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BP Ordered to Change Dispersant; Oil Spill's Deep Impact on Environment, World; Website Helps Track Those Who Lie About Military Service

Aired May 21, 2010 - 10:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A look now at our other top stories.

A major financial reform package is a step closer to being signed into law. The senate has passed its version. Now a conference committee must merge it with a House-passed version. The Senate measure includes a new agency aimed at stopping unfair practices in consumer loans and credit cards.

And Toyota is recalling thousands of Lexus LS luxury cars in Japan because of a computer problem with the model's steering system. A similar recall will soon be ordered in the U.S. affecting about 4,000 cars here. Toyota officials say there have been several complaints about the glitch. No accidents have yet been reported, however.

And Thailand's prime minister today announced that order has been restored in his country after days of street battles. Police have begun patrolling streets of the capital to keep the peace. The prime minister also said that there would be an independent investigation of what went on during the anti-government protests. At least 50 people have been killed in the last few weeks of the demonstrations.

And earlier estimates on the amount of oil coming from that Gulf of Mexico oil gusher apparently very wrong. BP now admits the leak is much worse than they thought. A pipe inserted into the broken well this week is pumping out 210,000 gallons a day. That was the original estimate for the total spewing into the gulf. The actual amount could be several times that.

The White House is ordering BP to release all of its findings on the massive oil leak and that includes information on the cleanup, the investigation and environmental tests. And the EPA is now telling BP to change the chemical dispersants being used. The government agency wants BP to choose something less toxic.

Congressman Edward Markey says the problem stems from BP being allowed to choose the chemicals. He's the chairman of the House Energy and Environmental committee. Markey talked about the dispersant problem earlier on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Who should have seen to the congressman that they were not allowed to make that decision because now we have a month out, the EPA is saying stop using it and start using this other one that you ordered three weeks ago. Why is it just happening now?

REP. EDWARD MARKEY (D-MA), CHAIRMAN, SELECT COMMITTEE ON ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND GLOBAL WARMING: Well there was an approved list of chemicals, but when I saw the chemicals that were on that list I wrote a letter to the EPA. I asked them to create a new formula that did, in fact, ensure that it was the least toxic and most effective chemical and as a result they have now announced that BP only has 72 hours to come up with a new strategy for the dispersant which they are going to use and it will be something which is dramatically lower in terms of its toxicity.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's get more on these dispersants. Joining me now on the phone is Peter Hodson, a biology and environmental studies professor at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario.

Thanks for being with us on the phone. Peter or Professor, give me an idea, what is your gut feeling about dispersants in general? Do you believe that they are helpful or are they mostly harmful?

PROF. PETER HODSON, BIOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, QUEENS UNIVERSITY (via telephone): Well, good morning, Fredricka. Dispersants, I think, can be very helpful in certain circumstances, but their widespread use is not very common so this particular circumstance in the gulf is very new one. I don't recall any previous spill in which this much dispersant has been used.

WHITFIELD: And is that changed, to you, the biggest problem, the volume of dispersant being used?

HODSON: Yes. The trade off when you use dispersants is THAT you're saving resources on the surface. You look at the risk to birds and so on, and decide OK, if we disperse the oil under the water that we can protect those resources. The problem is you don't know what's under the water. There's risk to fish and other aquatic species. And you can't see that and you have much less appreciation of what the risk is.

WHITFIELD: So why wouldn't that assessment be made in the very beginning?

HODSON: Well, it has to be an ongoing assessment and it requires a very detailed knowledge of what the resources are and what keys species are coming and going and so on. This is a very difficult thing to do and this is why using it continuously I think poses a greater risk to the environment than just a small episodic use.

WHITFIELD: So our best understanding is reportedly the type of dispersants that BP has been using and the largest volume has been the corexit and this is the same type that is approved for use there in Canada. HODSON: Yes. It never has been used. I think it requires special approval for each occasion, but there are stockpiles in Canada that can be used if needed.

WHITFIELD: So if the corexit, is the type that BP is using right now is too toxic and the EPA is saying use other dispersants that are less toxic, is there much to choose from?

HODSON: That's a good question. There's a lot out there, they're really old historical ones were very, very toxic. Corexit was developed as a very much improved version of one that was originally used. I think simply saying you should go out and use one that is less harmful is a pretty tall order. It takes a lot of research and development to come out with a good quality product that meets all the requirements and it's not clear to me that those are necessarily on the shelf at the moment.

WHITFIELD: Professor Peter Hodson, biology and environmental studies professor at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario. Thanks so much for your time and expertise.

HODSON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: One Marine expert says the dispersant and the oil have turned the ocean floor into an environmental minefield and he said the danger is unlike anything that we've ever seen before. Hear his warning for yourself in about 10 minutes from now.

And on Wall Street right now, a new trading day is under way, but nagging fears will likely mean another wild day. The Dow up just about 12 points right there. CNN's Christine Romans is at the New York Stock Exchange.

What are the biggest fears today?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, geez. First, we were down 100 points in the Dow in the first one minute, right, and then the stock market was up and then it was down a little bit and then it's up and in the immortal words of my producer, David here, what a loopy morning already. And it is.

It has been loopy for a couple of weeks. Some big down turn yesterday, some 376 points now and a lot of indecision and choppy trading this morning. The fears are Europe and Europe's sovereign debt crisis. Can Europe get its house in order or will this be some sort of a domino effect to for the four-year low in the euro to some sort of worldwide pullback in the economic recovery we've seen, and also a lot of talk this morning about Wall Street reform.

As Wall Street reform gets rolled out you have a Senate version of Wall Street reform and a House version that has to be hammered together. They have to be signed into law by the president and then they have a year to be rolled out for some of the consumer protection angles of this. What is it ultimately going to look like and what is it going to do for our money, your money and the bank's money? Wall Street reform, Fredricka, is something that will affect your money longer term than what's happening right there on that board right now. I want to be very clear about that. This is the biggest regulatory change that consumers will feel since the Great Depression, quite frankly in the past 70 years. Your mortgage paperwork will likely look very, very different a year or two from now than it looks today. It will be simpler. There will be more disclosures and also those pre-payment penalties for people who get subprime loans. Those are likely going to go away.

How you use your ATM and debit cards and the fees attached to those. This new consumer protection agency will have the power to put pretty strict restrictions on what you can be charged for your ATM and for your, you know, overdraft charges for your debit card. And you would get a free credit score to go along with you free credit history if you are denied a loan for that reason. So you're going to have more information and that's one part of Wall Street reform that is something that you will probably feel in the next maybe year or two, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Christine Romans, thanks so much, in New York.

All right. Meantime, there's a new terror threat against the United States to tell you about. A U.S. official tells CNN that there is strong reason to believe that Pakistani Taliban is plotting attacks against targets in the U.S. and against American interests overseas. The official says the intelligence information came from a number of sources including Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad. That information did not specify which cities or sites however are being targeted potentially.

All right. The White House is looking at possible candidates now to become the new director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blaire resigned from the post yesterday, apparently under pressure. A source tells CNN the White House was, "just not comfortable with this guy" because he, "speaks truth to power."

Another possible clue to Blair's resignation came earlier this week and that was the highly critical congressional report about intelligence failures linked to the botched Christmas day airliner bombing attempt.

All right, insurgents who attacked Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan were wearing U.S. Army-style battle fatigue uniforms. A U.S. military official could not say whether the uniforms were stolen. U.S. military-style items are available on the internet, however and 16 of the attackers and the U.S. contractor were killed on Wednesday.

California hillsides, up in flames. A huge wildfire burns dangerously close to homes once again and fire fighters are facing quite the challenge.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, the wind is certainly not helping the situation. We'll have more on the fires out west and plus stormy weather in the southeast. Your forecast is coming right up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Jacqui Jeras in the weather center. We talked briefly that, you know, we got some nasty wildfires already taking place in the state of California. Here we go again and this time very close to some homes.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Just to add to your big take. All right. Jacqui, thank you.

All right. Of course, we're keeping a close eye on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as well. We'll go live to the largest aquarium in the world to talk to a marine expert and he says this disaster will be unlike anything we've ever seen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A thick ooze is washing up along Louisiana's coast from the oil spill. This is what it looks like in Jefferson Parish. Right here, oil from that broken pipe is coating the beaches and reaching some marshlands as well. The thick, gooey, pudding-like consistency. They've laid booms and build temporary land bridges to try to protect areas but it is still hard to gauge just how bad it is going to get.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS ROBERTS, JEFFERSON PARISH COUNCIL: One of the questions we have is that is the dispersant actually just masking the oil which is causing it to be below the surface and more difficult to predict where it may end up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Our next guest paints a frightening image of the disaster that we may be facing. He worked on the worst oil spill in history and says this one could be even worse in so many ways. Much of the oil is sinking to the ocean floor and that could have profound effects from the bottom of the food chain all of the way to the top.

Dr. Greg Bossart is the chief veterinary officer at the Georgia Aquarium here at Atlanta. Good to see you, Dr. Bossart.

DR. GREG BOSSART, CHIEF VETERINARY OFFICER, GEORGIA AQUARIUM: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: How do you compare this to the oil spill that you worked on?

BOSSART: Well, we have to understand this oil spill is unique. And because of its uniqueness it's very challenging to predict. Most oil spills especially the largest one that I worked are surface phenomenon. They happen at the surface and they're finite. They go for a certain period and stop. This is a completely different animal. This is a sub-surface phenomena, that is actually a huge enormous glob of shape shifting oil that is constantly changing and continuing to be fed. It's not finite. It continues. So we have this oil that is changing shape and size from the surface all the way to a mile to the bottom and that's going to impact the entire ecosystem and it will impact the plankton all the way to the sperm whales.

WHITFIELD: OK. (inaudible) can we talked about the surface and we just saw our Rob Marciano, who was reporting from Gulfport, Mississippi, who talked about the concern that many have for the whale shark. This is, you know, an animal that likes to feed on the surface from plankton, as you mentioned to the eggs of fish.

Give me an idea how this oil spill mostly jeopardizes the well- being of that sort of animal?

BOSSART: Well, certainly whale sharks as you see behind us here at the aquarium, they're filter feeders and they have very exquisite filtering apparatus us and if it gets fouled with oil they won't be able to eat and even more importantly if their gills get covered with oil they won't be able to breathe.

So the potential impact for whale sharks is there where we're potentially seeing some sea turtles issues and some of our research here shows that oil is very detrimental to the health of sea turtles. We are not seeing the classic poster animals that we usually see with oil spills like thousands of oil-soaked birds but again, this is a sub-surface phenomena and because of that it is more subtle, but it even has - even in my opinion, more profound effects.

WHITFIELD: Well, when you talk about not being able to see kind of the poster animals. We do know when we look at these images right here, the brown pelican of Louisiana, particularly it is one that dives for its fish and clearly, if it it's diving through that surface oil as you described, it wouldn't be able to emerge and take flight at all.

BOSSART: Right. The plunge divers like pelican will be impacted by the surface oil. They're going to be covered with oil, and birds covered with oil, they can't regulate their body temperatures.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Why are we not seeing it in great volume right now? What's your view as to why we're not seeing these pelicans in great volume? There have been some reports of at least one that's been found dead, covered in oil. There have been others that have been scrubbed, but why is it, in great volume, a month after this spill we're not seeing more of this, like after the "Exxon Valdez?"

BOSSART: Well, quite simply because the oil is below the surface. These animals are impacted when they go to the surface of the oil because of the way the oil's been mitigated through dispersants, through booms. The surface animals are not being impacted as much as they have been in past oil spills. WHITFIELD: Now, you talk about the oil that is submerged, the oil that is at the bottom, at the base of the gulf, 5,000 feet below. Dispersants have been used to actually try to break up the oil and then you find some clumps of oil that kind of descend to the bottom. How does that interrupt the marine life?

BOSSART: Well, it impacts the marine ecosystem from really the bottom of the food chain all the way up. It impacts the plankton and these whale sharks behind me eat all of the way up to the fishes and other things that the great whales eat. So you're having a profound impact on the entire ecosystem.

WHITFIELD: Dr. Greg Bossart, thanks so much at the Georgia Aquarium here in Atlanta. Thanks for your time and your expertise.

BOSSART: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And of course, if you want to watch the live feed of the gulf oil spill go to cnn.com. There's a live streaming footage from a mile below the surface is available from cnn.com live, as long as the stream is there, we will be able to put it there on the web site so that you can see it as well.

All right. Checking top stories right now. North and south Korea going back and forth with the harsh words. The North has threatened to back out of a non-aggression pact. The south claims the north has violated the truce between the two nations. Tensions heated up when the south accused the north of sinking one of its war ships.

The evidence against the north is overwhelming and condemning. Those are the words of secretary of state Hillary Clinton. She is actually on tour of Asia right now. South Korea is on her itinerary.

And U.S. defense secretary Robert Gates says if a new defense bill, has projects that are not needed, he will urge President Obama to veto it. Gates was declaring war on wasteful spending at the Pentagon. There are at least two aircraft projects that he says would waste hundreds of millions of dollars.

And it sounds like science fiction, but it's apparently science fact. Researchers say maybe they've created the first man-made cell. We'll tell you what this all means in less than two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A new era may be dawning both in science and the debate over whether man has gone too far. Scientists in Maryland say that they have created a living cell and it is powered by man-made DNA. They call it the world's first synthetic cell. It's a significant milestone for both ethical and medical reasons. Those in support of this development say it could lead to new fuels, faster vaccines and even ways to clean pollution.

A possible breakthrough in diagnosing ovarian cancer, a disease that kills thousands of women every year. Researchers say a simple blood test, followed by an ultrasound exam found deadly tumors before they caused symptoms.

Women with ovarian cancer often experience symptoms only when the disease is too advanced to treat. There currently is no effective screening tool. The new study confirms that early results of a much larger study under way in England, actually.

Actually, catching phony veterans. A two-tour Vietnam vet pledges to uphold the records of America's true service members.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Connecticut Democrats today are expected to endorse Richard Blumenthal for a U.S. Senate seat despite a controversy surrounding his military service. The Connecticut attorney general has been trying to refocus attention on his political campaign.

Earlier this week, "The New York Times" reported Blumenthal had repeatedly distorted his record saying that he had served in Vietnam as opposed to during Vietnam. In an interview with the "Associated Press," Blumenthal said he's aware of the national debate over his acknowledgement and he misspoke in claiming more than once that he served in Vietnam. But he did go on to say, that he dismissed the furor as a matter of a few misplaced words.

All right, Richard Blumenthal did serve stateside in the Marine reserves, but the number of Americans who outright lie about serving is quite shocking. Doug Sterner started his Home of Heroes website to have a database of the men and women who have served our country in the U.S. military. And as time has gone on, Sterner has said that his website has taken on another role as kind of a gatekeeper, catching hundreds of phony vets out there.

Two-tour Vietnam veteran Doug Sterner, joining us now from Washington. Good to see you.

DOUG STERNER, TWO-TOUR VIETNAM VETERAN: Good morning, it's good to be here.

WHITFIELD: So, Mr. Sterner, why did you take it upon yourself to do this?

STERNER: Well, my work has been primarily to preserve the stories of America's real heroes, but in the process of that, I keep finding myself stumbling over the phonies, the people that make the false claims and that has to be addressed.

WHITFIELD: So, do people bring it to your attention? Is it the issue of someone is running for office? This person becomes very public, and then you decide to start doing a little research? How does it quite evolve?

STERNER: Well, it started by people sending me a citation, "This is my uncle. Silver star citation, please add him to your database." And it would prove to be false. And as my work with this has expanded, it's now gotten to the point that when someone across the country suspects that a claim is false, they will e-mail that information to me.

In fact, just a week ago I received an e-mail from the commander of the U.S. military group in Ecuador involving a man down there falsely claiming to be a three-star Marine general. That's raised some concerns down there, and it could have international implications.

WHITFIELD: Wait a minute. So, the U.S. military and other installations are reaching out to you to discover someone's legitimacy. Why do you suppose they're reaching out to you for that as opposed to U.S. installations doing that on their own?

STERNER: Well, because there is no existing database of the individuals who have received military awards other than the Medal of Honor, and I've had e-mails from CentCom trying to verify someone who is a distinguished Service Cross recipient. Maybe they wanted to name a facility for that individual. I've received e-mail from politicians.

We've actually had four questions come in to us on politicians in the current cycle, two of which proved to be correct. The individuals were what they claimed to be. The other two, including Blumenthal, proved to be false.

WHITFIELD: So, the majority of the time, are people who they claim to be?

STERNER: You know, we've got Memorial Day coming up in another ten days, and there are two things I can tell you about this Memorial Day. The first one is wherever there is a gathering, there will be people in the audience that will look at veterans and say "I wonder if he or she really served in the military or are they as phony as Blumenthal." And it's a shame that that suspicion should be leveled on any veteran.

But the other thing I'll tell you about Memorial Day, and the saddest part about it is in all too many cases, that individual will be a phony.

WHITFIELD: And are you -- are you -- I guess a little surprised that when people do reach out to you, whether it's to find out if their uncle or their loved one served or received X, Y, Z award, are you surprised that perhaps sometimes even the family is taken aback or don't know that their loved one may not have been completely truthful?

STERNER: In the early days, I was surprised and in the interim days, I was more saddened and surprised only at the prevalence of it. Today, I'm no longer surprised by anything.

There was a story that was just reported this morning of an individual who married a young girl who thought she was marrying a highly decorated Marine in the global war on terrorism. This Marine got into the United States Army in February of this year. They waived any training and made him a sergeant. He could be a squad leader, leading troops in Afghanistan, and the fact of the matter is his DD214 showing his four years in the Marine corps is totally bogus. This man has never served in the military prior to this year.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right. Doug Sterner, thanks so much. Pretty incredible database that you have going. Homeofheroes.com. Thanks for your time.

STERNER: Well, thank you. And thank you for staying on this.

WHITFIELD: Let's take a look at the Big Board right now and your money and what's happening. The Dow has been a roller coaster ride all morning long since it opened. The markets opened about an hour ago. Now, the Dow down 39 points. We'll have the latest from Wall Street in a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. A look at our top stories right now.

Just minutes from now, President Obama pushes ahead with a a green agenda. He'll outline his vision for cleaner, more efficient vehicles. The presidential memorandum outlines the next steps to achieve that goal.

And then to Thailand, where government officials say the uprising has been crushed and peace has been restored. A rapid response team of police and civilian officials will patrol the streets to prevent new protests, and a dusk-to-dawn curfew will be enforced throughout the weekend.

And as more oil seeps into the marshes of southeast Louisiana, a BP executive says the gushing pipeline could be shut down by next week, they're saying. BP says if they are not successful at plugging the pipe with liquids, there are two other options ready to go.

Kevin Costner wants to help BP clean the oil spill. It seems he is not just an actor. He is an inventor as well, and Jimmy Kimmel just couldn't resist this story last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": Congratulations to the BP oil spill. Turned a-month-old today. It still isn't potty trained, unfortunately.

Apparently, BP has been getting thousands of ideas from the public on how to try to stop the leak or clean the leak up. Some inventors are complaining that their not being listened to. Their suggestions have been ignored. I guess they've received more than 10,000 suggestions already, like, and probably 9,980 of them are terrible.

But they got one from Kevin Costner, of all people. Apparently Kevin Costner invested more than $24 million to develop a centrifuge that he says can separate the oil from the water. Which would be great, but didn't he already spend $175 million on "Water World"? He loves throwing money into the ocean.

(APPLAUSE)

KIMMEL: But how great would it be, really? How excellent would it be if Kevin Costner stopped the oil spill?

(APPLAUSE)

KIMMELL: It would be like -- it would be like Bruce Willis really stopping an asteroid headed for planet earth. Don't worry about the oil spill, we have "Bull Durham" here to clean it up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: We thought you might need a little comic relief and a reminder of what took place last night, maybe while you were sleeping.

And this reminder, if you want to watch the live feed of the Gulf oil spill, go to CNN.com. And the live streaming footage from a mile below the surface is available from CNN.com live and as long as the stream is on video, we'll keep it up as well so you can see exactly what's happening as it pertains to the Gulf oil spill.

All right. Slipping through the window to steal prized paintings in Paris. Art thieves had a rather easy time getting in, thanks to a broken security system.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Another day of market mayhem. The Dow plunged by nearly 400 points yesterday, and there was another bout of selling at the open today. Stephanie Elam is in New York keeping track of all of the moves.

Stephanie, things aren't looking so bad right now, are they? Where are you? Where is Stephanie?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm here!

WHITFIELD: A-ha! There she is.

ELAM: I'm here.

WHITFIELED: You're right there in New York. So it's going up, it's going down, and when last we checked, it seemed like it was rebounding a little bit.

ELAM: Yes, and we are in the green, Fred, right now even though it may be like this much above the flat line. So, basically what all this means based on the a day like yesterday and what we're seeing today, volatility is still the name of the game.

The Dow did fall 150 points earlier today, dropping below 10,000, and then it managed to any back a bit here. There's still a lot of fear about this debt crisis in Europe, but there are some positive things that are helping out today. For one thing, Germany's parliament approved its share of the $1 trillion rescue plan in Europe. That's actually a big deal because Germany is one of the largest contributors to the bailout, and the value of the euro is rising today. And that's a good sign for the global economy.

So, if you take a look at where we stand now, let's just take a picture. A little snapshot, if you will.

WHITFIELD: OK.

ELAM: The dow is on the upside by 16 points, 10, 085. And NASDAQ on the upside by eight points at 2,212. It's not exactly, like, let's go get the confetti and throw a party, but we're looking a little better than yesterday.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Just a little encouragement. We'll take a little bit of encouragement and baby steps of time. That's all right.

So, explain this whole correction. What is this correction all about or that the market is correcting itself? Explain.

ELAM: Right. Okay, so this is a good thing to discuss because people are saying this word a lot today, and people may be wondering what we're talking about.

So, a correction is when you have a drop of 10 percent from the recent high. The Dow and the S&P 500, they dropped to that point yesterday. The NASDAQ was already there. Corrections are very common. They're not unusual things, but they do tend to make investors nervous about the chance of a larger sell-off, but you what?

Here's the thing. Not everyone will say a correction is a bad thing, and that's because the stock market has been on a fast and furious rise since last year. The Dow is up more than 50 percent from that beginning of the change, which is really March 9, 2009. And a rise that fast could just mean that the market was overheated.

So, the correction cools things down a bit before they get out of control. It doesn't mean that all is over and everything is lost. It does not mean that. It's just sort of a marker that we can see that perhaps things have changed here a bit, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Stephanie Elam. Thank goodness we have you to explain all of this to us, because I won't remember all of that. I'll just call on you when I need another explainer or that.

ELAM: Just call me. And I'll just pop up inside here.

WHITFIELD: I know! You'll just pop up somewhere. I'll find you.

Stephanie Elam. Thank you very much.

ELAM: All right. WHITFIELD: OK. A broken security system made it easier for a thief or thieves to make off with more than $100 million worth of prized paintings from Paris' Museum of Modern Art. Police in Paris are searching for suspects, but admit if they simply don't know if it was the work of one person or perhaps even a gang.

What they do know is five paintings were cut out of their frames. One of them included a Picasso, but one security expert said it would be hard to find a buyer for those stolen goods.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT WITTMAN, FORMER FBI ART CRIME TEAM FOUNDER: I never saw the collector who would hide their famous painting. Now, I saw people who stole, and they were collectors, and they stole smaller pieces. But never these million-dollar art works, and the reason for that is twofold.

First of all, to buy that on the black market, generally speaking, thieves are asking for about a 10 percent premium. That's what they want, about 10 percent. That's where they start negotiation. On a $10 million painting, that's $1 million. People who have that type of financial wherewithal, they're not going to buy stolen paintings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. So, the motion detector in the museum had been broken for two months. Now, you wonder why those thieves took such a risk if it may not have as much value. By the way, there were guards at the museum. And the cameras were working at the time of the theft, but apparently they weren't looking.

All right. A veteran who comes back from war and goes off to college. It happens all of the time, right? Well, one veteran working on his degree took a little bit longer to go from the service to school. He got back from war around 1945.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Making their mark this week. A war vet who's going back to school. It's part of his plan to help others who've served. But he's not your traditional student. He's got a little more experience than you'd expect.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He's a husband, a father, a grandfather, and a war hero. But retirement is not in the cards.

JACK SLOTNIK, 84-YEAR-OLD FRESHMAN: Well, you can make a profession of deciding where to go for breakfast, and you read the local newspaper and one day runs into another day. So that's not for me.

WHITFIELD: So now at 84 years of age, Jack Slotnik is doing something else.

SLOTNIK: Look at that campus. I don't know how anybody learns anything.

WHITFIELD: Going to college. After passing by Lynn University's campus for years, he decided to attend as a freshman.

SLOTNIK: Good morning.

WHITFIELD: His war experience got him to stay. Christmas Eve 1944, the SS Leopoldville was torpedoed by the Germans just off France. Nearly 800 of his fellow GIs died while Jack, a young private first class, floated in the cold water waiting for help.

SLOTNIK: When I got fished up, I was stiff as a board they told me. I was in the water almost two hours. So I'm very lucky, I guess, to be here.

WHITFIELD: He served two additional years in combat, but says survivor's guilt plagued him for decades. So he decided to major in psychology, hoping he can eventually counsel returning vets.

SLOTNIK: Unless you've been a soldier, you really can't relate to a soldier. In World War II, the GI knew he faced an enemy. He wore a different uniform. It was pretty obvious.

Today's conflicts, it could be an 11-year-old civilian, it could be a 40-year-old woman, it could be a 16-year-old girl carrying a bomb. Nobody knows. Everybody looks the same, and there is no like fixed enemy, and maybe that creates the stress that these soldiers are under.

And my wife is going to scratch your eyes out for being so pretty.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Even at his age, it doesn't take long before he's just one of the guys.

DAN HENNESSEY, SENIOR, LYNN UNIVERSITY: We definitely want to take him out once before summer rolls around. I don't know if it's going to consist of an all-night event, but at least show him the social aspect of college life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope I have that much spunk when I'm his age.

WHITFIELD: That age brings a whole new perspective to a class.

PROF. JOHN PICKERING, AMERICAN HISTORY, LYNN UNIVERSITY: Well, he's lived 84 years. I mean, he's experienced things that -- and he still has a very good memory, still very sharp. And to have someone like that especially when you talk about a time period that he remembers, I mean, that's great.

WHITFIELD: Jack is set to graduate in the fall of 2011. So what's he planning next? Grad school, of course.

SLOTNIK: I'm having the best time of my life.

WHITFIELD: Fredricka Whitfield, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: He's incredible. This Purple Heart recipient isn't the only student in his family, however. Two of jack's grandkids are in college right now, and they think it's great he's back in school.

All right. Nashville. You know it's still struggling to recover from that unprecedented flooding. In the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM, we'll show you how residents are getting back on their feet, and we'll talk to the city's mayor live and that's coming up at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMERICA FERRERA, ACTRESS/ACTIVIST: I'm America Ferrera, and I'm building a school with in Jesadini (ph), Mali with Save the Children.

They were celebrating us just being there to save their school that was falling apart, so when we told them we were going to build them a school, they were over the moon.

I believe in the power of education to its fullest extent. Until you pick one thing that's really important to you and try to make a difference there, then you really can feel empowered.

Join the movement. Impact your world. Go to CNN.com/impact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A rough road for Lance Armstrong, crashing on the course not long after he had to defend himself against allegations of drug use. He hurt his eye and his elbow in the crash, ooh, as you see right there, and he had to actually drop out of the race.

It took eight stitches to close the gash under that eye, but it will take much more to get away from the drug allegations. Former Tour de France champ Floyd Landis admitted to taking performance- enhancing drugs, and he said Armstrong did, too. Lance Armstrong denies it.

And Michael Jackson impersonators and wannabes might be a dime a dozen, but here's one who really stands above the crowd, even though he barely actually stands above the waist. Here's CNN's Emily Chang from Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) EMILY CHANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the morning, Xiao Bao is just like any other 4-year-old. Getting dressed, washing up. But not long after that, it becomes quite clear he's far from average.

(on camera): How are you? Good. Good. We're excited to see you dance today.

(voice-over): He may be china's youngest Michael Jackson impersonator.

(on camera): All right, buddy, this is it. Let's see what you can do.

(voice-over): He knows how to hip-hop, pop and lock, and moonwalk. and he's already gotten more attention than most aspiring superstars get in a lifetime. Bopping and bouncing his way through national talent competitions and television shows, and now going global.

Xiao Bao most recently rocked out on "The Ellen Show" in Los Angeles.

ELLEN DEGENERES, HOST, "THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW: Who is your favorite dancer?

XIAO BAO, MICHAEL JACKSON IMPERSONATOR: Michael Jackson.

(APPLAUSE)

CHANG: It's more than his parents ever hoped for. Xiao Bao was born dangerously premature, weighing just two pounds. To build his physical strength, his parents played music for him, hoping he'd move to the beat. And he did.

He stopped crying the moment he heard the melody, his mother says, and when he got bigger, he started dancing.

She admits he hasn't led a normal childhood. He practices at this Beijing studio almost every day, but everyone insists it's only because he wants to.

When he's not practicing, he's just constantly moving around, his teacher says. Dancers need that kind of desire to perform, wherever, whenever. Xiao Bao obviously loves the attention.

(on camera): Can you teach me dance moves? Gosh, he's hard to keep up with!

(voice-over): And he's well on his way to becoming the Prince of Pop.

Emily Chang, CNN, Beijing.

(on camera): Very good!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Oh, I think we can all use lessons like that.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: (SINGS)

WHITFIELD: (SINGS)

HARRIS: No, you did not!

WHITFIELD: Michael Jackson.

HARRIS: Did you just do that?

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Tony Harris! Much more in the NEWSROOM. Yes, why not? Everyone's got their Michael Jackson impersonation.

HARRIS: And it's a Friday.

WHITFIELD: (SINGING)

(LAUGHTER)

HARRIS: Fredericka taking it to the next level. Who knew?