with christine romans and ali velshi. right here on cnn. don't go anywhere. your top stories are next in the "cnn newsroom." have a great weekend. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com hello, everybody, and good morning on this saturday. welcome to cnn center it is july 18th. i'm betty nguyen. >> good morning. i'm t.j. holmes. 10:00 in atlanta. and 7:00 for you folks out in san diego. wherever you may be thaufrg for being right here with us. just getting word this morning that the two crew members aboard that u.s. fighter jet that crashed in eastern afghanistan did in fact die in that crash. we'll get you latest details coming up. and a military operation, more of the breaking news in

about ten minutes. and looking back at the extraordinary life and career of walter cronkite. uncle walter, many called him the most trusted man in america. his dear friends are talking about the man this morning. asking you to share memories about walter cronkite with us. go to our facebook and twitter pages and also go to our blog at cnn.com/tj or cnn.com/betty. we want to hear from you today. >> a lot of people may not realize it's been 28 years since he left the anchor desk, but the impact still felt. >> his family was with him when he passed away at his new york home at the age ever 92. anderson cooper has more on a fascinating life. >> of the only nation -- >> reporter: for so long for so many of us he was the most trusted man in america. >> that's the way it is. >> reporter: walter cronkite covered the world and's in an age of fewer channels and fewer newscasts he changed the world as well. >> looking back on it, i think i was so lucky, i just hatched to fall into the right things at the right time and it worked

beautifully. >> reporter: he was born walter leyland cronkite jr. in 1916. he was a beat report and football announcer before joining united press in 1939. the first troops stormed normandy, walter cronkite was there. >> dwight eisenhower told me sitting on this very wall over here, on the 20th anniversary of d-day that he thinks that the grandchildren that these young kids will never have. that's something for all of us to think about. >> reporter: when we think about walter cronkite, add generations of broadcast journalists have and will, too, we think about his time with cbs. a company he joined in 1950. 12 years later bake the anchor of the "cbs evening news." in that chair, in that role, he came to define what an anchor was and told america the way it was. who can forget november 22, 163? cronkite reported and reacted to

the horror in dallas. >> from dallas, texasish the flash apparently official. president kennedy died at 1:00 p.m. central standard time. 2:00 eastern standard time. some 38 minutes ago. >> reporter: in 1968, after returning from a trip to vietnam, his conclusions may have helped alter the course of history. >> seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience of vietnam is to end in a stalemate. >> reporter: the opinion reached president johnson who reportedly said i've lost cronkite, i've lost middle america. >> his approach to news was, when news happens get as close to the story as you possibly can and then tell people about it in language that they can understand. walter spoke like the average person. it wasn't all literary, flourery kinds of language. people don't talk that way and walter didn't either. >> reporter: walter it seems, was always there. for the moon landing. >> man on the moon. oh, boy. >> thank you.

>> whew, boy. >> reporter: for watergate, for the mideast peace breakthrough. he was humble, honest, straightforward and never made himself the story, even on a winter company that 1981 when he sat in the anchor chair for the last time. >> old anchormen don't fade away they just keep coming bab for more. that's the way it is, friday march 6, 1981. i will be away or assignment. dan railroad will be sitting in here the next few years. good night. >> good night, mr. cronkite. good night, and godspeed. anderson cooper, cnn, new york. what a man. what a journalist. i loved how he said, i'll be away on assignment. dan rather sitting in the next few years. >> interesting way to sign off. yes, dan rather took the helm and was there a long, long time, and walter cronkite, he was it for this country for a while. really. that's who the country turned to to lead us through tough times and of course you have political leaders, but turned to uncle walter to let them know

everything would be all right. >> the most trusted man in america. president obama praised walter cronkite and called him, we just mentioned, a trusted man. take a listen to words he had to say about the passing of walter cronkite. >> he was the first to share the devastating news of john f. kennedy's assassination. crystallizing the grief of a nation while fighting back tears of his own. he cheered with every american when we went to the moon. boldly exploring a new frontier. and he brought us all those stories large and small which would come to define the 20th century. that's why we loved walter, because in an era before blogs and e-mail, cell phones and cable, he was the news. >> called him walter, a lot of people did, just felt that connection to him. president obama said of cronkite, he set the standard by which all other journalists have been judged. boy, is that a high bar. well, three weeks and that is how long congress has left to pass a health care reform bill

by president obama's deadline, but if ideas are simply too costly, the president says they will not fly. >> i want to be very clear. i will not sign on to any health plan that adds to our deficits over the next decade. and by helping improve quality and efficiency, the reforms we make will help bring our deficits under control in the long term. >> cnn elaine quijano is live at the white house for us. elaine, this week the congress' budget office says the current proposals would add to the deficit long term, not what the administration wanted to hear, as we just heard the president say, he wouldn't let that happen. so what's the next move? >> reporter: yeah. the next move for president obama, betty, you're absolutely right, that was not at all what was reported, what the obama administration wanted to hear, needed to hear, nevertheless will pled will try to keep the pressure on members of congress, try to rail lawmakers.

we saw him try to do that with last-minute remarks on health care yesterday at the white house and we'll see him do that again, try to, during a primetime news conference set to take place wednesday at 9:00 p.m. eastern. so the white house understands. this is a very tough fight ahead. not only because of that ceo report that you mentioned but even with this bipartisan group of senators, these senators saying, look, they think that really this debate, needing to slow down a bit. they think taking additional time is going to actually help get expensive health care reform done and, betty, of course, that's not the message that the obama administration wants to hear right now. they want to press ahead. the president has set a very ambitious goal of getting health care reform done by august. betty? >> so what's been the republican response to all of this? >> reporter: republicans, you can imagine, are saying, look, democrats and the president are rushing thing. they are pushing these things too quickly, and they say, look,

the more americans learn about the democrats' plan, the more americans are opposed to it. in the weekly address, the republicans basically sending this united message. the democrats plan, they say, would give the power to washington. not doctors and patients, when it comes to making health care choices. take a listen. >> we know americans would prefer us to work together to ensure access to affordable, quality health care for all. but americans do not want a government takeover of health care that will jeopardize their current coverage. ration care and create mountains of new debt and higher taxes. >> reporter: now, president obama basically dismisses all of that callinging it scare tangtices. the kind of stair tactics he says have really stopped health care reform in the past. again, betty, bottom line here, the president knows it's going to be a tough fight ahead. when we hear from him, at a

primetime news conference, he'll try to drive home the message wednesday night at 9:00 p.m. that, look, health care reform is something he feels the nation cannot wait. congress has to act this year. >> elaine quijano, thank you. now we have confirmation two crew members were killed in a crash of that u.s. jet in eastern afghanistan. our guy on the ground told us a short time ago, you see it labeled there on the map. a u.s. fighter jet that went down. this is believed to be the first time an american fighter jet has gone down and been lost in the war in afghanistan. there have been other choppers that have gone down. this is the first believed to be a fighter jet. also of note here that july turns out to the bloodiest month for international forces in afghanistan. 47 international service members killed there. back to the fighter jet. don't know exactly what brought it down. of course, that investigation is going on right now, but right now u.s. military does not believe it was brought down by any hostile fire.

more remains found today at the site of the indonesian hotel blast. also more questions be a the people who possibly carried this out. authorities think the suicide attacks may be tied to similar bombings in the past. our dan rivers has been on the scene. >> reporter: the police investigation continues here in jakarta at the scene of both hotel blasts. the latest information, the police have given us, is that the death toll has risen by one. they are concerns that there are six known hotel guests who died in the twin blasts. three australians, one new zealand, one singaporean and one local indonesian man. in addition to that police recovered two headless corpses which they believe are possibly the suicide bombers themselves. and they've also found one severed head which doesn't match either of the headless bodies. they don't know whether this

indicates a possible third terrorist or whether it was in fact another guest. they're working on dna testing and dental records to try and match up and find out the identities of those three bodies. certainly, the number of injured now is confirmed at 53, including 6 people from the united states. one person from australia, two from holland two from canada, one from india, two from singapore, one from new zealand and one from norway. so a wide range of international people who were in these hotels. there was a big business meeting going on, as regularly goes on on a friday morning, and these clips show a man wheeling a suitcase across the lobby of the marriott heading towards that meeting room. we spoke to one security guard who challenged this man with the suitcase. he managed to persuade the guard to let him pass saying he had to give something to his boss and a few minutes later, a few seconds

later, the bomb exploded with such devastating results. for cnn, jakarta. secretary of state hillary clinton is meeting with friends this morning. the washington diplomat is in india spending two days in mumbai and one in delhi, in the capital. after that she traveled to bangkok and then a meeting of the association of southeast asian nations. clinton is talking about climate change and nonproliferation. her trip began on a solemn note. signed a condolence book at the palace. one of several targets last november, and met with hotel workers who helped with re cues efforts during the attack. >> all right. we turn now to reynolds wolf, talking here the past several week, it seems, about high temperatures. severe weather, severe heat. now we're talking about a cool down? >> yeah, talking about the other side of the coin. look behind me on this particular map, notice a frontal boundary moving right into parts of the gulf coast and behind it, a big blast of cooler air.

coming up in a few moments, an idea of how low those temperatures will fall, and how long the cool down will last. coming up in a few minutes. i like it. thank you. looking forward to that. also, a closer look at walter cronkite's love of space flight. from the moon landing to shuttle launches, as we remember a giant journalist. welcome to the now network. currently, thousands of people are enjoying the new palm pre with its revolutionary web os. they're running multiple live applications at the same time. - ( thunder and rain ) - 3 million are using the simply everything plan. each is saving $1200 - over an at&t iphone plan. - ( cash register dings ) together that's over $3 billion. - enough to open a dunkin' donuts in space. - ( walkie-talkie sounds ) from america's most dependable 3g network. bringing you the first and only wireless 4g network. get the palm pre from sprint. only on the now network. deaf, hard of hearing and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com.

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ah, they are soccering up the sun in los angeles. look at that beautiful picture. we look at sheryl crow. talk about the sun and heat. we've felt plenty of both, not so much this morning. what's going on? >> a nice cool down. a frontal came through parts of the nation in places like texas. >> they needed it. >> yeah. you know what i'm talking about when you're in downtown dallas and your shoes melts to the pavement. >> you can cook an egg on the sidewalk. >> exactly. today much welcome relief and dropping to record lows the next couple of days. hard to believe. >> bring out the jackets and coats? >> maybe. maybe not in phoenix, still expecting triple digits.

>> leave throws in the closet. >> a live inventory. if we can, show you, there it is, the nation's capital. the wind moving along. you won't need that to cool down. high temperatures in the nation's capital go up to about 85 degrees for the day. going to the magic wall, look at national temperatures, expect 85, i mentioned, at the nation's capital. atlanta, 84. temperatures that warm up this camera. any time you have temperatures that warm up into the 80s x 84 degree, it's always a good thing. nome the cooler temperatures going to be lower humidity. it's not going to feel as muggy out there. same deal in memphis. 83 degrees. beal street a few weeks ago in the triple digits. 67 in chicago. 73 in minneapolis. 2 denver. when you get back into vegas places like phoenix, sky harbor airport, tarmac, luggage handleser out there sweating. 115 degrees. yes, low humidity. i don't care. hot is hot. 115 is what that sounds like. rough stuff. also a lot of sound, the thunderstorms developing in

parts of west texas back into new mexico and colorado and portions of oklahoma. late-day storms possible from the hours of 3:00 to 6:00 into the early evening and could get rough. be advised there. taking a drive from albuquerque along i-125 going up towards, say, fort collins, may have to use the windshield wipers. certainly not the case for severe weather across much of the great lakes, but you could get a few scattered showers. same deal in new england with a double barrel low and out to sea, the gulf, scattered showers and storms towards gainesville, ap plash cola and rain not lasting all day long. should get better moving into the afternoon. that's a look at your forecast. back to you guys. >> all right. boy, that's a pretty nice one. especially for the weekend. if you get outside. if not, sweating it out. appreciate it. >> sounds good. >> it's great. all right. >> reynolds, appreciate these pictures. talk about this with you this morning. this is a live look, we're

getting from nasa. the feed. can we bump up the sound and see what these guy, talking about right now? there's radio silence. >> perfect timing. >> these are the astronauts from "endeavour," up there doing their thing. >> -- check. inward. >> he's teasing me. but they're getting ready for a space walk that will come a couple hours from now around noon. we are certainly going to bring that to you live as we get it as well. seems to be getting these pictures. amazing we get this clear of a shot. we can hear just fine. we get these pictures. >> funny, compare these pictures to what they had on apollo xi. grainy at times. we saw the astronauts on this shuttle, looking like they were working with a special tool or electric toothbrush. you never know. i mean, because good dental hygiene is important when going anywhere from 17,000 to 18,000 miles per hour and these guys practice that. >> and they did have a little issue up there.

i guess a little threat, danger. there was some junk up there in space. a ton of stuff up there floating around. old satellites. all kinds of stuff floating around. something was making its way towards the space station and the shuttle. they had to actually -- interesting, betty -- can fire thrusters and move the entire space station. they moved it up about a mile, i believe it was. essentially got it out of the way. >> the advantage to being in outer space. as we watch this, though, reynolds, you'll watch throughout the day, too. 12:00 eastern, noontime today eastern, we are going to see that space walk. the first of five. as we weigh in on that, we also are remembering the life and career of walter cronkite. and you know, as we talk about the space program, this is a man who absolutely loved it. he was on the cnn anchor desk at kennedy space center in 1998 for the shuttle launch. you're looking at some of that video right here.

"discovery" lifting off with john glenn aboard for his return trip to space at the age of 77. as you recall, walter cronkite covered glenn's first space flight back in 1962. and he had to get special permission, in fact, to help us here at cnn out, because he was still under contract at cbs at the time, but when we look back at not only the space program but at walter cronkite's career and he's taken us through so many moments in history, many people will agree that his favorite moment was the time that man stepped foot on the moon. you could just see how giddy he was when those pictures came in. take a look. >> the eagle has landed. >> roger. thanks a lot. >> whew. oh, boy. >> thank you. >> whew, boy. >> going to be busy for a minute. >> the eagle has landed. >> roger. bringing it in. >> how many people thought about this, at this time, it blows my mind that we just are now

celebrating the 40th anniversary of that moon landing. here we are, ironic and that it happened to work out like that. again, known for not interjecting in emotion or any opinion in what he did. that was one moment he did -- there it is. rubbing his hands. giddy when you see that. we've been excited just watching the shuttle. talk about space, the imagination like that. >> few times throughout his career where he was speechless. weren't of them. watching something like that occur. just the history happening before him. you know, like you said, a boy-like character and the fact he was so excited about it. he rubbed his hands together and said, wow, boy. and then, hey, that's the way it is. right? a man that has done so much for the industry, and is indeed an icon. >> well, monday is, in fact, the 40th anniversary of neil armstrong's first step on the moon. do you remember where you were when you saw that walk? some of you maybe not around at

the time. still, a lot of you were. we want you to share. yes, you can find us. there it is. new graphic here put together for us here. >> not approved by us. a great one, nonetheless, but here's how you can reach us. cnn.com/newsroom. also you can reach us on facebook and twitter and can we get that graphic off the screen? that would be great. all right. lots of ways to weigh in. we'll read those. we had the same reaction when we saw that graphic. >> art. we're going to take a quick break and be right back. mom vo: i can't start the first grade with her.

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there were plenty of pointed moments this week as supreme court justice nominee sonia sotomayor fielded tricky questions during her confirmation hearings on capitol hill, and we want to talk more about those moments. harvard law professor charles ogilvie joins us, his book is on brown versus board of education. professor, how do you think sotomayor did this week? you had met with her. actually spent time in her chambers. do you think she did a good job in fielding those questions? >> i think she did a glat job. she was well prepared and she is the most experienced judge, federal judge, to come to the court in 100 years. and she's had experience as a real warrior and real trial judge. she was able to in a sense dismiss the few questions about some comments she made a speech,

during a public hearing and look at her 3,000 opinions, more than 400 she wrote herself and came across as a measure pragmatic thoughtful and moderate judge and will be that as a supreme court justice as well. >> let's get back to those comments, because i do know a lot was made of them. we're talking about that wise latino woman comment. in fact, it led senator lindsey graham to say this. take a listen. >> and you have said some things that just bugged the hell out of me. >> in was quite a statement from graham and senator john cornyn. you appear to be a different person almost in your speeches and the comments that you've made. so on the heels of this let me ask you this -- has too much been made of this? or is it an indication that her personal views weigh in on her rulings? >> i think it's just the opposite, because she has been involved in thousands, literally thousands of rulings and cases, and no one could find a single case where she's ever used the

term as a wise latino woman i would do this or as a person of color i would do this because her rulings have consistently been about the law. so these comments she made personally, which really is trying to encourage people at places like berkeley, where they have few students of color to think about what they can have as an impact in the profession are very well timed. the remindy is, look at sonia sotomayor from 1992 until 2009, look at 3,000 cases in which you'll find a careful, pragmatic, cautious and actually middle of the road jurorist and she'll be the same way on the supreme court. >> what about the new haven firefighters? they came and spoke during those hearings. i got to ask you what do you say to the critics who argue this is a judge who is an activist judge and will push the race agenda? >> a silly argument. if you look at what the supreme court did and if you look at comments by, in the "wall street journal," comments in "the washington post," in the "new york times," they all talk about the fact that the court announced a new standard.

and it was a 5-4 decision. and very little that judge sotomayor did that undermines her view, is that at the time she and her colleagues decided the case, that was the law. in connecticut. that was the law in the second circuit where she was the judge and she couldn't do anything more than that and didn't. the reality is she just was one vote away from being affirm on that decision by the supreme court, and more importantly, that the majority of members of her court agreed with her analysis and didn't have a rehearing, and you know, if you think about her rulings on personal injury case, civil rights cases, criminal justice cases. republicans shouldn't be afraid of sotomayor. they should be pleased that the president has nominated somebody who has been very careful, cautious and not at all an activist. the reality, the real problem. people think barack obama is running for the supreme court. he's not. he's not on the ticket. not going to be on the courts. his view, important but the question is, what is sonia

sotomayor's record for actual -- her actual record in the courtroom and writing? we've had 17 years to look tat. it's pretty clear she is none of the things people claim. they claim she's a radical or overly sensitive. >> just a second. many believe she will be confirmed. do you think the senators did enough to try to figure out where she stands on hot button issues like abortion? same-sex marriage? gun control and all of that? do you think they did enough to help the public understand where she stands on those issues? >> well, the thing about it is the confirmation process is an imperfect process to figure those thing out. the senators have their right, and it is a right and they have a constitutional duty to ask hard questions. they love to get justices to tell you how they feel about abortion, gun control and all of these issue, bought judge can't talk about their feelings about a case that might cup before them, because their feelings are actually irrelevant. the question is whether the law commands. what she did was to both reinforce her adherence to

establish law and her refusal to comment on something that might come before her in the future. i think that's exactly what chief justice roberts did, what justice alito did, what justice ginsburg and justice bauer and everyone hawaii done. they do not comment on it, because they don't know what might come before the court and the shart has a right to ask, the senate, and she has a right to refuse to get into thing like gun control, aboorgs and other issue. >> she said i can't comment on that until i see the case and facts before me. thanks so much for your insight today. >> my pleasure. a parent crime should not mean a life sentence of pain and tragedy for the child. a woman making a difference for other children. that's coming up. also, why walter cronkite became the most trusted man in america. two former colleagues share their thoughts about the explained newsman.

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welcome back, everybody, on this saturday morning. today we are remembering a legend, icon in journalism. that being walter cronkite. he died last night at the age of 92 and so many people are reflecting today on the kind of impact he had on their lives. here's what cbs's katie couric said on cnn's "larry king live." >> you are the current anchor of the "cbs evening news." you sit not exactly but you sit in walter cronkite's claire. how does that feel every night? >> well, it is a huge responsibility, and i have to say slightly intimidating when i took this job, and you know, for a number of days we've known at cbs news that walter was in

failing health, and we were all worried about when this day would come, and he was so revered and so belove here, and i've read so much, john, in recent days and, really, throughout my career about walter, but i've been reminded, really, only recently what incredible man and journalist he was. i mean, he was the personification of integrity and decency and hue mandy. that's one thing that struck me as i've watched some of the earlier broadcasts from the past. you know, when he announced that president kennedy had died, it was so moving to see his body language, and his facial expression, and similarly, the glee he exhibited when, you know, he was anchoring a space launch. he had sort of an adolescence enthusiasm, it's been said, about the space program. this unbridled joy in terms of

reporting that story and a huge interest in science as well. but i think he really connected to the audience. >> okay. a lot of you remembering walter cronkite as well. we appreciate your comments. you keep sending to us on facebook, twitter and our blog. stay with us. talking when a parent goes to prison. a child following in their footsteps is astronomical. one woman found the way to beat those odds. we'll talk with her. that's coming up. stay with us. 

for kids with parents in prison, life, no doubt is a struggle. a strug toll deal with

disruption, to succeed it school and for some a struggle to stay out of trouble themselves. now, soledad o'brien travels to to a neighborhood in houston where dozens in vis problem and one woman is creating a solution that allows them to heal. >> hey, sweetie. >> reporter: for these high school kids in houston, texas -- >> okay. all phones off. >> reporter: marilyn gambrel's class is a lifeline. >> if we crash, okay. y'all just keep it real. how's that? >> reporter: no longer a vick tipping pap program for children whose parents are incarcerated. >> i'm only 16 years old if i was to tell you everything i've been through it would make you cry. >> reporter: each of these children have seen hardship and here they can share their pain and support each other. this is a family and marilyn is mom. >> how does it feel having one or both parents in prison? how does that impact your life experience? >> well, it hurts, because like

my dad leaving my mom -- >> reporter: tynesha is one of the newest members to the family. >> she left, my mama had to do all of it by herself. so -- it hurts me and it hurts my mom. >> she came for two weeks, cried every class. couldn't say one word. couldn't say a word. sweetheart, when you want to talk -- no. i said okay. maybe tomorrow. >> reporter: tynesha's father and stepfather are in jail. she's helping her mother raise her six younger siblings and like many of these kids, tynesha's holding a lot in. >> if you look at me, you can't really tell what i've been through and stuff. so, like the type person i am, i'm a fun person and i just like

to have fun or whatever. so you don't really see that i have any problems. >> reporter: nobody can know that. >> no. >> reporter: marilyn is talking and sharing saying it leads to healing. >> how does that make it better? is that essentially what the classes? >> letting it go. and letting it go is one aspect. being loved and supported no matter what, kinding out what you said you weren't the only child nap is the key. >> reporter: another key element of no more victims, this community center. it's a safe place where the kids can language out, use a computer, have a meal. marilyn is here often, and vibl to the kids 24 hours a day. >> we have to be around. disability a critical. a stable person, here today,

gone tomorrow. i'll be here later to check on you. the stability and unconditional love and providing two of the most basic needs. the most basic needs. nothing fancy. >> reporter: her ay proech may not be fancy, but marilyn's success rate is astounding. since starting the program in 2000, 700 kids have been part of no more victims. most graduated high school. few had ever gotten into serious trouble. shante weaver says no more victims changed her life. he joined in 2005. >> this place is really important, because, i mean, most of us, when we got in class, you know, we fell in love. >> reporter: this was shante then. this is shante now. two jobs, going to college. a veteran member able to help out younger kids like tynesha. for five year, myriamen gambrel has been there for shante, even

while her mother was in prison. >> ms. gambrel, she goes to our trials, to our graduations. she gives us birthday gifts. >> reporter: it took years for shante to open up about all she's been there. something that tynesha gardner is slowly learning to do. >> then all of a sudden one day, the whole class, you want to stay over for a minute? and i got the yes, i said, okay. >> ever since that day, she comes in, she's full of energy, happy. no more tears. it's like she's let go and was set free. ♪ how do you feel about yourself? >> i feel that i am smart and i have made it. ♪

>> okay. you see her on the screen. i have just mathis with us. we'll get to you in a second. also, marilyn gambrel, woman you saw featured there. marilyn i'm bringing you in immediately, because were you a part of this, we're putting together for the "black in america" series. still sitting here i was watching you as were you watching that piece, and you were almost breaking -- you can't keep it together here. why this morning, why do things, and still seeing that affect you so? this morning? >> good morning. it's always going to affect me. it's part of the passion and the compassion and years of work and seeing things that most of america really don't have any idea about, that these children face. so what you see with me is tears of joy. a lot of hard work ahead and i'm committed for life. >> what is it, ma'am, that these kids are missing? what would you say -- talking about the parents not being there. is it the support? an example? what is it these kids are not getting? >> a safe place and a lot of

business is, what we've created for them in the classroom setting at school is where the, the facility, as well as it's a safe place to come where you're not going to be hurt. you're not going to be judged about what family issues you're dealing with. you're honored. you're loved. you're respected. birthdays are important. it's just creating a very safe place and filling a void, and relieving some of the responsibility that came from this child so they can kind of breathe and feel a lot better about themselves and mostly safe. >> all right. judge, greg mathis with us here. a lot of people know you from your tv show and might know the back story. you have a gang to gavel story, some would call it. quite frankly, former thug and you've seen the wrong site of a jail cell before, judge, but you made it. how were you able to? you can probably relate to the story you just saw, but how are you waibel to get your mind right and not end up where she's trying to keep these kids from ending up?

>> two things, t.j. one, when released from jail i was told to get a g.e.d. as condition of my parole, i did that and was able to escape the environment in which aye grew up in through an taermtive action program at eastern michigan university. when i left and went to college i was in an environment conducive to re-entering mainstream society. those two things. an education, essentially that "lewed me to overcome those past obstacles. >> some of the kids you see here, this support they're getting through this program, how helpful would this be, do you think, judge mathis, if we could take it from what she's doing now and impment the same nationwide? >> it would be an immense help. i'm convinced, t.j., the bigger problem with all of society as it relates to destructive youth is that they the failed education system. a failed education system, which is the re-entry or the entry

point, point of entry into society. if that's blocked, the quality education, then you won't have folks entering society mainstream society, in a way that they could be successful. and so i think that a program such as that really would boost the opportunities for young people. >> and marilyn, you can pick up on that point as well. any possibilities of it going nationwide? and i want to add, we saw in the piece, it appears to be just minority students, black students in that particular piece, but is it mostly? or representative, african-american students? do you have other minorities? white students in there as well? >> we do. a month senatory of 5% african-american and then hispanic children is the next largest number, and maybe five or ten white children. just the nature and reality of our community. where we're at. this program is capable of going absolutely nationwide. this exists in every school district in this country. there's millions of children we don't even talk about them. referred to as throw away

children, and we need to absolutely implement this in schools, where we'll be able to help most children. one place that they come to, and this across the board. socioeconomically, racially, this child exists across the board in every aspect of this country. >> marilyn gambrel, really good to have you with us this morning. again, you said those were tears of joy. glad they were. really, i applaud you for what you are able to do, and, judge, applaud you for what you were able to accomplish. if you aren't familiar with judge mathis' story, look it up and see the background. he didn't just show up there and they gave him a robe. he went through a lot to get it. thank you sow both of you for being here this morning. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> thank you. and for those who want to see and learn more about marilyn gambrel's program, you can see it just days from now. our special correspondent, soledad o'brien, examine "black in america." the second part. the follow-up to "black in america."

"black in america 2" premiere as few days from null. july 22nd and 237rd.

looking to catch some rays this summer? you might want to try the beaches in mexico. also you may want to do homework first. >> reporter: the government advisory against non-essential travel to mexico has been lifted, but officials are still urging visitors to take precautions before heading south of border. >> as far as the h1n1 virus is concerned, no less safe traveling to mexico than anywhere else in the world. know where you're going, be aware of surroundings and use common sense. any emergency situation, contact local authorities. >> reporter: read up on travel alerts in mexico before you leave. be on the lookout for criminal activity and civil unrest in the area. and monitor the weather for

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all right. think of braski. what comes to mind? maybe imagine some of those carnival celebrations. beaches that go for miles. then the other side of brazil. the one with shantytowns. this week's cnn "hero" is helping overcome their hardship. i've never seen any place as beautiful as rio de janeiro but it does shits dark side. there is violence all over. >> the bad things that happen here are true. >> if the kids -- >> sometimes i get scared. >> they don't have many options. kids die every day from making the wrong choice, but every time i see this, the first thing that comes to my mind is -- i'm a

judo olympic medalist but the best thing about my life is changing people's destiny through sports. i usually tell the kids that we can't let ourselves get used to the violence that surrounds us. we have to fight back somehow. [ speaking in foreign language ] instead of fighting in the streets, they learn how to use their energy in the right way. >> i feel he helps me win the championships an helps me feel very proud of myself. >> helping kids avoid the wrong choice is one of our goals. they don't need to follow the destinies everyone told them they would have. they can change it. they're the true hero. ddddd

so many today are rememb remembering walter cronkite. what a legend in the field of journalism, and on the phone with us to share her memories is linda mason. senior vice president for standards and special projects at cbs. in fact, mason was the very first female producer on the "cbs evening news." linda, thanks for spending a little time with us. when you took over that position, how was walter's reaction to it? >> walter was extremely welcoming. whereas some of my colleagues didn't quite know how to handle it. on one of my -- about six months into the broadcast, time for the

florida pripary that year, and i was sent down to do some work for walter. he called me, said he was on his way down. what were you doing? i told him. he said i'll write a rough stint for you. he said, don't make it rough. i was up all night. slipped the script under his door. read why walter cronkite and i thought, well, this, wow, this is great. >> you called him the forrest gump of the 20th century. what is that all about, linda? >> yeared later when we making a two-hour special, "walter cronkite remembered." we spent the time and as he recounted all of the events he been a part of in the 20th vinch i realized he was an observer -- he was the 20th century. an observer of all of these things. in cases, and he was so excited. i remember