agenda. >> no trucker hat, no flannel. in fact, the real foul play with this ad seems to be stereotyping west virginians. >> somehow they were hicks and head nicks. >> even democratic admakers admit both parties use actors. >> if you have to go to paid actors as a second or third resort, because of tight time lines, you may have to go there. >> reporter: take this democratic senate ad running against missouri republican roy blunt. >> roy is the life of the party in d.c. his wife, great. >> reporter: that woman is an actress. >> of course for all the latest political news you know where to go, our website, cnnpolitics.com. hi, randi, how are you? things well? >> things are great. >> good to see you. this is not usually how i hand off to fredricka but hi. >> you haven't seen me in a while. >> it's good to have you here. please, have a wonderful show. i'll be watching. >> thanks. you have a wonderful rest of the

day. good to see you. across chile bells are ringing and people are cheering. it was an explosion of happiness this morning when a rescue drill broke through to that mine where 33 miners are trapped. >> reporter: there are scenes of celebration and joy at the mine site where 33 trapped miners have been stuck underground for almost two months. a drillbit broke through early saturday morning to the men to open up the way for them to be rescued. for the drill team that pulled off this feat, it was a tough assignment, tougher than anything they encountered. but they described what it meant to them. >> machiners and drillers from

many different companies came together. while the job is done, the hole is down there. i think that nowes time for the rescuers to come in and do their job. >> reporter: although an important step has been taken in rescues these men, they are by no means out of danger. officials still need to formalize a plan that will pull them to the surface. in many ways, the most precarious part of the rescue operation. once officials feel certain the drill hole is solid enough to lower a rescue capsule down, two rescue workers, one a paramedic, the other an experienced mine rescue worker will be sent down and begin the mine rescue operation. the men will be pulled up one at a time. first the men most fit, most capable, technical savvy, so if there are any problems they will be able to work through it. then the next men to be sent up will be the men sick, unwell, suffering from claustrophobia, so much time underground.

then men mentally stable enough, strong enough that when they see their colleagues leaving them after so long underground they will be okay with that, they won't break down under these trying hours. and then finally the shift foreman has asked to be the last to leave the mine. officials say they are still weighing his request. cnn, copiapo, chile. cnn's chad myers with us now. you've been on top of this rescue effort since the very beginning. lots of people celebrating aboveground of what's the scene under ground. >> the scene under ground is a mess. when they break through you lose a lot of stone, mess, drilling, dust, mud come down from the top, especially if they went through layers of water. there could have been something coming down. all kinds of thing. when that drill was close, the miners could hear it. they knew it was close. what amazes me still, even thinking about this, i know they

have been at this a long time, these guys were professionals. they were 2,000 feet up. they drilled down and they hit a box under box. >> it's incredible. >> it's incredible they drilled a half a mile. i understand they did this and drilled the relief well in the gulf of mexico, and they hit another well, which is incredible. they were going as fast as they possibly can where the relief well was taking a foot at a time, checking, checking, check, check, check, these guys, boom, found it. wow, you guys are awesome. now, they can't take them out today. they would love to. but the mine shaft that they just drilled. the drill shaft they just made is irregular. it's not straight up. that would be great if it's an elevator and this tube they are going to put them in, a 21 inch tube could go straight up and hit the top. not going to happen. it's going to go like this, bounce up and down, off the sides as it goes up.

you can't bounce off the sides, lose rock in the process and jam a cage between the cage, rock and hole. otherwise he'll be stuck, can't go up, can't go down. i saw pictures of casing. there's a semi picture on one of our pictures i just saw coming up. that right there. see those meteorologist pipes. they look like random things, all part of what will be down. they will push pieces down into the mine and line the hole to make the hole smooth so when this thing comes up, it will come up on a smooth surface rather than bounce off the side of this mine, shaft, drillbit. you think of a drill and you're drilling through a two-by-four with a wood bit, straight through and a nice bit. you can't drill through rock and make it smooth. bowdens off the side. you go through granite, sandstone, whatever random stone, shale, even sand at times. all this stuff is literally falling in on them now. we're going to get this out of the way, get some guys down

there. it's taken a long time. two more days, three more days, they don't care. >> one at a time. >> six inches per second. still fast when you think about it. not elevator speed. all the way up will take about an hour. >> check in with you later. >> sure. >> stuck under ground for two months can take a serious toll on your health. in just a few minutes we'll talk to a doctor about what medical complications those miners we were speaking of might face. a tragic attempt to a rescue in afghanistan, a worker from kunar was killed by captors during a rescue mission last night. britain foreign secretary identifies her as linda n norgrove. they launched the after a tip.

the two taliban capitaletors we killed in the raid. could usher in big radical changes and radically alter president obama's agenda. we have interesting new numbers. in a cnn poll, 47% say barack obama has been a better president. 45 say president bush. last year he led 57 to 34. republicans lead with 52% to 45% for democrats. republicans have a big lead among independent voters, 62% support the gop, 31% back the democrats. pennsylvania is a pivotal state in american politics. it will get a lot of attention come election day. our deputy political director paul stein houser is back with us from harrisburg. paul, a lot of people will be watching this pennsylvania senate race. >> a lot.

randi, if the republicans win 10 seats to do that, one place will be pennsylvania, that's why we brought cnn express to harrisburg capital. held by arlen specter republican turned democrat he lost in the primary to sestak, the former navy admiral. he's trying to hold onto the seat, keep his party. polls suggest a former congressman has a single point advantage over sestak. he's a fiscal conservative, wants to balance the budget and lower taxes. that is ringing true in pennsylvania. this is also a state, randy, where republicans thinks if they went back to the house one of the places they could do it is here. republicans hope they could win four to six house seats held by democrats. that's why we're in pennsylvania today. tomorrow the president is coming to pennsylvania. >> give me an idea, what about

the political breakdown in pennsylvania? why is it such a microcosm of the country? >> it really is in so many places. let's start east in philadelphia. that's an area dominated by democrats. that's why tomorrow the president, vice president will be in northwest philadelphia at a school there having a rally. the whole idea is to motivate democrats, the base voters to get out and vote. the philadelphia suburbs an area they can swing back and forth. last two election cycles they have swung for democrats. this year maybe not. we're here in the center of the state. this is much more dominated by republicans. this is more of a rural and suburban area rather than urban area. out west you've got pittsburgh. that is considered still to a degree a union town where democrats dominate. you've got a loot of everything in the state from urban areas to about as country as you can get. >> thanks so much. i know you'll check in with voters later on to find out what their most important issues are. at 2:00 eastern we'll talk to you again when you have that for us.

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chile. as we mentioned earlier, a drill pierced the mine roofer. crews need to widen the hole and encase the tunnel before bringing the 33 miners out. once under ground the men will undergo a series of medical checks. joining me, what medical problems they might face. good to see you. what kind of impact has this type of confinement had on these men? they are living in basically the size of a dorm room. >> it's remarkable. the first thing to do is think about the scenario we're talking about here. we're talking about a mine in one of the driest deserts in the world, 2300 feet below ground and in a space, like you said, that's like the size of a dorm room. so there's a lot of confinement there. with that you can't move very well. you can't see very well.

then there's on top of that infection, dehydration and things that will have a big impact. >> from what i understand in the first 17 days or so, before anyone knew they were alive, they had one or two ounces of milk, a teaspoon of tuna. that was it for the full day. now they have been getting supplies. talk about the dehydration some more. how dangerous has that been for them? >> the demand on the body for these miners is great. it's already about 85 degrees in that space. the body already needs more fluid. in fact, they should be getting about four liters of water a day. in the first 17 days they only got one to two ounces of fluid each. what can happen when the body gets dehydrated, for starters, you're weak. when things get worse it can put a demand on the kidneys and lead to severe kidney injury. that's a concern with dehydration. now that they are getting more fluids they should drink about four liters a day if you com

panned depression, dehydration, exhaustion, it's hard to drink that much water. it's hard for us to drink that much later and we're not confined. >> sanitary conditions must be awful. >> absolutely. there's no running water there. they are actually all using one little small corridor as the latrine. if you think about what could happen with infection, that's a huge possible medical complication. if there is an infection in effectual contamination, diarrhea, a illness, it could be a catastrophe. it would quickly spread among the 33 miners. most of those illness leading to diarrhea could lead to more dehydration. >> just the video they made of their self they sent up to the relatives and those trying to help them, it's so dark down there and so depressing and so hot. so when they come up to the surface, which hopefully will be within the next few days or

starting on tuesday, maybe, aren't they going to need some type of protection for their eyes and even the fresh air? >> i think the biggest deal, i think what you're referring to is the rescue is not the only part of this. once they come out, there's going to be a lot of rehabilitation that needs to take place. i think the biggest thing with the dark is the alteration in the ci rca dian rhythm. recently they sent light. so they have periods of dark and light. >> trying to get them back on track. >> it can be difficult, depending if they have underlying medical conditions, it can make it much more difficult. >> i know they are getting special wrap around sunglasses the skiers wear to help them acclimate when they get aboveground. thank you, very interesting. testing free speech. grieving families versus

protesters at military funerals. one of the more prominent cases before the supreme court and now our legal guys. you. "10 airbags... daytime running lamps... "onstar automatic crash response. "in case ya didn't see it, that's probably why "msn autos called the cruze "the class of its class right now. that seems pretty clear, doesn't it?" the all-new chevrolet cruze. starting under $17,000. get used to more. ♪ i just wish that all of the important information was gathered together in one place. [ printer whirs ] done. ♪ thanks. do you work here? not yet. from tax info to debunking myths, the field guide to evolving your workforce has everything you need. download it now at thinkbeyondthelabel.com.

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top stories now rescue crews in chile have pierced through the roof of that underground mine where 33 men are trapped. now they need to widen the hole so a rescue capsule can fit cleanly inside the tunnel. the rescues can begin in three to four days we're told. it could take longer if they encase the tube with steel tubing. lui won a prize for fighting to bring political and human rights reforms to china.

he was sentenced to 11 years in prison last year for inciting subversion. she said police officers were taking her to liu to beijing so she could tell him he won the nobel. bank of america announced its stopping sales in all 50 states as part of a wide think investigation into flaws in the process. the announcement comes amid increasing concerns as the largest banks and other lenders have seized homes without proper documentation. foreclosure freeze is expected to last several weeks. are those protests at military funerals free speech or possibly an invasion of privacy. the supreme court is looking into it along, of course, with our legal guys civil rights and law professors avery in cleveland and criminal defense attorney and law professor richard herriman in las vegas. good to see both of you guys. >> hi, randi, good to see you,

too. >> let's start with the first case, this is a case out of kansas where you have protests taking place at military funerals. is this freedom of speech? >> well, randy, it's going to be held ultimately to be freedom of speech to the dismay of the family of the soldiers who bury their heroes. this baptist church -- we talked about the baptist minister in georgia with his four boyfriends. now we have a baptist church who comes to these funerals, takes advantage of a photo opportunity. brings signs that say god hates the usa. thank god for 9/11. thank god for dead soldiers. what is up with the baptist movement? where is love and honor, respect? what is going on here? >> they think killing is immoral, apparently. right, avery? >> wait a minute. this has nothing to do with

baptist in terms of faith. this is fred phelps. i've dealt with that guy for decades. it comes out of kansas. you're exactly right, randi. this is a case testing the limits of free speech. on your low end you want to deck a guy for things, in terms of making this family already suffering because of the loss of their son in iraq. the question that the supreme court was wrestling with, and it was fascinating to watch, will the court look at it simply as a private, unique funeral, which three of the justices looked at. but i think they are saying this guy no matter how repugnant his speech was was standing on a sidewalk 1,000 feet away. i think a lot of people are going to be angry about it but i think the supreme court will throw it out against this baptist minister. the second case i want to talk to you about, the case of the connecticut home invasion.

steven hayes was convicted, the first to go on trial. i'm sure you're familiar the gruesome home invasion in connecticut. facing the death penalty now. his defense attorney actually had another client who he was able to get off from the death penalty, also a very brutal murder. got sympathy from the murder because he had been on drugs, had a terrible upbringing. is this going to play here as well, richard? >> well, randi, this case is probably the most gruesome one i've read and seen. i'm sure avery as well. there has been one person put to death in connecticut in the last 50 years, randi. i tell you, if there was ever a case ripe for it, this one is it. the mitigation phase against october 18th where the defense attorney will try to show this jury, the same skrjury that cam back less than four hours after

getting the case on a 17-count indictment, they will make a determination whether there are any redeeming factors to save this person's life. i say it's not doing to happen. this man is going to get put to death, randi. >> what does -- go ahead, avery. >> i was going to say, actually, i'm in agreement with that. what's very interesting is that the connecticut legislature almost abolished the death penalty this year. if it weren't forth governor's veto, in fact, the legislature even heard from dr. petit, the victim who lost his family. what we're going to see starting on the 18th will be the same scenario, opening statements, evidence, closing arguments. but richard is right. it's going to be the same jury making the decision. this guy is facing the death penalty, no question about it. >> errarandi, the defense will e he has remorse, he tempted suicide. he's tortured living with it.

he was coerced by the other defendant in the case. he was slightly intoxicated. these are not defense but mitigators. that's what's going to control the mitigation of the phase. it's not going to be enough. this attorney succeeded before. the jury is not going to buy it. >> no way. >> a few seconds left here. the federal judge saying prosecutors cannot use crucial witness testimony from a crucial witness in the first trial of this guantanamo detainee. this has an impact on the military tribunal versus civil cases. he testified he sold the guy the tnt he used -- aldly used to blow up the two embassies, u.s. embassies. how critical is that that they won't be able to use this testimony. >> it's critical, randi. >> go ahead, avery. >> i think it's significant only because it is important evidence. there's enough evidence to

convict him in the case. it does highlight what you just said. the question of military tribunals versus civil courts. you've got 218 quicks in federal court, four in military tribunals. i think that tells you the story. >> richard, the last word. >> randi, the information about this man was derived from overseas, secret jails operated by the cia where individuals were allegedly being tortured. this judge in the southern district of new york was not going to tolerate that. he precluded the government from using that witness. this was a leadoff witness, an important witness. they are claiming they can get the conviction. that might be bravado. this hurts. >> they are saying he gave up the name through torture. thank you. we'll talk to you in just a bit. we have plenty more cases to get through today. >> we have dora coming up, don't we? >> yeah, we do. don't forget that one, dora. our favorite of the day. messages from the trapped miners. one miner's wife shares what's

been going through her husband's mind.

in chile, sirens blared and the rejoicing began. this morning a rescue drill pierced the roof of the mine where # 3 men are trapped. their rescue could be just days away. the miners have been trapped a half mile underground now for 65 days. at first it was thought they would not be rescued until christmas. days after the world learned the 33 trapped miners were alive, their families started getting messages from them. one note at a time september through a very small tube lowered down to them. cnn's karl penhaul has one miner's message. >> reporter: from the bowels of

the earth, this message from the miner to his wife to say, against all the odds, he was still alive. dear lila, i'm okay, thanks to god. i hope to get out soon. be patient, have faith. god is great. we will make it out. he writes, give a lot of kisses to my daughters and my grandchildren. i love them. stay calm. and to you with all my love, i love you so much and we will be happy forever with our family. we will see one another again soon. good-bye my darling. a kiss, mario. at 63 mario gomez is the most experienced of the 33 miners trapped in northern chile. his note was almost shredded as it came to the surface taped to the probe rescuers were using to

try and locate the men. authorities had feared the miners were surely dead. but gomez's wife lila built a shrine near the collapsed mine and never gave up hope. each man listed by name. >> translator: gave strength to other relatives. don't cry, but don't imagine the worst because our men are still alive she says. goppez has been working in chile's copper pits since he was 12. his father was a miner before limb. once he's finally rescued, his family is determined he'll never go underground again. i don't want to hear anything more about mining after this, because he would have to choose between the mine and his wife,

she says. these are the first images of the survivors when a camera was lowered into the mine sunday. when a micro phone was sent down the next day the miners sang the chilean anthem. up on this barren hillside, relatives have plant add flag for each of the miners trapped under ground. 32 chilean flag, one bolivian flag. as long as it takes, the chilean government is vowing to bring each one of them home alive. as day fades, families stoke the fires in the camp where they have been living since the cave-in. and wave good-bye to some of the workers that have helped in the rescue effort. it may still take time but they now seem sure they will get their happy ending. karl penhaul, cnn.

>> what an incredible story that is. want to go now to reynolds wolf. isn't that something, to see the celebrations there? >> amazing story we needed. no question about it. very happy story. not over yet. let's certainly keep our good thoughts for all our good friends in that part of the world. going from dry deserts in south america to the rainy midwest. we've got not one but two storm systems that will take a bead on the northwest, namely washington and oregon. pounding surf on the coastline, strong wind gusts, too. in terms of when all is said and done you could have nearly eight inches of rainfall in certain spots. it will be interesting to see if that scenario plays out in the pacific northwest. when you pull back to the east, what we'll be dealing with is scattered showers in the northern plains in the central and northern rockies. also some snow may pop up. snow accumulation will be around

three inches near spring boat springs. not a heavy snowfall but the first of the season. back to the great lakes, it is going to be spectacular. in the southeast dry for you. also going to start getting warm. humidity in places like dallas, houston, not quite so much in atlanta. that will be feeling that way sunday. 85 the high, 88 st. louis, 86 kansas city. wrap it up in los angeles with the high of 82 degrees. all right. that is the latest in the forecast. randi, let's pitch it back to you. >> all right. thank you, reynolds. she was the voice of dora the explorer until nickelodeon decided, well, she doesn't sound right. now she's suing. atmosphere talker for our legal guys. introducing new quaker mix up creations. does your breakfast make you amazing?

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investigators are taking a new look at the 1996 jonbenet ramsey murder. let's bring our legal guys back into the discussion. avery friedman in cleveland, and law professor richard herman in las vegas. richard, let's start with you on this one. interviews under way involving the killing of this little girl. she would have been 20 years old today. what do you think they are looking for? do you think they are trying to

jog some memories here? >> i think it came as a result of certain revelations by her brother who was apparently in the house at the time. he was nine years old. i know when i was nine years old i hit a ball so far it could have gone out of yankees stadium, but it couldn't. i don't know what the revelations are. the police force blew the investigation. they are going to try to use the latest knowledge in dna to try to resurrect evidence here. i think it's blown. i think the case is a dead case an it's not going anywhere. >> desperate attempt here, avery? >> yeah, but good for law enforcement. by the way, that was you at yankee stadium. i thought that was you. i think it's a desperate attempt, i agree. but you know what, keep pushing. sooner or later in cold cases there's going to be a crack, something will happen. keep pushing it. doing the right thing. >> also, avery, on this one, long time federal judge in

georgia charged with buying cocaine for a stripper who he allegedly had an affair. he said, you know what, this is nothing to do with him being a judge. it's more about him being a husband. avery, your thoughts. >> kills me. i hope federal judges -- i hold federal judges in the absolute highest esteem. i don't care who made the appointment. they are generally the best of the best. i think that's a proper perspective. coke, two guns, felons, strippers. this is bizarre. he's what, 67 years old. mandatory federal gun would be five years, big trouble. i'm trying to pretend it's not a federal judge. best i can do for you. >> richard, what about you? can you pretend also? >> no, i can't pretend. when judges act like lunatics the entire legal system takes it in the stomach. it's horrible. this guy has unregistered handguns in his car.

he's going to get convicted of that. he's got major problems. cocaine possession, buying with an undercover. it's really bad for this guy. this, by the way, is a judge who was law and order, any kind of drug convictions give maximum convictions to drug dealers. it's unbelievable the hypocrisy is unbelievable here. >> watch a flurry of motions for defendants that have been convicted by him, too. >> that's right. let's talk about this -- we'll continue the lunacy here and talk about the judge in mississippi who jailed a lawyer, held him in contempt for refusing to recite the pledge of allegiance. avery, you're pretty hot on this. what are your thoughts on this? >> what heck. the supreme court addressed that issue in 1943. remember the name talmadge little john. this guy is going to go into american constitutional infamy.

nothing worse. this guy is terrible. should be removed from the bench. bring a federal case, bring an injunction, report him to the bar association, get rid of this guy. >> the lawyer who was jailed said he's an american and he doesn't have to say it. >> not only is that, randi, this guy is a pro constitutional attorney who fights free speech cases. he's got all the briefs in his office, on his computer. he's going to level a massive lawsuit against this judge who has he had run-ins before in the past. abhorrent behavior by this judge. it's again, randi, a blow right to the gut for anybody involved in the legal system when judges act like lunatics. >> let's talk about i know this is your favorite story of the day here. the case of dora the explorer. she's suing nickelodeon. she says sheaves cheated out of millions of dollars. she had 22 minutes or so to sign a contract. didn't have good legal representation. what do you make of this case,

avery. >> she had no legal representation. one of the things people in television and entertainment do, instead of looking to get legal advice, they rely on agents. i'm going to get in trouble for saying this. the truth is she did have representation, it was a talent agent, wasn't a lawyer, 22 minutes not unreasonable. i actually don't think her case is going anywhere, randi, her case is out. >> richard, what do you think? she was paid $40 a day to travel around the country. now she's 14 years old and suing. meanwhile all the toys and dvds, it's racked up billions of dollars. >> she was a miner at the time she signed the contract. maybe it was not ratified by a court, maybe it didn't have to be ratified by the court. i don't know who her guardians were at the time she oversaw this. 22 minutes. she had more than that she didn't have to sign the contract. she could have walked away, said i need two days, get a lawyer, have it reviewed by other people. no, she wanted to be in show business. meeting of the minds. the document is all-inclusive.

the writing in that document will control. i'm sure those provisions are in there. she's going nowhere, randi. >> you guys are tough. >> dora is going down. >> dora is going down. wow, that's sad. you guys are tough today. >> errand issues, i know you watch dora, come on. >> that's right. i do. i admit it. >> avery, richard, always a pleasure. that was fun. listen to this, the national rifle association is backing some democrats. that's right, democrats. brian todd is on that story when we come back.

it's now just 24 days before the midterm elections. we're keeping an eye on headlines at cnnpolitics.com. here is what's crossing the ticker now. jerry brown gets an important endorsement. the state's national organization for women announced they will back the attorney general against ebay ceo meg whitman right after a rude comment about rival meg whitman by a staffer was revealed. former president clinton is heading on the campaign trail to

support joe manchin. he's in a tight race for the seat left open by senator robert byrd. the national rifle association is backing candidates from both sides. they are supporting 200 republicans for congress and 64 democrats. but some of those dems are in vulnerable districts the gop thought they could capture. more on that from cnn's brian todd. >> from my cold dead hands. >> the iconic image of nra, hollywood maverick, the tight relationship with conservatives. but huh? harry reid? the democratic senate majority leader shown here in a campaign video has been endorsed by the nra in the past. not this year, he backed supreme court nominations of justice sotomayer and kagan, who the nra

believes don't support gun rights. but the group is backing 64 democrats running for house seats this election cycle, most of them incumbents, including several running for seats viewed as crucial for winning the majority in the midterms. >> they are an interest group like any other interest group. they want to advance this interests. >> former gop congressman davis was once chairman of the national republican congressional committee the party's arm that pushes house campaigns. >> why is it in the inform ra's interest to stand with them. >> they have pushed nra votes. have you to award people voting with you or they won't vote in the future. >> reporter: it was a group of democrats that god obama to back away from reinstituting a ban on assault rifles. they insist they are not a partisan organization. one official said if you're a candidate and sincere for fighting for the second amendment, the right to bear

arms, you'll get the support. he also said flat-out, if you don't, we'll go after you. if two opponents has the same rating, the nra favors the incumbent. >> does it insulate you. >> republicans are going to try to label democrats nancy pelosi democrats. if you're an nra backed candidate you can say i represent you. >> reporter: it brings considerable backing when it endorses. they will spend $15 to $20 million this election cycle. tom davis says it's not the money the nra brings that's so crucial. it's the fact they have people in every district in the country who can pound the beat in favor of or against any candidate. brian todd, cnn, fairfax,, virginia. it is a story so horrific you may actually remember it from 20 years ago. a father seemingly condemns his infant son to death by injecting him with the aids virus. today that baby is alive and

well. >> we can have a testimony and a bright future or we can continue to let the past control us. >> he says he is living proof of the power of faith. his story right after the break. i used to see the puddles, but now i see the splash. ♪ i wanted love, i needed love ♪ ♪ most of all, most of all... ♪ my professor at berkeley asked me if i wanted to change the world. i said "sure." "well, let's grow some algae." and that's what started it. exxonmobil and synthetic genomics have built a new facility to identify the most productive strains of algae. algae are amazing little critters. they secrete oil, which we could turn into biofuels.

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at just five-month-old brian jackson made national headlines after his father did the unthinkable, intentionally injecting his son with hiv. two decades later brian believes faith and forgiveness are the main reasons he's still alive. reporter melanie moon from affiliate has the story. >> reporter: it was a story that shocked the nation, in 1992 when

brian jackson was 11-month-old, his lab technician father injected him with hiv tainted blood to avoid paying child support. his father was sentenced to life in prison and brian was left to fight a disease that at the time was considered fatal. >> when i was five i was diagnosed with aids. >> as a child his daily routine involved 22 oral medications and two injections. one of those medications affected his hearing and his speech. >> i think it's about 70%, 60%. >> reporter: time and again he defied the odds, today is a college freshman, has a girlfriend and loving family and gone from aids victim to activist. >> we can have a testimony and a bright future, or we can continue to let the past control us, let the past control the family, control the environment. you can stay there forever, be a prisoner to that. you can let it go, give it to

god and rise above it. you're part of something greater. >> reporter: in 2009 he reclaimed the acronym hiv for his own nonprofit organization, hope is vital, which spreads awareness and education about hiv and aids. he speaks at schools and other public events like lorenzo foundation's night of giving last week in university city. >> people tend to put hiv and aids inside a box. people tend to say, hey, let's not talk about that. >> reporter: since he was a teenager he has lobbied on capitol hill for aids funding and received numerous awards for his activism, including nickelodeon's halo award presented last september by nick cannon. >> who is deserving of a halo award? you are. >> it's his heart that gets the most attention. through his faith, he's for given his father. >> i pray for him. i hope the best for him. i hope i can transform his heart

somehow. i pray that he knows that i forgive him. >> reporter: he said right after he started to forgive his father, his health began improving. the aids virus is undetectible in his blood going from dozens of pills a day to four. >> hopefully god will give me the opportunity to have kids of my own, ensure them i can be the father i never had to them. a final look now at our top story. rescue crews in chile pierced through the roof of that underground mine where 33 men are trapped. now they need to widen the hole so a rescue capsule can fit cleanly inside the tunnel. the rescues could begin three or four days. it could take longer if mine engineers decide they need to encase the shaft with steel