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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Earthquake Off the Cost of Indonesia Sends Tens of Thousands Running for Their Lives; Beyond the Headlines: Michael Schiavo
Aired March 28, 2005 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening from New York. I'm Anderson Cooper.
The earth shakes, the seas boil. Another massive quake off the coast of Indonesia. Tens of thousands run for their lives.
360 starts now.
Widespread panic as another deadly tsunami is feared.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I can see people running helter-skelter all over the place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Tonight, we take you to the center of the quake -- what it was like when the earth shook, and the latest on the death toll.
Terri Schiavo on the brink of death, 11 days, no food, no water. Tonight, we take you beyond the headlines. What you don't know about Terri's husband, Michael, the life he lives without her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you involved in, are you in a relationship now?
MICHAEL SCHIAVO, TERRI SCHIAVO'S HUSBAND: Yes. Oh, yes. Proud of it. And that's what Terri would want too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Protests and prayers outside Terri's hospice. But what about the other patients inside? Tonight, meet a woman prevented from saying goodbye to her dying grandfather because of all the security outside.
Did bulimia cause Terri Schiavo's collapse? Tonight, what you need to know about the hidden illness, the warning signs, from a father who lost his daughter to an illness few people talk about.
And ever wonder why you buy the things you do? Tonight, the art of the package, manipulation by labeling. How companies get you to buy what they're selling, whether you need it or not.
ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COOPER: Good evening again.
We begin with Terri Schiavo, who is, both sides agree, near death. But that is just about all the sides agree on. Her husband's lawyer reports her condition to be peaceful. Her father doesn't see it that way at all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT SCHINDLER, TERRI SCHIAVO'S FATHER: I just was in to see Terri. She's alive, and she's fighting like hell to live, and she's begging for help. She is still communicating, still responding. She's emaciated, but she's responsive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Terri Schiavo has gone 11 days without food and water. The struggle over her nears its end, and with it, the spectacle in Pinellas Park, Florida.
From all that has been said and written about her case, you might think that Terri Schiavo is the only patient in the Woodside Hospice. But the fact of the matter is that nearly 70 other families are there too, trying to get through the difficult end of a loved one's life. For them, running a gauntlet of protesters and security and reporters is not what they had counted on.
Behind the headlines now with CNN's David Mattingly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At age 73, Thomas Bone -- T-Bone, people called him -- was known to poke fun at others as a way of showing his affection. His last wish was to have his family nearby when he passed away from brain cancer.
And late at night on March 18, when his moment was at hand, granddaughter Jennifer Johnson rushed to be at his side.
(on camera): You get the knock on the door that says, Now's the time. And you just go, right?
JENNIFER JOHNSON, GRANDDAUGHTER: Absolutely.
MATTINGLY: What are you wearing?
JOHNSON: I'm wearing a pair of black pajama bottoms and, like, a maroon T-shirt. I was just in pajamas.
MATTINGLY: Did you have time to put your shoes on?
JOHNSON: No. MATTINGLY: Did you have time to grab a purse?
JOHNSON: No. I just ran right out the door.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Johnson says getting there quickly was crucial, that her grandfather was a resident at the Florida hospice where Terri Schiavo was attracting national attention and unprecedented security.
At a time when every second counted, Johnson was stopped by security inside the building. That's when she realized she had forgotten her driver's license, something the hospice had never required her to show until recently.
JOHNSON: I was in tears. I was in tears, and before it was all said and done, I was -- I was yelling at the officer, telling him, you know, that this is awful, this is horrible, my grandfather is dying, I have to go now.
MATTINGLY: The arguing and security check cost precious minutes. By the time she got to her grandfather's room, she was too late.
JOHNSON: The nurses told me he passed a minute before I arrived. It was devastating.
MATTINGLY: Johnson says at times when her grandfather was still alive, they weren't allowed to walk outside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I hope, I pray.
MATTINGLY: The protests at the gate, she says, would at times disturb the important peace indoors.
And as Terri Schiavo's passing is anticipated, the sound continues. Security is daunting. Visitors are now greeted by a checkpoint up the road. Uniformed officers are at every entrance and throughout the grounds. At night, security spotlights illuminate the area. School administrators say just the sight of this daily activity has become such a distraction and a worry to children at the nearby elementary school that students and teachers, 730 people in all, were moved Monday to another school.
LINDA LAUGHTON, PARENT: They're kind of scared. They don't know what to expect. They're all being relocated to different schools. They don't know what's going to be happening. Parents are kind of confused. The traffic's terrible. It's just a big inconvenience.
MATTINGLY: Parents complain the move may result in lost lessons.
But Jennifer Johnson says what she lost can never be replaced.
JOHNSON: There's so much regard for one patient at Woodside Hospice, and it seems like no one's standing up for the rights of the other 70 patients and 70 patient families that are there. It cost us dearly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY: And these unusual security measures will remain in effect for the duration of the vigil for Terri Schiavo, Anderson.
COOPER: Dave Mattingly, thanks very much.
At least seven more protesters were arrested today outside Terri Schiavo's hospice. We looked into where these people are coming from, and it turns out, not from Florida. Here's a fast fact. Pinellas Park Police say of the 46 protesters who have been arrested since March 19, only five of them are actually from the state of Florida. The rest are from all over the country. The seven arrested today are from Ohio. Most broke the law by stepping over a police line at the hospice. Terri Schiavo's brother has asked protesters to stop getting arrested. He says it is not helping their cause.
As you heard, we are getting drastically differing accounts of Terri Schiavo's condition right now, her husband's lawyer saying she's resting peacefully, but her father contending that is not true. He says Terri is visibly struggling to stay alive.
We're joined now in Pinellas Park by someone who very much agrees with Bob Schindler's position, Sheri Payne, an old friend of Terri Schiavo's.
Ms. Payne, you visited Terri last night. How did she seem to you?
SHERI PAYNE, FRIEND OF TERRI SCHIAVO: Last night was very special for me. I've been in a lot of times to see Terri, but I've never heard her as vocal as she was when I reminded her of the things we used to do together.
We used to go to the beach together. We used to go to dance clubs together. When I mentioned the word "dance," both Terri's arms came up, and then she put them down. And when I said it again, they came right back up. (INAUDIBLE) out closer to me. And then she started talking. When I say talking, she was making more noise than I have ever heard Terri say before.
COOPER: You say "say." What was -- what was...
PAYNE: It was so unbelievable.
COOPER: ... she -- what was she saying? Or what kind of a noise was she making?
PAYNE: Well, it was just noise like she wanted to speak. When she put -- she opened her mouth, her tongue was going, her eyes were blinking. And whenever I stopped talking to her, she would just stare at me. When I would start talking to her again, then she would be verbal again.
COOPER: Now, Sheri, you...
PAYNE: But it was the movement and... COOPER: You, you...
PAYNE: I'm sorry?
COOPER: I'm sorry. You and the Schindlers and the -- and her brother and sister are convinced that she is trying to communicate. Medical experts, though, repeatedly have testified, and National Institutes of Health backs up, that in a persistent vegetative state, this is pretty common, that people make sudden, jerky movements, and their eyes are open.
And, you know, in fact, they go on. They say -- and I'm quoting here -- "Although people in a persistent vegetative state may make sudden, jerky movements or even open their eyes, evidence suggests that they do not have any awareness of their surroundings and are unable to make any voluntary movements. PVS is different from a coma or a catatonic state," and it goes on to describe how PVS is different.
Is it possible -- I mean, what so convinces you that she is responding to those things that you are in particular are saying?
PAYNE: Well, when I mentioned the word "dance," when her arms came up, when she arched her face towards me, when she started talking, trying to speak immediately, to the point that a police officer came around to the bed and was looking down at her, because we have never heard her so verbal on what she was trying to say.
I wanted her father to come back in, because, actually, I was frightened to see this. I didn't know what was going on at first. But the more I spoke to her, the more she tried to speak to me. It was wonderful.
COOPER: Should...
PAYNE: I was so glad I was able to spend this time with her.
COOPER: Sheri, do, do, do, do you, do her other friends and, and, and her, her parents, and, and that side of the family, do, do they communicate? I mean, do you-all communicate sort of the what is going on in this battle swirling outside? Or are the conversations -- I mean, the conversation that you are relating is very, is really a personal one, reminding her of past memories.
Is that what, what people talk to her about? Or, or is she made aware or, or at least people trying to make her aware, of what is happening, this battle raging around her?
PAYNE: Oh, we talk to her about things that are going on today. I talk to her a lot about things we used to do. I know her mother and father and her brother and sister talk to her about events that are going today. No, any conversation, anything we want to tell her, we tell her. And there is a response. Terri does hear us.
COOPER: How do you see -- and where do you go from here? I mean, if, if this ends soon, as according to medical experts, they say it will end soon, if her feeding tube is not put back in, where do you go from here?
PAYNE: What do you mean by where do we go from here?
COOPER: I mean, how do you see this? Do you see this as a crime being committed?
PAYNE: Of course I do. Of course I do. Terri was in her 20s when this accident happened. Even if you gave Michael Schiavo the benefit of the doubt, if Terri did see a movie, if Terri did see a grandmother with tubes, I can guarantee you, Terri Schiavo did not say, Take these tubes out of me, or, I would never want to be like that. Terri would never say, Don't take my water away, don't take my food away.
She might have said, Don't hook me up to all these tubes. But Terri Schiavo would not say, I don't want water.
COOPER: Well, Sheri Payne, I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us. I'm glad you got to spend time with your old friend, Terri Schiavo. Sheri, thank you very much.
PAYNE: Thank you, thank you very much.
COOPER: Coming up next on 360, a massive earthquake rocks Indonesia, killing hundreds and sparking new fears of another tsunami. We're taking you to (INAUDIBLE ) the quake zone.
Also ahead tonight, a lot more coverage on Terri Schiavo. We're going to look at Michael Schiavo's other woman. He's been with her for years, and his critics say that's adultery. Find out more about the woman living in Terri's shadow.
Also tonight, bulimia, the secret disease. That's what allegedly caused Terri Schiavo to collapse. We're going to meet the father of one woman who died from bulimia. Find out the warning signs you should look for in loved ones in your family.
All that ahead. First, let's look at your picks, the most popular stories right now on CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, if there are two words we hope not to have to say again in the same sentence for a very long time, they are Indonesia and earthquake. Nonetheless, not 60 miles from the place in the Indian Ocean where an earthquake on December 26 caused a series of tidal waves leaving more than 300,000 people dead, or still listed as missing, today there was another great quake, measuring somewhere between 8.5 and 8.7 on the Richter scale, off the coast of the island of Sumatra.
Now, just moments ago, the Indonesian vice president said the death toll is likely to hit up to 2,000 people. There were also reports of a small tsunami, but nothing like the one in December.
This remains, of course, one of the most popular stories on CNN.com. Every day, 360's Rudi Bakhtiar checks out these Web stories to bring you an angle you won't see anywhere else. Rudi, what did you find out today?
RUDI BAKHTIAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, it's too early to tell the extent of the damage, but we started thinking about where the relief effort stands right now from December's tsunami, and whether the promise to the survivors is being fulfilled.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BAKHTIAR (voice-over): After the wave hit, the whole world seemed not only to be watching, but helping. With fund-raisers, pledge drives, and a star-studded music telethon, the money poured in.
To date, the American Red Cross says it has received $460 million in pledges. Charles Blake led the Red Cross mission in Sri Lanka.
CHARLES BLAKE, AMERICAN RED CROSS: I came in contact with a family there that had lost everything. And we made sure that they were put up in shelter, had clothes on their back, had food in their stomach.
BAKHTIAR: On its Web site, the Red Cross reports that the pledges have helped pay for 275,000 sleeping mats, 100,000 hygiene kits, and 17,500 tents. And for all that support, the Red Cross is grateful.
BLAKE: I do want to say that the American Red Cross is grateful to the American public for their generosity in supporting the relief efforts.
BAKHTIAR: I also spoke to a representative from UNICEF, who said they've received $440 million in pledges for tsunami aid. He says so far, $70 million has been used to provide survivors water, shelter, and health care.
The remainder of the pledges will go toward reconstruction and rehabilitation, work that's expected to take years to achieve.
As for the humanitarian relief organization AmeriCares, it closed its tsunami fund last week after receiving $40 million in donations. The money is being used to deliver 160 tons of medicine, emergency supplies, and water purification treatments to the region.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BAKHTIAR: And disaster relief has also come from governments and other private organizations all around the world, to the tune of $4 billion. In fact, 40 different countries offered assistance and relief funds. Topping that list is Australia, with $810 million in aid, Germany is second with $680 million, and Japan is third with $500 million.
And Anderson, in case you're wondering where the U.S. is, they're number four on that list, with $350 million. But President Bush has asked for an additional $700 million for relief efforts there. COOPER: All right. Rudi Bakhtiar, thanks very much.
The chief justice of the Supreme Court was briefly hospitalized. Erica Hill from Headline News joins us with the latest. Hey, Erica.
ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS: Hey, Anderson, good to see you.
Yes, Chief Justice William Rehnquist is now back on the bench after being briefly hospitalized yesterday. A court spokesman says, quote, "problems developed" with the 80-year-old's tracheotomy tube, and he had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital. Rehnquist returned to the Supreme Court, of course, last week for the first time since last October, when he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and underwent a tracheotomy.
A new week, hey, why not a new record for gas prices? The national average, now $2.15 a gallon. Officials say that's because of higher crude oil prices. Regular unleaded is up about 4.5 cents, almost 40 cents higher than it was a year ago.
A major setback for the defense in the Michael Jackson trial. The judge in the case will allow jurors to hear testimony about past allegations of child molestation against the pop star. But DA Tom Sneddon says only one alleged victim will be brought in to testify. The rest of the evidence will come from third-party witnesses. Jackson's attorneys say prosecutors are bringing up the past allegations to try to rescue a troubled case.
And amazingly, a woman is nursing only minor cuts and bruises after her SUV fell 50 feet off a bridge and plunged to the bottom of the Oregon River. The woman lost control of the SUV on a slippery Portland bridge, smashed through a guard rail. After unbuckling her seatbelt, she crawled through the broken windshield and kicked her way up to the surface. The woman says, quote, "when you're in a car going off a bridge, you think you're done." Understandable why she would say that. But, boy, what a great outcome to that story.
Anderson, bck to you.
COOPER: Incredible that she got out. All right, Erica. Thanks very much. We'll see you again in about 30 minutes from now.
Coming up next, though, on 360, conflicting eyewitnesses. Is Terri Schiavo dying peacefully or crying out for help? 360 MD Sanjay Gupta weighs in trying to separate the fact from fiction about what's going on in Terri Schiavo's mind. That's a live shot outside her hospice.
We're covering all the angles tonight. Michael Schiavo, we're going to take a look at his other love, a look at the woman he has been with for years.
And a little later, bulimia. It might have been the cause of Terri Schiavo's heart attack. We're going to meet the father of one young woman, you see her there, who died from bulimia. Find out how to see the warning signs in your loved ones. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: It's been 11 days since Terri Schiavo has gone without food and water. And while we know she's still alive, we're getting conflicting reports about how she is doing, her exact condition. Just listen to her husband's attorney, and then compare that to what her sister says. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE FELOS, MICHAEL SCHIAVO'S ATTORNEY: Mrs. Schiavo's appearance, to me, was very calm, very relaxed, very peaceful. There was no -- I saw no evidence of any bodily discomfort whatsoever.
SUZANNE VITADAMO, TERRI SCHIAVO'S SISTER: The look on her face is, please help me. And that's exactly what I get from her when I'm in there. Please help me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, we don't take sides on 360. We try to fairly examine all of the angles, in particular tonight the medical angle. 360 MD Sanjay Gupta joins us now to discuss her chances, even if the feeding tube was somehow reattached. Sanjay, good to see you.
Michael Schiavo's attorney spoke earlier. He gave us details from Terri Schiavo's medical chart. How is her condition, considering it's been 10 days since the tube was removed, 11 days, without food and water?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, a lot of things consistent with what exactly you'd expect, at about 10 days without any sort of hydration, any sort of nutrition. Just the physical appearance. First of all, what does someone look like who hasn't been fed or receiving any fluids for that period of time? Eyes look more sunken. That's something that we're hearing. That's just -- all these things sort of consistent with dehydration. More rapid breathing, a thready pulse. What that really means is a weak pulse, probably because of the dehydration.
Again, no urine output since last night. That's significant, Anderson, because that probably means that her kidneys have really started to shut down. That may be irreversible. If she was to be fed for example at this point, she might need dialysis.
No evidence of discomfort. Again, that is a very subjective thing. The big question people are trying to answer, though, how likely is she to die any time soon? That's a more difficult thing to answer. But one thing to keep in mind, with someone who is as young and healthy as she is otherwise, most likely what's going to happen is that her kidneys -- she'll get a disturbance in some of her electrolytes in her bloodstream. That might cause her heart to fail, and then all of a sudden she will have a heart attack, and that might cause her death. So this might be a sudden event after many days all of a sudden, Anderson.
COOPER: But we're talking this week, in all likelihood.
GUPTA: Yeah, you know, it's hard to say. Ten days, 11 days now, but probably a couple of weeks are what most people have said. I talked to a lot of different doctors about this. One thing about her, again, though, is that she's not your typical patient in a hospice who has been there for many years. She was very well cared for by all indicators, so that makes it a little bit harder to tell exactly how long she might subsist.
COOPER: All right, 360 MD Sanjay Gupta, thanks.
GUPTA: Thank you.
COOPER: Terri Schiavo on the brink of death. Eleven days, no food, no water. Tonight we take you beyond the headlines. What you don't know about Terri's husband, Michael, the life he lives without her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you involved in -- are you in a relationship now?
SCHIAVO: Yeah. Proud of it. And that's what Terri would want too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: And ever wonder why you buy the things you do? Tonight, the art of the package. Manipulation by labeling. How companies get you to buy what they're selling, whether you need it or not. 360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Michael and Terri Schiavo would have celebrated their 21st anniversary last November. The two have remained married for the last 15 years that she's been in a persistent vegetative state, even though Terri is no longer the only woman in Michael's life. Beyond the headlines now with CNN's David Mattingly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY (voice-over): She is the second most talked about woman in Michael Schiavo's life.
LARRY KING, CNN HOST: Michael, why didn't you get divorced, marry the new woman in your life?
MATTINGLY: Frequently referred to as his fiancee, she's been his Schiavo's closest companion for a decade, the mother of his children and part of Schiavo's life the public has never been allowed to see.
SCHIAVO: There's nothing wrong with someday maybe wanting to get remarried.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you involved in a -- are you in a relationship now?
SCHIAVO: Yeah. Oh, yeah. Proud of it. And that's what Terri would want too.
MATTINGLY: That was Michael Schiavo in October 2002, offering just the briefest of glimpses into his feelings for the woman he shares his life with, Jodi Centonze.
SCHIAVO: I've been with my fiancee for nine years -- or eight? One of those two.
MATTINGLY (on camera): Better get that one right.
SCHIAVO: I have a child.
MATTINGLY: You have a child?
SCHIAVO: Yes. She's three weeks old.
MATTINGLY: Congratulations.
SCHIAVO: And I'm very proud of it.
MATTINGLY: Little girl?
SCHIAVO: Little girl.
MATTINGLY: Now with two small children, people close to the couple say that Centonze was very cautious in the beginning about her emotions to Michael Schiavo. They were friends for years after meeting at a dentist's office before the romance ever began. People who know her describe her as very compassionate, someone who actually became involved in the care of Terri Schiavo, never suspecting that it would land her one day in the middle of such an intense national controversy.
(voice-over): Family sources tell CNN Jodi Centonze has not wavered in her support for Michael Schiavo's commitment to his wife Terri Schiavo, nor for his legal need to remain married to her. But while she has been a private source of strength, Schiavo's relationship with Centonze has at times been a public liability.
MELODY LUDWIG, PROTESTER: He's been with Jodi Centonze for 10 years. I said this disqualified him as looking out for Terri's best interest.
MATTINGLY: Four weeks ago Terri Schiavo's parents unsuccessfully petitioned the court to grant their daughter a divorce. The motion accused Michael Schiavo of engaging in open adultery. With emotions running high, Centonze has also become an open target. John Centonze is Jodi's brother.
JOHN CENTONZE, JODI CENTONZE'S BROTHER: I worry about my sister and her kids.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why? CENTONZE: People have stolen her phone records, called her. They called all of our relatives up north, all of her friends threatening people, hate mail. I mean, people are fanatics.
MATTINGLY: On Easter Sunday, demonstrators protesting the decision to remove Terri Schiavo's feeding tube ignored "No Trespassing" signs at the home Michael Schiavo shares with Centonze. Protesters got wet when a sprinkler system turned on. Family members tell CNN Centonze lately spends much of her time with her children behind a security system at their well kept ranch house in a nondescript middle class neighborhood in Clearwater, Florida. A police presence at the house is not unusual according to neighbors. With one police car parked outside, we observed as many as four police patrols going by the house every 10 minutes.
PAT KAYLOR, MICHAEL SCHIAVO'S NEIGHBOR: It's become a very personal thing, an attack against the family here. And things that have been going on for at least the last six or seven years through the courts has been totally rejected and trying to find some loophole. Everybody is entitled to their rights. And this family should be left alone and let them make their decisions.
MATTINGLY: But being left alone does not seem to be an option right now for anyone close to the controversy, not even those trying to lead a private life. It raises the question of when Centonze will ever be able to live a normal life with her family after the anything but normal death of Terri Schiavo.
David Mattingly, CNN, Clearwater Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, a quick news note now in an item related to the Terri Schiavo story. Today "The L.A. Times" reported House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who's in the forefront of Congressional efforts to somehow to have Mrs. Schiavo's feeding tube restored, himself reluctantly agreed with the rest of his family back in 1988 to remove his brain-damaged father from life support, after which the elder DeLay died. A spokesman for the congressman told CNN, quote, "There are clear differences between what happened with Congressman DeLay's father and Terri Schiavo, in that one was in a coma and being kept alive by more than just a feeding tube."
Did bulimia cause Terri Schiavo's hospitalization? Tonight we're going to take a look at the illness that may have caused her heart attack 15-years-ago. Coming up next on 360, we'll talk to a father who has lost his daughter to the disease. We'll learn some of the warning signs that you should look for.
Also, tonight, the powers of packaging, the tricks of the trade marketers use to manipulate your mind to get you to buy, buy, buy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, in all the talk about Terri Schiavo's fate, often overlooked is the serious medical problem that may have led to her hospitalization. When she collapsed from a heart attack 15 years ago Schiavo was believed to be suffering from an eating disorder. Her husband, Michael, described her condition to CNN's Larry King during an interview a year and a half ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHIAVO: What we can fathom right now is her potassium level is very low, more than likely bulimia. Her potassium is very, very low. She had a 2.0, which caused cardiac arrest.
KING: Was she a bulimic?
SCHIAVO: I -- when I was with her, when we were together Terri would eat and eat and eat. Bulimia is a very...
KING: Bulimia is she was throwing up her meals.
SCHIAVO: Right. Bulimia is from what I've learned over the years is a very secretive disease. Terri's electrolyte balance in her body that day -- she had a 2.0 potassium. Now, potassium feeds your heart, makes your heart pump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, some 10 million women in America, and 1 million men have an eating disorder and their families share in the suffering. Our next guest knows that pain all too well. David Charron's daughter, Shelly (ph), had an eating disorder, was hospitalized several times for potassium deficiency. She died just five months ago. David Charron joins me now from Washington.
David, thanks very much, and I'm so sorry for you loss.
DAVID CHARRON, DAUGHTER DIED OF BULIMIA: Good evening, Anderson, thank you.
COOPER: Your daughter, Shelly, developed bulimia. She was just in her mid-teens. When did you first see signs that maybe something was wrong?
CHARRON: This disease may have been in place for as much as two years before we recognized it.
COOPER: How do you know that? As you look back now, what were the signs?
CHARRON: Well, she was very practiced in her disease. But it was the erratic behavior, mood swings, which every kid has certainly. But you have to watch for the telltale signs. And now after the fact, we recognize them. Eating small bites, coming back, eating heavy amounts of food, feeling her mood drop, seeing her mood drop markedly. And then coming --excusing herself from the table and coming back 30 minutes later, her mood is elevated, everything is good with the world. It was pretty clear that we had some issues on our hand.
COOPER: And at the time you realized this, two years into it, when you sort of started to see these signs, what did you do? This thing isn't talked about very much and especially back then it wasn't.
CHARRON: Well, it certainly wasn't then, Anderson, and today it's talked -- a great deal more today, but there's still -- the path signs, the signs to this disease and the cure for it are still evading us.
Back then, it was a ready, fire, aim approach for us as parents, my wife and I and my other daughter, Julie. There were no signs. There were no places for us to go where we could talk to therapists. And therapists would invite her to take some medication. The medication would maybe help with her mood, or her depression, but it would have nauseating effects on her, which was the absolute wrong thing to have.
COOPER: And she -- this followed her into adulthood. She lived with this 15 years. She worked. She got married. As she grew, did the illness change? Did it become more difficult for you -- to others -- for others to help?
CHARRON: Well, it did become more difficult. As she grew older, she obviously was more independent. But she was, emotionally, still caught in her mid-teens although physically she was in her 20s and early 30s. So, she would assert her independence to us quite regularly and we could only do what we could do.
COOPER: What kind of toll does this take on you, on your family, when you're trying to help someone and, in some cases, they're rejecting your help?
CHARRON: It has the potential, Anderson, to be a very divisive disease, divisive in effecting -- it's like friendly fire: other members of the family, friends. The highway is strewn with individuals in the rearview mirror that tried to help but were cast away.
As a family, we decided together we were going to stick with this. We became more vocal about it, more overt about it. We decided to not keep it a secret, even though Shelly worked very hard to. It was the only way we could get through it.
COOPER: What do you recommend for parents who are out there listening right now who have a child with this, or maybe suspect? What should they watch for? What can they do?
CHARRON: Well, what they should watch for are the type of symptoms I described earlier. What they should do is seek professional help. They seek it early. They seek it often. There are plenty of organizations that will help. The problem with us right now -- for us right now -- as parents and as family members, is that there's -- insurance doesn't cover a great deal of this. It's -- there's some disagreement as to whether or not it's a form of mental illness or it's a choice. This is an illness. These individuals, these young men and women don't have a choice with this.
COOPER: And there certainly is help out there. I know you're working with the National Eating Disorders Association. I appreciate you being on, David. I know it's just been five months since Shelly passed away, and it's got to be unimaginably difficult. We appreciate you taking the time.
CHARRON: She was a great kid. Thank you.
COOPER: She sounds like it, and a beautiful young lady at that. Thank you so much, David.
There was another massive earthquake off Indonesia today. Erica Hill from "HEADLINE NEWS" joins us now with the latest about that.
HILL: Hi, Anderson. And how scary for the folks in that area of the world? Some towns completely destroyed tonight after a massive earthquake struck off the west coast of Indonesia. At least 300 people are dead on the island of Nias; hundreds more are thought to be injured or trapped. The quake's magnitude was believed between 8.7 and 8.5. Now, initially, there were fears the tremor would trigger another powerful tsunami like the one in December.
Police say a juvenile is in custody in connection with last week's school shootings in Minnesota. It's not clear what the charges are, nor whether the juvenile arrested lived on the Red Lake Indian Reservation where the shootings happened. Ten people died in last Monday's rampage, including the suspected gunman, 16-year-old Jeff Weise. Last week an FBI agent said it appeared Weise acted alone.
A California mom is taking some cereal makers to court. She is accusing Kraft Food, General Mills and Kellogg of misleading consumers with low-sugar versions of popular cereals. The woman says the new cereal's no healthier than regular versions. General Mills say nutritional information is clearly labeled on the cereal boxes. Post, which is owned by Kraft, says making healthier cereals is, quote, "a process that takes time." Kellogg declined to comment.
Not sure how those low-sugar cereals affect your morning routine, Anderson, but there you go.
COOPER: Mmmmm, cinnamon toast.
Erica Hill, thanks very much. I'll have another update from you in about 30 minutes.
Coming up next on 360, talking about those cereals, you ever buy something at the supermarket and later ask yourself, why did I get that? We're going to take a look at the tricks of the trade: marketing and manipulation, why you're buying what you are.
Also, we want to hear from you. Send us feedback -- log into cnn.com/360. We're going to read some of your emails in just a moment; we're getting a lot of e-mails on a whole number of subjects tonight. We'll read some of them, ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, we've actually gone ahead and cut out "edge" into the bottles, so it's just going to be fun and easy and eye-catching to touch and grab.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: "Eye-catching to touch and grab." That was the Pepsi challenge from last season's "The Apprentice." Donald Trump's proteges designed a new bottle for the soft drink maker, keeping in mind it's really all about the packaging that often sells a product. Sometimes it's that first impression that gets you to buy something. You make a split-second decision and -- cha-ching -- you made the purchase. All this week on 360, we're looking at the power of your instinct in a special series based on the best-selling new book "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking," by Malcolm Gladwell.
Tonight, Heidi Collins shows you how you're influenced by packaging and why maybe, just maybe, you shouldn't trust yourself in the supermarket.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): America's typical supermarket, as many as 100,000 products clamoring for your attention. How do you choose? We went shopping with marketing expert Dahrel Riyea, CEO of Cheskin Consulting Firm, to get a firsthand look at the methods companies use to get you to buy what they're selling.
DAHREL RHEA, CHESKIN CONSULTING: One of the things manufacturers do, and designers do, is, they really sweat the details. Here on the Hormel logo, things like this sprig of parsley are engineered into that design to communicate freshness.
COLLINS: Come on, that little tiny bit of green, that sprig, is actually going to make me say, huh, this must be fresh?
RHEA: It will add to it.
COLLINS: While you may not realize it, packages send subtle messages and tap our emotions. The thinking is, the sunrise on Folgers coffee connects with the morning ritual of sipping that perfect cup. The glass jar of DelMonte fruit reminds us of grandma's kitchen. The film reel and colors on Orville Redenbacher's popcorn have that movie-theater feel.
And all of these visual cues don't just manipulate our first impressions.
RHEA: The packaging does influence the taste of the product as well. We do taste products with our eyes.
COLLINS: Look no further than the ice cream aisle.
RHEA: Packaging that's in a cylindrical container is perceived as tasting better, and being more premium than packaging in a rectangular package. It's the combination of the fact that we've got stripes. Those stripes kind of hearken back to an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. That we've got ice cream in a bowl. We've got flavor cues that are hitting us.
COLLINS: And hitting our wallets. The fancier presentation triggers our impulse to buy and pay more. In this store, $3.19 will get you 100 bags of straightforward Saladda Tea at regular price or just 20 bags of the more ornate Twinings.
(on camera): And when you actually do the comparison in here it's $3.19 basically a pound. Here it's nearly $16 a pound. That better be some darn good tea!
RHEA: Absolutely. You have some going up to $17 or $18 a pound.
COLLINS: And so is it really worth more? Is it really better tea?
RHEA: The people who would buy that tea would probably tell you that it is worth more, that they actually get more out of it, that it tastes better.
COLLINS (voice-over): In fact, it often comes down to trust. And who do you trust more than these familiar characters?
Caring or not, these personalities are carefully designed and tested for mass appeal. It's all about the right look to get us to make that split second decision to go from shelf to cart.
Rhea calls shopping speed dating with products.
RHEA: We're using our intuition to rapidly make those kind of assessments and those happen on an unconscious level.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I have it?
COLLINS: And packaging isn't just for grownups? A lot of prime store real estate is dedicated to little shoppers.
RHEA: Here we're looking at a fruit roll-up product that has tongue talk tattoos.
COLLINS: Oh, yummy.
RHEA: This is really toy packaging, not food packaging. We've got Barbie, "Shark Tales," "Shrek," really fun packaging that evokes an entertainment experience.
COLLINS: So big or small, old or young, are we all being manipulated?
MALCOLM GLADWELL, AUTHOR "BLINK": I think we're being manipulated all the time. And I think we have to know the extent to which our unconscious is being manipulated. Once you know about that, you do make different decisions and you make smarter decisions, and you're at least in charge. COLLINS: Two-thirds of our grocery purchases are unplanned. What can you do to resist impulse buying? Well, make sure specials are special. Be wary of those end-of-aisle displays. Not everything there is on sale. Make a detailed shopping list complete with brand names and slow down, interrupt the impulse. And if all else fails...
RHEA: Just shop online. You won't have the sensory overload that we get in a grocery store like this.
COLLINS: Heidi Collins, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: I'm a sucker for those end-of-aisle products. It gets me every time. Tomorrow night on 360 we're going continue our special week-long series, "In a Blink, The Power of Your Instinct" with a look at the bias you don't think you have. Find out if you instinctively believe that one race is superior to the others. It's a fascinating look based on Malcolm Gladwell's book "Blink."
Now, let's find out what's coming up in a few minutes on "PAULA ZAHN NOW." Hey, Paula.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: No blinking here, Anderson. Thank you. We're going to bring you an extraordinary in-depth look at Terri Schiavo's life before tragedy struck. Before she became the focus of headlines and bitter protests, she was a young woman surrounded by hope and love. We will have for you never-before-seen pictures of Terri and personal memories from friends and family. And we'll be also talking tonight, Anderson, with the family's spiritual advisor about how they're getting along, even as their own attorney now concedes Terri is at the point of no return.
COOPER: All right, Paula Zahn, thanks very much. That's in about six minutes from now.
Coming up next on 360, a fashion crisis for sumo wrestlers. The infamous loin cloth under scrutiny. We're going to take that to "The Nth Degree." Close your eyes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Time to check on some viewer e-mails. Tonight the lighter side. I've been using the term cowboying lately on the program and many of you wondered why.
Christina and Sandra of Ottawa, Ontario, write, "We're curious. What's cowboying? Enlighten your viewers, please."
Well, cowboying was the term used by the actor Robert Blake in the aftermath of his acquittal on charges he murdered his wife. This is what he had to say at a press conference about what he was going to do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ROBERT BLAKE, ACTOR: Cowboying is when you get in a motor home or a van or something like that and you just let the air blow in your hair and you wind up in some little bar in Arizona someplace and you shoot one-handed 9 ball with some 90-year-old Portuguese woman that beats the hell out of you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Ninety-year-old Portuguese woman -- what was that? That's the strangest press conference I've ever seen. That's why I keep using the term "cowboying." That's 360.
Time for "The Nth Degree."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Tonight, taking tradition to "The Nth Degree." As you may know, we here at 360 happen to have strong feelings -- very strong feelings about the ancient Japanese sport of sumo wrestling. And so we find ourselves compelled to weigh in, no pun intended, on a disastrous proposal currently being floated in Tokyo.
You're currently aware that the great professional stars of the Dohyo, that's the ceremonial sumo wrestling ring, wear a loin cloth- like garment, called a mawashi. This garment, some innovators say, is too revealing and is therefore keeping shy Japanese teenage boy out of the great old sport imperiling its future. They suggest newcomers be allowed to wear sumo pants, a stretch article, not unlike biker shorts underneath the mawashi.
Yes, sure. Why not? And while they're at it, why not just scrap the rule in which the gyoji is permitted to change his mind about the keika (ph) of torikumi after he's pointed at the winning rikishi's tozisi (ph) with his gumbai?
Yes, I mean, is ancient practice worth nothing? Are the ways of the ancestors treasures to be cherished, or just outmoded bits and pieces to be cast aside? Here's what we have to say to the shameless modernizers: Stop being childish. Put on your diapers and get in there and wrestle.
I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching 360. Prime-time coverage continues now with Paula Zahn. Hey, Paula.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired March 28, 2005 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening from New York. I'm Anderson Cooper.
The earth shakes, the seas boil. Another massive quake off the coast of Indonesia. Tens of thousands run for their lives.
360 starts now.
Widespread panic as another deadly tsunami is feared.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I can see people running helter-skelter all over the place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Tonight, we take you to the center of the quake -- what it was like when the earth shook, and the latest on the death toll.
Terri Schiavo on the brink of death, 11 days, no food, no water. Tonight, we take you beyond the headlines. What you don't know about Terri's husband, Michael, the life he lives without her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you involved in, are you in a relationship now?
MICHAEL SCHIAVO, TERRI SCHIAVO'S HUSBAND: Yes. Oh, yes. Proud of it. And that's what Terri would want too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Protests and prayers outside Terri's hospice. But what about the other patients inside? Tonight, meet a woman prevented from saying goodbye to her dying grandfather because of all the security outside.
Did bulimia cause Terri Schiavo's collapse? Tonight, what you need to know about the hidden illness, the warning signs, from a father who lost his daughter to an illness few people talk about.
And ever wonder why you buy the things you do? Tonight, the art of the package, manipulation by labeling. How companies get you to buy what they're selling, whether you need it or not.
ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COOPER: Good evening again.
We begin with Terri Schiavo, who is, both sides agree, near death. But that is just about all the sides agree on. Her husband's lawyer reports her condition to be peaceful. Her father doesn't see it that way at all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT SCHINDLER, TERRI SCHIAVO'S FATHER: I just was in to see Terri. She's alive, and she's fighting like hell to live, and she's begging for help. She is still communicating, still responding. She's emaciated, but she's responsive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Terri Schiavo has gone 11 days without food and water. The struggle over her nears its end, and with it, the spectacle in Pinellas Park, Florida.
From all that has been said and written about her case, you might think that Terri Schiavo is the only patient in the Woodside Hospice. But the fact of the matter is that nearly 70 other families are there too, trying to get through the difficult end of a loved one's life. For them, running a gauntlet of protesters and security and reporters is not what they had counted on.
Behind the headlines now with CNN's David Mattingly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At age 73, Thomas Bone -- T-Bone, people called him -- was known to poke fun at others as a way of showing his affection. His last wish was to have his family nearby when he passed away from brain cancer.
And late at night on March 18, when his moment was at hand, granddaughter Jennifer Johnson rushed to be at his side.
(on camera): You get the knock on the door that says, Now's the time. And you just go, right?
JENNIFER JOHNSON, GRANDDAUGHTER: Absolutely.
MATTINGLY: What are you wearing?
JOHNSON: I'm wearing a pair of black pajama bottoms and, like, a maroon T-shirt. I was just in pajamas.
MATTINGLY: Did you have time to put your shoes on?
JOHNSON: No. MATTINGLY: Did you have time to grab a purse?
JOHNSON: No. I just ran right out the door.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Johnson says getting there quickly was crucial, that her grandfather was a resident at the Florida hospice where Terri Schiavo was attracting national attention and unprecedented security.
At a time when every second counted, Johnson was stopped by security inside the building. That's when she realized she had forgotten her driver's license, something the hospice had never required her to show until recently.
JOHNSON: I was in tears. I was in tears, and before it was all said and done, I was -- I was yelling at the officer, telling him, you know, that this is awful, this is horrible, my grandfather is dying, I have to go now.
MATTINGLY: The arguing and security check cost precious minutes. By the time she got to her grandfather's room, she was too late.
JOHNSON: The nurses told me he passed a minute before I arrived. It was devastating.
MATTINGLY: Johnson says at times when her grandfather was still alive, they weren't allowed to walk outside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I hope, I pray.
MATTINGLY: The protests at the gate, she says, would at times disturb the important peace indoors.
And as Terri Schiavo's passing is anticipated, the sound continues. Security is daunting. Visitors are now greeted by a checkpoint up the road. Uniformed officers are at every entrance and throughout the grounds. At night, security spotlights illuminate the area. School administrators say just the sight of this daily activity has become such a distraction and a worry to children at the nearby elementary school that students and teachers, 730 people in all, were moved Monday to another school.
LINDA LAUGHTON, PARENT: They're kind of scared. They don't know what to expect. They're all being relocated to different schools. They don't know what's going to be happening. Parents are kind of confused. The traffic's terrible. It's just a big inconvenience.
MATTINGLY: Parents complain the move may result in lost lessons.
But Jennifer Johnson says what she lost can never be replaced.
JOHNSON: There's so much regard for one patient at Woodside Hospice, and it seems like no one's standing up for the rights of the other 70 patients and 70 patient families that are there. It cost us dearly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY: And these unusual security measures will remain in effect for the duration of the vigil for Terri Schiavo, Anderson.
COOPER: Dave Mattingly, thanks very much.
At least seven more protesters were arrested today outside Terri Schiavo's hospice. We looked into where these people are coming from, and it turns out, not from Florida. Here's a fast fact. Pinellas Park Police say of the 46 protesters who have been arrested since March 19, only five of them are actually from the state of Florida. The rest are from all over the country. The seven arrested today are from Ohio. Most broke the law by stepping over a police line at the hospice. Terri Schiavo's brother has asked protesters to stop getting arrested. He says it is not helping their cause.
As you heard, we are getting drastically differing accounts of Terri Schiavo's condition right now, her husband's lawyer saying she's resting peacefully, but her father contending that is not true. He says Terri is visibly struggling to stay alive.
We're joined now in Pinellas Park by someone who very much agrees with Bob Schindler's position, Sheri Payne, an old friend of Terri Schiavo's.
Ms. Payne, you visited Terri last night. How did she seem to you?
SHERI PAYNE, FRIEND OF TERRI SCHIAVO: Last night was very special for me. I've been in a lot of times to see Terri, but I've never heard her as vocal as she was when I reminded her of the things we used to do together.
We used to go to the beach together. We used to go to dance clubs together. When I mentioned the word "dance," both Terri's arms came up, and then she put them down. And when I said it again, they came right back up. (INAUDIBLE) out closer to me. And then she started talking. When I say talking, she was making more noise than I have ever heard Terri say before.
COOPER: You say "say." What was -- what was...
PAYNE: It was so unbelievable.
COOPER: ... she -- what was she saying? Or what kind of a noise was she making?
PAYNE: Well, it was just noise like she wanted to speak. When she put -- she opened her mouth, her tongue was going, her eyes were blinking. And whenever I stopped talking to her, she would just stare at me. When I would start talking to her again, then she would be verbal again.
COOPER: Now, Sheri, you...
PAYNE: But it was the movement and... COOPER: You, you...
PAYNE: I'm sorry?
COOPER: I'm sorry. You and the Schindlers and the -- and her brother and sister are convinced that she is trying to communicate. Medical experts, though, repeatedly have testified, and National Institutes of Health backs up, that in a persistent vegetative state, this is pretty common, that people make sudden, jerky movements, and their eyes are open.
And, you know, in fact, they go on. They say -- and I'm quoting here -- "Although people in a persistent vegetative state may make sudden, jerky movements or even open their eyes, evidence suggests that they do not have any awareness of their surroundings and are unable to make any voluntary movements. PVS is different from a coma or a catatonic state," and it goes on to describe how PVS is different.
Is it possible -- I mean, what so convinces you that she is responding to those things that you are in particular are saying?
PAYNE: Well, when I mentioned the word "dance," when her arms came up, when she arched her face towards me, when she started talking, trying to speak immediately, to the point that a police officer came around to the bed and was looking down at her, because we have never heard her so verbal on what she was trying to say.
I wanted her father to come back in, because, actually, I was frightened to see this. I didn't know what was going on at first. But the more I spoke to her, the more she tried to speak to me. It was wonderful.
COOPER: Should...
PAYNE: I was so glad I was able to spend this time with her.
COOPER: Sheri, do, do, do, do you, do her other friends and, and, and her, her parents, and, and that side of the family, do, do they communicate? I mean, do you-all communicate sort of the what is going on in this battle swirling outside? Or are the conversations -- I mean, the conversation that you are relating is very, is really a personal one, reminding her of past memories.
Is that what, what people talk to her about? Or, or is she made aware or, or at least people trying to make her aware, of what is happening, this battle raging around her?
PAYNE: Oh, we talk to her about things that are going on today. I talk to her a lot about things we used to do. I know her mother and father and her brother and sister talk to her about events that are going today. No, any conversation, anything we want to tell her, we tell her. And there is a response. Terri does hear us.
COOPER: How do you see -- and where do you go from here? I mean, if, if this ends soon, as according to medical experts, they say it will end soon, if her feeding tube is not put back in, where do you go from here?
PAYNE: What do you mean by where do we go from here?
COOPER: I mean, how do you see this? Do you see this as a crime being committed?
PAYNE: Of course I do. Of course I do. Terri was in her 20s when this accident happened. Even if you gave Michael Schiavo the benefit of the doubt, if Terri did see a movie, if Terri did see a grandmother with tubes, I can guarantee you, Terri Schiavo did not say, Take these tubes out of me, or, I would never want to be like that. Terri would never say, Don't take my water away, don't take my food away.
She might have said, Don't hook me up to all these tubes. But Terri Schiavo would not say, I don't want water.
COOPER: Well, Sheri Payne, I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us. I'm glad you got to spend time with your old friend, Terri Schiavo. Sheri, thank you very much.
PAYNE: Thank you, thank you very much.
COOPER: Coming up next on 360, a massive earthquake rocks Indonesia, killing hundreds and sparking new fears of another tsunami. We're taking you to (INAUDIBLE ) the quake zone.
Also ahead tonight, a lot more coverage on Terri Schiavo. We're going to look at Michael Schiavo's other woman. He's been with her for years, and his critics say that's adultery. Find out more about the woman living in Terri's shadow.
Also tonight, bulimia, the secret disease. That's what allegedly caused Terri Schiavo to collapse. We're going to meet the father of one woman who died from bulimia. Find out the warning signs you should look for in loved ones in your family.
All that ahead. First, let's look at your picks, the most popular stories right now on CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, if there are two words we hope not to have to say again in the same sentence for a very long time, they are Indonesia and earthquake. Nonetheless, not 60 miles from the place in the Indian Ocean where an earthquake on December 26 caused a series of tidal waves leaving more than 300,000 people dead, or still listed as missing, today there was another great quake, measuring somewhere between 8.5 and 8.7 on the Richter scale, off the coast of the island of Sumatra.
Now, just moments ago, the Indonesian vice president said the death toll is likely to hit up to 2,000 people. There were also reports of a small tsunami, but nothing like the one in December.
This remains, of course, one of the most popular stories on CNN.com. Every day, 360's Rudi Bakhtiar checks out these Web stories to bring you an angle you won't see anywhere else. Rudi, what did you find out today?
RUDI BAKHTIAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, it's too early to tell the extent of the damage, but we started thinking about where the relief effort stands right now from December's tsunami, and whether the promise to the survivors is being fulfilled.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BAKHTIAR (voice-over): After the wave hit, the whole world seemed not only to be watching, but helping. With fund-raisers, pledge drives, and a star-studded music telethon, the money poured in.
To date, the American Red Cross says it has received $460 million in pledges. Charles Blake led the Red Cross mission in Sri Lanka.
CHARLES BLAKE, AMERICAN RED CROSS: I came in contact with a family there that had lost everything. And we made sure that they were put up in shelter, had clothes on their back, had food in their stomach.
BAKHTIAR: On its Web site, the Red Cross reports that the pledges have helped pay for 275,000 sleeping mats, 100,000 hygiene kits, and 17,500 tents. And for all that support, the Red Cross is grateful.
BLAKE: I do want to say that the American Red Cross is grateful to the American public for their generosity in supporting the relief efforts.
BAKHTIAR: I also spoke to a representative from UNICEF, who said they've received $440 million in pledges for tsunami aid. He says so far, $70 million has been used to provide survivors water, shelter, and health care.
The remainder of the pledges will go toward reconstruction and rehabilitation, work that's expected to take years to achieve.
As for the humanitarian relief organization AmeriCares, it closed its tsunami fund last week after receiving $40 million in donations. The money is being used to deliver 160 tons of medicine, emergency supplies, and water purification treatments to the region.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BAKHTIAR: And disaster relief has also come from governments and other private organizations all around the world, to the tune of $4 billion. In fact, 40 different countries offered assistance and relief funds. Topping that list is Australia, with $810 million in aid, Germany is second with $680 million, and Japan is third with $500 million.
And Anderson, in case you're wondering where the U.S. is, they're number four on that list, with $350 million. But President Bush has asked for an additional $700 million for relief efforts there. COOPER: All right. Rudi Bakhtiar, thanks very much.
The chief justice of the Supreme Court was briefly hospitalized. Erica Hill from Headline News joins us with the latest. Hey, Erica.
ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS: Hey, Anderson, good to see you.
Yes, Chief Justice William Rehnquist is now back on the bench after being briefly hospitalized yesterday. A court spokesman says, quote, "problems developed" with the 80-year-old's tracheotomy tube, and he had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital. Rehnquist returned to the Supreme Court, of course, last week for the first time since last October, when he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and underwent a tracheotomy.
A new week, hey, why not a new record for gas prices? The national average, now $2.15 a gallon. Officials say that's because of higher crude oil prices. Regular unleaded is up about 4.5 cents, almost 40 cents higher than it was a year ago.
A major setback for the defense in the Michael Jackson trial. The judge in the case will allow jurors to hear testimony about past allegations of child molestation against the pop star. But DA Tom Sneddon says only one alleged victim will be brought in to testify. The rest of the evidence will come from third-party witnesses. Jackson's attorneys say prosecutors are bringing up the past allegations to try to rescue a troubled case.
And amazingly, a woman is nursing only minor cuts and bruises after her SUV fell 50 feet off a bridge and plunged to the bottom of the Oregon River. The woman lost control of the SUV on a slippery Portland bridge, smashed through a guard rail. After unbuckling her seatbelt, she crawled through the broken windshield and kicked her way up to the surface. The woman says, quote, "when you're in a car going off a bridge, you think you're done." Understandable why she would say that. But, boy, what a great outcome to that story.
Anderson, bck to you.
COOPER: Incredible that she got out. All right, Erica. Thanks very much. We'll see you again in about 30 minutes from now.
Coming up next, though, on 360, conflicting eyewitnesses. Is Terri Schiavo dying peacefully or crying out for help? 360 MD Sanjay Gupta weighs in trying to separate the fact from fiction about what's going on in Terri Schiavo's mind. That's a live shot outside her hospice.
We're covering all the angles tonight. Michael Schiavo, we're going to take a look at his other love, a look at the woman he has been with for years.
And a little later, bulimia. It might have been the cause of Terri Schiavo's heart attack. We're going to meet the father of one young woman, you see her there, who died from bulimia. Find out how to see the warning signs in your loved ones. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: It's been 11 days since Terri Schiavo has gone without food and water. And while we know she's still alive, we're getting conflicting reports about how she is doing, her exact condition. Just listen to her husband's attorney, and then compare that to what her sister says. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE FELOS, MICHAEL SCHIAVO'S ATTORNEY: Mrs. Schiavo's appearance, to me, was very calm, very relaxed, very peaceful. There was no -- I saw no evidence of any bodily discomfort whatsoever.
SUZANNE VITADAMO, TERRI SCHIAVO'S SISTER: The look on her face is, please help me. And that's exactly what I get from her when I'm in there. Please help me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, we don't take sides on 360. We try to fairly examine all of the angles, in particular tonight the medical angle. 360 MD Sanjay Gupta joins us now to discuss her chances, even if the feeding tube was somehow reattached. Sanjay, good to see you.
Michael Schiavo's attorney spoke earlier. He gave us details from Terri Schiavo's medical chart. How is her condition, considering it's been 10 days since the tube was removed, 11 days, without food and water?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, a lot of things consistent with what exactly you'd expect, at about 10 days without any sort of hydration, any sort of nutrition. Just the physical appearance. First of all, what does someone look like who hasn't been fed or receiving any fluids for that period of time? Eyes look more sunken. That's something that we're hearing. That's just -- all these things sort of consistent with dehydration. More rapid breathing, a thready pulse. What that really means is a weak pulse, probably because of the dehydration.
Again, no urine output since last night. That's significant, Anderson, because that probably means that her kidneys have really started to shut down. That may be irreversible. If she was to be fed for example at this point, she might need dialysis.
No evidence of discomfort. Again, that is a very subjective thing. The big question people are trying to answer, though, how likely is she to die any time soon? That's a more difficult thing to answer. But one thing to keep in mind, with someone who is as young and healthy as she is otherwise, most likely what's going to happen is that her kidneys -- she'll get a disturbance in some of her electrolytes in her bloodstream. That might cause her heart to fail, and then all of a sudden she will have a heart attack, and that might cause her death. So this might be a sudden event after many days all of a sudden, Anderson.
COOPER: But we're talking this week, in all likelihood.
GUPTA: Yeah, you know, it's hard to say. Ten days, 11 days now, but probably a couple of weeks are what most people have said. I talked to a lot of different doctors about this. One thing about her, again, though, is that she's not your typical patient in a hospice who has been there for many years. She was very well cared for by all indicators, so that makes it a little bit harder to tell exactly how long she might subsist.
COOPER: All right, 360 MD Sanjay Gupta, thanks.
GUPTA: Thank you.
COOPER: Terri Schiavo on the brink of death. Eleven days, no food, no water. Tonight we take you beyond the headlines. What you don't know about Terri's husband, Michael, the life he lives without her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you involved in -- are you in a relationship now?
SCHIAVO: Yeah. Proud of it. And that's what Terri would want too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: And ever wonder why you buy the things you do? Tonight, the art of the package. Manipulation by labeling. How companies get you to buy what they're selling, whether you need it or not. 360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Michael and Terri Schiavo would have celebrated their 21st anniversary last November. The two have remained married for the last 15 years that she's been in a persistent vegetative state, even though Terri is no longer the only woman in Michael's life. Beyond the headlines now with CNN's David Mattingly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY (voice-over): She is the second most talked about woman in Michael Schiavo's life.
LARRY KING, CNN HOST: Michael, why didn't you get divorced, marry the new woman in your life?
MATTINGLY: Frequently referred to as his fiancee, she's been his Schiavo's closest companion for a decade, the mother of his children and part of Schiavo's life the public has never been allowed to see.
SCHIAVO: There's nothing wrong with someday maybe wanting to get remarried.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you involved in a -- are you in a relationship now?
SCHIAVO: Yeah. Oh, yeah. Proud of it. And that's what Terri would want too.
MATTINGLY: That was Michael Schiavo in October 2002, offering just the briefest of glimpses into his feelings for the woman he shares his life with, Jodi Centonze.
SCHIAVO: I've been with my fiancee for nine years -- or eight? One of those two.
MATTINGLY (on camera): Better get that one right.
SCHIAVO: I have a child.
MATTINGLY: You have a child?
SCHIAVO: Yes. She's three weeks old.
MATTINGLY: Congratulations.
SCHIAVO: And I'm very proud of it.
MATTINGLY: Little girl?
SCHIAVO: Little girl.
MATTINGLY: Now with two small children, people close to the couple say that Centonze was very cautious in the beginning about her emotions to Michael Schiavo. They were friends for years after meeting at a dentist's office before the romance ever began. People who know her describe her as very compassionate, someone who actually became involved in the care of Terri Schiavo, never suspecting that it would land her one day in the middle of such an intense national controversy.
(voice-over): Family sources tell CNN Jodi Centonze has not wavered in her support for Michael Schiavo's commitment to his wife Terri Schiavo, nor for his legal need to remain married to her. But while she has been a private source of strength, Schiavo's relationship with Centonze has at times been a public liability.
MELODY LUDWIG, PROTESTER: He's been with Jodi Centonze for 10 years. I said this disqualified him as looking out for Terri's best interest.
MATTINGLY: Four weeks ago Terri Schiavo's parents unsuccessfully petitioned the court to grant their daughter a divorce. The motion accused Michael Schiavo of engaging in open adultery. With emotions running high, Centonze has also become an open target. John Centonze is Jodi's brother.
JOHN CENTONZE, JODI CENTONZE'S BROTHER: I worry about my sister and her kids.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why? CENTONZE: People have stolen her phone records, called her. They called all of our relatives up north, all of her friends threatening people, hate mail. I mean, people are fanatics.
MATTINGLY: On Easter Sunday, demonstrators protesting the decision to remove Terri Schiavo's feeding tube ignored "No Trespassing" signs at the home Michael Schiavo shares with Centonze. Protesters got wet when a sprinkler system turned on. Family members tell CNN Centonze lately spends much of her time with her children behind a security system at their well kept ranch house in a nondescript middle class neighborhood in Clearwater, Florida. A police presence at the house is not unusual according to neighbors. With one police car parked outside, we observed as many as four police patrols going by the house every 10 minutes.
PAT KAYLOR, MICHAEL SCHIAVO'S NEIGHBOR: It's become a very personal thing, an attack against the family here. And things that have been going on for at least the last six or seven years through the courts has been totally rejected and trying to find some loophole. Everybody is entitled to their rights. And this family should be left alone and let them make their decisions.
MATTINGLY: But being left alone does not seem to be an option right now for anyone close to the controversy, not even those trying to lead a private life. It raises the question of when Centonze will ever be able to live a normal life with her family after the anything but normal death of Terri Schiavo.
David Mattingly, CNN, Clearwater Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, a quick news note now in an item related to the Terri Schiavo story. Today "The L.A. Times" reported House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who's in the forefront of Congressional efforts to somehow to have Mrs. Schiavo's feeding tube restored, himself reluctantly agreed with the rest of his family back in 1988 to remove his brain-damaged father from life support, after which the elder DeLay died. A spokesman for the congressman told CNN, quote, "There are clear differences between what happened with Congressman DeLay's father and Terri Schiavo, in that one was in a coma and being kept alive by more than just a feeding tube."
Did bulimia cause Terri Schiavo's hospitalization? Tonight we're going to take a look at the illness that may have caused her heart attack 15-years-ago. Coming up next on 360, we'll talk to a father who has lost his daughter to the disease. We'll learn some of the warning signs that you should look for.
Also, tonight, the powers of packaging, the tricks of the trade marketers use to manipulate your mind to get you to buy, buy, buy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, in all the talk about Terri Schiavo's fate, often overlooked is the serious medical problem that may have led to her hospitalization. When she collapsed from a heart attack 15 years ago Schiavo was believed to be suffering from an eating disorder. Her husband, Michael, described her condition to CNN's Larry King during an interview a year and a half ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHIAVO: What we can fathom right now is her potassium level is very low, more than likely bulimia. Her potassium is very, very low. She had a 2.0, which caused cardiac arrest.
KING: Was she a bulimic?
SCHIAVO: I -- when I was with her, when we were together Terri would eat and eat and eat. Bulimia is a very...
KING: Bulimia is she was throwing up her meals.
SCHIAVO: Right. Bulimia is from what I've learned over the years is a very secretive disease. Terri's electrolyte balance in her body that day -- she had a 2.0 potassium. Now, potassium feeds your heart, makes your heart pump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, some 10 million women in America, and 1 million men have an eating disorder and their families share in the suffering. Our next guest knows that pain all too well. David Charron's daughter, Shelly (ph), had an eating disorder, was hospitalized several times for potassium deficiency. She died just five months ago. David Charron joins me now from Washington.
David, thanks very much, and I'm so sorry for you loss.
DAVID CHARRON, DAUGHTER DIED OF BULIMIA: Good evening, Anderson, thank you.
COOPER: Your daughter, Shelly, developed bulimia. She was just in her mid-teens. When did you first see signs that maybe something was wrong?
CHARRON: This disease may have been in place for as much as two years before we recognized it.
COOPER: How do you know that? As you look back now, what were the signs?
CHARRON: Well, she was very practiced in her disease. But it was the erratic behavior, mood swings, which every kid has certainly. But you have to watch for the telltale signs. And now after the fact, we recognize them. Eating small bites, coming back, eating heavy amounts of food, feeling her mood drop, seeing her mood drop markedly. And then coming --excusing herself from the table and coming back 30 minutes later, her mood is elevated, everything is good with the world. It was pretty clear that we had some issues on our hand.
COOPER: And at the time you realized this, two years into it, when you sort of started to see these signs, what did you do? This thing isn't talked about very much and especially back then it wasn't.
CHARRON: Well, it certainly wasn't then, Anderson, and today it's talked -- a great deal more today, but there's still -- the path signs, the signs to this disease and the cure for it are still evading us.
Back then, it was a ready, fire, aim approach for us as parents, my wife and I and my other daughter, Julie. There were no signs. There were no places for us to go where we could talk to therapists. And therapists would invite her to take some medication. The medication would maybe help with her mood, or her depression, but it would have nauseating effects on her, which was the absolute wrong thing to have.
COOPER: And she -- this followed her into adulthood. She lived with this 15 years. She worked. She got married. As she grew, did the illness change? Did it become more difficult for you -- to others -- for others to help?
CHARRON: Well, it did become more difficult. As she grew older, she obviously was more independent. But she was, emotionally, still caught in her mid-teens although physically she was in her 20s and early 30s. So, she would assert her independence to us quite regularly and we could only do what we could do.
COOPER: What kind of toll does this take on you, on your family, when you're trying to help someone and, in some cases, they're rejecting your help?
CHARRON: It has the potential, Anderson, to be a very divisive disease, divisive in effecting -- it's like friendly fire: other members of the family, friends. The highway is strewn with individuals in the rearview mirror that tried to help but were cast away.
As a family, we decided together we were going to stick with this. We became more vocal about it, more overt about it. We decided to not keep it a secret, even though Shelly worked very hard to. It was the only way we could get through it.
COOPER: What do you recommend for parents who are out there listening right now who have a child with this, or maybe suspect? What should they watch for? What can they do?
CHARRON: Well, what they should watch for are the type of symptoms I described earlier. What they should do is seek professional help. They seek it early. They seek it often. There are plenty of organizations that will help. The problem with us right now -- for us right now -- as parents and as family members, is that there's -- insurance doesn't cover a great deal of this. It's -- there's some disagreement as to whether or not it's a form of mental illness or it's a choice. This is an illness. These individuals, these young men and women don't have a choice with this.
COOPER: And there certainly is help out there. I know you're working with the National Eating Disorders Association. I appreciate you being on, David. I know it's just been five months since Shelly passed away, and it's got to be unimaginably difficult. We appreciate you taking the time.
CHARRON: She was a great kid. Thank you.
COOPER: She sounds like it, and a beautiful young lady at that. Thank you so much, David.
There was another massive earthquake off Indonesia today. Erica Hill from "HEADLINE NEWS" joins us now with the latest about that.
HILL: Hi, Anderson. And how scary for the folks in that area of the world? Some towns completely destroyed tonight after a massive earthquake struck off the west coast of Indonesia. At least 300 people are dead on the island of Nias; hundreds more are thought to be injured or trapped. The quake's magnitude was believed between 8.7 and 8.5. Now, initially, there were fears the tremor would trigger another powerful tsunami like the one in December.
Police say a juvenile is in custody in connection with last week's school shootings in Minnesota. It's not clear what the charges are, nor whether the juvenile arrested lived on the Red Lake Indian Reservation where the shootings happened. Ten people died in last Monday's rampage, including the suspected gunman, 16-year-old Jeff Weise. Last week an FBI agent said it appeared Weise acted alone.
A California mom is taking some cereal makers to court. She is accusing Kraft Food, General Mills and Kellogg of misleading consumers with low-sugar versions of popular cereals. The woman says the new cereal's no healthier than regular versions. General Mills say nutritional information is clearly labeled on the cereal boxes. Post, which is owned by Kraft, says making healthier cereals is, quote, "a process that takes time." Kellogg declined to comment.
Not sure how those low-sugar cereals affect your morning routine, Anderson, but there you go.
COOPER: Mmmmm, cinnamon toast.
Erica Hill, thanks very much. I'll have another update from you in about 30 minutes.
Coming up next on 360, talking about those cereals, you ever buy something at the supermarket and later ask yourself, why did I get that? We're going to take a look at the tricks of the trade: marketing and manipulation, why you're buying what you are.
Also, we want to hear from you. Send us feedback -- log into cnn.com/360. We're going to read some of your emails in just a moment; we're getting a lot of e-mails on a whole number of subjects tonight. We'll read some of them, ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, we've actually gone ahead and cut out "edge" into the bottles, so it's just going to be fun and easy and eye-catching to touch and grab.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: "Eye-catching to touch and grab." That was the Pepsi challenge from last season's "The Apprentice." Donald Trump's proteges designed a new bottle for the soft drink maker, keeping in mind it's really all about the packaging that often sells a product. Sometimes it's that first impression that gets you to buy something. You make a split-second decision and -- cha-ching -- you made the purchase. All this week on 360, we're looking at the power of your instinct in a special series based on the best-selling new book "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking," by Malcolm Gladwell.
Tonight, Heidi Collins shows you how you're influenced by packaging and why maybe, just maybe, you shouldn't trust yourself in the supermarket.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): America's typical supermarket, as many as 100,000 products clamoring for your attention. How do you choose? We went shopping with marketing expert Dahrel Riyea, CEO of Cheskin Consulting Firm, to get a firsthand look at the methods companies use to get you to buy what they're selling.
DAHREL RHEA, CHESKIN CONSULTING: One of the things manufacturers do, and designers do, is, they really sweat the details. Here on the Hormel logo, things like this sprig of parsley are engineered into that design to communicate freshness.
COLLINS: Come on, that little tiny bit of green, that sprig, is actually going to make me say, huh, this must be fresh?
RHEA: It will add to it.
COLLINS: While you may not realize it, packages send subtle messages and tap our emotions. The thinking is, the sunrise on Folgers coffee connects with the morning ritual of sipping that perfect cup. The glass jar of DelMonte fruit reminds us of grandma's kitchen. The film reel and colors on Orville Redenbacher's popcorn have that movie-theater feel.
And all of these visual cues don't just manipulate our first impressions.
RHEA: The packaging does influence the taste of the product as well. We do taste products with our eyes.
COLLINS: Look no further than the ice cream aisle.
RHEA: Packaging that's in a cylindrical container is perceived as tasting better, and being more premium than packaging in a rectangular package. It's the combination of the fact that we've got stripes. Those stripes kind of hearken back to an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. That we've got ice cream in a bowl. We've got flavor cues that are hitting us.
COLLINS: And hitting our wallets. The fancier presentation triggers our impulse to buy and pay more. In this store, $3.19 will get you 100 bags of straightforward Saladda Tea at regular price or just 20 bags of the more ornate Twinings.
(on camera): And when you actually do the comparison in here it's $3.19 basically a pound. Here it's nearly $16 a pound. That better be some darn good tea!
RHEA: Absolutely. You have some going up to $17 or $18 a pound.
COLLINS: And so is it really worth more? Is it really better tea?
RHEA: The people who would buy that tea would probably tell you that it is worth more, that they actually get more out of it, that it tastes better.
COLLINS (voice-over): In fact, it often comes down to trust. And who do you trust more than these familiar characters?
Caring or not, these personalities are carefully designed and tested for mass appeal. It's all about the right look to get us to make that split second decision to go from shelf to cart.
Rhea calls shopping speed dating with products.
RHEA: We're using our intuition to rapidly make those kind of assessments and those happen on an unconscious level.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I have it?
COLLINS: And packaging isn't just for grownups? A lot of prime store real estate is dedicated to little shoppers.
RHEA: Here we're looking at a fruit roll-up product that has tongue talk tattoos.
COLLINS: Oh, yummy.
RHEA: This is really toy packaging, not food packaging. We've got Barbie, "Shark Tales," "Shrek," really fun packaging that evokes an entertainment experience.
COLLINS: So big or small, old or young, are we all being manipulated?
MALCOLM GLADWELL, AUTHOR "BLINK": I think we're being manipulated all the time. And I think we have to know the extent to which our unconscious is being manipulated. Once you know about that, you do make different decisions and you make smarter decisions, and you're at least in charge. COLLINS: Two-thirds of our grocery purchases are unplanned. What can you do to resist impulse buying? Well, make sure specials are special. Be wary of those end-of-aisle displays. Not everything there is on sale. Make a detailed shopping list complete with brand names and slow down, interrupt the impulse. And if all else fails...
RHEA: Just shop online. You won't have the sensory overload that we get in a grocery store like this.
COLLINS: Heidi Collins, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: I'm a sucker for those end-of-aisle products. It gets me every time. Tomorrow night on 360 we're going continue our special week-long series, "In a Blink, The Power of Your Instinct" with a look at the bias you don't think you have. Find out if you instinctively believe that one race is superior to the others. It's a fascinating look based on Malcolm Gladwell's book "Blink."
Now, let's find out what's coming up in a few minutes on "PAULA ZAHN NOW." Hey, Paula.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: No blinking here, Anderson. Thank you. We're going to bring you an extraordinary in-depth look at Terri Schiavo's life before tragedy struck. Before she became the focus of headlines and bitter protests, she was a young woman surrounded by hope and love. We will have for you never-before-seen pictures of Terri and personal memories from friends and family. And we'll be also talking tonight, Anderson, with the family's spiritual advisor about how they're getting along, even as their own attorney now concedes Terri is at the point of no return.
COOPER: All right, Paula Zahn, thanks very much. That's in about six minutes from now.
Coming up next on 360, a fashion crisis for sumo wrestlers. The infamous loin cloth under scrutiny. We're going to take that to "The Nth Degree." Close your eyes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Time to check on some viewer e-mails. Tonight the lighter side. I've been using the term cowboying lately on the program and many of you wondered why.
Christina and Sandra of Ottawa, Ontario, write, "We're curious. What's cowboying? Enlighten your viewers, please."
Well, cowboying was the term used by the actor Robert Blake in the aftermath of his acquittal on charges he murdered his wife. This is what he had to say at a press conference about what he was going to do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ROBERT BLAKE, ACTOR: Cowboying is when you get in a motor home or a van or something like that and you just let the air blow in your hair and you wind up in some little bar in Arizona someplace and you shoot one-handed 9 ball with some 90-year-old Portuguese woman that beats the hell out of you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Ninety-year-old Portuguese woman -- what was that? That's the strangest press conference I've ever seen. That's why I keep using the term "cowboying." That's 360.
Time for "The Nth Degree."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Tonight, taking tradition to "The Nth Degree." As you may know, we here at 360 happen to have strong feelings -- very strong feelings about the ancient Japanese sport of sumo wrestling. And so we find ourselves compelled to weigh in, no pun intended, on a disastrous proposal currently being floated in Tokyo.
You're currently aware that the great professional stars of the Dohyo, that's the ceremonial sumo wrestling ring, wear a loin cloth- like garment, called a mawashi. This garment, some innovators say, is too revealing and is therefore keeping shy Japanese teenage boy out of the great old sport imperiling its future. They suggest newcomers be allowed to wear sumo pants, a stretch article, not unlike biker shorts underneath the mawashi.
Yes, sure. Why not? And while they're at it, why not just scrap the rule in which the gyoji is permitted to change his mind about the keika (ph) of torikumi after he's pointed at the winning rikishi's tozisi (ph) with his gumbai?
Yes, I mean, is ancient practice worth nothing? Are the ways of the ancestors treasures to be cherished, or just outmoded bits and pieces to be cast aside? Here's what we have to say to the shameless modernizers: Stop being childish. Put on your diapers and get in there and wrestle.
I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching 360. Prime-time coverage continues now with Paula Zahn. Hey, Paula.
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