Mom of Jailed Marine Speaks Out
The mother of Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, a U.S. Marine jailed in Mexico, is speaking out before a hearing in Washington Wednesday to discuss his case.
"We’re hoping to build momentum,” Jill Tahmooressi told CNN's Michaela Pereira.
Jill will be testifying at the hearing tomorrow, along with talk-show host Montel Williams.
Andrew Tahmooressi has spent the last six months in a Tecate, Mexico, prison on a weapons charge.
He was arrested at a checkpoint in Tijuana, Mexico, after Mexican customs agents found three firearms in his truck, including a .45-caliber pistol, a pump shotgun and an AR-15 rifle.
The Marine reservist's mother said they have had four hearings in Mexico on his case so far, but she was still awaiting the results of a court report on his mental health at the time of the interview.
The session tomorrow is being called by Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.), a lawmaker who has visited Andrew in his prison cell and has called for his release.
“At least there are quite a few dots that are connected so I am feeling more optimistic,” Jill Tahmooressi said.
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RELATED: Marine jailed in Mexico 'highly despondent,' mom says
Sen. Bernie Sanders: 'I'll be Damned' if Americans Lead ISIS Fight
Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of the Senate's leading doves, said Tuesday he doesn't want the United States leading the fight against ISIS. Instead, said the Vermont senator, who is eyeing a 2016 presidential bid, the nation should be focused on helping the middle class.
Sanders, an Independent who caucuses with Democrats, said he doesn't want to see the United States fall into another "quagmire in the Middle East," and he put the onus on Muslim countries to take on ISIS.
"I'm sitting here wondering where Saudi Arabia is, where Kuwait is, where Qatar is," Sanders said on CNN's "New Day." "I'll be damned if kids in the state of Vermont - or taxpayers in the state of Vermont - have to defend the royal Saudi family, which is worth hundreds of billions of dollars."
Saudi Arabia and Qatar are part of a five-country coalition of Middle Eastern nations that have joined the U.S. in airstrikes against ISIS in Syria, but Sanders suggested the U.S. should only be "supportive."
Sanders also joined 21 other senators earlier this month in opposing a resolution to train and arm 5,000 moderate Syrian rebels to combat ISIS.
"It cannot be won and it will not be won by the United States alone," Sanders said of the war on ISIS.
See What This High School Football Team Did for Autistic Boy
In today's edition of the "Good Stuff," a high school football team helps make an autistic student's dream come true. CNN's Chris Cuomo reports.
A junior varsity team in St. Louis recently made Craig Lancaster an honorary member of the squad.
Teammate Ernie Diaz said "when we gave him his jersey, it was the biggest smile I've ever seen in my life."
A fellow player even gave Lancaster his number – 42.
The team's athletic director, Scott Hemker, said this is a big moment for their team, but a bigger moment for sportsmanship in general.
"When they do things to make you proud and feel good about the big picture of why we do athletics ... this is outstanding stuff."
See the full story at CNN affiliate WNEM
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"Morning Minute" with Michaela Pereira – September 30, 2014
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