American Morning
The Gun Trail: Tracking guns that go missing
Editor's Note: There is a major fight going on at the local level over a new law intended to keep guns out of criminal hands. Critics say it's just another case of legislating against the legal and responsible gun owners. Our Ed Lavandera has the report for part three of our American Morning original series, "The Gun Trail."
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://blogs.cnn.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2010/02/gun-trail-cnn-art.jpg caption="Ed Lavandera reports on a controversial law about tracking lost and stolen guns."]
By Ed Lavandera, CNN
Jana Finder says not enough is being done to keep illegally trafficked guns off Pennsylvania's streets. This might be the heart of northeastern gun country.
Finder, along with a group called "Ceasefire PA," has launched a grassroots campaign to get local governments to sign on to what's become a highly controversial law, called "lost and stolen" ordinances.
Supporters of gun rights hate it. The ordinances require gun owners to report if their weapons have been lost or stolen, usually within 24 hours.
"There is very strong support from law officers,” says Finder. "They've told us this kind of requirement would give them another investigative tool to help crackdown and reduce the numbers of illegal handguns on our streets."
Watch "The Gun Trail" part three 
Finder says these laws target the number one source of guns for criminals – people with clean records who buy guns then supply them to street criminals; so-called "straw purchasers."
The battle over these ordinances is being waged in small towns all across Pennsylvania, in city council chambers like one we visited in Duqeusne, Pennsylvania.
The Gun Trail: How legal guns go bad
Editor’s Note: In this week’s American Morning original series “The Gun Trail,” we are taking a look at how legal guns could get into the wrong hands. Today, our Ed Lavandera is on the front line – a state at the start of the so-called iron pipeline – a pipeline that could end in your streets. Tomorrow, we go from the front line to the end of the line – the city streets. Are laws at the local level making it harder for the criminals or the legal and responsible gun owners?
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/02/16/lavandera.gun.shop.cnn.art.jpg caption="CNN's Ed Lavandera looks at both sides of the "lost or stolen" weapons law in the fight against gun trafficking."]
By Ed Lavandera, CNN
Kayton Smith says you'd be surprised the stories gun buyers reveal.
"What made you decide to buy a firearm?" he asks a potential customer.
"Do you want to know the truth?" the customer asks.
You are about to hear the kind of story that puts Kayton Smith on edge.
"I left New York owing someone a lot of money and eventually they’re going to find me. Better safe than sorry," the customer tells Smith.
The buyer is a legal Russian immigrant. After calling the FBI's instant background check system, the sale is put on hold while the Feds look deeper into his background.
Smith and Ricky Duffy run The Gun Shop in Savannah, Georgia. We spent a day with them, watching dozens of customers come through The Gun Shop.
Watch "The Gun Trail" part two
According to federal statistics, Georgia is the number one state for exported guns used in crimes across the country. Gun safety advocates say that has created what is known as "the iron pipeline" of illegal guns flowing north, from places like Savannah, Georgia into northeastern states with stricter gun laws.
The Gun Trail: Riding along with Houston's ATF
Editor’s Note: As drugs and violence flow north from Mexico, guns are heading south from the U.S. Our Ed Lavandera rides along with an ATF agent for part one of the American Morning original series “The Gun Trail.” Tomorrow, he heads to Savannah, Georgia to see how gun smugglers are taking advantage of the state's weaker gun laws, and why shop owners say they're not part of the problem.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/02/15/guns.sign.mx.gi.art.jpg caption="A sign warning border-crossers that weapons are forbidden in Mexico is posted on the streets of the border town of Lukeville, Arizona."]
By Ed Lavandera, CNN
We drove the streets of Houston with an agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). We can't tell you who he is because he's in the midst of the biggest case he's ever worked; battling lethal Mexican drug cartels on American streets.
"We started seeing [the guns] popping up in Mexico and then further down in Guatemala is where it really opened our eyes that we're onto something pretty big here," the agent says.
What they found was a trail from Houston to Guatemala littered with almost 340 guns purchased by so-called "straw buyers” – 23 Houston-area residents, all with squeaky clean records and legally allowed to buy guns.
Investigators say almost 100 of those guns have since turned up at crime scenes south of the border, in the hands of the drug cartels.
Watch "The Gun Trail" part one
"They're fighting each other for turf in Mexico. And unfortunately, many law enforcement and civilians are being killed in that fight," says Special Agent in Charge Dewey Webb.
Haiti judge could rule in Americans' case
(CNN) - A Haitian judge could rule Thursday on whether to release 10 Americans detained in Port-au-Prince on child abduction charges, an attorney for one of the Americans said.
The judge has investigated the case against the group thoroughly, Hiram Sasser, director of the Liberty Legal Institute, told CNN's "American Morning," and the testimony of Haitians in the case "really exonerated Jim [Allen] and the others."
Allen is among 10 missionaries charged a week ago with kidnapping children and criminal association for trying to take 33 children out of Haiti without proper documentation following the January 12 magnitude-7.0 earthquake there.
His wife, Lisa Allen, said Thursday she has suffered "horrific anxiety" since the detentions. "I'm confident that the people of Haiti will do the right thing and bring Jim home," she said. FULL STORY
Judge to Jackson's doctor: 'I don't want you sedating people'
Michael Jackson's doctor is free on bail today. According to his lawyer, Conrad Murray is ready to resume practicing medicine.
Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with Jackson's death. Yesterday, he pleaded not guilty as Jackson's family looked on. Our Ted Rowlands was there and has this report.
Related: Joe Jackson: Dr. Murray 'a fall guy'
'Mayor' of Skid Row on mission to rehabilitate homeless refuge
By Stephen Samaniego and Jason Carroll, CNN
It's a haven for crime and the homeless sitting just blocks away from a downtown metropolis. They come from all walks of life after hitting rock bottom and having nowhere else to turn. This is Skid Row in Los Angeles.
"Not only are the people homeless, they're hopeless," says Skid Row resident and activist Jeff Page. Three years ago after his career as a rap promoter fizzled and he ran out of money and options, Page made the difficult decision to move to Skid Row. When he arrived a mission for the homeless became his new home.
Once he spent some time on Skid Row, the reality of the place began to resonate. "To actually be in the community for a long extended period of time and actually see day after day after day the living conditions of the people here and how deplorable the conditions were," says Page, "it really started to sink home how close I was on that fine line to becoming one of them."
Page launched a one-man campaign to turn not only his life, but also his new world around. Starting small, he became the self-appointed security guard for his mission. After getting positive feedback from residents, he took his ambitions to the streets.
He started organizing street clean-ups and mural paintings and getting the community involved with his cause. He eventually founded his group, "Issues and Solutions." Immersing himself in the Skid Row community, Page developed a reputation as a person you could approach with a problem and no matter how big or small, he would listen and try and help. That helped him earn his nickname, "General Jeff."
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