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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Silicone Gel Breast Implant Ban Remains; Wanted Rapist Apprehended; Scores of Dolphins Beached in Florida; Fighting to Stop Witness Intimidation
Aired April 12, 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: Kitty thanks very much.
Good evening everyone.
A dapper ex-con is captured. Police say he killed and raped, and might have done more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: He was a smooth talker, a published author with a dark secret. Tonight a nation-wide manhunt ends. How police captured an ex-con wanted for rape and murder.
Breast implants: the FDA refuses to lift restrictions on silicone. Tonight, one woman tells her story. As a teen she wanted bigger breasts, what she got was more than she bargained for. What you need to know before going under the knife.
A race against time: dozens of dolphins stranded on the Florida coast. Tonight we take you inside the around-the-clock effort to keep them alive.
Hunting cats? A final solution for kitties without collars. Tonight why some in Wisconsin wanted to declare open season on free- roaming cats.
And could you be racially biased and not even know it? Tonight take the test that might reveal some shocking truths about yourself.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COOPER: Good evening, again. We begin tonight with the success of a nation-wide manhunt that had been going since Friday. It ended just a few hours ago. It's the story of Stephen Stanko, a smooth talking ex-convict suspected of two murders and a rape in South Carolina. And a man who looked anything but like a fugitive when he was caught a short time ago in Georgia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Stephen Stanko was apprehended in West Augusta at a shopping plaza. COOPER (voice-over): A friend said he swore he'd never go back to prison again. But tonight 37-year-old Stephen Stanko is behind bars. The ex-convict looking more like a well-dressed businessman than an accused killer on the run was captured in Georgia just hours ago -- ending a four-day manhunt that police began with a deadly crime spree.
The truck was located first. The vehicle was seen. A short time after that Mr. Stanko was seen coming out of a shopping center store in West Augusta, Georgia, at which time agents were already in place, law enforcement officers and federal agents. And he was taken into custody immediately without any further incident.
COOPER: It started with a call to police early Friday morning, from a 15-year-old girl reporting she had been raped. And that a 43- year-old woman believed to be Stanko's ex-girlfriend had been murdered. Police said Stanko then stole the dead woman's car which was later found outside the home of a 74-year-old man, he had been shot to death.
ANDY CHRISTENSON, HORRY COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA POLICE: Desperate people do desperate things. And we're just asking that people be vigilant and be cautious, be aware and please do not try to take matters into your own hands.
COOPER: Stephen Stanko served more than eight years for kidnapping, assault and battery. He was only freed from prison nine months ago. Police say he managed to make people believe his life of crime had come to an end.
CHRISTENSON: He's been described to us as being well dressed, being clean cut, being a smooth talker, and being a very convincing individual.
COOPER: Convincing enough to co-author a book "Living in Prison," offering an insiders look at life behind bars. But when police searched Stephen Stanko's home they found a file filled with hundreds of articles about serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer and the Green River Killer. No one yet knows why he had them. They only know two people are dead, and a 15-year-old girl says she was raped.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: We're joined now by two people who know Stephen Stank in very different ways.
On the phone Elizabeth Buckner, who once dated Stephen Stanko and then became a victim of his.
And in Watertown, Massachusetts, we're joined by Gordon Crews, a criminologist who co-wrote that book, "Living in Prison."
We appreciate both of you being with us.
Elizabeth, let me start off with you. You had a relationship with this man for four years. At what point did you realize there was something going on with him that you hadn't seen at first? I mean I understand he was fired from his job and you confronted him about it. What went wrong in the relationship?
ELIZABETH BUCKNER, STANKO'S FIRST KIDNAP VICTIM: Well, Anderson, he had habitually lied about so many different things about jobs that he had maintained and been fired from. And this one really escalated because he was involved in stealing automobiles from a car dealership and pretending to start a used car dealership with a neighbor friend. And I confronted him with that fact.
COOPER: What happened when you confronted him.
BUCKNER: He became violent. He tried to turn things around to make it what it wasn't. You know, he has a very manipulative approach to things. And he can make you believe something that you know for a fact is not the truth. But he has a very, very wicked way about twisting things around. And he tried to convince me it was not what I suspected.
COOPER: And a lot of secrets it seems like. I mean, when you saw these pictures of him in handcuffs in this suit, I mean people say he was a smooth talker. What was the initial attraction, Elizabeth?
BUCKNER: Well, he came across as a businessman. He is a very smooth talker. He is convincing. He is articulate. He's intelligent. When you meet him you do not suspect this of him at all.
COOPER: Gordon let me bring you -- you wrote a book with this man. He was in prison at the time. What was he like to work with?
GORDON CREWS, CO-AUTHOR, "LIVING IN PRISON": Easy to work with. It was very -- very articulate. The -- the first draft of the manuscript was very interesting. I was kind of fascinated with his story and I signed on immediately for the project.
COOPER: Did you know his full story?
I mean, are you now discovering things about the guy you didn't know previously?
CREWS: Definitely. Like everyone, I'm definitely discovering more and more things that I did not know about some patterns about his behavior.
COOPER: Like what.
CREWS: Well, the biggest thing is the pattern about his violent behavior. As Miss Buckner just said, the picture that was painted to myself initially and a third co-author was that he was model prisoner. And was trying to do the best he could to, you know, be an inmate advocate. Be a voice from inside.
COOPER: So, you didn't see any of this dark side, this violent side, that Elizabeth has talked about?
CREWS: No. I think -- I think she's made a very good point that I heard her speak. I think he becomes whoever he -- thinks he needs to be to have a relationship with you. I think with me and my co- author he was a fellow colleague. He was another writer. And there was nothing for us to ever confront him on, actually in preparation of the manuscript.
COOPER: I mean, that's scary. Sounds almost like a sociopathic behavior, that he sort of mirrors those around him. He is whoever he needs to be to get what he wants.
CREWS: Yes. I mean, I guess that's the pattern that I've seen is the other violence. Once he's confronted with something you see a violent reaction. I would have no reason to confront him in the work that we're doing together.
COOPER: Elizabeth, were you, when he got out of prison, when you heard he was on the run, were you scared?
BUCKNER: Oh, I was frightened. Yes. And you know I was frightened when he was released from prison. I really had no suspicion he would try to find me. I was hoping that he would not. Once the story broke last weekend, I became very frightened. He does have a vendetta against people that he feels have wronged him in some way, and I'm sure I was on that list somewhere along the way.
And I agree with Mr. Crews, he does mirror the situation. He becomes who he believes that person sees him as. He creates the environment in which he wants to live in.
COOPER: It's fascinating and terrifying at the same time. You look at that picture of him, he could be your neighbor next door and you'd never know there was this background to him.
Elizabeth Buckner, appreciate you talking about this.
BUCKNER: Thank you.
COOPER: Thank you very much, Elizabeth and Gordon Crews, as well. Appreciate your perspective.
CREWS: Thank you.
COOPER: Thanks.
Coming up next on 360 -- silicone breast implants. The FDA ruled on the emotional fight to bring them back on the market. Find out the ruling that just came in.
Plus our 360 M.D., Dr. Sanjay Gupta, with the case of one young woman who says implants ruined her life. Remarkable story.
Also ahead tonight, dozens of dolphins stranding themselves off the coast of Florida. We're going to take you in the water to the race against time to save their lives. Plus find out why some say Navy sonar may be to blame. We're looking at the story from all angles tonight. Also ahead tonight, open season on stray cats. The push to make it legal to shoot cats without collars in Wisconsin, votes are being counted right now. Following this story closely. All that ahead.
First your picks, the most popular stories right now on CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Just over an hour ago, an FDA panel voted to not recommend approving a brand of silicone gel breast implants, expressing concern about their long-term safety. Silicone gel implants have been off the market for 13 years now because of concerns that breaks and leaks could lead to some serious health risks. Two companies, however, had urged the panel to lift the restrictions, because they claim to have made a stronger implant.
Well, in today's 5-4 decision, the panel shut down the proposal by one company. It's going to vote tomorrow on the other one.
Yesterday, it held a rare day-long public hearing in which dozens of women fighting through tears talked about the pain they or a loved one has gone through because of breast implants.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRENNA DOWD, OPPOSES IMPLANTS: I have never known a healthy mother. Mom would never tell people about all the times she has been unable to walk right, sometimes crawling, many times falling. She would never tell you about the times when she gets confused or when her legs hurt her. So much she has to sit in a hot bath, maybe three times a day or more, just to ease the pain because of the silicone breast implants.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: While the FDA is not binded by the panel's recommendation, it normally does follow it, however.
Even without silicone gel implants on the market, breast surgery is still very common. Some 264,000 women got implants last year, 264,000. And the popularity is even growing among young people. 360 MD Sanjay Gupta talks with one young woman who went under the knife and felt the pain afterwards.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As a teenager, Kacey Long's pressures were not all that different from other teens. Sports awards, prom dresses, college and body image.
KACEY LONG, BREAST IMPLANTS AT 19: I just remember growing up and always waiting for my breasts to develop and for them to fill in. And by about 19, they just never did. And I'm a really tall girl, I'm 5'9," and I just wanted it to sort of balance out my figure. I remember going to the plastic surgeon, and I said, well, you know, you make your judgment. Just make me proportionate. GUPTA: So at the age of 19, Kacey became part of a steadily increasing trend: Young people undergoing cosmetic surgery.
More than 80,000 people 18 or younger had some kind of cosmetic surgical procedure last year. That's an increase of 20 percent since 2000. A survey of college co-eds found that almost half would consider it in the future. For people age 19 to 34, breast implants have risen by 15 percent in the last year alone.
With the popularity of "The Swan" and "Extreme Makeover," many think exposure has led to increased acceptance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel beautiful.
DR. DAVID SARWER, CENTER FOR HUMAN APPEARANCE, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: I think we're exposing a younger and younger generation of individuals to cosmetic procedures that is probably leading more and more adolescents and young adults to think about these procedures for themselves.
LONG: TV shows like to portray just the before and after, and that's all you focus on. You don't think about, you know, the weeks of recovery that it takes to get there.
GUPTA: In Kacey's case, it was not weeks but years of pain, in her arms, in her joints, in her feet, extreme fatigue, heart problems and night sweats. After two years of enduring a whole host of unexplainable symptoms, she had the implants removed. Kacey and her doctors concluded that her problems must be related to them.
LONG: It was the first time I found out that saline breast implants have a silicone shell or encasement.
GUPTA: Although an FDA panel recently concluded that even silicone-filled implants are safe and effective, Kacey says her ailments were due to systemic silicone poisoning, just one of many dangers of which she was unaware, from costly revision procedures to surgical scarring.
Now, even as she is still paying off the debt from her initial breast implant surgery, Kacey shares her story with college students on the Extreme Measures Tour. That's a campaign geared toward positive body image.
LONG: I thought that by 18, your breasts were done growing. My breasts are actually the same size that they were with breast implants. So I started growing, you know, between ages of 19 and 22. I honestly feel I'm still growing. I would tell people just to wait a little bit, you know, wait on their bodies.
GUPTA: For many young women, growth continues into their 20s. For Kacey, it was both physical and emotional.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: Well, three men have been charged in an alleged terror plot. Erica Hill from HEADLINE NEWS joins us with that and more at about a quarter past the hour. Hey, Erica.
ERICA HILL, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Hey, Anderson. Welcome back.
That's right, three British men now facing terrorism charges, all in connection with an alleged plot to attack U.S. financial institutions. The indictment unsealed today charges them with scouting potential targets, including the Citigroup building and the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan. The men were arrested last August after computer evidence found in Pakistan provided evidence of the alleged plot. They already face charges in Britain. The U.S. government will seek their extradition after the men are prosecuted there.
President Bush says there are now about 150,000 trained Iraqi security forces in Iraq. That means they now outnumber U.S. forces in the country. Speaking to soldiers at Ft. Hood, Texas today, he said Iraqis are playing a greater role in the fight against insurgents and are moving toward the day when coalition forces won't be needed. He didn't give a timetable, however, for any troop withdrawal.
The U.S. trade deficit at a new record in February. Figures released today show a $61 billion shortfall for the month. That's about two billion more than analysts had expected. The news will likely cause economists to scale back forecasts for first-quarter economic growth.
And getting a Bowflex body just might be a little riskier than you thought. Exercise equipment maker Nautilus has agreed to pay $950,000 to settle allegations the company failed to report information on serious injuries and safety defects associated with Bowflex machines. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says Nautilus knew about at least 27 injuries involving the machine, but didn't disclose the information quickly. Nearly 800,000 Bowflex machines have been sold.
And that is the latest from HEADLINE NEWS. Anderson, back to you.
COOPER: Erica, thanks very much. See you again in about 30 minutes.
Coming up next, though, on 360, crime witnesses threatened to death. A pregnant teenager is stabbed before she testified against an alleged gang member. Find out what is being done to intimidate those who dare to tell the truth. And the question is, is enough being done to protect those willing to testify against criminals?
Also tonight, dozens of dolphins stranded off a Florida coast. We take you "Beyond the Headlines." Find out if the Navy's use of sonar may be to blame.
We're also going to take you into the water with those racing against the clock to try to save these dolphins.
Also a little later tonight, prejudice in the blink of an eye? Do you judge people on the color of their skin without even thinking about it? You might be surprised by the answer. We're going to put you to the test. Part of our special series. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Our justice system depends on honest people willing to tell the truth, willing to testify about crimes they witnessed. Well, that system is under attack. Its latest victim, Brenda Paz. She was 17 years old, she was pregnant, and she never had a chance. Authorities say she was stabbed to death because she agreed to testify in court against an alleged gang member. The trial for the four men accused of killing her started yesterday in Virginia.
Now, you might think witness intimidation is a rare thing, but as Kelli Arena is about to tell you, Brenda is far from the only victim.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL GRIM, MOTHER OF MURDER VICTIM: All right. Come on, get something to eat.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Carol Grim lovingly tends to the parakeets her youngest daughter gave her, shortly after her eldest girl was killed.
GRIM: There's nothing like losing a child. You never get over it. Doesn't matter how old they are or how young they are. Your child is your child.
ARENA: Carol's daughter, Angela, the brunette on the right, witnessed a murder six years ago and told police about it. For that, she was fatally shot.
GRIM: Angela was trying to run up the steps, and then she was shot once in the back and twice in the back of the head. And was killed instantly.
ARENA: The killing took place in suburban Maryland, not far from the streets of Baltimore, where prosecutors say witness intimidation touches nearly every homicide case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To all you rats and snitches lucky enough to cop one of these DVD, I hope you catch AIDS in your mouth, and your lip's the first thing to die.
ARENA: The problem is so pervasive that when local filmmaker and business owner, Rodney Bethea, told locals to rap on camera about what was on their minds, it is all they talked about.
RODNEY BETHEA, PRODUCER, "STOP SNITCHIN'": As we started to gather their footage, we were looking back at it, everyone was pretty much talking about the snitching topic. So that's how "Stop Snitchin'" was born. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I do (INAUDIBLE).
ARENA: The DVD is extremely controversial, because the message seems to be: Keep your mouth shut or else.
BETHEA: There are greater issues that cause these things to happen. Only thing I'm doing is showing you the reality of what happened. I'm not glorifying it. I'm not saying I agree with it. I'm just showing you the reality.
ARENA: Copies of the DVD are in nearly every office at the Maryland State Capitol, courtesy of veteran prosecutor, Patricia Jessamy who says witness intimidation is growing more violent.
PATRICIA JESSAMY, BALTIMORE CITY STATE ATTORNEY: I've been in the Baltimore City State's Attorney Office now for 18 years. I have prosecuted arson cases and all kinds of other violent crime cases. But this is the first time I have seen criminals who are so emboldened.
ARENA: Jessamy is lobbying in support of a state bill to increase the maximum penalty for witness intimidation from five to 20 years in prison, and to allow witness statements to be used in court even if the witnesses themselves do not or cannot appear.
JESSAMY: We lose 25 percent of our non-fatal shootings because witnesses either go underground, they cannot be found, or when they come to court, if we can find them, they recant their testimony.
ARENA: Baltimore's Police Department even created a special squad for the sole purpose of tracking down witnesses to homicides who don't show.
DET. LT. BRIAN MATULONIS, BALTIMORE POLICE: Right now we're going to the south part of Baltimore City, and we're looking for two witnesses that have failed to appear for a trial that's going on right now.
ARENA (on camera): Part of the problem is fear. The other is money. States cannot afford to provide protection for all witnesses, and those who do get protection usually only get it for as long as the trial lasts.
(voice-over): Carol Grim says that should not stop anyone from coming forward and doing the right thing, just like her daughter did.
GRIM: I'm very proud of her, for standing up for her rights, for not being afraid. For telling the police what he did, and at least getting him and a couple of other ones off the street.
ARENA: Kelli Arena, CNN, Baltimore.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: A race against time. Dozens of dolphins stranded on the Florida coast. Tonight, we take you inside the round-the-clock effort to keep them alive.
Hunting cats: a final solution for kitties without collars? Tonight, why some in Wisconsin want to declare open season on free- roaming cats.
And could you be racially biased and not even know it? Tonight, take the test. It might reveal some shocking truths about yourself. 360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Images there of a courageous effort. Volunteer rescuers from around the country swamped the Florida Keys last month to save some 80 dolphins beached along the shores. Today, most of those dolphins have either returned to the ocean or died, but there are still some in need of help, and it's only a matter of time before more dolphins may be in danger. CNN's John Zarrella spent time with the rescue team and takes us tonight "Beyond the Headlines."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BANICK, WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST: Fantastic. All right. Good girl.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The dolphins needed her help. That was reason enough to be here.
BANICK: Hey, guys that are here for the 12:00 shift, if you guys can come down here real quick and get some instructions as I'm finished suiting up? That would be great.
ZARRELLA: More than two dozen rough-toothed dolphins required around-the-clock care.
BANICK: You're going to be my team right here. My name is Kate.
ZARRELLA: For 25-year-old Kate Banick, and the others who came to save the dolphins, this was the most challenging, demanding part of the work.
The animals in a penned off area of a rehabilitation facility had to be hand-fed three times a day. Members of Banick's team held their mouths open with pieces of cloth as she fed them dead herring.
BANICK: It's not natural for them. These guys eat live fish. Today we made the first critical steps in getting them to eat dead fish, and to eat them out of our hands.
ZARRELLA: Banick, a wildlife biologist, came here with a whole lot of determination. She would need every bit of it.
The locals said it was the largest mass stranding they had ever seen. In early March, an estimated 80 dolphins struggled to survive in the chilly shallows off Marathon in the Florida Keys. Some made it back to deep water. Many died. Most of the survivors were loaded carefully on a truck. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two, three, lift. OK.
ZARRELLA: In a supermarket semi, 26 who couldn't make it out to sea themselves, were taken to the Marine Mammal Conservancy Rehabilitation Facility in Key Largo. It was their only chance at survival.
BANICK: Every one of these guys was kind of a free chance. If we hadn't stepped in at all, no one had stepped in these guys all probably would have 100 percent died on those shores.
ZARRELLA: But Banick, and the others on the Conservancy staff couldn't do it alone. A sign-up station was set up to coordinate the volunteers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about Thursday? Which would be Thursday A.M. or Wednesday at midnight? Can I sign you up for that.
ZARRELLA: To provide the required round-the-clock care, hundreds came to work four-hour shifts. Most had never been this close to a dolphin before. They needed instruction. For the quick course Steve Gainen, a marine mammal trainer, used a plastic blow-up dolphin.
STEVEN GAINEN, MARINE MAMMAL TRAINER: The dolphin starts getting a little rough, this should be secondary. This hand stays the same. This hand comes around, come up, grabs the base of the dorsal.
ZARRELLA: Soon the new batch of volunteers is in the water. Some are assigned to man the perimeter of the pen watching for any dolphin that becomes distressed. Others help with the next feeding. The herring are stuffed with vitamins and medication.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) I'm putting in first. Then they told me not to use the bait roll until they ask me, because not everybody is getting it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
ZARRELLA; For Robert Lingenfelser, who heads the Conservancy, feeding preparations are not moving fast enough.
ROBERT LINGENFELSER, PRESIDENT, MARINE MAMMAL CONSERVANCY IN KEY LARGO: Have they been feed yet?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, they haven't.
LINGENFELSER: Now. Now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will do that now. OK. You're going to be the third (INAUDIBLE).
LINGENFELSER: These guys are two hours behind schedule.
ZARRELLA (on camera): Two of the dolphins, the critical care patients, and one under-weight baby are kept here in this tank where they get constant care. Katey (ph) and Vicky (ph) are literally keeping the dolphins afloat.
(voice-over): The volunteers are in the pool 24/7, holding the animals and keeping their blow holes out of the water so they can breathe. A veterinarian injects the dolphins with vitamin E to help with muscle cramping. These mammals are unable to eat on their own. Kate Banick uses a feeding tube to get them the nutrition they need.
BANICK: Lift the tube. Get all that good stuff in their bellies. (INAUDIBLE) better.
ZARRELLA: As the weeks roll by, the survivors are becoming stronger, more aggressive during feedings. Red 363, the animals are identified by numbers, accidentally gets both the fish and Lloyd Brown's (ph) hand. It's not serious. The pace here is all at once grueling, rewarding and disturbing. Now more than one month into the rehabilitation effort only 12 of the original 26 are still alive.
BANICK: It is saddening when you lose one. It's definitely something you're not looking forward to. But there's really no time to dwell on that because there's so much hope in the future for the rest of them.
ZARRELLA: Banick wonders, has the care, the medication been right? There's not much hard science on how to save a dolphin, it's learn as you go.
(on camera): So, there could be a couple that are pregnant?
BANICK: There could be. Actually one of the one in the tank we're looking at we're suspecting. She's pretty wide, but she could just be a big girl.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): This is a marathon, not a sprint, likely to last weeks not days. Another sunset -- Banick is going on her 30th straight hour -- she's seen two since she last slept. Another group of volunteers mans the fence perimeter, shivering in wet suits beneath a sliver of moonlight. As long as there is hope, they will be here.
John Zarrella, CNN, Key Largo, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Heroic work they're doing. There's some concern that sonar may be to blame for the beaching. A sonar-equipped submarine had conducted exercises in the region just a day before the dolphins came to shore. If those two events are connected, it would not be the first time that sonar is suspected of causing problems in the under water wild.
Our Heidi Collins goes beyond the headlines with a close look at sonar power.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sonar became a staple of warfare in the 20th century, key to defending against submarine attacks. Sonar stands for sound, navigation, ranging. It's the use of sound waves to detect under water objects, from enemy subs to volcanoes. But some scientists are warning it may be an inadvertent weapon against whales and dolphins.
BRANDON SOUTHALL, NOAA ACOUSTICS EXPERT: There have been a handful of instances where there has been a time and space overlap between military sonar activities and mass strandings of marine mammals. But the exact lengths or the exact triggers for this or the exact sound levels are not understood.
COLLINS: Whales and dolphins use their hearing to find food -- and to find their way, which is why unusual sounds from sonar to ship noises can affect them.
KENNETH BALCOMB, CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH: If we could just take the human analogy, where we're vision-oriented animals. If we were to sit in this room and have strobe lights flashing at us or laser beams, we would become very distracted, disoriented, perhaps experience vertigo. And we'd want to get out of the room. And in the case of marine mammals, we're doing that with sound to their primary sensory system.
COLLINS; In March of 2000, biologist Ken Balcomb witnessed a mass stranding in the Bahamas involving beached whales he had been studying. Seventeen animals stranded, at least six died.
BALCOMB: The day was one of the busiest and most distressing in my life. We didn't know at the time that there was a naval operation, but I suspected it because of the broad area in which the strandings were occurring.
COLLINS: Tissue studies of these deep-diving species showed damage similar to a human getting the bends.
DR. TERI ROWLES, NOAA MARINE VETERINARIAN: We found in the Bahamas animal, that did involve hemorrhages in and around the brain and the brain case, and hemorrhages in and around the ears.
COLLINS: Balcomb witnessed another stranding near his home in Washington State.
BALCOMB: We heard these incredibly loud sonar signals that just went on and on for about three hours. The whales kept moving away from the ship as though they were trying to get away from the ship.
COLLINS: But government scientists say there's not enough known to show a cause and effect between sonar and strandings. Other human activity could also be the culprit.
SOUTHALL: Some of the other industrial activities, the exploration for oil and gas offshore, they use low frequency sound over pretty large ranges, pretty continuously.
COLLINS: Mass strandings can also be traced to disease, a sick and disoriented mammal sometimes leads other into danger. ROWLES: We're getting more and more sophisticated about the kinds of diseases, and pathogens and pathologies that we're seeing and being to understand more and more about the health of marine mammal populations and the health of the oceans.
COLLINS: The Navy has conducted tests of low level of sonar to see what impact it had on whales. But there's a Catch-22 for researchers: they don't want to harm the mammal while doing studies like these. As a Navy veteran, Balcomb understands Navy ships have a mission to accomplish. But he says while research continues there are practical ways to minimize threats to marine mammals.
BALCOMB: They shouldn't be operating in either critical habitats or high population density areas of these animals. They should practice their operations in areas where they determined there's low probability of impacting any animal.
COLLINS: Heidi Collins, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Coming up next on 360, are you prejudice towards other? The biases you don't think you have. Take the test yourself. Part of our special series.
Also ahead tonight, kitty in the cross-hairs? A proposal in one state to kill stray cats. The vote is going on right now. We're going to bring you the latest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Chances are when you meet someone, maybe a stranger or a co-worker, you get an immediate gut reaction. Make a split second decision on what you think about the person, whether you like them or not. The thing is, when you leap to conclusions about others, whether you admit it or not, prejudice may be polluting your point of view. Malcolm Gladwell writes about that in his new book "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking," which is number one on the "New York Times" bestseller list.
In a few moments, we're going to tell you how you can test yourself about your first impressions if you dare. First, though, Adaora Udoji on the power and danger of making snap judgments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A late night in a rough south Bronx neighborhood. Four white police officers think Amadou Diallo has a gun. Fearing for their lives they shoot him 41 times. Turns out, he was not armed. A terrible accident? Blatant racism? Author Malcolm Gladwell argues something in between: critical racial misjudgments made in seconds. His best selling book "Blink" argues it happens all the time and people have no idea.
MALCOLM GLADWELL, AUTHOR, "BLINK": What we're measuring here are your unconscious levels of -- which, by definition is, the kind of bias that you hold that you have no direct control over. That's just your mind on auto pilot.
UDOJI: Your mind on autopilot, revealed he said by the race Implicit Association Test or IAT, a test said to measure subconscious feelings about race. We asked two volunteers to help us understand. It's purposely fast, looking for instinctive responses to pictures of black and white, asking the taker to link words like wonderful and agony. One question connects the word white and bad, black and good, usually a tough one, researchers say.
PROF. ANTHONY GREENWALD, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: The surprising thing we learn from this test is how many people have in their heads this knowledge that black is associated with bad things.
UDOJI: Cecile Giles (ph), an attorney was surprised. She, an African-American, tested a slight preference for European, meaning white, Americans.
CECILE GILES, ATTORNEY: I don't think that's true. I have a lot of European Americans in my life and my family is very mixed.
UDOJI: In our CNN newsroom, Jen, a staffer who grew up in a diverse community, also showed a slight preference for whites.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kind of opens your eyes to what is going on in your head that you don't even realize.
UDOJI: Gladwell says those preferences shine through every day. Take car sales. He cites a University of Chicago study which found sales people routinely gave blacks, quotes as much as $800 higher than whites for the same car, given identical job histories and salaries.
Professor Anthony Greenwald, who developed the race IAT test, says we live in a sea of stereotypes. The blast of daily black and white images are reflected he says, in the several hundred thousands rate IATs taken during the past decade.
GREENWALD: About 80 percent of whites, about 80 percent of Asians, show that they have an automatic association that makes white more positive than black. For blacks, very interesting. You might think of the exactly opposite. That they -- about 80 percent of them would think that black is good, white is bad. No. It's much more like 50/50.
UDOJI: Gladwell might understand why with a white father and a black mother, he showed a slight preference for white.
GLADWELL: I live in a society where there are these images, associations, thoughts, feelings, ideas, about linking black people with bad things. And it is impossible to live in a society and not be affected by those kind of messages on some level.
UDOJI: But critics, like Professor Philip Tetlock, argue it shows how flawed the race tests are.
PROF. PHILIP TETLOCK, UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY: I think you are measuring very primitive, fundamental psychological processes that are open to a number of alternative explanations, that makes it far too easy to label far too many people as prejudice.
UDOJI: The author says the biases exist.
GREENWALD: People ask us is there a way to make it go away? Can you overwrite this information that's in your head? And we're looking for ways to do this. We know can you do it in small ways, but we don't know if you can do it in any permanent way.
UDOJI: The first step he says awareness of those images bombarding us, hoping that will make you think twice before making assumption. The Dublihablo case made a lot of people think about race in New York City; so far there have been no easy answers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
UDOJI (on camera): What's more, Professor Greenwald and others say, biases can change, at least when it comes to the Race Implicit Association Test. That is, they say, if someone takes a look at pictures of, say someone like Colin Powell -- you're looking at him right now -- or any other prominent successful African-American like Oprah Winfrey before taking the test, the results are very different. Seeing positive role models they say helps people feel more positive about African-Americans and therefore less biased against them.
And, interesting -- another interesting point we should note, is that anyone can take this test. You can find it at https://implicit.harvard.edu/implict. Take it and you can judge for yourself. Fascinating.
COOPER: It is a fascinating test. I have not taken it, I plan on taking it tonight. Have you taken the test?
UDOJI: Absolutely, I took it.
COOPER: How'd you do?
UDOJI: I'm not telling. I'm not telling, Anderson. We're friends, but we're not that friendly.
COOPER: All right. We'll see. I'll take the test tonight.
Tomorrow night when we continue our special serious "In a Blink: the Power of Your Instinct." What does your home say about you? Find out a really fascinating look. A room with a view.
Coming up next on 360 -- that's also on Wednesday, not Tuesday -- 360 next, open season on stray cats? Could their days be numbered in one state? The votes have reportedly just been counted. We're going to give you the verdict, and you're going to be surprised.
Also, tonight, flying here and there, all over the world to cover the news. I think I'm back in New York. Yes, I think I am. We'll take travel to the nth degree.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: All right, let's bring you quickly up to date with a look at the top headlines. Right now, Erica Hill, at about 10 to the hour. Hey, Erica.
HILL: Hey, Anderson. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is now urging Iraqi leaders to maintain the momentum for the new Iraqi government. He met with Iraqi officials in an unannounced trip to Baghdad today. Rumsfeld stressed the importance for them to stick to the timetable for drafting a constitution and holding the next round of elections. A referendum on a permanent constitution is expected to take place by mid-October.
The man who caused a security scare at the U.S. Capitol will be sent back home to Australia, but won't face any criminal charges. He prompted authorities to send in a SWAT team after standing outside the Capitol with two black suitcases and demanding to speak to President Bush. He was tackled. Nothing suspicious was found in the bags. Immigration officials say he will be expelled under a public safety provision.
The world's largest retailer looking to give a boost to wildlife preservation. Wal-Mart says it will buy 138,000 acres. That's the amount equal to a land its stores, parking lots and distribution centers will use over the next 10 years, and then it's going to donate that land to National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The arrangement will cost Wal-Mart some $35 million. The Interior Department says that it hopes other companies that use a lot of land will follow suit.
Beer giant Anheuser-Busch is threatening to boycott rice growing in Missouri if the state allows genetically modified crops to be grown. Missouri plans to grow 200 acres of rice engineered to produce human proteins that could be used in making drugs. Anheuser-Busch, which is the largest buyer of rice in the U.S., is concerned cross- pollination could contaminate other crops.
Now you got to worry about your beer, Anderson, I tell you. Nothing's sacred.
COOPER: Well, talking about cross-pollination, I was just reading Britney Spears' Web site...
HILL: Yeah.
COOPER: She's pregnant.
HILL: Can you believe it? I'm shocked.
COOPER: Well, you didn't mention this in the headlines.
HILL: See, see what you come back to? Back from Europe just in time to cover another big story...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: How many does this make for Kevin Federline, by the way?
HILL: It's got to be, like, three.
COOPER: Is this his fourth kid?
HILL: This will be three.
COOPER: Three?
HILL: No, three. Third time's a charm.
COOPER: Man, whatever he's eating, you know, it's incredible. I'm going to eat some of that.
HILL: Maybe it's rice from Missouri.
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: Erica Hill, thanks very much. We'll talk to you again in about a half an hour.
In Wisconsin, it is legal to hunt, among other things, birds and bears and wild turkey, but someone added another species to the list. You're not going to believe this story. One known to have nine lives, whiskers and purr. That's right, strange as it may seem, voters are considering making it open season on stray cats, any cat found without a collar. They voted on it last night. Just moments ago, the Associated Press reported the proposal allowing the hunting of cats has passed. Elizabeth Hopkins from our affiliate WKOW in Madison has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH HOPKINS, WKOW CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is a line that filed into the polling station for the state's Conservation Congress. For hours, it stretched on and on and on. Andy Dachnecht (ph) is part of an online effort called DontShootTheCat.com. He says the issue has struck a chord with many.
ANDY DACHNECHT, DONTSHOOTTHECAT.COM: It sort of crosses the line from wildlife management into people's pets.
HOPKINS: He says it's why people in the state, in the country and around the world are anxiously awaiting the outcome of tonight's process.
DACHNECHT: We have gotten e-mail from Korea, from Denmark, from soldiers in Iraq, all over. The entire world is watching what is going on tonight.
HOPKINS: And as voters voice their opinions, emotions boiled over at times.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is where I can speak, let me speak.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So much love, he's so fluffy, that a collar -- a collar can't be seen on him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Although there are inherent risks to being outdoors for any pet, being legally shot should not be one of them.
HOPKINS: But not everyone opposes the effort.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We used to have -- on our property -- we used to have a lot of rabbits. You can go back there now, for years, and you cannot find a rabbit. I correlate the two.
HOPKINS: Still, Lanere (ph) says if an alternate solution can be found, one not subsidized by hunters, he'd support it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the group is willing to come out to my parents' land and trap the cats, we would love to have them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, that was Elizabeth Hopkins from our affiliate, WKOW. Now, let's find out what is coming up at the top of the hour on "PAULA ZAHN NOW" -- Paula.
PAULA ZAHN, HOST, "PAULA ZAHN NOW": Hi, Anderson, welcome back.
She calls herself a redneck woman, and she's darn proud of it. Gretchen Wilson went from bartending in Nashville to the top of the country music charts, and last night she collected two major Country Music Television Awards. Gretchen Wilson, country's hottest new star, at the top of the hour. Plus, Jane Fonda, Anderson. A candid conversation with her about what it was like to bring other women to her marital bed, what it was like to grow up thinking that her mother had died from a heart attack and finding out about a year later that her mother in fact had committed suicide. Lots of candor on Ms. Fonda's part. And of course, the most controversial part is when she tackles the whole issue of her actions during the Vietnam War.
COOPER: Excellent. Great. We'll look forward to that. Paula, thanks very much, in about five minutes from now.
We're going to -- coming up next, though, on 360, we're going to take travel to "The Nth Degree." London, Rome, Florida, Beirut -- it is good to be back in New York. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Time to check a few of your e-mails. A lot of you wrote about our coverage of the wedding of Charles and Camilla over the weekend. And we need to clear up one misconception. Jack from Indianapolis, Indiana writes -- "You and your wife did an excellent job covering the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. Where have you been keeping all that talent that your lovely wife represents? Get that lady a contract. She has a wonderful sense of humor. You two make an enjoyable pair to watch on TV."
Jack, I agree. Becky Anderson is lovely and funny, but my wife she ain't. See, my first name is Anderson. Anderson is her last name. Anyway, you get the idea. By the way, she actually already does have a contract with CNN.
Got something on your mind? Send us an e-mail. Go to cnn.com/360, click on the instant feedback link.
Tonight, taking travel to "The Nth Degree." Forgive me if I seem a little tentative. I guess I haven't been back in New York long enough to be convinced that I really and truly am back in New York on 100 percent reliable basis.
See, for some weeks now, whenever I've been sure I knew where I was, I have been wrong. For instance, the other day, I could have sworn I was in Windsor over there in England watching a very tall British couple get married. I remember gents in frock coats and women in weird hats. Still, I must have blinked somewhere along the line or been hit over the head or something, because just before that, I was absolutely and completely convinced that I was in Rome, surrounded by cardinals and by hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world, which was a little confusing because in Florida, which is where I thought I was before I realized I was in Italy, the crowds were much smaller and entirely American -- unlike what I thought I'd been seeing in Beirut, where the people were overwhelming Lebanese, and out in huge numbers.
Tell you what, if travel really is broadening, I ought to be about eight feet wide by now.
Thanks for watching 360. Coming up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW" -- Paula.
ZAHN: And you got a lot more bonus miles in that backpack that you used to. Thanks, Anderson. Welcome back.
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 April 12, 2005 - 19:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Kitty thanks very much.
Good evening everyone.
A dapper ex-con is captured. Police say he killed and raped, and might have done more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: He was a smooth talker, a published author with a dark secret. Tonight a nation-wide manhunt ends. How police captured an ex-con wanted for rape and murder.
Breast implants: the FDA refuses to lift restrictions on silicone. Tonight, one woman tells her story. As a teen she wanted bigger breasts, what she got was more than she bargained for. What you need to know before going under the knife.
A race against time: dozens of dolphins stranded on the Florida coast. Tonight we take you inside the around-the-clock effort to keep them alive.
Hunting cats? A final solution for kitties without collars. Tonight why some in Wisconsin wanted to declare open season on free- roaming cats.
And could you be racially biased and not even know it? Tonight take the test that might reveal some shocking truths about yourself.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COOPER: Good evening, again. We begin tonight with the success of a nation-wide manhunt that had been going since Friday. It ended just a few hours ago. It's the story of Stephen Stanko, a smooth talking ex-convict suspected of two murders and a rape in South Carolina. And a man who looked anything but like a fugitive when he was caught a short time ago in Georgia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Stephen Stanko was apprehended in West Augusta at a shopping plaza. COOPER (voice-over): A friend said he swore he'd never go back to prison again. But tonight 37-year-old Stephen Stanko is behind bars. The ex-convict looking more like a well-dressed businessman than an accused killer on the run was captured in Georgia just hours ago -- ending a four-day manhunt that police began with a deadly crime spree.
The truck was located first. The vehicle was seen. A short time after that Mr. Stanko was seen coming out of a shopping center store in West Augusta, Georgia, at which time agents were already in place, law enforcement officers and federal agents. And he was taken into custody immediately without any further incident.
COOPER: It started with a call to police early Friday morning, from a 15-year-old girl reporting she had been raped. And that a 43- year-old woman believed to be Stanko's ex-girlfriend had been murdered. Police said Stanko then stole the dead woman's car which was later found outside the home of a 74-year-old man, he had been shot to death.
ANDY CHRISTENSON, HORRY COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA POLICE: Desperate people do desperate things. And we're just asking that people be vigilant and be cautious, be aware and please do not try to take matters into your own hands.
COOPER: Stephen Stanko served more than eight years for kidnapping, assault and battery. He was only freed from prison nine months ago. Police say he managed to make people believe his life of crime had come to an end.
CHRISTENSON: He's been described to us as being well dressed, being clean cut, being a smooth talker, and being a very convincing individual.
COOPER: Convincing enough to co-author a book "Living in Prison," offering an insiders look at life behind bars. But when police searched Stephen Stanko's home they found a file filled with hundreds of articles about serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer and the Green River Killer. No one yet knows why he had them. They only know two people are dead, and a 15-year-old girl says she was raped.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: We're joined now by two people who know Stephen Stank in very different ways.
On the phone Elizabeth Buckner, who once dated Stephen Stanko and then became a victim of his.
And in Watertown, Massachusetts, we're joined by Gordon Crews, a criminologist who co-wrote that book, "Living in Prison."
We appreciate both of you being with us.
Elizabeth, let me start off with you. You had a relationship with this man for four years. At what point did you realize there was something going on with him that you hadn't seen at first? I mean I understand he was fired from his job and you confronted him about it. What went wrong in the relationship?
ELIZABETH BUCKNER, STANKO'S FIRST KIDNAP VICTIM: Well, Anderson, he had habitually lied about so many different things about jobs that he had maintained and been fired from. And this one really escalated because he was involved in stealing automobiles from a car dealership and pretending to start a used car dealership with a neighbor friend. And I confronted him with that fact.
COOPER: What happened when you confronted him.
BUCKNER: He became violent. He tried to turn things around to make it what it wasn't. You know, he has a very manipulative approach to things. And he can make you believe something that you know for a fact is not the truth. But he has a very, very wicked way about twisting things around. And he tried to convince me it was not what I suspected.
COOPER: And a lot of secrets it seems like. I mean, when you saw these pictures of him in handcuffs in this suit, I mean people say he was a smooth talker. What was the initial attraction, Elizabeth?
BUCKNER: Well, he came across as a businessman. He is a very smooth talker. He is convincing. He is articulate. He's intelligent. When you meet him you do not suspect this of him at all.
COOPER: Gordon let me bring you -- you wrote a book with this man. He was in prison at the time. What was he like to work with?
GORDON CREWS, CO-AUTHOR, "LIVING IN PRISON": Easy to work with. It was very -- very articulate. The -- the first draft of the manuscript was very interesting. I was kind of fascinated with his story and I signed on immediately for the project.
COOPER: Did you know his full story?
I mean, are you now discovering things about the guy you didn't know previously?
CREWS: Definitely. Like everyone, I'm definitely discovering more and more things that I did not know about some patterns about his behavior.
COOPER: Like what.
CREWS: Well, the biggest thing is the pattern about his violent behavior. As Miss Buckner just said, the picture that was painted to myself initially and a third co-author was that he was model prisoner. And was trying to do the best he could to, you know, be an inmate advocate. Be a voice from inside.
COOPER: So, you didn't see any of this dark side, this violent side, that Elizabeth has talked about?
CREWS: No. I think -- I think she's made a very good point that I heard her speak. I think he becomes whoever he -- thinks he needs to be to have a relationship with you. I think with me and my co- author he was a fellow colleague. He was another writer. And there was nothing for us to ever confront him on, actually in preparation of the manuscript.
COOPER: I mean, that's scary. Sounds almost like a sociopathic behavior, that he sort of mirrors those around him. He is whoever he needs to be to get what he wants.
CREWS: Yes. I mean, I guess that's the pattern that I've seen is the other violence. Once he's confronted with something you see a violent reaction. I would have no reason to confront him in the work that we're doing together.
COOPER: Elizabeth, were you, when he got out of prison, when you heard he was on the run, were you scared?
BUCKNER: Oh, I was frightened. Yes. And you know I was frightened when he was released from prison. I really had no suspicion he would try to find me. I was hoping that he would not. Once the story broke last weekend, I became very frightened. He does have a vendetta against people that he feels have wronged him in some way, and I'm sure I was on that list somewhere along the way.
And I agree with Mr. Crews, he does mirror the situation. He becomes who he believes that person sees him as. He creates the environment in which he wants to live in.
COOPER: It's fascinating and terrifying at the same time. You look at that picture of him, he could be your neighbor next door and you'd never know there was this background to him.
Elizabeth Buckner, appreciate you talking about this.
BUCKNER: Thank you.
COOPER: Thank you very much, Elizabeth and Gordon Crews, as well. Appreciate your perspective.
CREWS: Thank you.
COOPER: Thanks.
Coming up next on 360 -- silicone breast implants. The FDA ruled on the emotional fight to bring them back on the market. Find out the ruling that just came in.
Plus our 360 M.D., Dr. Sanjay Gupta, with the case of one young woman who says implants ruined her life. Remarkable story.
Also ahead tonight, dozens of dolphins stranding themselves off the coast of Florida. We're going to take you in the water to the race against time to save their lives. Plus find out why some say Navy sonar may be to blame. We're looking at the story from all angles tonight. Also ahead tonight, open season on stray cats. The push to make it legal to shoot cats without collars in Wisconsin, votes are being counted right now. Following this story closely. All that ahead.
First your picks, the most popular stories right now on CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Just over an hour ago, an FDA panel voted to not recommend approving a brand of silicone gel breast implants, expressing concern about their long-term safety. Silicone gel implants have been off the market for 13 years now because of concerns that breaks and leaks could lead to some serious health risks. Two companies, however, had urged the panel to lift the restrictions, because they claim to have made a stronger implant.
Well, in today's 5-4 decision, the panel shut down the proposal by one company. It's going to vote tomorrow on the other one.
Yesterday, it held a rare day-long public hearing in which dozens of women fighting through tears talked about the pain they or a loved one has gone through because of breast implants.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRENNA DOWD, OPPOSES IMPLANTS: I have never known a healthy mother. Mom would never tell people about all the times she has been unable to walk right, sometimes crawling, many times falling. She would never tell you about the times when she gets confused or when her legs hurt her. So much she has to sit in a hot bath, maybe three times a day or more, just to ease the pain because of the silicone breast implants.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: While the FDA is not binded by the panel's recommendation, it normally does follow it, however.
Even without silicone gel implants on the market, breast surgery is still very common. Some 264,000 women got implants last year, 264,000. And the popularity is even growing among young people. 360 MD Sanjay Gupta talks with one young woman who went under the knife and felt the pain afterwards.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As a teenager, Kacey Long's pressures were not all that different from other teens. Sports awards, prom dresses, college and body image.
KACEY LONG, BREAST IMPLANTS AT 19: I just remember growing up and always waiting for my breasts to develop and for them to fill in. And by about 19, they just never did. And I'm a really tall girl, I'm 5'9," and I just wanted it to sort of balance out my figure. I remember going to the plastic surgeon, and I said, well, you know, you make your judgment. Just make me proportionate. GUPTA: So at the age of 19, Kacey became part of a steadily increasing trend: Young people undergoing cosmetic surgery.
More than 80,000 people 18 or younger had some kind of cosmetic surgical procedure last year. That's an increase of 20 percent since 2000. A survey of college co-eds found that almost half would consider it in the future. For people age 19 to 34, breast implants have risen by 15 percent in the last year alone.
With the popularity of "The Swan" and "Extreme Makeover," many think exposure has led to increased acceptance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel beautiful.
DR. DAVID SARWER, CENTER FOR HUMAN APPEARANCE, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: I think we're exposing a younger and younger generation of individuals to cosmetic procedures that is probably leading more and more adolescents and young adults to think about these procedures for themselves.
LONG: TV shows like to portray just the before and after, and that's all you focus on. You don't think about, you know, the weeks of recovery that it takes to get there.
GUPTA: In Kacey's case, it was not weeks but years of pain, in her arms, in her joints, in her feet, extreme fatigue, heart problems and night sweats. After two years of enduring a whole host of unexplainable symptoms, she had the implants removed. Kacey and her doctors concluded that her problems must be related to them.
LONG: It was the first time I found out that saline breast implants have a silicone shell or encasement.
GUPTA: Although an FDA panel recently concluded that even silicone-filled implants are safe and effective, Kacey says her ailments were due to systemic silicone poisoning, just one of many dangers of which she was unaware, from costly revision procedures to surgical scarring.
Now, even as she is still paying off the debt from her initial breast implant surgery, Kacey shares her story with college students on the Extreme Measures Tour. That's a campaign geared toward positive body image.
LONG: I thought that by 18, your breasts were done growing. My breasts are actually the same size that they were with breast implants. So I started growing, you know, between ages of 19 and 22. I honestly feel I'm still growing. I would tell people just to wait a little bit, you know, wait on their bodies.
GUPTA: For many young women, growth continues into their 20s. For Kacey, it was both physical and emotional.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: Well, three men have been charged in an alleged terror plot. Erica Hill from HEADLINE NEWS joins us with that and more at about a quarter past the hour. Hey, Erica.
ERICA HILL, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Hey, Anderson. Welcome back.
That's right, three British men now facing terrorism charges, all in connection with an alleged plot to attack U.S. financial institutions. The indictment unsealed today charges them with scouting potential targets, including the Citigroup building and the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan. The men were arrested last August after computer evidence found in Pakistan provided evidence of the alleged plot. They already face charges in Britain. The U.S. government will seek their extradition after the men are prosecuted there.
President Bush says there are now about 150,000 trained Iraqi security forces in Iraq. That means they now outnumber U.S. forces in the country. Speaking to soldiers at Ft. Hood, Texas today, he said Iraqis are playing a greater role in the fight against insurgents and are moving toward the day when coalition forces won't be needed. He didn't give a timetable, however, for any troop withdrawal.
The U.S. trade deficit at a new record in February. Figures released today show a $61 billion shortfall for the month. That's about two billion more than analysts had expected. The news will likely cause economists to scale back forecasts for first-quarter economic growth.
And getting a Bowflex body just might be a little riskier than you thought. Exercise equipment maker Nautilus has agreed to pay $950,000 to settle allegations the company failed to report information on serious injuries and safety defects associated with Bowflex machines. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says Nautilus knew about at least 27 injuries involving the machine, but didn't disclose the information quickly. Nearly 800,000 Bowflex machines have been sold.
And that is the latest from HEADLINE NEWS. Anderson, back to you.
COOPER: Erica, thanks very much. See you again in about 30 minutes.
Coming up next, though, on 360, crime witnesses threatened to death. A pregnant teenager is stabbed before she testified against an alleged gang member. Find out what is being done to intimidate those who dare to tell the truth. And the question is, is enough being done to protect those willing to testify against criminals?
Also tonight, dozens of dolphins stranded off a Florida coast. We take you "Beyond the Headlines." Find out if the Navy's use of sonar may be to blame.
We're also going to take you into the water with those racing against the clock to try to save these dolphins.
Also a little later tonight, prejudice in the blink of an eye? Do you judge people on the color of their skin without even thinking about it? You might be surprised by the answer. We're going to put you to the test. Part of our special series. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Our justice system depends on honest people willing to tell the truth, willing to testify about crimes they witnessed. Well, that system is under attack. Its latest victim, Brenda Paz. She was 17 years old, she was pregnant, and she never had a chance. Authorities say she was stabbed to death because she agreed to testify in court against an alleged gang member. The trial for the four men accused of killing her started yesterday in Virginia.
Now, you might think witness intimidation is a rare thing, but as Kelli Arena is about to tell you, Brenda is far from the only victim.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL GRIM, MOTHER OF MURDER VICTIM: All right. Come on, get something to eat.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Carol Grim lovingly tends to the parakeets her youngest daughter gave her, shortly after her eldest girl was killed.
GRIM: There's nothing like losing a child. You never get over it. Doesn't matter how old they are or how young they are. Your child is your child.
ARENA: Carol's daughter, Angela, the brunette on the right, witnessed a murder six years ago and told police about it. For that, she was fatally shot.
GRIM: Angela was trying to run up the steps, and then she was shot once in the back and twice in the back of the head. And was killed instantly.
ARENA: The killing took place in suburban Maryland, not far from the streets of Baltimore, where prosecutors say witness intimidation touches nearly every homicide case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To all you rats and snitches lucky enough to cop one of these DVD, I hope you catch AIDS in your mouth, and your lip's the first thing to die.
ARENA: The problem is so pervasive that when local filmmaker and business owner, Rodney Bethea, told locals to rap on camera about what was on their minds, it is all they talked about.
RODNEY BETHEA, PRODUCER, "STOP SNITCHIN'": As we started to gather their footage, we were looking back at it, everyone was pretty much talking about the snitching topic. So that's how "Stop Snitchin'" was born. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I do (INAUDIBLE).
ARENA: The DVD is extremely controversial, because the message seems to be: Keep your mouth shut or else.
BETHEA: There are greater issues that cause these things to happen. Only thing I'm doing is showing you the reality of what happened. I'm not glorifying it. I'm not saying I agree with it. I'm just showing you the reality.
ARENA: Copies of the DVD are in nearly every office at the Maryland State Capitol, courtesy of veteran prosecutor, Patricia Jessamy who says witness intimidation is growing more violent.
PATRICIA JESSAMY, BALTIMORE CITY STATE ATTORNEY: I've been in the Baltimore City State's Attorney Office now for 18 years. I have prosecuted arson cases and all kinds of other violent crime cases. But this is the first time I have seen criminals who are so emboldened.
ARENA: Jessamy is lobbying in support of a state bill to increase the maximum penalty for witness intimidation from five to 20 years in prison, and to allow witness statements to be used in court even if the witnesses themselves do not or cannot appear.
JESSAMY: We lose 25 percent of our non-fatal shootings because witnesses either go underground, they cannot be found, or when they come to court, if we can find them, they recant their testimony.
ARENA: Baltimore's Police Department even created a special squad for the sole purpose of tracking down witnesses to homicides who don't show.
DET. LT. BRIAN MATULONIS, BALTIMORE POLICE: Right now we're going to the south part of Baltimore City, and we're looking for two witnesses that have failed to appear for a trial that's going on right now.
ARENA (on camera): Part of the problem is fear. The other is money. States cannot afford to provide protection for all witnesses, and those who do get protection usually only get it for as long as the trial lasts.
(voice-over): Carol Grim says that should not stop anyone from coming forward and doing the right thing, just like her daughter did.
GRIM: I'm very proud of her, for standing up for her rights, for not being afraid. For telling the police what he did, and at least getting him and a couple of other ones off the street.
ARENA: Kelli Arena, CNN, Baltimore.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: A race against time. Dozens of dolphins stranded on the Florida coast. Tonight, we take you inside the round-the-clock effort to keep them alive.
Hunting cats: a final solution for kitties without collars? Tonight, why some in Wisconsin want to declare open season on free- roaming cats.
And could you be racially biased and not even know it? Tonight, take the test. It might reveal some shocking truths about yourself. 360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Images there of a courageous effort. Volunteer rescuers from around the country swamped the Florida Keys last month to save some 80 dolphins beached along the shores. Today, most of those dolphins have either returned to the ocean or died, but there are still some in need of help, and it's only a matter of time before more dolphins may be in danger. CNN's John Zarrella spent time with the rescue team and takes us tonight "Beyond the Headlines."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BANICK, WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST: Fantastic. All right. Good girl.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The dolphins needed her help. That was reason enough to be here.
BANICK: Hey, guys that are here for the 12:00 shift, if you guys can come down here real quick and get some instructions as I'm finished suiting up? That would be great.
ZARRELLA: More than two dozen rough-toothed dolphins required around-the-clock care.
BANICK: You're going to be my team right here. My name is Kate.
ZARRELLA: For 25-year-old Kate Banick, and the others who came to save the dolphins, this was the most challenging, demanding part of the work.
The animals in a penned off area of a rehabilitation facility had to be hand-fed three times a day. Members of Banick's team held their mouths open with pieces of cloth as she fed them dead herring.
BANICK: It's not natural for them. These guys eat live fish. Today we made the first critical steps in getting them to eat dead fish, and to eat them out of our hands.
ZARRELLA: Banick, a wildlife biologist, came here with a whole lot of determination. She would need every bit of it.
The locals said it was the largest mass stranding they had ever seen. In early March, an estimated 80 dolphins struggled to survive in the chilly shallows off Marathon in the Florida Keys. Some made it back to deep water. Many died. Most of the survivors were loaded carefully on a truck. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two, three, lift. OK.
ZARRELLA: In a supermarket semi, 26 who couldn't make it out to sea themselves, were taken to the Marine Mammal Conservancy Rehabilitation Facility in Key Largo. It was their only chance at survival.
BANICK: Every one of these guys was kind of a free chance. If we hadn't stepped in at all, no one had stepped in these guys all probably would have 100 percent died on those shores.
ZARRELLA: But Banick, and the others on the Conservancy staff couldn't do it alone. A sign-up station was set up to coordinate the volunteers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about Thursday? Which would be Thursday A.M. or Wednesday at midnight? Can I sign you up for that.
ZARRELLA: To provide the required round-the-clock care, hundreds came to work four-hour shifts. Most had never been this close to a dolphin before. They needed instruction. For the quick course Steve Gainen, a marine mammal trainer, used a plastic blow-up dolphin.
STEVEN GAINEN, MARINE MAMMAL TRAINER: The dolphin starts getting a little rough, this should be secondary. This hand stays the same. This hand comes around, come up, grabs the base of the dorsal.
ZARRELLA: Soon the new batch of volunteers is in the water. Some are assigned to man the perimeter of the pen watching for any dolphin that becomes distressed. Others help with the next feeding. The herring are stuffed with vitamins and medication.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) I'm putting in first. Then they told me not to use the bait roll until they ask me, because not everybody is getting it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
ZARRELLA; For Robert Lingenfelser, who heads the Conservancy, feeding preparations are not moving fast enough.
ROBERT LINGENFELSER, PRESIDENT, MARINE MAMMAL CONSERVANCY IN KEY LARGO: Have they been feed yet?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, they haven't.
LINGENFELSER: Now. Now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will do that now. OK. You're going to be the third (INAUDIBLE).
LINGENFELSER: These guys are two hours behind schedule.
ZARRELLA (on camera): Two of the dolphins, the critical care patients, and one under-weight baby are kept here in this tank where they get constant care. Katey (ph) and Vicky (ph) are literally keeping the dolphins afloat.
(voice-over): The volunteers are in the pool 24/7, holding the animals and keeping their blow holes out of the water so they can breathe. A veterinarian injects the dolphins with vitamin E to help with muscle cramping. These mammals are unable to eat on their own. Kate Banick uses a feeding tube to get them the nutrition they need.
BANICK: Lift the tube. Get all that good stuff in their bellies. (INAUDIBLE) better.
ZARRELLA: As the weeks roll by, the survivors are becoming stronger, more aggressive during feedings. Red 363, the animals are identified by numbers, accidentally gets both the fish and Lloyd Brown's (ph) hand. It's not serious. The pace here is all at once grueling, rewarding and disturbing. Now more than one month into the rehabilitation effort only 12 of the original 26 are still alive.
BANICK: It is saddening when you lose one. It's definitely something you're not looking forward to. But there's really no time to dwell on that because there's so much hope in the future for the rest of them.
ZARRELLA: Banick wonders, has the care, the medication been right? There's not much hard science on how to save a dolphin, it's learn as you go.
(on camera): So, there could be a couple that are pregnant?
BANICK: There could be. Actually one of the one in the tank we're looking at we're suspecting. She's pretty wide, but she could just be a big girl.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): This is a marathon, not a sprint, likely to last weeks not days. Another sunset -- Banick is going on her 30th straight hour -- she's seen two since she last slept. Another group of volunteers mans the fence perimeter, shivering in wet suits beneath a sliver of moonlight. As long as there is hope, they will be here.
John Zarrella, CNN, Key Largo, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Heroic work they're doing. There's some concern that sonar may be to blame for the beaching. A sonar-equipped submarine had conducted exercises in the region just a day before the dolphins came to shore. If those two events are connected, it would not be the first time that sonar is suspected of causing problems in the under water wild.
Our Heidi Collins goes beyond the headlines with a close look at sonar power.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sonar became a staple of warfare in the 20th century, key to defending against submarine attacks. Sonar stands for sound, navigation, ranging. It's the use of sound waves to detect under water objects, from enemy subs to volcanoes. But some scientists are warning it may be an inadvertent weapon against whales and dolphins.
BRANDON SOUTHALL, NOAA ACOUSTICS EXPERT: There have been a handful of instances where there has been a time and space overlap between military sonar activities and mass strandings of marine mammals. But the exact lengths or the exact triggers for this or the exact sound levels are not understood.
COLLINS: Whales and dolphins use their hearing to find food -- and to find their way, which is why unusual sounds from sonar to ship noises can affect them.
KENNETH BALCOMB, CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH: If we could just take the human analogy, where we're vision-oriented animals. If we were to sit in this room and have strobe lights flashing at us or laser beams, we would become very distracted, disoriented, perhaps experience vertigo. And we'd want to get out of the room. And in the case of marine mammals, we're doing that with sound to their primary sensory system.
COLLINS; In March of 2000, biologist Ken Balcomb witnessed a mass stranding in the Bahamas involving beached whales he had been studying. Seventeen animals stranded, at least six died.
BALCOMB: The day was one of the busiest and most distressing in my life. We didn't know at the time that there was a naval operation, but I suspected it because of the broad area in which the strandings were occurring.
COLLINS: Tissue studies of these deep-diving species showed damage similar to a human getting the bends.
DR. TERI ROWLES, NOAA MARINE VETERINARIAN: We found in the Bahamas animal, that did involve hemorrhages in and around the brain and the brain case, and hemorrhages in and around the ears.
COLLINS: Balcomb witnessed another stranding near his home in Washington State.
BALCOMB: We heard these incredibly loud sonar signals that just went on and on for about three hours. The whales kept moving away from the ship as though they were trying to get away from the ship.
COLLINS: But government scientists say there's not enough known to show a cause and effect between sonar and strandings. Other human activity could also be the culprit.
SOUTHALL: Some of the other industrial activities, the exploration for oil and gas offshore, they use low frequency sound over pretty large ranges, pretty continuously.
COLLINS: Mass strandings can also be traced to disease, a sick and disoriented mammal sometimes leads other into danger. ROWLES: We're getting more and more sophisticated about the kinds of diseases, and pathogens and pathologies that we're seeing and being to understand more and more about the health of marine mammal populations and the health of the oceans.
COLLINS: The Navy has conducted tests of low level of sonar to see what impact it had on whales. But there's a Catch-22 for researchers: they don't want to harm the mammal while doing studies like these. As a Navy veteran, Balcomb understands Navy ships have a mission to accomplish. But he says while research continues there are practical ways to minimize threats to marine mammals.
BALCOMB: They shouldn't be operating in either critical habitats or high population density areas of these animals. They should practice their operations in areas where they determined there's low probability of impacting any animal.
COLLINS: Heidi Collins, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Coming up next on 360, are you prejudice towards other? The biases you don't think you have. Take the test yourself. Part of our special series.
Also ahead tonight, kitty in the cross-hairs? A proposal in one state to kill stray cats. The vote is going on right now. We're going to bring you the latest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Chances are when you meet someone, maybe a stranger or a co-worker, you get an immediate gut reaction. Make a split second decision on what you think about the person, whether you like them or not. The thing is, when you leap to conclusions about others, whether you admit it or not, prejudice may be polluting your point of view. Malcolm Gladwell writes about that in his new book "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking," which is number one on the "New York Times" bestseller list.
In a few moments, we're going to tell you how you can test yourself about your first impressions if you dare. First, though, Adaora Udoji on the power and danger of making snap judgments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A late night in a rough south Bronx neighborhood. Four white police officers think Amadou Diallo has a gun. Fearing for their lives they shoot him 41 times. Turns out, he was not armed. A terrible accident? Blatant racism? Author Malcolm Gladwell argues something in between: critical racial misjudgments made in seconds. His best selling book "Blink" argues it happens all the time and people have no idea.
MALCOLM GLADWELL, AUTHOR, "BLINK": What we're measuring here are your unconscious levels of -- which, by definition is, the kind of bias that you hold that you have no direct control over. That's just your mind on auto pilot.
UDOJI: Your mind on autopilot, revealed he said by the race Implicit Association Test or IAT, a test said to measure subconscious feelings about race. We asked two volunteers to help us understand. It's purposely fast, looking for instinctive responses to pictures of black and white, asking the taker to link words like wonderful and agony. One question connects the word white and bad, black and good, usually a tough one, researchers say.
PROF. ANTHONY GREENWALD, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: The surprising thing we learn from this test is how many people have in their heads this knowledge that black is associated with bad things.
UDOJI: Cecile Giles (ph), an attorney was surprised. She, an African-American, tested a slight preference for European, meaning white, Americans.
CECILE GILES, ATTORNEY: I don't think that's true. I have a lot of European Americans in my life and my family is very mixed.
UDOJI: In our CNN newsroom, Jen, a staffer who grew up in a diverse community, also showed a slight preference for whites.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kind of opens your eyes to what is going on in your head that you don't even realize.
UDOJI: Gladwell says those preferences shine through every day. Take car sales. He cites a University of Chicago study which found sales people routinely gave blacks, quotes as much as $800 higher than whites for the same car, given identical job histories and salaries.
Professor Anthony Greenwald, who developed the race IAT test, says we live in a sea of stereotypes. The blast of daily black and white images are reflected he says, in the several hundred thousands rate IATs taken during the past decade.
GREENWALD: About 80 percent of whites, about 80 percent of Asians, show that they have an automatic association that makes white more positive than black. For blacks, very interesting. You might think of the exactly opposite. That they -- about 80 percent of them would think that black is good, white is bad. No. It's much more like 50/50.
UDOJI: Gladwell might understand why with a white father and a black mother, he showed a slight preference for white.
GLADWELL: I live in a society where there are these images, associations, thoughts, feelings, ideas, about linking black people with bad things. And it is impossible to live in a society and not be affected by those kind of messages on some level.
UDOJI: But critics, like Professor Philip Tetlock, argue it shows how flawed the race tests are.
PROF. PHILIP TETLOCK, UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY: I think you are measuring very primitive, fundamental psychological processes that are open to a number of alternative explanations, that makes it far too easy to label far too many people as prejudice.
UDOJI: The author says the biases exist.
GREENWALD: People ask us is there a way to make it go away? Can you overwrite this information that's in your head? And we're looking for ways to do this. We know can you do it in small ways, but we don't know if you can do it in any permanent way.
UDOJI: The first step he says awareness of those images bombarding us, hoping that will make you think twice before making assumption. The Dublihablo case made a lot of people think about race in New York City; so far there have been no easy answers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
UDOJI (on camera): What's more, Professor Greenwald and others say, biases can change, at least when it comes to the Race Implicit Association Test. That is, they say, if someone takes a look at pictures of, say someone like Colin Powell -- you're looking at him right now -- or any other prominent successful African-American like Oprah Winfrey before taking the test, the results are very different. Seeing positive role models they say helps people feel more positive about African-Americans and therefore less biased against them.
And, interesting -- another interesting point we should note, is that anyone can take this test. You can find it at https://implicit.harvard.edu/implict. Take it and you can judge for yourself. Fascinating.
COOPER: It is a fascinating test. I have not taken it, I plan on taking it tonight. Have you taken the test?
UDOJI: Absolutely, I took it.
COOPER: How'd you do?
UDOJI: I'm not telling. I'm not telling, Anderson. We're friends, but we're not that friendly.
COOPER: All right. We'll see. I'll take the test tonight.
Tomorrow night when we continue our special serious "In a Blink: the Power of Your Instinct." What does your home say about you? Find out a really fascinating look. A room with a view.
Coming up next on 360 -- that's also on Wednesday, not Tuesday -- 360 next, open season on stray cats? Could their days be numbered in one state? The votes have reportedly just been counted. We're going to give you the verdict, and you're going to be surprised.
Also, tonight, flying here and there, all over the world to cover the news. I think I'm back in New York. Yes, I think I am. We'll take travel to the nth degree.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: All right, let's bring you quickly up to date with a look at the top headlines. Right now, Erica Hill, at about 10 to the hour. Hey, Erica.
HILL: Hey, Anderson. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is now urging Iraqi leaders to maintain the momentum for the new Iraqi government. He met with Iraqi officials in an unannounced trip to Baghdad today. Rumsfeld stressed the importance for them to stick to the timetable for drafting a constitution and holding the next round of elections. A referendum on a permanent constitution is expected to take place by mid-October.
The man who caused a security scare at the U.S. Capitol will be sent back home to Australia, but won't face any criminal charges. He prompted authorities to send in a SWAT team after standing outside the Capitol with two black suitcases and demanding to speak to President Bush. He was tackled. Nothing suspicious was found in the bags. Immigration officials say he will be expelled under a public safety provision.
The world's largest retailer looking to give a boost to wildlife preservation. Wal-Mart says it will buy 138,000 acres. That's the amount equal to a land its stores, parking lots and distribution centers will use over the next 10 years, and then it's going to donate that land to National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The arrangement will cost Wal-Mart some $35 million. The Interior Department says that it hopes other companies that use a lot of land will follow suit.
Beer giant Anheuser-Busch is threatening to boycott rice growing in Missouri if the state allows genetically modified crops to be grown. Missouri plans to grow 200 acres of rice engineered to produce human proteins that could be used in making drugs. Anheuser-Busch, which is the largest buyer of rice in the U.S., is concerned cross- pollination could contaminate other crops.
Now you got to worry about your beer, Anderson, I tell you. Nothing's sacred.
COOPER: Well, talking about cross-pollination, I was just reading Britney Spears' Web site...
HILL: Yeah.
COOPER: She's pregnant.
HILL: Can you believe it? I'm shocked.
COOPER: Well, you didn't mention this in the headlines.
HILL: See, see what you come back to? Back from Europe just in time to cover another big story...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: How many does this make for Kevin Federline, by the way?
HILL: It's got to be, like, three.
COOPER: Is this his fourth kid?
HILL: This will be three.
COOPER: Three?
HILL: No, three. Third time's a charm.
COOPER: Man, whatever he's eating, you know, it's incredible. I'm going to eat some of that.
HILL: Maybe it's rice from Missouri.
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: Erica Hill, thanks very much. We'll talk to you again in about a half an hour.
In Wisconsin, it is legal to hunt, among other things, birds and bears and wild turkey, but someone added another species to the list. You're not going to believe this story. One known to have nine lives, whiskers and purr. That's right, strange as it may seem, voters are considering making it open season on stray cats, any cat found without a collar. They voted on it last night. Just moments ago, the Associated Press reported the proposal allowing the hunting of cats has passed. Elizabeth Hopkins from our affiliate WKOW in Madison has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH HOPKINS, WKOW CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is a line that filed into the polling station for the state's Conservation Congress. For hours, it stretched on and on and on. Andy Dachnecht (ph) is part of an online effort called DontShootTheCat.com. He says the issue has struck a chord with many.
ANDY DACHNECHT, DONTSHOOTTHECAT.COM: It sort of crosses the line from wildlife management into people's pets.
HOPKINS: He says it's why people in the state, in the country and around the world are anxiously awaiting the outcome of tonight's process.
DACHNECHT: We have gotten e-mail from Korea, from Denmark, from soldiers in Iraq, all over. The entire world is watching what is going on tonight.
HOPKINS: And as voters voice their opinions, emotions boiled over at times.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is where I can speak, let me speak.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So much love, he's so fluffy, that a collar -- a collar can't be seen on him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Although there are inherent risks to being outdoors for any pet, being legally shot should not be one of them.
HOPKINS: But not everyone opposes the effort.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We used to have -- on our property -- we used to have a lot of rabbits. You can go back there now, for years, and you cannot find a rabbit. I correlate the two.
HOPKINS: Still, Lanere (ph) says if an alternate solution can be found, one not subsidized by hunters, he'd support it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the group is willing to come out to my parents' land and trap the cats, we would love to have them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, that was Elizabeth Hopkins from our affiliate, WKOW. Now, let's find out what is coming up at the top of the hour on "PAULA ZAHN NOW" -- Paula.
PAULA ZAHN, HOST, "PAULA ZAHN NOW": Hi, Anderson, welcome back.
She calls herself a redneck woman, and she's darn proud of it. Gretchen Wilson went from bartending in Nashville to the top of the country music charts, and last night she collected two major Country Music Television Awards. Gretchen Wilson, country's hottest new star, at the top of the hour. Plus, Jane Fonda, Anderson. A candid conversation with her about what it was like to bring other women to her marital bed, what it was like to grow up thinking that her mother had died from a heart attack and finding out about a year later that her mother in fact had committed suicide. Lots of candor on Ms. Fonda's part. And of course, the most controversial part is when she tackles the whole issue of her actions during the Vietnam War.
COOPER: Excellent. Great. We'll look forward to that. Paula, thanks very much, in about five minutes from now.
We're going to -- coming up next, though, on 360, we're going to take travel to "The Nth Degree." London, Rome, Florida, Beirut -- it is good to be back in New York. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Time to check a few of your e-mails. A lot of you wrote about our coverage of the wedding of Charles and Camilla over the weekend. And we need to clear up one misconception. Jack from Indianapolis, Indiana writes -- "You and your wife did an excellent job covering the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. Where have you been keeping all that talent that your lovely wife represents? Get that lady a contract. She has a wonderful sense of humor. You two make an enjoyable pair to watch on TV."
Jack, I agree. Becky Anderson is lovely and funny, but my wife she ain't. See, my first name is Anderson. Anderson is her last name. Anyway, you get the idea. By the way, she actually already does have a contract with CNN.
Got something on your mind? Send us an e-mail. Go to cnn.com/360, click on the instant feedback link.
Tonight, taking travel to "The Nth Degree." Forgive me if I seem a little tentative. I guess I haven't been back in New York long enough to be convinced that I really and truly am back in New York on 100 percent reliable basis.
See, for some weeks now, whenever I've been sure I knew where I was, I have been wrong. For instance, the other day, I could have sworn I was in Windsor over there in England watching a very tall British couple get married. I remember gents in frock coats and women in weird hats. Still, I must have blinked somewhere along the line or been hit over the head or something, because just before that, I was absolutely and completely convinced that I was in Rome, surrounded by cardinals and by hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world, which was a little confusing because in Florida, which is where I thought I was before I realized I was in Italy, the crowds were much smaller and entirely American -- unlike what I thought I'd been seeing in Beirut, where the people were overwhelming Lebanese, and out in huge numbers.
Tell you what, if travel really is broadening, I ought to be about eight feet wide by now.
Thanks for watching 360. Coming up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW" -- Paula.
ZAHN: And you got a lot more bonus miles in that backpack that you used to. Thanks, Anderson. Welcome back.
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