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Rogue Platoon Investigation; Neck-and-Neck Race in Nevada; CNN Hero Guadalupe Arizpe De La Vegal;
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Have a great weekend, everyone.
Tony is out, T.J. is in.
Take it away, T.J.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, thank you, kind ma'am. Thank you so much.
Hello to you all. Live from Studio 7 at the CNN world headquarters, we have got some big stories coming up for you here on this Friday, October the 15th.
Up first, an American soldier allegedly beaten by others in his own platoon. Take a look at some of these pictures here. They actually say he was a snitch, the soldier who exposed a rogue killing squad accused of picking off civilians.
Also, fight night in Las Vegas. Not what you think, though. These are not necessarily prize fighters here. The prize they're fighting for is a seat in the Senate.
The Senate's top Democrat is tangling with a Tea Party insurgent. Some name-calling went back and forth. You can expect that in most of these debates. She's telling him actually -- telling Harry Reid to man up? He's telling her she's an extremist.
We'll get into that in just a bit.
And are you looking for a job out there? What is your ideal job?
Well, how about this guy? He gets paid to get high. Yes, he tests medical marijuana for a living. He smokes all day. He's kind of like a food critic here, only with a different kind of pot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got a joint, a pre-rolled joint of some sour diesel and some really chunky, real good-looking pot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yes. You sure you don't want to stick around, Kyra? We're talking weed the next two hours.
PHILLIPS: Oh!
HOLMES: Oh, it's OK.
PHILLIPS: I did not inhale.
HOLMES: All right. She did not inhale, if you didn't hear that.
But all of that and a whole lot more coming up.
Hello to you all. I am T.J. Holmes, in for my good friend Tony Harris.
Those stories, a whole lot more, your comments included, right here, right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.
There are some numbers I want to share you with here now about how much red ink on the government's balance sheet. The Congressional Budget Office says the federal deficit is now just under $1.3 trillion. The good news is that's lower than it was last year. The bad news, it's $1.3 trillion.
The second year in a row that the deficit has been above a trillion. Actually, like I said, down, down about $125 billion from last fiscal year.
Those numbers we're getting today. Also, the unemployment numbers we got not too long ago. These are some of the final reports and the numbers that people are going to walk into the voting booth within 18 days. We have got these critical midterm elections coming up.
And the most powerful man in the Senate, the man who is the head of the Democrats, he is in a tough fight right now to keep his seat.
We're talking about the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, going up against the Tea Party favorite insurgent Sharron Angle. They are locked in a head-to-head, a neck-and-neck race. Most of the polls have them just a point or two apart.
They did have a debate last night, the only one we're going to see them in. Just listen to one of their exchanges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: Social Security is a promise we have to keep. It takes care of seniors in their golden years.
That's why I worked so hard to protect Social Security. I feel so strongly about this, that I took on the president of the United States when he tried to privatize it, and we won that battle.
Social Security is an important program. The actuarials at Social Security and also the CBO have said within the past month that Social Security will pay out 100 percent of its benefits for the next 35 to 40 years. That's important.
SHARRON ANGLE (R), NEVADA SENATE CANDIDATE: Man up, Harry Reid. You need to understand that we have a problem with Social Security. That problem was created because of government taking that money out of the Social Security trust fund.
In 1990, you said it was stealing to use Social Security for anything but Social Security, and then you voted to take that Social Security money into the general fund where it could be generally used for generally anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, coming up in just a moment, we're going to be talking more about that race and that debate out in Nevada with our political folks in D.C. Stick around for that.
Also, we've been waiting all this time. The miners, they're finally out. We watched them come out triumphantly with the hugs and the tears and the crying and all of that. And everybody's waiting to hear the story about these guys being trapped 69 days underground.
Well, you're going to have to wait for it or you're going to have to pay for it. They have agreed now they are going to sell their story. They're going to sell it in books and movies and interviews, and then they're going to divide the money up among the 33 miners.
So they're keeping a lot of details right now pretty close to the chest. You're seeing video here of one of the miners -- three of them all together -- but you're seeing video of one of them leaving the hospital there. More are expected to leave today.
Now, they aren't saying much. They're saying a little. One says that the 17 days that nobody knew they were actually alive, those were the toughest days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): What was the worst moment?
RICHARD VILLARROEL, MINER (through translator): I think the worse thing is to pass three, four, five days without food, to know that there might not be any future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, also another story we're keeping a close eye on, gay rights groups not so happy with the president today. The administration will appeal a judge's decision that struck down "don't ask, don't tell" as unconstitutional.
The president was talking in a forum with young voters in Washington, and he says he still opposes the law that forbids gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, but he says he prefers Congress, not the courts, in the policy. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I agree with the basic principle that anybody who wants to serve in our armed forces and make sacrifices on our behalf, on behalf of our national security, anybody should be able to serve. And they shouldn't have to lie about who they are in order to serve.
And so we are moving in the direction of ending this policy. It has to be done in a way that is orderly, because we are involved in a war right now. But this is not a question of whether the policy will end.
This policy will end, and it will end on my watch. But I do have an obligation to make sure that I'm following some of the rules. I can't simply ignore laws that are out there. I've got to work to make sure that they are changed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, the president talking a little policy there.
Meanwhile, the top U.S. military commander, he is talking in Afghanistan, talking about that the fight there -- said, yes, it's tough, and it's headed in the right direction, he says. He's also backing the Afghan president's efforts to pursue peace talks with the Taliban. We're talking about General David Petraeus. He was speaking this morning at a British think tank.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, COMMANDER, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ASSISTANCE FORCE: Now, no one should have any illusions about how difficult the fight will continue to be as we and our Afghan partners strive to bring peace to a nation that has suffered through more than 30 years of continuous war. Still, I believe that we now have the right strategy in place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: We turn now to a CNN Special Investigations Unit update.
We told you about American soldiers accused of killing Afghan civilians for sport. Now the story of the man who exposed this rogue platoon, and the price he paid and the military's move to keep him silent.
Here now, our Drew Griffin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are pictures obtained by CNN of a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan, a soldier who blew the whistle on what the Army says was a platoon gone rogue.
Bruises on his back, arms, near his neck, of Private First Class Justin Stoner. Bruises received not in combat, but in his bunk. Beaten by fellow soldiers who feared Stoner was a snitch.
Jeremy Morlock, one of the soldiers now accused of murdering three Afghan civilians, told investigators in this taped interrogation he was there the day Private Stoner was beaten.
JEREMY MORLOCK, ACCUSED OF MURDERING CIVILIANS: Yes, we walked into the room, and locked the door behind us, and a couple guys just started talking to him, just laying on him. You know --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean?
MORLOCK: Well, it started with talking. Why would you rat on your guys, you know, stuff like that, and then that led into someone grabbing him or --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he deny it?
MORLOCK: Yes, at first -- at first he did. And then he came to and made some comments about how he was tired of being a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) or something like that. And then he made a comment, like, something about I think someone had grabbed him at that point and maybe gave him a punch to the chest or something. And he made the statement like, "Hey, you guys can sit here and punch me all day long if you want," or something, and once that was made -- Gibbs was like, "Oh, OK" and grabbed him off his cot and threw him on the ground in his room, and then that's when a few guys got a few licks in.
GRIFFIN: Morlock's attorney told CNN his client was on prescription drugs, high on hashish and suffering combat-related brain injuries when the crimes were committed.
Sergeant Gibbs, the squad leader who has tattoos on his leg which he said represent kills in both Iraq and Afghanistan, is the alleged ring leader. He hasn't admitted anything. His attorney told CNN he is not ready to comment.
Others during interrogation also described how they believed Stoner was a rat, about to tell commanders about the drug use going on at forward operating base Ramrod. At least seven members of the rogue platoon entered Stoner's tent on May 5, surrounded Stoner, as Stoner himself sketches in this drawing for investigators. Then, according to Stoner's statement, "collectively stomped, kicked and punched me everywhere on my body below the neck."
(on camera): Last week Stoner agreed to talk again, this time to CNN in an on-camera interview, but just three hours before that interview was to take place, south of Seattle, CNN received this e- mail from Private Stoner's military attorney.
(voice-over): "About two hours ago, prosecutors and I met regarding the disposition of the case against PFC Stoner," the attorney writes. "Based on this meeting, PFC Stoner will be given full immunity in the case and not be prosecuted for any allegations made against him contingent, also, however, on staying away from media." With that, the interview was canceled. The military, which had not charged Stoner with any crime, was threatening to bring charges against him, then offered him a deal as long as he didn't go public.
(on camera): The U.S. Army appears to be trying to limit further damage by this rogue platoon. The evidence includes damning photographs. Those who have seen them tell CNN they show soldiers posing with dead Afghans like hunting trophies; worse, we are told, than the disastrous photos taken by jailers in Iraq's Abu Ghraib Prison.
(voice-over): This military directive sent to defense attorneys orders all photos be immediately returned to the criminal investigation division at Fort Lewis. Last week, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell refused to speculate on the case.
GEOFF MORRELL, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: I don't want to do anything that could in any way jeopardize the prosecution or the ability of the defendants in this case to get a fair trial.
GRIFFIN: So for now, the Army is working hard to contain witnesses and contain evidence, all in an effort to control the story of a platoon even the Army says was out of control.
Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, what happened in Vegas last night could determine what happens in Washington for years to come. We'll have more on the political showdown between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle.
Let's say, though, hello to Mr. Rob Marciano in the Severe Weather Center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Well, as you know, the critical midterm elections now just 18 days away, and the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, is trying to hold on right now. He's in a tough battle with Republican and Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle.
They sparred last night in Las Vegas for their debate. Just one of the topics they were talking about was health care. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REID: For a long time in this country, insurance companies have dominated the health care delivery system. You pay your premiums. You get sick or hurt, they walk away from you. We passed health insurance reform because we had no choice.
ANGLE: America is about choices, and we need to allow people to have those choices. The free market will weed out those companies that don't offer as many choices and don't have a cost-effective system. Let the people decide where they want to buy their insurance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: I want to bring in our senior political editor, Mark Preston.
Mark, hello to you, kind sir.
I have been to plenty of fight nights in Vegas. This one did not live up to the billing.
MARK PRESTON, CNN SR. POLITICAL EDITOR: No, and they both seemed very flat, T.J. I was watching it last night, and Harry Reid didn't really seem to be on his game. Sharron Angle didn't really seem to deliver that knockout blow that some people thought she would.
You know, we were talking to a Republican just a few minutes ago who said she didn't need to deliver it though, T.J., she just needed not to fall down on her face. And, well, she certainly didn't do that last night, but again, no real winner.
HOLMES: No real winner. So this isn't going to move a poll one way or another, I assume. I don't think there's been any polling done just yet after this one, but they've been neck and neck, and they don't have another one planned. This was the only opportunity to see these two go head to head.
PRESTON: Yes. And these two couldn't get together on agreeing to do a debate, and this was the only debate that they would agree to do together.
We haven't seen any numbers out. Again, since it was three hours behind on the West Coast, we'll probably see some numbers in the next 24 hours and see what people thought of the debate.
I'm sure it was well watched out in Nevada. But really, this comes down, T.J., to the closing days, who will not fall down, who will not make a big gaffe. They both have been prone to making big gaffes -- T.J.
HOLMES: OK. What does this do now possibly for the Tea Party? There are plenty of other races out there. I think 37 is the number of Senate seats up for grabs.
But if the Tea Party is able to knock off the majority leader, what does that tell us?
PRESTON: Huge. It would be huge for them.
Look, the Tea Party Express, one of the main Tea Party organizations, are going to be in Reno on Monday to kick off their last cross-country tour. Sarah Palin is going to be there speaking. You know, so she's been a big help to them. If they are able to defeat Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, can you imagine what power that they'll have over the Republican Party as a whole? Add in the likes of Marco Rubio -- you' know, they're not going to do well with Christine O'Donnell in Delaware, but there are several other Tea Party candidates across the country. They're going to be responsible for sending them here to Washington. You are very likely to see the Republican Party move even further to the right than what it is now -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right, Mark. Don't want to sell him short at all. This man a literally and figuratively a fighter. So, before anybody thinks he is just going to bow out, they better think again.
PRESTON: Yes, no question about that. In fact, he took on the Mafia when he was on the Gaming Commission. He knows how to win.
Look, he won in 1998 against John Ensign by 428 votes. Harry Reid is one of these guys who will go down fighting. In fact, he says he'll spend $25 million, T.J., to win this contest. The problem with that is that Sharron Angle raised $14 million in the third quarter alone, so a lot of money out in Vegas.
HOLMES: Mark Preston.
Buddy, always good to see you. Interesting out there in Vegas. We'll see you soon.
And I'm going to be seeing a lot of folks out there on the road real soon. CNN Election Express hitting the road once again.
Doing it again next week. We're going to be traveling across the Southeast this time, talking to you about what you're concerned about. Also trying to get some answers maybe from a few folks out there.
The first stop is going to be Charlotte, North Carolina. That is one of the biggest financial hubs outside of New York.
We're going to be there on Monday. Then we head to Columbia, South Carolina; Macon, Georgia; down to Tampa, Florida. See you on the road.
A quick break here. We're right back.
HOLMES: At 19 minutes past the hour here now.
You often hear Republicans talk about having to slash government spending. That is the way to balance the budget. They accuse Democrats of just being on a spending tear. That's been a big battle cry from the Tea Party leaders as well, you've got to cut government spending.
Well, our Eliot Spitzer, he pressed a pioneer of the modern conservative movement for specifics on cutting the spending, and he did it on CNN's new primetime show, "PARKER SPITZER." (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD VIGUERIE, PIONEER OF MODERN CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT: Reagan, when he ran for president in '76, said we need new leadership, leadership unfettered by old ties and old relationships. The Tea Party people are unfettered by old ties. They're changing America.
ELIOT SPITZER, CO-HOST, "PARKER SPITZER": But Richard, that was fascinating, but then you have some questions. I picked up on that.
So I have this persistent habit. I was a lawyer once, and, you know -- so where are you going to cut?
VIGUERIE: Well, we start with the Republican proposal. We go back to the spending limits of --
SPITZER: You've got to cut over $1 trillion. There's only $500 billion in non-discretionary money to start with. Where are you going to take huge pieces? Are you going to cut Medicare?
VIGUERIE: Well, what you're going to do is change the entitlements. You have to.
SPITZER: So you're going to cut Medicare.
VIGUERIE: America is not going to function, as you well know, in 20, 30 years. America is not going to function unless somebody, Democrats or Republicans, conservatives and liberals, get together and figure out how we're going to get away from this entitlement society.
One thing, a very simple way to do it, Eliot -- there are many parts to it, but one is you change the retirement age. Most people when they get to 62 are now drawing Social Security. You can't continue that when people are living into their 80s and 90s.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And you can check them out tonight as well. "PARKER SPITZER" is going to be focusing on a new documentary that explores the difference between President Obama and President Reagan's views on the role federal government plays in society. You can get both sides, "PARKER SPITZER," every weeknight, right here, 8:00 Eastern Time.
(NEWSBREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Well, all year we have, of course, introduced you to incredible folks, everyday people who are changing the world. We call them our CNN Heroes.
Got another one to introduce you to now. And to get a little help to introduce you to this one, listen to actress Eva Mendes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EVA MENDES, ACTRESS: Hello. I'm Eva Mendes.
Last year I had the honor of helping to recognize the great works of everyday people changing the world at CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute.
As a champion of the Art of Elysium, I'm committed to creating joy in the lives of hospitalized children. Now I'm thrilled to help CNN introduce one of this year's Top Ten honorees. Now, more than ever, the world needs heroes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUADALUPE ARIZPE DE LA VEGA, MEDICAL MARVEL: Juarez was a very nice place. And now, nobody can go out. In this moment of crisis, people have to have a secure place where healing goes on.
My name is Guadalupe Arizpe De La Vega. I started the Hospital De La Familia, and it's in downtown Juarez.
We have been working there for 37 years with the community. Every day we have 800 to 1,000 people. Some of them can pay, some of them cannot pay, but we don't turn anybody away.
I believe that health is the most important of the human rights. Life, it's all about empowering people, and it's very important to have an institution giving them hope for the future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: So, who will be the CNN Hero of the Year for 2010? Don't ask me. We're asking you. You're going to decide this.
You can go to CNN.com, vote online for the CNN Hero who inspires you the most. All 10 will be honored on Thanksgiving night at "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute." You've seen it now -- probably saw it last year. And we're going to do it again for you this year.
It's going to be hosted by our own Anderson Cooper, but only one, of course, will be named CNN Hero of the Year.
HOLMES: We're at the bottom of the hour here now at the CNN NEWSROOM.
Marijuana is on four state ballots this November. In California -- this is the big one out here with prop 19, voters are going to decide on -- that is going to allow small amounts of marijuana on a person to be legal and taxable. This essentially would be the first state to make it legal to weed for recreational purposes, but again, in small amounts.
Also, in South Dakota and Arizona, the issue of legalizing marijuana to treat various medical conditions, that's on the ballot.
And then, in Oregon, where medical marijuana has been legal, the question before the voters, should the sale of medical marijuana be available through dispensaries. Up to this point, people who want to smoke medical marijuana have to grow it themselves at home. You didn't have dispensaries to go buy the stuff.
For the past week, CNN NEWSROOM has been taking a look at the marijuana argument as it stands today and asking what yes votes could mean for Americans down the road.
Medical marijuana, as we know, has been around for sometime, including Colorado, been legal for the past decade. In Denver alone, get this, they have more than 200 medical marijuana dispensaries, and one man gets paid to check out the quality of that marijuana at each and every one of those dispensaries.
CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow has this story and she tried to do it without getting any contact smoke.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Not only is this legal; it pays the bills.
(on camera): So you get paid to smoke pot and write about it?
"WILLIAM BREATHES," MARIJUANA CRITIC: I get paid to smoke pot and write about it, yes.
HARLOW (voice-over): His pen name is William Breathes and he's one of the first medical marijuana critic in the country. We can't show you his face, because his job depends on staying anonymous, just like a restaurant critic.
(on camera): You can be high doing your job?
BREATHES: And my boss knows it.
HARLOW (voice-over): A decade after medical marijuana was legalized in Colorado, it's estimated about 2 percent of the state's population, or more than 100,000 people, have applied for medical marijuana licenses.
According to one Harvard economists, roughly $18 billion is spent on pot every year in the U.S. and Denver's "Westword" paper has capitalized as just that, hiring Breathes as a pot critic who reviews the dispensaries and the quality of the marijuana they sell.
JONATHAN SHIKES, MANAGING EDITOR, "DENVER WESTWORD": He has a journalism degree. He was a good writer. And he could also punctuate and he could spell, which was very different than a lot of people who applied for the job.
HARLOW: As for Breathes, he's been smoking for 15 years to ease chronic stomach pains, but now his medicine pays his mortgage. We tagged along to see for ourselves, and we didn't take our cameras inside, but take a listen.
BREATHES: Oh, that's great.
CLERK: Wanna do the cough?
BREATHES: I'm going to have to go with that.
CLERK: Cool. An eighth or --
BREATHES: Yes, I will go with an eighth. Do you guys have any (INAUDIBLE) up here?
HARLOW (on camera): Can you -- can you show us what you got?
BREATHES: Yes, I got a joint -- a pre-rolled joint of some sour diesel and some really chunky, real -- real good looking pot.
HARLOW: I can smell it.
BREATHES: Yes, you can smell the musk.
HARLOW: It's like permeating the whole car.
BREATHES: Yes, exactly. That muskiness is something you really look for in...
HARLOW: Whew.
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: Does that means it's good?
BREATHES: Yes.
HARLOW (voice-over): Back at his home office, it's time to get to work.
BREATHES: Load up a little bit and taste it. Try to taste the smoke as it comes out. And like I was saying, it has a real like woody finish. And then, you know, after a few hits of that you try and feel what type of buzz it is and what it's doing to my body medically.
HARLOW (on camera): So you know the critics would say that you just want to get high.
BREATHES: Oh, yes, definitely. And I'm not going to lie. There is -- there's a fun aspect to this medicine. But if you can see me on a morning when I'm really sick, when pot really helps me the most, it's truly medical.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Poppy, come on.
HARLOW: I'm serious. I have to tell you, this guy changed my perception of people that smoke marijuana. He is on the straight and narrow. He has a good job. He just bought his own home, he has a mortgage. He is super responsible. He takes this seriously, no joke.
He told me, look, I'm not going to get used to getting paid to take bong hits, but you know, the industry is changing. Colorado is regulating it.
You don't buy it at all?
HOLMES: What makes him the expert? It's just that he has been doing it for so long that he has --
HARLOW: He's been doing it for so long. He went to journalism school. He's a writer, he knows how to write. And has relationships with the people that run the dispensaries all over town and he's just done it for so long.
Look, what makes someone an expert in a new industry? He is the first of his kind. But in all seriousness, they're changing the industry. Felons can't run dispensaries now. Doctors have stricter rules on giving these prescriptions.
And you know, what's interesting? Those dispensaries now have to grow 70 percent of her own pot because they don't want them bringing it in from Mexico, for example.
HOLMES: And again, he's testing it not just on what it tastes like, but the effects --
HARLOW: What it does to his body.
HOLMES: -- how it makes him feel?
HARLOW: But every day, morning, noon, night, he has to take bong hits and gets paid for it.
HOLMES: All right. Poppy, I swear, how do you get some of these assignments? It's Poppy Harlow, always a pleasure. Can't wait for your next one.
HARLOW: You got it.
HOLMES: Thanks so much. Good to have you here in Atlanta, too, by the way.
HARLOW: Good to be here.
HOLMES: Coming up, they have spent 69 days living a life underground. They finally get out, the whole world has been waiting to hear their story, and you're going to have to wait a little longer. The miners don't have a lot to say to you right now. We'll explain why.
HOLMES: Taking a look now at some of the stories making headlines.
Condoleezza Rice heading to the Oval Office today. The former secretary of state, national security adviser to President Bush has a private meeting with President Obama. You can watch her later at 6:00 Eastern as she sits down with our Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
Also, today, actually happening in about two hours, rapper T.I. going to be heading to court in Atlanta. He has a hearing on drug charges that threaten his probation on a previous weapons violation that could send him right back to prison; he just got out earlier this year. This also comes, this hearing, just days after T.I. convinced a man to come down after threatening to jump from a midtown Atlanta building.
Also, Old Miss has a new mascot, doesn't mean it's going to translate in any more wins in the SEC. Seven years after sacking Colonel Reb, you see him there, the goatee planter who conjured up some images of the old south, they finally got rid of him. Going to replace him with the Rebel Black Bear. That is what the students wanted. We don't have a picture of the black bear but trust me, it's not that impressive. I only say that that because I'm a University of Arkansas grad. So, Ole Miss, don't call. It's a rivalry, it's OK. Good luck with your bear.
Well, he's a college football star who faced down the toughest competitor of his life, cancer. Here now, our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, with more on the biggest win of one linebacker's life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As he leads his team onto the field, you can see it, Mark Herzlich, number 94, is fierce, he's dedicated, he's a devoted team player.
MARK HERZLICH, CANCER SURVIVOR: You know, football is really my life blood, to be honest, right now.
GUPTA: Few things have ever stood in his linebacker's way, not his opponents on the football field and not even cancer.
HERZLICH: My whole left leg was completely white, meaning there was a tumor that surrounded my femur.
GUPTA: It was during his junior year at Boston College the former ACC Defensive Player of the Year developed a pain in his leg that simply wouldn't go away. Many doctor visits later, he was given a devastating diagnosis, Ewing sarcoma, it's a rare, often deadly form of bone cancer that strikes roughly 1 of every 600,000 people.
HERZLICH: It went from when am I playing football again to when am I going to start treatments, what are my treatments going to be, and what's chemotherapy like? You know, am I going to live.
GUPTA: He started a rigorous treatment schedule -- chemotherapy for two straight months and then additional radiation sessions before and after every chemo visit. His motivation always being to get healthy and to get back to playing football.
HERZLICH: I knew that if I got back on the field that I would have come full circle. I would have beaten the cancer, I'd have gotten my physical strength back to be where I want to be and once again be happy doing the thing I love to do.
GUPTA: That internal drive, it's what helped Herzlich mount a triumphant return. Now, he's cancer free. He's back to playing football this fall.
And football fans young and old, well they're celebrating with him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, we love everything about Mark Herzlich up here in these stands.
HERZLICH: You can do incredible things as a human being. You can defy the odds. You know, even if someone says you're not going to be able to make it, you're not going to be able to do this or that, you can push yourself and have that will to get there. And I got there.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And this weekend on "SANJAY GUPTA, MD," actress Christina Applegate, she survived breast cancer and now she has a baby on the way. She talks about insurance companies and what she think thinks they're neglecting that could save your life. That is Saturday and Sunday morning 7:30 Eastern right here on CNN.
I want to give you an update now on some information we are just getting in about the search for David Hartley, the American who went missing in the waters of Falcon Lake, a lake that borders the U.S. and Mexico border.
You see the picture, you've seen this story for some time now. That's his wife, Tiffany, with him, but she claims he was shot as they were out on the lake. A lot of people suspected possible Mexican drug lords had something to do with this, but now we're told the search has been suspended for her husband's body. No body has been found.
Our Paul Corson is on the line, one of my producers who has been on this story. Paul, can you tell me why did they decide to stop searching now?
PAUL CORSON, CNN PRODUCER (via telephone): Well, T.J., we're at the other end of the equation right now. The regional governor of the area where Falcon Lake is located is in Washington for annual meetings that were scheduled not related to this at all.
But we managed to track him down while he's here in town -- the governor's name, Eugenio Hernandez Flores -- and he just told us that there is not yet any formal investigation into the whole Falcon Lake incident.
He did confirm that David Hartley's wife is going to be meeting in Texas with the FBI and Mexican federal police today to file a formal statement of her account of the events, but he did not say there is any formal investigation underway right now.
But he did say that he will be meeting himself today with FBI officials by the name of Hector Gonzalez, I don't know his formal title at the FBI, here in Washington to make sure U.S. and Mexican authorities are cooperating if there's any investigation that needs to move ahead, T.J.
HOLMES: OK, Paul, help us understand what that means, because we have been watching a whole lot of what appeared to be investigating going on, certainly by Americans from the American side, if you will.
So what up to this point have Mexican authorities been doing? It makes it sound like we haven't been involved, we haven't gotten a formal complaint almost.
CORSON: Well, one of the things that seems to have complicated this case is the death of an investigator that was assigned to the Hartley case at Falcon Lake. His death was a coincidence it seems, according to Flores, who we talked with.
And he said this is a long-time investigator in this governor's state, and that he had a number of cases this may have been attributed to. He refused to link it to anything to do with the Hartley case that Mrs. Hartley believes took place as a result of shooting by pirates, as we've gotten.
And as I said, he would not elevate it to that of a formal investigation, while saying that Tiffany Hartley does today plan to meet with both Mexican federal police and the FBI in Texas to possibly more formalize whatever investigative process has been underway, T.J.
HOLMES: Paul Corson, we appreciate you tracking him down and hopping on the line with us, again, one of our producers working the story, like he said, from the other end there.
We also got a statement from Tiffany Hartley's mom. I'm just going to read it to you here. It says, quote, "We are very disappointed. The longer this goes, the less chance there is of finding David."
Again, saying she's disappointed because we're getting word that the formal search right now has been suspended for the body of David Hartley. We will continue to follow that story.
Quick break, though, here in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm right back.
HOLMES: There is always something going on day in and day out as it pertains to the election which is now 18 days away, this critical midterm election. Let's check in with our Paul Steinhauser, part of "The Best Political Team on Television" live from the Political Desk in D.C.
Paul, hello to you, kind sir. What do you have crossing?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: T.J., I guess that means you're stuck with me for another 18 days, but -- hey, you and Mark Preston my buddy Mark Preston, just a few minutes ago were talking about that big debate in Las Vegas last night between Harry Reid and Sharron Angle, but you know what? There was also another very important debate last night in Washington state.
I'm going to ask Jeremy Harland (ph), our cameraman, to zoom right in here. It's on the CNN Political Ticker and it was a big showdown in Washington state between on the right, that is the Democratic Senator Patty Murray, on the left, Dino Rossi, the Republican nominee. And I tell you, man, a very different philosophy in that debate, obviously, between the two candidates when it comes to what Barack Obama has done in the White House. A great article by our Peter Hamby (ph) who was there at that debate.
That's what happened last night. T.J., let's look ahead to tomorrow, because there's a couple of things going on.
Let's start with the president, Barack Obama. He will be in Massachusetts tomorrow. He will be helping out his friend, Deval Patrick, the governor up there, first-term governor who is facing a very tough reelection, so Obama's heading up there, the president's heading up there, to help out his friend.
Also tomorrow, T.J., a big event out in California. We will be covering this one. Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, teaming up with Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and the 2008 vice presidential nominee.
They'll be in Anaheim, California late tomorrow afternoon, early evening for a fundraising rally to help raise money for the Republican Party for candidates in these closing weeks. So we'll have coverage for that. We're sending Jessica Yellin out there.
You can see all this stuff, of course, on the CNN Political Ticker and we're talking about it, T.J., so there you go.
HOLMES: We appreciate it, Paul. Looking forward to the next 18 days with you, buddy. We'll see you again here soon.
And to our viewers, your next political update going to be right about an hour from now. And of course, for the latest political news, you know the spot, CNNPolitics.com.
HOLMES: A city councilman in Texas getting very personal about bullying during a meeting. We're going to bring you his emotional plea, that's in the next hour of the CNN newsroom.
Also, you're going to meet a young man who is educating black students about the history of the N-word in an effort to get kids to think twice before using it.
