i am from miami dade honors college. i have come to this program because of myas spir operation to be a reporter. i am here with 27 other students. i wanted to let you know we came yesterday. so far it has been amazing. i can assure you, i personally do want to engage more in learning about politics. it's been amazing so far. thank you for this opportunity. thank mike smith. i'm just asking questions. what year are you? >> first year college student. . . >> they advised as to read and be very informative and everything because that is keeping you do. they mentioned that you needed to be fixed and if you wanted to get into the act reported that stuck with me and i will remember that. >> what is the number 1 news source for you? >> i do am from guglielmi i read "the miami herald." yahoo! is where my e-mail address is. i get the instant news from that when i logged in. >> thank you. carl, we will have to the mike. >> i am from suffolk university in boston. i am a junior. i am politics in the court maj. or. i fall within the

about the miami-dade police department effort to combat mortgage fraud. facing a wave of mortgage fraud investigations by mad county mayor carlos alvarez established the mayor's mortgage fraud task force in september of 2007. this public-private partnership used a comprehensive approach that blends legislative change, prevention, enforcement, regulation and prosecution to reduce mortgage fraud and prevent victimization of individuals and businesses. according to fincen, mortgage fraud is one of the fastest-growing white-collar crimes of the united states. for '06 to '07 florida held a dubious decision of breaking first in the nation in mortgage fraud. according to the mortgage asset research institute, otherwise known as mara, miami-dade county leads the state and incidence of mortgage fraud and ranks in the top five major metropolitan areas hit by that crime. the number of suspicious activity reports from financial institutions reported by fincen more than tripled from all four windows over 17000, to over 64000 in 2008, and it is closing in on 70000 in 2

and i attend the miami dade college. and my major is psychology and i'm a second year. >> why are you here? >> i owe a lot to this country. i'm a refugee. i came from cuba on a raft and because of this country i'm able to be here and exercise the freedom of speech, freedom of everything. and this seminar has given me the opportunity to learn a lot about law, about the media and how it affects everyone. it affects me, my parents, just everyone. >> i got to tell you -- if you make a living asking questions like i do, you don't let somebody say you came here on a raft without going into some detail. you got to tell us that story. >> i was 4 years old and it was august 16, 1994. we left at night. we spent four nights and three days at sea lost. no water, no food, but luckily the coast guard came and they saved us. we were going to go that -- to guantanamo bay but i was very sick so we were given permission by the white house, the government, so i could be taken to the nearest hospital, which was key west. from there we went

because their homes were artificially inflated by the fraudsters and especially in condominiums in miami-dade county, and you know better than anyone down in the self city of miami, there are 25%, 30% foreclosures and buildings in that neighborhood and attributes it from these fraudsters. >> this is to all of the panelists, many of the people who were involved in these activities are licensed professionals, realtors. in those states mortgage brokers are required to have a state license its etc. how effective have the professional regulatory agencies ben and effectively prosecuting cases of license removal or other forms of sanction against these professionals? >> in florida, the statute was on the books to have these hearings however the personnel that is assigned to these regulatory agencies is very minimal at best and they don't have the resources for the personnel to do it. however, since the heightened awareness and the mortgage fraud crisis we have had in the state of florida the increase in the licensure removals' and suspensions has increased because we are now constantly communicating

and especially in condominiums in miami-dade county, and you know better than anyone down in south of the city of miami in the quarter, there are 25%, 30% foreclosures and buildings in that neighborhood. attributed from these fraudsters. >> this is to all the panel, many of the people who are involved in these activities are licensed professionals, realtors, in most dates mortgage brokers are required to have a state license, etc. how effective have the professional regulatory agencies then ineffectively prosecuting cases of license removal or other form of sanction against these professionals? >> in florida, the statute was on the books to have these hearings. however, the personnel that is assigned to these regulatory agencies is very minimal at best that they don't have the resources or the personnel to do it. however, since the heightened awareness and the mortgage fraud crisis that we had in the state of florida, the increase in the licensure removals and suspensions has increased because we are now constantly communicating with those agencies, and they are having these hearings

what we have seen in the miami- dade area is that it can work.iding real- time information when there is a high level of coordination and it can provide some level of deterrence. but the amount that crime -- but the amount of crime that is out there and the amount of people that are willing to scan the system is substantial. we will continue to provide more resources and make sure that information is better coordinated through the health- care system and working with our law enforcement agents. i am very proud to be part of this process and as a member of congress to support the people that are here today, to learn more about what is being discussed and you may contact my office with suggestions and questions as we go through this. it is my privilege to reference some folks that will be speaking with you. there's greg harris from the department of justice, christopher and dennis, christopher ross, tim donovan, louis perez, and kamen grant. these folks are the ones who have the on the ground -- and cameronkim grant. these folks are the ones who ha

. >> reporter: the cold no laughing matter for crop growers with a freeze watch in effect for miami-dadeounty and broward county. they've picked as much sweet corn as they could this saturday. they put a coat of water to keep them warm through the next several nights. >> we're getting all we can, all the corn out of the field we can, between now and wednesday morning. a more festive mood saturday night in coral gables, an appropriate year for the theme to be miami winter wonderland. >> we lucked out with clear skies and a little bit of a chill in the air. >> since i have this on, it's kind of cold. >> reporter: yes, it is cold. but megan says this sure beats iowa city. >> consider yourselves lucky, it's a little chilly in iowa. >> reporter: so for those braving the cold, many of them at least here on lincoln road coming in to get some ice cream, it's not too terrible. it is expected to dip in the 40s, and that is a big concern for crop growers as this freeze watch continues throughout the night. we are live tonight on lincoln road, miami beach, blake fuhrman. >> we talked about the crops

>> i represent miami dade county and broward county. in new york, boston, l.a., central florida, a number of places. so all of them are very, very concerned. i know the state department has received quite a few calls. the haitian government is definitely in need once again because of the lack of resources that are there already, but i think it's very, very important for folks to understand, there are a lot of americans also in haiti that are carrying out humanitarian work. i know the southern baptists have many missions that are there, building and feeding children that are there, so this is a real issue that has a serious connection to the united states of america. >> larry: the congressman is going to stay with us. the state department operations center has set up the following number for americans receiving information about family members in haiti. the number is 1-888-407-4747. i'll repeat it. 1-888-407-4747 for information you see on the screen about faechl membe family members in hay take. the congressman remains. we'll be right b

we've seen large contingents of trained urban rescue professionals come in such as the ones from miami-dadend los angeles that came into port-au-prince today. they certainly have the skills. one of them told me it's not uncommon to have a rescue as late as seven days after an earthquake. >> woodruff: tony winton, what are you focusing your reporting on now? >> well, today we were focusing on the relief efforts, the delivery of basic supplies. we were in one neighborhood where after two days finally a water truck showed up and hundreds of haitians came out with pails to have the truck fill them up. in true haitian fashion, a little entrepreneurship, someone set up a fried doug stand next to the water truck so that was a scene where people were trying to make the best of it. >> woodruff: tony winton with the a.p., we thank you for talking with us. i'm talking now with bob poff with the salvation army there in port-au-prince. mr. poff, what is your main challenge right now? >> the main challenge is getting the vital u.s. is innocent that the people need. we need to get them food and water, we

i'm president of student government association at miami-dade college. i see that you are a good man and a well respected journalist but have you always been able to stand solid on your ground refusing to do a report if it's against your ethics and could saying no to certain reports jeopardize our jobs as future journalists? >> i thought about this many times. i would like to say that i think most of what i have done over many, many years was professionally sound. the motivation was clean. i was, as steve can attest, a very competitive reporter. but i think at the same time reasonably good. and i hope fair. but over the years i have thought about one thing, and i'm still not quite sure of the answer. but let me share it with you. i heard brent scowcroft say the other day that i was a child of the cold war, quote-unquote. and after he said it, i was thinking about it. and i too was very much a child of the cold war. in other words, when the cold war got started in ernest in the late 1940s, we became very much aware of it in the 1950s, the united states an

>> natalie velt is for miami-dade college. in the current economic situation, i would like to ask in terms of education what is your view on teachers being laid off and so underpaid. health care is also important that shouldn't this be a priority as well? >> guest: it's no doubt education to ease the be all and end all. i wouldn't be sitting here in front of you if it wasn't for education because i grew up a poor kid and education has been the life changer for me. so, you know, my mom really focused on education. she was a beast about school and it's paid off for me, my brother and my sister. i don't think there is any question so when you ask me about education i think that is the key civil rights challenge of this generation. maybe even more so than health care because every child should have the opportunity to get a foothold on that ladder of upward mobility to be somebody in american life, and you can't do it without education. you've got to have in this society and i think it is becoming much more a society even in econom

so we had palm beach, broward, miami-dade county head to that location. >> we are getting world of theirst american combat death of the year in afghanistan. four service members died when a roadside bomb exploded. 304 u.s. military members died in afghanistan last year. today, a huge cache of marijuana was discovered. >>> a warning from ben bernanke. interest rates could soon be going up. the chairman said all efforts should be made to strengthen the regulatory system to avoid a repeat of our current financial crisis. some critics suggest the fed kept interest rates too low in the aftermath of the 2001 recession which helped fuel a housing bubble at the route of the recent financial crisis solve the its world's tallest building opens today in dubai. actual height is still a secret but it is believed to be nearly 2700 feet tall. how tall is that? about two empire state buildings and a thousand feet taller than the current tallest building in the world which is in taiwan. it will house luxury apartments, offices and a hotel. >>> it is just about 7:24 on this monday morning. straight ahea

we recently saw in miami dade county, which is the home of 2% of medicare home health payments, that county had 90% of the home health payments receiving treatment for more than $100,000 in care every year. and when you see numbers like that, you don't need a ph.d. in statistics to know that something is going on. now, in a few minutes you're going to hear from the attorney general about how he's using this information to crack down on criminals. one of our most effective tools has been our strike force teams made up of federal prosecutors, fbi agents and agents from my department and the office of inspector general. and together they know more about fighting healthcare fraud than just about anybody. but prosecuting fraud is only half of the strategy. the most effective way to protect taxpayers' money is to stop fraud from happening in the first place. and that's why we have an aggressive new focus on prevention. one good example of what we're doing to stop fraudulent claims for durable medical equipment is something i want to talk about. it's a category that includes everything from

i'm lidia wood, president of the student government association at miami-dade college. i see that you are a good man and a well respected journalist but have you always been able to stand solid on your ground, refusing to do a report if it was against your ethics and could say no to certain reports jeopardize our jobs as future journalists? >> i've thought about this many times. i would like to say that i think most of what i have done for many, many -- for many, many years was profession alley sound -- professionaly sound. motivation was clean. fiffs, as steve can attest, a very competitive reporter. but i think at the same time reasonably good and i hope fair. but over the years i have thought about one thing and i'm still not quite sure of the answer. but let me share it with you. i heard brent say the other day that piffs a child of the cold war, quote-unquote. and after he stayed i was thinking -- said it i was thinking about it and i too was very much a child of the cold war. in other words, when the cold war got started in earnest in the late 1940's, we became ve

. >> natalie valdez from miami-dade honors college.my question is in the current economic situation, i would like to ask you in terms of education, what is the view of teachers being laid off and so underpaid. healthcare is important but shouldn't this be a priority as well? guest: no doubt that education is the be-all and end-all. i wouldn't be sitting here in front of you if it wasn't for education. i grew up a poor kid. education has been the life changer for me, so, you know, my mom really focused on education. she was a beast about, you know, school, and it's paid off for me and for my brother and sister. i don't think there's any question. when you ask me about education, i think that is the key, the civil rights challenge of this generation, maybe even more so than healthcare, because i think every child should have the opportunity to get a foothold on that hadder of upward mobility to be somebody in american life and you can't do it without education. you have got to have it in this society, and it is becoming much more society

host: the miami dade rescue team was there and you watched as they rescued a little girl from the rubbleuest: i was with the urban rescue team, and they were digging out this girl. that is the father in the yellow shirt. i started recording. she had a great glow about her, the father must so happy to have her. unfortunately, he lost his wife in that structure, which was his home. host: did they only have one child? guest: i believe he has a few other teenagers. it is a mother and this baby two-year old. these rescues are taking place every day. host: the child had been in the rubble for six days. what condition was she in? guest: she was in good condition, needed to the hydrated and to make sure that she did not had any infections, but they did great work. now the comfort is there. we will be able to take on the number of individuals that we will be able to provide care for now that we have gotten them. host: what did members of the search and rescue team tell you about their work? guest: they are basically fire fighters. they are used to being on call. they are getting very little sleep

teams from fairfax, virginia, and miami-dade and los angeles counties.scue worker talking with brittany's father spoke movingly how this was one of the worst sites he had ever worked on and if his daughter were trapped here he wouldn't give up on finding her either. the compassion and empathy of the rescue workers are palpable and their commitment to our victims' families is total. we read in the papers and online of the generosity and resilience of the human spirit. people helping people, sacrificing for the well-being of another. we often forget how much the haitian people are helping one another as struggle to provide support and get aid to them. governments, international agencies, n.g.o.'s, corporations and individuals have responded and mobilized as never before. on friday evening i was in my hometown of worcester, massachusetts, at an event entitled worcester cares for haiti, to mobilize donations from our local community. and i'm sure that many members of this house have been at similar events in their own districts. aid is pouring into haiti to

and lydia witts president of the association at miami dade college. i see that you are a good man, but you have always been able to stand firmly underground, refusing to a report if it is against her aspects and could say no to certain reports jeopardize our job? >> i thought about this many times. i would like to say that i think most of what i have done over many, many years was professionally found sound. the motivation was clean. i was, as steve can attest, a very competitive reporter. and i think at the same time, reasonably good and i hope you fare. but over the years i have thought about one thing. and i'm still not quite sure the answer. but let me share it with you. i heard up and still cross say the other day that i was a child of the cold war. quote, unquote. and after he said it, was thinking about it and i to was very much a child of the cold war. in other words, when the cold war got started in earnest in the late 1940's, we became very much a war that in the 1950's the united states of the soviet union were locked in to an existential c

. >> natalie valdez from miami-dade honors college. my question is in the current economic situation, i would like to ask you in terms of education, what is the view of teachers being laid off and so underpaid. healthcare is important but shouldn't this be a priority as well? guest: no doubt that education is the be-all and end-all. i wouldn't be sitting here in front of you if it wasn't for education. i grew up a poor kid. education has been the life changer for me, so, you know, my mom really focused on education. she was a beast about, you know, school, and it's paid off for me and for my brother and sister. i don't think there's any question. when you ask me about education, i think that is the key, the civil rights challenge of this generation, maybe even more so than healthcare, because i think every child should have the opportunity to get a foothold on that hadder of upward mobility to be somebody in american life and you can't do it without education. you have got to have it in this society, and it is becoming much more societ

i'm lidia wood, president of the student government association at miami-dade college. i see that you are a good man and a well respected journalist but have you always been able to stand solid on your ground, refusing to do a report if it was against your ethics and could say no to certain reports jeopardize our jobs as future journalists? >> i've thought about this many times. i would like to say that i think most of what i have done for many, many -- for many, many years was profession alley sound -- professionaly sound. motivation was clean. fiffs, as steve can attest, a very competitive reporter. but i think at the same time reasonably good and i hope fair. but over the years i have thought about one thing and i'm still not quite sure of the answer. but let me share it with you. i heard brent say the other day that piffs a child of the cold war, quote-unquote. and after he stayed i was thinking -- said it i was thinking about it and i too was very much a child of the cold war. in other words, when the cold war got started in earnest in the late 1940's, we became ve

urban search and rescue teams, including two from my area of miami-dade county, the 82nd airborne division and marine contingency, emergency medical teams and food assistance and, of course, the remarkable contributions made by private u.s. citizens and corporations totaling over $40 million as of last week and still growing. in addition we have seen an outpouring of support from countries and people around the world. among many steps taken by countries around the world, israel sent a 220-person medical delegation and set up a much-needed field hospital. the european union has reportedly pledged 200 million euros to help rebuild haiti, over and above emergency aid that is already being sent by them. the british government will triple its aid to haiti to $10 million. israel quickly set up a full service field hospital, as i mentioned before, but let me tell you, madam speaker, what it was equipped with. operating rooms and intensive care ward, a maternity ward, a pediatrics ward, incubator unit, a pharmacy, x-ray equipment, 10 tons of medical equipment, 90 beds, 66 intensive care beds, two

that's what miami-dade county in florida is doing.reighter,o ophelia brian was sunk on wednesday. the 210-foot ship is the latest addition to an artificial reef program off key biscayne. a news release says the freighter should provide a boost to south florida's diving and fishing industries and on the ecological front, it should strengthen the marine habitat. for more information or environmental news, check out our website, go to cnn.com/hln/ecosolutions. >>> a group of florida students made good on a promise they made 20 years ago. >> to me, they look exactly the same. just with beards and gel in their hair. >> and everybody -- >> pretty much acting like we did. >> agreat story. see their emotional reunion, with a teacher they say left a lasting impression on their lives.

those teams are from fairfax virginia, los angeles, and miami dade county. they continue their work and they have listening devices and dogs and continue to search. we do recognize that whatever that golden window, we are in a tan. i do not think we have seen any change on the ground in the last 24 hours. -the government of haiti will signal if there is an end to the recovery phase. >> some people are saying that there is not enough heavy machinery to dig out into the rubble to dig deep into the concrete. it does not seem that you plan on bringing in more equipment. >> what ever has to be done during this next phase, some of that equipment may need to be brought in. you're right. the next phase will involve moving significant debris in order to be able to recover remains of those who might have been lost. >> are search and rescue teams continuing to look for people that are still in the rubble including american students and professors? >> there are search and rescue teams continuing to operate at the hotel montana. >> can you talk about -- some people on th

that is what miami-dade county in florida is doing.er ophelia bryant was sunk on wednesday. the 210-foot ship is the latest addition to the program off of key biscayne. a news release from the program says the freighter should provide a boost to south florida's diving and fishing industries. look at it go down from there and on the ecological front it should strengthen the area's marine habitat. for more environmental news, check out the website for cnn.com/eco-solutions.

i -- it is the school next to the catholic cathedral in miami-dade county. i visited with the monsignor and sister jane stoker who is the principal of the school. i saw all these beautiful haitian children who were there in their school uniforms, and they had come to school that morning. it was the day after the earthquake, crying. because they have family and loved ones on the island of hispaniola. and they put their pennies and quarters together to raise $500 to send over to rescue and help the haitian people. it's a touching story. and the american people have been touched, too, because now we know that tens of millions of dollars have been raised, and former president bush and former president clinton have come together under the request of president obama to lead a relief effort so that we all could contribute and we all must and we all should. i'm thankful to rear admiral steve graham of the seventh district of the united states coast guard who has been on the ground and instrumental in making sure that the relief efforts and the coast guard's help cou