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CNN Saturday Morning News
Sequester Deadline Looms Before Congress; Report Emerges Concerning Gay Catholic Priests; Hotel Cecil in Los Angeles Experiences Another Murder; Danica Patrick Prepares for Daytona; Insurance Company Refuses to Provide Child with Hearing Aid; DOMA Challenged; Interview with Composer Michael Danna
Aired February 23, 2013 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Live from CNN world headquarters this is CNN Saturday Morning.
It's back, another winter storm making its way to the northeast. We'll explain how this will impact you.
It's the hotel at the center of the mysterious death of a Canadian tourist. But it's not the first time guests have checked in and never left.
A little boy with a rare condition desperate for a hearing aid. But his insurance company says it's not mandatory. The truth about a widespread health crisis in an exclusive CNN Saturday Morning report.
Good morning, good morning. I'm Victor Blackwell. Randi Kaye is off today. It's 10:00 on the east coast, 7:00 out west.
First, traveling in the northeast today could test anyone's patience. A winter storm is about to blast New England with up to a foot of snow in some places. Meteorologist Karen Maginnis is tracking the storm for us. Karen, this is too much. I mean, three weekends in a row.
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is too much. And folks in Boston know this all too well because already this month they've seen 32 inches of snow this month alone. There's going to be a few more inches probably piled up on top of that. But the record was set back 10 years ago, 2003, and they saw more than 41 inches in just one month.
This area of low pressure, it begins to develop off the mid-Atlantic coast, starts to pull away from the coast of the northeast. But on the backside of this, still enough cold air, still enough moisture to produce probably what will be two to four additional inches of snow- ice. Probably because the local forecasters in Boston and even some of the more global reports are indicating we could see maybe a couple of inches, could be ten inches. But overall, we're kind of narrowing it down to between two, and forecast possibly some areas to the west and to the north could see considerably more than that.
Into interior New England, that's where we'll expect the heaviest snowfall to materialize. Take a look at this. As we go forward to the next 24 hours, you see a bull's eye across southern sections of Vermont, New Hampshire, and into Maine. That's where you see that bright pink area. The heaviest amounts definitely associated with higher elevation.
All right, the broader view as we look out, area of low pressure is situated across the mid-Atlantic. That's the system that's going to be developing as we go through the afternoon, rainfall across the deep south.
Before we talk about that, take a look at what happened in Wichita. This is from an iReporter Amanda Lavianna (ph). She said it sounded like an earthquake. It was a thunderous roar. And her co-workers and her thought, oh, what's happening here. She went down and videotaped this, sent it to us. Thank you, Amanda. But I'm sure that was way too dangerous to be doing. Chunks of ice and snow falling off of her building in Wichita. They saw about 14 inches of snowfall. As we go into the next 24 hours, the rain is going to be big across the southeast, maybe half a foot, a big storm system for the northwest. We'll keep you updated. Victor?
BLACKWELL: Its' good to know everybody's safe after that. Karen, thank you.
Let's go to Washington now where they are watching the calendar. We're just six days now away from those forced spending cuts, $85 billion in cuts this year. And President Obama has been pushing house Republicans to come up with a plan. Meanwhile, we're getting warnings about what to expect if those cuts take place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAY LAHOOD, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Flights to major cities like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco and others could experience delays of up to 90 minutes during peak hours because we have fewer controllers on staff. Delays in these major airports will ripple across the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCGINNIS: We talked about New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, but it's not just the big airports that will have to scale back. Smaller airports across the country could be forced to close. The transportation department could close control towers at as many as 100 small airports.
Now to the latest on Lance Armstrong. You know, the department of justice is set to now join a lawsuit against the disgraced cycling star. Armstrong admitted to using performance enhancing drugs when he won those seven Tour de France titles. Now the suit centers on the fact that Armstrong rode for the postal service team. It alleges that Armstrong and his manager filed false claims for federal money because they had to agree to play by the rules, but, of course, using drugs broke those rules.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: This is very, very big because what it indicates is that the federal government, justice department, have faith that there's a legitimate suit here. This false claims act was started in the civil war when the U.S. government was being defrauded by contractors. Said basically if you're a worker and see fraud and you start a lawsuit, we're going to reward you with 15 percent to 30 percent of what you recover. This could be a huge lawsuit, $100 million lawsuit. So a lot of money at stake for the government and Floyd Landis, Armstrong's teammate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Landis is the one who filed the original lawsuit. He's considered the whistleblower in this case.
Oscar Pistorius, we'll get to that story coming up in a moment.
Let's get to breaking news right now. This is coming to us from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Students at MIT are being told to stay indoors after reports of a person on campus wearing body armor and carrying a rifle. CNN affiliate WCVB reports that buildings in one area of the campus have been searched, but so far they've not found anything unusual. Again, they're being told that there's someone on campus wearing body armor, carrying a rifle. We'll get you updates as soon as we get more details.
The Vatican is denying a news story, one that could not come at a worse time for the Catholic Church. Only days before cardinals begin the process of electing a new Pope, an Italian newspaper claims to be exposing a secret network of gay priests. And it suggests the bombshell report may have led to Pope Benedict's decision to quit. Senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman joins me from Rome. Ben, the Vatican is suggesting that this is an attempt to influence cardinals who will choose the next Pope. First, where did this story come from?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is from a newspaper that is claiming that on December 17 at a commission of three cardinals who had been charged by the Pope with investigating wrongdoing within the Vatican, submitted to the Pope a 300-page red- bound report on what, as you said, appears to be a network of gay priests being -- very windy here today -- priests being blackmailed by a network of male prostitutes in Rome.
Now, the Vatican has come out very strongly saying that these reports are unverified, unverifiable, or completely false. Now the worry is that somehow this report will affect the decision or the person who these Popes elect. Now, we do know that there is pressure within the Vatican to really clean up house, to sort of elect a new Pope who will have the strength, the willpower, and the administrative ability to sort of put an end to a lot of the behavior by some people, reportedly by some people in the Vatican that is really sullying its reputation. Victor?
BLACKWELL: You touched on a few things there. I know it's windy and rainy, of course we want you to be safe. I want to go first to this influence on those who will choose the next peep, the Conclave. How could this reporting influence those cardinals?
WEDEMAN: Well, what's interesting is that apparently, according to another news report here, the Pope may share the results of the report, of the dossier with the cardinals who will meet in the Conclave, 116 cardinals. And basically that -- what they see may help them decide who really needs to deal with the problems within the Vatican. And we know there are different factions in the Vatican. Some who are resistant to change and others who desperately want it to happen. So whether this report is true or not, it may indeed have an effect on the outcome of the conclave. Victor?
BLACKWELL: Ben, the church has weathered some sordid scandals in the past, the child sex abuse scandal and all the chapters of that to name one. But if this is true, put into context for us how bad this would be.
WEDEMAN: As I said, there have been previous scandals. Just three years ago an Italian journalist documented with video and photographs a gay priest within the Vatican going about Rome and engaging in gay sex. And that certainly hurt its reputation. It's really in a sense just another blow to an institution that has been reeling over the last decade or so from a series of scandals. And certainly what we see is growing unhappiness with the church hierarchy in the United States, in Europe, as well. And certainly this could have affect the following of the Vatican. Serious indeed -- it's hard to say if it's fatal, but definitely hurts its reputation even more. Victor?
BLACKWELL: All right, Ben Wedeman in the wind and the rain in Rome for us. Thank you. Stay dry.
A woman dies in a skid row hotel, and police are left grasping for answers. The death of Alisa Lam is just one more tale in the strange and sordid history of L.A.'s Hotel Cecil.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Oscar Pistorius is out on bail, but life may never be the same for the sprinter known as the "blade runner." Paparazzi chased the car carrying Pistorius from court yesterday. Pistorius spent the night at his uncle's house because he's unable to go home based on his bail conditions. South Africans who had previously treated Pistorius as a national hero now seem to be split on a magistrate's decision to let him go free.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's shocking to think that despite the evidence mounted against him, he still managed to get bail, you know. It's I guess a reflection of our judicial system.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that it's ridiculous. I think a lot of people are suspicious he's going to get away with murder.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that he put forward a good case, and that's what happens. I think he got a fair decision. And we'll wait to see what happens in the trial now.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WEDEMAN: Pistorius faces a pre meditated murder charge in the killing of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine's Day. He goes back to court June 4.
In Los Angeles, police are searching for answers in the bizarre story of the death of a Canadian tourist. The body of 21-year-old Alisa Lam was found in the water tank of a skid row hotel in January. The body was discovered when guests complained about discolored water with a funny taste. Police say she may have been in there for weeks. For now, the cause of her death is unknown. The coroner is ordering a toxicology report.
The death is just another strange tale in the hotel's storied history. CNN's Nick Valencia reports to the skid row hotel's haunted past.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the city of the famous and those who would be famous, the Cecil Hotel is best known for its infamy. Founded in the 1920s, the hotel sits in downtown Los Angeles, just a stone's throw from skid row. The neighborhood around the Cecil has changed over the decades. But despite the city's best efforts to gentrify it, the hotel remains a symbol of the area's dark past.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you for calling the European-style Cecil hotel, the best affordable hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
VALENCIA: Calling itself the premier choice of affordable downtown Los Angeles hotels, the Cecil attracts mostly low-income residents. In the '50s and '60s, it was known as a place where those at the end of their rope would end their life. In 1985, it was the choice hideout for serial killer Richard Ramirez, convicted of killing at least 13 people throughout Los Angeles. Ramirez reportedly lived at the hotel for months.
An Austrian serial killer also found comfort at the Cecil. Jack Unterweger may have killed some of his prostitute victims there. It's even rumored that the actress known as "Black Dahlia" hung out in the hotel before her brutal murder in 1947. And now this, the decomposing body of a Canadian tourist found in one of the hotel's water tanks. Guests here were noticeably upset.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wouldn't you be if there was a dead body in the water you were using and drinking?
VALENCIA: Canadian tourist Alisa Lam chose the hotel despite its seedy past. Her body may have been there for weeks.
SABINA BAUGH, HOTEL GUEST: The pressure in the water was terrible. The shower was awful. The water -- and when you turned the tap on, the water was coming black first.
VALENCIA: The 21-year-old's death just the latest mystery for a hotel with a haunted past.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BLACKWELL: Discolored water with a funny taste -- Nick Valencia joins us. Nick, you tried to contact this hotel. Any answers?
VALENCIA: In fact, we tried to contact them about something specific, some of the hotel guests and occupants told our CNN crew that was outside of the Cecil hotel that the crew broke the news to them that the body was in the water tank, that the hotel management staff didn't even bother to tell the occupants.
Now we've tried repeatedly to get in touch with the hotel management at the Cecil hotel since Wednesday. They have not returned my calls or the calls of might have colleagues. So it's not lack of effort on trying to figure out what's going on. But definitely some very bizarre details that are emerging from the story.
BLACKWELL: I cannot imagine hearing that after you took a shower, just brushed your teeth at that hotel. All right, Nick Valencia, thank you for that.
Apparently social media is about more than what you're doing, what you're saying or thinking right now. You can also send the same types of messages after you're dead. Companies are popping up that will manage your accounts after you pass on. So you could say hello or you were my friend, happy birthday, happy anniversary from the grave.
The Daytona 500 is the super bowl of motorsports, and all the talk this week has been about one driver, Danica Patrick. We'll take you live to the track.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: To sports now and this weekend's main event where the noise is deafening, the speeds top 200 miles per hour. I'm talking about Daytona. That's where "Bleacher Report's" Joe Carter is this morning. First, I wish we could have shared everyone all the dance moves during the break. We played music to keep the energy up, and they were impressive. Let's get on topic here. Danica Patrick getting a lot of attention even from the daughters of some of the other drivers.
JOE CARTER, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, she sure is. The drivers, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Gordon, all three have young daughters and all three said, dad, we have to meet Danica Patrick. ON Sunday when she won the pole for the Daytona 500, Jeff Gordon brought over his 5-year-old daughter. She snapped a picture, such a cute picture. Yesterday during Patrick's press conference she spoke about Carl Edwards' daughter and how bad she wanted to meet Danica. Win or lose, Danica matters to this sport. She matters to a growing fan base.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANICA PATRICK, NASCAR DRIVER: That's pretty -- three pretty big drivers that have little girls that wanted to meet me. That's very flattering. Carl was saying it's good that she sees me in like real life and in person and -- like in this situation. He's like because to her you're like some mythical creature that doesn't exist. TONY GIBSON, DANICA'S CREW CHIEF: I've handed out more lug-nuts to little girls at those little windows in the garage area than I have since I have been here. It's pretty amazing to see the little kids and the girls especially.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARTER: It's not just a man's job anymore. Christmas Abbott, you got to love the first name. She's the first female NASCAR pit crew member. Her job, change 60-pound tires during truck series races. The former fitness instructor loves working on the pit crew because it combines unbelievable fatigue and exacting precision. Her words, not mine, "precision." Get that one right.
And Danica Patrick, she's not the only woman making sports history this weekend. Tonight, Ronda Rousey, Liz Carmoush, they will be the first women to fight in the October began for UFC. Rousey, she's the headliner. Carmoush is on the right, a marine and the first openly gay fighter in UFC history.
Heisman runner up Manti Te'o is going to be at the Combine this weekend. He's hoping to remove himself from the Internet hoax scandal. It's great. This weekend watching herds of young girls follow Danica Patrick and look at her in awe.
BLACKWELL: She's a role model for millions. Joe, thanks.
It's the $85 billion question. Will a deal get done to avoid massive forced spending cuts? But in the end, who's got the most to lose? It might be you. We'll tee it up with Maria Cardona and Amy Holmes.
But first, every year more than 400,000 American teens who are qualified to go to college don't. Many simply don't know how to get in or aren't aware that going beyond high school is an option for them. That's where this week's CNN hero comes in. Meet Michael Carter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The state took me and my siblings away from my mom when I was 14. Now we live with our grandparents. I don't want to be faced with the limits that my mom faced. That's I want to go to college. My grandparents only went to grade school. There was nobody at home that could help me figure out how I could reach my dream.
CARTER: Applying to college can be very bewildering. There's over 400,000 low-income students every year who graduate qualified to go to a four-year college, and they just don't go.
My name is Michael Carter, and I help qualified underserved students apply to, pay for, and stay in college.
We bring college student mentors to high schools to help students through the entire process. How many more apps do you have to do?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: None. I did them all.
CARTER: It's free. Students pick their mentor, and they meet weekly until they're accepted into college.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had never really thought of myself as the greatest student, like college was not on my mind. Now I'm a sophomore. My full tuition is covered, and I'm mentoring a high school student. I'm proof that Strive for College works.
CARTER: Together we are going to solve this problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Welcome back. I'm Victor Blackwell. Randi Kaye is off. It's the bottom of the hour now. Here are five stories we're watching this morning.
Number one, Mississippi's house speaker is hoping to lower more gun manufacturing to his state. In a letter featured on his website, Phillip Gunn says that companies will not be criticized if they move to a state. He says gun-makers are under attack in what he calls anti- Second Amendment states and would be honored to have them relocate there.
Number two, the Obama administration is urging the Supreme Court to strike down a federal law that denies financial benefit to same-sex couples. Married same-sex couples specifically. The Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA defines marriage as only between a man and a woman. In a brief filed with the high court, the Justice Department says DOMA treats gay and lesbian couples unequally violating the constitution.
Number three, the nation's most contaminated nuclear site is leaking toxic nuclear waste. Last week it was revealed that one tank in Washington's facility was leaking. But now the governor says that six tanks at the Hanford nuclear site are leaking nuclear sludge. He says there's no immediate health risk to the public but he calls the leak disturbing.
Number four, the Pentagon has grounded the entire fleet of F-35 fighter jets because a crack in the engine of one of the planes was found during a routine inspection. Now the F-35 program costs $400 billion. It's the most expensive weapons system in military history.
Finally, number five. Police are searching for the people who were inside a range rover sport involved in a Las Vegas shooting. Listen to this -- shots were fired from that car, killed the driver of a Maserati. The Maserati then crashed into a taxi. The taxi burst into flames. The taxi driver and his occupant were killed. This caused a major pileup on the Las Vegas strip, and three other people were injured.
We've got an update now to a story we brought you as breaking news at the top of the hour. Cambridge police on the campus of MIT are now giving the all clear. Earlier, they searched buildings on campus after there were reports of a person with a rifle who was also wearing body armor. Well, their search turned up nothing. All clear at MIT. Let's go to politics now. Just less than a week away really from those forced spending cuts. You know the ones we narrowly avoided at the end of 2012. Now at the time, they were not -- they were kicked around as the answer to put this off, but now we're at the end of the road. If no deal is made this week, the $85 billion in cuts take effect. Joining us as they do every week, CNN contributor Maria Cardona, Amy Holmes, anchor of "real news" on "the blaze." good to be with you.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.
AMY HOLMES, ANCHOR, "REAL NEWS" ON THE BLAZE: Good morning.
BLACKWELL: I know typically Randi is here, the three ladies together. Allow me to jump in this week.
CARDONA: Absolutely.
HOLMES: You're welcome.
BLACKWELL: Thank you. Let's start with you, Amy. Who has the most to lose if this deal does not get done?
HOLMES: Well, I would say the American people. I don't mean to sound political, but a week from today, both Republicans and Democrats will have to swallow this idea of the sequester. Now, I don't actually share the president nor the speaker of the House's fear over this. I actually favor spending cuts. But I think they should be done smartly, not necessarily across the board as they would be done if they don't come to a deal.
Look, we need to cut $85 billion this year. The GAO found that we could cut $200 billion just in duplicative spending. It's come out that we've done studies on World of Warcraft for elderly people. If we can't cut that, we can't cut anything.
BLACKWELL: But we've heard the waste, fraud, and abuse argument many times --
HOLMES: It's $200 billion.
BLACKWELL: Is there $200 billion really that can be cut? We've heard waste, fraud, and abuse. I think all the low hanging fruit is gone.
CARDONA: Sure, victor. There can be cuts that are done in a smart way. The problem here, though, is that Republicans are refusing to make the cut smartly but to make this whole issue, do it in a balanced way. And what I mean by that is that we can't cut our way to prosperity. We can't just continue to focus on cuts, cuts, cuts. There are some revenues and some increases that need to be part of this mix.
The majority of the American people, 75 percent actually including Republicans across the board agree that there should be tax increases by closing corporate loopholes and loopholes for millionaires and billionaires that they use to pay less taxes than their secretaries. Those should be put on the table. The Republicans are making a very stark choice to let these cuts go through that would affect teachers and students and seniors and military folks and veterans and middle-class families because they're protecting these loopholes for corporate jet owners and millionaires and billionaires. That's not a very sustainable position for Republicans.
HOLMES: Quite honestly, those to me are talking points.
CARDONA: It's the truth.
HOLMES: When the president trots out first responders, those are paid for by local dollars, not federal dollars. Only the cuts will be made --
CARDONA: Not all of them, Amy.
HOLMES: As you know, the sequester was the president's idea in the first place.
CARDONA: That Congress voted for it. The Republicans voted for it.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: I don't want to play the blame game. What I want to play is where can we cut government spending? We've seen this in polls, the deficit is hugely important to the American voter.
CARDONA: Absolutely. I agree and you know what --
BLACKWELL: We've got to get on to the next question.
(CROSSTALK)
BLACKWELL: We've got to get on to the next question. Each side is framing this as the other side having ownership. We have six days to see if they'll do something.
I want to go to the next story. We talked about it a few minutes ago, DOMA, and brief filed by the White House. The Supreme Court will hear the arguments next month challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Yesterday the Obama administration urged the court to strike down DOMA. But the question is here, does the administration's position carry any weight with the court? We'll start with you, Maria.
CARDONA: Well, I think it does because clearly what we've seen is not just a change from this administration and from this president, but a change from the American people about where society is headed. I mean, let's make no mistake about this. We are talking about civil rights, about human rights, about the way that people are treated. And we're talking about going toward a place where those folks are treated equally, where our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters are able to enjoy the same rights as everyone else.
And so I do think while they may not have huge standing in terms of making sure that -- that their decision is part of where the Supreme Court is going on this, I do think that it will have -- that it will sway and it will be taken into consideration.
BLACKWELL: Amy?
HOLMES: Well, the DOMA case in front of the Supreme Court will be decided on its merits. I hope it's not decided based on the Supreme Court putting up a finger and deciding which side is advocating which position. If we want to debate whether or not DOMA, which was signed into law by Bill Clinton, should be the law of the land, that's a different question. In terms of whether or not the federal government is on the side of enforcing DOMA or not, I think the Supreme Court is really going to be looking at the California Supreme Court case. The California Supreme Court -- did they decide rightly or wrongly? Is it narrowly defined for the state of California? Should it be applied nationally? I think those are the questions, not a popularity contest on which lawyer represents which side.
BLACKWELL: All right, Amy Holmes, Maria Cardona. Thank you for talking with us, robust conversation to say the least.
CARDONA: Good to have you, victor.
HOLMES: You know what Randi's putting up with every time.
CARDONA: Exactly.
BLACKWELL: Listen to this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You can hear clear? How does it make you feel?
HAYDEN MCKENZIE, SEVEN-YEARS-OLD: Good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: That's a seven-year-old boy wearing an ear device that hunters use for sport. Find out why his parents had to resort to buying it just so their son can hear. It's a CNN Saturday morning exclusive.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Imagine for a moment your child has hearing loss, but you can't afford hearing aids. More than 1.5 million kids in the U.S. live in silence because their health insurance doesn't think they're essential. CNN's George Howell sat down with seven-year-old Hayden McKenzie for a look at drastic measures he and his family have taken for him to hear.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For seven-year-old Hayden McKenzie, it takes a little more time to get ready in the morning than his brother Colby, it takes a little more from his parents. AMANDA MCKENZIE, HAYDEN'S MOM: He'll set the breakfast for the day. Our question is, do you have the hearing aid on? Can you hear me? I thought last night, it sounded like a commercial, can you hear me now?
HOWELL: Hayden started losing his hearing when he was four-year-old, the crippling result of surgeries to treat disease in his middle ear.
So these are hearing aids donated from a deceased child?
AMANDA MCKENZIE: Right.
HOWELL: This is a temporary thing?
AMANDA MCKENZIE: Yes. It's definitely not our ideal situation. It's definitely helping now. But in order to get him the proper ones that he needs, you know, we would have to go through our audiologist and purchase them. And, you know, the insurance just doesn't cover it.
HOWELL: A working class family, the McKenzies find themselves stuck in the middle.
AMANDA MCKENZIE: We make too much money to, you know, to do the Medicaid route. And they -- we can't use them, can't get any kind of supplement. So it's just all out of pocket. And $6,000 is a lot of the money.
HOWELL: Desperate for solutions, they even resorted to buying these -- game ears, amplifiers that hunters use as a cheap option just to get by.
Do these hearing aids, do you like them? They work OK? What about those game ears? They work, too? What do you like better? Do you like the game ears better or do you like the hearing aid better?
HAYDEN MCKENZIE, SEVEN-YEARS-OLD: Hearing aid.
HOWELL: Why?
HAYDEN MCKENZIE: Because I just wear it.
HOWELL: Amanda says her insurance company told her hearing aids are elective. At Hayden's elementary school, his teacher sees otherwise.
SUSAN BURRELL, PRINCIPAL, BLACKBURN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Sometimes when he needs help, he won't ask for it. And then if he's not understanding, he gets frustrated, and then sometimes he'll cry.
HOWELL: Even Hayden's principal, who herself raised a hearing impaired daughter, knows exactly how frustrating it can be getting hearing aids.
And insurance will not pay for this.
AMANDA MCKENZIE: They didn't pay for a dime. No. The first time I talked to the lady about it -- because I was bound and determined they were going to. She said, well, she doesn't have to have them. I said, ma'am, she can't hear without her aids. She goes, she doesn't have to have them.
HOWELL: In fact, a recent national survey by the CDC shows that nearly five in every 1,000 children age three to 17 were either deaf or had a lot of trouble hearing without an aid.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gentlemen, with your permission, I would like it to start with House Bill 74 which deals with the hearing aids.
HOWELL: The outrage over affordability has prompted advocates to push for new legislation requiring insurance companies to cover hearing aids for kids.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have documented literally hundreds if not thousands of folks that are slipping between the cracks in our society as a result of the lack of proper health insurance.
HOWELL: But such mandatory coverage laws end up having the opposite effect according to Susan Pizanno with America's Health Insurance Plans.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Many employers already have r having difficulty affording to provide coverage. It really becomes difficult for them to consider new benefits that they really might like to add.
HOWELL: The McKenzies' insurance carrier, Aetna, tells CNN, though the family's plan does not cover hearing aid, the company did offer to provide discounts through their contracted vendor. But the McKenzies say it's still too expensive.
AMANDA MCKENZIE: It's a necessity, and it's a necessity that's a medical necessity and it's got -- it's got to be covered by insurance. It's got to be.
HOWELL: George Howell, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: Thanks to George for that.
It's a movie winning fans and acclaim around the world. Next, we're talking to the Oscar nominee for best original song from "Life of Pi."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: What would compel thousands of people to run a mile in their underwear in the middle of winter? They are raising money to help this man, drew leathers, and many others like him who suffer from neurofibromatosis, or NF, which causes noncancerous tumors to grow in the body. Drew grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta. At 16 he was diagnosed with the rare disease.
DREW LEATHERS, NF PATIENT: By the senior year of high school, the pain was a daily experience for me. GUPTA: By the time he was 23, the tumors were so bad he was not able to walk. His struggle inspired his brother to do something drastic. He gave up a successful graphics company and joined the children's tumor foundation to raise money and awareness for NF.
CHAD LEATHERS, DREW'S BROTHER: To see a life that you see so promise be stripped away, you know, the only thing to do is to reach out and do your best to try to find a solution, to educate other people about it.
GUPTA: Four years ago, the "Cupids Undie Run" started in D.C. more than $1.3 million will be raised this year. At 25, Drew is benefitting from his brother's efforts. After being bedridden for years, he's in a clinical trial that uses a cancer drug to shrink those tumors. He has less pain, he's out of bed, drives a car, and he plan to go back to school next fall.
DREW LEATHERS: The fact that we have an option to stem the tide of that suffering in any way makes it the most important thing I could do with my life.
GUPTA: And Drew gives a lot of credit to his brother and their friends who are working to help him and others suffering from NF.
CHAD LEATHERS: Through all of this, you know, he's just been a -- he's been so strong, had such faith. It has been because of the community around him.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
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BLACKWELL: Our next guest is nominated for two Oscars tomorrow night. Composer Michael Danna worked on "Life of Pi." He's nominated for best original score and best original song. Here's part of the song called "Pi's Lullaby."
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BLACKWELL: Good to have Michael Danna with us from Los Angeles. Michael, you've already won a Golden Globe. What are you expecting to tomorrow?
MICHAEL DANNA, COMPOSER: I'm expecting to have a great time and keep smiling and -- that's about as far as my expectations go.
BLACKWELL: That's a good way to go into the evening. You know, it's interesting because a song or the score, they're stopped -- you tell me if I'm wrong by this definition -- kind of capture the emotion of the film but create its own emotion. And evoke its over emotion. How do you -- its own emotion. How do you do that? DANNA: Definitely we're very subtle manipulators of your emotion as an audience. And you know, it's a matter of working closely with the director. Of course, I'm working at the visionary Ang Kee on this. It's a beautiful film, a spiritual journey. It's not every day that you get to work on a $100 million film about god and the big issues in life. So it's definitely a wonderful playground for a composer. It's something, really a culmination of a lifetime of work in this field for me.
BLACKWELL: How long does something like scoring a movie, how long does that take you?
DANNA: Well, it usually takes about maybe two or three months. But I worked over a year on this film. It's a -- because it's such a groundbreaking film, it was very difficult for us to figure out -- there was a whole new set of problems and issues that had to be sorted out and solved. And there really was no model to base our solutions on. So we had to figure this out ourselves through trial and error and doing it wrong many times, believe me. So that's why it took over a year to work on the score.
BLACKWELL: What is the mark of a good original song for a film?
DANNA: Well, it's got to be the voice of the film. And for this song specifically, Ang wanted to begin our film in this beautiful childhood paradise. The film opens with the song, with these beautiful images of animals and birds and this gorgeous jungle. And he's -- our main character is born inside this safe place, this zoo, surrounded by family, love, and a mother's love. And the easy way to sum that up is a lullaby in his native language, a south Indian language. So I worked with a south Indian singer. Together -- I went to India December of 2011, and we worked there together and wrote the film over a few days with the help of Ang over Skype, and you know, really wanted to sum up the feeling he was going for.
BLACKWELL: You're up against impressive people. Seth MacFarlane's song from "Ted," Adele's song from "Skyfall" "Suddenly" from "Les Mis." How are you feeling?
DANNA: You know, first of all, yes. Look at the company we're in. It's an incredible honor to be there. Obviously it's a very strong year. It's a very strong year for movies period. I mean, you look at the best films this year. Good luck, Academy, sorting that out. They are wonderful in their own way and hit their targets. Their targets happen to be in varying fields and areas. We're happy to be there.
BLACKWELL: Michael Danna, thank you very much, and good luck tomorrow. We have much more ahead after a quick break.
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