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welcome back to the most news in the morning. this morning, we are beginning a special series focusing on american soldiers returning from iraq and afghanistan. how are they coping after months and sometimes years on the battlefield. back from the front lines, many are fighting the war at home. our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr begins our week long series with a report on homeless veterans. she's live in philadelphia this morning. serious problem, barbara. >> reporter: absolutely, john,

we're here in downtown philadelphia where a town hall with veterans is about to get underway. veterans are going to ask a lot of tough questions about their benefits, about education, housing, health care, but what we are finding is very sadly some veterans from the wars in iraq and afghanistan are already homeless. >> you know what kind of -- forget about everything, you know, helps me stay calm. >> reporter: a calm, far from his combat tour of duty in iraq. he served as a marine during the 2003 invasion. >> we have apricots up here. >> reporter: he now says he came home from war with post traumatic stress. he wound up in jail for possession of drugs and when he was released he had nowhere to go. he came here to new directions, a recovery center for addicted and homeless veterans.

and he found john, a scottish-born vietnam veteran who started the program after he served nine years in prison on a stabbing conviction. >> he's going to get beyond this for me. >> reporter: one talk from john still with a metal plate in his head from being shot in vietnam, he mentors this iraq vet 32 years younger. >> he'll have to make the choice what he wants to do, but he's got all of the potential in the world, he really does. >> i look up to john. you know, because -- you know he tells me that i shouldn't be ashamed of having ptsd, i shouldn't be ashamed of problems. >> reporter: sergio finds another mentor, 60-year-old michael anderson, a fellow marine who served during vietnam. michael started writing poetry while he was in jail. >> as the bell tolls, i offer a

salute, brave and resolute. >> reporter: the vets decided to collaborate. >> i have a picture in my mind for what i want to paint for that poem. while this iraq and vietnam vet are separated by generations, they are now joined by their art and their battle against the demons of homelessness, addiction, and combat duty. >> so we're seeing veterans who came home 40 years ago for vietnam reaching out to help the newest generation of veterans. and john, i have to tell you here in this hall behind me, the town hall will be conducted by arlen specter of pennsylvania and the secretary of the veterans affairs department. but there is a lot of anxiety down in that hall right now. a lot of staffers very nervous there could be disruptions and no one wants to see the picture of a veteran being taken out of the room by the philadelphia police department, which is here. so there's a little bit of anxiety.

and, in fact, we are told they even had very minimal publicity in the last few days about this event because they were so concerned about disruptions over the health care debate. >> unfortunate they wouldn't publicize it because it's an important issue. you would think you want to get as many people involved as possible. barbara, thanks so much. about 10 minutes from now, we're going to talk with two iraq war veterans. they'll have some questions about veterans' health care in a town hall meeting in pennsylvania today. senator arlen specter and the secretary of veterans affairs, and tomorrow in the second part of our series, dr. sanjay gupta's going to look at behavioral changes like binge drinking exhibited by returning soldiers finding it difficult to cope once they're home from the war. and a look at our top stories. tropical storm claudette downgraded to a tropical depression. the storm is pounding the florida panhandle right now,

expected to head to alabama today. it was the first tropical storm to hit the u.s. mainland this year. forecasters are watching the first hurricane, hurricane bill, turning out now in the atlantic. firefighters dealing with 11 different wildfires across the state of california this morning. wind, heat, severely dry conditions making things worse. some residents in santa cruz county are returning back home, but hundreds more are waiting for the all collie. the thing called the biggest upset in golf, perhaps in sports history, south korean, the 110th player in the world came from behind, ended up beating tiger woods in sunday's pga championship. it would have been tiger's 15th win at the majors, instead turned out to be yang's first. and bolt set another world record in berlin. bolt clocked in at 9.58 seconds shattering his last record

setting time by more than 1/10 of a second. well, any frequent flier knows that air on a plane can be stale. can it actually make you sick? well, there are people who make a living flying on these planes that are especially worried about that. there's growing evidence, by the way, that the air pumped into planes can be contaminated or toxic. allan chernoff, more on his ongoing series making sure you're as safe as possible in the sky. >> good morning to you. it might seem that the biggest health risk from the air we breathe on board a plane as a passenger sneezing near you. but the fact is in some cases, the air circulating through the cabin can be toxic. >> can i have a hug? >> reporter: former flight attendant williams says she can barely care from her son because she suffers from a series of

mysterious ailments, migraine headaches and tremors. >> it feels uncontrollable, i can't stop it from twitching or trembling. >> reporter: and blind spots in her field of vision.

for bleed air contamination has been known through the aviation industry for many years, though the company denies any responsibility for carrie williams' illness. a study in 2002 found contaminate exposures do occur, resulting from the intake of contaminants like engine lubricating oils into the environmental control system and then into the cabin. a neuropsychologist recently studied more than two dozen british pilots who claimed they add inhaled this air. >> they appeared to underperform on tasks that required attention, processing speeds, reaction time -- >> this is very annoying --

>> reporter: she believes she inhaled such toxins as an airline passenger. >> says the danger of inhaling compounds coming out of the engine if the engine seals fail and there's potent toxins that can come on board when the seals fail. >> reporter: does that happen? >> it does happen. >> reporter: how often? a british study for the house of lords found fume events in one of every 2,000 flights. in the u.s., airlines are required to report fume events to the federal aviation administration. there were 108 such reports last year. so why wouldn't more flight attendants, pilots, and passengers suffer symptoms? relatively few people will react to the most toxic chemicals. high levels of enzymes in their bodies, which for some people can be triggered by prescription drugs will act on the inhaled chemicals to magnify the toxicity. >> if you take a medicine that turns on the protein into potent

toxins, you've got an issue. >> so one person could be sitting in a seat and the person next to them could be the one who has these horrific symptoms? >> it has a huge response to it. tremors and loss of memory and so forth. >> and the other person could have no effect? >> no noticeable effect at all. >> reporter: williams says she wasn't taking prescription drugs during the fume event, but the professor says enzyme levels can vary greatly between people. even resulting from the foods they eat. blood samples from 92 people claiming to suffer from similar ailments, mostly pilot and flight attendants, he says he's close to finalizing a test that will confirm for sure whether engine oil toxins are, indeed in their blood. >> is there anything they could do to try to filter out that air. these volatile compounds, it's different, isn't it? >> it would seem a very simple solution, we spoke to boeing about the idea of putting a

filter actually on that air that's coming in that's bleeding off of the engines and boeing says if you were to do that, it would affect the pressurization of that air and that's the reason they say they just can't do that, but they, again, say that air is totally safe, totally fine. they also say that it is just as good as the air we breathe in any office building. >> well, we all complain about that, don't we? >> perhaps not quite in the same way, though. >> it's true. >> allan, thanks so much. still ahead, we're going to be talking about the issue of veterans returning from the iraq war and the afghanistan war. are they getting the help they need? they're talking about post traumatic stress disorder. many, many of them still dealing with that as well as other issues like trying to find a job in a tough labor market. holding a town hall today in pennsylvania. we're going to be joined by two veterans from the iraq war who are going to be talking about what they want to hear at this town hall. 36 minutes after the hour.

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well, all week here on american morning, we're focusing on a challenge as veterans returning from iraq and afghanistan. it's our war at home, going from the front lines to the home front can be a difficult transition. and in a bad economy, it's even harder. today, a town hall meeting's taking place in philadelphia where the secretary of veterans affairs will address some of the health care issues, critical to veterans as well as education issues. and two people who will be there. don gomez, he was deployed in 2003 and 2005. as well as officer in the navy tammy krum also an iraq war veteran. thank you for joining us, boetd of you, this morning. >> thank you. >> let me start with you, don, one of the big issues addressing at the town hall meeting is education as this enhanced gi bill that's going to be helping more and more of these returning

veterans pay for education. not only from state schools, but also private universities as well as helping out with housing and with paying for books. how critical is getting that help to these veterans that are returning from these wars and trying to get employment? >> well, it's very critical. we're actually very proud that the new gi bill is being implemented this month. led the way, led the fight in bringing that increased benefits to us. and what it does is it pays for the highest in state tuition in your state. it pays for a living in your area and pays up to $1,000 a year for books. and this is a big amount above what we were getting and what i was getting when i got out of the army in 2006. and i think it'll go a long way in easing the transition from combat into the civilian world. >> and tammy, one of the things you mentioned is the current

bill, it covers you for 36 months, you're saying if it would be for 48, you could, you know, complete a four-year degree in a time frame that's not as difficult, you say that right now some people are trying to cram in a bunch of credits. >> exactly. under the current program, a lot of four-year universities to complete a bachelors is more than 120 credits, and to be able to complete a bachelors degree in three years while transitioning to sy scivilian l it's challenging and people are taking on anywhere from 18 to 24 credits per semester trying to finish in the time allotted for that window to not incur student debt upon graduation. >> and that can be costly and expensive. another thing for people who served in wars and paid the ultimate price, i understand that some of these benefits can go on to the children, as well, and help them pay for their schooling. so that's another great thing. another big issue is health care. president obama said last week

that the va is working hard to make sure that every veteran, not only active forces, but the reservists are aware of the benefits available to them. we're guiding them through the process. how would you classify the coverage right now and the way that veterans' health care is handled, don? >> well, that's one of the big questions that -- big issues i'd like to see the general talk about today. we know that there's a lot of claims issues with the backlog that's currently in the v.a. and i'd like to hear the general talk a little bit about how the v.a. is transforming itself with updating to electronic health records and how it's going to make itself more available for veterans that are coming home from iraq and afghanistan with the signature injuries, which are post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. >> they talk about adding an additional $25 billion over the next five years, tammy, to deal with that very thing, the post traumatic stress disorder.

even if you're not suffering from that particular ailment as a result of your fighting over there in the war, are there other health concerns that maybe are unique to veterans that people need to be paying more attention to? >> i can't think of any that have personally impacted me. i know that people get out of the military, a lot of people have back problems, injury with ligaments, and stuff like that, and when you go to claim something with the v.a., if an amount of time has passed since you got out of the military, it's harder to establish connectability as a result. the time of service -- the amount of time that's lapsed since getting out of the military. >> you're talking about clearing up that red tape that perhaps gets in the way of getting the health care you need. and don, we have more than a million veterans of foreign wars since 2001. a huge number, and as we saw

from barbara starr's reporting, many homeless veterans in this problem growing 3,700 living on the street. what is the solution there? how do you help people who in many cases are suffering from some mental problems and perhaps post traumatic stress? how do you deal with this homeless problem? >> well, i think we've already started dealing with it by getting this post 9/11 gi bill passed. that's going to be the first stop in transitioning out of the military. they have a way to go to school that's not going to be too expensive. they can now afford to go to school. that's one thing. the other thing is enhancing those mental health services for veterans who are suffering from ptsd. the third thing, this is one area to improve on, is finding a way to get veterans jobs quickly when they come out of the service. in this new economy that's not doing too well, t very hard to

find a job, especially if your skill set is an infantry man. it's not jobs for those people coming out of the military. >> right. and tammy, don mentioned a couple of things he would like to ask if he had a chance to today. what if you get a question to the general, what would you like to ask him today at this town hall? >> when do they plan on implementing a better transition program for those coming out of the military? i know that the process for applying for va health care since i got out of the military has changed. and we were never notified of the way it changed. it wasn't until i went online digging for the information as to how our benefits are different from other campaigns that i was able to find out how or what was available through the va for health care. but there's no definitive process, this is how you seek it. >> all right. you need better access to information and cfiguring out hw to do it quickly. hopefully you'll get a chance to

ask your question. don gomez as well as tammy krum, both iraq veterans. thanks so much. >> thank you very much. >> thanks. also, remember all week long, our special series on vets back from the battlefields of iraq and afghanistan now fighting the war at home. it's all this week here on american morning. michael vick back on the football field over the weekend. and talking to james brown for a "60 minutes" piece on dog fighting and his rehabilitation and hoped for redumemptionredem. we'll find out after this. 47 minutes after the hour. upbeat rock ♪ singer:wanted to get myself a new cell phone ♪

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live better. call or click today. michael vick says he's a changed man and taking responsibility for his involvement in a dog fighting ring that landed him in prison for 18 months. vick is now back in the nfl after being signed by the philadelphia eagles. he tells cbs's "60 minutes" about life behind bars. >> the first time i walked into prison and they slammed that door, i knew, you know, the magnitude of the decisions i made. and the poor judgment and what i, you know, allowed to happen to the animals. and, you know, it's no way of explaining, you know, the hurt and guilty i felt. and that was the reason i crashed so many nights.

>> well, michael vick's return has you fired up. we have phone calls pouring into our a.m. fix hot line. here's what some of you are saying. >> it's wrong and disgusting that michael vick is allowed to return to the nfl after what he did. >> caller: we're a country of second chances, michael vick played his price, he went to jail, he did his time for his crime, and i believe he deserves a second chance in the nfl. >> caller: i am so glad that michael vick is playing football again. he have deserves it. dog fighting is not the most horrible crime in the world. >> caller: i told my husband i will divorce him if he turns on a philadelphia eagles' game. i think it's atrocious people can kill dogs and come out and get million dollar deals. >> well, we want to hear more from you. call our show hot line 877-my-amfix. you can also drop us a line on our website. so many things being affected in this economy, including the price of milk.

how it's hurting dairy farmers and what needs to be done to rescue them. coming up next, it's 52 minutes after the hour. - can you help me? - ( shouting ) - yes, you. - our line of next class laptops are perfect for college, and they start at just $650. are those good? 'cause i don't want to get her something - that she thinks is totally lame. - no, they're awesome. and they come with pre-loaded software so she won't have to do a thing. - great. she's good at that. - ( blue shirts laugh ) laptops designed for college and thousands of people eager to help. best buy. buyer be happy.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. if you went grocery shopping over the week, you might have noticed you paid less for a gallon of milk. while that's good for your family budget, it's hurting mom and pop dairy farmers.

>> reporter: every morning bright and early, you'll find allen and his two sons milking the cows at their farm in vermont. >> we've been doing it for 34 years. to be able to have a weekend off, it'd be nice, but i cannot afford to pay an extra man right now just to work two or three extra mornings a week so i can have that luxury. >> and you're the chief executive officer. >> chief of everything. debts and all. >> and the debts right now are soaring. >> we're running negative, yeah. $4,000 or $5,000. >> every month? >> every month. >> reporter: why? last year demand for u.s. dairy experts were high and milk sold a record at $19 per 100 pounds, about two of these jars, that price has plunged to $11, less than it actually cost dairy farmers to produce it. >> this is certainly not overblown. this is the worst crisis that the dairy farmers probably have ever seen. >> right now farmers are in a position where they're paying to

go to work every day. >> reporter: last month, the u.s. department of agriculture took the unusual step of raising support prices by about 15% for dairy products through october. >> hopefully this is -- these actions will suffice and get a lot of dairy producers over, you know, this rough patch they're going through. >> reporter: maybe, maybe not. while the cost of milk is going down, the cost of virtually everything else to run a farm is going up. >> actually my fertilizer cost was roughly 20,000. this year my fertilizer is 25,000. i have done nothing different except now i've got $5,000 extra. >> reporter: like many farmers, he has been borrowing from the bank and cutting corners. >> we're trying to cut the grain. every cost that we possibly can by trying not to lose too much milk production. >> reporter: they know every cow and every inch of land. what they don't know is whether there's a future here. obviously this is in your blood. are there some days where you think about giving it up? >> yeah, more often now than before.

>> reporter: still, they have faith things will turn around and that they'll keep the farm for generations to come. cnn, vermont. >> all right. well, still ahead, i don't know if you heard about this one, but bollywood star, one of the most famous men in india was detained at newark airport, questioned for hours by immigration officials. there's a lot of outrage. he says it was a case of profiling because of his last name. 57 minutes past the hour. for arthritis pain... in your hands... knees... and back. for little bodies with fevers.. and big bodies on high blood pressure medicine. tylenol works with your body... in a way other pain relievers don't... so you feel better... knowing doctors recommend tylenol... more than any other brand of pain reliever. or 100 pringles.

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( whooshing, riders cheering ) all right. our top videos right now on cnn.com. fans are outraged after one of bollywood's biggest stars was detained for hours over the weekend. immigration officials say that he was stopped when his name came up on a computer alert list. and in a case of from the you can't make thi