heavy rain in birmingham earlier today. you can see flood waters are reaching the bumpers.

more rain is on the way with straight line winds and hail expected. a budget proposal passed the u.s. senate. this one was approved at 5:00 in the morning 50 to 49 after a marathon overnight session. they went through 101 amendments. the vote went largely along party lines except for the four democrats who voted against it. the bill is expected to get knocked down in the house. here is a look at what's trending online. a flash of light streaked across the sky last night from virginia to maine. nasa said it was a meteor. it was one yard in indictment, about the size of an exercise ball. if you are wondering who would replace jimmy fallon if he takes the "tonight show" spot nbc could choose snl's seth myers. cnn did reach out to nbc. still no comment. if your luck isn't going great for march madness brackets you may want to test your luck on the powerballotry.

the jackpot is now $320 million. that will do it for me. cnn newsroom continues with don lemon at the top of the hour. first, sanjay gupta has supermodel nicky taylor. >> reporter: hi, everyone. 16 e years ago supermodel nikki taylor was brought to the hospital where i worked in critical condition after a car accident. she's fully recovered and has a message she wants to share. also, i want to talk about your knees today. how to keep them in prime condition as you get older. also warning about children and dangerous products in the home. you need to hear it. i will reveal the big dangers. let's get started.

first ten years since the start of the iraq war. i have had the chance to visit some of the people i met during the fighting. at the time i was reporting from a dusty desert medical tent south of baghdad. doctors huddled over a 24-year-old marine named jesus vedana. he had shrapnel in his brain and i was the only neurosurgeon in the area. i was asked to help. i didn't hesitate. jesus made it. i paid a visit to see what happened when the chaos was over. with his jaw set is, his eyes gleaming, jesus swells with pride. he's a marine ready for battle. he has no clue a single bullet will soon dramatically change his life. >> you miss it. >> i do miss it. you were shot in the head. so you miss being a marine. >> it was probably one of the best experiences of my life.

i don't regret being in it. >> so you still keep the helmet? >> yeah. right here. that's the entry wound. >> you can see how big it was when it got through the helmet. >> it's been almost ten years. next month. >> yeah. april 8. >> on that day in 2003 bombs and bullets rained down across baghdad. vedana's unit was on patrol when snipers fired. one minute he was yelling orders into a radio. the next -- he fell silent. a single bullet had pierced his helmet. just south of baghdad i was embedded with a surgical unit where vedanya would be transp t transport transported. less than an hour after being

shot he had already been declared dead twice. by the time he got to us, he had a faint pulse. there were no neurosurgeons in the unit. i was asked to operate. i didn't hesitate. >> you're alive. that's what people always say. he survived when people thought maybe he wouldn't. how are you doing? >> i don't know. i guess you always wish things were better. >> since returning from iraq, e vidana struggled with seizures, fatigue, depression. >> i have felt like it would have been better had i not lived just because, you know, every day is a struggle with the depression. depression just comes. you know? unexpectedly and with a fury. >> what does that mean? >> i feel like i need to get

away from everything. i want to crawl into a cave and shut myself off from the world. >> the metaphorical cave, the darkness is common with returning veterans. one in five iraq and afghanistan war vets return with post traumatic stress disorder or major depression. last year the army had a record number of suicides among its personnel. >> you know, one thing you said to me in the past is that you wished you hadn't survived. >> yeah. >> that was hard to hear. >> yeah. >> do you still feel that way? >> no. i think at the time i was really depressed. the world seemed really bleak. i'm fully aware that i struggle at times. but i feel like that's not a reason to stop living. >> do you see light at the end of the tunnel now? things are brighter for you? >> yeah. things are brighter.

>> so bright that hints of the old jesus -- the one from before the war -- sometimes emerge. would you go back to a war zone? >> i would. >> but you were shot. >> yeah. >> all the things we talk about worst case scenarios. >> yeah. >> you experience a lot of those. >> yeah. >> you would still go back. >> i think i would. >> "i think i would." that's what he said there. you can see the human cost of fighting and also the resilience. still ahead another sort of survivor. supermodel nikki taylor will talk about the car crash that almost kildow hled her and a ne project. ♪

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supermodel niki taylor is much more than a pretty face. you know an accident 12 years ago changed her world. it changed everything she took for granted. today she's living proof that

simple acts of kindness can save a life. the world first met supermodel niki taylor when she was a kid. she began modeling at age shh and graced the cover of more than # 300 magazines. this story isn't just about international stardom. taylor is proof that life can change in an instant. >> two cars involved. >> a night out with friends. >> hit the telephone pole. >> taylor was in the passenger seat. >> niki taylor was involved in a single car accident. >> her spine was damaged. her liver torn in half. her heart stopped beating on the operating table twice. she lost nearly 80% of her blood. in less than 4 hours taylor received more than a hundred life-saving blood transfusions. despite months in icu and being

given a 1 in 10 chance of sur is vooifl, taylor beat the odds. every day, this mother of four said she thinks about the blood donors who rolled up their sleeves to give her a second chance at life. >> it's incredible to watch that and obviously to see you in person looking so healthy. so obviously alive. 12 years ago now. >> yeah. >> does it feel like 12 years ago? >> yeah. it does. i'm glad i'm on this side of it. let's put it that way. >> are you feeling well? do we have lingering effects from all of that? >> nothing. amazing. >> pain? >> no. no pain. >> three months or so in the hospital. >> yes. >> because of infection precautions you couldn't see your sons. they were 6 at the time . >> they don't let anybody under 10 in the icu unit. so it was three months. but my mom was so amazing. >> sent you videos.

>> they put pictures because i had a trach, tubes in my lungs. coming out of me. so i really couldn't move. but they put pictures on my ceiling of them. >> when you finally went to a rehab facility and eventually were allowed to leave was there something that surprised you in terms of the challenges after that? was it more emotional? more physical? >> i was just amazed how the body heals itself. for the liver to regenerate itself. i learned a lot and educated myself a lot. the human beiody is just amazin. if it weren't for the blood i wouldn't be here. if it weren't for those donors i wouldn't be here. over a hundred units. >> over 300 donors. that's part of the reason you're back now. >> it is. >> what do you say? >> oh, my gosh. >> they gave you a chance at

life. >> i can want wait to hug and kiss them and just look in their eyes. i have always wanted to know what their personalities are like, too. i'm serious. i pray for them and i think about them a lot. >> how big a problem is it? obviously enough people aren't donating blood. what's the shortfall? >> i don't think people are thinking about it. world blood donorer day is in june. it's this summer. so people's schedules are busy. they're not thinking about going and giving blood. it's a generational thing. my mom is part of the gallon club. my dad. their parents before. it's almost missed a generation. i think we need to talk about it more. we need to make it a family group thing. you never know when your life

can change in a matter of minutes. seconds. you are going to need blood. >> the numbers have dropped off in terms of people giving blood. they get to see you now. not in pain, healthy. >> i think most people are scared. oh, that's a needle. you're taking blood from me. it's not scary at all. it's just a pinch. i have been on a dozen blood drives. you have the best technicians. they find a vein. they bring you cookies, milk, a warm blanket. it's comfortable and easy to do. >> they're good, too. it's not easy. >> no. >> a hundred transfusions. i'm glad you're doing well. it's a good thing. thank the donors.

>> it is. >> this will do a lot to keep donations up in this country. thanks for joining us. >> i can't wait. thanks for having me. >> you're welcome. coming up, new ways to know if your knees are injury-prone and what you can do about it. stay with us. is. >> looking good. >> we are putting this device on sanjay. we measure the heart rate and physiology. >> i'm dr. gupta. this sunday on the next list how wireless health care could change your life. >> it's a more sophisticated way to assess somebody's fitness real time and allow them to create a plan around their fitness. >> everything's getting more precise which can help you elongate your career or make it the best it can be. >> i'm continually interested and fascinated by how much

athletes, patients, everybody wants their own data. >> meet dr. leslie saxon. this sunday on the next list.

this is cnn. march madness is in full swing. i can tell you one thing i do watch -- and i can't help myself. two things really -- are the knees. it's a common sore point for basketball players. this year the leading candidate to be the top nba draft pick went down with a torn acl.

that's noel from kentucky. that pretty much killed their season. this can happen to anybody. not just athletes. joining me is dr. timothy h h w ehewitt. for an athlete, for anyone, to what extent can you prevent these injuries? >> there are multiple trials demonstrating that you can reduce the risk of an acl injury with with training in the range of 60 to 65%. perhaps two-thirds of the injuries are preventable. >> i imagine they try to do these types of exercises. what are the exercises? are they things people can do at home? >> yes, they are. the exercises basically address ligament imbalance. the knees and hips collapse in together. so the first step is to just educate the player to not allow

their knees to collapse together and greater hip control. also, athletes tend to be quadriceps dominant. the big muscle on the front of the thigh. so we turn on the posterior chain of the muscles. glutes, hamstrings. the poster year complex. and players favor one leg versus another. >> you say there are tests to determine whether an athlete or someone at home is more at risk. what would they look for? >> basically there are four simple tests. the first is just to drop off a foot-high box go into a maximum vertical jump and with a cell phone. just a simple video measure look at the distance between the knee joints just before landing and look at maximal collapse. if the distance is less than half it was before or just prior to landing you are at relative

increased risk. the second test is for quadriceps dominance and to look at the hamstrings and quadriceps. you can use a combination of a leg extension, leg curl twice. if you look at it if the hamstrings are less than 50% as strong as quadriceps you may be at risk. the third test is to look at leg a s asymmetry. put an x on the floor and hop between the quadrants in all directions. forward, back, diagonally. look at the relative number of touch downs one leg versus the other. looking at the tests and if you are one or more deficient in them you may be at increased risk. >> last question. my wife asks all the time. are women's knees more at risk? >> depending on which articles you read. somewhere between 2 and 10 times more at risk of tearing the acl. interestingly also of having anterior knee pain than boys and

men. again what we have shown in women that these exercises are especially effective. >> great advice. thank you for joining us. >> thank you so much. energy drinks are loaded with stimulants. we have told you there are health concerns about these. one company, monster, is revamping the labels to include caffeine content. in part because they decided to market the drink as a plain old beverage. no longer a dietary supplement. it has about 180 milligrams of caffeine. for context that's more than triple what's in a coke. the big can, 24 hours, has the same caffeine as a medium starbucks. we know caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, raises blood pressure, causes irregular heart rhythms. some people are more susceptible. most people will be fine. monster avoids susceptible

people to avoid the product as well as children and pregnant women. there are deaths reported in people who drank it but the fda didn't say any product was responsible for the deaths or health issues. top stories minutes away and the danger in the medicine cabinet. i will reveal the biggest source of trouble. stay with us. [ indistinct conversations ]

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a warning. a new report finds every eight minute as young child goes to the emergency room for

poisoning. usually from medicine in the home. a pediatrician in atlanta deals with these poisonings often and takes care of my kids as well. thanks for joining us. >> say i come and visit and i have a purse and i set it on the floor, a table or chair. a child could get into it. you have to remember to close everything up and put it up and out of the reach of the child. >> you're often distracted when people come over. >> you're glad to see people. you're out of your routine. >> are there particular problems? >> ibuprofen, aspirin, blood pressure pills. >> those are in purses. >> they can cause trouble. >> what's the key for keeping kids safe? >> remember up and away. if you're at home, put something on