Florida Teen Set on Fire
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. It is Tuesday, October 13th. And here are the top stories for you in the CNN NEWSROOM. Health care insurance reform at a make-or-break moment. The Senate Finance Committee votes today on its middle-of-the-road blueprint. Limits on medical malpractice lawsuits and new analysis shows the savings would add up to billions. And this...</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The next day they straightened out my nose. And I had a rodeo that night, so I didn't want them putting me under anesthesia, or however you say that word. And when they straightened out -- so I told them to do without it.</s>HARRIS: And an off-Broadway play exposes the flaws in health care. I will speak with the playwright and star of this provocative one-woman show. Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM. The push to overhaul the nation's health care system on the verge of taking a major step forward. The Senate Finance Committee is meeting right now and is said to vote today on its reform plan. Some Republicans on the committee say the legislation is a missed opportunity, but Chairman Max Baucus says it is time to get the job done.</s>SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D), FINANCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Americans are looking for commonsense solutions. Americans want a balanced plan that takes the best ideas from both sides. And Americans want us to craft a package that will get the 60 votes that it needs to pass.</s>SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R), UTAH: What could have been a strong bipartisan vote reflecting our collective and genuine desire for responsible reform is now ending as another divided vote as we take another step towards the flawed solution of reforming one-sixth of our economy with more spending, more government and more taxes.</s>HARRIS: Congressional Correspondent Brianna Keilar is following developments on Capitol Hill. And Brianna, tell us what we're likely to see today.</s>BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We'll we're likely to see and we've already begun to see this, Tony, is some debate and some key questions that are being asked of basically health care experts and budget experts about this bill that the Senate Finance Committee is expected to pass today. So, everyone on this committee saying their final peace before they get a vote. And this is such a key hurdle for health care, Tony, because not only is this the fifth and final committee bill that will move on, but it's also the only one that doesn't include that government-run insurance plan. And because of that, some sort of form of what we're seeing today is seen as more likely to be able to pass Congress.</s>HARRIS: And Brianna, who are the key senators we're watching today?</s>KEILAR: We're watching a few. And not just Republicans. We're watching Ron Wyden of Oregon. We're watching Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia. Two Democrats who have not said they are going to vote yes on this. So, we want to see what they'll do. And also, of course, Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, a moderate Republican, the only chance the Democrats have of getting some bipartisan support here today.</s>HARRIS: Got another quick one for you. This vote comes a day after the insurance industry report that says this bill will cost Americans thousands more dollars for insurance. One of those key senators, Republican Olympia Snowe, weighed in before the hearing. What does she have to say?</s>KEILAR: In short, Tony, she railed on this report, saying that she was questioning the methodology, she was questioning the timing of it. And also, we caught her as she went in the back door of this hearing room and tried to pin her down on whether she's going to vote yes or not today. Here's what she said.</s>SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE (R), MAINE: Sorting through all the issues. Certainly have not declared my intentions. I want to be able to make sure that we get all of the facts before a complete final vote. But I'm sorting through those issues.</s>KEILAR: So, she would not be pinned down. And that's why we are keeping an eagle eye on her today.</s>HARRIS: Absolutely. All right. Brianna Keilar on Capitol Hill for us. Brianna, thank you. A congressman who made headlines with an explosive comment in the health care debate faces his constituents. Florida Democrat Alan Grayson quickly shifted focus away from his comment that Republicans want sick people to "die quickly." He said last night's town hall meeting was not for political debate, but for answering people's questions. And his constituents had plenty of those.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do senators and congressmen have another plan that -- what we are getting forced on us?</s>REP. ALAN GRAYSON (D), FLORIDA: I have the same coverage as every other federal employee, no different from everyone else. Secondly, you will not be forced to get any kind of coverage. You can keep the coverage that you have. The president has said over and over and over again, if you like your insurance, you can keep it.</s>HARRIS: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is wrapping up a meeting this hour with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. It is taking place at his home outside Moscow. Clinton met earlier with her Russian counterpart. Key issues: arms control, missile defense and Iran's nuclear ambitions.</s>HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: Iran's nuclear program remains a matter of serious concern, and we're working closely with Russia, through the P5 plus 1 process. We had a constructive meeting in Geneva on October 1st, and we are working to ensure that Iran moves forward with us on this engagement track.</s>HARRIS: And another disturbing case of teen violence. This one out of Florida. Three minors in custody after a 15-year-old was reportedly doused with a flammable liquid and start on fire. We're told that Michael Brewer has burns over about 75 percent of his body. No charges yet in this case. And the motive isn't clear, but Brewer's family believes this is retaliation after he apparently got another kid arrested for stealing a bike.</s>MALISSA DURKEE, VICTIM'S SISTER: This is the worst thing you could possibly do to a 15-year-old kid.</s>DANNY MARTINEZ, VICTIM'S FRIEND: To anybody. To even an animal. You don't do this. You cannot put fire -- I mean, you feel every single bit of pain.</s>HARRIS: Jim Leljedal is on the phone with us. He is the spokesman from the sheriff's office investigating this case. And Jim, thanks for your time. My understanding is three suspects in custody. Do you have everyone in your mind who participated in this attack?</s>JIM LELJEDAL, FLORIDA SHERIFF'S SPOKESMAN: We're not sure, Tony. In fact, right now, we have detectives that are still out in the field. They've been working all night. And they are, as we speak, pulling kids out of class and taking statements and talking to other teenagers to determine whether we have everyone that is responsible for this, because we are determined that anybody and everybody that is responsible is going to answer for this crime.</s>HARRIS: I am so glad to hear that. Jim, the young people who are under arrest, in custody -- well, I shouldn't say -- well, in custody right now -- have they told you anything that helps you move forward with your investigation? Have they confessed to the crime?</s>LELJEDAL: They haven't been terribly cooperative, but the indication at this point is that it's probably related to the bicycle theft on Sunday night. That's the best information we have at this point. We can't release all of the details. I expect that we will release details today, but we want to make sure first that we have everybody in custody.</s>HARRIS: OK. The suspects that you have in custody right now, are they Brewer's classmates, schoolmates?</s>LELJEDAL: A couple of them are classmates. Two of the boys are the same age as he is, 15. One is 13. He skipped school on Monday because he said that he was afraid of running into these boys at school. He thought that they might retaliate. But, in fact, he went to this apartment complex where a friend lives and he was attacked there.</s>HARRIS: OK. Have you seen teen bullying taken to this extent before? I'm trying to understand if this is a bad neighborhood.</s>LELJEDAL: No.</s>HARRIS: You haven't?</s>LELJEDAL: No. This is the extreme. You know, when you think you've seen it all and it couldn't get any worse, then you have teenagers setting someone on fire. This is about as cruel and heinous as it gets.</s>HARRIS: And how is Michael Brewer doing?</s>LELJEDAL: I don't have a recent condition update, but I understand that he is in the hospital. He was transported by our helicopter to a hospital in Ft. Lauderdale, and from there was flown to Miami, to a special burn unit. He's being treated there.</s>HARRIS: Jim Leljedal is with us. He's a spokesman for the sheriff's office investigating this case. Jim, appreciate it. Thanks for your time. Thanks for the information.</s>LELJEDAL: Thank you, Tony.</s>HARRIS: The health insurance industry has some new criticism of health care reform. Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, breaks down the complaints. And let's take a look now at the latest numbers on Wall Street, the Big Board. As you can see, the Dow down. We've got a selling morning so far. The Dow down 45 points. We will follow these numbers throughout the morning with Susan Lisovicz, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.