into the rhythm of saving. regions - it's time to expect more. continue the conversation on today's stories, go to our blog at cnn.com/amfix. >> hope to see you back here tomorrow. right now here's "cnn newsroom" with don lemon. replacing ted kennedy, the cancer-stricken senator appeals for a speedy succession. heavy rains and winds sweep right through. plus, he brought down an airliner, now terminally ill, the bomber is freed on compassionate grounds. what does that mean? good morning, everyone, i'm don lemon, it's thursday, august 20th, and you're in the "cnn newsroom." a cancer-stricken ted kennedy issues a poignant plea in failing health from a malignant brain tumor.

asking the laws to be changed so that he can quickly be replaced in congress. in a letter kennedy also said that serving in the senate "has been and still is the greatest honor of my public life." the letter is raising new questions about ted kennedy's health today and cnn's senior congressional correspondent dana bash joins us live from washington with the latest on that. hi, dana. >> reporter: hi, don, this is a letter that senator kennedy wrote and delivered yesterday to leaders in massachusetts. the governor and the leaders of the state legislature. and essentially, what he is saying is that he wants the law in massachusetts to be changed. the law currently says that there will be a special election if, in fact, there is a vacant see in the senate for massachusetts. but it also says that wouldn't have to happen for five months. it allows for an open seat for five months. and let me read you what he says, at least, the longer part of what you read in this letter. he says serving the people of massachusetts in the united

states senate has been and still is the greatest honor of my life. enabling the governor to fill a senate vacancy through an interim appointment followed by a special election would serve the people of our commonwealth and country should that vacancy occur. he's clearly supporting the idea of the current law, but what he is very worried about, clearly, is the fact that there could be an open seat there. the backdrop of this. why is this important? why is senator kennedy doing this now? obviously we know that his health is failing and he is in very tough shape, according to sources close to senator kennedy. he hasn't been in public view, has not been in washington, didn't go to his own sister's funeral last week. at the same time, what is going on in the united states senate is, you know, the fight of the legislative fight of his life, health care. and we have been told, don, by democratic leaders as they're trying to do the math and figure out how to go forward with health care legislation that they do have 60 democrats right now, but they just can't count

on senator kennedy's seat and they can't count on robert byrd, another elderly senator from the state of west virginia. so what senator kennedy is clearly trying to do here is try to put in motion the possibility that if he does not make it and if his vote is needed, there is an extra democratic needed, that there would be a replacement from massachusetts that could actually be yet another vote for the democrats on health care reform. >> dana bash, thank you very much for that, dana. president obama stumps for health care online and on the air. this afternoon he faces some skeptics. scheduled to give an interview at the white house to a conservative talk radio host, then he turns to the friendlier audience on the internet. the president will take part in an online forum with liberal activists, his political organization. also today, bipartisan negotiations continue among senators, the so-called gang of six on recess with the rest of congress, hold a teleconference

to continue their discussions. now, here is one question that looms large in the health care debate. if the white house abandons a government-run insurance plan, what would health care reform look like? the answer may be as close as massachusetts. jim acosta joins us now from boston. >> reporter: that's right. you know, the white house took a lot of heat from democrats earlier in the week when it seemed to back away from that public option in its plans for health care reform. and you asked a question, what does reform look like without a public option? well, according to some health care experts, you get romney care. >> good, thank you. good to see you. >> reporter: if washington wants to reform health care with bipartisan support, consider what former republican presidential candidate mitt romney did as governor in democratic massachusetts. >> you don't have to have a public option. you don't have to have government get in the insurance business to make it work. >> reporter: three years after enacting its own version of reform, massachusetts now has near universal coverage. taxpayer watchdogs say it's

affordable. >> and there is this widespread assumption that has created the fact that it's breaking the bank in massachusetts. >> and is it? >> it's not breaking the bank at all, not costing much at all relative to what we were spending four years ago. >> reporter: and health care experts say it's popular. >> 7 and 10 people in the state support the program and no more than 1 in 10 would repeal it. >> reporter: unlike democratic proposals that would give americans the choice of joining a government-run health care plan, massachusetts has no public option. instead, people in the state are mandated to buy private insurance. the poor get subsidies. analysts say romney care is basically obama care minus the public option. >> the president drops the public option, will you come out and support him? >> depends on what's in the rest of the bill. >> reporter: romney says democrats only have themselves to blame for those rowdy town hall meetings. >> i think any time you're dealing with people's health care and their ability to choose

their doctor, their ability to decide what kind of health care plan they want, you're going to find people are going to respond very emotionally. >> reporter: as for that other former governor's debunked plan. >> you think it's okay to be talking about death panels? >> i'm not going to tell other people what they can and cannot talk about. >> reporter: but he does warn the president bipartisanship is the only road to health care reform. >> i think the right process for the president to pursue on health care, on an issue that is so emotional and so important to all americans is to go through the lengthy process of working on a bipartisan basis. he promised that. >> reporter: now the massachusetts model does have its problems. experts say it does not control rising health care costs. something romney himself says has to be tackled on a national level. but don, if you look at the

numbers, they are striking some 44,000 people who did not have health insurance before this now have health insurance at a cost of $88 million a year, that's a drop in the bucket according to watchdogs when you're talking about the state's budget which is some $30 billion. >> thank you very much, jim acos acosta, we appreciate it. sanjay gupta tackles your concerns about health care reform. his focus, can doctors opt out of a government-run plan, and if so, where will that leave patients? that discussion a few minutes away right here in the "cnn newsroom." it is the most controversial issue in the country. "ac 360" and sanjay gupta take a look at the health care reform. what is fact, what is fiction, and what congress needs to do to reach a consensus. extreme challenges, health care watch the special report tomorrow night 10:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. new outrage and anguish today from a 1988 terrorist attack. just minutes ago, a scottish

court ordered the release of the only person convicted in the bombing of pan am flight 103. the families of many of the victims are furious. the very latest from scotland. >> reporter: hi, don. well, yes, kenny macatskill did make that announcement about megrahi would be released on compassionate grounds, suffering from terminal cancer. and he met the criteria for the judicial decision, which means you only have three months to live. he says mr. megrahi will be going home to die. a controversial decision. he said he talked to many of the families, many of the interested parties, the libyan government representatives, the u.s., and he understood that he would never be able to square the circle. he would never be able to satisfy all parties with the decisions that he was going to

make. now, we were actually in the town only a few days ago talking to people there about how they felt about megrahi's release. and they said they preferred not to dwell on the past. only one man was ever convicted for the bombing of pan am flight 10320 years ago. megrahi was found guilty on 270 counts of murder. his co-defendant, acquitted by a scottish court in the netherlands. many doubt lockerbie could have been a conspiracy of one. but over the years the conspiracy theorys have been more elaborate, mentioning the involvement of palestinian terror groups, syrian and iranian sponsorship and drug smugglers. believes megrahi and libya were scapegoats for more foul play.

>> libya only came into the frame two years after the event. and it was at that time that the americans decided that that i had to invade iraq in relation to kuwait, didn't want the difficulties of antagonizing syria and iran. and therefore, blamed the peripheral smaller libyans. >> reporter: the political editor of the scotsman has heard all of the theorys out there. >> like most conspiracy theorys, it's -- there's always elements of truth. there are, certainly some unanswered questions. >> reporter: don in 2007, the scottish criminal cases review board re-examine the evidence in the lockerbie verdict and said there could have been a miscarriage of justice, which was the grounds for granting him a second appeal. he has now dropped that appeal.

mr. macatskill saying he stood by the original conviction, he believed that megrahi was guilty, but that should not affect this compassionate release based upon the values and beliefs of scottish society not an eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, but mercy should be shown whatever the atrocity, don. polls closed minutes ago in afghanistan in the nation's second ever presidential election. officials extended voting by one hour to allow more people to vote. but cnn's atia abawi reported outside one poll that workers had already closed the poll. some incidents of violence were reported, but no word on any civilian casualties. observers in kabul province said voting was fairly smooth, but in other areas of the country, especially the south, many afghans may have been too afraid to leave their homes to vote. we're going live to afghanistan

later this hour. cnn's ivan watson will join us from the province with a look at how the voting went there. fierce storms pound the midwest, a lot of damage. this is central illinois that you're looking at. and cnn's rob marciano is keeping an eye on where storms will be popping up today. >> still rolling through the midwest. that same line that did all of the damage in illinois and parts of minnesota is heading towards ohio. details on where those storms are rolling. plus hurricane bill, still a major storm is heading toward the general vicinity of the u.s. will it make landfall here? we'll discuss those possibilities when the "cnn newsroom" comes right back. ( revving, siren blares )

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well, for the second week in a row, a surprising increase in the number of people seeking unemployment benefits. just moments ago, the labor department said the number of first-time jobless claims rose to 576,000 last week, up 15,000 over the previous week. wall street economists expected a drop. the obama administration may announce tomorrow how it plans to wind down the cash for clunkers program. and when the incentives will no longer be available. many car dealers say they've had troubles getting reimbursements from the government and they

worry the $3 million set aside for the program will run out. the transportation secretary ray lahood assured dealers they will be paid. and we want to let you know about this. tonight on cnn, more of our series. it's called money in main street, how to cope through this tough economy, catch it tonight 8:00 p.m. eastern only here on cnn. in the meantime, rob marciano is tracking our weather news. what is bill up to now? >> well, still a category three storm, that dropped down from last night, don. but they're still in very favorable waters to get back to category four status. 125-mile-an-hour winds. look at what has changed today. there you go, the winds are 125, and then you see a bit of deterioration around that eye. it's not quite as well defined as it used to be, but the area out here, still very juicy warm waters and winds are favorable for development. the official forecast is for that to happen.

the movement, though has changed from a west-northwesterly direction to a northwesterly direction. some weakness driving it to the south. so the turn to the north, now, is starting to take shape. the national hurricane centers, bringing it to category four strength. between the carolinas and bermuda, that will be good. it has shift add little farther to the west. the cone of uncertainty to include extreme northeastern new england, so those folks will be affected if not by a grazing, potentially still a direct hit. everybody on the east coast is going to experience some serious waves and rip currents. dangerous rip currents if you're heading out to the beaches this afternoon and through the rest of this weekend. this line of storms really bringing in some action. last night and yesterday, illinois and minnesota got hammered. this video from central illinois where a number of homes were damaged, about 19,000 people without power and actually six injuries. there also was a tornado that

touched down near minneapolis. there were 18 tornadoes total that touched down yesterday. incredible, certainly for this time of year. and this line will continue to push off towards the ohio river valley. out ahead of it, still warm, 90 in d.c., 89 in new york, 78 degrees in chicago. that's the latest on the severe weather and hurricane, bill, now toss it back to you. >> thank you, rob. it could be a make or break in the month for health care reform. and coming up, we'll tackle some of your questions about what's being considered.

all right, well, amid all

the shouting and the spin, some straight talk about health care reform. our insider, chief medical correspondent and practicing neurosurgeon dr. sanjay gupta is taking your questions. i got one for you, sanjay, from a viewer from illinois. take a listen. >> this is anna from illinois and i was wondering with the new health care reform if doctors will be able to opt out of taking these patients that have this insurance done by the government because reimbursement rates may be too low for them and how that's going to affect the patients with less physicians to choose from. >> this is such an interesting question, it comes up a lot. you have insurance, what do you do with it? you find a doctor, how good is that insurance for you? >> nothing. >> that's the heart of anna's question. a couple of points, one is we don't have enough primary care doctors in this country, we're about 16,000 short, problem number one, problem number two, and i think this is what she's asking about. doctors aren't required or

mandated in any way to take any particular type of insurance. we've seen in before with regard to doctors, for example, not taking medicare in the past. if they do accept it, you continue seeing your own doctor, but if they don't, you may have to find another doctor. what's interesting, we ask the white house specifically how do you address those concerns? insurance cards great, but what about access to care? they say they want to create incentives for more primary care. perhaps increasing the reimbu e reimbursemen reimbursements, trying to speed up the reimbursements, as well. and i think more importantly just sort of changing the incentive so, you know, investing in don lemon's wellness as opposed to taking care of don's heart if he should have a heart problem later on, that becomes more of a priority and that's an investment in primary care, as well. how that plays out exactly, hard to say, but need more primary care doctors, i think absolutely. >> getting the check-up, diagnosing it early, preventive medicine. >> keep people from getting sick in the first place.

everybody wants that. >> you were talking about -- among students, medical students, choosing primary care, there's a decline. did the administration address that? >> first of all, you're right, there is a decline, about 26,000 medical students graduating, entering the medical workforce per year, only about 6,500 going into primary care, most going into specialties, that should be reversed, more in primary care, fewer into specialties. part of it's pay, they're in debt with medical school loans for a long time. part of it is simply paperwork. don, you may have 3,000 patients, they all have insurance forms, other forms, that paperwork is a huge burden for them and that's what the health information technology bill is hoping to address, trying to cut down on some of that. >> you and i were both looking over this wire. and is that good -- it shows just how serious it is, this whole health care reform thing. people are living longer, therefore they're going to need medical care longer. >> i think a lot of people want to live longer as long as you're of sound mind and body. >> good to see you.

>> good to see you. we'll be here for a long time. >> the outsider. >> thank you, doctor. always good to see you. >> and by the way, we're going to be talking about the expectancy on our blog. you'll probably want to weigh in on that. how long do you want to live? how long would you like to live? how long would you like to live, doctor? >> 78. >> down the middle -- >> at 77, i think you'll be rethinking that. tell us how long you'd like to live, go to cnn.com/heidi or cnn.com/don. let us know how long would you like to live? in the next half hour of the "cnn newsroom," josh levs clears up another health care concern, will a reform plan mandate prices doctors can charge? find out what the truth squad has learned. afghans go to the polls despite threats from the taliban, a live report on the voting and back here in the u.s.

>> look at his face. he says he did what any other good citizen would've done even though he got hurt and beat up doing it. live pictures now, police convoy -- police convoy arriving in scotland, the lockerbie bomber is going to be freed, he has a medical condition and they're letting him out on quality of life issues, issues similar to that. the convoy has arrived. he's going to be freed, talking about the pan am flight that blew up over lockerbie, scotland. we're going to see where this goes. and there will possibly be live pictures of him leaving this facility. there's a big question here. should he have been let out? some of the victims' families don't agree. we'll follow it for you. ( revving, siren blares )

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of a man that is believed to be responsible for the lockerbie bombing of pan am flight 103. blown up from the skies over a scottish town of lockerbie, late december of 1988. and the man you're looking at there is abdelbaset mohmed al megrahi. the united states deeply regrets the decision and gibbs also said in that statement, again, on this day, we extend our deepest sympathies to the families who live every day with the loss of their loved ones. and again, this picture, this is an old picture, probably from the late '70s early '80s, i should say in 1988 from the late '80s, i should say, early '90s. but again, secretary of state hillary clinton made a particularly emotional case earlier this week noting that she used to represent families of victims of the disaster as a

former senator from new york, and she also expressed her deep disappointment in the release of this man. so let's go now to scotland and our reporter who is on the ground there following this. and again, he's about to be released at any moment and you'll see it live here on cnn. live from scotland. what's going on? >> reporter: hi, don. well, in a moment, you're looking at pictures of greenock prison where we're expecting the only man ever convicted of the bombing to come out. there are lots of local residents of greenock surrounding the prison and we've seen a lot of police. we are expecting him to be released at any second. we know that he's found out that his request to be granted compassionate release would be granted only about an hour ago. at the same time, as the justice minister here in scotland kenny macatskill announced his

decision to the world. he said he was granting on compassionate grounds because it met the criteria, he only had three months or less to live. he said he was only going home to die, don. >> some are saying, yeah, he's only going home to die because he has, you know, a cancer and a disease there. but i was watching one of the -- listening to talk radio this morning and there was a woman who was on who said her husband has the very same disease and is still alive three years after being diagnosed. some of the families are not happy about this, believing he could actually live a long time, even at his home and they don't like it, diana. >> reporter: absolutely. it's an incredibly controversial decision. you have families here and in the u.s. who some of them on one side is saying this man should never be released, he did not show compassion to my loved ones who died in december 1988, why should we show him compassion? on the other hand you have those

who doubt his guilty, that not all of the facts in this case add up and they're not sure if he was partially guilty he could've ever acted alone. lockerbie was too big to be a conspiracy of one. but the scottish justice minister did say i am never going to be able to square the circle here. i have consulted every interested party, all family members that i possibly can and, unfortunately, i will never be able to satisfy all parties. he said that he was acting in a pure through judicial function here. that this request for compassionate release could be granted because it satisfied judicial criteria. and that scotland is a society was based upon values and beliefs that mean they should show compassion and mercy irrespective of the crime committed, don. >> listen, you are -- it seems to be -- not exactly sure where you are, diana, to this location, how far you are, but it seems to be pretty busy behind you. we're looking at a helicopter

shot of a police van there arriving very closely, i believe, that is a gate of a prison. yeah. very close to the prison walls. there is, looks like a police escort and a van. what are you able to see around you? a lot of media and folks are gathered. >> reporter: absolutely. we'll pan around again to see what we can see here. you can see some of those policemen, the same police force actually involved that night 20 years ago when the lockerbie bombing happened. one of the smallest police forces in britain, so you can imagine the reenforcements that were required back then. you have a lot of interested residents, holding up banners that say good-bye. what we expect to happen shortly is he will come out from here and go to glasgow airport where

he will be transferred straight into the arms of his family. but he is effectively, as of now, a free man having served only eight years of a 27-year life sentence, don. >> yeah, this all happened, boy it was four years before christmas in 1988 and most americans remember this, and remember the horrific pictures that came out of lockerbie, scotland. and some say this is what really led to the demise of pan am airways. they couldn't recover after that crash. but that video, i'm sure you remember the town in lockerbie, scotland, the explosion and the trees. there you see some of the footage there live on our screen. and then there was trees, clothing, parts of the plane hanging, and then there's the nose of the plane there and a lot of this stuff landing in people's yard. it was really a horrific sight when you bring it back to people so they can remember this. and you can see why there's

outrage concerning this, diana. >> reporter: we were in lockerbie only a couple of days ago. and it was shocking to talk to those eyewitnesss describe the kind of blazing inferno that they had seen with their own eyes. and the sheer scale of this, the sheer area that had to be searched. 845 square miles to look for personal possessions, body parts. there were bodies scattered within a six-mile radius of the crash site. it really was a horrific incident. the uk's worst ever terrorist atrocity. and interestingly, you go to lockerbie now and there are calm memorial gardens, nothing that would suggest the crater that the body of that 747 jet airliner made in what was effectively a superb houses being obliterated, people's remains never found, such was the chaos and the carnage of that night. now there are many people who come every day to visit those memorial gardens and to pay

their respects to the victims, for the 270 victims killed. but lockerbie itself is a peaceful place. and people say irrespective to what happens to him now, this will never help those people who died on our scottish fields better to show him compassion than to show him revenge, don. >> but there are -- doors are opening, and we can see the motorcade going inside. you can see the police car, the doors are opening and they are going inside to pick this man up. again, he's expected to live only for about three more months. and according to the scottish justice secretary says he ordered the release because he believes that the man needed to die at home and that the laws of this country dictated that. our justice system demands that judgment be imposed by compassion available. he said our beliefs dictate that justice be served, that mercy be

shown. so again, i would imagine that he is in this van, ate peit app that the van is moving away from the prison. and so megrahi is in that van, and according to our sources and according to diana on the ground, he will be returning to his family. diana, as we watch this motorcade leave the prison here, talk to us about -- have you heard anything from his family? has his family spoken out at all? or have they been pretty quiet in all of this and respectful -- in of some of the victims, i should say? >> reporter: don, i couldn't really hear because there is a lot of chaos. we're seeing his lawyer leave right now. i don't know if you can pan around. he has refused to speak to any of the press for a while now and looks like he's not going to now.

but as you heard, when they left, the residents kicking up a bit. he will make his way to the airport and from there back to tripoli as a free man. don, i think we're stopping traffic. >> i can imagine it's loud and if you can stick around and maybe it'll get a little quieter and you can talk to us here. this is an unbelievable scene, this has been playing out since 1988. and as i said earlier, many people of age remember this horrific, really horrific bombing over lockerbie, scotland and the pictures coming in. pan am, an iconic airline. this was before that bombing, and again, some say that this led to the demise of that airline. it was only -- it was the beginning of the end. on the left side of your screen there, you're looking at those horrific pictures we talked about landing right there or blowing up right over our residential neighborhood and the

debris falling on that neighborhood. it was amazing to see there. and on the right side of your screen, you see the the motorcade leaving the prison, going to glasgow, airport, and it is believed that megrahi will go to tripoli to be with his family where doctors say he only has three months to live, it is believed. and as we know, you can't put an exact number on days and times, it's an estimate. but about three months to live. he was let out on compassionate means. and according to the justice secretary there, kenny macatskill, that's what their law tells them to do. their law includes compassion. on the ground there, it's very loud, chaotic scene. i hope she can still hear me to weigh in on this. diana, the question i was asking you if you can hear me. his family, i'm wondering if his family has spoken out.

if they have remained quiet, diana, are you there? diana obviously can't hear me. again, we're going to watch this motorcade as it goes. and there was -- we cannot -- we're not in control of these pictures so i'm not exactly sure of the moment he came out because cnn was not controlling the pictures. we can probably wind it back to figure out the exact moment he came out of that prison and then got into the van, but we do see, again, the motorcade there. diana, are you with me? >> reporter: yes, i can hear you, don. as you were saying released on -- >> what i was saying to you earlier is his family, have they spoken outer have they remained quiet out of respect for the victims' families? >> reporter: his family have they made any comments? the line is incredibly bad, don, i'm sorry about that. we haven't heard any comments from his family. we haven't heard any comments from al megrahi himself, all we

know is macatskill saw him earlier this month and confirmed he was, indeed, extremely ill as his doctors have said. now back with hi family or on his way to his family's five children and a wife in tripoli. but i went to the village of lockerbie to ask them how they felt about his possible release. >> reporter: this was the crater left by the 747 airliner that was pan am flight 103, brought down over the scottish town of lockerbie by a terrorist bomb in the cargo hold of the plane. 20 years on and the town's quiet memorial garden, it's hard to imagine the carnage, but one of the first policemen at the scene remembers it vividly. >> more houses were caught on fire, the windows were popping, everything was just -- it was like hell. i remember also seeing the gate

in a distance. it was actually dripping like melted butter. dripping away. >> reporter: all 259 people on board the flight, most of them americans on their way home for christmas were killed, as were 11 residents of the town, the debris scattered over a vast area. with three miles from the actual crash site at lockerbi ere, but this is where the nose cone landed and they found 120 bodies. search teams combed miles for clues. a trail which led scotland's criminal justice system to a libyan businessman and intelligence officer megrahi. >> the houses here were destroyed. >> reporter: he was never entirely convinced that megrahi was the one who destroyed the neighbors home but he said the politics was only a distant reality for the people of this

town. >> the politics of the middle east were and still are -- the ordinary citizen has no means of judging these things. >> reporter: george stobs said most never cared who was behind it. >> they just want to go on with their lives and i think rockerbie has gone on now. >> reporter: 271 people met their deaths in these beautiful hills and in the backyards of lockerbie, 20 years later, homes are we built, the events of that terrible night are buried here, but not forgotten. >> that was our diana reporting. now, looking at live pictures of one of the men believed to be responsible for the pan am flight bombing. joining us now is susan cohen who lost her 20-year-old child, she was one of 35 syracuse

university students on pan am flight 103. i believe you said his release, you believe him and his release vile? is that a quote from you? >> that's an understatement. this is absolutely appalling. appalling. you want to feel sorry for anyone, please feel sorry for me, feel sorry for my poor daughter, her body falling a mile through the air and landing in a sheet metal. this is 270 people dead, this is a convicted mass murderer and terrorist. i have no doubt about his guilt. i don't know whether he's going to live or not live. we've been told he's been dying, i've heard that for a long time. he'll be a hero in libya. they couldn't even wait a day to release him. let me tell you what this is about. this is about the appeasement for oil. big oil interests are in this. lots of lobbyists. >> why do you say that? explain that. >> i will explain it very

easily. british petroleum makes a deal with gadafi and toni blair came out with another alternative way of getting megrahi out which was a prisoner release exchange when there are no british prisoners in libya. the fact is from the time george bush went out on television and didn't mention lockerbie and said we've had our differences with the libyan leader, the handwriting was on the wall. we have our congressmen visiting there, there are business deals all of the time, shell oil, it's absolutely about appeasing gadafi. i believe that gadafi ordered him whatever way they did that. obviously nothing happens in libya without him being on top of it. >> i have to interrupt you. i hate to interrupt you, but there are some people who don't really see that connection. they're saying his release, whatever happened in the trial

and during that, whatever came out is separate from why he's being released. >> well, i think this is -- >> part of their government and part of their system. >> well, i think it's appalling and the u.s. could've used a lot more pressure on them. you are talking about a mass murderer. i am telling you this is the best argument for capital punishment you'll ever find. you commit mass murder, an act of terror, kill all of those innocent young people, a family of three little girls and you are released for compassion? >> did you make your appeal to the government -- the scottish government? or to the u.s. government? >> of course, i did. i've also tried to get obama's attention. he shook hands with gadafi, he has not shaken my hand. we tried to get condolences on the 21st from him. we've tried to get meetings -- >> that is a bone of contention. >> i think that was appalling. the man is the worst one of -- one of the worst human rights records in the world, committed

acts of terror. it bothers me terribly and at least he could've issued some sort of statement acknowledging the pan am 103 situation and acknowledging his human rights abuses. have we reached the point where we are now ready to tolerate and accept to appease someone like that. are we so devastatingly weak now? have we lost all of our moral fiber that you can say that megrahi can be released from prison for compassionate release? where was his compassion for my daughter? where was hi compassion for all of those people? >> ms. cohen, i have to ask you this. there are some family members of the victims who don't believe that megrahi is guilty. and they welcome this release. what do you -- >> they are the british, a few british families, there's not a single american family i know of who feels that way. i know of none. and it has nothing to do with innocence or guilt. it has to do with upholding a legal system.

you have trials, people are found guilty. he had an appeal. understand he was in the middle of an appeal, which he dropped. so there are avenues for that kind of thing. i think he was guilty and i think it's appalling. but whether someone thinks he's innocent, that makes it okay? what does it have to do with this? nothing at all. we have no laws, our laws don't count, our legal systems were nothing, we may as well not bother with trials. that is amazing. the man should have remained in prison and i do not believe any of those ideas about his lack of -- his not being guilty as i told you. there was a mass propaganda campaign launched by the libyans and you often found things in the british press and the european press you would never have found here, really remarkable gullible things. you had lobbyists, you had him buying people, buying people who were there, and in britain and you have had some pretty awful

stuff. >> during the time of all of this, there was some wrangling about exactly where mr. megrahi would where he would megrchi would serve his jailtime? because of how their laws are made, there was some concern that this sort of thing could happen. so, at the time, some folks wanted him to be housed somewhere else maybe because in the united states, maybe in britain so that there would not be this compassionate release or he would be housed in other laws or eventually stay in jail or in prison. >> i wanted him to be imprisoned here. we worked for it. we were promised by at a family meeting where there were representatives the justice department in britain, in scotland and the united states that this could never happen. many families believed that. i didn't. i don't have that kind of faith in governments.

it is absolutely appalling. they didn't have to release him. they could put a refuse to release him. this is not your typical crime. i want you to know who is very happy in the world today besides gadhafi and that's osama bin laden because he can say to himself, if that can happen and i'm ever in a position where i have oil, they will deal with me. that is what gadhafi knows. i am telling you, this sends a dreadful message to terrorists everywhere. you do not do this, you do not release a mass murderer as if he is some guy who had a minor crime. where does that kind of thing end? no one knows how long he is going to live. >> we're at the airport in glasggla glasg glasgow, those are pictures of the plane that will take him back to tripoli. since we're on this subject,

happened a couple days before christmas, i imagine if for your family, just a terrible time. the justice secretary had declined at the time to allow megrahi to be transferred even though it exists between the united kingdom and libya. now, during this time. the u.s. attorney general eric holder was the deputy attorney general to janet reno at the time of the pretrial negotiations and he was adamant that they were given to the u.s. government and any person convicted would serve his sentence in scotland. so, at the time, again, as i said, there was some rangling and some controversy because you wanted them and other people wanted them to be held in britain, instead of scotland because -- >> i wanted him held -- i wanted him in the united states. >> other people wanted it in britain and some in scotland. for the american victims, the families, they wanted him to be held in the united states.

mrs. cohen, hang on just a second. we're waiting for him to get to the airport. i would like you being here explaining what you're feeling and guiding us through this. we'll take a quick break and be right back, again. the man believed to be responsible for pan am flight 103, the bombing over lockerbie scotland the man released from prison on his way home. lood sugr before i go on stage. being on when i'm feeling low can be like a rollercoaster. it does at times feel like my body is telling me to do one thing... and, my mind, my heart is telling me to do something else. managing my highs and lows is super important. with my contour meter i can personalize my high/lo settings so it really does micromanage where my blood sugar needs to be. i'm nick jonas and never slowing down is my simple win.

all right. you're watching breaking news here on cnn. remember the lockerbie bombing of pan am flight 103 over lockerbie scotland? well, one of the men responsible for that is being released from a scottish prison and is in a van escorted by scottish police on his way to the glasgow airport where he will fly to tripoli and see his family and his three children. his wife.

there is some anguish and outrage about this because many people, the victims' families, don't believe he should have been released. they are saying he is released on compassionate grounds. the justice secretary kenny mccaskill says their law not only takes into consideration guilt or punishment or innocence but also takes into consideration compassion. that's one of the factors, mercy, he said, should be shown here. susan cohen, whose 20-year-old daughter theadora was 1 of 25 university students on pan am. we have been following this live for you for about 15 minutes. in all of this time, we have not spoken, i imagine, i know that you're outraged and you said that, let's talk about your daughter.

>> thea was a talented, young woman. she wanted to be a singer and an actress, she had a beautiful soprano voice. she was full of life. she had everything to live for and i miss her, i grieve every moment of my life. every moment i grieve for her. ask any parent who lost a child. that was a plane full of young kids, a family with three little girls, the average age on the plane was 27. it sends ripples of horror and pain and grief that continues and will continue while i'm alive and other family members are alive. it is absolutely sickening when you say, compassion, i feel ill, i feel physically ill, that is the most misplaced compassion i can imagine. we could weep for hitler and maybe mussolini, we should feel sorry for these people, i guess. i say the greatest generation

is, indeed, gone. i don't know what's happened to us in the west. i don't know how we have become so cowardly. amazingly lacking in back bone and courage and strength as this kind of thing indicates and they didn't have to release him. this is not a typical case and it's not just one of the people, megrahi was the only person found guilty for this. now there's nobody. not only a shred of justice, there is no sign lockerbie ever happened and we americans don't like to remember our tragedies. we have a short memory span and this is all so cruel and so gruesome. my daughter would have been 41 on september 10th. i will have to live through her birthday with this added horror and pain. i will have to watch gadhafi enter new york city in triumph at the end of september to speak

to the u.n. i remember once when they spontaneously, the police, gave us a police escort from the pan am building to the u.n. and now i will have to watch gadhafi probably getting a police escort. i mean, he will speak. it is just amazing. you see, really, this is, where is the justice? where is the justice system? i mean, if you can let this man out on this so-called compassion and i told you, i don't think that's the story. i think the story is the power of the oil interests and the way they have so much power with governments and that's what gadhafi wants and appeasing him these days is what you do if you want to make a lot of money, but i mean there is no sanity to this. it is nothing but bad.

nothing but horrible and nothing but bringing just gruesome amount of pain to most of the fami family. >> mrs. cohen, will you stick around for us in a little bit? we want to update our viewers and we are listening to susan cohen whose daughter, then 20 years old, died aboard pan am back in 1988. it is the top of the hour, everybody. i'm don lemon today in for heidi collins. following breaking news. one of the men believed to be responsible for that pan am 1303 bombing was released just moments ago and he is close to the airport to the plane on which he is going to go home to tripoli. the announcement came early this morning. >> i, too, understand the grief that has been felt. that has been running with us since 12th september 1988 and on the basis of how we would deal

and on the beliefs we have as a people. i know that some will disagree and others will accept it and that is my decision. >> again, that was the announcement this morning by the scottish government, scottish justice secretary kenny mccaskill making that announcement saying they not only have to take the law and justice into account when they are ruling on someone's guilt or innocence or what is going to happen to them, but they also have to take in compassion, as well. certainly the way their system has been set up. we were talking to susan cohen here whose daughter was killed aboard that plane and also on the ground is diana, she has been following this developing story for us. she joins us from scotland and as we watch this, diana, we want to tell you, he just arrived at the airport, be prepared i may have to cut you off to explain the pictures of what's going on. you're looking at the airport there in glasgow and he's going

to get aboard that flight and be on his way to tripoli to see his children and his family. go ahead, diana. >> hi, don, it really was an incredible sight to realize that the man who was convicted of the lockerbie bombing, the only man has left here arrived at glasgow airport, as you say, a free man to spend the last few weeks, months of his life in the arms of his family as a free man. kenny mccaskill was very clear this was a judicial decision because he was very ill and met the criteria, full compassioned release, ie, would die within the next three months. we have been hearing from susan cohen and i have spoken to many families of those killed in lockerbie here in the uk who said they never believed that al megrahi was never the right man and dropped his appeal to allow

this compassionate release makes it difficult. as you can hear -- >> i've been there before. you have a lot going on. you've got a lot going on around you and someone is giving you instructions. are they trying to move you back and give reporters instructions right now? >> don, as i was saying, the fact that this appeal was dropped means the fampallies who don't believe in megrahi's guilt feel they will never know what happened at lockerbie. even if he was involved, could he have acted alone, who else was behind it? how big was this conspiracy. they feel that now the appeal has been dropped now that al megrahi will go back a free man, they will never have those questions answered, don. >> as we're watching live pictures from the airport, talk to us about that flight.

i may have it wrong airways and the flight, how long from glasgow to tripoli and who is expected to meet him on the other side? >> his family will be there to meet him on the other side. his five children, wife and elderly parents. his wife actually came to live near here to be closer to her husband when he was here in 2001 here in scotland. the flight is a matter of around five hours. authorities in libya have been alerted of his transfer and they have been making those preparations so he could leave from glasgow airport to tripoli without any sort of problems. the transfer from grenwitch prison to glasgow is very short. it has gone extremely smoothly since kenny mccaskill made that

decision for megrahi to be freed. >> stand by, diana. we're going to get to you in just a minute. we're watching the pictures from the airport to meet his wife and five children and, so, it's very interesting. i want to go back quickly. do we go to susan or josh? we're going to go now to josh levs. i hear there is a huge, huge response? >> we're a lot of outrage. a lot of people will have passion about a story like this. i'll show you a couple things about this, also how you can weigh in and you can get information and background and facts on this. something that a lot of people don't know about called

remember.gov that talks about a history of terrorism. this is one place you can see it and i'll post a link to it. it talks about the chronology of terrorist attacks in the united states and one thing they talk about is lockerbie and they talk about what happened there. let me show you what we have going on, cnn.com while we follow our breaking news. along with this, we give you a lot of background, as well. you can also see some of the photos throughout the years and one right here that shows the crash wreckage of the plane. 270 people killed there. you can see that image all up at cnn.com and some more reporting from our folks who have been following this for years. let's go to where some of you are already weighing in. on twitter, the top topic. it was at number one. one of the top stories all day long and let me just show you -- >> josh y hate to cut you off. i will get back to you. we need to show people what is happening here at the airport because this man's release and you'll see him get on that

airplane and officials going on to the airplane and megrahi getting on the airplane, as well. you can't tell if they released him or if that last man is, in fact, him. we're not in control of these pictures. our folks on the ground, we're getting this from one of our partners in scotland. but, again, you're watching the release of al megrahi. listen, let me tell you. i want to give you guys some context on how exactly this happened. just so you remember it. for those of us who are old enough to remember 1998 and this bombing and pan am airways. he was convicted in 2001 after the prosecution had argued that he had placed a bomb hidden in a suitcase on a flight from malta to frankfurt, germany. prosecutors said the bomb was transferred on to pan am flight 103. here we go. there he is.

in the white suit. the first person going up the steps of the airplane. wearing a white jacket and white hat and just getting on the airplane. and that is probably the best picture we're going to get of the day of him until we see what happens on the other side here. but, again, being released here. i'm getting some instructions. i'm talking slowly and pausing for you just so i can get those instructions in. but, again, i want to tell you that mr. megrahi is believed to be one person responsible for that. so, pan am flight 103. they believe that he placed that bomb on that plane and then first went to london heathrow's airport and then took off to new york. en route to new york with a whole lot of students, 35

students from syracuse university, we spoke to the mom of one of those students, that flight blew up a mile into the air. that debris from that plane rained down on lockerbie scotland and that is, really, probably unfortunately for lockerbie scotland what they will be remembered for. what they will be remembered for. so, al megrahi being released today, getting aboard that plane. five children on the other side, his wife and parents. susan malvo joining us with information from the administration and hearing from one of the family members this morning, they are saying they don't have the privilege of meeting, sadly, very harshly put, their dead loved ones on the other side. their family is gone forever. >> well, yes, you're right, don. i actually had an opportunity on

"the situation room "to interview one of the family members of the victim who expressed a great deal of anger and frustration with this decision. but we just got out of robert gibbs' office, white house spokesman robert gibbs who emphasized the white house and the administration's position on this, as well. he reiterated that they express deep sympathies to the families of the victims of pan am flight 103 that they have expressed to the united kingdom and scottish authorities their dismay with this decision. the official statement coming from the white house this morning and i'll just read it to you very briefly. it says the united states deeply regrets the decision by the scottish executive to release al megrahi. he was convicted and sentenced to life in prissen for his role in the bombing of pan am flight 103 which blew up over scotland on december 21st, 1988.

the united kingdom and to scottish authorities, we continue to believe that megrahi should serve out his sentence in scotland. on this day we extend our deepest sympathies to the families who lost loved ones. we recognize the effects of such a loved one weigh upon a family forever. senior administration official os also telling us this morning, told us that it was secretary of state clinton, you had attorney general holder and the white house and other government officials that they have had extensive contacts with all of their colleagues, their counterparts in scotland and in the united kingdom to emphasize this very message. that they don't support the release of megrahi. don, one last thing, in this gaggle, in this meeting with robert gibbs this morning, we asked him, essentially, what is the united states going to do? any kind of formal complaint and

he said at this time they are simply expressing their deep sympathies and their regret at this decision. we don't know if there will be further action, but at this time, that's how the administration is responding to this news today. >> secretary of state, speaking of earlier about that, as well. she said it was horrific that he was being let out and she represented some of the victims' families and she just thinks it's appalling that he has been released. suzanne malveaux stand by. specifically the white house press secretary, robert gibbs. i want to get now to our security analyst, mr. mike brooks. no doubt you're in law enforcement and following this very closely when this all went down in 1998 and the subsequent trials and everything that's happened since. explain to us the rangling here and explain to us what happened aboard that plane and what security people are say about what happened. >> don, matter of fact, i was

involved in this case. it was the last case i investigated when i was with the fbi joint terrorism task force and actually was in malta working on this case, preparing for trial with the british authorities in 1999 and, in fact, i came back, as soon as i got home from malta is when gadhafi turned the two libyans, megrahi and his co-defendant over to the scottish authorities. i'll remind everyone, don, that this was the deadliest terrorist attack against america, against americans before 9/11. there were 180 people killed in this flight. you know, during this flight and 47 british nationals and talking this morning with some of my law enforcement cohearts and other people calling me knowing i worked on it, everyone is very extremely upset that they let this guy go and even more so now, don, when you see him walk up the steps of that airplane, you know, if he was so sick

everyone expected him to be carried up the steps, but to see him walk up the steps and going back to tripoli to be back with his family is extremely upsetting to a lot of people that i know. >> britain said this was the deadliest, one of the deadliest events for them, as well. you were speaking about americans, but one of the deadliest attacks against brits, as well. mike, i've got a short time here. if you can talk to us about the circumstances surrounding this. real quickly, here's what, here's what prosecutors are saying. al megrahi who was convicted in 2001 after the prosecution had argued that he had placed a bomb hidden in a suitcase on a flight from malta to frankfurt, germ y germany, and then the flight was transferred on to the pan am plane that went first to london's heathrow's airport and then took off to new york city but never got that far. >> exactly. what is believed that megrahi was believed to be a libyan

intelligence agent working in the air for air malta and put the tags and walked it around security and put it on the air malta jet himself, transferred to a 727, a connector flight in london to frankfurt and then from frankfurt to london where it took off and then exploded 31,000 feet over scotland. >> he wasn't alone in all of this, mike brooks. who was he connected to? >> it's believed his co-defendant, the guy that was acquitted w acquitted. this system in scotland. the scotland crown authorities, there it was judges, it's a panel of judges. not like here in the united states where you have, you know, a jury of your peers. this were a panel of judges. and we've been hearing this morning about conspiracy theories and all this. >> mike, hold that thought. the plane and some movement in the airplane.

a plane getting ready to tax off and take off from glasgow airport and head to tripoli. mike, we'll continue to follow this. mike brooks, continue your thoughts. sorry about that. >> that's all right, don. it's believed that he did not, that megrahi did not carry this out by himself. he did have assistance of the man who was acquitted. as i was saying, it's not a jury system there with a panel of judges and it was actually held at a court in the hague and we heard one of the families, the mother of one of those 35 students from syracuse and they were very, very involved in this, don. there was a large contingent of americans who was there at the trial following everything that went on in the hague and you could hear her outrage and her frustration this morning and she was reliving some of her experiences during the trial and afterwards when her daughter was killed. >> you're extremely right about that, mike. i remember this, people who went all the way over there for the

trial. they followed the trial every single moment of it t was big news here. big news reported. much as we had been seeing a lot of the terrorist attacks in recent years reported. this is one of the biggest scenes, as you said, one of the biggest terrorist attacks on americans and also on britain, as well. so, this was hugely followed and this story playing out now. the mother says she's not sure. the mother you spoke about, susan cohen said she's not sure exactly what she can do right now, but she's thinking about it and also said she made her appeal, not only to the u.s. government and not only to the scottish government but to the president of the united states, as well. very upset when she saw recently the president shaking hands with moammar gadhafi. we want to stand by. mike brooks is standing by, also suzanne malveaux standing by with the administration's response. we'll continue to follow this developing story. right now the plane is taxiing and take a little bit of time before it is ready to take off. and we will bring that to you live right here on cnn.

in the meantime, we want to talk about an icon, really. we're talking about senator ted kennedy. we know he has said, his doctors have said that he is very ill and he is not sure how long he's going to be around. he's trying to make provisions, but what happens once he is gone? let's hope it's not soon, but he is at least thinking about it. we'll bring you that story.

breaking news here on cnn.

you're looking at live pictures from the airport in tripoli just outside of scotland, the area in scotland where this man was held. you see him to the right there of your screen, that is al megrahi. one of the men responsible for the bombing of pan am flight 103 over lockerbie scotland back in 1993. it was more than two decades after that bombing. new outrage now and new anguish because just moments ago, the only person convicted in that bombing of pan am flight 103, he walked free. we saw him getting on this airplane that you're looking at to the right of your screen there. we saw him walk on to the airplane, up the stairs wearing a white jacket and a white hat. looks at moments he was covering his face. he moved very slowly. as he was walking up this airplane, the mother of one of the victims whose daughter,

20-year-old daughter died back in 1998. she was a student, her name is theadora cohen. she was a student at syracuse university and taking a trip to scotland she and 34 other of her classmates and other americans onboard. other people, people from britain onboard and people from most countries in the european union and also the united states. that picture to the left of your screen there, that's actually him just moments ago walking up the steps of that airplane and getting on to the plane. on the other side, we are told he will be met by his four children. five children, i should say, his wife and his parents. susan cohen, who lost her daughter, said she wishes she had that pleasure to meet with her daughter. she said her daughter's birthday is coming up soon and she will have to relive it all over again. this all happened back in december of 1988. just a couple days before christmas. the christmas season for all the

families of people onboard this plane probably not a good one because they have to relive all this all over again. one of the men involved in this trial is our very own mike brooks. security analyst here at cnn. mike, i just want to forewarn you, if the plane starts to take off, we will have to talk about those images, so, i may have to cut you off. >> sure, don, i understand. >> plane is taxiing, heading now to tripoli. what do you make of all this since you had so many years to sort of sit back and see what happens and then all of a sudden this day comes and, really, mike, just within hours, maybe an hour and a half or maybe two hours after the announcement from the scottish official, he's free. >> you know, don, i find it hard to believe. you know, i cannot even understand why ms. cohen is going through right now with her having her daughter been on this flight. you know, but think about the numbers, don. 189 americans, 47 british nationals.

people from 21 other countries onboard this plane. al megrahi was convicted of placing a bomb. a bomb that was believed to be in a cassette player inside a suitcase put onboard an air malta jet and transferred to another plane in frankfurt that went to london's heathrow -- >> mike, stand by, just one second. josh levs is standing by over here. josh, as mike talks about this y know you have pictures and names of the victims. can you let mike talk over us? josh levs is checking in on what's going on online and also on the social networking sites and if you can tell us about some of the pictures and he has the names of the victims or just show them. mike, continue with your thought and we'll get josh levs in here and get pictures of the victims. go ahead as this plane is taxiing. >> pictures of the 189 americans and, again, we remind our viewers, this was the deadliest

terrorist attack against americans up until 9/11. if we did finally get somebody and convict them of the 9/11 bombing and someone decided to let them out of prison after serving eight years, how do you think the uproar here in the united states would be? to me, it's just having been a law enforcer for 26 years and actually having worked on this case because when we were preparing for trial back in march of 1999, myself and one of the special agents chris murray were there with the scottish authorities -- >> mike, here we go. the plane is accelerating now and is preparing to take off. afriqiyah flight that is taking off from glasgow airport. and this is the last, now, that scotland will see of al megrahi.

the only man convicted in this. he is leaving. for him and his family, for the scottish government, at least as it appears for now this is over and a done deal. but not over and a done deal for many of the victims' families. by the way, i want to point out that there was outrage and anguish. a few families, british families who don't believe that al megrahi is guilty and they are actually happy at his release. the camera there having a bit of a tough time keeping up with an airplane. jets move very fast, as we know. white plane against a white cloud, white sky. again, that was the plane that just left moments ago, seconds ago, really, from the airport in glasgow, scotland. josh levs, standing by right now is mike brooks, but i want to go to josh levs. you're giving us a sampling of what's happening online and i want to talk to you about some of those victims and i would

like to hear those stories, as well, josh. >> i'm just popping in here for a minute. victims of panamflight103.org. take a look, just a reminder of how many people it was. i'm controlling through every line is a different person and tells their name and age and memorials from over the years reminding you of some of the pain that people have been going through including friends of theirs at syracuse university and others who knew various victims here. all of this up here. victims of pan am flight 103. it's packwood information about them. don, we're hearing from a lot of viewers right now, people are worked up and very concerned and very upset and one of our top stories here at cnn. a lot of information at our site here. what we're hearing along with this, we're getting a lot of i-reports and tweets and facebook messages and if we have this, i'll show you for a second, just a few of the ones we're getting. coming to us in the cnn newsroom

blog and sentenced to death by god and now walking the green mile. you can see what joann wrote over here. they should drop the bomber off somewhere over libya. talking about susan cohen who is complete complete completely well spoken. maybe she should run for office. many of us agree with her views. richard is calling it the outrage of the day. it's all over twitter, too. number one topic on twitter. this person is saying i went to syracuse and knew two victims. the release of the bomber is deeply wrong and insalts the memories of the victims. look, he doesn't seem to be a threat and maybe this decision makes sense. but by and large, we're hearing people very upset and very distraught in some cases and some people say i can't remember the last time i was this angry. cnn.com/josh. you can't forget it, twitter and facebook. joshlevscnn. i'll share some of these views

along with, don, links and web pages to help everybody remember who these victims were and the lives that were cut short and the effect it had on this country at the time. >> josh levs, thank you very much. mike brooks, i'll give you the last word on this because you were involved in this case. just a few seconds here. we are really up against the clock. >> i did, don, i know i'm upset and i can't express for the families of the victims and we hear from mrs. cohen and i think she has said it all with the outrage a lot of americans are feeling right now. >> mike brooks, suzanne malveaux and, of course, of course, susan cohen who lost her daughter on that flight when it blew up over lockerbie scotland. continuing coverage of this developing story throughout the day and also in primetime tonight here on cnn. giving back in a big way. a student with a severe spinal injury walks again. then he bikes to help others.

a cancer stricken ted kennedy issues a plea in help from a malignant brain tumor. he is asking that state law be changed so that he can be replaced quickly in congress. his letter to massachusetts leaders is raising new questions today about ted kennedy's health. our senior congressional correspondent dana bash joins us from washington with the latest. dana? >> massachusetts law allows a five-month vacancy before a special election if a senator should die or resign. senator kennedy wants that change so there is an interim replacement. why is he doing this now? one answer, health care reform. he has been in the senate now 47 years, if you can believe that. now, sources tell us the ailing

kennedy is in tough shape and he is well aware that democrats will be struggling for every vote on health care this fall and he wants to make sure that if he can't be there that someone else will. let me read you a quote from this letter that he sent and it was actually delivered yesterday to massachusetts leaders. he said serving the people of massachusetts in the united states senate still is the greatest honor of my public life. enabling the governor to fill a senate vacancy through an interim appointment followed by a special election would best serve the people of our common wealth and country should a vacancy occur. the senator has been having quiet conversations about this for quite some time and knowing that would get out he decided to make his efforts public. it's not really clear, whether or not the government and the state legislature is going to go along with this. >> what about governor duval patrick and state lawmakers? >> they released statements, don, just a short while ago talking about how much they respect senator kennedy and they

worry about his health, but not showing their hand on whether they would do something like this. give you a little bit of history here. a lot of political irony because this law was changed in 2004 and, why? because it is back then there was another democratic senator john kerry from the state of massachusetts running for president. you remember that. well, the state legislatures, they changed the law to put this in place, a special election and not allowing a vacancy to be filled. why did they do that? because at the time there was a republican governor in the state of massachusetts. that governor was mitt romney and they were worried if john kerry were to win the presidency in 2004 when he ran against george bush, they didn't want mitt romney to replace the senator with the republican, maybe even himself. that's why this is in place. it's a little bit of a political, ironic twist here. >> dana bash, thank you very much for that. now, we take you to chicago. >> you come up through killer town here and people don't know who you are, we could get shot

right now for filming in this car riding down the street. we can get shot. chances are i know most of the people in the area and if i got out of the truck and say i am doing something with cnn, they'll give us a pass. >> just riding here we're taking our lives in our hands. >> i have to be honest because people shoot and ask questions later. >> nearly 300 people have died by the gun in chicago just this year. many of them are teenagers and some of them were innocent bystanders caught in the crossfires. they are someone's sons and daughters. they had names, they had dreams that they will never realize now. i sat down with their parents whose pain never seems to ease. >> every time we talk about what happened that day, it breaks me down. >> that afternoon she called me and told me that blare had been shot. you talk about the worst moment. feeling in the world, instant

trauma to the emotions. >> when i think back to what kind of child i had, it hurts me so bad. >> you brought something of your -- >> i brought the program, obituary and newspaper article. >> this is how he's in the paper? >> yep. >> college student is city's 500th homicide of the year. this isn't how you expected your son to be remembered? >> no. >> basically a gospel bass player and he was coming home and someone came shooting and shot terrell. >> i drove him to high school for four years. i drove him every day so that he wouldn't have to take public transportation and the one place i never worried about that was church. i never worried about him being

at church and to get a phone call that your son got shot coming out of church, it was just unbelievable. >> if i could say anything to that parent whose child caused my child to lose his life. i hope you never feel like i feel. >> boy, oh, boy. what are chicago authorities doing about all these youth shootings? what should they do? here to talk about that is reverend father michael flager of st. sebanis church. father, thank you very much. that interview, matter of fact, was held in your church and we're going to talk about those families. but, father, while i was there interviewing those families and then the mayor hand picked guy to deal with this issue, tell us what you came in to tell us why

we were shooting this story. >> well, the story was being filmed and we heard helicopters flying over our roof of the church, which we hear frequently now and the young girl was being shot at 110th and normal. in fact, i just saw that girl the other day and she's fighting for her life right now. she was shot in the head while out in front of her own house and she leaned over to guard the young child when she heard the gunshots and she received a gunshot wound to the head. >> father pfleger and he said don't interview me, go out there. we went out and talked to the people on the street and they said they are just frightened about what's happening. three doors down, father, from the alderman in that ward right down from her house. so, what should be done here? you know, we've reached out to city leaders, the mayor, the mayor has not accepted our invitation and superintendent can't talk to us and arne duncan did sit down with us the day

before yesterday in washington, d.c., and had very interesting things to say. what do you feel should be done? is the effort there coordinated enough? are you getting enough resources from the mayor, the city, the police department? >> no, i don't think we're getting enough resources. i think part of that is they say they have no resources and resources have been cut for any kind of prevention or any kind of intervention of young people from the federal government on down. everything has been cut in human services. the only thing where money keeps coming out is for more police. more police is not the answer. we need to get curriculum in schools and we need to do intervention on the streets and prevention with our young people and we need a positive alternatives for them. we need community resources and all that has been cut and until we get a federal response that trickles down to the cities and to the states. we had 42 people killed in chicago in july. 183 shot and wounded in july. those are bigger numbers than baghdad.

>> it's unbelievable. and the fact that the mayor, yeah, i don't know what his schedule is like, but five or ten minutes doesn't take that long to answer a couple questions. same thing for the police superintendent because people nationwide, just not in chicago are concerned about this. the head of schools arne duncan did see fit because he believes it starts in schools. so, real quickly, i'm going to ask you, if your prayers were answered, obviously, for these kids to stop doing it. what would you like to see done right now to stop the violence in chicago? >> i would like to see a federal response just like we did with swine flu, don. call together a national summit to look at this violent situation and how do we provide the resources to stop it. how do we get the data to see this kind of shooting and killing going on around the country to force congress to react and let us as a country realize there is a genocide of our children going on. we have got to respond. if we don't, shame on us.

our children are dying and we're turning our backs on them. >> also a community activist, thank you very much. we really appreciate it. we're going to be talking about this much, much more cnn 10:00 p.m. eerp what is going on in chicago? the solution. what makes chicago different than any other city? why so much youth violence, especially with guns. rvelsh in the meantime, giving back in a big way. a student with a severe spinal injury walks again and then he bikes to help others. my goal was to take an idea and make it happen. i'm janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom. i never really thought i would make money doing what i love. robert shapiro: we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side.

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well some may have with wondered whether a teen would walk again after a serious football injury and he has done more than that, even biking

across country. that was to give back. here's our chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta. >> reporter: when he was only 15, a friday high school football game forever changed the life of matthew sanchez. can you just paint a picture for me what happened this particular evening. >> the running back was coming around on a sweep and right before i hit the runningback, the fullback and the really sharp pain went through my body after i hit him and hit the ground and i felt like an explosion went off in my body. >> matthew was unable to move. doctors here at shepherd determined he had a fracture of a c-5 bone. over the next few weeks, sanchez managed to regain feeling in his legs and struggled to learn how to walk again. after months of rehab, he was driven to get back to competition completing seven triathlons in the past couple years and now a cross country bike trip to raise funds for the share initiative.

that initiative enables veterans and active duty military to travel here for treatment. as matthew sanchez pedaled across america, he just wasn't thinking about the road in front of him, he was thinking about people he might help by raising money for his cross country odyssey. canon had been in iraq when he was shot by a sniper in 2006. the bullet fractured the vertbray in his neck leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. two years later he ended up here at the shepherd center looking for more independence. >> i knew i would be fine if i could do stuff on my own. once i'm a little bit holder and parents aren't there to help, you have to know how to take care of yourself. >> reporter: canon says without the share initiative and people like matthew sanchez, his outcome could have been very different. >> some people would get better and carry on with their daily lives and not even look back at what got them here and why

military personnel. it's hard. it shows good people like that and do what they have to do. you could be working and making money for himself right now and he's trying to help out people like me. >> reporter: dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, atlanta. >> all right, guess what. very special treat. in a moment, just a moment, matthew sanchez joins me here live and we're going to talk to him about going through that 4,000-mile ride. can we see a picture of him before we go to break? we can. he's right over there. we'll see you. ♪ bicycle, what are we waiting for? the flowers are blooming. the air is sweet. and zyrtec® starts... relieving my allergies... 2 hours faster than claritin®. my worst symptoms feel better,

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i think i'll go with the basic package. good choice. only meineke lets you choose the brake service that's right for you. and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. we told you about a remarkable young man before the break. dr. sanjay gupta brought you the story. they thought he would never walk again. but it turns out, he did and

he's also biking and helping others. matthew sanchez joins us right now in the "cnn newsroom." where's the bike, i thought you were going to bring the bike? >> it's back at home. i had to make a couple trips to get myself back to school. >> they thought you were never going to walk, you had the football injury and how many surgeries did you have? >> one surgery t was eight hours long, though. >> you have a scar here and turn around -- >> i have a scar here in the back, as well. >> does that just go from here -- >> you can kind of see the end right there. >> wow. and then through front. so, obviously, serious business they thought you weren't going to walk and then you geet the shepherd center and you're recovering and you say, what? i'm going to -- >> initially i just volunteered and i thought i'd try to help out as much as possible but kind of realizing how well i had it after my accident, i wanted to give back a little bit more and i wanted to talk to them but pitch the idea of the ride and i

said i figured this is a great way to kind of show that i recovered and also a great way to kind of honor the troops there. >> but you pitch this, after you had recovered, but i'm sure there was a recovery process for you where all of a sudden you realize, hey, i can walk again and what was that moment like? >> it was pretty happy moment, honestily. it was almost right after surgery i was fortunate enough to get some motion back at that point and, you know, realizing that at least the nerves were there for me to walk again was really a -- >> to get from this point to that point how long was that? >> it was five years probably. a year after my accident i was back running track and competing in high school events like that. wasn't very fast, but i was out there trying to do it and then i graduated from high school and started triathlons and since then i haven't tried to look back too much. >> you want to get back and raise some money, if not money,

just awareness of it. as you were going through this bike ride, 4,350 miles. what were you thinking? each mile one mile, two mile. >> there were times when it was unpleasant parts, rainy, hail. for the most part i enjoyed every mile. >> did you think about stopping? >> at the same time i tried to think about the soldiers that go overseas and serve every day and that kind of inspired me. >> i guess i could probably get to the gym in the evenings. i have to work. if you can do 17 triathlons. listen, you're a remarkable young man. let's have coffee because i'd love to talk to you about that. me, you and sanjay. it was a pleasure meeting you. thank you. >> thank you. >> matthew sanchez. catch more of matthew's journey and meet some of the troops this program is helping. tune in to "house call "this weekend 7:30 a.m. eastern on cnn

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a very busy news morning here. i want to tell you what is happening right now. other stories. the man who brought down pan am flight 103 over lockerbie, scotland, is now free. earlier this morning live here on cnn, you saw the british court official there talking about his release and then he was released. the court cited compassionate ground.

the libyan native is dying of prostate cancer and 270 people were killed in the bombing and many victims' families are furious about the release. is the champion a man or a woman? gender test results are pending on the south african winner of the women's 800-meter race at the world athletic championship in berlin. the question of the winner's gender was first raised last month. just minutes ago in new york, former nfl star plaxico burris entered a guilty plea on weapons charges. he has agreed to a two-year prison term. you may remember burris accidentally shot himself in a new york nightclub. we'll be following that one. i'm don lemon. thank you for watching, i'm done here. cnn's drew griffin will continue with the "cnn newsroom" in just a moment. don, thank you. thursday, august 20th and here are the top sts