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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

2,000 Feared Dead in Philippine Mudslide; Bracing For Bird Flu; Dirty Ice

Aired February 17, 2006 - 22:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: It happened in a heartbeat: a town with hundreds of homes and nearly 2,000 people swallowed by the earth.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Massive rains trigger a killer mudslide. Survivors say the earth exploded. As the U.S. Navy joins the rescue effort, 360 takes you live to the scene, where reports put the death toll at nearly 2,000.

Harry Whittington speaks out. After being shot by vice president and suffering a heart attack, why is he the one apologizing?

HARRY WHITTINGTON, ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING VICTIM: My family and I are deeply sorry for all that Vice President Cheney and his family has had to go through this past week.

ANNOUNCER: And is the toilet water from your favorite fast-food restaurant cleaner than the ice they're serving you? Tonight, 360 investigates, dirty ice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: From across the U.S. and around the world, this is Anderson Cooper 360.

Live from the CNN studios in New York, filling in for Anderson, Heidi Collins.

COLLINS: Good evening, everybody.

We call it the good earth, but it's not always so, not in New Orleans, not in Banda Aceh, and, tonight, not in a farming village on an island in the Philippines 400 miles southeast of Manila. We show it to you on a map, because, for all intents and purposes, it no longer exists on the face of the planet.

Reporting for us tonight, CNN's Hugh Riminton.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was simple obliteration. A mountainside bogged after weeks of rain fell away, with a noise, say survivors, like a bomb blast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When that explosion happened, the side of the mountain appeared like it was being pushed down, and then, all of the sudden, the entire mountain collapsed.

RIMINTON: The village of Guinsaugon was squarely in its path.

Under 30 feet of treacherous, sucking mud, it's feared more than 1,000 people were entombed, including an entire elementary school. It was just one hour into its morning classes. Local officials say more than 240 children were there at the time.

The few survivors emerged or were dug out to find everything gone, homes, livelihoods, families. Rescue officials found heavy earth-moving equipment counterproductive in the soft, semi-liquid mud. Volunteers and an army unit waded in waist deep in some cases to dig with their hands.

Before nightfall ended the rescue effort, constant movement and the threat of fresh landslides frequently sent searchers lunching for safety. Despite the odds, rescuers still hope to find people alive.

GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO, PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT: Help is on the way. They will come from land, sea and air. Hopefully, you will soon be out of harm's way.

RIMINTON: Survivors and evacuees from neighboring villages say, logging, cutting down trees, weakened the hillside. Others had moved away from the village, fearing landslides because of the torrential rain, more than four times the downpour recorded for any previous month. Some of those now dead had just returned home, encouraged by signs of a break in the weather.

A final death toll, say officials, could take days or weeks to know.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Hugh Riminton joins us now on the phone from Javier, Philippines.

Hugh, let me ask you, can you -- can you update us on the very last death toll that you are hearing there?

RIMINTON: Well, Certainly, Heidi, this doesn't look like it's going to be a story with many happy endings.

The provincial governor says that, in this particular town, there was a listed population of 1,875 people. Now, of that number, nearly 2,000 people, only 56 people are confirmed as being alive.

What has happened to the rest of them, no one knows. There may be some people who turn up. Maybe they might have been out of town. There may be other survivors potentially dug up. But what we are looking at here is, effectivity, the obliteration of -- of the entire village and the people within it.

COLLINS: The video is just very, very upsetting, as everyone is seeing here now, looking at it.

Hugh, can you talk to us a little bit about assistance? Where is this country getting help from?

RIMINTON: Well, initially, it's helping itself. The president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, has basically dropped got the military completely mobilized on this.

There have been planes coming in carrying rescue equipment, search-and-rescue specialists, and doctors, and emergency food. There is also a naval presence coming in. The United States has stepped up. They're sending in two warships that are in the area, the Essex and the Harper's Ferry. They're coming in to offer search-and-rescue assistance and also medical assistance, if it's needed.

The dilemma is, who is there at this stage to rescue? To give you some idea, the rain has been coming on and off, but, at one stage, when it cleared this morning, two Philippine army units waded out. They were trying to find the school where the 240 children were. While they were there, they were not -- they have not yet been able to dig down even to where the school was.

There were what they have described as rumblings in the ground. They have had to evacuate the scene, nothing found. It is -- it is grim in the utmost for the people in that village -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Well, we certainly appreciate the report.

Hugh Riminton bringing this to us tonight -- hanks, Hugh.

Here at home, another big storm is blasting its way across the country, winds topping 60 miles an hour from Colorado Springs to Chicago to the shores of Lake Ontario, several hundred thousand homes without power, at least two people dead. And, everywhere you turn, you can feel the mercury falling or hear the sound of Mother Nature blowing hot and cold.

Here's CNN's Rob Marciano.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): How do you go from this, an all-out blizzard with record-breaking snow in the Northeast, to this, temperatures near 60 degrees, all in the same week?

JEFF SCHULTZ, CLIMATOLOGIST, WEATHER 2000: That was really brought about due to very warm, powerful air being blown up from the Gulf of Mexico colliding with this very arctic cold polar air mass.

MARCIANO: Jeff Schultz is a climatologist. He says it's not a rare event, just difficult to deal with.

SCHULTZ: This clash of the two creates these violent types of storms.

MARCIANO: Well, it has been violent and dramatic all across the country. Green Bay saw blizzard-like conditions Thursday and got over a foot of snow. Illinois had two tornadoes yesterday, and Indiana had record winds. There was a 20-car pileup in Florida due to fog, and hurricane- force winds in Rochester, New York. Even the hills around San Francisco had snow this morning.

And all this wacky weather comes on the heels of another global warming report. The journal "Science" announced this week that some Greenland glaciers are quickly melting into the ocean, twice as fast as they were 10 years ago.

So, what's going on? Well, it's not clear if the two are related, but Schultz says the relationship between the oceans and the atmosphere can produce dramatic effects.

SCHULTZ: It's a tricky feedback system. And science has not exactly broken down whether or not the oceans are driving the atmosphere or the atmosphere is driving the oceans. But there's definitely an interplay between the two, and the feedbacks can cause the type of effect -- effects that we're seeing.

MARCIANO: The long-term weather outlook isn't clear, but, right now, cold arctic air is pushing south and east. Temperatures are plummeting in the Midwest, and windchills have already reached 50 below zero in the Dakotas. It looks like winter is far from over.

SCHULTZ: I would definitely not pack away the shovel. And I would enjoy the warmer days while you have them. We're going to see a lot of roller-coaster action for the rest of this winter, such as we have seen already, and definitely exciting on the weather front.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: Exciting, to say the least. And folks in the Northeast today got their hands full, as far as excitement.

And now tonight, we are talking about temperatures that are dropping quite rapidly. These are windchills already into the teens and single numbers across much of the Northeast, after seeing winds gusts here over 70 miles an hour in some parts. And that caused some problems, trees limbs down. And, unfortunately, there were a few fatalities with this particular system.

Now we move on to the cold air, which also can present some problems. Minus-30 is what it feels like in Fargo, minus-33 in -- in Minneapolis. That is dangerously cold windchills. And this goes all the way down to Kansas City and into Denver, Colorado, as well.

So, we're looking at this cold air that's going, again, all the way down to the Gulf Coast. Now, that shallow layer that gets to about Dallas, Oklahoma City, maybe Little Rock, and through Memphis, now we are going to combine it with some moisture.

So, on top of all the action we have seen in the past several days, we're now looking at an ice storm that could potentially cause some problems here, from Dallas, up through Oklahoma City, and a swathe back through Little Rock and Memphis. So, the Northeast, the upper plains, and now the South, Heidi, get into the action. And February proving once again, after a mild January, that we are certainly still in winter -- back to you.

COLLINS: You know what? It's just too complicated and too hard to follow for me. And no offense to the meteorologist science behind it, but I'm going back to the "Farmer's Almanac."

MARCIANO: Oh, stop it.

(LAUGHTER)

COLLINS: All right.

MARCIANO: See you, Heidi.

COLLINS: Rob Marciano...

MARCIANO: All right.

COLLINS: ... thank you.

MARCIANO: You bet.

COLLINS: Well, it has been a tough week for Dick Cheney, but it has been worse for the man the vice president accidentally shot, Harry Whittington.

The hunting accident left him seriously wounded, with a pellet lodged in his heart, triggering a minor heart attack. And, today, the 78-year-old was released from the hospital and quickly came to his friend's defense.

CNN's Jonathan Freed reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will introduce the individual you have been wanting to see all week, Mr. Harry Whittington.

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A shotgun blast turned him from private citizen to public figure. Now the man wounded by the vice president in a hunting accident faced the cameras for the first time.

HARRY WHITTINGTON, ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING VICTIM: My family and I are deeply sorry for all that Vice President Cheney and his family have had to go through this past week. We send our love and respect to them, as they deal with -- with situations that are much more serious than what we have had this week.

FREED: Whittington was clearly being modest about his ordeal of the last six days. On Saturday, he was out hunting quail with Vice President Dick Cheney on a Texas ranch, about two hours south of Corpus Christi, when Mr. Cheney accidentally shot him in the face and upper body. Then, Whittington suffered a mild heart attack on Tuesday, when a piece of the birdshot migrated into or near the heart. He recovered quickly. And doctors discharged the 78-year-old.

WHITTINGTON: Medical attention is very important to someone my age, and you haven't failed to give my age.

(LAUGHTER)

FREED: Yesterday, the Kenedy County Sheriff's Department announced, no criminal charges would be filed, calling it -- quote -- "a mere hunting accident."

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

FREED: In Wyoming, at his first speaking event since the incident, Mr. Cheney briefly acknowledged his friend.

RICHARD B. CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is a wonderful experience to be greeted with such warmth by the leaders of our great state. That is especially true when you have had a very long week.

(LAUGHTER)

CHENEY: Thankfully, Harry Whittington is on the mend and doing very well.

FREED: Indeed, Whittington was poised as he spoke for several minutes and made a point of thanking his medical team.

WHITTINGTON: They are truly remarkable servants of God. And I'm extremely blessed for all they have done.

Thank you.

FREED: Whittington asked people to understand that accidents will happen.

Jonathan Freed, CNN, Corpus Christi, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, it's not the story of the century, not yet, but if bird flu becomes a pandemic, it most certainly could be. In the U.S., there aren't enough front-line drugs to fight bird flu. Just five million people would be protected. So, what are scientists doing to bridge the gap, and how much time do they really have?

360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta investigates -- coming up.

Also, do those machines at your favorite fast-food place that spit out ice, do they spit out something else, too, something that could make you sick?

And teen boot camps, they're supposed to be tough -- tough, but not fatal. The death of a 14-year-old boy, how did it happen? -- coming up on 360.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Bird flu, we can say with certainty, is a story that won't go away, which is why it's such a huge concern. And it is spreading steadily among birds across the globe, moving east to west, from Asia, where the first outbreaks occurred, across the former Soviet republic, into Iran and Iraq.

In recent weeks, it has reached Africa, Nigeria hit first, and Europe, too. Germany just confirmed 10 more cases. And, today, Egypt was added to the list. So, far birds in at least 24 countries have been infected. And at least 91 people have died since 2003.

Right now, bird flu does not spread easily between humans, but that could change in an instant, if the virus mutates. And viruses like nothing more than to mutate, which brings us to the race to be ready.

Here's 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A piece of news caught my eye this week. A company called Hemispherx is working with two new drugs that won't necessarily kill or weaken the bird flu virus, but might, in fact, strengthen our own immune system, in a way to make us much less susceptible to bird flu in the first place.

Yes, we would still need drugs like Tamiflu or Relenza, but in much, much smaller amounts. The new drugs haven't been tested on people yet, so we don't know if they will pan out. But, if they do, the current stockpile might be enough to control even the worst outbreak.

Now, if these or similar drugs don't pan out, the federal government only has enough medicine for five million people, leaving almost everyone else unprotected. And it would be years before we have enough for the whole population. The search for new drugs and vaccines is important, because it's almost certain that Americans will have to deal with bird flu.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE: And I would not be surprised if, within a period of several months to a year, we would see this, even in the United States.

GUPTA: Ever since it first emerged, the killer virus has lived in Southeast Asia. But, even when it was still contained to that side of the world, we knew it was likely to spread.

(on camera): Here in Thailand, they pride themselves on having a strong surveillance system. But here's part of the problem. Just behind me is the Mekong River. Over on the other side of the Mekong River is Laos, where a public health system barely even exists. The problem is, birds don't respect borders. They could migrate from Laos right here in to Thailand. (voice-over): On the wings of wild birds, the virus did spread, from Southeast Asia to China, Siberia and the former Soviet republics, to Eastern Europe, then to Turkey and Iraq just last month, and now to birds in Western Europe and Africa, where it was first detected this week.

Fortunately, there's no sign the virus has gained the ability to spread easily from person to person. But that could be a matter of time. And, despite months of warnings, the U.S. and the rest of the world isn't nearly ready to deal with a fast-spreading human epidemic.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: As we mentioned, bird flu has already spread from Asia to Africa and Europe, which raises another question: If and when it reaches the U.S., how will we know it?

Here's CNN's Mary Snow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So far, the deadly strain of bird flu known as H5N1 hasn't made it to the U.S. But experts agree, it may just be a matter of time.

It would most likely make its way via wild birds migrating from other continents. If that happens, they could infect domestic bird populations, and some of those birds could make their way into live bird markets.

While most people buy their poultry at supermarkets, there are many in cities like New York who buy chickens and other birds at live poultry markets. These markets are regulated and considered safe.

But scientists worry that they could one day pose a risk of becoming a breeding ground for spreading the deadly strain of bird flu. That's why samples are taken from birds like these and shipped hundreds of miles north of New York City to be tested at a Cornell University lab.

SARAH SHAFER, MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIST, CORNELL UNIVERSITY: Chickens, ducks, Cornish game hens, anything that you would find in a live bird market in New York City.

SNOW: Sarah Shafer spends her day screening for any sign of the deadly strain. She admits it's a tedious process, with some tests taking days to conduct.

SHAFER: If it got into the New York City live bird market, we would found out here.

SNOW: Doctors say there's concern about live bird markets, because it's a place where humans could come in direct contact with the deadly virus. ALFONSO TORRES, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CORNELL UNIVERSITY ANIMAL HEALTH DIAGNOSTIC CENTER: They can move from bird to bird very rapidly. So, the earliest we can detect them, the quickest we can quench that outbreak and -- and -- and keep the outbreak from being overwhelming.

SNOW: Dr. Alfonso Torres heads the Cornell testing program where monitoring has been stepped up since the spread of avian flu. He says his goal is to build a firewall.

TORRES: If we can prevent the viruses, if they happen to occur in the live bird market, to go into the commercial flock, then that's almost like a firewall. We can prevent that event from going elsewhere.

SNOW: And he stresses that the threat of the deadly bird flu strain reaching the U.S. is still a big if.

(on camera): Because New York City has the largest number of live bird markets than any other city in the U.S., health officials say it's important to take extra precautions. And they say, because of the testing that's being done, they feel the United States is better positioned than some other Asian countries at preventing bird flu from even getting here.

Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: In Nigeria, a battle is under way to stop bird flu from spreading further. But in a country where food is scarce and poverty rampant -- rampant, how do you convince everyone to kill the very birds that feed them?

Also, it's just ice, right? It keeps your drink cold. Well, ignorance may be bliss on this one. Tonight, we tell you what's really in the ice -- when 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Before the break, we told you what's being done on this side of the Atlantic to prepare for bird flu.

In Africa, the urgency is much greater, because bird flu has already arrived. To contain the disease and keep people safe, thousands, perhaps millions of birds will need to be killed.

But, in Africa, where food is so scarce for so many, that remedy is hard to accept.

Here's CNN's Jeff Koinange.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like a scene out of a Hollywood movie, health workers arrive fully outfitted at a farm in northern Nigeria, where the bird flu virus has contaminated the entire chicken flock. Curious villagers can only stare in disbelief at the sight before them in what must seem like aliens invading their remote village.

But, on this day, these local health officials aren't taking any chances. The H5N1 virus is spreading, they say, and no chicken within a 100-mile-radius is safe.

Still, they are hopeful they can contain it.

DR. MOHAMMED SEYYU, NIGERIAN MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE: The worst- case scenario is a situation where you find it has spread like a wildfire, and that is what we -- we -- we do not hope for. That is what we are not envisaging. That is what we are prepared to prevent.

KOINANGE: All 5,000 chickens on this farm are to be culled. And the officials waste no time stuffing the live birds into plastic bags, before tagging them. They are then carted into pits like this -- this one's an old disused water well about 30 meters deep -- and tossed in, with the hope that no one would be desperate enough to climb down and drag out the contaminated chickens for personal consumption.

But that's now how Abubaka Mohammed (ph) and Abdellali Ali (ph) see it. They are poor, unemployed and hungry. They see the culling of chickens more a waste than a deterrent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This meat is great meat for me.

KOINANGE (on camera): It's good meat?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I eat.

KOINANGE: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I no money. No eat. No money, no food.

KOINANGE (voice-over): That seems to be the general feeling among a largely uneducated and misinformed public, despite warnings from the government.

Without hesitation, they dig into the shallow pit and come up with the armloads of dead and possibly contaminated chickens. They do this until they feel they have enough, they say, for a meal they otherwise simply cannot afford.

(on camera): Now, because this area of Nigeria is impoverished and the people poor, dumping of chickens into pits like the one behind me is just a temporary reprieve. And young men like Abdellali (ph) and Abubaka (ph) can literally come in, pick up the chicken, take it home and cook it. And this, officials here say, poses the biggest risk.

(voice-over): And they also say, it's the illiterate and the uninformed population here that they will have to concentrate their efforts on to prevent bird flu from mutating into a human form -- not so much the cooking, but handling the dead animals without protection. Bird flu, so far, has been largely confined to birds. Fewer than 100 people worldwide have died from bird flu. The fight against bird flu in Nigeria, it seems, will have to be quickly stepped up to avoid this seemingly runaway virus from taking on new, unsuspecting victims.

Jeff Koinange, CNN, Kano, in northern Nigeria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Erica Hill from Headline News joining us now with some of the other stories we are following tonight.

Hi, Erica.

ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi.

We begin with more bloodshed tonight over the Prophet Mohammed cartoons. This scene that you're about to see happened in Libya. Looking at it now, 11 people were killed during demonstrations denouncing the caricatures. Protesters set fire to the Italian Consulate in one city. There are also reports of a high number of injuries.

The White House, meantime, is demanding the Palestinian Authority give back $50 million in aid. The Bush administration does not want Hamas to have the funds. The militant group won power in elections last month. A State Department spokesman said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has agreed to return the money.

Just south of Saint Louis, Missouri, hopes fading now of finding a man alive, after he fell from a bridge into the frigid Mississippi River. The man and three workers were painting the underside of the structure when the area gave way. The other three men were rescued after hanging about 40 feet for about an hour.

In San Diego County, California, a security tape released of a frightening attempted holdup at a gas station. Watch this. Last month, a man carrying a blowtorch attempted to rob the employee. Now, as you can see, he pulled out a self-ignited propane torch.

But the worker fought back, driving the suspect out of the station, hitting him with a stick. The blowtorch bandit got away. Just 15 minutes earlier, he had hit a drugstore, didn't make off with any cash there either, Heidi.

A blowtorch, that's a first for surveillance video that I have seen.

PHILLIPS: Serves him right, you know?

HILL: Absolutely.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Yes, no money for him.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: All right. Erica, thanks. We will talk to you again in a few minutes.

Two stories now that pack a punch when 360 continues, the first about the ice in your drink down at your favorite fast-food place -- could be a serious blow to the stomach -- and the second about a teenage who literally packs a punch. Her footwork is pretty good, too.

This is 360.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We don't ordinarily report on the winner of a science fair at the Benito Middle School in Tampa, Florida -- maybe we should -- but 12-year-old Jasmine Roberts' project -- congratulations on your win, by the way, Jasmine -- put us in mind of something.

What Jasmine Roberts did was a scientific comparison of the ice used in drinks at a number of local fast food outlets with water from the toilets in those same establishments. By and large, the water from the toilets was actually cleaner.

Shocking, to say the least, but not altogether different from what we found when we looked into the cleanliness of those cubes in all of those cups.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS (voice-over): It's cold, refreshing, and, oh, so good on a hot summer day. But did you ever think about what's in your ice?

JENNIFER BERG, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: Fecal matter in ice is a serious problem.

COLLINS: Jennifer Berg is the head of the graduate department at the Food Science and Nutrition Program at New York University. She says ice can hold bacteria that makes you just as sick as anything else you eat.

BERG: Tainted ice is usually a result of having E. coli, fecal matter inside the ice.

COLLINS (on-screen): How worried should people be about something like this?

BERG: You know, we don't want to make the American public completely neurotic and so scared of our food supply, when in reality we have a safer food supply than most countries. But we do need to be careful.

COLLINS (voice-over): Ice can become decontaminated in many ways, like microorganisms in the water supply. But according to the experts CNN consulted, the most common causes of ice contamination are poor handling and storage. Take Denton, Texas, 1999. Fifty-eight members of a high school drill team were infected with various levels of gastrointestinal illnesses at a camp. The ice got contaminated with E. coli after campers used their bare hands to scoop ice out of the machine.

And recently, a British government study surveyed clubs, bars and pubs in London and found half the ice they used was full of bugs and bacteria that can make people sick.

(on-screen): So that got us thinking. What would we find if we bought ice just like you would on any given day at any given restaurant across the country?

(voice-over): We took our ice samples in Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, New York, and Los Angeles at a combination of fast food chains and local establishments in each town, a total of 23 samples.

In each location, we walked in and ordered our drinks with our ice on the side. And then carefully, without touching the ice, poured it into sterile bags and then sent the samples off to a certified food laboratory, Microbac Laboratories in Warrendale, Pennsylvania.

(on-screen): Now, our study didn't follow all EPA protocol. That would mean we would have had to have gone to each restaurant four or five times, tested the city water, and then made sure that our sample ice touched nothing before it went into our sample bags.

But our results were tested against the most basic EPA standards. And what we found was disturbing.

(voice-over): In every city but one, there was a restaurant that failed those EPA standards. This McDonald's in Atlanta failed. This Dunkin' Donuts in Chicago failed. This 7-Eleven in Dallas failed, and so did this Burger King in Los Angeles.

On the day we tested, according to Microbac Laboratories, each ice sample from these four establishments was contaminated with fecal matter.

(on-screen): That's disgusting.

BERG: It's so easy to spread. It's very easy to prevent, very easy to prevent. It's a matter of washing in very warm water, really washing, not just the hands, but up until -- you know, through the forearm with soap, very hot water, drying it off, training the employees to all do that.

COLLINS (voice-over): And the one city that got a clean bill of ice? Well, that surprised even us.

(on-screen): When you think of New York, you think horribly dirty city. But yet when we did our little ice samples, not a single place failed. Why?

BERG: New York City has much more stringent laws and regulations in place inspecting food. The other thing is, in a city like New York, and if you're talking about the fast food places that you've looked at, they're very high volume. By the end of the evening, that ice machine has emptied out; they've completely depleted their supply.

COLLINS (voice-over): We then contacted the establishments that failed our single tests. In every case, after hearing the results of our tests, the owner-operator said they shut down their ice machines, and cleaned them thoroughly, and also retrained their employees.

All four restaurants said they retested their ice after cleaning the machines and found no trace of bacteria.

7-Eleven sent us this: "The safety of 7-Eleven customers is of the utmost importance to us."

And from Dunkin' Donuts: "Dunkin' Donuts strives to endure adherence to o food safety standards."

McDonald's issued this statement from the franchise owner: "My restaurant has an excellent track record with our local health department. My last inspection score was 99 out of 100."

Burger King responded by telling us, "The particular restaurant has consistently achieved high health and safety results from both our internal and external audits, as well as those of the local health department."

However, health departments in Atlanta and in Los Angeles told us they do not test water in ice machines during health inspections. To be fair, none of the other locations of these establishments failed their tests in other cities, and we only tested the failed establishments once.

But, clearly, there is contaminated ice out there. So will it make you sick?

BERG: You personally, Heidi? Probably not. But chances are people did. Young children, older people, anybody who was sick to begin with.

COLLINS: Most common complaints? Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

So what can you do to protect yourself? If you are lucky enough to live in one of the handful of states that have food safety officers, look for the sign telling you that one is on duty. Otherwise, if you see the server filling your cup, make sure they are wearing gloves and they don't touch the ice, or you can do what Jennifer Berg does.

(on-screen): Do you get ice in any of your drinks when you're out to eat?

BERG: I've just decided it's OK to just have beverages room temperature.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: No ice, thanks.

Well, it's video authorities didn't want the public to see, but CNN filed suit. What were guards doing to this 14-year-old? Within hours, he would die. Is his death due to natural causes or something else?

Plus, a fresh look at the destruction of Katrina. Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, was left in ruins and it's where CNN's Kathleen Koch grew up. She brings Katrina home in a way you haven't seen before, when 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: It is compelling video made public today, though only after CNN and the "Miami Herald" sued for its release. You're looking at it now.

At issue: What killed a 14-year-old on his first day at a camp for juvenile offenders? The teen was sent there after taking his grandmother's car for a joy ride, then violating his probation by trespassing at a high school.

Here's CNN's Susan Candiotti.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Martin Anderson's first day at boot camp proved to be his last day alive.

GINA JONES, MOTHER: Martin didn't have a chance at all.

CANDIOTTI: Anderson's parents accuse boot camp workers of fatally brutalizing the 14-year-old honor roll student. He died after an orientation drill that included running around a track. The action is videotaped by a fixed camera without audio. Anderson's death is under criminal investigation.

SHERIFF FRANK MCKEITHEN, BAY COUNTY, FLORIDA: It is very obvious to us that there are valid concerns raised in some of the procedures that are being used in this particular incident.

CANDIOTTI: The video, though grainy, is uncomfortable to watch. First, the teenager is seen up against a wall, drill instructors in his face, and he continues running. Off-camera, the medical examiner says Anderson had collapsed.

Over the next 25 minutes, Anderson is seen at various times being forced to the ground. Here, as a nurse watches, one worker knees him and he goes down hard on the ground.

Later, the boy's head is being held back, his legs appear rubbery. One worker hits him at least seven times in the right arm. A little later, another worker appears to hit him hard from behind, lurching his body forward.

Finally, after at least 25 minutes, the nurse steps in and paramedics arrive.

DAN GELBER, FLORIDA STATE HOUSE: The worst thing is that anyone watching this video could see that this child was very, very ill.

CANDIOTTI: Florida lawmaker Dan Gelber, a former federal prosecutor who handled police brutality cases, were shown the tape by investigators and watched it with CNN.

GELBER: This is not a kid who needs an attitude adjustment; this is a kid who needs medical attention.

CANDIOTTI: The county medical examiner told CNN he does not think the force was excessive or unreasonable. He ruled Anderson died of natural causes, internal bleeding brought on by stressful exercise and complicated by a sickle-cell trait. Yet, a hematologist told CNN the bleeding could only be caused by trauma.

DR. STUART TOLEDANO, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI: You should not have internal bleeding strictly from sickle-cell disease or sickle-cell trait. It does not happen.

JONES: They murdered my baby. I mean, they beat him, the tape. I can't even watch the whole tape. I walked out. I couldn't stand to see my baby like that.

CANDIOTTI: In addition to the state criminal investigation, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is also investigating Anderson's death to see whether excessive force was used or medical help deliberately ignored.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: We'll be back in just a moment. Stay with us, everybody.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: She floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee, an impressive Boxer named Ali. But being a champ in the ring is nothing new to this phenom athlete from California. After all, she's been boxing since she was a kid. And guess what? She still is.

Here's CNN's Gary Tuchman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seniesa Estrada lives a pretty typical life for a 13-year-old. She hangs out a lot at home with her mom...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you finish your project from school?

TUCHMAN: ... enjoys playing a little basketball, and has a pet.

(on-screen): What's this?

SENIESA ESTRADA, 13-YEAR-OLD BOXER: His throat.

TUCHMAN: His throat.

(voice-over): Although it is an iguana. But while that may be a bit unusual, she does something that is even more out of the ordinary: She likes to punch other girls in the face and in the stomach, for that matter.

Seniesa, wearing the red gloves, is one of the top amateur boxers of her age in the country.

S. ESTRADA: I would like to continue amateur boxing, and hopefully go to the Olympics, and see what happens from there.

TUCHMAN (on-screen): That would be pretty cool to be in the Olympics.

S. ESTRADA: Yes.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): This is the Silver Gloves, a top tournament for boys and girls. Seniesa, who lives in Los Angeles, is fighting Cassandra Mendoza (ph) of Colorado in a three-round bout for the championship.

We'll show you who wins shortly, but first this question: Why would a parent let his or her child do this? After all, take a look at this girl's fight in the same tournament. This 11-year-old has a bloody nose.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you breathe OK? You having a little trouble breathing?

TUCHMAN: And the fight had to be stopped because of that trouble breathing.

Seniesa trains with Joe Estrada, who is also her father.

JOE ESTRADA, SENIESA'S FATHER: What I would say is that, if your little girl was as good as mine is, you would do the same thing; that's the only way I can answer that.

TUCHMAN: Seniesa's mother isn't quite as exuberant.

MARY ANN ESTRADA, SENIESA'S MOTHER: When she's going to fight, it's like I just want it to be over.

TUCHMAN: She's been fighting since she was nine years old. Seniesa is the one with the ponytail on this home video shot by her father, a father whose life has profoundly changed because of his boxer daughter.

(on-screen): Seniesa has this sport in her blood. Her father used to box, too, but in the days he was fighting in the ring he was also fighting demons. (voice-over): Joe Estrada was an L.A. gang member for more than 20 years. He spent eight years in prison for armed robbery.

J. ESTRADA: When I see my old friends, the first thing they tell me is that we thought you were dead or we thought you were in prison.

TUCHMAN (on-screen): Are a lot of your friends dead?

J. ESTRADA: Yes, most of my friends are either dead or doing life in prison.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Becoming a father may have changed Joe Estrada's life, but becoming Seniesa's trainer serves as a reminder not to mess up.

J. ESTRADA: I think, without her, I don't know where I would be. Honestly, I don't know if I can keep that straight line, you know? Because I know that just one drink, that's all it will take for me to go the wrong way.

TUCHMAN (on-screen): Does that scare you, when you think about what your dad has been through?

S. ESTRADA: Yes. It scares me, but the good thing is that none of that ever took his life away, that he's still, like, here.

TUCHMAN: And he's changed a lot.

S. ESTRADA: Yes.

TUCHMAN: And you have helped change him, haven't you?

S. ESTRADA: Yes.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): And as always, daughter and father are together during the big fights, Seniesa in the ring, Joe just outside the ring.

Seniesa, who idolizes Muhammad Ali and his undefeated boxing champ daughter, Laila Ali, knocks down her opponent in the first round. The referee, though, rules it a slip.

But it doesn't matter much because Seniesa dominates the fight. Each round is supposed to last 90 seconds, but this one won't even make it past the first round. Seniesa's opponent is hurt and can't continue.

J. ESTRADA: Way to go, baby.

TUCHMAN: The referee declares Seniesa the winner and champion. She is also named the MVP of the tournament. We show Seniesa's victorious bout to the daughter of Muhammad Ali.

LAILA ALI, BOXER: I think that this young lady is very talented. It's wonderful to me that she has her father in her corner.

J. ESTRADA: Nobody can beat you, girl. Nobody. No one. No one. Ain't nobody in your class.

TUCHMAN: But it's not only a father in her corner; it's a daughter in his corner, too.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: A new and poignant look at Katrina's impact beyond New Orleans, that's coming up.

But first, Erica Hill from Headline News joining us now with some of the business stories we're following tonight.

Hey, Erica.

HILL: Hi again, Heidi.

A court victory today for Merck, the makers of the painkiller Vioxx. A jury says Vioxx did not cause a Florida man to have a fatal heart attack. Vioxx was taken off the market in 2004 after a study revealed it could increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Merck has now won two of three lawsuits over Vioxx. It still faces more legal battles.

Time Warner reaching a deal with Carl Icahn, the activist shareholder who wanted to break up the company into four separate units. The company is following some of his suggestions, though, accelerating its stock buyback plan, cutting up to a billion dollars in costs through 2007, and, in turn, Icahn will no long contest the company's slate of board of directors. Time Warner is, of course, the parent company of CNN.

Some tough times for RadioShack to tell you about, after fourth quarter earnings plunged 62 percent. The chain is closing up to 700 of its 7,000 stores and shares tumbling 8 percent on the news.

And today Boston's version of running of the bulls. Stampeding brides-to-be grabbed the wedding dresses of their dreams. Well, they hoped they were, anyway. Or something to trade, that's key. You need something to trade at the Filene's Basement bridal sale.

This is an annual event. According to the store's Web site, the gowns originally priced as high as $9,000. You can get them for just a few hundred. Filene's says the racks are usually bare within 60 seconds. Then the horse-trading begins.

And, Heidi, I can attest to this, because I went to the running of the brides in Atlanta.

COLLINS: Yes?

HILL: I didn't find anything. But let me tell you, those racks stripped bare in no time. And you take anything you can get just to trade it. COLLINS: I know. I see that -- you know, I look forward to this event, or sport, or whatever you want to call it every single year.

HILL: I love the video from it.

COLLINS: Yes, love all of that violent shopping.

HILL: It gets you in shape for the wedding.

COLLINS: Yes, that's right. Erica, thank you.

And we want to thank our international viewers for watching tonight.

Coming up next, this special edition of 360, the fight to save Bay Saint Louis. CNN's Kathleen Koch returns to her hometown, a community nearly destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. It is an emotional and deeply personal voyage home that you won't want to miss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, or what's left of it. My hometown, it's where I grew up.

I'm Kathleen Koch.

For the past six months ever since Hurricane Katrina, I've been coming back to see how it's doing. In so many places, there's been so little progress. It's as if the recovery has barely begun.

And it's painful to see how life has stalled for many of those still here. But at the same time, I have hope because the people of Bay Saint Louis are like a family with a strong sense of community and pride. They have huge hearts, and they won't give up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH (voice-over): Bay Saint Louis was unique.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bay Saint Louis was a beautiful community.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of arts-and-crafts kind of town, real laid back, great restaurants, really good fishing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody knew each other. You know, you'd meet up on Sunday at church.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People had time for each other. People could sit out on their front porch and swing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, the easiest word I could use to describe it is it was home.

KOCH: Along with the charm came a rock-solid resilience.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The eye of the hurricane crosses east of Bay Saint Louis.

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