so what is the solution, dr. richard s. -- dr. richards? how are we going to turn this around for california and the nation? >> i am actually giving this paper in two weeks in finland at a conference, but just some of our ideas that come out of the convict criminology group. the first is and the war on drugs. just and it. -- just end it. it started in 1960 with richard nixon. it has been going on 50 years. nobody has even kept count of how many people have been arrested -- 10 million, 20 million, 30 million? it sounds like something out of stalin's russia. turn in your neighbors, turn in your friends. if you turn in 10 people, you get less time in prison. that is what it is, you know?

so what is the solution, dr. richard s. -- dr. richards? how are we going to turn this around for california and the nation? >> i am actually giving this paper in two weeks in finland at a conference, but just some of our ideas that come out of the convict criminology group. the first is and the war on drugs. just and it. -- just end it. it started in 1960 with richard nixon. it has been going on 50 years. nobody has even kept count of how many people have been arrested -- 10 million, 20 million, 30 million? it sounds like something out of stalin's russia. turn in your neighbors, turn in your friends. if you turn in 10 people, you get less time in prison. that is what it is, you know? this war on drugs is something out of stalin's russia. and let's stop this war on sex oen

so what is the solution, dr. richard s. -- dr. richards? how are we going to turn this around for california and the nation? >> i am actually giving this paper in two weeks in finland at a conference, but just some of our ideas that come out of the convict criminology group. the first is and the war on drugs. just and it. -- just end it. it started in 1960 with richard nixon. it has been going on 50 years. nobody has even kept count of how many people have been arrested -- 10 million, 20 million, 30 million? it sounds like something out of stalin

so what is the solution, dr. richard s. -- dr. richards? how are we going to turn this around for california and the nation? >> i am actually giving this paper in two weeks in finland at a conference, but just some of our ideas that come out of the convict criminology group. the first is and the war on drugs. just and it. -- just end it. it started in 1960 with richard nixon. it has been going on 50 years. nobody has even kept count of how many people have been arrested -- 10 million, 20 million, 30 million? it sounds like something out of stalin's russia. turn in your neighbors, turn in your friends. if you turn in 10 people, you get less time in prison. that is what it is, you know? this war on drugs is something out of stalin's russia

thank you. >> continue, dr. richard s. -- dr. richards. >> [inaudible] >> we love the excitement. this is all intentional. >> i'm happy to be in san francisco, and that kind of brings me to the point i want to say. this morning, we were in the courtroom, and we have lawyers, public defenders talking about legal cases, talking about the roles they play. what i think has been lost here, and maybe even this gentleman kind of raised it, is what happens to these defendants? what happens when they go back into the court, into the lock up after they have pled guilty? about 95% of them plead guilty. you know that they are being forced to plead guilty. you all know it. it is like there is a gun to their head. i call it the terror of arithmetic. they are being threatened with 100 years, 50 years, 20 years -- you know what that does to them. they go back to their jail cells. those numbers bounce around in there had. after a week or a month or six months or a year, a year-and-a- half, they plead guilty. and you know as public defenders, one of your main jobs is to make them plead guilty. and

so what is the solution, dr. richard s. -- dr. richards? how are we going to turn this around for california and the nation? >> i am actually giving this paper in two weeks in finland at a conference, but just some of our ideas that come out of the convict criminology group. the first is and the war on drugs. just and it. -- just end it. it started in 1960 with richard nixon. it has been going on 50 years. nobody has even kept count of how many people have been arrested -- 10 million, 20 million, 30 million? it sounds like something out of stalin's russia. turn in your neighbors, turn in your friends. if you turn in 10 people, you get less time in prison. that is what it is, you know? this war on drugs is something out of stalin's russia. and let's stop this war on sex offenders before this gets way out of hand. it is already way out of hand. [applause] i know we are concerned about sexual assault and rape and people assaulting women and children -- i know that. most of the people in prison as sex offenders are not those people. i call them

dr. richard besser on the breakthrough. >>> hometown girl. what if your high school pal was suddenly becoming your future queen? >>> and, the journey. from giant crickets that lull you to sleep to red wine with coke? some unforgettable moments from our travels through the new china. >>> good evening on our final night from china, from the capital of beijing, home of the historic forbidden city, tiananmen square and tonight, something very modern. corporate executives, countless of them, from all over the world, coming here, hoping to carve out a share of the biggest economic boom on the planet. the emerging middle class in china. look at it this way. there are not just more house holds with tvs here than in america, there are 255 million more. more cars were sold here, 3 million more, last year, than in the united states. and, as we have said, we came here with questions about what this means for america, for american jobs and for the iconic american companies hoping to get their piece of the action in this culture so far away. it's china, so

dr. richard besser on the break through. >>> hometown girl. what if your high school pal was suddenly becoming your future queen? >>> and, the journey. from giant crickets that lull you to sleep to red wine with coke? some unforgettable moments from our travels through the new china. >>> good evening on our final night from china, from the capital of beijing, home of the historic forbidden city, tiananmen square and tonight, something very modern. corporate executives, countless of them, from all over the world, coming here, hoping to carve out a share of the biggest economic boom on the planet. the emerging middle class in china. look at it this way. there are not just more house holds with tvs here than in america, there are 255 million more. more cars were sold here, 3 million more, last year, than in the united states. and, as we have said, we karm here with questions about what this means for america, for american jobs and for the iconic american companies hoping to get their piece of the action in this culture so far away. it's china, so

dr. richards, it is my understanding you have some personal experience in this area. i would ask you to share your experiences with us and tell us about the barriers that exist for people who have a criminal record. >> i'm a convicted felon. i'm an ex-con. and i'm a professor. i'm the leader of the convert criminology

dr. richards, it is my understanding you have some personal experience in this area. i would ask you to share ou

dr. richards, it is my understanding you have some personal experience in this area. i would ask you to share your experiences with us and tell us about the barriers that exist for people who have a criminal record. >> i'm a convicted felon. i'm an ex-con. and i'm a professor. i'm the leader of the convert criminology group. if you just go to google and google convict

dr. richards, it is my understanding you have some personal experience in this area. i would ask you to share your experiences with us and tell us about the barriers that exist for people who have a criminal record. >> i'm a convicted felon. i'm an ex-con. and'

dr. richard besser has more on the promising research. >> reporter: it is the holy grail of modern medicine. the largest study ever of lung cancer screening out today provides a way to save lives. >> it showed that there was decrease in deaths from lung cancer if you undergo c.t. screening. >> reporter: until now, early detection of lung cancer has been almost impossible. by the time a patient is symptomatic, it is usually too late to cure them. the announcement was enough to bring tears to the eyes of dr. claudia henschke, who has championed screening for more than 20 years. >> i'm thrilled because all the work we put in was to save lives. >> reporter: by giving older, heavy smokers an annual low-dose c.t. scan, the smallest of tumors can be detected and surgically removed, providing a cure. the scan, which has the same exposure as a mammogram, provides detailed pictures of the lung. >> the person came back a year later. and you see that there is something here. >> reporter: this white -

richard besser reports from pittsburgh. >> reporter: this thanksgiving weekend, you'll find dr. jim withers and his medical team in their usual places. under bridges, alleyways, on the streets of pittsburgh. >> i'm going to start you back on the insulin. >> reporter: it is a house call to those with no home. >> mind if i listen to your heart and lungs? >> i would appreciate if you did. >> reporter: mark, 43, lives under a bridge. he's been homeless for ten years. >> i have tears in my eyes, but i'm not letting them out. i don't know what to do. >> okay, we'll figure it out together. >> reporter: for nearly 20 years, dr. withers has been making rounds in the darkest of places. he's been held at gunpoint three times. >> i wore a bulletproof vest for over a year. >> reporter: you still came out? >> i don't know, i just felt like this was worth dying for. >> reporter: the homeless in the country rarely get medical care. >> god bless you, dr. withers. >> reporter: the average life expectancy in major cities is just 48 years old. 30 years less than the national average. >> if we could

many doctors disagree including dr. richard jacobs, an infecttious diseaseexpertt. >> if you have been treated appropriately for six weeks that further therapy is not indicated any longer. >> this prolonged therapy is generally not covered by insurance. does that surprise you? >> not at all. >> reporter: cindy enes says mona has the right to appeal. >> a patient who has been denied a treatment recommendation has the right to receive an independent medical review. >> reporter: and so far her agency's initial investigation suggests blue shield should pay. >> at some point it becomes the responsibility of the plan to provide that critical intervention. >> reporter: giving mona new hope she can afford the treatment and get back to her calling. >> i don't like to give up. even if i'm tired i'll keep pushing. >> reporter: dr. kim mulvihill, health watch. >> we were told that they are still investigating mona case. last week for the first time mona reports to us that her insurer picked up the $1200 tab for that i.v. infusion d

i have to say that dr. richards probably will not authorize this, but i am going to make a plug for the book he has written. i want to say he has written the book "convict criminology." another book called "behind bars." and "beyond bars." so check it out on

. >> reporter: it's a very controversial issue and many doctors disagree including ucss dr. richard jacobs an infectious disease specialist. >> the recommendation is that even after you have an episode of lime disease, if you have been treated appropriately for six weeks with intravenous antibiotics, that further therapy for these non-specific symptoms is not indicated any longer. >> this prolonged therapy is generally not covered by insurance. does that surprise you? >> not at all. >> reporter: but cindy enis who heads up the state's insurance watchdog agency says she has the right to appeal. >> a patient who has been denied a treatment recommendation has the right to receive an independent medical review. >> reporter: and so far her agency's investigation indicates blue shield should play. >> at some point it becomes the responsibility of the plan to provide that critical intervention. >> reporter: giving mona new hope she can get treatment and get back to her calling. >> i'll keep pushing. >> reporter: dr. kim mulvihill. >> blue shield declined our request for an on-camer

and dr. richard besser will have a full report. something a lot of parents and people are interested in. >> absolutely. a lot of news. >>> and continuing political landscape in washington, as well. a busy news week. check that out on "gma," coming up later today. >>> but for right now, your local news, for some of you. >> for everyone else, late-night comics weigh in on the change now coming to washington. [ male announcer ] build your better breakfast at subway with the $2.50 breakfast combo. get a 16oz. cup of piping-hot seattle's best coffee and a savory new sunrise subway melt built fresh to your order for just $2.50. subway. build your better breakfast. for just $2.50. ♪ your favorites, in pieces. she starts at dawn and so does her back pain.om. that's two pills for a four hour drive. the drive is done. so it's a day of games and two more pills. the games are over, her pain is back, that's two more pills. and when she's finally home, but hang on, just two aleve can keep back pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. t

here's dr. richard besser. >> reporter: cardiovascular disease kills one out of every three americans. some doctors are calling this a make breakthrough. >> we studied a new medication that is four to ten times stronger than any prior therapy. >> reporter: until now, the focus has been on decreasing the bad ldl cholesterol with stattens. but that doesn't eliminate the risk of heart disease. some doctors will tell you that raising the good hdl cholesterol may be even more important. in today's study a. new drug was given to patients on statins. and it works by lowering bad cholesterol. and increasing levels of hdl, good cholesterol. which may actually help remove plaque from arteries. the results, bad cholesterol went down by 40%. and good cholesterol went up by 138%. >> it really has remarkable lowering of the bad cholesterol and raising of the good cholesterol thrs this is leaps and bounds of anything they have been able to achieve. the best drug raises hdl by 25% and poorly tolerated. this dru

richard besser, who is here with it all tonight. tell me about this, rich. >> reporter: diane, this is the forgotten epidemic in the united states. i'd like viewers to think about how many new cases of hiv occur in this country every year. it's quite astounding. more than 50,000 new hiv infections. >> still? still in this country? >> reporter: still occurring. and today's study hopes to change that. this is the first time a study has been done that shows that taking a drug before exposure to hiv can prevent infection. among the mostly gay men in this study who took the drug truvada every day, regularly, it reduced their infection by 70%. that's absolutely incredible. it's been too long since we've had a new prevention tool for hiv. >> so are you envisioning a day when this could replace condom use, when this could be the thing that would prevent the contraction of hiv? >> reporter: well, this can reduce infection but it should not prevent condom use. condoms not only prevent hiv, they prevent those infections that can increase the l

our chief health and medical editor dr. richard besser explains this new hope. >> reporter: it is a holy grail of modern medicine. the largest study ever of lung cancer screening out today provides a way to save lives. >> it showed there was decrease in deaths from lung cancer if you undergo ct screening. >> reporter: until now, early detection of lung cancer has been almost impossible. by the time a patient is symptomatic, it is usually too late to cure them. today's announcement was enough to bring tears to the eyes of dr. claudia henschke who has championed screening for more than 20 years. over the course of your career, you've taken a lot of hits, a lot of shots for your statements about the use of ct. >> but the feeling really is that i'm thrilled because of all the work we have put in was to save lives. >> reporter: by giving older, heavy smokers an annual low-dose ct scan, the smallest of tumors can be detected and surgically removed, providing a cure. the scan, which has the same exposure as a mammogram, provides d

dr. richard besser. >> reporter: cardiovascular disease kills one out of every three americans which is why some doctors are calling this a major new breakthroughbreakthro >> we studied a new medication that's four to ten times stronger than any prior therapy. >> reporter: until now the focus has been on decreasing the bad ldl cholesterol with statins. that doesn't eliminate the risk of heart disease. some doctors will tell you raising the good hdl cholesterol may be even more important. a new drug anacetrapib was given to patients already on statins. it work busy lowering bad cholterol and increasing levels of hdl, good cholesterol, which may actually help remove plaque from arteries. the results, bad cholesterol went down by 40%. and good cholesterol went up by a whopping 138%. >> it really has remarkable lowering of the bad cholesterol and raising of the good cholesterol. >> reporter: this is leaps and bounds above anything other drugs have been able to achieve. the best drug currently

. >> dr. richard vats a professor of rhetoric at towson university. >> that's why they use the union, if the news does not cover what we door, we can do what we want. if 91 is there to criticize we can do what we want. he is correct that the fewer people there to criticize the more they can do without anybody overseeing what they are doing. but that's not about democracy, >> during the criticism of the commercial media senator rockefellee failed to tell the whole story. his wife is the president of washington's public broadcasting station, affiliate of npr. the same organization that fired conservative coordinator ron william for an opinion he gave on fox news in october. >> i hunger for quality news. >> why should anybody care how jay rockeffller is discomforted. the fact that he is discomforted has nothing to do with freedom of speech and freedom of the press. >> jeff abell, fox 45 news at 10:00. >> meantime a measure on capitol hill to cut funding to national public radio after juan william

and our dr. richard besser is back with more on that. >> it's great to come with good news. a screening test for lung cancer has long been a holy grail in medicine. now, researchers may have found it. this is major news because currently most patients with lung cancer don't show symptoms until it's too late to save their lives. the study found that a simple c.t. scan can reduce the risk of death from lung cancer by 20%. >> we've been looking for over 40 years to try to find a way to reduce deaths from lung cancer with screening. >> reporter: dr. claudia henschke, a long advocate of screening, was brought to tears. >> i'm thrilled because of all the work we put in was to save lives. >> reporter: and 79-year-old barbara hillary is one of the many lives doctors saved. nine years ago, barbara was diagnosed with lung cancer, after it was picked up on a screening c.t. scan. if you hadn't been told then, you would just be going on while the tumor was growing in your chest? >> no. i wouldn't be sitting here now. >> reporter: you wouldn't be sitting here? >> i wouldn't. i'd be dead.

dr. richard besser is a part of our dream team of experts. and part of the 50 club. >> that's right. >> you talked about it a lot and the things you had to change. let's start with exercise. what do you do? >> it's never too late to start exercise. people get overwhelmed by the thought of beginning. talk to your doctor about how fast and if there's any restrictions. your goal is to do 2 1/2 hours in a week. but you can break that down into ten-minute blocks and build up to that. as mehmet was saying, resistance training becomes important in terms of building strong bones. >> you talked about, there's certain tests and medical procedures you should go through when you hit that magic age. >> at 50, there's numbers and tests you should pay attention to. the first is your bmi, your body/mass index. pay attention to belly fat. belly fat is a big risk factor. cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, those will put you at risk for diabetes and stroke. you should know those. in addition, there's tests you should be having done. if you haven't done t

. >> it is a very controversial issue and many doctors disagree including dr. richard jacobs an infectious disease specialist. >> the recommendation is even after you have an episode of lime disease if you have been treated appropriately for six weeks with intravenous anti biotics, further therapy for these nonspecific symptoms is not indicated longer. >> the prolonged therapy is generally not covered by insurance does that surprise you? >> not at all. >> cindy who heads up the states watchdog agency said mona has a right to appeal. >> a patient denied a treatment recommendation has the right to receive an independent medical review. >> so far her agencies initial investigation suggests blue shield should pay. >> at some point it is the responsibility of the plan to provide that critical intervention. >> giving mona new hope she can afford her treatment and get back to her calling. >> i don't like to give up if i am exhausted and tiredly still keep pushing. >> cbs 5 health watch. >> blue shield declined our request for an on camera interview but told cbs 5 they

dr. rediger. thank you casey. you can read more about it's also available now on our brand-new "o" magazine ipad app, at the itunes app store. bye, everybody, and thank you very miracles. king world] [captioned by the national company will work harder to make you mobile or do more to ensure your total satisfaction. i expected they'd help me file some paperwork with medicare and my insurance. i never expected them to be so nice or work so hard to get me a power chair at no cost to me. if we qualify you and medicare denies your claim for a w scooter or power chair, i'll give it to you absolutely free. that's the scooter store guarantee. we'll wo with your insurance company, even help with financing. if there's a way, we'll find it. when they delivered mom's power chair, i expected they'd show her how to use it once or twice. that man stayed for hours! whatever it takes, as long as it takes. that's our guarantee. why do we go to < uch great lengths? because making you mobile is our mission.

here is dr. richard bess. >>> cardiovascular disease kills one out of every three americans why is why some doctors are calling this a major breakthrough. >> we studied a new medication four to ten times stronger than any therapy. >> until now the focus has been on decreasing the bad ldl cholesterol with statins. some doctors will tell you that raising the good hdl cholesterol may be even more important. in today's study a new drug was given to patients already on statins. it works by lowering bad cholesterol and increasing levels of hdl, good cholesterol which may help remove plaque from arteries. bad cholesterol went down by 30% and good went up by a whopping 138%. >> it really has a remarkable lowering of the bad cholesterol and raising of the good cholesterol. >> this is leaps bounds born anything other drugs have been able to achieve. the best drug only raises hdl by 25% and is poorly tolerated. this is at least three years away from market and more testing is underway. >> it is still to be

>>reporter: dr. richard gray an addiction specialist in san ramone treating robert young people don't understand the risk of these medicines. >> legit may the that this is present scaibd drug but if you take something with 80 milligram of oxy-codeine like 16 vicodin pills which is a common pain immediate that's a lot to take at one time. >> this idea about doctor gives it the to you then item okay. then item not as addictive. >> that's not the caseism not at all. >>reporter: at his peak this habit was costing up to 300 dollars a day. >> some desperate situation you end up pawning off your belongings or even prostituting yourself to get your neck physical. >>reporter: he eventually turned to a cheaper physical. >> i started shooting heroin. started shooting black tar. the people were in high school shooting it. >>reporter: that from prescription medicine to heroin is a growing concern. but the federal government says it starts at home. >> source of supply is medicine cabinet. over 60 perfect of the ch

. >> reporter: ucsf's dr. richard jacobs an infectious disease expert strongly disagrees. >> the infectious disease society of america based on in evidence in the literature that lyme disease is a well defined disease. >> reporter: lyme disease comes from the bite of a tick found in wooded areas where there are lots of deer, like here in marin county. and while most cases are treated with just a month of antibiotics, some patients suffer much longer. dr. green says mona's ongoing symptoms are a sign of ongoing infection. >> if the patient remains ill, there is an active infection. there is a bug in there that you have to continue to try to reduce in number. >> reporter: how? with months and in some cases even years of iv antibiotics. >> where's the evidence for that? where does it come from? show me one study that says that therapy for six or seven months is doing the patient any good whatsoever. >> reporter: dr. jacobs says vague symptoms like headaches, fatigue, i, insomnia, muscle aches and pains are not re

dr. richard besser has more on the promising research. >> reporter: it is the holy grail of modern medicine. the largest study ever of lung cancer screening provides a way to save lives. >> it showed that there was a decrease in deaths from lung cancer if you undergo ct screenings. >> reporter: until now, early detection of lung cancer has been almost impossible. by the time a patient is symptomatic it's usually too late to cure them. the announcement was enough to bring tears to the eyes of dr. claudia hensky. all through the course of your career you've taken a lot of hits, a lot of shots, for your statements about the use of ct. >> but the feeling really is that i'm thrilled because of all the work we've put in was to save lives. >> reporter: by giving older heavy smokers an annual low-dose ct scan, the smallest of tumors can be detected and surgically removed, providing a cure. the scan, which has the same exposure as a mammogram, provides detailed pictures of the lung. >> the person

richard lindzen professor of meteorology for the department of institute of technology. dr. gerald meehl senior scientist for the global dynamic division of the national center for atmospheric research and dr. heidi cullen cullen the chief executive officer and director of the medications for climate central. those introductions took me about five seconds to read each. the rather distinguished biographies of these extraordinary individuals that would take you five years almost to read so forgive me for not going into such detail but i hope you will check them out on their web site. you will see this is indeed a confident and capable group of individuals. as are with witnesses know we are asking you to summarize an entire career of research and fries brief minutes after which we will ask a series of questions and this is the first panel. we have two other panels after this and we will do our level best to make sure each panel gives a proportionate amount of time at a hearing today and with that doctor cicerone please begin. >> thank you chairman bair to members of the subcomm

richard besser and he was recently in haiti. so dr. besser, thanks for joining us this morning. i think first and foremost, how big a threat of spread is this cholera outbreak, both to the united states and the surrounding region? >> well, one of the critical things to know about cholera is that 75% of those -- of the people who are infected will have absolutely no symptoms. so they're able to take the bacteria and bring it to another country. in a country like the united states where there's clean water and adequate sanitation, the likelihood of spread is very, very remote unless it's introduced into a migrant camp or place that didn't have adequate water. the caribbean is a different story and it's likely there will be cases introduced to the caribbean, whether or not they spread, whether or not they set up shop like they have done in haiti will depend on the quality of water and sanitation this those countries. >> and in terms of trying to get it under control in haiti, we saw in the report that basic, you know, say line solution or rehydration and water is not getting to the