also, traffic is flowing on this interstate in oklahoma but a different story tuesday. $20 bills were flying all over the place and you bet everybody stopped, parked and tried to grab some 20s. the zippered bag, bank bag, just had one $20 left. some folks who picked up the money say they will give it back. and randi kaye was in los angeles. i say, yeah right. >> yeah. i'm with you right there, tflt j. thank you very much. nice to see you. nice to see you, everyone. we begin this hour with allegations of modern-day slavery, forced captivity, cruel and inhuman conditions not involving humans at all. take a look. this is tilikum, one of five killer whales named as plaintiffs in a novel federal lawsuit filed against seaworld. you may not be surprised to hear who's behind it, peta, people

for the ethical treatment of animals. it blows the whistle on unethical treatment of animals anytime it can. they are denied freedom, peta, claims and everything else that is natural and important to them while kept in small, concrete tanks and reduced to performing stupid tricks. the 13th amendment prohibits slavery and these orcas are, by definition, slaves. seaworld, of course, couldn't disagree more. i want to reed you its statement to cnn. this effort to extend the 13th amendment's solemn protections beyond human beings is baseless and offensive. seaworld is among the world's most respected zoo logical institutions. there is no higher priority than the well fare of the animals entrusted to our care and no facility sets higher standards in husbandry, enrichment than

seaworld. these animals serves an invaluabled educational purpose and makes direct contributions to species conversations. in the name till i yikum sounds familiar, it is the whale that killed its traim traner in 2010. tilly was captured 30 years ago off iceland and apparently has fathered many of the orcas born at seaworld. we'll delve more into this with a former seaworld trainer and jeffrey toobin. that's at 8 past the hour here on "cnn newsroom". other news we're following right now. president obama is highlighting two measures today that could help you mansion your student loan debt. one proposal pushes p up the start date for special terms on a loan repayment program which would be based on income. another would encourage graded waits with two or more kinds of loans to consolidate them and get a break on interest rates. then there's this. for aspiring college students and their parents, described as

a financial and shopping sheet. it's a new web site from the consumer financial protection bureau that will tell you how much debt college will really put you in. it it breaks down the amount of aid you'll qualify for at a particular college as well as how much debt you'll end up with at graduation. it tensions coming to a boil again in the occupy wall street protests. police naiking dozens of arrests on both ends of the country. police fire tear gas into a crowd in oakland, california. police say they were retaliating after the crowd refused to disperse and threw paint and other objects at them. in atlanta, police arrested protestors gathered at a park last night. the city's mayor said he sent ministers there first to try to find a way to resolve this amicably. last night on cnn, filmmaker michael moore talked about what he talked about the wealthy's need for greed. >> the wealthy have not been paying their fair share. again, when withi was younger i

remember there were rich people then and they seemed to live a good life when they were paying 50% to 60% taxes. they still had their toys and nobody really minded because they also built factories and created jobs and let all of us who grew up in that kind of existence have a roof over our head. that's not the way it is anymore. they weren't satisfied with what they already had. they wanted more and more and more. >> moore told piers morgan he is not part of the 1% of rich people the occupy protestors are focusing their anger on. he says he does well but doesn't associate with others who do well. after meeting almost exclusively behind closed doors, the congressional super-committee is going public today with an open hearing on capitol hill. the 12-member bipartisan panel is tackling an enormous job, ironing out a $1.5 trillion deficit reduction deal in a matter of a few weeks. since they've been meeting privately it's been hard to gauge how much progress they've made or haven't made.

the panel's co-chair says there is plenty of time. he also said he's encouraged and that his fellow committee members are committed to the november 22nd goal. four nebraska children are in state custody after police say two of them were found insigned an animal cage. their mother, 22-year-old ashley clark and three other adults face child abuse and false imprisonment charges. anonymous tip led police it to a welfare check on their home. police say they found trash, dirty clothes, animal waste throughout the home. two young kids 5 and 3 years old were in metal kennels secured with a wire tie. two other kids in the home weren't in the kennel but were considered to be living in unsafe conditions. the plaintiffs, five orcas. the defendant, seaworld. the main question, do animals have rights? the answer may not be as simple as you think. but first time now to give a shout-out to somebody who's just a bit awesome. today that someone is this guy, titan the pit bull.

back? july, he alerted his owner that something was urgently wrong just as the owner was about to leave for work. turns out, titan was right, the man's wife had suffered an aneurism upstairs. chances are she he would have died without the dog's hp help. the dog won a neighbor of the year award. first canine to win such an award. titan, you are today's rock star. ♪ have a little help from our friends ♪ ♪ all i need is a little help from our friends ♪

killer whales are a lot of things, but human beings they are not. still, people for the ethical treatment of animals, peta, claim they enjoy the same constitutional protection against slavery that you or i do. as we reported at the top of the hour, peta is suing seaworld on behalf of five orcas it wants removed from tanks and forced performances. i'm joined via skype by jeffrey toobin. jeff, this is quite a story. let's start with the 13th amendment. let me read it it to you. quote, neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the united states. now, it doesn't specify people, does it, jeffrey? >> it doesn't specify people, but if there is one court or one judge in the united states who thinks it applies to anything

other than people, i would be very surprised. i mean, it is implicit that it only applies to people. >> i want to bring in fad lassnick, you're a former head trainer at seaworld. you work with marine parks around the world. what do you think about this? are seaworld's killer whales enslaved? >> well, i have spent my life doing what i do and taking care of animals, and i can tell you firsthand that seaworld does a terrific job with everything they do with the animals at seaworld. i just think this thing is crazy. it really does beg the question of why does peta does do something like this? and it shows how ridiculous they are. i mean, what's next? are we going to say that animals have -- if they have the same rights as people, are we going to, if a killer whale in the wild kills a seal, are we going to bring them p up on murder

charges next? i mean, this is just craziness. if they would spend their time doing something that really counts about taking care of animals like seaworld does, like i have done in my entire career, it would make so much much more sense. but i think yit really does sho how peta really doesn't have a clue. this is just ridiculous. >> peta's general counsel, though -- >> randi? >> yes, jeffrey. >> i was just going to say, you know, it's not like all people have carte blanche to mistreat animals as much as they want. i mean, there are laws against animal cruelty. >> exactly. >> they are enforced. i don't know how seaworld treats its animals, but if, in fact, they mistreat their animals, there are california state laws that can be enforced against them. that's why this lawsuit seems especially silly. i mean, it doesn't -- it's not hard to draw out the crazy implications here. i mean, can a cow sue mcdonald's

to get an injunction not to turn the cow into a hamburger? i mean, it's just silly. but the issue of animal cruelty is not silly. and, fortunately, there are laws on the books to it stop it. >> right. >> well -- >> thad, let me get back to you because jeff kerr, pe it ta's general counsel, in the lawsuit they say the orcas are slaved, kidnapped from their homes, are forced to live in small environments, in tanks that aren't much bigger than they are. is there any benefit, do you think, for these orcas at seaworld or any park that might be similar? >> oh, absolutely. i mean, look at what seaworld has done. they were responsible for returning many animals to the wild that they bring in and take care of at their expense. everything they he have done with the killer whales has been documented. there's been tons of research done with killer whale at seaworld that would have never been done. we now know exactly what the gestation period is for the killer whales. we know their milk samples. we can do so much now.

seaworld has done artificial insemination with killer whales. now you can say that because of seaworld, no matter what happens in the wild, we'd be able to keep the killer whale populations going. i mean, it is just craziness what they're talking about. >> so, jeffrey, where do you think this is going to go? if you look at the orcas, they are considered property. they're under human control there at the park. i miean, will this case be hear? >> well, every case is heard before it's thrown out. this case i would bet my last dollar is going to be thrown out. you know, peta does aa lot of different things. many of the things they do are publicity stunts. many of the things they do are sincere and important. i think this is very much in the publicity stunt category, but, you know, i think there are a lot of people who are not as extreme as peta who care deeply about how animals are treated, and we have laws, sometimes

enforced, sometimes not enforced, on the books to try to it stop animal cruelty. >> absolutely. i mean, i have spent my entire life, and i continue to spend my life, making sure that animals are taken care of. and i can say without a doubt that seaworld is continuing to do that, even though i have not worked there since 2008. but i was the corporate vice president for them and for the animal training department for years. i had a 36-year career with seaworld and seaworld has never done anything to hurt the animals. i mean, think about it. why would they want to hurt the animals that is the draw for people to come to their park? i mean, they take the absolute best care of those animals you could possibly do. you know, the whole thing -- this whole lawsuit i think is a huge publicity stunt. and it's just a shame that pet ts a does not spend their time doing something that would be worthwhile. >> thad, i know that you care

deeply about the animals, and we certainly appreciate your time an your contribution today. jeffrey toobin, you as well. nice to see you both. thank you. 7 billion. that's how many people will occupy the earth as of sometime sunday into monday. but can the world handle a population of that size? first a look at the top videos trending on cnn.com. >> tonight we're adding mania over mcdonald's mcrib.

come halloween, there will be so many of us on earth that it's actually kind of scary, and it's a story we think has been undercover ed the u.n. just relea released a record about the world population. errol barnett joins us to break the numbers down. i guess we're about to hit a milestone. >> you're right. we'll be celebrating halloween and the kids trick-or-treating, the world's global population will hit 7 billion. if you look at previous growth, this is just exponential. 12 years ago, the global population was 6 billion, back in 1987 it was 5 billion. in fact, the number of people living in our world has tripled since 1940. but the question is why. the simple answer is that more babies are being born and people are living longer but let's dig deeper and give you an international perspective on this. where is all the growth taking place? if i touch this here for you, i can show you countries where the

birth rate is about five children per woman. and you see that it's in the developing world, mostly on the african continent. you're seeing mali, nyjer, chad let's look where the birth rates are lowest, different regions, the developed world, russia, throughout europe, brazil, canada, here in the united states the birth rate is just above two children per woman. so you can see that, while the developing world has high fertility rates it's the developed world that's not contributing as of to the population. in fact, in bosnia and europe is where the fertility rate is the lowest in the world. so why is the developing world having this baby boom? according to the earth policy institute, about 215 million women in the developing countries, they don't have access to family planning. and 40% of pregnancies throughout the world are unplanned. here in the u.s., that number is higher actually at about 48%.

so one of the key questions is, how much would it cost to get birth rates under control? well, providing family planning resources to all women who don't have access right now would cost about $6.7 billion a year. that's by one estimate. so how much money is that really? we were talking about halloween. consider this. americans will spend $6.9 billion on halloween this year. and there's a different trend, though, we're seeing in japan. there the aging population is increasing. over the past two decades, japan almost doubled its population of those over the age of 65. so you've got the developing world having its own baby boom and the u.s. and other developed countries, people are living longer. and this means, randi, that by 2050 the global population could hit 9.3 billion. >> wow. that is something. how are we going to handle all this? certainly it's getting pretty crowded. so what are the experts saying? >> i spoke earlier with joel

cohen, a professor at rockefeller university and wrote a book, how many people can the earth support. he told me that number is dictated by how we all manage resources. he says the way we're doing it now isn't good. he says number one family planning can help bring the population to a more tolerable level. he says not just population you have to look out for but the number of house hoilds which is also increasing, an indication of how much energy is being used, how many resources are being absorbed all over the world, including the united states. and his advice is that, as we look at this future surge of humans on the planet, more than 9 billion in 2050, access to fresh water will also be a major issue. so we're all going to have to do much more sharing in the decades ahead. >> it certainly sounds that way. it thank you very much, errol. appreciate it. for those of you at home, you can check this out. you want to know where you fall in the 7 billion? population.org has a live counter but also has a place where you can put in your

birthday and it will then calculate where you fall. we've made it it easy for you by adding a link to my facebook page. you will find it there. the defense claims dr. conrad murray saves lives, but after more than two weeks building a case against michael jackson's doctor, can they reverse the damage that's been done? the latest from l.a., next. but first, on this day back in 202, chechen militants took control of a moscow theater, taking 800 people hostage. the russian military retaliated by pumping an unknown chemical into the theater's ventilation system before raiding it. that is the shame in history. i want healthy skin for life.

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. welcome back. now to the manslaughter trial of michael jackson's former doctor conrad murray. court resumed this morning with the defense calling character witnesses. this is a live picture from inside the courtroom. these are folks they hope can redeem dr. murray's reputation after weeks of damaging testimony. yesterday things got emotional in the courtroom. the defense got jackson's nurse to admit that the singer begged her for propofol just months before he died. but, on cross, the prosecution pounced at an opportunity to show that no one should have been giving jackson this powerful anesthetic at all. >> you were not willing to give michael jackson the propofol or diprivan or i.v. drip, correct? >> absolutely not. >> stoin join ijoining me, form

defense attorney thomas mesereau. great to have you. let's talk about what took place in court yesterday because the defense kept trying to show that michael jackson was really asking anyone he came in contact with, it seemed, for this powerful anesthetic provo follow to help him sleep. what was the point of that? >> they're trying to paint the portrait of michael jackson as december bralt addicted, knowing about this powerful dangerous drug called diprivan or propofol and trying to tell a story that will lead up to an expert witness suggesting that he may have done this himself because he was so desperate. but they're paying a price for it. every time you call a witness, you pay a price when that witness is cross-examined. i you thi i think in general the prosecution benefitted yesterday because these witnesses hammered home that propofol should not be in a home or administered the way dr. murray did it. >> one of the witnesses on the stand, shaerolyn lee, his nurse

she got very emotional in court about the last time she had spoken with michael jackson. let's listen to that. >> you indicated to michael jackson, i understand you want a good night's sleep, you want to be, quote, knocked out. but what if you don't wake up? correct? >> yes. >> and he responded, again, i will be okay, i only need someone to monitor me with the equipment while i sleep. >> yes, that's exactly what he said. >> so you have someone like cherilyn lee. she testified that he would drink an on scene amount of red bull and things to keep him awake. but these are things that dr. murray apparently didn't know. would that play in terms of did he do his due diligence on this

patient? >> beauty is in the eye of the beholder he. the defense is hoping to paint michael as desperate and knowledgeable. the flip side is, here's someone in great need of professional assistance, needs a very professional, caring doctor to give him the right advice. i think she helpeded prosecution tremendously. >> today in court they have these character witnesses speaking about dr. murray, some of them saying that he he saved their lives. how important is that? how will that play with the jury? >> very smart move by the defense. they're trying to humanize dr. murray who the prosecution has dehumanized for weeks. there's a jury instruction in california the judge will read to the jury and it says that character evidence alone may create reasonable doubt. and they'll be banging on that in their closing argue thes, the defense lawyers. >> also in court today, dr. murray shows some tears. he showed them early on in the trial but again he was very emotional in court. does the jury notice those type of things? >> the jury notices everything. these 12 people are at their most acute intellect, instinct,

intuition. they see everything. if one person doesn't see it, someone else does. you have to assume as a lawyer that everything happens in that courtroom the jury will see and ta about and think about. >> so no doubt they see michael jackson's family sitting there, his mother, his siblings. does that have an impact even on the jury and even on the witnesses? >> when with i defended michael jackson in his criminal trial in 2005, after the trial a number of the jurors commented that katherine jackson was there every single day supporting her son and that they really were affected by it. >> i know tomorrow is the big day. this is when we think the defense's key witness will take the stand. so we look forward to that and look forward to having you back tomorrow to talk about that. >> thank you very much. >> thank you, tom. is president obama changing his campaign message from change to this? >> if we don't work even harder than we did in 2008, then we're going to have a government that tells the american people, you are on your own. >> sounds like the president is saying, go democrat or go it

alone. is this really a winning strategy? it is all fair game, and it is next. but first, political junkies, let's test your knowledge. who was the first u.s. presidential candidate to run political ads on television? the answer when we come back. ♪ video killed the radio star

before the break, we asked you a question about political ad campaigns, specifically you who was the first u.s. presidential candidate to run political ads on television. the answer? general dwight eisenhower.

>> the big question -- >> general, if war comes, is this country really ready? >> it is not. the administration has spent many billions of dollars for national defense, yet today we haven't enough tanks for the fight. >> this was the first of his eisenhower answers america ads which aired in 1952. up until then, most campaigns booked 30-minute blocks for speeches. eisenhower is the first to use spot advertising, still used today in fact. here is something you may not have noticed. the white house doesn't really mention or blame former president george w. bush anymore. there is a new slogan in town. see if you can figure out what it is. >> if we don't work even harder than we did in 2008, then we're going to have a government that tells the american people, you are on your own. if you get sick, you're on your own. if you can't afford college, you're on your own. if you don't like that some corporation is polluting your air, or the air that your child

breathes, then you're on your own. >> there president obama seemed to be going after the gop candidates in general. here the dnc goes after a specific opponent. >> don't try and stop the foreclosure process. let it run its course and hit the bottom. allow investors to buy homes, put renters in them, fix the homes up and let it it turn around and come back up. >> so does your "on your oem own" seem to be a winning formula? is it accurate? all fair game for my guests today, republican strategist ron bon gene and democratic strategist maria car don na. ron, let me start with you. if you were part of the president's team, would this be a strategy that you would advise? >> no. i don't think so because this is what congressman paul ryan said. this is a strategy that's based

on fear and resentment. it is a base strategy. that was a speech, he's trying to get people to donate to his campaign so he can build up his coffers to go after the republican opponent in the general election and frame him and make it a choice instead of a referendum on his own record, which is no job creation, high unemployment, and high taxes. >> maria, i want you to weigh in on this, but i want to share a poll with everybody first. take a look, this was a poll generated last month, and it shows that over half of americans still blame bush an the republicans for the economic problems. so in light of this, maria, should the democrats continue to blame bush instead of this new strategy, do you think? >> well, i think that this new strategy is an extension of blaming bush without actually using bush's name because, you know, let's face it, while americans, according to your poll, still blame bush and the

republicans for eight years of horrible strategies, fiscal strategies, that put us in this hole to begin with, they want to hear what the choices are in 2012. and that's exactly what it's going to be it'ss going to be a choice between someone and a party who is looking out for the middle class and working class families and a party that is only looking out for the richest 1% and big corporations in this country. and the republicans basically have become our best spokespeople in underscoring that by using their own words. that's why the dnc ran that ad about romney, him saying he doesn't care if the foreclosure hits bottom. you're on your own. ron paul basically said in a debate, if you're uninsured and dying in an emergency room, you know, that should be your problem. you need to take responsibility. so, in essence, that is exactly what the gop is saying and it is a choice. >> ron, why go after romney?

>> well, they think that romney is going to be the likely general republican candidate that they're going to have to take on and they're trying to frame him right now because, you know, frankly any republican is going to have an advantage over president obama, including governor romney or anyone else who gets the nomination, because he has a dismal record on jobs. that's what this election is going to be about. it's an economic election. it's going to be on jobs and the economy. do we have high unemployment a year from now or lower unemployment a year from now? do people feel better or not? going after a republican and going negative is not going to get him elected. it's going -- you have to show a pooz tiff vision for the future. that's what republicans are doing. they're laying out their plans. here's how we're going to give businesses certainty so they can start hiring more workers again, instead of saying, you know what? if we elect a republican, you're not going to get your health care, you're not going to get your education. that message turns off independents and it certainly turns off conservative voters in swing states as well.

>> maria, just very quickly, i'll give you the last word here. >> let's talk about a message that turns off americans and that is when mitch mcconnell, the head of the senate republicans, basically says that his main goal is not to create jobs for the american people is to make sure president obama is a one-term president. that is not a goal that americans want to hear. that is not leadership. that's why president obama is going to get elected. >> marimaria, ron, thank you bo. that is "fair game" today. thanks for playing. >> thank you. it separates the caribbean sea from the gulf of mexico. it also is a popular resort area featuring beautiful beaches and ancient ruins. but a storm is on its way. we'll take you there next in "globe trekking." medicare. it doesn't cover everything.

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we are leer, cancun, mexico. hurricane rina is creeping closer but is not forecast to strengthen into a major hurricane. the news is little comfort to people living in the yucatan peninsula and those visiting cancun. rafa rafael row m rafael r rafael row mow is there in the thick of it. what's going on? >> reporter: it was raining heavily and now it's stopped. it seems the first effects of hurricane rina have begun to be felt here in cancun. i see cloudy skies. the wind is picking up. and the marijuana concein conce is it's going to hit this part of mexico as a hurricane 3 which is something they haven't had since 2005. state officials tell me there are as many as 83,000 tourists,

including zmdomestic, international, of course, many americans, this is a favorite destination for americans, randi, as you well know, and many of them didn't have a chance to evacuate. when i got here last night, all the flights were booked, and the people who didn't make any arrangements before last night, they're going to have to ride it out, randi. >> it sounds like it it. but it sounds like it is weakening a bit so that is good news for the people there. rafael romo, thank you. drinkers and gamblers are whipped. women who commit crimes stoned. do you think you know sharia law? you may not know everything there is to know. we break it down, next. but first, a warning, what you are about to see may cause heartache, not to mention heartburn. yes, folks, mcdonald'ses is once again bringing back the mcrib. the faux barbecue sandwich complete with pork fat, onions,

pickles and of course those fake mcbones molded in the shape of ribs. i'd be remiss not to mention that the sandwich does have a cult following like the folks who use the mcrib locator. yes, there really is one. but for the rest of you out there, i say to the mcrib, "your 15 minutes are up." ♪ oh, yeah ♪ oh, yeah they fit! awesome thank you ring, ring [ man ] pro-gresso they fit! okay-y... okay??? you don't understand. i've been eating progresso because there's... 40 flavors 100 calories or less and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can talk to? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. then you may need help finding the right plan for your needs. call now to find out how a medicare plan from unitedhealthcare medicare solutions

may have the coverage you're looking for. the annual enrollment period is earlier this year. it begins october 15th and ends december 7th; so now is the best time to review your options. medicare has two parts, parts a and b to help cover a lot of your expenses, like doctor visits and hospital care. but they still won't cover all of your costs. now's the time to learn about plans that may be right for you. call now and tell us about your situation. we can help you select the right medicare plan. with some plans, we can help you enroll right over the phone. i'm looking for help paying for my prescriptions. [ male announcer ] that's a part d prescription drug plan. tell us about your prescriptions and we can help you select the right plan. you can choose a stand-alone plan, or you can combine your part d plan with a medicare supplement plan for complete coverage. is there a single plan that combines medicare parts a & b with medical and drug coverage? [ male announcer ] absolutely. a medicare advantage plan

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it may be late october, but the arab spring is still bearing fruit. last week alone tunisians who kicked off the movement voted in free elections and libyans captured and killed their leader. while many of the friends in the west celebrated with them, some were given pause by six seconds of the transitional leader's address. >> translator: as a muslim country, we have adopted the islamic sharia as the main source of law.sharia. to many non-muslims it conjures images of medieval justice potentially as repressive as those being ousted. my next guest says we don't understand sharia law. we have a lawyer and known expert on middle east studies. thank you for coming. let's talk about sharia because it isn't new. so why does it have such a stigma in the west today? >> unfortunately, it's politics.

politics and the aftermath and consequences of 9/11 and the marginalization of the muslim community and this view that anything related to muslims has to be tantamount to some sort of totalitarianism, a terrorist inclination that is based in muslim ritage, which is exactly the opposite of what the sharia is all about. the sharia is not simply law in a prescriptive sense. it it's much more than that. the sharia is a methodology, a process, a process through which you deny gauge the divine text to construct divine meaning, to ascertain divine will. and the outcome leads to certain guad lines that we would call -- which are legal. but in the end it's the moral anchor of a muslim and everything about his life. the way he deals with his parents, the way he deals with his children, the way he deals

with the environment, the animal, the closeness to the divine. all comes under that rubric of sharia. so that's the problem, that there is a -- the nuances and the subtleties are lost in the political debate. >> well, one of the concerns about the transitional council taking on sharia there in libya is for women's rights. i you mean, will that have an impact? should libyan women fear new restrictions on their lives? >> well, the interesting point here is that the sharia has been a primary source or a source of legislation, is the law of the land in almost every single arab country. egypt, for example, in article two of its constitution provides that the sharia is a primary source. libyan civil code, which is a copy of the french civil code, has in its second paragraph a provision that says that the sharia is a source. now, just like we have gone through adaptations and evolution as it pertains to gender equity, in fact, in new

jersey just last month the governor christie repealed seven or eight laws that were archaic regarding women in the sense that we needed a law to say that women should be entitled to keep their wages because prior that to women. so women in libya should not fear the ilegality required in the sharia. but it requires the muslims and shiite just like ourselves to have that internal come bus extent on their indigenouos

heritage. >> thank you for shedding light on that. >> thank you, randi. >> you, too. everyone has done something to make us shake our heads and today it's linda harvey a. self-proclaimed christian website. she claims she used her radio show to urge parents to keep her kids away from doctors and nurses who are lesbian, gay, or transgender. she said that exposing them to that could turn them gay. can you imagine? harvey acknowledged it cthey ca be competent workers but say your 11-year-old has broken her leg rather badly and could be in the hospital for a few days. which would you rather care for your child? a nurse who is lesbian or a nurse who is not? now, everyone has a right to

choose who cares for their child but to suggest that a gay health care worker will turn a patient gay is a bit much. hello. it is 202 gay is a bit much. hello. it is 2011. time to wake up. it's time for you, linda harvey, to practice what you preach ♪ father, father, father help us with some guidance from above ♪ ♪ people got me questioning where is the love ♪ [ male announcer ] attention medicare beneficiaries. the annual enrollment period

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going street level, let's take a look. let's start in galveston, texas, where a local hospital is looking to get a paralyzed park ent out of its care and out of the country. he was left paralyzed from the chest down but he's an undocumented worker and is not covered by worker's comp or medicaid. the hospital is urging him to go back to mexico, even offering him a free flight back. but he refuses to leave behind his wife and six--month-old son.

next, in san francisco, a not so typical case of who done it, when did they do it? this past week, a parishioner noticed that the church's 122-year-old bell had vanished. the bell sat on a wooden platform outside the church since the 1970s when it was replaced by a set of chimes. police are not sure when it was stolen but they think it could have been as much as a month ago. one girl scout was turned away because he was actually a she. he started identifying himself as a girl when he was just 2 years old. he wants to be a girl scout just like his big sister but when the mom approached the troop leader, she was told, no way. >> that's barbree's, straw bear

shortcake and these mexican dolls. i like any girl stuff. >> reporter: anyone has favorite toys, no matter what age they are. bobby montoya just likes stuff, some with say, is not quite for him. >> i named her smurfalia. >> reporter: sometimes being a boy and dressing like a girl even occasionally is tough. >> it's like hard. >> reporter: what does it feel like when they talk down to you? >> it hurts me and my mom both. >> reporter: bobby's mom said that the troop leader said he couldn't be a girl scout. bobby cried. >> it was like somebody told me i can't like girl stuff and i have to change my name from a girl to something else. >> i said, what's the big deal she said, it doesn't matter what

he looks like. he has boy parts. >> reporter: they said girl scouts is an inclusive organization. if the family presents her as a girl, girl scouts of colorado welcomes her as a girl scout. our request for support of transgender kids and girl scouts is working to best support these children, their families, and the volunteers who serve them. >> there has definitely been this increase of questioning at an early age, certainly exploration. and, you know, i think it's all about providing a healthy environment for that to happen. everyone needs to be prepared or at least have an idea from a policy and procedure standpoint how they are going to address that and make sure that the public is aware of that. that was anastasia bolton

from girl scouts usa. they say that they are working on ways to get bobby involved in the troop. time for political news right now. let's check in with paul ste steinhauser at the political desk in washington. >> just over two months away from the first votes in iowa with the caucuses there and what is rick perry doing? he's going up against the first paid tv commercial campaigns in iowa. he touts his record on jobs. he had $15 million on hand in cash. expect to see more ads. let's talk about joe the plumber. remember him from the 2008 campaign? his first name is not joe. it's samuel. he's running for congressman in ohio. stay tuned. we'll keep our eyes on joe the

plumber. randi? >> it will be interesting to see which name he puts on the voter form there. paul, thank you very much. thank you for watching today. as always, i'd love to hear what you have to say on the show. continue to follow me on facebook or twitter. that will do it for me. i'll hand it over to brooke baldwin in atlanta. >> hello, randi. rapid fire, let's go. beginning with this. you see that? brand new ireport showing grenades flashing in oakland. 107 returned to this protest site that police are cleared before dawn returned on wednesday. meantime, in atlanta, more than 50 people arrested there overnight and police peacefully from a city park.

hurricane rina bearing down on 90-mile-per-hour winds. also, have you seen this picture? look at this. winter doesn't officially begin for two months but you would never know it looking at these images. this is colorado. up to a foot of snow fell in parts of colorado. ski resorts contemplating opening early. awesome. love to ski. and euro lawmakers are attempting to deal with the debt crisis. there are fears that the deet debt crisis could spread to both italy and to spain. a remarkable protest. this is yemen. many women publicly protesting

the government's crackdown on anti-government protests followed by veils. recent brutal attacks on women and children there. also, five killer whales at sea world are expected to file suit in federal court today. say what? the orcas don't know it but peta is filing suit. the animal rights group claims that they are enslaved and in violation of the 13th amendment. sea world calling it a publicity stunt. ♪ amy winehouse died of alcohol poisoning. the 27-year-old's blood alcohol level was more than five times the legal limit.

winehouse had struggled with both drug and alcohol abuse for years. her death came less than two months after her latest release from a stint in rehab. a former goldman sachs director was indicted, rajat gupta says that the claims are totally baseless. and this coming monday, seven billion people -- this is according to the united nations -- there are more than one billion people now. we have a lot more to cover for you in the next two hours, including this. sex ed is getting a whole lot more graphic. at least in new york. where a new curriculum is

setting off fireworks. i'll speak with the parents group up in arms over this. tensions hit a boiling point at a protest against wall street. why police used tear gas against occupy protesters. plus, we can do better. two young children locked in dog cages and what police found inside this family's home takes this case to a whole new level. i'll speak live to the investigator. they won't act, i will. >> since congress isn't budging on its jobs plan, president obama claims he's going at it alone. we'll break down his new plan. when i got off the bus my mom wasn't here. and i miss her. >> a 5-year-old girl finds her home alone because her mom's in the hospital and the girl gets so worried, her next move is a call to 911. >> you got to get her quick. >> wait until you hear this.

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i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. chaos breaks out as protesters try to reoccupy this plaza in oakland, california. here are the images from our ireporters. about 500 demonstrators marched to this plaza less than 24 hours after police tried to occupy this plaza. it was not too long before this situation got out of control.

police say sound of those demonstrators threw paint and bottles. so they responded. they fired bean bags and flash grenades and scores of people had to run for cover. >> i heard these loud bangs and apparently it was the tear gas going off. and then you want to throw up and your eyes start burning. so i ran a couple blocks away. >> covering this for us is kron, our affiliate, is will tran. >> reporter: brooke, that video you just showed is a drastic difference from that. here is a live shot right in front of city hall. there are only a handful of protesters here.

they are holding up signs as well as the police officers. we saw so many of them yesterday right here behind the barricades at one point pushing back the crowds. that is not the case. who knows. this is the calm before the next storm because 24 hours ago it was wild and then when the sun came down, is it was wild but now it's quite calm. they vow to be here. they have removed the tents and want to make sure that that place is clean before they allowed protesters back. however, the caveat is that they can go back there. >> let me jump in because you mentioned the word "clean."

i want you to be specific that made the city say that enough is enough that made these people clear out. >> reporter: well, the city is sensitive to the first amendment rights of the protests. they have said that. what they are doing now is cleaning up the area. they are power washing the city hall area and in some cases uprooting the grass to make sure it's sanitized. they claim that that area became a health hazard which is why they were trying to move in there and to clean it up. once that area is clean and sanitized, they will allow the protesters to come in and clean it up. once the barricades are lifted, we'll see if there is another clash. so far this morning at 11:00 pacific time, it's peaceful. but this may be the calm before the next storm. >> anything could change.

will tran for us in oakland in our affiliate kron. will, appreciate it, for the live report there. still ahead, vacation hot spots. a direct target. take a look at hurricane rina rolling through here, getting stronger, evacuations escalate. let's take you live to mexico. plus, it's part of the reason protesters are speaking out against wall street. the younger generation strapped with massive debt. now president obama is pitching a new plan and he's doing it all alone. find out what it means for your wallet. also, how graphic is too graphic when it comes to sex ed? outrage is brewing over one city's new curriculum. and this story coming up will make you blush. stay right there.

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all right. i want you to have a look at this debt clock. this is not the national debt. we've seen that clock. this is the student loan debt. student loan debt is nearing $1 trillion. as of 20 10r10, outstanding loa credit card debt, grads are leaving college owing an average loan of $27,000. and when they enter this week jobs market, that just doesn't make things any better. not exactly picture perfect american dream. a short time ago, the president entered the picture. president obama announced little

relief and, look, obviously we were lucky to have gotten a great education and land good jobs with a steady income but it still took us almost ten years to finally pay off all of our student debt. and that wasn't easy. especially once we had malia and sasha. now we are supposed to be saving for their college while we're still paying for ours. >> dan lothian is in denver as well. and i wonder, dan lothian, is the president hearing the cries of the occupy wall street folks? we've been hearing a lot from them specifically about student loan debt. >> that's right. we have. but what top aides and the president himself will point out, is that his administration has long been focused on making things better for students in

order for them to be able to afford college tuition and bring down the cost of those loans and today you heard the president refer to more than a year ago when his administration was pushing to get banks out of the way of these loans so that they would be more affordable for students. so, yes, no doubt the loud voice out there on the streets certainly impacts some of the thinking but, again, the administration trying to show that this is something that they've been working on for quite some time. >> dan, i want to you stand by. i'm going to spare a little word for you because christine romans has broken down the details of the this student loan program that the president is speaking about. he's speeding up a program already enacted by congress. stand by, dan. let's listen to this. >> the white house is speeding up a program that the white house has already passed, quite frankly, that is going to cap how much you pay for your student loans. it reduces your repayment alone. it would be 10% of your discretionary income. right now your student loan

payments could be capped at 15%. the white house wants to lower that at 10%. it wants to accelerate the loan forgiveness date. after 20 years of faithfully paying every year on time, 10 rs approximate of that income, if you still have a loan balance, the government will just forgive it after 20 years. also, a chance to consolidate your loan, right now people who are graduates with different kinds of federal loans, you would be able to consolidate them altogether and this would put a few hundred dollars into people's pockets every single month that the white house says that that would help. something very clear, congress passed this back in the health care reform. the white house is speeding this up so the class of 2012 can start to benefit from this. >> that is christine romans with details of the president's plan. this is something else that the president is doing on his own.

looking ahead, he doesn't need the white house to go along with him, the congress. >> reporter: that's right. the new line that we heard during the west coast trip is that we can't wait. the president saying that he has moved forward to help veterans, small businesses. we saw a couple of days ago in nevada where the president was unveiling a plan to help those homeowners who have loans under water. he has, again, going out on his own to help them and the president making it clear that this is something that we will continue. take a listen. >> i intend to do everything in my power right now to act on behalf of the american people, with or without congress. [cheers and applause ] we can't wait for congress to do its job. so where they won't act, i will. >> reporter: the president

saying that his actions, though, do not take the place of big action taken up on capitol hill. so he's still pushing for lawmakers to pass his jobs bill. but nonetheless, the president is taking these small steps do help in the meantime. >> going ahead without them with regard to congress. dan lothian in denver. enjoy the snow, i suppose. investigators will reveal who they plan to interview in the case of the missing baby. lisa irwin's parents are not happy about this. rafael romo is standing by in mexico. we'll talk to him next. first, a little at the big board. the dow is up 115 points as we're two hours away from the "closing bell." we'll be right back. ♪

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in the search for missing baby lisa irwin, police plan to interview the young brothers, both ages 5 and 8. both were in the irwin home the night that little lisa vanished out of the crib. both were interviewed right after she disappeared and kansas city police insist that the boys won't be interrogated. a highly trained child services specialist will interview the boys this upcoming friday. now let's turn your attention to hurricane rina. a leet-season storm bearing down on the famed resorts of mexico. it's a pretty impressive storm. let's take a look at this. this is from the iss, the international space station. go with me, kind of like an upside down jelly wish? maybe not. last word, category 1. it's weakened just a little bit. let's go to rafael romo in

cancun. what kind of hit are you looking at there? obviously beautiful day right now. and when is rina coming ashore? >> reporter: it's been really interesting, brooke. torrential rains and then up to about an hour ago, nothing. waves have picked up a little bit but not too bad. officials say sometime between midnight and sunrise it will hit cancun and cozumel at the same time. this is favorite tourism place for americans. at the beginning of the week, there were 83,000 tourists between domestic and international. many of those americans. the problem is that many of the tourists could not get a flight to get out of here so they are basically stuck and it's a city

inside of a city because this area here is densely populated. about 750,000 people. and you're talking about more than 80,000 tourists. but the good news is that the resorts here have good facilities and at least 11 hotels are offering shelter for the folks stuck here. >> they are stuck and i know some of those that you've talked to are disappointed. >> we were upset. we've waited a long time to come here and we thought we were going to have fun and the first thing they told us is we have to evacuate and we weren't here even 24, 23 hours? >> so rafael, are any flights going out at all? i mean, what is being done for the tourists stuck there in mexico? >> reporter: no. people who are still here are completely out of luck. we got here last night and i was talking to a tourist from spain. she was telling me that she was

trying frantically to get a flight out of here. not a chance. if people didn't do arrangements for flights yesterday, basically, they have to stay here or the airport may be closed any moment now. they are going to have to ride it out. >> rafael romo, thank you. i'm going to turn to chad myers with this, is rina headed to our way? >> south florida, probably not. less than 50/50. but maybe into havana and the keys. less than half the cone is into the u.s. so probably not. where does it go? probably north of jetumal and cancun. it will be a rough couple of nights for playa del carmen.

the purple is coming back to the storm. it's trying to regenerate. it seems like a late generation form but wilma was like this as well. it can be a strong storm. it's not over until the end of december, almost the 1st of january. >> i check my iphone, chad myers, it says october 26th, today's date. i did look up and see a heck of a lot of snow in denver. >> yes. >> what is going on? >> especially in the foothills. it's the same potential that will make for snowstorms for the world series. colorado springs down to pueblo, big stuff here. a live out out of kusa, colorado, part of the big eight when there was a big eight and boulder, colorado, a very

pleasant town to get into now. sunset tonight, literally 6:00 tonight, it's going to turn to ice. get where you are going to go before the 6:00 hour. there's been a lot of snow. greeley, 12.5. boulder, 9. over 90,000 people were without power because the leaves are still on the trees, brooke. you put snow on the leaves and the branchs want to break. they will bring down power lines. >> can we say ski season early? >> yes. there is already skiing in utah as well. >> chad, thanks. coming up next, a firestorm is brewing over sex ed. new york city introducing a new curriculum that introducing 11-year-olds to everything. we're talking partners to techniques. how graphic is too graphic? maybe partners are up in arms. don't miss this interview. but, first, where are

america's rudest cities? you won't get a warm welcome. number five, our nation ds capital. washington, d.c., rude. number four, miami. number three, the city of brotherly love, or not so much, philadelphia. what are the top two cities in america? could you be living in one of them? send me a tweet. [ deep breath ] thank you! that's the cold truth! [ male announcer ] its design inspires. its power impresses. it's thin, light and built without compromise.

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so before i left you, we were talking about travel leisure's top five rudest cities in america. we have washington, miami, philadelphia, and number two is new york city. the number one rudest city in america is, west coasters, los angeles. let's talk new york. the battle over what and when to teach kids about sex is playing out in new york. many parents are fighting over the most couldn't verse yell sex ed class in years. go ask alice, is what it is called. it's where to find pornography and other fetishes that may make you and be blush. it's based on the controversial

book from the '70s called "go ask alice." this website is not mandated but all sixth he a seventh graders will be required to take these new sex ed classes. michael benjamin is the spokesman for the group. michael, thanks for coming on. >> thank you, brooke. >> your group says that the curriculum that will be presented is just too graphic for 11 and 12-year-olds. what is it that you and these parents object to? >> to the graphic nature of the "go ask alice" site and we also object to the fact that we would like to have one that is abstinence centered and giving a wink and a nod at teenage sex. we were only asking the city of new york to offer a curriculum

to opt into that would more reflect their values and interests. >> let me pick up on the abstinence issue because i know this this curriculum will be teaching abstinence and we obtained a piece of it from the abstinence is the only way to be 100% safe but one-third of the new cases of chlamydia in new york city is in teenagers and a significant part of our teenagers have had multiple teenagers could we cannot stick our heads in the sand about this. the course is teaching abstinence but they also have a reality check as well. >> yes. but that's not emphasized. the emphasis is on really on mitigating risks. it isn't about risk avoidance, which would be the focus of an abstinence centered sex education program for our young people. it's something that kids are interested in and that parents

want. they don't want to give parents the ability to choose which couric can you lum they want. if they want a free sex for all curriculum or an abstinence program. this is not 20 years ago. we're not fighting over whether to have sex education in our schools. what we're saying is what you're offering is too explicit and too soon for 10 and 11-year-olds. we need to have it focused on abstinence, the same consistent message from home coming out of the schools. >> michael, i have read article upon article and article, the views from your these, they are very upset and new york's board of ed says that none of their books for this upcoming sex class will direct kids to that particular website. so why has this website become such an issue among these parents that you represent? >> because part of education is

being disingenuous. it's part of the set of books. they have bought it. now they are saying that it's up to the principal or instructor of the program to use whatever they would like to use, which is even more troubling. we think, offer parents to choose an alternative sex education program that focuses on abstinence-centered education. they can choose to stay in the city's program but offer an ability to have more reflective of their values. >> from what i understand, and you are correct, this sex ed course is mandated for students but there is a process and a way that if parents want to opt out, they can. though i understand some of these parents are frustrated that the process is too complicated. is that sdplekt. >> that's correct. it's complicated and has to be based on the religion from your principal. but it's not about opting out of

anything. it's only opt out of city. it's not out of the explicit lessons. but in reality no one should opt out. they should be able to opt into a program that allows their children to get accurate information about sex education and that absence is 100% effective. condoms are not 100% effective. you can exposed to transmitted diseases. we have a mayor saying that you can't smoke or have sex in our restaurants. if you want to be able to purchase soda, sweets with their food stamps but yet he's saying it's okay for kids to have access to condoms in school. >> michael, on the flipside, from the perspective of the other side, you have those who absolutely subscribe to kids wanting to be be a city nent but at the same time, the new york

department of education says that we have to educate our kids on condom as well. do you not see that as well? >> we agree as well, we're saying it should be an abstinence program as well. it discusses abstinence and condoms but does not present them as an equal al turn i have to to accidents and it's on the same level as using protection. >> okay. >> that's where we have a lot of objection. our issue is not whether or not to offer sex education. we want to provide sex education but from an abstinence perspective that their parents support and survey after survey has said they want to hear the abstinence message. >> sure. i want to mention that we did invite chancellor walcott to join us for this segment and told us that he was not available but michael benjamin, clees coming on and explaining

to us the situation. now this -- >> it's really weird when i got off the bus that my mom wasn't here and i miss her so much. >> a 5-year-old girl left home alone. what she doesn't know is that her mom's in the hospital and what this girl does next prompts a call to 911. that was part of it. you've glot to hear the rest of it. plus, president obama reveals what he thinks about the race for the republican nomination. wolf blitzer is standing by from the world of politics. be right back. next. [ nurse ] i'm a hospice nurse. britta olsen is my patient. i spend long hours with her checking her heart rate, administering her medication, and just making her comfortable. one night britta told me about a tradition in denmark, "when a person dies," she said,

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in just a couple of minutes,

by the way, these are live pictures. a couple of minutes from now, we'll see what we almost never get to show. this sa large hydroee electric dam along the washington-oregon border. this is the condit dam 125-feet tall about a century old and it's one of three huge dams being removed in the northwest. if you read the seattle times, they are reporting that 800 pounds of dine night should do the trick in blowing this up. newer and more efficient hydroelectric dams will pick up the demolition is mentioned at the top of the hour. you'll see the massive explosion right here on cnn. in the meantime, time for america's choice 2012 update with wolf blitzer with the latest news fresh off the

political ticker. wolf, did you stay up late last night and watch president obama? >> of course. didn't you? >> i read the transcript in my e-mail. >> okay. >> pass my bed time wolf. >> i'll play a clip for you and for some of our viewers that didn't see it, watch this. >> have you been watching the gop debates? >> i'm going to wait until everyone's voted off the island. [cheers and applause ] >> once they narrow it down to one or two, i'll start paying attention. >> very cute line. nice line. you would think he sort of spontaneously made it up or he came into that interview with jay leno on the tonight show with some good one liners. what do you think? >> i think he definitely came in prepared.

>> good timing, good audience reaction. it was a nice touch. you know, he keeps saying that he's not watching these debates. >> do you believe him? >> i don't know. he's a politician. he should be. it's very interesting tv and they are money to watch if you're a political news junkie and you know he is. he's in politics. you have to watch these debates. doesn't make any difference how many candidates are there. >> especially that one in tampa. >> yeah. that was the only one with the guy with the beard. something like that. >> yeah. >> nice, trim beard. okay. let's talk about this new rick perry ad. it's very positive touting his record as governor in texas. >> as president i'll create at least 2.5 million jobs and i know something about that. in texas we created over one million jobs while the rest of the nation lost over two

million. i'll eliminate president obama's regulations that hurt other sources of domestic energy, like coal, natural gas. >> so you get the point. it's a nice, positive ad. i think a lot more effective than some of the negative ads that we're seeing knocking down the opposition. it's not a good idea to personally engage in the negative campaigning. that's why you have aides that and super packs that can do that. i think the presidential candidate is best off taking the high road showing he or she can really get the job done, create a lot of jobs. that's just my assessment, for what it's worth. we have a great show coming up at 4:00 in the situation room. peter king, the chairman of the house homeland security, brooke, is going to be joining us. we're talking about new allegations that he's making serving at the iranian mission to the u.n. as well as the iranian mission and diplomats

who serve at the section that is technically part of the pakistani embassy here in washington? he wants them all, by the way, kicked out. we're going to go in depth with peter king. just fascinating every day stuff. >> fascinating, wolf. thank you very much. coming up next, though, this is a horrific, horrific story out of nebraska. you have two young children in locked cages forced to live like dogs and what investigators found inside their home takes this case to a whole other level. we'll speak live with an investigator. back in two minutes. [ male announcer ] tom's discovering that living healthy can be fun.

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enough, you know that we share stories that make me sad, make me mad, and i know you do as well. this story is to remind each and every one of us that we can do better. this is at a trailer park in north platt, nebraska, where police found three children living in complete fill this and ages 4 and 5 living in a kennel that you keep your dogs. four adults in jail right now in north platt, nebraska. this, show, is ashley clark. this is the mom of the two kids that were found in that trailer. not a single one of the adults

called for help. lieutenant rich is joining us on the line from north platt, nebraska. you have little boys, ages 3 and 5, in this wire kennel. i want to you describe it in detail, please. >> well, when the officers arrived, inside they found that the residence reeked pretty bad from animal urine, trash, that kind of thing. in the bedroom they found two boys ages 3 and 5 sleeping in a kennel 4 by 28 by 28 or 30. two boys were sleeping in there together on a little plastic covered mattress. they were sleeping at that time. it was about 11:00 that the

officers were contacted. >> i know the mother when she was arrested, she was brought in. police asked her why she did this. what was her answer? >> she told the officers that she was basically trying to keep the kids from getting into stuff. to keep them from getting out of the trailer. the officers didn't think that they would climb out of the windows of the trailer any way. upon initial contact, that's what the officers were told. >> beyond the fill this and feces that you describe, was there any abuse on four of these children? >> there was four children in total. only two in the wire kennel. they were sharing it together. there was no other physical abuse that we could see. the parents were charged with child neglect due to the condition of the residents and the cruel environment, first-degree false imprisonment

and felony charges for the felony child abuse. >> there are four adults. what are the relations to these kids? >> bryson and samantha are parents of the children. lacy buyer is apparently a friend, is what we can find from the information, she was just living there. >> and kudos to the neighbor who didn't know these people but heard the screaming and called police. my final question to you, lieutenant, you've been a police officer for 36 years. have you ever seen kids living in something like this? >> absent the wire cages, yes.

we've seen where people don't take care of the animal feces and urine. it's not that unusual to find that situation from time to time. to find the kids being housed in an animal cage is a little different. >> lieutenant rich hoaglund from northplatte nebraska, coming up this. i get my up and downs. you have aches and pains everywhere. but it still hurts. >> this little girl is facing a serious illness. and she's bi-racial. a little girl is alone and calls 911. we're minutes away from a big boom. don't move. we'll be right back.

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a bone mario row trans pant can be tough but when the patient is mixed race, finding a suitable donor becomes much, much harder. in today's america, sole le dly o'brien speaks with a young girl. >> you love chuck e cheese? >> yes. >> reporter: she just wants a normal childhood. you look like the perfectly healthy 11-year-old girl. >> yeah. >> reporter: do you feel okay? >> yeah, i'm okay. sometimes i get my ups and

downs. you have aches and pains everywhere. but it still hurts. >> reporter: imani has mds, which means her bone marrow does not produce enough blood cells. it could lead to leukemia. >> how did you feel when they first diagnosed her? >> scared the heck out of me. >> reporter: finding a match is always difficult but it's harder for imani because she's mixed race. >> there's so many combinations, so just tissue type is very complex. that's one level. and then if you match that with half of one ethnicity, another combination explodes into the millions. >> reporter: they are trying to lower those odds. >> being being mixed race, i

noticed there wasn't any organization or outreach specifically targeting the mixed race community. >> if you're of a mixed race background, you know, consider joining. it's really a wonderful -- >> reporter: come in. you've talked me into it. >> okay. >> reporter: perfect. it's easy. the check swab is easy. waiting for a match is the hard part. how does that make you feel? >> you feel like you're cut off from the rest of the world. >> we don't wouldn't to have a pity party. we want a cure. >> reporter: and that's the bone marrow transplant? >> that's the only cure. >> reporter: reporting for "in america" soledad o'brien, minneapolis, minnesota. >> this airs november 13th, 8:00