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CNN CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT
Sex Slaves Saved; September 11 Families Speak Out Against Iraq War
Aired January 15, 2003 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CONNIE CHUNG, HOST: Good evening. I'm Connie Chung.
Tonight: Were young girls kidnapped and forced to join a sex ring?
ANNOUNCER: Teenage girls allegedly kidnapped and held as sex slaves:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AVERY FRIEDMAN, ATTORNEY FOR VICTIM OF ALLEGED SEX SLAVE RING: If the girls stepped out of line, they would be what's called violated. They would be beat down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: How could it have happened? Tonight: exclusive, the security guard who saved them.
Families who lost loved ones in the 9/11 attacks now back from Baghdad with a message. Tonight: exclusive, their first interview about their trip.
It was the biggest day of her life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REGIS PHILBIN, HOST: And the new Miss America 1995.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: But she couldn't hear the applause -- the inspiring story of Heather Whitestone, "Beating the Odds."
And our "Person of the Day," a real lifesaver.
This is CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT. Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York: Connie Chung.
CHUNG: Good evening.
Tonight: the story of an unthinkable crime against the most vulnerable among us and the story of one young woman and a man who had a chance to make a difference and did. The crime: what appears to be an organized prostitution ring in which children were kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery. You are about to meet the man who just may have helped bust the ring in his first television interview.
But first, as CNN's Jason Carroll reports, it happened in one of America's biggest cities.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the home police raided Monday night in east Detroit. What they found inside detectives described as a sex slave prostitution ring. Several women and girls had been allegedly kidnapped and housed here, the youngest, 13, the oldest, 21. Neighbors didn't have a clue what police say was really happening in the home.
ROBERT KIMBROUGH, NEIGHBOR: We didn't know what was going on until, like I say, after we seen the cops. And I said, well, that's close to home.
CARROLL (on camera): Right across the street.
KIMBROUGH: Right across the street.
CARROLL (voice-over): Here's what authorities say happened.
(on camera): Police cracked the case thanks to a 17-year-old girl who was kidnapped from Cleveland, Ohio, last Thursday and forced to perform sexual acts here at the home, all allegedly organized by the group's ringleader, Henry Davis. When Davis decided to take some of the girls shopping, his 17-year-old victim found an opportunity to escape.
(voice-over): Once inside this Foot Locker store, she found help from Dorian McConnell, a security guard.
DORIAN MCCONNELL, SECURITY GUARD: She just broke loose from the crowd and ran over to me and like literally just ran behind me and grabbed me and was asking for help. She was like: "Please help me. Don't let me leave with him."
CARROLL: McConnell told Davis and his group to leave, then brought the 17-year-old to police. Their investigation revealed what police claim was a working prostitution ring in Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois. Detectives had been trying to solve the case since last September, when a girl claiming she had been abducted in Detroit came to police.
Detectives now believe the operation was based in Chicago, Davis' home -- his new temporary home, the 5th Precinct in Detroit, where he's being held on charges ranging from criminal sexual conduct to kidnapping. CNN has been unable to reach Davis or an attorney representing him. Davis will get a chance to answer the charges when he's arraigned later this week.
Jason Carroll, CNN, Detroit, Michigan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: Joining us for an exclusive interview from Detroit is security guard Dorian McConnell, whose actions led to the arrest; in Cleveland, Avery Friedman, attorney for one of the victims; and from the Detroit police, Commander Gerard Simon, who runs the organized crime and gangs division. He was investigating the slavery ring.
Dorian McConnell, tell us, you were a security guard at this Foot Locker and a 17-year-old came in with two women. Can you tell us why you became suspicious?
MCCONNELL: Yes.
I became suspicious of the way she was acting. And she looked like she had been assaulted. And she asked me, was I a police officer, and I found that peculiar. And there was another young lady with her. And then they proceeded to exit the store again.
CHUNG: All right, but then she came back about 10 minutes later with more people. And what happened?
MCCONNELL: Yes.
When she came back 10 minutes later, she was walking kind of fast into the store and five people were trailing her, two females and three males. And I knew something was odd about it. They didn't look like they were coming in to shop. And they were walking kind of fast. And they crowded her when she got into the store. And they were whispering things in her ear.
CHUNG: Did she say anything to you?
MCCONNELL: Not at that point. She was surrounded, basically, by the perpetrators. And they were tugging on her coat. And that's when she broke loose from them and then ran over to me. I was about 10 feet away.
CHUNG: And what did she do? Did she stand behind you or stand behind the counter? Was she crying?
MCCONNELL: Yes.
She literally jumped behind me, behind, using my body as a shield. And she was grabbing on my left arm and saying: "Help me. Please help me."
CHUNG: And what did you do? Did those people who came in with her try to stay in the store?
MCCONNELL: Yes.
Actually, they rushed up to me at that point. A female and two other of the males ran up to me. And the female -- all three were trying to get to her. The female came up first and made an attempt. She reached over my shoulder and physically grabbed her and said, "You're coming with us." She said, "Let's go."
And I had to break her grip from grabbing the young lady. And I stepped in between them. And after I pushed her aside, then the two males stepped up to me.
CHUNG: Avery Friedman, I know you're representing the 17-year- old. How is she doing?
FRIEDMAN: Connie, she is doing as well as can be expected. We started the day meeting with doctors, medical doctors. And we're finishing today meeting with a team of therapists and psychiatrists. So, under the circumstances, we are doing about as well as we can possibly be.
CHUNG: Avery, she had been missing since last Thursday. What happened?
FRIEDMAN: Well, what happened, Connie, was that she was waiting for a bus to bring her home from work at the mall -- she worked at one of the stores at the mall -- and took the normal 35 bus on the way home. When she didn't show up, her parents, who expect her to be home on time, actually started calling and leafletting the mall trying to show pictures to storekeepers to try to identify her.
They also went to media. And when that didn't work, they basically started praying. Both of them are religious people. Her dad works for the church. And the break came through after this weekend, when they got the call from the Detroit Police Department.
CHUNG: Can you tell us what she endured?
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
This little girl, 17 years old, went through unspeakable physical and sexual abuse. And she was taught early on after the abduction that, if you don't comply with what is directed, they have something called violate. They use that as a noun, where the other girls hold a girl and start punching her. And they created the intimidation and fear, so none of these girls would ever even think of trying to escape which, of course, in this case, she did.
CHUNG: Commander Simon, you had been investigating this alleged sex ring or this group. And you had known about something suspicious as early as September, when a young woman came in and described what she had endured.
CMDR. GERARD SIMON, DETROIT POLICE DEPARTMENT: That's correct.
CHUNG: And what had you found and what did you believe existed?
SIMON: We had very sketchy information beginning in September.
We were very lucky, actually, who the information came to. A lot of times, when information comes from young girls, runaways, that type of thing, people don't take it seriously. We had a sergeant at the 8th Precinct in Detroit that saw the report and noticed it and thought that it needed some special attention, that it was something that we needed to look at.
He was able to pass it along to our organized crime unit, as well as our sex crime unit we had got involved with. And we looked at it and we took it seriously. It was very sketchy, very sketchy information, that she was kidnapped, that she was sexually assaulted, that somebody from Chicago was involved. But it was something that we looked at.
CHUNG: But, subsequently, other women came in, correct?
SIMON: Exactly.
CHUNG: But were unable to give you specific information.
SIMON: It was very sketchy, even from them, a description of a vehicle. The subject coming from Chicago was a constant. When they came in to Detroit, they used motels and hotels. So, there was no place that we could find the subject. We had no real name. He used the nickname Chicago or Tony.
CHUNG: I see. But it wasn't until this young woman, who apparently was able to break away, with the help of Dorian McConnell.
I am so sorry. I need to leave you. I want to thank you so much. And, Dorian McConnell, congratulations to you, Commander Simon, and Avery Friedman.
Two men, once again, are under arrest, a 32-year-old and a 17, allegedly, part of this group.
Still ahead: a former Miss America who made history by beating the odds.
ANNOUNCER: Next: They paid the ultimate price in the war on terror, but these 9/11 families returned from Iraq with a message of peace -- when CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Two lost sisters, one a brother, and another an uncle in the World Trade Center attack. If anyone would want to strike out after such a loss, you might think they would, but maybe not.
Four Americans who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001, have just returned from Baghdad. They went on a mission and have come back with a message. You'll meet some of them.
But first, CNN's Maria Hinojosa reports on why they went and what they saw.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A welcome home for this band of weary world travelers.
COLLEEN KELLY, PEACEFUL TOMORROWS: I'm glad to be back.
HINOJOSA: Returning not just from any trip.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm really proud of what you did and what you said.
KELLY: Oh, thank you very, very...
HINOJOSA: But back from Iraq.
(on camera): If you had to say the one thing that you're bringing from the Iraqi people to this country, what would it be?
TERRY KAY ROCKEFELLER, PEACEFUL TOMORROWS: Their desire for peace.
HINOJOSA (voice-over): These four women all lost relatives in the September 11 attacks. Colleen Kelly lost her brother Bill, Kristina Olsen and Terry Rockefeller, their sisters. The youngest of the group, Kat Finley, lost her uncle.
They went to Iraq with their organization, Peaceful Tomorrows, family members of victims of September 11 who seek an alternative to war.
KELLY: People were killed by violence. And we can discuss and debate all we want about the core or what caused that. But the commonality remains that people were killed by violence and they -- the families and the people who loved them very deeply are feeling this intense grief and intense sorrow.
HINOJOSA: In Iraq, they walked through a government-sponsored tour of a shelter where 200 Iraqis, mostly women and children, perished during the 1991 U.S. bombing.
KELLY: We don't want any other families to suffer and to feel the same sorrow that our families have felt these past 16 months.
HINOJOSA: They shot their own videotape to bring back the images of Iraqi homes and buildings leveled by American bombs and of a hospital where children the age of Colleen's own children are ailing. The women returned determined to continue their personal and very political struggle for peace.
KELLY: The American public showered our families with such compassion and support and love in the days and months after September 11. And I feel that this trip to Iraq was, in many ways, because of that goodwill.
HINOJOSA: Enough goodwill, these women hope, to avoid a war with Iraq.
Maria Hinojosa, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: And joining me now are three members of Peaceful Tomorrows who just returned from Baghdad for their first interview: Kristina Olsen, whose sister Laurie was killed by the hijackers of American Airlines Flight 11; Kathleen Tinley, whose uncle Michael died in the World Trade Center; and Terry Kay Rockefeller, whose sister Laura died as well.
Thank you, all three of you, for being with us. I know this is your first interview. And we really appreciate it.
Kristina, some people would think what you have done is not only bold, but they might even call it unpatriotic. Can you explain your mission?
KRISTINA OLSEN, PEACEFUL TOMORROWS: Yes, I can.
I feel that, as a person who lost a loved one on September 11, as we all have, we've suffered a deep personal loss. And we just -- we don't want any further suffering to be perpetuated.
CHUNG: But couldn't this be perceived as aiding the enemy?
OLSEN: Yes, it could be perceived that way.
But our intention in going there was to bear witness to the suffering of the people, knowing that it's a combination of factors that have resulted in that suffering, a dictatorship, an oppressive one, and sanctions, 12 years of economic sanctions.
(CROSSTALK)
ROCKEFELLER: And I think even more so...
CHUNG: Yes, go ahead.
ROCKEFELLER: ... that we know that there are cycles of violence that need to be broken.
We're concerned about the terrorism that we suffered from. And one of the things the Iraqi people shared with us is a sense of how impending war is actually leading to increased extremism within what was previously a very secular Muslim state. This was a place where people prided themselves on the secular nature of the state. And what I think we have to recognize is that war is not going to make the world safer.
CHUNG: But you weren't allowed to go anywhere just you wanted to go, right? I think that, by having handlers or guides or escorts, that people would say, well, you were just pawns of President Saddam Hussein.
ROCKEFELLER: A lot of people do say that. And what I would turn and say to them is, let's look at the full picture. Let's look at who is really -- what kind of information we're considering as we consider this act. If this war is really about weapons of mass destruction, then let us make the inspections work. Let us give them time.
CHUNG: Let that play out?
ROCKEFELLER: Let that play out.
If it's really about the human rights and the political rights of the Iraqi people, then let's not talk about regime change. That is not according people political rights. Let's think about the kind of opening-up of communication between societies that would empower the people to somehow seek their -- and find their own self-determination.
CHUNG: You know what, Terry? Some people might say, well, that's naive of you to think that the people could actually carry on some kind of dialogue, because Saddam Hussein is so oppressive.
ROCKEFELLER: I agree. But I've lived through the fall of the Soviet regime. And I believe that that fall came when relations were opened up, when scientists and artists and other people could share their common -- their common activities.
CHUNG: Kathleen, you were able to meet, you and your colleagues here were able to meet with Iraqi people, correct?
KATHLEEN TINLEY, PEACEFUL TOMORROWS: Right.
CHUNG: Now, did you find that they could speak freely? Because most people who talk to Iraqis feel that they are not able to open their hearts and tell you the truth.
TINLEY: It was obvious that they were restricted in what they could say. But it was also obvious the suffering that they've endured and just the raw emotion that we all shared with each other. I can't say that it was completely fake, because, if that's so, then Iraq has a lot of really good actors out there.
CHUNG: So, what do you want this administration to do? You just want to avoid war, simply, Kristina?
OLSEN: I think that we need to explore other ways of responding. There's too much suffering in the world. Too many lives have already been lost. We don't want to see any further loss of life, whether it be military or civilian, whether it be American or Iraqi.
I think we need to look at other options, open up the diplomatic avenues. I think that one of the major steps toward opening those channels up are trying to gain some understanding. And that's why we went to Iraq, so that we could listen and learn from the people there and bring the stories back to share with people here at home.
We were brought to the home of a man who had been killed in the no-fly zone in Basra by an errant U.S. bomb attack. And we went to visit his family. And his wife is still in mourning. And I was whisked into a room by the daughter where the mother was, the widow. And she had her black covering on that they wear. And I took her hands. And she began to cry. And I just -- I had a lot of emotions coming up in me. And I also shed a tear and just said how sorry I was.
And then we went back to sitting on the couch. And the daughter looked at me and said that -- this was a little while later during our visit. And she told me that she loved me the moment she saw me. And it was just this very deep connection that we had.
CHUNG: Terry, do you see Saddam Hussein as a threat?
ROCKEFELLER: I see him as a threat primarily to his own people and one that we should certainly do all in our power...
CHUNG: You don't see him as a threat to the rest of the world, especially the United States, Israel?
ROCKEFELLER: At this point, I'm believing the weapons inspectors and I'm believing that they actually are -- the country has been backed into a corner. And I see that as a positive good that has come from real multilateral activity through the United Nations.
CHUNG: All right, Terry Kay Rockefeller, thank you so much.
Kristina, Kathleen, thank you both as well.
Right now, tonight's look at "The World in: 60" begins with some other less-welcomed visitors in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): U.N. weapons inspectors visited President Saddam Hussein's main palace compound in Baghdad today, inspecting government buildings, but avoiding Saddam's offices. This was the second time monitors searched the Iraqi leader's residences since inspections resumed.
North and South Korea will hold talks in Seoul next week in ongoing efforts to find a diplomatic solution to North Korea's nuclear standoff with the U.S.
A giant panda is leaving China for an arranged marriage in the U.S. Gao Gao will meet his new bride, Bai Yun, at the San Diego Zoo, part of a China-U.S. program to improve the panda birthrate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Still ahead: the inspiring story of Heather Whitestone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEATHER WHITESTONE, FORMER MISS AMERICA: Sometimes, God allows us to fail in order to achieve something greater.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: "Beating the Odds" -- when CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT continues. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: You probably remember Heather Whitestone, the first deaf Miss America, what a smile, what spirit and what an infectious personality. I always wanted to meet her. And I did, because we decided to include her in our series "Beating the Odds." So many times, she did just that. You can imagine all the hurdles.
Well, today, she's climbing her biggest mountain and succeeding, just as she did on that stage in Atlantic City.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILBIN: And the new Miss America 1995, Miss Alabama, Heather Whitestone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG (voice-over): It was the biggest night of Heather Whitestone's life, being crowned Miss America. Yet Heather couldn't even hear the applause. The journey down the runway was much longer and harder than anyone realized.
Heather was born able to hear. But, when she was only 18 months old, meningitis caused her to go almost completely deaf. Her mother refused to allow Heather to learn sign language. She insisted that Heather read lips and speak, all the while attending a regular public school.
WHITESTONE: It took me six years to say my last name correctly.
CHUNG (on camera): Oh, my gosh.
WHITESTONE: So, it takes a mother with strong courage. And she had to be strong when she helped me to learn to speak correctly, because she can't give up too easily, you know, in order for me to be successful.
CHUNG: But you had to be strong, too.
WHITESTONE: Well, I was fighting with my mom, mostly.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITESTONE: But together, we succeeded.
CHUNG: Did the kids at the public school tease you?
WHITESTONE: Oh, yes, sure. But the good part about being deaf is, I don't hear gossip.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITESTONE: But I noticed the way they treated me was different from the way they treated other friend who has no disability.
CHUNG: And did it hurt inside?
WHITESTONE: It bothered me in a great way, yes.
CHUNG: At one point, you begged your mother to take you out of regular school. A regular public school, was it?
WHITESTONE: It was a public hearing school. I was the only deaf child there.
CHUNG (voice-over): Her mother finally relented when Heather was 12 years old.
WHITESTONE: When I first arrived at that school for the deaf...
CHUNG (on camera): Yes.
WHITESTONE: ... the first thing they told me, that they need to get rid of my Southern accent.
(LAUGHTER)
CHUNG: That is so funny.
WHITESTONE: It was real creepy, because I was talking like this. You've got to do this.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITESTONE: I'm serious. And they say, we have to get rid of your Southern accent. You can't sound like this in St. Louis, Missouri. And that's the best thing that happened to me, because that helped me to win the Miss America Pageant, probably.
(LAUGHTER)
CHUNG (voice-over): At 14, she returned to a regular public school to find she was way ahead of the students academically.
WHITESTONE: When I went back to high school, I was shocked.
CHUNG (on camera): About what?
WHITESTONE: It was so easy. It was too easy. I felt like I was in third grade again in high school. It was too easy. I didn't have to work hard on my homework.
CHUNG: But how about socially?
WHITESTONE: It was hard. It was very hard. I was lonely again. And no guy asked me to go out on a prom date.
CHUNG: No way.
WHITESTONE: No, it's true, true. I had to ask a guy to take me out on a prom date, for one reason. I wanted to tell my grandchildren I did go on a prom date.
(LAUGHTER)
CHUNG (voice-over): To make up for her social setbacks, Heather started competing in beauty pageants.
WHITESTONE: It was wonderful. I was competing for Junior Miss program, which was similar to the Miss America Pageant.
CHUNG: Even though Heather didn't win the Miss Junior Miss title and lost Miss Alabama a couple of times, she didn't give up. She went on to make history, becoming the first deaf woman to win Miss America.
WHITESTONE: Pretty amazing. Sometimes God allows us to fail in order to achieve something greater, yes.
CHUNG: With the Miss America crown, Heather moved forward, but it wasn't easy.
WHITESTONE: And the reception, it was so frustrating.
CHUNG (on camera): Why?
WHITESTONE: Because I could not understand what people were saying. There was so much noise around me. I was so tired. I tried to read lips.
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Did you notice the 1933 Miss America's legs?
WHITESTONE: I'm sorry?
MOOS: Did you notice...
WHITESTONE: It was very hard. And then, 15 minutes later, I collapsed and I wanted to leave. But I couldn't. So, I was frustrated more often when I was Miss America. And I kept saying to myself, five more months to go, two more months to go.
CHUNG (voice-over): Despite that, Heather never thought of trying to regain her hearing. People had offered her a cochlear implant. But, like so many in the deaf community, Heather rejected them, saying she had adapted to her life, that is, until she had her sons, with her husband, John McCallum.
WHITESTONE: When my oldest son was 1 years old, he became more independent. He was no longer in my arms anymore. He started to walk away from me more often. And he's saying words.
And more often, my babysitter or my family members would say, oh, did you hear what he say? I said, what? And I didn't hear at all. And he was in the same room. And so they share with me new words he say. And I'm grateful that they told me, because they mean a lot to me as a mom.
CHUNG (on camera): Sure. WHITESTONE: But, at the same time, I wanted to be the first one to hear him, you know?
CHUNG: Yes.
(voice-over): The turning point for Heather came the day her toddler John was out playing in the backyard.
WHITESTONE: And I turn around for just a minute. And then I turned around to look at the window. He was not there. But I saw my husband walking to the backyard, pick him up and comfort him, because John was crying. He had fell down.
And I said, John, what happened? What do -- how do you know he fell down? He said he cried. And then I said, this is it. I have to do something about my hearing.
This is the implant.
CHUNG: Heather made a momentous decision. She got a cochlear implant. An amplifier behind her ear sends sound vibrations to a small device surgeons implanted in her skull. The device bypasses the damaged parts of Heather's ear, stimulating the hearing nerves to the brain, enabling Heather to hear sound.
Six weeks after the operation, the device was turned on for the first time.
WHITESTONE: I can hear the clap. I can hear it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you hear my voice a little bit?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's OK.
I need a tissue. Does anybody have a tissue? Tissue?
WHITESTONE: Go ahead.
And I heard the clapping hand very clearly. And I said, yes, I hear that. And so she clapped again. Before she clapped again, I said to myself, this is just a dream.
CHUNG: But it wasn't. Heather could now hear more than ever before. It will take years for her brain to be able to retrain itself. It's kind of like learning a new language. It takes a while.
For now, Heather's getting used to the simple sounds: water rushing, a hair dryer humming, even a sniffle. And, just recently, Heather has started to hear what she so longed for when she began this journey: the sound of her sons' voices. It happened one night when she was reading a book with John.
WHITESTONE: When he said, "Good night, moon," it was perfect. It was perfect, because it was so long, it's simple for my brain to work on. It was so sweet. It was so peaceful.
CHUNG: And, more importantly, Heather feels she is better able to protect her sons.
WHITESTONE: I was in my bedroom just for one minute. And I heard the facet running sound. And then I decided, wait a minute. Something's wrong. And I went down the hall and looked in the bathroom to see if my boys were in the bathroom. And they were. They climbed into the bathtub for the first time by themselves. And they turned the water on.
CHUNG (on camera): Oh, my gosh.
WHITESTONE: And I caught them in 30 seconds. It was because of my cochlear implant.
CHUNG: Oh, thank God.
WHITESTONE: And it has really helped me to do a better job as a mom.
CHUNG (voice-over): Although there are times, like every mother, Heather misses a little peace and quiet.
WHITESTONE: When the boys are fussy and crying, they should be complaining, because that's normal for children sometimes. And I say, OK, do you want to complain more? Go ahead. Help yourself. It does not bother me. And I turn off my hearing aid. And I sit there and read a magazine. And the boys realize that it will not make a difference, so they stop crying, stop complaining. I say, you're fine? OK? Good. I put them back on.
CHUNG: Now Heather has the choice to hear or not to hear, a choice she never dreamed she'd have when she walked down the runway as Miss America.
(on camera): So, how is your life now? You were Miss America, what, eight years ago?
WHITESTONE: Oh, yes.
CHUNG: It was a long time ago.
WHITESTONE: I think I have a gray hair a little bit.
CHUNG: You do not.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITESTONE: True. I pick them out.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITESTONE: But I'm very happy with all the blessings God gave me. And my boys are healthy. And I really am very thankful for what I have right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHUNG: Today, Whitestone is paid by an implant-maker called Cochlear for her work lecturing and speaking publicly about her surgery and her experience of literally retraining her brain to receive and process auditory signals.
Now, tomorrow, our series "Beating the Odds" continues with Dr. Jerri Nielsen. She was trapped in Antarctica, unable to get medical care for the breast cancer threatening to kill her. What did she do to survive? Well, it astounded the world. You'll meet her and hear how she beat the odds.
ANNOUNCER: Next: why a seemingly harmless relationship at the office can doom your marriage -- when CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: By now, cheating at work is a cliche. The executive tells his wife he's got to work late and calls his secretary in for a private meeting.
But a new book says there's a whole new breed of infidelity, one that poses an even greater threat to today's marriages, even healthy ones. The books is called "Not Just Friends: Protect Your Relationship From Infidelity and Heal the Trauma of Betrayal."
It's based on author Shirley Glass' two decades of research and hundreds of actual cases. She found that a quarter of all wives and 44 percent of husbands have cheated. And about half of those affairs began at work. Oh, my gosh. Shirley Glass joins me now.
Thank you so much for joining me at work.
Now, tell me, you say that there's a crisis of infidelity...
SHIRLEY GLASS, AUTHOR, "NOT JUST FRIENDS": Yes.
CHUNG: ... at the workplace.
GLASS: Right.
CHUNG: Why?
GLASS: The crisis is that, now that men and women are working together as colleagues -- and the example that you gave at the beginning was the tradition male, an authority figure, and the woman, who was a subordinate, and the attraction being mostly sexual.
And what's happening now is that men and women are working with people that they respect, people that they have intellectual interests with, people that they share excitement over projects, frustration over deadlines. And so the relationship begins as a platonic friendship that's very deep and rich. And what happens is that, over time, they begin to share more and more of their personal lives together.
They start to meet secretly and hide it from their partners. And before you know it, they are having an emotional affair, which, in many cases, then becomes a full-fledged affair, with sex included.
CHUNG: And you say that an emotional affair is actually more detrimental to a marriage than an extramarital affair.
GLASS: Well, if you think about sex without love, that can be done secretly. The spouse doesn't have a clue, because it's sort of that little bit on the side. But if you think about being in love with another person, having a deep emotional bond with another person, that threatens the very core of a relationship.
CHUNG: Absolutely. I hear you. All right.
Now, when would I know that conversations that I'm having with a colleague is going into the danger zone?
GLASS: That's a question people ask. Well, what's the difference between a platonic friendship and an emotional affair? And I point to three different signposts.
The first is emotional intimacy. When you have greater intimacy in the friendship than you do in the marriage, particularly if you're talking about problems in the marriage with the friend and not with your spouse, then what you've done is, you've opened a window into the marriage in the friendship and you've put up a wall of secrecy about this friendship with your spouse. And that is exactly the opposite of the healthy positions of walls and windows.
CHUNG: You shouldn't have secrets between you and your husband.
GLASS: And the third is the sexual chemistry.
Now, if the first two were going on with somebody that you considered a grandmotherly type, it might not be as real -- as much a threat to the marriage. But if this other person is somebody that you're physically attracted to -- and then what typically happens is, somebody says, well, I'm committed to my marriage. So, of course, I would never cross that line.
But then they begin to talk about it. They say, oh, I had the most interesting dream last night, this really sexy dream about you. Or they say, I'm really attracted to you.
CHUNG: Right.
GLASS: But, of course, I'd never do anything about it. And you know what that does.
CHUNG: Oh. Well, then, those are come-ons.
GLASS: And it also increases the sexual tension, because now, every time I'm with you, I know, oh, my God, you're using so much control to inhibit this magnetism you have toward me.
CHUNG: Right. Got you.
All right, now, one the things that really shocked me is what you had to say about perfect marriages.
GLASS: Yes?
CHUNG: And?
GLASS: That is that there's a lot of myths going around. I call it the prevention myth.
You read books and you read articles in magazines: how to affair- proof your marriage. And it's, when your husband comes home, wear cellophane. Bring your wife flowers and candy. And the myth is that an affair cannot happen in a happy marriage. And the reason that I was motivated...
CHUNG: So, that's true, isn't it?
GLASS: No.
The reason I was motivated to write this book is because I saw how much pain there was when people in good marriages who had the value of monogamy very slowly and insidiously got involved in these workplace or friendship-type affairs. And, before they know it, they were hopelessly in love with this person, plus, in love with their spouse. And they didn't know what to do about it.
CHUNG: So, you mean my perfect marriage could be in jeopardy?
GLASS: If you didn't -- if you weren't aware.
See, the fact that people believe it can't happen in happy marriages, really, that naivete makes them more vulnerable, because, then, if they feel an attraction, they think, well, my love for my partner and my commitment to my marriage and my happy marriage will be the protection. And they don't take the steps to create the walls and to protect themselves from getting overly involved with another person.
CHUNG: All right. And you actually do have steps that a person can take if he or she has a happy marriage and wants to avoid any problems at the workplace. But you know what? They're going to have to buy your book.
GLASS: Oh, I love that.
(LAUGHTER)
CHUNG: Shirley Glass, thank you for being with us.
GLASS: Thank you so much.
CHUNG: Now, I've got an important meeting with my executive producer.
GLASS: Make sure you tell Maury about it.
CHUNG: OK. I think I just did. (LAUGHTER)
CHUNG: And still coming up: If the homeless shouldn't be housed in your neighborhood, where should they go? The angry debate when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Residents of an upscale Cape Cod town are fighting mad about a proposal that they say could change their town forever. And it's an idea they say could change your community, too.
It's a proposal for a farm, with homeless people living and working there. Partially funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the project would be the first of its kind, though not necessarily the last. In a moment, both sides of the controversy.
But first, CNN's Bill Delaney with some background.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL DELANEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As a place to keep trouble and the troubled away from your front door, you could do worse than Sandwich, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, a haven, though, now with trouble brewing on this woodsy 47 acres of land, where an approximately $11 million working farm is now currently on the drawing board to house 50 homeless people, not at the front door, but right smack in the backyard of a very worried Mary Kelly.
MARY KELLY, HOMEOWNER: The property line is about here.
DELANEY (on camera): And how close are these houses? Very close.
KELLY: There are houses all up and down these streets.
Severe problems. You don't live on the street when you're 50 years old because you just got laid off. You have had a lot of other things that have led to that. And they are severe problems. I mean, they are.
DELANEY (voice-over): The severe problem, though, at a homeless shelter in nearby Hyannis on a recent frigid night, 80 homeless showed up for 50 beds.
RICK PRESBREY, EXEC. DIRECTOR, HOUSING ASSISTANCE CORP.: The Sandwich is sort of the American dream. They have got a wonderful community. And they're just afraid of losing any single little bit of it. We think that people who are formerly homeless who want to go to this place where they'll be working full time and where they will have permanent and safe housing have a right to go there.
DELANEY: Residents of the new facility, homeless advocates say, would first be meticulously screened by a panel of local residents.
(on camera): Reluctance here among some to allow a homeless facility on this land runs counter, some say, to a statewide standard. Under so-called anti-snob zoning laws, Massachusetts towns should devote 10 percent of their property to affordable housing. Sandwich is less than 2 percent affordable housing.
(voice-over): As for fears of the homeless, unfounded, says Diane Weidinger, who admits to years of problems with drugs and alcohol, now behind her.
DIANE WEIDINGER, HOMELESS RESIDENT: I'm not a dangerous person. And I'm homeless. You could have a neighbor who works for some big company that could be a dangerous person. It's not just homeless people that are dangerous. There's a lot of really good people that are homeless.
DELANEY: Scheduled to open in 2006, court challenges to the homeless facility could delay it or even prevent it being built at all.
Bill Delaney, CNN, Sandwich, Massachusetts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: And joining me from Boston: Livia Munck Davis, mastermind of the farm, who modeled it on the planned farming community where she grew up in Denmark; and from the Sandwich Family Association, Kyle Kravchuk, and association attorney William Henchy.
Thank you all for being with us tonight.
Livia, why don't we start with you? And can you briefly explain the concept?
LIVIA MUNCK DAVIS, DANA'S FIELDS: Sure.
Dana's Fields will be a project that combines housing and work and a community in order to provide a solid foundation for formerly homeless men and women to rebuild their lives. It is really a different approach and a response to homelessness than what we currently employ in many communities across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
CHUNG: So, they will work and live there?
DAVIS: They'll work and live there. They will pay rent. They'll pay for room and board. They will be working there or in jobs in the community. And they will be living in affordable housing units.
And an equally important part of it is that they will be part of the community. I will be living there with my family and two small children, as will two other staff families. So, a big part of this community is taking meals together and having people feel that they belong.
CHUNG: All right.
Kyle, what's your objection to it? It sounds like a noble idea.
KYLE KRAVCHUK, SANDWICH FAMILY ASSOCIATION: Well, it is -- we certainly would credit Livia's work.
But, Connie, we know the climate that's created around the shelter over in Hyannis. It's an economically depressed area. It's crime-ridden. It's a drain on the police resources. There's disruptions to neighbors and local businesses. And we just feel that the problem is just going to be relocated, basically, from Hyannis to Sandwich.
And our response is, no thank you. That's our major concern that I think that, Livia, we're just relocating the problem. We're not solving anything. And we're putting an expensive band-aid on it, as you can see by the price tag of the project.
CHUNG: And what is the price tag once again?
KRAVCHUK: Well, it was initially quoted between $8 million to $10 million. And it could be in the $11 million range. That's some of the problems, that we don't know what the final project is going to look like.
CHUNG: Livia, I think one of the other concerns that the residents have, of course, is the there might be drug addicts. There might be alcoholics. And they just don't want them roaming around the neighborhood.
DAVIS: I don't blame them. And I do know that there's a stereotype about homelessness, that everybody who is homeless or has experienced homelessness is a drug addict or a substance abuser. And that is far from the case.
We are going to take people who are motivated, who have agreed to a criminal background screening, who can verify they're currently sober, and who are currently either volunteering or working with us. And so, when they get to Dana's fields, they will first be referred to a selection committee that is made out of Sandwich residents. We had agreed to have Sandwich residents completely be part of that selection process.
They will then be interviewed by the selection committee. And they will then be referred to the program, where they will be very busy working, just like any of us are.
CHUNG: So, indeed, there might be recovering alcoholics, recovering drug addicts.
Kyle, doesn't that sound reasonable to you, indeed, if you're on the selection committee and you are able to screen these people as well?
KRAVCHUK: Well, it sounds like that, Connie, but to be quite frank with you, the deck is stacked already on the selection committee. And so we just feel we'd be outnumbered.
And, secondly, the screening process is something that we think is flawed. It's a half-process. And some of the query checks...
CHUNG: It's a what process?
KRAVCHUK: It's a half a screen, we feel. They're not doing a complete background check on the potential residents. And that's of deep concern to us, Connie.
CHUNG: William Henchy, if this project does go through, do you intend to file suit on behalf of these neighbors?
WILLIAM HENCHY, ATTORNEY FOR SANDWICH FAMILY ASSOCIATION: Well, it very much depends on what the final form of the project tacks.
One of the things that has been very frustrating here is that it has been difficult for us to get our hands around what the project is going to look like, simply because the information has been in a constant state of evolution.
As to the screening process and the stereotype that Ms. Davis refers to, the information submitted by these folks indicates that, by design, the project will house a population that has at least half people with criminal backgrounds, two-thirds with substance abuse problems, and, in almost every case, with no connection to the community.
DAVIS: The application has been revised. And the people who are going there will be carefully screened. It's different from the original application. And I hope that we can look at a different way of responding to homelessness in this nation, because we need to do so. And I think we are able to do so.
CHUNG: All right, that sounds quite daunting. I think we'll have to watch this as it progresses. Thank you all.
Now a new debate over SUVs tops tonight's "Snapshot."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): The top federal auto safety regulator warns the government may demand changes to make SUVs safer. The head of NHTSA says you should think twice about owning a sport utility vehicle because of the rollover risk.
Europe's leading consumer protection group says using permanent hair dyes increases your risk of bladder cancer. Industry groups insist that has not been proven.
The fifth book in the best-selling "Harry Potter' series comes out June 21. Author J.K. Rowling's newest volume about the teenage wizard will be called "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."
A memorial today in Miami Beach for Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees. Gibb died Sunday, three days after a heart attack and stomach surgery.
And each star who gives out a Golden Globe award Sunday night will get a $12,000 gift basket, including an autographed copy of a book by Kirk Douglas and a TiVo with 80 hours of paid recording time. I wonder if they need any more presenters?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Tonight: A pillar of television history is still with us, thanks, ironically, to his own television and a wonderful man and our "Person of the Day."
Teton County Deputy Chad Sachse responded to a reported fire yesterday at the home of television news legend David Brinkley. Brinkley, who is now 82, retired in 1998 after a career marked by his ABC Sunday morning program, "This Week With David Brinkley" and his NBC nightly newscasts, which partnered him with co-anchor, the late Chet Huntley. Although Sachse had been told no one was inside Brinkley's home, he saw through the window that a television was on.
And Deputy Sachse is our "Person of the Day."
He joins us now by phone to tell us exactly what happened.
Chad, congratulations for being so alert. You saw that television set on. So what did you do?
DEPUTY CHAD SACHSE, TETON COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, when I saw that television set on, Connie, I was right near a window that was slightly cracked.
I knew right then that that was an occupied residence. I could see flames when I arrived on scene. I got on my radio immediately and told my dispatcher that I was going in the residence; it's occupied. I basically ripped the window open and pushed the screen through and climbed up and dove into the kitchen announcing my presence, who I was, and there was a fire and we need to get out. I didn't see anybody for a few seconds.
CHUNG: And then what happened?
SACHSE: I did see a fire burning in the fireplace, which, of course, was the cause of the rest of the problem. I also saw a wheelchair sitting by the fireplace. And that indicated to me I may have something else going on. But a lady did rise up off the couch in the den. She was the one that was watching TV. And she, of course, wound up being Mr. Brinkley's home health care nurse.
It was around 1:00 in the morning. She was sleeping out on the couch by the fire. I asked her if there is anybody else in the house. And she said, there's one other person. I then started running down the hall to a light that was on. And she followed me and showed me the bedroom that Mr. Brinkley was in. And it wound up not being the lighted room that I was running to, but he was in the room across from it.
CHUNG: So, you actually picked him up and brought him outside.
SACHSE: Well, yes, ma'am. I went back and got his wheelchair, is what I did, and brought it back to him. And Wilson Fire Chief Stephen Moomy (ph) assisted me in putting him in the wheelchair. And we took him outside.
CHUNG: That's wonderful.
And when did you realize David Brinkley was David Brinkley?
SACHSE: We have in this area some celebrity. I did know that he had a place here. But I didn't realize it until I placed him in my police car and then began to kind of talk to him and the nurse, when I had the time to do so. And it was then that I recognized who he and knew who he was. And, of course, I did know who he was from all of his news broadcasts.
CHUNG: Sure. That's great.
Well, I'm sure he and his family are just so appreciative. Deputy Chad Sachse, I thank you so much. You are our "Person of the Day."
SACHSE: Thank you very much, Connie.
CHUNG: OK.
Tomorrow, if you've had enough of reality TV, what about surreal TV? We'll sit down with the stars of "The Surreal Life," sort of a reality show with where-are-they-nows. Is this madness ever going to end?
And coming up next on "LARRY KING LIVE": Princess Di's butler, Paul Burrell. And, for the first time on TV, his wife tells her side of the scandal.
Thank you so much for joining us. And for all of us at CNN, good night and we'll see you tomorrow.
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