michael brewer was doused in gasoline and set ablaze. he has burns over 80% of his body. >> this is the worst thing you can possibly do to a 15-year-old kid zblchb kid. to anybody. to even an animal. you can't do this. you feel every single bit of pain. >> we're waiting for news conference in broward county with more details on that. the victim's family said the attack was in retaliation because he had stopped somebody from stealing his dad's bicycle the day before. there's the scene from the sheriff's department. no one there yet. >>> an ugly symbol of hate surfaces next to president obama's name on a country golf course. why getting rid of it is proving to be a tough task. >>> president obama says he'll make his decision soon on new troops for afghanistan. the next couple of weeks. he told reporters the troop issue is one of many issues he'll dealing with when it comes to that conflict. >> the military security provided in our ability to train afghan forces is one element of it. another element of it is making sure that we are doing a

in just a moment, we will be joined by michael's mom, valerie brewer. she has spent the last few torturous days by her son's hospital bed. with severe burns over two-thirds of his body, the 15-year-old is not able to talk. he is not able to tell his mom about his pain or the memory of this hideous attack. it just took moments but the consequences of that action are going to last the rest of this young man's life. >> i think we're looking at many, many months of stay in the burn center, in the acute care hospital. we're looking at several months in the icu. we're looking at at least a year before we can say that we're well on the road to rehabilitation and in terms of ever really getting completely over this, it's a lifelong thing. this is a life-changing event. >> one of the boys who used a lighter to set michael on fire is now charged with attempted murder. all five young suspects are charged with aggravated battery. we're blurring their faces because these are juveniles. prosecutors are still deciding whether to charge them as adults or not. here's my

the victim, michael brewer, was burned over 65% of his body. his doctors say he's on a ventilator and obviously faces a very difficult recovery. >>> president obama had another meeting with his national security team today. the focus of this meeting is to review the options for the war in afghanistan. even if he does send more troops victory over al qaeda and the taliban is far from certain. the associated press is reporting that general stanley mcchrystal, the commander in afghanistan, has laid out three options for increasing u.s. troops' strength. anti-u.s. officials are telling the a.p., each option carries a high risk of failure. they say mcchrystal's report warns that rampant corruption in the afghan government that that could doom the u.s. mission. >>> senate leaders are meeting behind closed doors to work on merging two different health care bills into one. the final senate version, it needs 60 votes to guarantee it passes. after months of debate, the finance committee passed its version yesterday clearing a major hurdle. this one took

michael brewer. doctors say his burns are covered with cadaver skin but that is temporary. >> ultimately those areas will mostly require grafts. some areas may heal on their own. that remains to be seen. he is still heavily sedated. he is responsive but not in a way that you could say you could have a conversation but he can be aroused from sedation. >> a total of five teenagers one as young as 13 are charged with aggravated battery. the teen accused of flicking this lighter at brewer after he was doused with rubbing alcohol was charged with attempted second degree murder. authorities believe it was retaliation from him stopping someone from stealing a bicycle. >>> a frightening ten-hour hostage situation has ended in canada. a man with a rifle barricaded himself in this workers compensation office in canada. he took eight people hostage. the gunman let the hostages go one by one before he surrendered. no one was hurt. >>> we are learning more about this iraqi immigrant accused of running over his ow

in another call it's clear that 15-year-old michael brewer is in agony. authorities recorded a total of 28 minutes of emergency calls. he's still in intensive care at miami jackson memorial hospital. doctors still fear his organs can begin to fail. five boys ages 13 to 15 are charged in connection to the brutal attack. >>> a judge in casey anthony's murder trial has rejeked a motion to drop the first degree and aggravated child abuse charges against her. her lawyers presented their gums during a hearing that happened this morning. anthony's defense team and prosecutors argue back and forth over the evidence. remains were found in december not far from the anthony family home. the state is seeking the death penalty. >>> a new h1n1 warning. the fda says absolutely do not buy any treatments you see for sale online. this is what the agency is saying. it's testing products found on the internet that claim they can help you and so far none of them have been approved in the u.s. none. so bottom line, talk to your doctor. >>> got an update on the story we told yo

police are holding three juveniles in connection with the attack. 15-year-old michael brewer was doused with gasoline and set ablaze. he ran through an apartment complex and jumped into the pool to put out the flames. he has burns on 80% of his body. >> this is the worst thing you could possibly do to a 15-year-old kid. >> to anybody. even an animal. you don't do this. can you not put fire -- you feel every single bit of pain. >> the victim's family says the attack was in retaliation because he got somebody arrested for stealing a bike the day before. so horrible. >>> a lung transplant patient is dead after he got the lungs of a 50 cigarette a day smoker. he got that transplant in 2007 but less than a year later doctors found the tumor in his new lungs and he died soon after. the hospital says that it's not unusual to transplant a smoker's lungs because there just are not enough lungs available. >>> a teacher in florida claims he taught his dog to read. check this out. you can see the golden retriever picking up and dropping a pencil based on commands on the card. he says that he memori

the sheriff says they prevented michael brewer from leaving the confrontation. three others arrested are suspected of carrying out this attack. brewer's family says he's in critical condition and will be in the hospital for five months. >>> if you habitually logon to facebook or twitter there's a good chance you have more money than people who use myspace. a nielsen study came to that conclusion and found 38% of linked in users earn more than $100,000 a year. >>> rafer, where are you socialized on-line depends on how much money you make? >> i socialize with the tin can and string. that's mine. >> hello. is what you do. >> pretty much. >> your on-line socializing. rush limbaugh's bid to buy an nfl team is running into opposition from the league itself. players' union is what you're talking about before. >> now we're talking about actual owners of the team. this is significant because regardless of whatever deal they have, the team would need to -- the league would have to approve the sale. so first, nfl commissioner roger goodell blasted limbaugh's past comments

the worry is that michael brewer's organs could start to fail. he has burns on at least two-thirds of his body from a vicious attack monday afternoon. police say five boys douseded him with rubbing alcohol and then set him on fire. those boys, ages 13 to 15, face felony charges. one of them is actually charged with attempted murder. the victim's mother, valerie brewer, spoke earlier today with abc's "good morning america" about his current condition. >> he has a tube to help him breathe, so he's not able to speak to us. but he has actually sat up in bed, and tried to tell me to take his tubes out and that he wants a glass of water. and then he goes back to sleep. but i don't know if he remembers what happened. >> and you can tell she has barely slept from what she has been through. brewer remains in intensive care at miami's jackson memorial hospital. >>> keeping an eye on this. in about 20 minutes, the president is expected to touch down in new orleans. he'll be talking to people who live through hurricane katrina. they're still trying to rebuil

his injuries much less severe than young michael brewer's. still they were excruciating and led michael jackson to an addiction to prescription drugs. befriended burn victim david rothenberg. david was just 6 years old when his fire set him on fire and rothemberg was burned head to toe. look at this poor child. over 90% of his child. said burnt injuries are the most painful. they have to put the boy in this case in a medically induced coma. >> jane, it goes back to -- >> brendabrenda? >> i really believe that the answer here is that we all children need vigilant care and nurturing. parents are not equipped. we have a problem with parents today. we have a problem with schools. we are all overwhelmed with economic distress. i believe the answer is threefold. >> all right, we're going to have to leave it right there. >> education. >> let me say this we will not let this go. we're going to stay on top of this subject. fantastic panel, thank you. >>> the issue of kids and violence in our society's outright addiction to violence, that's what it is.

i have to go back to valerie brewer, michael brewer, the victim's mom. is it true, some of the kids accused of doing this to your son used to be friends and how did it deteriorate to this monotrosty. >> i'm not at liberty to discuss it because of the criminal case. i have been advised by the police not to answer any of those questions. >> let me ask brenda, sometimes there's a fine line of young people between love and hate. >> that's true, but there's two things about the case that stand out for me with the young people. one is clearly, when children act in an abusive way, we find they have been treated in an abusive way. all behavior is learned behavior. the other thing, you said yourself, in our culture, we value things above people. the bicycle was more important than michael's life and well-being. that's something we need to address in our culture so we are not blinded and hypnotized by materialism and value what's important, which is one another. >> absolutely. valerie brewer, reading about your horrific situation, you said you are hoping that some

he's charged with attempted murder in the attack that left michael brewer burned over three-quarters of his body. four other teen boys are charged with aggravated assault in the same case. brewer is still listed in critical condition. >>> florida police say misty croslin was robbed monday night while trying to buy illegal drugs. she was baby sitting haleigh cummings when she disappeared in february. one of the three at the complex told they drove to the complex to buy illegal drugs. croslin and haleigh's dad divorced just last week just a few months after getting married. >>> and federal authorities in boston say they have uncovered a frightening terror plot that involved attacks on malls and prominent politicians. a 27-year-old massachusetts man arrested last year in connection with this probe now faces even more serious charges. he's tarek mehanna accused of conspireing to kill people in foreign countries but that includes military u.s. personnel serving in iraq. >> mehanna along with his co-conspirators decided to take further action in the name of jihad. they took step in further

in just a moment, we will be joined by michael's mom, valerie brewer. she has spent the last few torturous days by her son's hospital bed. with severe burns over two-thirds of his body, the 15-year-old is not able to talk. he is not able to tell his mom about his pain or the memory of this hideous attack. it just took moments but the consequences of that action are going to last the rest of this young man's life. >> i think we're looking at many, many months of stay in the burn center, in the acute care hospital. we're looking at several months in the icu. we're looking at at least a year before we can say that we're well on the road to rehabilitation and in terms of ever really getting completely over this, it's a lifelong thing. this is a life-changing event. >> one of the boys who used a lighter to set michael on fire is now charged with attempted murder. all five young suspects are charged with aggravated battery. we're blurring their faces because these are juveniles. prosecutors are still deciding whether to charge them as adults or not. here's my

. >>> michael brewer has burns on at least two-thirds of his body. doctors are afraid that his organs could begin to fail. five boys doused him with rubbing alcohol and set him on fire. those boys age 13 to 15 now face felony charges and one is charged with attempted murder. the victim's mother spoke today with abc's "good morning america" about the shocking violence. >> people really need to wake up and see what is going on with this generation. they need to take hold of our children and really do something. the violence across our nation with our children is getting stronger and stronger and we need to stop it now. to this doesn't happen -- excuse me. i'm sorry. doesn't happen to somebody else. or something worse. it's unimaginable. please, everybody out there, take a hold of your children. love them. love everybody's children. let them know that these things are not right. violence doesn't solve anything. >> brewer is in intensive care at miami's jackson memorial hospital. the entire medical team is worried about his condition. >> people don't rea

michael brewer was doused with gasoline and set ablaze. he ran through an apartment complex and jump under to the pool to put out the flames. he has burns on 80% of his body. >> this is the worst thing you could possibly do to a 15-year-old kid. >> not even animal you don't do this. you cannot put fire. >> the victim's family says that the attack was in retaliation because he got someone arrested for stealing a bicycle the day before. >>> today a judge in l.a. will start hearing testimony about how anna nicole smith may have gotten the drugs that killed her. a preliminary hearing that will decide if the case against her boyfriend, howard k. stern and two of her doctors will go to trial. they've all pleaded not guilty to conspiring to illegally providing her with controlled substances. >>> the feds have a new tool to find fugitives and it's in your wallet. fbi agents in north carolina are scanning millions of digital driver's license photos with facial recognition software. it said it aufrld led them to a homicide suspect. federal long give

police are holding three juveniles in connection with the attack. 15-year-old michael brewer was doused with gasoline and set ablaze. police say that brewer ran through an apartment complex and jumped into the pool to put out the flames. he has burns now on 80% of his body. >> this is the worst thing you could possibly do to a 15-year-old kid. >> to anybody. >> even an animal. you don't do this. you cannot put fire -- every single bit of pain. >> so awful. the victim's family says the attack was a retaliation because he got someone arrested for stealing a bicycle the day before. >>> the u.s. wants a huge bunker buster pronto but it won't say if concerns about iran in north korea are why it's in such a hurry to build one. the 15-ton bomb can destroy hidden weapons bunkers shielded by 10,000 pound of reinforced concrete. it is ten times more powerful than the weapon it will replace. that's expected to happen as soon as next summer. a teacher in florida claims that he taught his dog to read. so watch it yourself. you can get abigail the golden retriever picking up and dropping a pencil aft

. >> well you're seeing michael brewer's burned clothes on the ground there. police say that last week five teens chased him, one poured alcohol on him, another used a light er lighter to set him on fire. the youngest suspect is 13. he's been found competent to stand trial. >>> protecting you from credit card abuse could go into effect sooner than expected. jennifer westhoven is looking out for you. >>> the new laws weren't supposed to kick in until february, right? now lawmakers want to speed things up and you already know why, because all the card companies have been hiking fees and rates even before the new laws kicked in. well, they know this. now a house committee has voted to try to start the rules early. december 1st instead of waiting until february the full house and senate still have to approve it but remember, what would happen with the new law, among other things, no rate hikes for at least one year after you sign up. they promise you a rate. you get to keep it for at least a year and if they do jack up the rates they apply only two new charges not

. >>> you're seeing michael brewer's burned clothes on the ground there. police say five teens chased him last week. one poured alcohol on him and the other lit it. the youngest suspect is 13. he's been found competent to stand trial. still such a horrible case. >>> michael jackson's mother fired the attorneys to help her fight for control on her late son's estate. but her new lawyer missed a key hearing yesterday. the judge gave the leading two administrators more power to make deals on behalf of the jackson estate. jackson's mother wants a jackson family member to have a seat at the table, so to speak, as a third executor. >>> cheered on by his teammates, a legally blind ohio teenager scored a touchdown for his high school football team. hi, rafer. >> good morning, robin. something he's always wanted to do. normally he's giving water to these players. the other team had no idea of his disability when he scored. we're talking about 16-year-old tyler brown who is the team manager, but his coach let him suit up this year. on october 15, his team was on the

michael brewer fighting for his life. he has second-degree burns over 80% of his body. could be in the hospital for up to five months. police in deerfield beach, florida, say they threw a jug of rubbing alcohol on him and used a lighter to set him on fire. a couple reportedly laughed about it. this apparently started over a video game, he owed one of the kids 40 bucks. makes you wonder, are kids more ruthless than ever, more violent than ever? we'll take your calls on this, want to hear from you, 1-877-tell-hln is the number. we want to bring in jane velez-mitchell, host of "issues" with jane velez-mitchell. also with us, dr. janet taylor, psychiatrist. jane, i'll start with you. how have we gotten to this place, where a group of teens are going to set a 15-year-old on fire? and then reportedly laugh about it, a couple of them? >> i am left speechless by this case, mike. this young man, handsome young man, had to be put into a medically induced coma. that's how painful his injuries were. it was so painful, that when it happened, he raced to a swimming pool and threw him

you may remember the news story, 50-year-old michael brewer, snitch order another teen, trying to steal his dad's bike a few weeks ago. a group of boys cornered him and doused him in rubbing alcohol and set him on fire. i spoke to michael's mom days after this hideous attack. >> i won't leave his side unless a dock has to talk to me or change michael's bandages which takes anywhere from 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours. because he has so many burns. they have to heavily sedate him so he does not feel any of the pain. >> judge karen, hideous violence by kids. it is all based on this don't snitch at all costs. where do they get that? >> i don't know where they get it from. but when you talk about surfing down the channel and seeing violence against women, you surf down the channel and you see how much women are objectified. look at music videos and you see girls half naked and doing everything and anything to get a man's attention. >> let's not blame the girls. okay. >> i'm not blaming the girls. i'm blaming what the boys -- about the girls. >> culturally what we have done is eliminated the elevated

the sheriff says they prevented michael brewer from leaving the confrontation. three others arrested are suspect issed of carrying out the attack. >> this group of kids thought that because the kid may have snitched them out and turned them in because they were trying to steal his datd's bike they felt it was okay to set him on fire. we've got to send a message that is not okay and not a way to resolve any kind of differences or any problems. >> brewer's family says that he is now in critical condition and will be in the hospital for five months. >>> an update on a story we told you about earlier this morning. good news for a delaware kid who was about to be sent to reform school over a camping school. he face a's three to five-day suspension suspension. he brought a knife, fork and spoon to lunch. he was looking at reform school for troublemakers. >>> american music award nominations are up michael jackson is up for artist of the year and more. several nominations was for his greatest hits collection released in 2003. ♪ taylor swift is also up for artist of t