing to her what they did to him. She's not unadoptable. She's wonderful, she loves us and we love her. We're a happy family.

KAYE: Well I think the two of them are certainly lucky to have you and as we look at all those pictures, they are adorable. And please thank Blue for coming in and being on his best behavior.

KAVIN: Thank you, Randi.

KAYE: Author Kim Kavin. And once again, Kim's book is called "Little Boy Blue" and it's in stores right now -- Victor.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Earlier we told you about the boy with Down's Syndrome who was banned from boarding a flight. His family is suing the airline. So we do they have a case for discrimination?

Keep the comments coming and we're going to share some of them in a moment.

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