what a tragedy. thank you sharon murch and katie callaway hall. thank you all. don't forget, bill clinton monday night. we now turn things over to our partner here, right here in los angeles covering all the news of the day and a big program coming up in an hour as well, here's anderson cooper and "ac 360." >> larry, thanks so much. tonight, a major break in the yale murder mystery. an arrest in the murder of grad student annie le. we also have new details about the suspect, raymond clark. we'll look into his past revealing almost two different people. some say he was quiet, unassuming, but others tonight, painting a far darker picture. that's him in court. >> we begin though with a new war of words in the health care debate. another fire fight that has nothing to do with health care reform itself. it started with the question for house speaker nancy pelosi at her weekly news conference, she was asked whether she was worried about how harsh the political atmosphere had become. here's what she said.

>> i have concerns about some of the language that is being used because i saw -- i saw this myself in the late '70s in san francisco, this kind of rhetoric. it was very frightening. and it created a climate in which violence took place. >> speaker pelosi appearing to tear up, talking about the murders of a gay civil rights activist and member of the san francisco board of supervisors as well as the city's mayor, george moscone. her answer triggered immediate backlash. here is john boehner. >> now, listen, this whole issue of race that people tried to raise over the last week or so and this insinuation that the people opposing the president's policies are motivated by race, capped off by former president carter's remarks over the last couple days.

let me tell you what, i reject this resoundly. >> the rhetoric increasingly heated, candy crowley tonight has "the raw politics." >> good morning. >> reporter: the speaker of the house says some of the things she's hearing in the health care debate border on dangerous. >> i saw this myself in the late '70s in san francisco, this kind of rhetoric. it was very frightening and created a climate in which violence took place. >> reporter: to review, the pro reform side including the president has been called socialist, marxist and unamerican. those against the president's plans have been called wing nuts, fringe groups and racists. republicans accuse democrats of stoking a false racism charge to diminish honest opposition. democrats say for political reasons, republicans won't condemn the clearly racist signs and words at some protests. oh, how the white house wants to put a lid on this one.

they've been trying since sunday. >> i don't think the president believes that people are upset because of the color of his skin. >> the president does not believe that -- that the criticism comes based on the color of his skin. >> reporter: and today the vice president chimed in from iraq. >> as you approach the resolution of an incredibly controversial issue, ideologically, politically and every other way, it usually finds excesses grow from that. but the president does not believe, nor do i believe that it's racially based. >> reporter: it's not that the president is above a good partisan fight. he was out there today proving that. >> i heard a lot of republicans say they want to kill a -- but when you ask these folks what exactly my plan does, they got it all wrong. >> reporter: here's the problem, beyond the four walls of that

rally, who's listening? the side show, the debate about the debaters drowns out the president at a critical point in his bid for health care reform. >> all of the background noise, the conversation behind the conversation is hurting his ability to get his policy agenda implemented. >> reporter: and a bitter side show on one of the most politically toxic topics turns off moderate, less partisan voters and makes the opposition more opposed. >> all of a sudden, accused of being racist for expressing those concerns, you know, it further polarizes an already polarized debate. >> reporter: there is bipartisan agreement on this people say on both sides say the health care debate is the nastiest in decades. only one thing missing. >> this is not about black and white. this is about insuring america. >> reporter: oh, yeah, health care. candy crowley, cnn, washington. massachusetts congressman barney frank joins me now. congressman frank, nancy pelosi

referring to the vitriol that came before moscone. is that an appropriate comparison? >> well, i wasn't there. so i couldn't say exactly. i would not make the comparison myself. i don't think -- one thing they did is personalize it. there is a very personal dispute there. dan white who murdered harvey milkin and george michone had been on the board of supervisors of san francisco city council, had quit and then wanted to come back and they were blocking him from doing it. so it wasn't a generalized homophobia that. that may have accounted for him getting a light sentence for the cold blooded murder of two people, obviously premeditated. but i -- you had that very specific grievance from a man who thought he had been denied what he wanted. >> you're trying to focus on financial regulation reform. it is any different trying to get something done now compared to in past years? i mean is it any more or less

partisan behind closed doors? we see what's happening on the streets. what's happening behind closed doors? >> well, it's more partisan in the house, less so in the senate. i know that senator dodd, the senate chairman has been having, i think, constructive conversations with senator shelby. what happened is this -- there's been a movement in american politics. i entered politics in 1972. the massachusetts legislature. we had a lot of moderate to liberal republicans, senator ed brooke and former governor frank charger. and i worked with a lot of republicans. and in many cases i was against a kind of intrenched democratic organizational leadership. but american politics have changed. it used to be we would say we have southern democrats who are more conservative than northern republicans. that's no longer the case. to some extent, the american political science profession, if you go back years ago, has gotten our wish. the parties are much more rationally divided now. but with a great deal more anger. i do think that trend really began, and i think newt gingrich

was very explicit about this. newt gingrich said we republicans will never take power if this is seen as a set of debates between people of good will who differ. he said he forced out bob michel who had been republican leader. he was kind of contentious of the moderate and mainstream conservative republicans who believe that, say, well, we're friends after 6:00, et cetera. and he said, no, we have to say to the democrats, they're corrupt and immoral and disloyal. that engenders a counter reaction. you now have two strong personalities. there were two other factors. first of all, we're in very bad economic times right now. and people are more likely to be angry and listen to anger in bad economic times. it's not just bad economic times. some of the most respected institutions in america, the financial giants because this is a country that really kind of worship capitalism in an unrestrained form for many years. they collapsed and the

government is complicit in not having prevented the collapse. so you have a lot of people throughout who have lost faith in the institutions in which they were supposed to have faith. the other thing is this -- there are fewer and fewer people getting the news from walter cronkite or newspaper where everybody gets it together. we're very polarized in how we get our information. on the whole conservatives, they're listening to talk radio and the whole liberals are doing the internet. we each have our own cable orientation. you guys are in the middle. you're in the minority being in the middle. >> tell me about it. >> so what happens is this. people talk to people who agree with them. i'm con fronted by people who say well i'd like to get this done from the liberal side, but i have to compromise, they don't understand why i say. that because everybody they know agrees with them. and the same is true on the right. >> that's -- we're definitely seeing that more and more. we have to take a short break and talk more after this break. the congressman is going to be joined by republican congressman mike rogers and david gergen in just a moment. you can join the live online.

it's happening at ac360.com. a huge break in the yale murder mystery, an arrest today. and new details about the suspect. a yale lab technician who was arraigned today. we'll be right back. this is my small-business specialist, tara. i know landscaping, but i didn't know how wireless could help my business. i just don't know how wireless can help my business. tara showed me how i could keep track of my employees in the field and get more jobs done faster. i was blown away. i'm blown away. only verizon wireless has small-business specialists in every store to help you do business better. we should get you a hat. now buy any blackberry, like the new tour, at our lowest prices ever, as the decades have past, the promise of medicare has always been there. and aarp has fought to guarantee none of the benefits you earned were ever taken away. today we're continuing that fight

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we have the capability. we have the technology. the solutions are here. we just need to find them here. we're back with representative barney frank and republican congressman mike rogers and david gergen and deepak chopra. let's pick up with house speaker nancy pelosi said. she compared today's angry conservative protest to anti-gay rallies in the 1970s that preceded the assassination of two political leaders. is speaker pelosi's warning unfounded? >> i think it is. you have to remember what this

is all about. i have represented conservative blue collar district in michigan. listen, every single person is going to encounter the health care system. and when you talk about a fundamental change, i don't care if you're a cancer survivor or maybe your mother is a cancer survivor or you know you're going to have health issues this impacts you deeply personally. and i think what people in the political talking head arena have absolutely misjudged, these are justage people. i have seen housewives show up and people who have -- they're not angry. they're very, very concerned. so, yeah, i do. i mean are there those? absolutely. "the weekly standard" did a piece where they said 7 out of the 10 town hall violence episodes involve the unions. that's that organized political event. but the episodic where people are showing up, those are just average people, the little guy who is saying wait a minute this scares me and scares me a lot. >> david, there's been plenty of partisan rhetoric in past decades. people called president bush

hitler. is this just part of that same game? >> i think it's -- i think it's -- no, i think it's worse, anderson, than it has been in a long time. look, i want to do what people said. i do not think racism is driving the opposition to health care. i made that point last night. what i do think is there are radical elements on the fringes of both sides and the expressions that we're now seeing, the signs and some of the, you know, the pictures of obama and that sort of thing, i think probably have increased the threat levels that the secret service is dealing with. i know that there have been threat levels elevated in the past when this has gone on. but it is also -- if you have a chance to walk through the newly restored lincoln museum in springfield, illinois, there's one room in there if you walk in there you'll see cartoons in that area depicting him as an ape and baboon. there were sort of animalistic sort of things.

they were horrible. they represent a lot of what was going on at the time. it's important to remember what happened to lincoln in april of 1 65. >> there is rhetoric used against the president and then to define his policies that often misrepresents them. the term death panels comes to mind. >> well, you know, the debate has shifted from health reform to insurance reform. that's the first thing. president obama's plan is humane. it's compassionate. it's for the impoverished, it's for the elderly. it's a plan for social justice. and people are now scared by labeling him as a communist and socialist. we're actually getting away from the real issues. talk about end of life care, most of end of life care actually does not extend life.

it increases suffering. it increases bills. you know, we are the only profession in the medical profession, the medical industry is the only industry that does not obey the laws of supply and demand in capitalism. because doctors, you know, a doctor said, it has been said, is the most expensive technology. you have a minor chest discomfort because you had an argument with your wife and you go to a doctor and before you know it, you had an ekg, a stress test, a 24-hour monitor and if you're unlucky, arrangioplasty and angiogram. which does nothing to extend life even if did you have the disease. so we have a big issue here. we're not looking at the $700 billion that are spent on unnecessary tests. the 2.5 million surgeries that are not required. the fact that there are four times many health care lobbyists in washington as will are congressmen. we're getting away from the real issues.

i think president obama's plan is really a good one. >> congressman frank, you had an encounter famously now at this point with one person in a town hall to be held. i want to show that to our viewers very quickly. >> why do you continue to support a nazi policy as obama has expressly supported this policy? why are you supporting it? >> it is a tribute to the first amendment that this kind of vile contemptible nonsense is so freely propagated. ma'am, trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with dining room table. i have no interest in doing it. >> when you hear former president carter saying that the majority of the opposition to the president is rooted in racism or the majority of the vitriol he's hearing, do you agree with that or agree with congressman rogers saying look, the vast majority of this

is people expressing deep-seated concern. >> neither of the above. the woman who asked me that question was a advocate. she came out of deep lunacy. i will say these are the people that called george bush hitler. i ran against one who said the queen elizabeth was a drug dealer. my response was, i didn't think she dressed nearly well enough to be a drug dealer. but here's the mistake i think conservatives have made and they're paying for it now. that is, they were happy to see -- yeah, there were some angry average people. but there was some crazed people. there were lunacy people. there were people from very right-wing groups that are not part of mainstream conservatives. they were very happy to let them go out and attack democrats. then they began to worry because oh, wait a minute, we have more rational arguments. and they wanted to pull back from the death penalties. by the way, the democrats made it previously. there is a reluctance on the part of mainstream politician to repudiate the angriest and least rational and least logical and

unfairest people in their own wing. and that's a mistake. i wrote a book about it years ago. you got to -- you know, one of the hardest things to do is stand up to people that tell you they're your allies. you have to sometimes differentiate yourself from your friends. the main opposition to this health care plan is not of that sort. but the conservatives made the mistake of not differentiating themselves from it and indeed enjoying the fact that democrats were getting hit with it. >> congressman rogers, what about that? i want you to respond. is the harsher rhetoric driving the debate and influencing congressmen? >> no. i think, you know, the sexiest part of that debate is whether they can get that, you know that, sign that i think the vast majority of americans don't identify with and don't understand. i mean when the code pink people were protesting during the president's speech, i mean i wish my good friend barney frank would have stood up then and said how wrong it was. >> i did, mike, excuse me. that is totally unfair. >> it is not unfair. barney, let me finish.

and that's the problem. this heated part of it, yes, there are those folks on both sides of the aisle that are people that we would take pause and say, wait a minute that, is not a great way to express your point. but here's the problem. when i think -- i think what barney and others have missed, these are just average people who are scared. they're the ones paying the credit card bills. they're paying their mortgage bill. they're showing up for work every day. and they don't see a way out of this. and they see this big government coming in and saying i'm going to run your health care. you mean the same people that couldn't get water to katrina, the same people that couldn't process the cash for clunkers transactions are now going to take care of my sick grandmother. i think that's what people miss. these are average people who are truly concerned. >> i want to respond to that set of partisan distortions. mike rogers is simply wrong. i'm disappointed in him. i did stand up to code pink. i chaired committees when they harassed witnesses and the republicans were in power and ordered them to sit down and told them i would have the police remove them. i don't know why you would make

things up. we're trying to have a serious discussion. i've been very critical. by the way, i'm not missing anything. i know who lives in my district and i know who they are. i know the people that come to my town hall -- >> but those people are very small percentage. >> they are the ones i was talking about. you say i don't -- i miss it. i don't miss it. in fact, you weren't listening to what i said. i differentiate. i know there are a lot of people with legitimate concerns. i disagree with them but i hear them. one important part of the conservative movement, fox news, in fact, was criticized by fox news for being rude to a laruche advocate. so there is an element in the conservative side that failed to differentiate. >> whether is rudeness enough? my argument is maybe we shouldn't be rude to each other at all. there is a serious debate that we should have here that concerns 270 million americans who may lose their health care. i think that's a -- we should

have that debate. and sometimes it will be charged. it doesn't have to be rude. >> mike, look, we would were stopping that debate got interrupted by the right-wing attacks, not the mainstream conservatives, on the president and health care plan. and too many conservatives were happy to sit back and let it happen. now i hope we will resume that debate. >> we got to go. >> people think that wasn't a good tactic. >> i'm sorry, we got to go. i'm sorry we didn't have more time for this. congressman frank and congressman rogers, david gergen and deepak chopra. thank you. good discussion. president obama deciding to cancel a missile shield for eastern europe. he says his plan's better. republican are so the sure. also, new photos of the lab technician under arrest for the murder of a yale grad student annie le. of course, they're erie now, that's him on a facebook page. new details about his relationship with le including reports of text or e-mail reports of text or e-mail messaging between the two.

>> we have details about the man police say killed the yale grad student, annie le. first, erica hill has a 360 bulletin. the obama administration is overhauling a palace for a missile defense shield. the president says the change of gears is based on an updated

intelligence assessment iran's ability to hit europe with missiles. he says the system will be cheaper and more effective. republicans say it is bad for national security. in indonesia the country's most wanted terror suspect was killed in an overnight raid. his terror network is blamed for nearly every major attack in indonesia in the past decade including the hotel bombings in jakarta two months ago. the house today voting to deny all federal funding for the community organizing group a.c.o.r.n. the move comes after a hidden camera video was released showing a corn employees advising a couple posing as a prostitute and a pimp to break the law. and fossil hunters in northern china discover a tiny t-rex. it roamed the earth 125 million years ago, stood 9 feet tall and weighed 150 pounds. slim. the giant t-rex evolved millions of years later was as much as 100 times bigger. even the small one though, i don't think i would want to meet

in an alley. >> 9 feet tall. still, nothing to -- >> nothing to sneeze at. >> coming up next on "360," huge government checks at a isolated checkpoint. you have to see this report. is it helping the economy or bleeding taxpayer dollars? it's the border crossing boondoggle. also later, profile of the yale killer. friends speaking out and so are the police. a live report coming up. introducing blueprint. blueprint is free and only for chase customers. it lets you choose what purchases you want to pay in full to avoid interest...with full pay. and those you split... you decide how to pay over time. if having a plan matters. chase what matters. create your own blueprint at chase.com/blueprint. [ telephone rings ] [ ring ] [ "catch the wind" plays ]

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technician sits in a new haven jail cell on $3 million bail and charged with strangling annie le. his arrest was not a surprise. he's been a person of interest for a couple days. he's the only suspect in a murder that attracted national attention. worldwide attention, really. clark was arrested at a super 8 hotel earlier this morning. the body of annie le, his alleged victim, described as a brilliant student was found inside a wall at the yale medical school building on sunday, on what would have been her wedding day. we're learning a lot more tonight about the accused and what may have triggered the brutal crime. with the latest now, here's tom foreman. >> reporter: arrested and brought into court facing a murder charge at just 24, ray clark was not asked for a plea just to be understood his rights. his answer, two words. >> yes, sir. >> reporter: others, however, are saying much more. the police chief won't talk about reports of messages between clark and the murder victim, annie le. but he makes it clear the lab where they both worked is where the violence was born. >> this is not about urban

crime. this is not about university crime. it's not about domestic crime. but an issue of workplace violence which is become a growing concern around the country. >> reporter: 20 minutes away in clark's hometown, the idea of some sort of workplace eruption is puzzling for old high school classmates. >> he was incredibly nice. he was sweet. he came off as very caring. >> reporter: michelle knew him as a fun loving and athletically gifted boy with kind and giving parents. even before a local paper reported it, she knew firsthand about a long ago police investigation into accusations that clark forced his then girlfriend into having sex with him, no charges were filed. so michelle never thought much of it. >> you know, he never was arrested or anything like that. but it just -- it just didn't -- it seemed like there was a problem within the relationship and, you know, something between them two.

>> reporter: branford police will not talk about that incident now, saying only that they are sharing information with new haven detectives. it is all painful for kate lynn mann. she, too, knew ray clark as a standout baseball player. >> this is him right here? >> yep. >> reporter: and a fellow member of a high school club to promote understanding of asian culture. she does not believe he could have killed annie le. what kind of guy was ray clark in high school? >> friendly all the time. sweetheart. totally. >> reporter: so what happened? if police are correct, somehow her job as a researcher and his job taking care of the animals that she worked with brought them into a collision in the basement of this building a little more than a week ago with tragic results. bail for clark was set at $3 million and his attorney is not talking. many students of yale are breathing easier with the arrest. but many friends of annie le and ray clark have just as many

questions about how this murder came to pass. >> tom, you mentioned the questions that people have about what happened. obviously, is there any reason to believe the questions will eventually be answered? >> reporter: i don't know, anderson. authorities here notice that mr. clark very quickly invoked his right to not incriminate himself. remember, they had to get a order from a judge to bring him into custody. so they could take the dna samples to learn more about what happened. and as far as we know, there were no witnesses to this crime. so if he's the right guy and if this in fact goes to trial as expected, i think we'll be looking at a lot of scientific evidence, possibly if there are messages that some people rumored between phones or something between them that may help create the picture. but in the end, the question will be whether or not if he is the guilty person, he wants to tell the story of what happened in that room. otherwise, anderson, i think all

we may ever know is what science may be able to tell us. >> tom, thanks. one medical student who didn't want to identify herself on tv says she was in the lab with clark just three days after le disappeared. here's what she told cbs news about his behavior and the area where they worked. >> he did such a good job of hiding any sign of nervousness or anything out of the ordinary when i was in the room with him alone on friday night. the rooms in the basement were sound proof. so even if annie had been screaming, nobody would have been able to hear her. >> we're getting two very different portraits of le's alleged killer. let's talk more about the suspect, his relationship with le and a possible motive. with me now, lisa bloom and prosecutor and stalking expert rhonda saunders. we heard police say this is a case of workplace violence. that still -- that term still encompasses a lot of motives.

>> yes, workplace violence can encompass everything from stalking, from conflicts within the workplace itself. it could be related to the type of work that she was doing. i mean there's so many different motivations out there. and right now i think everything is pure speculation. we really don't know. we just have the edges of the puzzle. so it's very hard to try to pinpoint what exactly is going on. was there stalking? was there a relationship within the workplace? was it work related? we don't know. >> because i mean we do know he had a girlfriend that he was reportedly going to marry. she was obviously about to get married. she was supposed to be married on the day her body was discovered. but beyond that, you know, we have conflicting reports about what kind of person he was as we always do in a case like this. >> absolutely. and osha just released some figures that over 2 million americans are subjected to some type of workplace violence every

year. so this is not an unusual phenomena. i think we're just starting to live in a more violent society. >> lisa, when the police were saying that he was just a person of interest, i mean i guess, what, they have to say that because they can't name him as a suspect yet until they get dna evidence which parentally they now have. >> that's correct. and now they have that and, of course, he's been arrested and accused of the murder. let me say flat out, i'm not buying this workplace violence theory. i'm really not. i know we have limited information at this point. a typical case of workplace violence is a disgruntled employee who is fired and comes in a gun and starts shooting everyone. this is a case of a young man, if he's good for this crime, who put his hands around the neck of a beautiful young woman and killed her, a kind of killing that would take two to five minutes, extremely intimate, brutal kind of crime. we also don't know yet whether she was the victim of sexual assault or not. the police have been mum on that point. i'm just not buying that this had to do with mouse droppings and whether she was wearing the

proper booties in the lab. that doesn't make sense to me. i think more facts are going to be told in this case. we're going to learn this was a jilted lover or he was interested in her and she rejected him. something of that nature. >> rhonda, the fact this was strangulation, i mean it is, as lisa said, an extremely personal way to kill someone. >> absolutely. it's very personal. they have to actually approach the person. it isn't like using a gun where they can shoot a projectile across the room. but i disagree that you can't quantify it as workplace violence. because many workplace violence incidents involve a domestic partner, showing up at the workplace or something gone wrong in the workplace itself. so over the umbrella of workplace violence, this is something that could fit within it. >> right. it's technically a workplace violence because it happened in the place where the two of them worked. but this isn't the type of workplace violence that we usually see. and i think the police chief wants the people in that community, where i lived for

three years myself, to feel comfortable. that this is an urban crime, yale university wants everybody to feel comfortable this they can feel safe around campus. this, to me, smacks violence against women when you look at it on its face. and by the way, the fact he was in the asian awareness club when he was in high school, not of asian dissent himself, the victim being asian-american, i think that is also relevant when you look at the case. it's very suspicious to me his level of potential interest in her. >> no doubt we're going to learn a lot more in the days ahead. lisa bloom, rhonda saunders, thanks very much. >> thank you. next, is it money for nothing? protecting the country or wasting a fortune? washington is pouring millions into a remote checkpoint. why? we're keeping them honest. later, the breaking news inside philip garrido's home. new pictures at the home of jaycee dugard's alleged kidnaper. you'll see why it's now been condemned. when consistency is added, that's when it becomes real. ♪

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washington spent billions of taxpayer dollars. politicians say the cash is not going to waste. remember all that talk accountability? well, tonight we have a surprise for them and for you. two border crossings in montana. the checkpoints don't see much traffic or many people, for that matter. but they're getting a wind fall from washington. "keeping them honest" here is special investigations unit, drew griffin. >> reporter: we knew this one we had to see to believe. but after driving for hours, we thought we might never see it. we have flown to billings, montana, we've been driving for five hours through a country that has more antelope than people. and i tell you, we've done the bridges to nowhere, roads to nowhere. this may be the topper. it was supposed to be $15 million to replace what appears to be a perfectly fine border crossing station, especially when you consider the bureau of

transportation's statistics say this border crossing station in skobe, montana, sees fewer than 20 vehicles a day. it's not that you could just call this border crossing slow. here i am in the middle of the day sitting in the middle of the road. there's nobody here. it's even quieter here, the border crossing at white tail, montana. the bureau of transportation statistics say they get fewer than two vehicles a day. yet, this, too, was to see a $15 million upgrade thanks to the federal stimulus bill. >> i think everybody was pretty well blown away that their spending $32 million in this county. i believe they need to update, but that is just a crazy number. >> reporter: keeping them honest, we wanted to find out why so much money was suddenly

heading to montana's sleepy northern border, especially when you consider these crossings are so lightly used they're actually closed at night. could it be politics? since the democrats took over in the senate, montana's two democratic senators have become very powerful. senator max baucus is chairman of the senate finance committee and john tester is on the homeland security committee. and both took credit for the millions allocated out here in a joint press release saying they pushed homeland security for the stimulus spending. this is good news for all of montana and especially communities across the northern tier, senator baucus said in that release. senator tester said the spending would pay off for generations to come by creating new jobs and opportunity that will benefit all of montana. and just this week senator tester reiterated his support in a statement saying to his

spokesperson -- >> reporter: the department of homeland security even told us that security concerns, not politics, drove this decision to spend on the ports. >> we feel the ports like all of the ports of entry are a vital part of that network of security that we have along the borders and the investments we're going to do are a critical step in insuring we can perform our mission. >> this man's family has been farming this land for generation. his land is adjacent to the border crossing. in winter, entire days go by, he says, where you won't see a single car. an idea to build a new border station that sees fewer than 20 cars a day at a cost of $15 million tax dollars, he says, could only have come from washington. >> well, when you're spending someone else's money, the cost is no big deal, right?

if i was spending your money, why do i care? as long as you have a big pocketbook, why do i care? the accountability that we need to have and the sensibility and the common sense needs to apply here. i mean the senators did a fine job as far as getting money for northeast montana, absolutely great. but would it be wiser spent on something more useful to the public generally? >> reporter: perhaps more useful than a sleepy border crossing that actually goes to sleep every night. >> so, drew, where does the project stand right now? >> anderson, just hours after that dhs official was on camera with us defending this program, homeland security secretary janet napolitano put all on ice for at least 30 days until she can review just how these decisions were made. she said, she wants "further transparency" in this process. so a big change there. a big retreat there. >> do we know why the change of

heart? >> i -- there was some press reports. certainly we were on the case. but i think the kicker, anderson, was that another democratic senator from a border state, north dakota's byron dorg dorgan, sent the homeland security secretary a note saying you're spending money like a bottomless pit. that got her attention. and i think that pressures what led to it. >> all right, drew, thanks for the report. next, doctors and dollars. one m.d. takes on health care costs saying greety physicians are to blame for the problems. everything changed. i didn't know what to do. right about then, our doctor mentioned the exelon patch. he said it releases medicine continuously for 24 hours.

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we turn to our series on medical malpractice. ? his health care reform speech president obama said he is open to changes in medical malpractice. he singled out a city in texas that spends more on health care than anywhere else in the country. they spend more per patient than even the renowned mayo clinic. >> there's a town in mcallen, texas, where costs are actually a third higher than they are at mayo. but the outcomes are worse. >> that caught our attention, especially when we learned that texas is supposed to have lower patient care costs because they passed laws reducing malpractice lawsuits.

so why is care so expensive in mcallen, texas? gary tuchman found out. he found a doctor who says he knows why. >> reporter: this heart surgeon says the price for medical care in mcallen, texas, is just way too high. and he's paying the price for speaking out. >> post op day five. >> reporter: do you think you're committing professional suicide? >> i do. i have. the results are plain. >> all right. >> reporter: dr. lester dike doesn't put most of the blame on malpractice lawyers or insurance companies for the rising medical costs here, he blames his colleagues. >> a lot of doctors here are practicing in a way that treats a patient's like atm machines and essentially extracts the maximum amount of profit from the patient. >> reporter: dr. dyke spends much more time relaxing on his ranch because he says other doctors are angry at him and stopped referring him patients. his practice, he says, is down 70% since he started speaking out a few months ago.

>> i am being black balled. the only way they can pressure me to stop doing what i'm doing is essentially cut off my referrals and try to make me quit practicing. and it may succeed. >> hello? >> reporter: other doctors in mcallen acknowledge they're not happy with dr. dyke's charge, that physicians here are excessively concerned about profits. gastroenterologist carlos cardenas. >> i think he's a great doctor. >> reporter: do you feel he's right about this? >> i don't think -- i think that, you know, i think he's wrong because the overwhelming majority of physicians in this community practice good medicine. >> reporter: he says there is no organized effort to stop referrals to dr. dyke. but there is no doubt about this fact, per patient costs are astounding. according to a dartmouth study, mcallen has the second highest health care costs in the nation. only miami costs more. but mcallen is in one of the poorest counties in the u.s. the average worker here makes about $12,000 a year. yet, incredibly the average

health care cost for a patient in this county is almost $15,000. what medicare spends for the typical patient in mcallen is almost double what it spends in average patient nationwide. so what's going on in mcallen? >> the doctors are able to profit not just from being physicians like we have traditionally, but by ordering tests on equipment that they own or x-rays on equipment that they own or sending patients to facilities that they own or have a financial interest in. >> extra tests and services to patients are often referred to as utilization. >> i think that we may have high utilization because we care for a lot of very sick people later in their disease that require more care. and if you require more care, you're going to have more utilization. >> reporter: the doctor works in an ultramodern hospital in town called doctors hospital. he is one of the doctor owners of the hospital. that is also criticized by dr. dyke. he offers this characterization. >> they value money more than their patient's well-being. >> it hits me viscerally because

i know it's not true. >> there's enough ethical doctors in town that still continue to send me patients, not many, but i think enough to make a living. not by much. and if there isn't, then i'll retire. i've been here a long time. i've done well. and, you know, i can just quit. >> reporter: gary tuchman, cnn, mcallen, texas. >> who knew? next in in our money hour, cnn monday summit. what happened in the year since lehman declared bankruptcy? we'll try to point you in the right direction moving forward. money & main street starts at 11:00 p.m., nine minutes from now. new documents reveal how much cash michael jackson's mother is getting to support herself and her kids. and susan boyle, remember her? she's singing on american soil. her u.s. debut with the rolling stones, our "shot of the day." hey, has anybody seen barney?

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and your doctor. and to make sure patients don't take a backseat to insurance companies. because at aarp, we believe your health is worth fighting for. learn more at aarp.org. erica hill joins us with a "360 news bulletin." breaking news, a first look inside a california home of kidnapping suspects philip and nancy garrido. the house has been condemned. investigators also revealing tonight cadaver dogs have picked up a scent that indicate that human remains are buried on the property. the couple has plead not guilty to kidnapping jaycee dugard. and holding her captive for 18 years. bernie madoff's beach house in new york sold for more than his $8.75 million asking price. the buyer isn't being named. the proceeds will help to repay

victims of madoff's massive ponzi scheme. and michael jackson's mother receives more than $86,000 a month from his estate to support herself and her three grandchildren. a judge approved the payout to catherine jackson last month, anderson. >> wow. all right. erica, time for tonight's shot. susan boyle in america. she is singing for the stones. listen. ♪ going to drag me away >> yep. wild horses. giving it her own boyle touch. she was performing at "america's got talent." "wild horses" is on her album due out just before thanksgiving. >> mark your calendar. >> get in line, erica. >> preorder, preorder. >> you can see all the most recent shots on the website, ac 360.com. coming up, cnn money summit.

is the recession really over? a panel of experts weighs in. we'll be right back. ññññññ