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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Chief Justice William Rehnquist Hospitalized; New al Qaeda Threat; Two and Four Weeks Later; Home and Summer Safety; Clinton Foundation
Aired August 04, 2005 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everybody.
A terrorist message for the people of London and the United States.
It's 7:00 p.m. on the East Coast, 4:00 p.m. in the West.
360 starts now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS (voice-over): Osama bin Laden's chief lieutenant comes out to praise the London bombing attacks and make new threats. Tonight, the connection between London and the most wanted men in the world.
Inflatable pools. Kids love it. But still, real dangers of drowning. Tonight, what you can do to prevent death in your back yard.
And an exclusive interview. 360 M.D. Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks with former President Bill Clinton on his battles with his own weight and his new crusade to help American children fight against obesity and diabetes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COLLINS: Hi, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins, in for Anderson tonight.
We begin with a developing story out of Washington. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist is in the hospital tonight.
CNN's Kathleen Koch joining us now from Washington with the very latest -- Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, the chief justice was working at the court earlier today, but then he apparently fell ill. This makes the second time in three weeks that the justice has been hospitalized with a fever.
It was on July 12 when the 80-year-old justice was brought by ambulance to Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington after complaining of a fever. Rehnquist, as most everyone knows by now, has been fighting thyroid cancer since October. And as part of his treatment, underwent a tracheotomy.
He was then away from the bench for some roughly five months, and he's undergone both radiation and chemotherapy treatment. And when he was hospitalized last time, doctors told us that it is not unusual for a cancer patient out of just a precaution to be hospitalized when they're suffering from a fever.
Now, a Supreme Court spokesman today has only said that for now the chief justice was admitted to the very same hospital "for evaluation." The court has been very tight-lipped all along about Rehnquist's health in general. Likewise, officials at the hospital, we expect, will be releasing, just as last time, simply no information on Rehnquist's condition.
And obviously you'll remember that it was after his last visit to the hospital that Chief Justice Rehnquist put to rest those very prevalent rumors that he would resign. He said that he intended to continue to perform his duties, Heidi, as long as his health permits.
COLLINS: Yes, he did. We remember it well. All right. Kathleen Koch. Thanks so much for that.
KOCH: You bet.
COLLINS: On to the other stories that we're following now tonight. Here are the questions that we want to look at.
Are terrorists plotting another attack in London? Why did Osama bin Laden's lieutenant deliver new threats today?
And summer safety. Are inflatable pools putting your child's life at risk?
We begin tonight with that new warning from Osama bin Laden's right-hand man.
In a videotaped message, Ayman al-Zawahiri promised more bloodshed in London. And he also said Americans will face more horrors if the U.S. does not pull out of Iraq.
CNN Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI, AL QAEDA (through translator): To the British, I'm telling you that Blair brought you destruction in the middle of London. And more will come, god willing.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A message from the al Qaeda leadership. Ayman al-Zawahiri blaming the British prime minister and threatening more strikes. A rifle at his side.
AL-ZAWAHIRI: Sheikh Osama told you don't dream of peace before we live it as a reality in Palestine and until all infidel troops pull out of the land of Mohammed. Instead, you ran rivers of blood in our land, and we blew a volcano of anger in your land.
CHANCE: They're grievances often repeated by al Qaeda. And experts state the fatal July 7 attacks in London or the failed bombings two weeks later were directly ordered.
PROF. MICHAEL CLARK, KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON: I think the importance of this statement is that al Qaeda wants to claim credit for what is going on in London. I suspect they didn't know a whole lot about it, and certainly the timing and maybe the nature of the attacks. But having happened, they want us all to believe that it's part of a coherent, proper campaign that they are conducting against western countries.
CHANCE: And with its leaders believed confined to mountain hideouts along the Afghan border with Pakistan, analysts say al Qaeda has become a less structured organization, more a loose ideology. Messages like this latest one, apparently taped outside in front of a woven cloth, becoming crucial instruments to attract recruits and scare the west.
PAUL EEDLE, TERRORISM ANALYST: He's trying to stir up further fear and concern in London of -- of course he is. There's a very clear kind of strategy here that's been running for nearly 10 years, which is to try to break the will of western countries to project their power into the Middle East.
CHANCE: And at a time of jangled nerves and tight security across the British capital, this latest al Qaeda broadcast clearly timed to terrorize.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHANCE: And in that message, Heidi, Ayman al-Zawahiri linking the bomb attacks in London to the presence of British troops in Iraq. Downing Street tonight, the prime minister's office, declining to comment on that matter. But for the record, in the past, Tony Blair, the British prime minister, has strongly rejected any claims that the two are linked, the attacks in London and the presence of British troops in Iraq. The roots of terrorism he says go much deeper than that.
COLLINS: Matthew Chance. Thanks so much for the latest on that.
Joining us now for more on this latest threat from al Qaeda is CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen. He is joining us from Washington, D.C., tonight.
Peter, why do you think Zawahiri chose to release a tape now?
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: I think it was imminently predictable. I mean, either Osama bin Laden or Ayman al-Zawahiri were going to release a tape after these events in London. We've seen that in the past, Osama bin Laden coming out with a tape after the attacks in Indonesia. They want to take credit. This is now, by my count, the 13th tape we have had from Ayman al-Zawahiri. We've had 18 various tapes from Osama bin Laden, either audiotapes or videotapes.
So between the two of them, the two top leaders of al Qaeda have released 30 statements since 9/11. To me, it's kind of astonishing that we haven't been able to trace the chain of custody of these audiotapes and videotapes back.
It was fairly predictable that al Qaeda's leaders would want to insert themselves into the post-London terror attacks. It was fairly predictable that the tape would go to Al-Jazeera. And yet, for some reason, we don't seem to be able to stake out these bureaus or have people inside Al-Jazeera sort of being able to trace the chain of custody back, which seems to be the one guaranteed way you can find these people.
COLLINS: On the tape, Zawahiri warned to the United States this: "Stop stealing our oil and wealth, and stop supporting corrupt rulers. And if you continue your politics against Muslims, you will see, god willing, such horror that you will forget the horrors of Vietnam."
Why that reference to Vietnam?
BERGEN: I think it's a type of ventilating. I mean, the notion that al Qaeda could pull off something like Vietnam or something on that scale in the United States is completely ludicrous. They certainly can do, you know, the Madrid attacks that we saw last year, or inspire attacks like we saw in London. But the notion of a Vietnam-like event is just ludicrous.
COLLINS: Since 9/11, as you mentioned, more than 30 tapes have been released by either Osama bin Laden or Zawahiri. But we haven't really heard from bin Laden this year. The last three tapes have been from Zawahiri.
Why do you think Zawahiri has been more prominent in all of this?
BERGEN: I think it's just a cycle. I mean, there was a period when we didn't hear from Osama bin Laden for almost a year in the post-9/11 period.
You know, as was mentioned, we've already had 18 tapes from bin Laden, either audiotapes or videotapes. So the fact that we haven't heard from him doesn't really mean anything.
Does it mean he's in bad health? I don't think so.
We did hear from him just before the U.S. election back last November. He looked fine to me in that. He did a sort of harrowing parody of an Oval Office address, if you remember, behind an office desk, addressing the American people directly.
So I don't really attach any significance to the fact that it was, you know, Ayman al-Zawahiri rather than Osama.
COLLINS: What is the most significant part of this latest message that you see?
BERGEN: I think that he's talking about this truce with European nations. You know, Bin Laden offered a truce, you didn't take it up. You're going to have more of these attacks.
I think that people do -- that the al Qaeda sympathizers in Europe do react to that. They may not have directly ordered the attacks in London, but certainly the notion that bin Laden is offering some sort of truce which European nations have not taken up, I think that does result in violence.
We saw that in Madrid. I think we saw that in London. We may see it again in other countries in Europe.
COLLINS: All right. Peter Bergen tonight.
Peter, thank you.
BERGEN: Thank you.
COLLINS: Exactly four weeks ago today, four suicide bombers struck London's transit system, killing 52 people. And just two weeks ago to the day, another bombing attempt in London failed.
Arrests have been made, but the anxiety remains for millions of commuters, wondering if the next trip will be their last.
CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As London is on high alert, British police are now reasonably sure about a key question: are the two attacks linked? The similarities startlingly clear: four bombs, three on trains, one on a bus. All in backpacks. The hottest lead that could connect the two terror cells, two sets of homemade bombs.
One set recovered in a car used by the July 7 bombers and those left in the failed July 21 attack. CNN has now learned from investigators they believe there is no direct link between the two London attacks, at least not one that has been found yet. Not between the bombs, nor the two cells.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If two totally independent groups of young men have become radicalized in such a way they're prepared to use this kind of violence, I see no reason why there should not be three, four, five, six.
ROBERTSON: And that goes a long way to answering another very important question: will there be more attacks?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, of course it could happen again. London is on a high level of alert.
ROBERTSON: The hard fact is, police are making only limited progress on the first terror cell. No one linked to the first attack is still in police custody.
Only Hamdi Issac, the July 21 suspected bomber captured in Rome last week, has given any clues to that. He told his defense attorney that he was angered by watching videos of the fighting in Iraq.
Hard to know even if that's the truth. He lived on false documents in Britain for years. Clues to Issac's escape to Rome are expected to emerge now that the first person in the U.K. has been charged in relation to the attack.
Twenty-three-year-old Ismael Abdul Rahman (ph) came to court confident, blew a kiss to a relative, and vowed to contest the accusation that he knew about Issac and his plans to flee Britain. His being held pending more charges. And likely many more questions.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON: And we've just heard from police in the last few hours that there will be two more women -- two women charged with effectively the same charges on Friday. That is essentially holding information back from the police. One of these women, incidentally, appears also to have been the partner of Hamdi Issac, who's now being held in Rome by the police there -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Nic Robertson. Nic, thank you.
Ahead on 360, are you savvy with airplane evacuation procedures? The passengers on the Air France plane that crashed in Toronto last Tuesday knew what they were doing. But more often things go wrong with disastrous consequences.
And starving in plain sight in Niger. Millions are at risk of starvation. The most fragile among them, the children.
And former President Bill Clinton helping children in this country. See how he's supporting the battle against childhood obesity.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Erica Hill from Headline News joins us now with some of tonight's top stories.
Hi, Erica.
ERICA HILL, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Hi, Heidi.
A Maryland man is arrested on charges of supporting a terrorist organization. Now, in court records, federal prosecutors allege Mahmoud Farouq Brent (ph) conspired to help a Pakistani-based terrorist group from 2001 until May of this year. They also say he attended a training camp run by the group.
Meantime, in northern Israel, an Israeli soldier opens fire on a bus, killing four Israeli Arabs and seriously wounding five others. Israeli media reports the gunman was killed by an angry mob, but there is no confirmation from police.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon condemned the attack and called the soldier a Jewish terrorist. Israeli TV reported the soldier went AWOL two months ago because he didn't want to have to take part in the withdrawal of Jewish settlements.
Back in this country, in New York City, two former police detectives accused of being hit men for the Mafia 20 years ago -- you might remember this story -- now they're each indicted on another murder charge, now accused of kidnapping and killing a jewelry merchant in 1986. The victim's remains were found in Brooklyn earlier this year. The ex-cops plead not guilty to the previous charges back in April.
Near Bangkok, Thailand, a car crash caught on tape. As police were trying to arrest motorcycle thieves, a drunk driver hit them. Five people were injured. Some of them seriously. Police tried to arrest the alleged drunk driver, but he was hit repeatedly by an angry mob.
Quite a scene there -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. I guess they ended up having to help the drunk driver to keep him away from the mob.
HILL: Yes.
COLLINS: All right. Erica, thank you. We'll see you again in about 30 minutes.
And taking a look at the world in 360 now, more food is on the way to Niger, the west African country where people are starving in plain sight.
Anderson Cooper was in Niger earlier this week reporting on the human tragedy there and on the plight of young children who are suffering from the effects of malnutrition.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A few beds away, covered with a blanket, we find Aminu Yaheya (ph), watched over by his mom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you? How are you doing? Huh? How are you doing?
Oh, move your head a bit. Move your head. Oh, OK. OK. OK. Shh.
So he came in with edema everywhere.
COOPER (on camera): Edema is?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Water in the tissues. So water everywhere. Water in the tissues. Water around his eyes. And their skin disclomates (ph). Disclomates (ph)...
COOPER: Disclomates (ph) means?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Comes off. It comes off because of a zinc deficiency.
COOPER: So his skin is just literally peeling off?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here it's gotten -- it's back down to normal again. It's gotten better. But there are some place it is hasn't completely finished. And he's unfortunately developed some lesions of pressure sores from being sick so long.
But he's getting better fast. I'm sure we're going to save him. If he makes it through another day or two...
COOPER: That's a question, whether he would make it through a day or two?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, yes, for sure. He can get -- in an hour, he can die if he gets too much bacteria in his blood. What a life, huh? What a life.
COOPER (voice-over): If a child in this intensive care unit is able to drink milk formula, there's a good chance they'll live.
(on camera): Now he's drinking it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's going to drink the whole thing.
Bravo, bambino. Bravo. Bravo. Bravo. Bambini, bravo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Life can be very fragile. When Anderson returned to the hospital in Niger the next day, he found out the effects of malnutrition were too much for the little boy. He had died.
Tomorrow night, at 7:00 Eastern, a special edition of 360 on the hunger crisis in Niger: "Starving in Plain Sight."
Ahead on 360 tonight, another update on Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who has been hospitalized.
We'll also tell you about fighting the fat. After heart surgery, former President Bill Clinton talks candidly about his battle against weight.
And also, surving a plane crash. What happens when safety procedures to get out alive fail?
And a little later, you see them everywhere this summer: inflatable pools. Kids love them, but could their lives be in danger?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: It wasn't just a miracle that saved the lives of all 309 people on board Flight 358 in Toronto on Tuesday. They survived because of evacuation procedures that for the most part worked just as they should. But sadly, that has not always been the case.
CNN's Kathleen Koch reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KOCH (voice-over): The fireball of Singapore Airlines Flight 006, October 31, 2000, after it crashed into a construction barrier at Taipei Airport.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were flames everywhere and smoke everywhere.
KOCH: Business passengers on the 747 rushed to the exit but found no functioning emergency supply.
CAI VON RUMOHR, CRASH SURVIVOR: There ended up being a piece -- a piece of slide. And once I made the decision to go out that route, I did have to hang down and then jump about 25, 30 feet.
KOCH: Cai Von Rumohr was injured, but 81 people died. At least one slide also failed in 2002 at JFK Airport, in 2001 in Detroit. In 1998, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Manchester, United Kingdom. In 1993, in Guatemala City. There are among 46 accidents the NTSB studied to spot evacuation problems.
MARK ROSENKER, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: In one- third of those at least one slide didn't work. That's unacceptable.
KOCH: Another issue, passengers struggled to open exits over the wings.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The passenger sitting in the over-wing did have difficulty or have trouble with over-wing exit, or they won't, once they do remove the hatch from the aircraft fuselage, they will end up leaving it on the floor right there by the exit, and that ends up slowing things down.
KOCH: Other findings, pilots and flight attendants have problems communicating and knowing when to evacuate a plane.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes we had cases where passengers have actually initiated an evacuation. And consequently, nobody -- none of the crew was prepared for it.
KOCH: And as seen in this astonishing video of an actual evacuation...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go! Leave! Leave the aircraft!
KOCH: ... the NTSB found too many passengers tried to leave with their carry-on luggage, unaware that every second counts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Move it! Get out!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the systems aren't all working and the people aren't all cooperating, it's a recipe for disaster.
KOCH (on camera): The government wants more regular checks to make sure emergency slides work. Flight attendants want more realistic evacuation training.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Leave the aircraft!
KOCH (voice-over): And everyone wants passengers to listen and act as if their lives depended on it.
Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS (voice-over): Inflatable pools, kids love it. But still, real dangers of drowning. Tonight, what you can do to prevent death in your backyard.
And an exclusive interview. 360 M.D. Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks with former President Bill Clinton on his battles with his own weight and his new crusade to help American children fight against obesity and diabetes.
360 continues.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: More now on our developing story out of Washington tonight. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist is in the hospital with a fever. This is the second emergency treatment for the 80-year-old justice in just over three weeks.
CNN's Kathleen Koch joining us once again from Washington with the very latest -- Kathleen.
KOCH: Heidi, what we know right now is that after working at the court earlier today, as he normally does, Chief Justice Rehnquist developed a fever. The 80-year-old justice was then taken to Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington for what a spokesman calls evaluation. It is not known yet whether or not he will be admitted overnight.
It was, as you mentioned, just less than a month ago that Rehnquist spent two nights in the same hospital after complaining of a fever. He's been fighting thyroid cancer since October, and as part of his treatment underwent a tracheotomy.
He was then away from the bench for roughly five months. He's also been treated with radiation and chemotherapy. And doctors, again, do say this is not unusual for a cancer patient of his age to be hospitalized when suffering a fever. It is really a precautionary measure, they say.
The court, again, will say nothing about the progress of Rehnquist's treatment, nor the severity of his cancer. Likewise, we do not expect any sort of information released from the hospital because of privacy rules.
And again, Rehnquist himself made that very definitive statement after his last hospitalization that, contrary to what so many people have predicted, he is intending to stay on the bench, continue as Supreme Court chief justice, as long as his health permits -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Certainly a tough cookie.
KOCH: Quite so.
COLLINS: All right. Kathleen Koch. Thank you.
Changing gears for a moment now.
The carefree days of summer are upon us. A bit of vacation, if you're lucky. A pool to jump into. And that's where the problems start, especially if you are concerned about your kids' safety.
Most people with in-ground pools follow safety procedures and town rules, and put a fence around them. But most people buying the increasingly popular inflatable pools are neglecting the basic precautions, sometimes with deadly results.
CNN's Gary Tuchman explains as we begin our look at summer safety.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENET (voice-over): You don't need to spend thousands of dollars for a backyard swimming pool.
(on camera): Would you stay in all day if you could?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Some of the popular inflatable pools can be bought on sale for less than $100.
(on camera): What do your girls think of the pool?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, they love it. They love it.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Charisse and Grant Nurnberg of Assaria, Kansas, bought an inflatable pool for their children. Their kids loved it, especially their 3-year-old son Matt.
GRANT NURNBERG, POOL OWNER: Matt, what are you?
MATT NURNBERG, SON: Cool Dude.
G. NURNBERG: Cool Dude, yeah?
TUCHMAN: He enjoyed spending time with his older brother in the water, but one day just a few weeks after the Nurnbergs bought the pool Charisse went down to the basement looking for little Matt.
C. NURNBERG: I went down to get him and that basement door that I had gone out that morning was unlocked.
TUCHMAN: The 3-year-old had somehow opened the door, walked out in the backyard and climbed the steps leading to the pool. It had only been about five minutes since his parents had last seen him.
C. NURNBERG: So, I went out back. And walked up our steps to where the pool was. And saw Grant kneeling over Matt giving him CPR. And I knelt down and asked Grant if he was breathing and he said no. And I asked him if his heart was beating and he said he didn't think so. So I came running, screaming into the house.
TUCHMAN: Matt died in the hospital. His grief stricken parents unaware then as many people are now that most cities and towns in the U.S. have codes that mandate fences around pools with more than 24 inches of water so children don't accidentally fall in.
DON MAYS, CONSUMER REPORTS: That, we think is an absolute requirement. But many of these inflatable pools that are on the market have less than 24 inches of water. In our opinion, they require fencing, too.
C. NURNBERG: I felt responsible. I was the one that wanted the pool for the kids.
G. NURNBERG: I couldn't believe it. I don't know. It will be the worst day of my life forever.
TUCHMAN: The tragic headlines have increased as the popularity of the inflatable pools has increased. If the pool is 48 inches taller or more like this one, the pool wall itself is the fence. But in many locations across the U.S., code officers are on the lookout for smaller inflatable pools that should have a fence. Jim Royers is a code officer in State College, Pennsylvania. He finds a pool owned by a family on vacation.
(on camera): The pool itself is not 48 inches high.
JIM ROYERS, BUILDING INSPECTOR: That's correct.
TUCHMAN: There should be a fence around this.
ROYERS: That's correct.
TUCHMAN: Because theoretically a toddler could come up to here, come up to the edge and just fall right in and not be able to get out.
ROYERS: Yep. That's correct. TUCHMAN: So this is in violation of all codes.
ROYERS: That's in violation of the residential building code, that's correct.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Officer Royers puts a warning on the door. If the situation isn't corrected, a daily escalating fine that starts at $100 could be assessed.
Several miles away, another pool that should have a fence. A gentle face to face warning from the code officer about what's needed here.
ROYERS: Self closing self latching gate 48 inches high.
TUCHMAN: The manufacturers do offer warnings, but they are not elaborate. On the box of one, fencing laws affect this product, consult your local council. Or the instructional video of another, this caution.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE; Prior to set up, check with your local council to see whether any local regulations may affect the setup of your Simple Set (ph) pool.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE; Because they are inexpensive it is unlikely that people will make an investment up to $1,000 to surround one of these pools with a fence.
TUCHMAN: One of the major inflatable pool manufacturers, Intech, said in a statement that it, quote, "stresses both the need for adult supervision and the need to comply with local fencing laws." But the warnings are easy to overlook. As they play with their four children, Brett, Paige, Hope and Heart, the Nurnbergs wonder if they ever saw such cautions.
C. NURNBERG: I'm sure there was probably something on the box. I mean, how could there not be? But, you know, there was nothing that brought our attention or put up any alarms.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Each year the Nurnbergs grow pumpkins on their farm. By the end of September there will be more than 40,000 pumpkins on this piece of land. Thousands of children come here to go pumpkin picking. The happiness is a tonic for this family, but it's a double edge sword, because it is a reminder of the laughter that's been silence.
(voice-over): The guilt remains overwhelming.
C. NURNBERG: You miss the days of being naive and knowing like nothing really bad is ever going to happen to me. And now I know that bad things can happen.
TUCHMAN: Matt's grave is in small cemetery where it is impossible not to notice an inflatable pool protected by a fence right across the street.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: The Nurnbergs wish they could turn back time, but they move on. They got rid of their inflatable pool but they bring their children to a community pool where they all take swimming lessons.
Now the story is not designed to dissuade from you getting a inflatable pool, but we're well aware that many people won't buy them if they need to buy a fence too. That's why getting a taller inflatable pool is a good alternative. They are more expensive than the smaller pools, but a toddler can't accidentally fall into them. And they are usually cheaper than buying a fence -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Gary Tuchman, great story. Thanks.
Next on 360, more on summer safety. What you need to do about backyard trampolines. The information could save your child's life.
Also tonight, summer safety tips for your family from 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta.
And a little later, former president Bill Clinton talks about his own struggle with weight loss. How he lost the pounds and is now helping kids to do the same thing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: We're back with a 360 look at keeping your kids safe this summer. Trampolines are a hot backyard item. And they look like so much fun. But how safe are they, really? In the past decade, injuries on trampolines have more than tripled, but strangely, so have sales.
Even if you don't have a trampoline, chances are someone you know, or more likely someone your child knows, does. Before you let them jump, you should hear what we found.
BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS (voice-over): For these children, trampolines are a recipe for summertime fun. But sometimes the fun can turn to tragedy.
JIMMY STARNES, INJURED ON TRAMPOLINE: I would usually jump on the trampoline probably at least twice a week.
COLLINS: Jimmy Starnes was an active 14-year-old in Chester, South Carolina. He loved to swim and to play baseball.
STARNES: I wanted to be a professional athlete.
COLLINS: He was bouncing by himself on his cousin's trampoline one day six years ago when he bounced off the trampoline and onto the pavement.
SUE MCCORCKLE, JIMMY'S MOM: He just kept saying he couldn't move, you know. I didn't think it was nothing that bad. I didn't think he was paralyzed. COLLINS: But that's exactly what happened. Jimmy broke his C-5 vertebrae paralyzing him from the chest down.
(on camera): Jimmy is one of the 100,000 or more people who are treated at E.R.'s like this every year for injuries on trampolines. Most of the time those injuries are broken bones or sprains, but sometimes they can be much more serious, even deadly.
Even so, according to the trampoline industry, last year was one of the biggest years ever, selling more than one million trampolines. That means right now in the United States there are more than 5 million trampolines, and an estimated 23 million people jumping on them.
So can something so widely used really be all that dangerous?
MARC RABINOFF, TRAMPOLINE SAFETY EXPERT: On a trampoline you go to a store, you buy it, you bring it home, two hours later it's set up, 20 seconds later a kid jumps on it, A minute-and-a-half later he's a quad. There is no other product that works that way. It's a quad- machine waiting to happen.
COLLINS: Trampoline safety expert Mark Rabinoff has testified against the industry in 55 injury cases and says trampolines should only be used in gyms with trained supervisors, not in backyards.
RABINOFF: The trampoline has hidden dangers and this is what parents don't understand.
COLLINS: The majority of injuries happen when there's more than one jumper on a trampoline. The reason was obvious after I got on a trampoline and started jumping.
RABINOFF: As you're coming down and I'm coming up, the bed meets and it is like a brick.
COLLINS: Hard to believe this bouncy piece of fabric can turn rock hard when two people are bouncing on it and one comes down before the other. It could be like falling from 15 to 20 feet above on to rock-hard concrete. It happened to eight-year-old Kush Patel, who will no spend the rest of the summer inside. He broke his leg earlier this month when he was bounced off a trampoline at a party.
KUSH PATEL, INJURED ON A TRAMPOLINE: I was already on the trampoline and more people came and there were ten people all together. I didn't want to get off, because it was so much fun.
COLLINS: And that is part of the problem. Manufacturers claim the trampolines are safe as long as all of the warnings on the trampoline bed and on the manual are followed.
LANI LOKEN, INTL. TRAMPOLINE MANUFACTURERS ASSOC.: I believe that they are very safe.
COLLINS: Lani Loken, the director of the Trampoline Manufacturers Association, argues the number of injuries and the concern about trampolines is overstated.
(on camera): Lani, there are still 100,000 -- more than 100,000 injuries every year from trampolines and the number is going up.
LOKEN: Yes. Actually, that's not true and that's one of the fallacies...That's one --
COLLINS: So, you're saying the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the American Academy of Pediatrics has the wrong numbers and that there are not this many children who are injured?
LOKEN: They have the correct number of injuries, even though the injury rates may have doubled in this the past decade or more, the sales of trampolines, the use of trampolines has gone up by thousands of percentage points.
COLLINS: Those are great statistics and great logic, but still a lot of kids getting hurt.
LOKEN: I think it is ultimately the responsibility of the person who purchases that trampoline, who has it in their yard, to make sure that they thoroughly read the user's manual.
COLLINS (voice-over): The user's manual clearly states: Only one person should jump on the trampoline at a time. But we wanted to see how trampolines were really being used, so we went out to Cranberry, New Jersey, to talk to children about trampolines. We asked the kids if they really did jump one at a time?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's no fun.
(on camera): Does anybody do that?
GROUP: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How can you play games with nobody?
DR. NELSON G. ROSEN, SCHNEIDER CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: We can't make up these numbers.
COLLINS: Dr. Nelson Rosen is a pediatric surgeon at Schneider Children's Hospital in Long Island. He says trampoline manufacturers are unrealistic about how their product is being used.
ROSEN: If there are about 75,000 children under age 15 that present to an emergency department each year and about 30 percent of those injuries that get admitted require surgery, that's substantial. We can't make that up.
COLLINS: Despite the manufacturer's warnings and the warnings by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Association of Orthopedics and others, kids just want to be kids and have fun. But the trampoline manufacturers say they can be fun if all of the rules are followed.
LOKEN: Those safety rules, I'll say again, one at a time on the trampoline. No flips and there must be adult supervision.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Erica Hill from "HEADLINE NEWS," joining us now with some of the day's other top stories. Hi, Erica.
HILL: Hi, Heidi. Good to see you again.
Well, we're learning now it's going to take at least several more days to find out what just happened exactly happened aboard Air France flight 358 before it crashed.
Canadian authorities in Toronto say they don't have the equipment to download information from those black boxes, as they're known, aboard the Airbus jet, so those boxes, which, of course, record vital flight data, so the downloading task is going to be outsourced. Miraculously, as we know, no one died when the plane crashed during its landing, during a storm on Tuesday.
Johnson Space Center, Texas, now, where NASA official says there is no need to repair a damaged thermal blanket that is covering a shuttle window. NASA was concerned the blanket would come off and the debris might damage Discovery. The decision clears the shuttle's return to Earth on Monday morning.
On Capitol Hill, just days after baseball star Rafael Palmeiro was suspended for using steroids, lawmakers are now revisiting his testimony before Congressional -- before Congress last March when he emphatically denied using performance-enhancing drugs. Now, lawmakers are looking at the possibility of perjury. That's punishable by up to five years in prison. At the same time, baseball commissioner Bud Selig today, proposed an even tougher Major League Baseball steroid policy.
Well, not to St. Petersburg, Florida and an update for you on the 5-year-old girl who was handcuffed by officers after she threw a tantrum last March. Well, a police department investigation concluded the cops didn't violate any rules, but they should have done more to calm the situation without having to resort to handcuffs.
And, Heidi, that's the latest from "HEADLINE NEWS.". We'll hand it back over to you.
COLLINS: All right. Erica, Thanks. We'll see you again in 30 minutes.
Next on 360: What's the best way to treat a sunburn? 360-M.D. Sanjay Gupta has the answer and some other summer tips.
Also tonight: Former President Bill Clinton talks about his own childhood struggle with his weight and how he's now trying to help kids nationwide eat right.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Summer means fun in the sun, but if you and your family don't take the right steps, you could ruin a good time. 360-M.D. Sanjay Gupta joins us with summer safety tips.
First question on cuts and scrapes. For kids, this is definitely a regular part of childhood, right? But how do you know when it's time to actually go to the hospital for stitches?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good question. Most times, most cuts are not going need stitches. A couple rules of thumb: First of all, if it's on the face, that's a cosmetically important area, so that might be a time you need to go to the hospital. Longer than about a half-inch cut, also that one might need stitches. And a deep cut. What does a deep cut mean? It is a little bit gross here, but it means if you can actually see the fat underneath there, that might need stitches, as well.
Also, as far as bleeding goes, hold pressure for ten minutes nonstop. No peeking. If it is still bleeding at the end of that, that may mean stitches as well, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Great guideline on that one.
How about if your child gets hit in the head, like, during a softball game or on the playground somewhere. When is a head injury serious enough to need more than just an ice pack and maybe a little kiss.
GUPTA: You know, the interesting thing about this, an important thing to keep in mind -- you'll remember this one day -- is that the scalp cuts, cuts on the scalp, can bleed a lot. It may look alarming, in fact, how much the scalp can bleed. But most times, it will stop with just pressure and an ice pack.
Again, how do you know when to go to the hospital? Again, if it doesn't stop bleeding after ten minutes, or if your kid was actually knocked unconscious. That may seem obvious, but if your kid was knocked unconscious that's important to go to the hospital for an exam, maybe a CAT scan. Or if later on that day, in the evening maybe, if the kid is starting to feel unusually sleepy or having any problems like numbness or weakness or problems with speech, go, to the hospital, as well, Heidi.
COLLINS: From our practicing neurologist, great, thank you.
Also, this happens to a lot of us, Sanjay -- adults and kids alike -- you get out of the pool and your ear is clogged with water. How to get rid of that water in the ear?
GUPTA: You know, first of all, it is important to get rid of that water, because you might actually develop something known as swimmer's ear, which is inflammation, it's painful, it's annoying. You don't want it.
A couple of things. When you get out, I mean, you can literally -- I'm telling you this as a doctor -- you can just shake your head and that might actually get some of the water out. You can use the corner of a towel or tissue and sort of soak some of the water out of your ear canal as well. Another little thing, and mom may have told you this as well, You can take some rubbing alcohol, mix it with a little bit of white vinegar, a couple drops in the ear, that will not only help water get out of the ear but may prevent an infection as well. So those are a couple of tips.
COLLINS: All right. Sunburn, this is a big one. What's the best way to treat it?
GUPTA: First of all, you have got to cool the skin. Again, this may seem obvious, cool the skin, use something like a cool compress. But you can also use aloe vera. Aloe vera is a good cream that actually can be of some benefit. 1 percent hydrocortizone cream, every household should have this. Put this in your medicine cabinet. It'll take away that sting from a sunburn. You can take pain killers some like Tylenol or aspirin just for the pain.
What you don't want to do, Heidi, this is important, don't use any of those heavy creams. They are just going to lock the heat in, make it more painful. It's not going to get rid of that sunburn any quicker. And don't pop any of the sunburn blisters, that could leave a scar.
COLLINS: Quickly Sanjay, last one, what's the best way to treat a bug bite?
GUPTA: Well, there's a couple of new products. Let me just tell you really quickly. Deet is the one that everyone knows about. That works well, and it works all day as well. Pacaradin is a new man-made product, that's a new insect repellent just approved. It's been a long time since we've had a new product. Also, of oil of lemon eucalyptus, that's a plant repellent. A lot of people want an alternatives to their deet. Both of those seem to work pretty well, as well.
COLLINS: All right. Very good. Thank you, Sanjay Gupta.
GUPTA: All right. Any time.
COLLINS: Let's find out what's coming up at the top of the hour now on PAULA ZAHN NOW. Hi, Paula.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi. We have another cure for sunburn here. Work here at CNN, then you never go outside.
COLLINS: Never go out. Love that.
ZAHN: At the top of the hour, we continue our series, "Safe at Home" tonight. How many video cameras will it tape to keep us safe from terrorists? Well, there has been an explosion of cameras at intersections in public buildings, at airports and in subways. And you might not believe some of the new technology that's already showing up is something that something that can see through your clothes going too far?
We'll also have the very latest in voyeurism. It's called upskirting. And we're going to give you some advice tonight as to how to become a victim of that.
You've heard about that Heidi, right?
COLLINS: Yeah!
ZAHN: ...cameras shoot up your skirt.
COLLINS: OK. Paula, that's quite a mix of stuff. We'll be watching.
ZAHN: Thank you.
COLLINS: Next on 360, MD Sanjay Gupta joins us once again with his interview with former President Bill Clinton who talks about his own weight struggle and his new mission to help American kids eat better.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Since undergoing heart surgery last year, former President Bill Clinton has been waging a battle against adult and childhood obesity. Millions of American children are at risk which is why Clinton is campaigning to get them into shape. He sat down with 360 MD Sanjay Gupta for this exclusive interview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): More than four years after leaving the White House, Bill Clinton has been traveling the world looking trim and fit.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm doing great. I think I've made a complete recovery.
GUPTA: He says this campaign by the Clinton Foundation is driven by personal experience.
CLINTON: You know, I was probably in the last generation of Americans where people widely thought a fat baby was a healthy baby. And I lived with my grandparents until I was four. They just stuffed me. And so I always battled my weight. When I was 13 I was 5'8 and weighed 185 pounds.
GUPTA: He lost the weight by college. But a lifetime of bad eating took its toll when he landed on the operating table last September for heart surgery.
CLINTON: I think the brush with dead I had maybe had the biggest impact of all. Going through health problems that I did, I realized that one more time I've been given another chance. And I just wanted to make the most of it.
GUPTA: Making health issues a top priority: AIDS in Africa, obesity at home and big changes in his personal life -- fewer French fries, more fruits and vegetables, at least an hour of walking every day and more rest at night. CLINTON: Emery University has done a study saying that obesity alone accounted for 25 percent of the increased health costs over the last 15 years. So, I thought it was a chance where I could save the most lives, do the most good and also do something that I understood from my own experience. But the bottom line is that we have too many kids, too overweight and they are walking time bombs.
GUPTA (on camera): Is this individual responsibility? Or is this something that the legal system and government should get involved with?
CLINTON: First of all, the legislators and the governors should get involved, because they provide most of the money for the schools. So the first thing I'd ask them to do is look at schools. Set some standards for school meals. And they can certainly do something about vending machines. They either ought to get them out of the grade schools, or get the bad stuff out of the vending machines.
GUPTA (voice-over): Another Clinton target? The fast food giants.
(on camera): You talk about food industry, the fast food industry. Could you go to McDonalds today and say listen, this is killing us? I mean, this is literally killing us, some of this food.
CLINTON: We reached out to McDonalds, to the other fast food places and to a lot of the food producers. We can not sustain it from a health care point of view. It is devastating to the country for people to be ingesting as much fat and sugar as they are eating the way they do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: And really interesting, the Clinton Foundation folks are actually going meet with representatives of the fast food industry later on this fall.
We talked to McDonalds as well. They remind us that they do have healthier alternatives on the menu. They are anxious to partner with the Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association.
Most interesting, though Heidi, I think is going to be a focus not just on the healthier alternatives like the apples in your salads, but much more of the core menu. So many people will still order a cheeseburger, soda and fries, they're going to focus on that as well, Heidi, really important.
COLLINS: Yeah, very. All right. Sanjay Gupta, thank you.
GUPTA: Thank you.
COLLINS: And before we go tonight, this just in quickly. CNN has learned Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist has been released from the hospital. We were telling you earlier, he was taken there because of a fever. He was checked for evaluation, now has been released. CNN's prime-time coverage continues now with Paula Zahn. Hi, Paula.
END
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