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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Forcing Donald Sterling to Sell; Creepware Crackdown; VA's Secret Wait List; MERS Virus in the United States; Diver Captures Close Encounter With Great White Shark; Ryan Lewis and Mom Launch 30/30 Project

Aired May 19, 2014 - 20:00   ET

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

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone. Breaking news tonight.

Was it something he said? NBA officials take the next step to bounce L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling and say our exclusive interview with him is one more reason that he's got to go.

Also tonight, the heat now reaching the White House from the story we first broke on the VA hospital scandal. New questions and possible new answers about what President Obama knew.

Later the spear fisherman who never bargained on this. He'll tell us how he came face-to-face with a great white shark off Florida and how he managed to survive.

We begin tonight, though, with the breaking news. The National Basketball Association late today formally launching the effort to strip Donald Sterling of the team he's owned since 1981. The spark, racially loaded language caught on tape. The added fuel, more remarks made to me during a exclusive interview apparently intended to explain himself and asked the league for a second chance.

It's not working out that way.

Here with details, Rachel Nichols, host of CNN's "UNGUARDED", and senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.

So, Rachel, the statement from the NBA, walk us through it. They are not only laying out a timeline for action against Sterling they also detail the charges against him.

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN HOST, UNGUARDED WITH RACHEL NICHOLS: Yes. Absolutely. These are the official charges against Donald Sterling. Really this is what we've been waiting for since Adam Silver came out and gave that press conference saying he was going to pressure the NBA ownership to force Donald Sterling to give up his team.

First they had to officially notify him that they wanted to do that. That's what they announced that they did today. Now Sterling has five days from today to respond. He's going to do that legally, we expect him go to possibly even go into the court system, try to file at least a temporary injunction. Even if he can't win, maybe he'll try to get some sort of small victory so he can claim that he did something against the NBA, but if he doesn't, if he does respond to those charges within the five-day period then the NBA has 10 days after that to hold this hearing.

Guess what, Anderson? They are not waiting that long. They've announced that they're going to hold a hearing on June 3rd and that is when the Board of Governors would vote to strip him of his team. They also said in this announcement why they are going to do that. Of course we all know the reasons we've been following this story for weeks. But they cite basically the damage that he has done with his comments against minorities to the NBA as a league, the damage that he's done to the league's relationship with its fans and certainly the damage that he's done to the league's reputation.

COOPER: And, Jeff, the NBA in their comments, I mean, they cite not only the original statements but something that he said to me in our interview and I want to play that for our viewers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD STERLING, L.A. CLIPPERS OWNER: That's one problem I have. Jews, when they get successful, they will help their people. And some of the African-American, maybe I'll get in trouble again, they don't want to help anybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: So maybe I'll get in trouble again? I think he's right.

COOPER: So what he said there is a violation of the NBA constitution?

TOOBIN: According to the -- according to the document released today. The general thrust of the argument is that this was not just something that interfered with -- that was bad politics, it was interfering with the business of the NBA. If you look at the statement the NBA released they emphasized the fact that, you know, sponsors are leaving, players are threatening not to play, that the financial interests of the NBA are hurt and that's why they are -- that's why they're making this move.

COOPER: And, Rachel, Donald Sterling also told me last week that he spoke with some of the owners and he claimed that they supported him, though he wouldn't actually say anybody -- you know, he wouldn't actually give me the name of anybody who supported him. Is there any doubt that the owners will vote remove him, you think?

NICHOLS: You know, there are some chatter in private, some owners saying that they were a little bit concerned even publicly, Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, said he was a little bit worried about the, quote, "slippery slope" of a private tape recording being made public and owners put on trial for the private conversations they had.

But honestly, Anderson, the conversations that I've had around the league in the past week say that your interview basically cleared everyone's conscience. If there were any owners who are concerned about gee, she was kicking someone out for a private tape now feel much more comfortable. Because Donald Sterling went on television with you and made statements that were abhorrent to so many people.

They feel as if they now are on much firmer ground to kick him out. The only real hang-up here with some people is that Shelly Sterling and her lawyer -- Donald's wife -- have made clear that they intend to sue as well. And Shelly even went to -- as far as to directly threatened that she wants to get the other owners into depositions asking them about their private lives and conversations really as a way to compare gee, is what we did so bad?

That's a concept that a lot of other owners are not crazy about. But even so none of them want to be the person who stood up with Donald Sterling. Adam Silver from the NBA has put so much public pressure on everyone no one wants to be that guy so I don't see any problem.

COOPER: Jeff, could she do that? Could she get depositions from other owners?

TOOBIN: I doubt it. That's certainly the threat she's got hanging out there. You know, Pierce O'Donnell, her lawyer, released a statement today and said that the NBA's filing was actually voluminous. All we saw is the press release that they issues. So they have a long bill of particulars against the Sterlings.

But, you know, what I thought was interesting in the NBA statement is they kept referring to membership in the association, that being an owner, it's not like you own a piece of property, you're a member of an association and we can decide who our members are and who they aren't and we're getting rid of all the Sterlings, Mr., Mrs., little baby Sterlings, they're all going to be out according to the NBA.

(LAUGHTER)

COOPER: All right. It goes on. Jeff, thanks very much. Rachel, as well.

Now the crack down on creepware. This is incredible. Software that can turn your computer into a window into your private world using that little camera on a lot of laptops or that webcam on your desk to do it. I don't know why we're showing Jeff when we're talking about that.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: The thing -- the software in question is called Blackshades. Now one of the creators and dozens more in 19 countries are now in custody. The software or creepware may have infected the computers of more than half a million people including a beauty pageant winner who joins us exclusively in just a moment.

This is really creepy, the idea that a computer in your -- in your bedroom or in your daughter's bedroom or your son's bedroom if it's open could actually be accessed by someone and that camera turned on and someone could be watching your child in their bedroom.

Pamela Brown reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Reigning Miss Teen USA Cassidy Wolf is accustomed to being front and center on the public stage. Now the 19-year-old beauty queen is in the spotlight once again as the victim of cyber snooping. It was a notification from her Facebook account that alerted her.

CASSIDY WOLF, MISS TEEN USA: I received an e-mail about 30 minutes later saying he sent me an e-mail and he basically stated what he was doing to me. And he gave me three options and attacked two nude photos of myself that he had taken in my bedroom through my Web cam.

BROWN: The hacker was someone she'd gone to high school with. Jared James Abrahams, a college freshman majoring in computer science. A cyber peeping Tom, Wolf wasn't his only victim. According to FBI records, Abrahams is accused of hacking into as many as 150 computers, taking nude photos of women in order to blackmail them. Wolf was among nine known victims in his sextortion scheme.

FBI officials say Abrahams gained access to a private space by entering her computer through backdoor using software better known as creepware. Over the past week more than 100 people have been arrested on a worldwide crackdown of the creator, sellers and users of the malicious commercial software called Blackshades, the remote access tool or rat used to break into Wolf's computer.

PREET SHARARA, U.S. ATTORNEY: The rat is inexpensive and simple to use but its capabilities are sophisticated and its invasiveness breathtaking.

BROWN: Officials say hackers pay as little as $40 for the software, enough to cost Wolf, her sense of security and privacy.

WOLF: This is obviously going to change the way I use my computer for the rest of my life.

BROWN: Pamela Brown, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And joining us now is Cassidy Wolf.

It's so nice to have you on. I'm sorry it's under these circumstances.

WOLF: Thank you for having me.

COOPER: And I think it's just really brave and important that you're speaking out and continue to speak out and not be intimidated by -- in this situation and helping so many other people because so many people can be impacted by this.

Explain when you first realized what had happened.

WOLF: When I first received the e-mail the very first night that I found out this happened I was in shock. And --

COOPER: He sent you a -- a naked picture.

WOLF: He sent me an e-mail with three options that said, do as I say or I'm going to release every photo I have of you and he had multiple photos that he had taken through my Web cam allegedly.

COOPER: Did you instantly know where the photos were? I mean, you could tell it's in your bedroom.

WOLF: Yes. I mean, I saw my TV, the hooks where I hung my backpack when I came from -- home from school. I knew that it was my bedroom and I knew it was taken from my Web cam.

COOPER: And did you know this person well or just somebody in your school?

WOLF: I knew his name and I knew him from passing but I didn't know him personally.

COOPER: So what did you first think? I mean, how did you first respond?

WOLF: Oh, my gosh, I was speechless. I -- on my iPhone and I threw my iPhone across the room. My mom was in contact me while this was happening and we were both just in tears and in shock because we didn't believe that this really could happen. I mean --

COOPER: It's so scary.

WOLF: I know. It's traumatizing. And I -- and it's so great to hear coming up with this and bringing light to such an important cause because I know what it feels like to go through something like this.

COOPER: You went to the police.

WOLF: Yes. We contacted the police the first night and then contacted the FBI the following day so --

COOPER: And you hear that, you know, as many as 700,000 victims in this, people who have gone through this. I mean, it's incredible.

WOLF: Insane. It's insane.

COOPER: Have you any idea that a camera on your computer previously could be remotely accessed?

WOLF: I had seen it in movies but I didn't think it actually happened in real life.

COOPER: Yes. What's your message to people out there?

WOLF: To be cautious of what you're doing on and around your computer and to keep a sticker on your Web cam, to delete your browsing history, your cookies, to be careful with your password. I have a lot of tips because I've gone and talked to a lot of schools. And girls and guys my own age because I feel like that's the age group that I really want to share my story with because we are the ones that are sort of naive and don't really believe that this can happen. And I feel like that's the age group that I should speak to but yes, I have a couple of tips that I have been kind of sharing.

COOPER: It's also got to be -- it's such a sense of violation in the privacy of your own home, your computer --

WOLF: It's your bedroom. You know, that's your most private intimate space and that's where you should feel the most safe but to think that someone was watching me in my bedroom for a year and I had all my most intimate moments and had, you know, conversations I had had with my mom and my brother and knew everything about my life, somebody could have access to all of that by your computer.

COOPER: He could hear what you were saying.

WOLF: Yes. He had referred to like certain conversations that I had with my mom, my brother.

COOPER: When you didn't give into his demands what did he do?

WOLF: He lashed out even more. He requested even more. He had a tracker on my e-mail where he could see when I opened an e-mail and if I didn't respond to him which I didn't he would send me more e-mails with time limit of, you know, if you don't do what I say in five minutes I'm going to post every photo I have of you for the world to see and --

COOPER: So do you now -- I mean, do you now have a computer that has a camera on it?

WOLF: Yes, I do. I got a brand new computer but I have a sticker on it and I keep my sticker on it all the time. I always have my computer shut. I only go on my computer nowadays for homework, whether it'd be school related or work related.

COOPER: So you don't keep your laptop open with the camera uncovered.

WOLF: Correct. I mean I think I've learned my lesson.

COOPER: It's just incredible. Again, I just think you're really brave for speaking out and helping so many other people. Thank you, Cassidy.

WOLF: Thank you for having me.

COOPER: Yes, it's great to have you here.

A quick reminder, make sure you set your DVR so you can always catch 360 whenever you like.

Up next, growing questions about what President Obama and other top officials knew about problems in the VA hospital system and the possibility they've known from day one. Also ahead what you need to know to stay safe now that that deadly virus from the Middle East has made it to this country and managed to spread for the very first time here from person to person. Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: New developments tonight in the growing scandal over this country's broken promise to the men and women who volunteer to defend it. They've been waiting and some have died waiting for care at VA hospitals around the country, waiting for months sometimes while hospitals alleged cooked the books to try to cover it up.

And as you know, we've been on the story and it gave way from the very beginning long before the problems in the Phoenix VA system catapulted this into a national scandal but so far has triggered federal investigations, two congressional probes and it sparked a departure of a top VA official and landed VA Secretary Eric Shinseki in the hot seat. He says he's mad as hell. Not that he'll sit down and talk to us about it. Not that we haven't asked month after month after month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: We've been trying to get an interview with Eric Shinseki as you said since last November.

COOPER: You've been trying for months, continuing request.

GRIFFIN: Well, I didn't get any callback today. Again no response to our request. They simply do not respond. We are again requesting an interview with General Shinseki.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Again, the invitation for Secretary Shinseki to come on the program or talk to Drew stands. President Obama is also said to be mad as hell, according to his staff. Both promise to fix the problems. The question is how long have they known something was wrong?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: When was the president first made aware of these problems, of these fraudulent lists that were being kept to hide the wait times? When was he first made aware of those problems and when did other White House officials, top White House officials become aware of these problems?

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: When you say these problems, the fact that there have been --

(CROSSTALK)

CARNEY: The specific allegations that I think were reported first by your network out of Phoenix I believe we learned about them through the reports. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: So "Keeping Them Honest" that may be true in the narrowest sense pertaining directly to Phoenix which begs the question, since this appears to be a widespread and longstanding practice of fudging the numbers and playing games with waiting list. How long has the administration known about that?

Drew Griffin has reporting and touched this off. He joins us now with more.

So it seems to be boiling down to a question presidents are always asked when scandals emerge, what did the president know and when.

GRIFFIN: Yes. And that's why Jay Carney today, Anderson, made clear he was talking about the scandal in Phoenix when he said the president first learned from CNN's report presumably on this program because that's when we first told the story about the secret wait list and the allegations that as many as 40 veterans may have died waiting for care there.

The other bigger question, though, emerging through all of this is just how long the president and his staff have known about these huge wait lists at VA hospitals across the country and the fact veterans have been dying waiting for care. He certainly talked about it way back in 2007 when he was on the campaign trail.

But a new report, Anderson, in the "Washington Times" says he also knew back in 2008 there was a problem with the wait time data. That's when wait times being reported were unreliable and not to be trusted according to "Times." The president and his incoming team were briefed about it in that transitional period just before he took office. So while not exactly like our reporting in Arizona is certainly similar so that's the question. Why has it taken this so long to do anything about it?

COOPER: And just to be clear, there's no proof anyone in the White House knew specifically about the secret list in Phoenix ahead of your report?

GRIFFIN: No. But did the VA know about that in advance and more specifically did the VA leadership know about possible destruction of evidence of that list had existed. That we do know as investigators from the Office of the Inspector General have known about the Phoenix issue since last fall. An investigation was under way since last fall, and very recently there have been these allegations that evidence in that investigation was being destroyed. Today was the VA's deadline to respond to a congressional subpoena to turn over any evidence, e-mails or reports that discuss what was happening in Phoenix, material was delivered to Congress, Anderson. We don't know what's in it yet.

COOPER: And all this taking place while you say the investigations are actually expanding?

GRIFFIN: Yes. They are expanding. Let me remind you what the VA Secretary Eric Shinseki told the Senate last week about the allegations that VA hospitals under his control that try to hide the true wait times of veterans waiting for care. The allegation that the VA is cooking the books.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), CHAIRMAN, VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: In your judgment, based on what you know, are people, quote-unquote, cooking the books? Is that, in fact, a problem within the health care system?

ERIC SHINSEKI, VETERANS AFFAIRS SECRETARY: I'm not aware other than a number of isolated cases where there is evidence of that. But the fact that there's evidence in a couple of cases behooves us to go and take a thorough look.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Anderson, there are now inspector general investigations and/or allegations of manipulating wait times in at least 10 states. The latest Albuquerque, New Mexico, and now Gainesville, Florida, where CNN has confirmed three more health officials have been placed on administrative leave and then inspector general investigation is under way.

We had several whistleblowers who worked in the VA as clerks. They come forward telling us they were told to cook the books, hide actual wait times. The VA does operate 1700 medical facilities or clinics. That may be why General Shinseki thinks this is still isolated but to a lot of people it's looking more and more systemic and the problem is yet to be fixed -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Drew, appreciate the update. We'll continue on. Thanks.

Now another troubling first to a virus that looks like the common cold but kills roughly one in three people who catch it. But first American person-to-person transmission of MERS or Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome. The virus started on the Arabian Peninsula and possibly in camels, jumped to people two years ago and arrived here late last month.

Here's the good news, the first American patient survived so did the second. He's out of the hospital. The bad news, a third person has now tested positive for the virus and how he got it, that is raising serious concerns.

Here with the fact, chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

So, Sanjay, this new case of MERS apparently was passed just by a handshake. Does that change everything we think we know about this virus?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It could, Anderson. There's a couple of important caveats here but when we think about this virus only spreading through close contact, what we typically mean as health care workers or family members. People who have prolonged contact with a sick person.

What's, I think, very important to point out and you may have heard this is that this new case was someone who did not become ill, they weren't sick, they were screened because they had come in contact with someone that was known to have the infection. They didn't become ill themselves. And also they didn't find the virus in this third person's body. They found what are known as antibodies. Antibodies are sort of a clue that the virus had been there and the body had fought it off but they didn't find the virus itself.

So it -- what's interesting here, Anderson, is there could be a lot of people like this, who've been exposed to MERS, never got sick or got really mildly ill and as a result never visited their doctor. And that could potentially be good news. That might mean that this is not as serious or as deadly as we had thought.

COOPER: So what are the symptoms that signal someone could be infected?

GUPTA: It starts off looking very much like a cold. I mean, people may develop fever, some cough, difficulty with breathing. It can progress into more significant pulmonary, you know, respiratory problems and also kidney problems, and that seems to be what's causing death in about 30 percent of people who are documented to have died from this. But it's -- you know, again, you may have a broader spectrum. There could be people who just have a little bit of fever, little bit of cough, and then people who get really deathly ill.

COOPER: I mean, I read, though, that a third of the people who had contracted MERS that they have died you're saying that statistic may not tell the whole story.

GUPTA: This is interesting math. And this comes up in public health all the time. The first numbers that you hear with something like this hardly ever are the complete stories. So we crunch the numbers. About 614 people have documented infection, 180 have died. That's about 29 percent mortality. Scary number. But those are the people who got tested because they were sick and you know, that they were of concern.

If there's a lot more people out there, Anderson, who have been exposed to the MERS virus, but only had mild symptoms or no symptom at all maybe the denominator isn't 614, but it's 6,000 or even 60,000. If that's the case, 180 people have died, the mortality comes way down. And that -- we've seen that before, we've seen it with other viruses that we thought were far more deadly when we initially looked at them, but then we realized it's affected a lot more people many of whom didn't get sick or gotten just mildly sick.

COOPER: Well, you know, I was going to ask, how can people protect themselves, but from what you're saying, I mean, you don't want to give the sense that this is something everybody is going to come in contact with and therefore needs to protect themselves from. So what should people do if anything?

GUPTA: The basic rule still applies, you know, with regard to -- you know, you hear about this particular case, a sick person shook hands with somebody, and maybe as a result a person became infected. You know, the basics apply. Washing your hands, obviously, not touching your hands to your eyes, your nose, your mouth.

COOPER: What is it, singing "Happy Birthday" while washing your hands?

GUPTA: You're singing "Happy Birthday" twice.

COOPER: Twice. OK.

GUPTA: Twice. Just to make sure. You know, you've got to be doubly protected.

COOPER: All right. Sanjay, thanks very much.

GUPTA: You got it. Thank you.

COOPER: It's what I do all the time.

As always you can find out more on the story at CNN.com.

Up next some incredible video of a diver's close call with a great white shark. How he kept his cool. He had a speargun with him, though that's not much to fend off, you know, 14 to 15-foot great white shark. He joins me ahead to explain what happened.

Plus my own close encounter with great whites. And not by accident. (INAUDIBLE) water without cage to try to see these amazing predators up close. We'll show you that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Florida man faced down a great white shark caught it all with his Go-Pro camera. Just watching the video kind of gives you chills. Jimmy Roseman was spear-fishing off Florida's Vero Beach when the great white showed up. For two terrifying minutes, the shark circles him, getting closer and closer. At one point the shark smashed Roseman's air tank. That's how he first even knew the shark was there. (INAUDIBLE) disappeared and then came back.

He eventually managed to scare the shark away and escape. A very close call that easily could have turned out differently. Jimmy Roseman joins me tonight.

Jimmy, this video is remarkable. I want you to just kind of walk me through what happened. And I know you were down at the bottom, you were far away from the shore, you were about to begin spear fishing and a shark came up behind you and bit your air tank. Did you know immediately what had happened?

JIMMY ROSEMAN, FACED GREAT WHITE SHARK IN FLORIDA: Not immediately. I felt a thump and I heard that what I suspect is the teeth hitting the tank and it shot out in front of me. And I wasn't really sure how big a shark or what kind of a shark it was at that point. Until it came back at me. Then I knew right away it was a great white then. COOPER: And the visibility, doesn't look like you had great visibility here.

ROSEMAN: No. It was -- you know, we have an average of, you know, maybe 10 to 15-foot of vis where we dive about -- you know, out in our area. So it's -- you know, it was good for our vis.

(LAUGHTER)

COOPER: And I mean the -- I understand the shark, as you said it went away, came back about eight minutes or so later. And I see you're pointing your spear gun, I mean, you're trying to keep it in front of -- between you and the shark which is obviously, I guess, a wise thing to do. You poked it several times. Did you get the sense that it was aggressive or just curious?

ROSEMAN: Well, once I poked it a few times. You know, I've had other shark encounters and you poke them, you know, with different types of shark and they leave right away. I noticed this one didn't want to leave. It kept getting more aggressive. So there at the last I really hit it pretty hard and it left long enough for me to get away and get to the surface. So I was glad about that.

COOPER: It's -- I mean -- I've gone diving a couple of times for stories with great whites off cape town and visibility was really low and there's nothing creepier than suddenly seeing an enormous great white come out of the shadows, essentially. What was that feeling like?

ROSEMAN: It was overwhelming, you know, like you said, 15 feet away and it appears right on you. In most of this video it's only six or seven feet away from me. So, yes I was more worried how I was going to get to the surface. I knew I had plenty of oxygen left because I just got down there. So I was grateful that he did decide to leave after I poked him pretty hard that last time.

COOPER: I under you went diving again later that day. A lot of people might be like I'll take a couple of days off.

ROSEMAN: When I got to the surface and told my friend what I had seen and told the story and everything we loaded up everything and we ran about three or four miles down the reef and dove the rest of the day and we didn't see any more sharks that day.

COOPER: As you're exiting, you know, you get back in your boat and your feet are still in the water. Was there a moment I need to get in the boat as quickly as possible?

ROSEMAN: Yes, I can promise you that was the fastest I've gotten to the surface at that depth. That's what I was bothered. When I was hiding behind the rock you got a little bit of protection. He's not going to come from underneath it or behind the rock at you. When you're going up he can come from any direction. So that's what I was more worried about.

COOPER: Did you think at any point of actually firing your spear gun? ROSEMAN: Right there at the end you can see it comes around right before I hit at any time hard the last time. You can see me reach up and start to unhook my line from my shaft in case I had to shoot it. But it returned on me too fast and I had to hit it that last time. I hit him as hard as I could and I actually seen the tip go into the shark this time and that's when it took off long enough for me to get away.

COOPER: I guess a spear gun wouldn't do all that much to a 14 or 15- foot long shark.

ROSEMAN: Yes. That was going through my mind too. It's not going to do nothing, but hopefully it scares him enough.

COOPER: When I went diving with sharks the expert told me I should project confidence. How do you project confidence through a wet suit, a snorkel and a Google and all that? I guess you were projecting confidence.

ROSEMAN: Yes. Don't let him be the winner, I guess.

COOPER: I'm glad you're OK and amazing video. Thank you so much for sharing with us.

ROSEMAN: You're welcome. Thank you very much.

COOPER: Having dived with great whites off South Africa, I can tell you it is inspiring and terrifying at the same time. What was it like when I got in the water?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: What do I need to do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't make false moments. What we are is the same as a jackal at a lion feed.

COOPER: We're the jackal at a lion feed. They will let us be there as long as we don't interfere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't grab a bone and run away.

COOPER: The water is filled with chump, fish parts and blood and a number of sharks are already circling the boat. So it's time to go. To get to the bottom I climb into a cage, which is lowered about 20 feet to the ocean floor. Mike is already there scouting for any sharks. Then he signals for me to swim out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Before the break, I talked to Jimmy Roseman about his close call with the great white shark off Florida's coast while he was spear fishing. That's what in set off to do off of South Africa's coast. You heard of cage diving where diver is protected by a metal cage. That's not what we chose to do. It was an incredible experience.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Preparing to swim with great white sharks without a cage produces two reactions. First is fear. Hard to believe you're about to actually do this. The second reaction is a surge of adrenaline. Mike knows that better than anyone. He's dived with great wide receiver without a cage hundreds of time and once caught a ride on a great white's dorsal fin. He insists they are top predators, but not the man eating machine so often portrayed in movies. We decided to take him up on his offer to dive with the sharks without a cage to see the great whites in their natural state.

(on camera): What do I need to know before going down?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't make false moments. We're jackal at a lion feed. As long as the jackal behaves he doesn't get killed.

COOPER: We're the jackal at a lion feed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly.

COOPER: They will let us be there as long as we don't interfere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't grab a bone and run away.

COOPER (voice-over): The water is filled with chump, fish parts and blood and a number of sharks are already circling the boat. So it's time to go. To get to the bottom, I climb into a cage which is lowered about 20 feet to the ocean floor. Mike is already there scouting for any sharks. Then he signals for me to swim out. Almost immediately my weight belt falls off, struggling with that is the last thing you want to be doing around great whites.

The current is really strong and Mike has me hold on to a rock to stay in place. Visibility is low. But then suddenly the sharks come in to view. It's clear they see us, but they are keeping their distance, gliding by slowly, gracefully. It's remarkable to see them like this, to be so exposed to an animal that's so feared.

Mike warned me they don't like the sound of air bubbles and told me to hold my breath when they got near. Truth be told, I was breathing so fast, holding my breath is almost impossible. At one point there are four different sharks swimming around us. It's important to stay alert, but after a while I'm also able to appreciate the beauty, the power of these animals.

Widely hunted, universally despised, capable of such destruction and yet when you see them like this not lunging after bait, but simply gliding through the water you see them in a different way. You understand there is more to them than we know. We stay down for more than 30 minutes until our oxygen nearly runs out. Never seen anything like it. It's amazing. That was great. Thank you.

(on camera): You get a totally different scene of them seeing them like that versus from a cage where they are attacking a piece of bait. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are just being sharks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: More breaking news. Moments ago, L.A. Clippers owner, Donald Sterling, responded through his lawyer. We have details on that ahead. Later raw data that focused the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 could soon become public.

And Raymond Lewis is half of a duo and half of a mother-son duo trying to change the world. They have started a project called the 30-30 project. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Breaking news, confirmation Donald Sterling will fight hard to keep the L.A. Clippers or that's what they are saying now. At the top of the program NBA notified him they are seeking to terminate his owner rights. Sterling has responded through his attorney. The attorney demanding the league give sterling three months to answer the charges against him. The NBA declined comment on that want demand. We'll follow this in the days ahead.

Now for the first time, Ryan Lewis, one half of the hip hop duo of Macklemore & Lewis is speaking out about a personal challenge his family has been dealing with for decades. His mother is living with HIV. They have started the 30-30 Project to build health centers worldwide that will stand strong for 30 years. I spoke with Julie and Ryan Lewis about the project and what the diagnosis did to their family 30 years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Producer, musician, artist, these are the titles that describe Ryan Lewis, one half of the rap group, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. Number one single, magazine covers, four Grammy Awards and sold out concerts. The future seems bright for the 26-year-old Lewis, but right now he's reviewing the description he holds dearest, grateful son.

RYAN LEWIS, PRODUCER: A huge part of what has made me who I am is something I haven't talked about.

COOPER: Until now, meet Julie Lewis. She's Ryan's mom. She's also HIV positive.

COOPER (on camera): You were infected with a blood transfusion.

JULIE LEWIS: Yes.

COOPER: By the time you found out you had three kids.

(voice-over): The birth of her first daughter in 1984 was a difficult one. Julie needed a blood transfusion. It wasn't until six years later and two more kids that she found out she was infected.

(on camera): What was the initial reaction? What was your initial diagnosis? What did the doctors tell you?

JULIE LEWIS: My initial reaction was -- actually I relieved it was only me that was infected because every person in my family needed to be tested. The first question they asked me do you have a living will and are your things in order. I'm 32 and I'm like, what 32-year-old has a living will. One that's going to die.

RYAN LEWIS: We're about 5 minutes from the house that I grew up in as a kid.

COOPER (voice-over): Ryan was only 6 years old when he learned about his mom's condition.

(on camera): Did you know, did you one at age 6?

RYAN LEWIS: I was 6. I think I understood that my mom was sick, and that she could die and I think for a 6-year-old that's kind of fearful enough. I was the only one in my family that was young enough that I was kind oblivious to the stigma. I told the class. My teacher called my mom.

JULIE LEWIS: Ryan is sharing special information today. Life threatening diseases like HIV/AIDS can be managed. What people need --

COOPER (voice-over): When Julie was first infected there wasn't a life-saving medication there is now. Thanks to that medicine she's still going strong 30 years later. That's ten times longer than doctors originally expected. To celebrate Ryan and his mother have launched the 30-30 project with the goal of building 30 medical centers worldwide that will sustain for 30 years to come. The first project is in Southeast Africa. For Ryan this project isn't just celebrating his mom, but also a chance to use his fame for good.

RYAN LEWIS: For me personally to hop on board and be the amazing success and blessings in my life to pull off something like this, the 30/30 Project is awesome.

COOPER: Through the 30/30 Project Ryan and Julie have connected with old friends.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to ensure this project comes to life.

COOPER: As well as made new ones.

RYAN LEWIS: I got a message two days ago somebody was diagnosed a week ago. Just wondering what to do. Would love to talk to your mom. I have no idea what to do.

JULIE LEWIS: I have responded to almost every one of those that we've gotten. Figure out where they came from.

COOPER: Julie couldn't be prouder of her son's achievement, but in the Lewis family Ryan isn't the only success story.

COOPER: You must be very proud of your mom. RYAN LEWIS: Absolutely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: For more information and to donate go to 30/30project.org. We have a link on our web site, ac360.com. Let's get caught up on some of the other stories we are following. Susan Hendricks has a 360 Bulletin -- Susan.

SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A Mississippi man who received a pardon from former Governor Haley Barber pleaded guilty to manslaughter. It stems from a deadly shooting incident last year. Previously he was granted clemency from a conviction of selling marijuana.

Malaysia's government wants the raw satellite data used in the search for Flight 370 to be released to the public. That would allow for independent analysis so it's asking Inmarsat to make it available. The plane disappeared on March 8th with 239 people on board.

California Chrome will run in the Belmont Stakes next month and attempt to win horse racing's Triple Crown. New York racing officials lifted ban on horses wearing nasal breathing strips. He has already won the Kentucky derby and Preakness.

See this selfie. It's gone viral. Here's why San Marcos, California firefighter snapped a photo of himself and other firefighters to show his wife and kids he's OK. The firefighters are part of the team battling wildfires in Southern California. You can really see how exhausted they are in the background.

COOPER: Their efforts are incredible, the kind of equipment they have to lug up there up these hills and mountains. It's incredible the work they do.

HENDRICKS: The selfie is telling his wife and three kids I'm OK. You see the hard work they are doing.

COOPER: Susan, thanks very much. Dallas morning show goes off the rail. "The Ridiculist" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Time now for the ridiculous. If you're not in the Dallas area you were missing out on a spectacular morning show called "The Broadcast." Last week they veered away from Springtime pizza and how to slim in on your fat pets to weigh in on this. Michael Sam kissing his boyfriend. Now to say that this bitterly divided the all- important demographic of ladies in Dallas knock off of the view is an understatement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why am I not allowed the say it offends you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It comes off as being racist towards homosexuals.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Race.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the problem.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can't say what you feel without being persecuted. If it doesn't go along with mainstream.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: There's more. If you happen to be playing predictable excuse, get ready to mark some boxes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In a moment of celebration for something very exciting to happen to him because he worked his butt off and now we're beating him up --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't call it a moment of celebration.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Attacking people --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here's the thing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hold up. Why aren't you calling that a moment of celebration. You didn't feel that was a moment of celebration.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. Here's the thing. Here's the thing. It's being pushed in faces.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kissing his wife --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would have said get a room. My turn. Here's the thing, ESPN would not have aired any of it had he been kissing his wife.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was an opportunity to make news.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I think we are making a mountain out of a mole hill.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was an opportunity to make news.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I agree.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Period.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: The one who is air quote upset got so flustered she ended up storming off the set, but not before she got in some more homophobic points.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When parents don't have a choice whether or not they want their children to see this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Amy that's been taken criticism. She has every right to express her opinion. She wants us to think of the children and she has a point. If we don't take action TV could become a free for all replete with half naked men and indiscriminate kissing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ticket are still available. You can take home a calendar. Stay tuned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. She was kissing strippers and didn't even know them. It's not like two guys who are in love or anything. Look, I get a lot of people in the country agreeing with her and that's their prerogative. It will take time. Nearly half of those surveyed thought it was inappropriate for networks to show the Michael Sam kiss.

To Amy's argument nobody shows football players kissing their wives or girlfriends that's not true and I don't think she's being honest when she wouldn't want to see that either or get a room. Uncomfortable seeing some kind of affection why not say that and leave the excuses about why you're uncomfortable where they belong on "The Ridiculist."

That does it for us. We'll see you one hour from now. We'll see you again one hour from now 11 p.m. Eastern. Another edition of 360. Anthony Bourdain "PARTS UNKNOWN" starts right now.