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Internet Trackers; BP "Carpet Bombed" Gulf; Alabama Beaches Open Again; Chelsea Clinton Marries Longtime Beau; What Gives Students Hope?; Spill's Toll on Mental Health; Internet Spying on the Rise; Turkish Women Search for Wife Abuser; Minnesota Family Remembers Bridge Disaster
Aired August 01, 2010 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: Gathering your personal information. An army of trackers out there spying on your internet travels? But what are they doing with that information? We're checking it out this hour.
Say goodbye to the five-second rule in our 4:00 hour. We'll show you what's lurking on your floor, and it isn't pretty.
Plus, saving a life. What you need to know about new rules for CPR. That's coming up in our 5:00 hour. You're in the "CNN Newsroom." I'm Randi Kaye.
BP was blasted again over its handling of the Gulf oil disaster. New documents indicate the company went way overboard in using chemicals to break up the oil.
Our Reynolds Wolf is in Orleans, and Reynolds, the chairman of the House Energy Subcommittee, Edward Marky says BP, quote, "carpet bomb" the ocean despite the federal directive restricting dispersant use.
He says the Coast Guard routinely granted BP exemptions. Documents, in fact, show the Coast Guard granted more than 74 exemptions in 48 days. What more can you tell us, Reynolds?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I can tell you that you're absolutely right and they certainly use a great deal of amount. In fact, when they first started right after the explosion at the deepwater horizon, they were using roughly 25,000 gallons of that per day, at a rate of 25,000 per day.
They're using it not only on the surface, but also underwater. Now, the use was halted temporarily while the EPA conducted tests to really examine the safety of the dispersants. They were allowed, but the EPA said they needed to be used at a much lower rate.
But even, Randi, we're talking about a total of 1.8 million gallons of dispersant that actually is in the Gulf of Mexico as we speak. There are so many mysteries regarding this.
At the time, we're not sure of the long-term effects, what it might mean to the ecology of the Gulf of Mexico. I can tell you this, though, the statement from the EPA, which came out earlier today. Part of the statement reads, they believe the dispersant was actually been an essential tool in mitigating the spill's impact.
Getting millions of - gallons of oil from doing more damage to marshes, wetlands, beaches and the economy overall on the Gulf Coast - Randi.
KAYE: Reynolds, we understand that Doug Suttles, the COO of BP is in nearby Venice right now. What are his plans there today?
WOLF: I'd say the plans are that he's going to see things up close and personal. You know, one of the big stories we've been following is how difficult it has been to find some of that oil.
Where it was so easy to find a few weeks, a month ago, at this point, it's been very difficult. However, down in Plaquemines Parish where Doug Suttles will be today, he'll see firsthand.
Where there are many places, many of the marshes that are inundated with that thick crude and he'll be able to see right up close how damaged has been to the ecology.
KAYE: And how close do we know are the crews to actually sealing off the ruptured well? Is the static kill still on track for this week?
WOLF: The static kill is still on track. I mean, there was a little bit of a hiccup with this process. They were hoping to get that started later today or perhaps tomorrow, but there was a little bit of debris that actually got inside one of the relief wells.
You'll remember, just last weekend, we had remnants of Tropical Storm Bonnie that passed over the area and when it did pass over, there was the (sediment) they got into the relief well. That's got to be cleaned out today.
They're going to lower a casing, which is basically a hollow tube, inside the relief well, and then the step is to go into the static kill mode. That should take place sometime on Tuesday and very quickly, what that's going to involve, Randi, is injecting a combination of not only cement, but also mud into the cap and that should seal it off, the top part.
The second part and this is going to be the big one is going to be called the bottom kill and that procedure will use, actually, the relief well and they'll have a horizontal injection of both the concrete, cement and mud. That should take place sometime possible by middle of August or perhaps the end of this month.
KAYE: All right, Reynolds for us in New Orleans. Thanks so much, Reynolds. Well, just how dangerous are the dispersants in the Gulf, and what, if any, effect will they have on the environment? We'll talk with marine biologist Karis Mitchell Moore about these concerns in our 4:00 hour.
Crowded beaches that's something business owners along the Alabama Gulf Coast have been waiting to see for quite some time now. This is the first weekend in months most Alabama beaches haven't been under a swim advisory because of the oil disaster. Tourists are soaking up the sun again and spending money at restaurants, souvenir shops and other businesses.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUD MORRIS, ORIGINAL OYSTER HOUSE: We're certainly not going to establish our season, but we appreciate all the business that we do get -- we will get from it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately, you know, I think a lot of people are just not here, made their plans a long time ago, didn't show up and, you know, we are hoping the closer people in our surrounding areas will come down and enjoy it. It's been a while since everybody enjoyed the beach here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: With school starting back up again, there are only a few weeks left in the area's tourists' main season.
Police have captured one of the three escaped killers from an Arizona state prison. Thirty six-year-old Daniel Renwick was caught earlier this morning in Rifle, Colorado, which is about three hours or so outside of Denver.
He had been serving a 22-year sentence for second-degree murder. Renwick, along with Tracy Province and John Maclusky allegedly cut a hole in an outside prison fence and escaped on Friday.
Police believed the escapees may have split up. The other two are still on the run and are believed armed with handguns. A woman who is visiting one of the inmates, it is believed to have helped them escape.
Two of these escapees and the woman allegedly abducted two truck drivers and hijacked their rig. They were later released. Other truckers reacted to that hijacking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROGER EARL, TRUCK DRIVER: They had a gun. You came up behind them. They get out to go to the restroom, a lot of times they'll knock on your door.
ANDREW CULVER, TRUCK DRIVER: I'm glad that they didn't get hurt. What are you going to do? If a guy has a gun pointed at you, I guess you're driving where he wants you to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Authorities say the two remaining suspects could be using the woman's faded blue Chrysler Concord sedan.
Devastating scenes in Pakistan as that country copes with some of its worst floods on record. The death toll has now top 1,100 and United Nations says 30,000 other people are stranded on rooftops and other high areas.
The flood waters have washed away thousands of homes, businesses, schools, government buildings and bridges. The region is in northwest Pakistan along the border with Afghanistan. CNN's Reza Sayah is in the disaster zone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what's left of a village in northwest Pakistan, near (Peshawar) floodwaters wiping away the homes, all of the homes made out of mud so they never had a chance.
Here's how desperate the residents of this village are. All of them are Afghan refugees. What they did was pick up the belongings that they had, moved uphill to a graveyard. That's where they pitched their tents, laying out their blankets on top of gravestones.
(on camera): This village is one of thousands across northwest Pakistan that have been destroyed by what Pakistani government officials are calling the worst flood in northwest Pakistan in this nation's 63-year history.
(voice-over): The flood is coming after three days of record- breaking monsoon rains. Many of these villages in flood-ravaged areas are cut off from help. That's why aid groups and the government are having a very difficult time getting to them.
This is obviously a big humanitarian crisis for Pakistan, and based on what we've seen over the past couple of days, there is no way this government has the resources to get aid to everybody.
Aid groups are helping, but in the villages we visited, we simply haven't seen the help. It doesn't mean help is not out there, but it means many, many more people are waiting for help and frustration is growing. Reza Sayah, CNN, Charsadda, Pakistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: The flooding isn't limited to Pakistan. The deadly effects are also being felt across the border in Afghanistan. Dozens there have been killed.
International Security forces are aiding relief forces in the northeastern provinces as many as 2,000 people were rescued, some of them deep in Taliban-controlled areas.
Here comes the lovely bride. Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton strolls down the aisle at her very private and very lavish wedding. We'll talk to an event planner about her big day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky are likely on their honeymoon right now, but the newlyweds plans are as top secret as the plans were for yesterday's wedding. The couple exchanged vows in an interface ceremony at a posh New York estate. Clinton is Methodist, Mezvinsky is Jewish.
Colin Cowie knows about stylist weddings. He's a celebrity event planner. He joins us via Skype in East Hampton, New York.
Colin, first I have to ask you about Chelsea's dress, what do you think?
COLIN COWIE, CELEBRITY EVENT PLANNER: I think she looks absolutely beautiful. I mean, the strapless gown, that beautiful beaded (inaudible) ballroom skirt. She really looked radiant and you could see she was glowing from within.
KAYE: I love the belts on the dress as well. How about the cake? Have you seen any pictures of it or heard much about it?
COWEN: I haven't seen pictures of the cake, but I believe - you know, when you think about it, the wedding cake truly is the icon of the wedding, so I'm sure it was as lavish and beautiful as everything else with a lot of attention to detail, too.
KAYE: How much do you think the cake cost? Have you heard anything on that? So many numbers floating out there.
COWEN: You know, it's very interesting. Cakes range from about $7 a slice to about $25 a slice. That cake could have cost anywhere from a couple thousand dollars to $15,000. It all depends on the amount of work that goes into it, the ingredients used in the cake and where it comes from.
KAYE: So a lot of people were comparing this really to a royal wedding or as close as we can get to it. What do you think about that?
COWEN: I think it is about as close as we get to a royal wedding. I mean, we all watched Chelsea Clinton grow up in the White House. We watched her grow and flourish, and U think that's why there was so much attention to this wedding. We don't have royalty in America, and that's as close as we're ever going to get.
KAYE: I mean, if you look at some of the pictures, you see grown women practically climbing over fences to try and get a glimpse of Chelsea Clinton or maybe Bill or Hillary. Have you ever seen anything like this?
COWEN: I think, you know, the interesting thing is this is the biggest of all celebrity weddings, but America is very fascinated with celebrity like the rest of the world, and I guess everybody wanted to take a front seat one way or another to find out what was happening at Chelsea and Marc's wedding.
KAYE: What about dinner? Do we have any idea what they might have eaten for dinner there? COWEN: You know, I haven't heard from anyone yet, but I bet I'm going to find out, because I have friends who were actually at the wedding and I'm sure it won't be long before these stories start filtering it.
But I believe it was very heavy on the vegetarian side, although I'm sure they didn't serve a complete vegetarian dinner because we all know that Chelsea is a (baker).
KAYE: Right and was it filled with the a-lists celebrities that so many expected?
COWEN: I don't think there was many celebrities that showed up that were expected. In the beginning, they were talking about Oprah Winfrey and Barbara Streisand, but I think one of the most famous people there was probably Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen, the very close friends of the Clintons.
KAYE: And why were you there, Colin?
COWEN: I was there on Friday morning, but I wasn't invited sadly. I was actually (inaudible) having a good time with my friends.
KAYE: What about this? You know, the Clintons have really -- their lives for years have revolved around Bill and Hillary and this really was a first for Chelsea, a day just about Chelsea.
COWEN: When you think about it, Chelsea has been in the background her whole life with these two very prominent and powerful parents.
So I think it was fitting that the two of them turned it around and really gave her the day of her dreams. She was blessed with a dream wedding that any girl would die to have, and of course, she was blessed with extraordinary weather as well surrounded by family and close friends. What more could she wish for?
KAYE: Yes, she just looked so happy. Colin Cowie, thanks for your time today.
COWEN: Thank you. And you know, the best thing about this, it's a great stimulus for our industry. The cake makers of the world, the flower growers of the world, all need wonderful business. It's great if the Clintons have come (not) and joint such a fabulous wedding so we can all get back into the wedding space again.
KAYE: Certainly is, thank you, Colin.
COWEN: Thank you.
KAYE: And Chelsea's proud parents issued the following statement about the wedding, quote, "we watched with great pride and overwhelming emotion as Chelsea and Marc wed in a beautiful ceremony surrounded by family and close friends. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to celebrate the beginning of their life together," end quote.
Worried about the future? Wait until you hear what the next generation has to say. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Top stories now. A new congressional report on the Gulf oil cleanup says the Coast Guard let BP use an excessive amount of chemicals. Congressman Edward Marky says the company carpet bombed the Gulf with dispersants.
Responding to the report, the Environmental Protection Agency says the chemicals have helped limit the disaster's impact.
In Pakistan, a disaster affecting hundreds of thousands of people. The death toll from flooding now tops 1,100. Another 30,000 people are trapped on rooftops and other higher areas. The flooding has destroyed thousands of homes, businesses, schools, and other structures in northwest Pakistan.
One of the three killers who escaped from an Arizona prison on Friday has been captured in Colorado. The two others remain on the loose. More top stories in just 20 minutes.
Let's talk now about our younger generation. Despite the struggling economy and the world's other problems, many of today's high school students are hopeful about the future. CNN's student news anchor, Carl Azuz is back this week reporting on TMI, Tomorrow's Most Influential.
So why are students today, Carl. Good to see you, why are they so optimistic?
CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: It's the million dollar question for us because last week we heard from a group of high school students, all rising juniors and seniors, who were talking to us about how they felt something could be learned from the economic problems.
All of us had told them, they have been impacted by the economy and they felt that despite the fact that their generation wasn't responsible for the problems today, they felt optimistic they could help solve those problems.
So this week what I want to do is go a little bit deeper and try to find out in their words why they're so optimistic. Here's what they had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDSEY COHEN, RIVERWOOD INTERNATIONAL CHARTER SCHOOL: Seeing people who want to get involved in the community. I think the innovativeness of our generation is actually pretty amazing.
JUSTIN TOLIVER, WOODSTOCK HIGH SCHOOL: Seeing the way that our economy is right now and seeing the way our world is, it makes you want to make a change even though you don't know how you're going to do it yet.
JANA FRENCH, MARIETTA HIGH SCHOOL: I feel like most adults feel that teenagers just don't care these days, and I don't feel like that at all.
TOLIVER: Everybody wants to make a difference in something.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think our generation will change things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: These were high school students who were in Atlanta for, as I said, a leadership conference, and you're looking at a very insightful group of young people. And they give us a lot of reason to be optimistic in their own answers.
KAYE: They are inspiring. What really gives them the hope that they have?
AZUZ: If I would sum it up in two words, I would say their family and their faith. I'm going to let them elaborate on that, but instead I'm going to go ahead and let them. Here's how they describe that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN FAN, CHAMBLEE CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL: My family, my friends, my religion.
SHAUYAN SAKI, CENTENNIAL HIGH SCHOOL: Definitely from my parents. My mom escaped from Iran on horseback in the middle of the night at the age of 19, and my dad starred working from scratch here. They both made themselves into what I am today.
ZACH DRAKE, HILLGROVE HIGH SCHOOL: There's a lot of stuff. I'm trying to find the best out of everything. See the way I got to work and everything and find the best out of everything. I try not to look at negatives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: So it's folks and faith and staying positive that gives them hope for the future, and as you know, many of them are getting ready to go back to school.
CNN Student News starts - we resume airing on Monday, August 16. But in the meantime in between that time, we welcome everybody at cnnstudentnews.com. You can find what we're about. We're totally cost free, commercial free.
Next week on TMI, we're scheduled to talk about some advice that those students you just heard from have for incoming high freshmen even sophomores and juniors. It's really great stuff. You don't want to miss that.
KAYE: That is really nice. It's a good way to keep up with all the students during the new school year.
AZUZ: Absolutely.
KAYE: All right, Carl. Thank you very much. AZUZ: Thank you, Randi.
KAYE: Well, today's students are tomorrow's leaders. CNN is asking parents, teachers and students to join a national conversation about what to do to fix-hour schools. Join us for a special week of coverage. That begins August 29th.
We want to congratulate one of our own. Anchor and special correspondent, Soledad O'Brien has been selected as Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists.
Last night, she was honored in San Diego at the group's 35th Annual Convention. O'Brien was recognized for her work on CNN's declaimed in America franchise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOLEDAD O'BRIAN, CNN ANCHOR/SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: The work does not stop here for all of us. The challenges have to inspire us to do more, to work harder, to plow through, to not give up, to stand our ground as black journalists and tell stories that matter to our community.
The good stories, the challenging stories, the honest stories, so that we in turn can empower other people and move the needle and make a difference in our community.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: O'Brien also worked on "Black in America" too. The special was the highest rated cable news documentary in all of 2009.
You've seen the toll from the oil spill on wildlife and marine life in the Gulf region, but what about the people and what is BP doing to help? We look at a looming crisis.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Now here's the latest from the Gulf. BP hopes to begin sealing the ruptured oil well once and for all either tomorrow or Tuesday. The company is receiving a lot of criticism for the way it responded to the disaster.
New documents released by a congressional subcommittee indicate the Coast Guard allowed BP to use excessive amounts of chemicals on the spill. The Environmental Protection agency says those dispersants helped lessened the impact of the spill.
Over these past 104 days, we've shown you how the oil disaster has traumatized people living on the coast. Thursday, Louisiana made a third request for BP to help with the mental health impact from this growing crisis. It's something I first told you about one month ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE (voice-over): Mental health experts in Louisiana say a crisis is brewing here. Growing angst is giving way to depression and maybe even suicide. So you might think BP would be needing every request to help in this area. Think again.
(on camera): This all started back on May 28th, when the state of Louisiana was asked BP for $10 million specifically to treat mental health.
(voice-over): But on June 13th, BP's Chief Operating Officer, Doug Suttles responded not with a check, but with a letter. Suttles wrote he's had, quote, "spirited discussions with the state and looks forward to continuing the dialogue? Exactly how is that dialogue going? We asked Louisiana's health secretary.
KAYE (on camera): Has there really been much dialogue?
ALAN LEVINE, SECRETARY, L.A. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HOSPITALS: No. I tell you we're - look -- there isn't time for dialogue as it relates to mental health.
We're now seeing the people that we have on the ground are tell us they're seeing increased evidence of people drinking, we're seeing increased evidence of those factors that lead to depression, anxieties, stress. We've got children involved. There is no time for dialogue.
KAYE (voice-over): Keeping them on as we tried to ask BP why it isn't paying the mental health costs of this bill. BP told us, quote, "we have received a request for funding around mental health programs. We are discussing the requests with several stakeholder groups."
(on camera): In the early days of the catastrophe, Lavine says the state put $1 million of BP money toward mental health treatment. But he says they've already treated 2,000 people and that money is almost gone.
(voice-over): So Lavine fired off another letter to BP Suttles requesting again $10 million to support six months worth of outreach programs, including medications and counseling.
(on camera): Does it bother you that now you've had to go back to BP and say, hey, look, we really need this money. We're not kidding.
LAVINE: You know, that's one of the reasons why we put a deadline on the letter. If you noticed at the last sentence, we said we need an answer by next week. There's no more time to talk about this.
KAYE (voice-over): You don't have to tell that to doctors here at the St. Bernard Project for Health and Wellness. They can't keep up for the demand. They get as many as 10 calls a week from people traumatized by the spill leading to two-month wait for an appointment year. More money would mean they could hire more doctors and treat more patients.
KAYE (on camera): Ideally, how much money do you need?
JOYCELYN HEINTZ, MANAGER, ST. BERNARD PROJECT FOR HEALTH AND WELLNESS: $500,000 would be wonderful.
KAYE: Do you think they're responsible and should be pay to the health people, get the treatment they need here?
LEVINE: Yes, absolutely, without a doubt.
KAYE (voice-over): Psychiatrist Chuck Coleman couldn't agree more.
DR. CHUCK COLEMAN, PSYCHIATRIST: I would hope that BP would help pay for this and see that permanent psychiatric disability could be diminished by taking care of mental health issues early on.
KAYE: Secretary Lavine said not treating mental health early on in the catastrophe could make it more expensive to treat later. And if BP doesn't pay, he says, you will in Louisiana because the state may be forced to raise taxes to pay for it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And Louisiana authorities say they're still waiting for a response from BP to their repeated request for help in taking care of these mental health issues.
A severe drought in Russia and the hottest summer in at least 130 years is feeding devastating wildfires there. So far, 28 people have died and thousands of others have lost their homes. More than 700 wildfires have torn through 80 towns and villages. Army units are joining firefighters to battle the flames.
Firefighters in southern California are making progress as they battle a big wildfire north of Los Angeles. The so-called Crown fire has burned about 14,000 acres. It's just over 80 percent contained.
And there's a new concern in the tropics. Jacqui Jeras has the latest on that. Jacqui, what's going on there?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey. Well, we've got an area of disturbed weather that we've been actually watching for a couple of days now, but the probability of this thing developing into our next tropical depression and probably the next tropical storm and/or hurricane is really dramatically increasing.
As you take a look at the satellite picture, it's way out here in the eastern Atlantic. It's about 800 miles away from the Cape Verde islands and it's still more than 3,000 miles away from Miami. So we've got lots of time to get ready and prepare for this thing, and it could become a significant storm. Now, you know, it's August 1st today, and that's kind of when we turn the corner into what we call Cape Verde seasons and when we start to see systems develop in this area. And when that happens, oftentimes, they can develop into major hurricanes. A large majority of hurricanes that turn into category 3, 4 and 5 do develop in this area.
I want to show you some of the computer model forecasts, the spaghetti charts, as we show them. This is from Stormpulse.com. And there you can see the area we're watching and those models all coming together pretty well, bringing them at earliest approach towards the Windward Islands probably not until Thursday. And if we'd be talking about a U.S. impact, which is possible, at earliest, that would be about a week to a week-and-a-half from now. So there's still a lot of question marks associated with this system.
When we talk about the Cape Verdes and the development here, this is a typical area where we would see tropical storms or hurricanes develop in the month of August. So this green area across much of the Atlantic into the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, we can even see development across the East Coast this time of the year, and this darker orange area here across the Leeward and Windward Islands is the area that most of them occur.
So just to kind of put this into perspective. And this is getting close to what we would call peak hurricane season. Take a look at this map. Oh, sorry about that! Still working on the magic wall here.
This shows you month by month how many hurricanes or tropical systems we typically see. And there you can see that huge peak. September 10 climatologically is the peak. But notice the dramatic rise as we head through August, and then we start to taper down as we head into October. So this is getting to be, certainly, that busy time of the year. So we'll continue to watch it and keep you updated.
All right, back here at home for today, what are our immediate concerns? Well, we've got a couple of them. It's that broken record, yes, about that heat -- hot, hot, hot. But it's out there again and it's dangerous, and we've had a number of heat-related deaths in Georgia in particular in the last work week. Heat advisories are in effect, with warnings in the dark pink areas, including you in Mobile, over towards Pensacola, as well as up towards Memphis. It's going to feel like at least 110 in some of these cities at the peak time of the afternoon hours for today, and a few of you could be approaching that 115-degree mark.
As for thunderstorms today, you know, not too shabby overall. We've got some clusters of thunderstorms, not too widespread, but enough to cause you problems in the Northeast. We do have some delays, a ground stop now at LaGuardia, Newark has delays about 50 minutes, and there you can see 30-minute delays at Teeterboro.
Out west, we continue to track the threat of flooding across the Four Corners region. And winds staying pretty calm for those fires, Randi, that are burning out in California, but the temperatures remain warm, in the low to mid-90s -- Randi.
KAYE: It is hot. No doubt about that. All right, Jacqui, thanks so much.
Police have captured one of three escaped killers from an Arizona state prison. Thirty-six-year-old Daniel Renwick was caught early this morning in Rifle, Colorado, which is about three hours outside of Denver. He had been serving a 22-year sentence for second-degree murder. Renwick, along with Tracy Province and John McCluskey, allegedly cut a hole in an outside prison fence and escaped through it on Friday. Police believe the escapees may have split up. The other two are still on the run and are believed armed with handguns. A woman who was visiting one of the inmates is believed to have helped them escape.
Keep an eye on your computer. It's a booming business for so- called "trackers," gathering your personal information. Coming up, we'll tell you what they're doing with it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Checking top stories for you right now. Chelsea Clinton is a married woman, and pictures of the wedding have been released. The former first daughter wed investment banker Marc Mezvinsky yesterday in upstate New York. Journalists and onlookers gathered in the small town of Rhinebeck just to get a glimpse of the dignitaries and celebrities on hand for that special event.
Dick Cheney is out of intensive care and could be headed home from the hospital this week. That's according to his daughter, Liz, in a Fox News interview. The former vice president had a small pump inserted in his heart a couple of weeks ago.
NASA is deciding the next step after a cooling pump failure set off the alarms on the International Space Station, but they're stressing that the three Americans and three Russians on board are in no danger. They may have to make a couple of space walks this week, though, to fix the problem. The problem forced NASA to shut down some of the communication and global positioning units aboard the station.
There's a relatively new boom industry out there, and an investigation has found you could be right in the middle of their business plan. I'm talking about Internet spying. "The Wall Street Journal" dug deep into the world of tracking. Here's a sample. This is a list of the top 10 exposed Web sites. Apparently, the thirst for knowledge could leave you exposed. Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster top that list. Here's the rest of the top 10. These are popular Web sites that are also popular among trackers.
Joining me now to discuss this is Julia Angwin, technology editor for the Wallstreetjournal.com. Julia, let me ask you first, who are these trackers that we're talking about? And what exactly are they looking for?
JULIA ANGWIN, WSJ.COM TECHNOLOGY EDITOR: So thanks for having me on. The trackers are companies you've never heard of, actually, most of them. I mean, they're small companies whose business it is to put little tiny things of software on Web sites, and those send back information about you and they compile a profile. It's not your name, usually, but it's everything about you, and it has a unique ID number associated with you.
We did find that the biggest trackers were Google and Microsoft, companies you have heard of. The third largest, though, was Quantcast (ph), which most of people have not heard of. And then quickly, you get into a whole bunch of companies that really just specialize in this, these ad technology companies. KAYE: So if someone is surfing on line, if you or I are just surfing around, looking up some stuff, do we have any idea, any warning that we're being tracked?
ANGWIN: Not right now. The way it stands is that you would actually have to go to the privacy policy of each Web site that you're visiting and try to read through that long, many-thousands-of-words document and see if they mention it. And even then, most don't really get you specifics.
So what we recommend for people is that they use some software you can add to your browser that will tell you who's tracking you. And we offer a bunch of links to those.
KAYE: OK. We'll get to that in one moment. But what more can they find out about us on line? I mean, can they tell exactly what -- what movies I like or what I like to eat or what products I use?
ANGWIN: Right. Well, we were surprised by our findings because we did actually find -- our lead example was a woman who the tracker on her computer actually knew every one of her favorite movies. We wrote about a girl who was 17 years old and worried about her weight, and the tracker on her computer also knew that. We talked to a woman who was worried about whether she might have some sort of uterine disorder and that she also was being targeted with ads from that information.
KAYE: And so that's what they do. It's really all about -- it's all about the advertising, then.
ANGWIN: It is. Most of the people who buy this data are advertisers. And in some sense, people say, Look, that's not such a big deal. I don't mind if ads are targeted to my interests. But the question we raised in our article is that there's also a market for this data, where it's sold on exchanges. And then you a little bit -- there's no rule that says it would only be advertisers that buy this. There's a potential there that other types of organizations could buy this data.
KAYE: Right. Now, I know you have a lot of tips on your Web site, how to handle this and what to do about this. But let's -- why don't we just go through maybe the top -- the top three. I know you started to a moment ago. But take us through those.
ANGWIN: Yes. So the first thing that you need to think about when you're surfing the Web is what browser you're using. Most browsers allow these third-party trackers to be installed automatically without your knowledge. Safari, actually, the Apple browser, does not. The default setting is that it blocks this kind of tracking. So if you already use Safari, you're probably in good shape.
If you don't, you might want to look at the settings on your browser and adjust them. But sometimes that's difficult to do, so we also recommend that you could use a plug-in software that you add to your browser, and it will tell you -- you can either -- you can choose one that would tell you what trackers are there, or you could also choose one that tells you and allows you to block.
And then the third option is -- and this is a little bit confusing for people -- is to go to the companies that they've never heard of and choose to opt out of being tracked by them. The problem is, you don't really know who these companies are. There's a list of them that the industry keeps of sort of the biggest ones. And you can click and say, I don't want to be tracked by all these networks.
KAYE: So for those of us who aren't especially Internet-savvy, that sounds awfully complicated. But you say we can do it. It helps.
ANGWIN: Yes, it is -- you know what? It is complicated. And to be honest with you, I don't do it because I find that it's too confusing to do because if you turn off this kind of tracking, sometimes things that you want to see on the Internet don't work well.
KAYE: Right.
ANGWIN: So some videos might not play properly. So I find it eventually just becomes too difficult to manage for myself.
KAYE: And getting back to the tracking, this is all legal? These companies are just allowed to do this?
ANGWIN: Yes, it is, actually. And the thing is, it started off pretty innocently back when the commercial Internet started 15 years ago. You know, you want these type of tracking things when you go to Amazon and you put some items in your shopping cart, you actually want Amazon to remember that when you come back the next time. So this idea of having Web sites that keep track of things is actually something that's useful for consumers.
What's happened, though, is that, slowly but surely over time, all these other companies, not Amazon, but the companies that are, like, on Amazon's page when you're there, have started using them, as well. And what I find is that most people have no idea that there's all these third parties they're having a relationship with when they go to the Web sites, for instance, of Dictionary.com.
KAYE: Your personal information is just everywhere. All right, Julia Angwin from Wallstreetjournal.com, thank you very much.
ANGWIN: Thank you.
KAYE: Well, he didn't go to jail because he showed remorse. Now, after another beating, a woman goes door to door in search of the man who beat his wife nearly to death.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: "There's blood on your hands." That's what Joint Chiefs chairman Admiral Mike Mullen said earlier this week about the Web site that posted thousands of leaked documents on the war in Afghanistan. Today Admiral Mullen explained just what he meant.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ADM. MIKE MULLEN, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: What I don't think people that aren't in the military and in conflict understand is the danger of these kinds of leaks, the ability to net together what is seemingly information that may not be related, and then to take advantage of it. And I think it's, you know, irresponsible and could very well potentially end up in the loss of lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The founder of WikiLeaks denies costing any lives. Meanwhile, the Army private accused of leaking those documents is being held in solitary confinement in Quantico, Virginia.
Beginning money, injured soldiers, critical care, now the journey home. In a CNN exclusive, Barbara Starr shares amazing stories of wounded Americans returning from Afghanistan. That's on "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer starting Monday at 5:00 PM Eastern.
Brazil's president has offered asylum to an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning. That according to Brazil's state-run media. The report quotes President Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva as saying he wants Iran to send the woman to Brazil. The 43-year-old mother of two is facing possible death by stoning after being convicted of adultery back in 2006. Brazil helped broker a deal this year that would provide Iran with uranium in medical research.
Meantime, in Turkey, women's rights activists say there's an epidemic of domestic violence. A recent study says 4 out of 10 Turkish women in Turkey are beaten by their husbands.
Ivan Watson has the story of a young mother brutally tortured and the hunt for her abusive husband.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hamide Yeni is on a hunt, pounding down the dirt roads of this remote village in eastern Turkey, looking for the man who Turkish authorities say beat his wife and put her in the hospital twice in less than 12 months.
Have you seen Faruq (ph), she asks the village mayor's daughter. He disappeared with his car. No one's seen him, the woman replies. The man Yeni's looking for is Faruq Platen (ph), filmed here several months ago with his two children and his 30-year-old wife, Sadiqa (ph). This was Sadiqa outside a hospital last September, almost unrecognizable because of bruises and the bandages that doctors put on her ear after part of it was sliced off.
A court sentenced Sadiqa's husband to 15 months in prison for assault, but officials say he did not serve any jail time because he, quote, "showed remorse." Sadiqa also dropped the charges against him. So after two months at a state-run women's shelter, the prosecutors sent Sadiqa and her children back to live with her husband.
Women's rights advocates like Hamide Yeni said they watched helplessly as Faruq took his wife back to his village. This kind of thing is happening in every village, Yeni tells me. There are thousands of women like Sadiqa out there. In fact, according to a 2009 government report, 42 percent of Turkish women surveyed say they have been victims of either physical or sexual abuse by their husband or partner.
Despite progressive laws to combat domestic abuse, activists point out there are only 52 state-run shelters for battered women in the entire country.
PINAR ILKKARACAN, WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Because there's is lack of will on the part of the government to implement the law, to have a program, a coordinated action program, to stop violence against women, and also training (INAUDIBLE) for judges and prosecutors, which is missing.
WATSON: Not long after Sadiqa moved back home, neighbors and one village officials say there were fresh signs of trouble.
(on camera): Social services workers, security forces and volunteers repeatedly came here to Sadiqa Platen's house to answer reports that she was being repeatedly beaten. And in nearly every case, her husband ordered them off his property and frequently denied them access to his wife. It wasn't until she was hospitalized for the second time in two years that doctors found such extensive wounds across her body that they believe she was tortured.
(voice-over): Doctors say Sadiqa arrived in the hospital on July 15th in a catatonic state, covered with fresh bruises and burns. Sadiqa's mother has little hope her daughter will ever recover. That man has been beating my daughter since the day she put on her wedding dress, she says. I wish he'd killed her long ago to save her all of the suffering.
Turkish police now have an arrest warrant out for Sadiqa's husband, but activist Hamide Yeni says that just isn't good enough. The state is guilty, the system is guilty, she says, because it failed to protect the victim.
Ivan Watson, CNN, Kapakoi (ph) in eastern Turkey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And we have some video just in now of BP company's COO Doug Suttles taking a boat tour around Venice, Louisiana. That's in Plaquemines parish. He was taking that tour today. He'll talk about what he saw in a press conference coming up at 4:30 Eastern. He'll likely talk a little bit about whether he saw oil in that area and probably about the plan to permanently kill that well, which should start tomorrow or Tuesday this week. So you'll want to tune in. We'll have that for you live at 4:30.
On the third anniversary of the deadly Minnesota bridge collapse, a daughter remembers the hero who saved her life, her mother.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAYE: Three years ago tonight, an incredible tragedy struck the city of Minneapolis as the interstate 35-West bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River. Thirteen people were killed and 145 injured, and one very special mom became a hero. Meet Kim Dahl and her family of survivors.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIM DAHL, DRIVER OF BUS: It's hard, I mean, because you just think, you know, what had happened here. Some of me is still here and will always be here, the independent side of me.
It went, like, up, and then it went down. And that's when we were, like, freefalling. The kids, you know, were quiet for a moment. And all of a sudden, the dust kind of settled, and then the kids just started screaming.
ARRIANNA MERRITT, ON BUS WITH MOTHER: Once in a while at school, you know, how they ask you these questions, like, Do you know someone famous, or, Do you know someone who's a hero? And you just -- I just stand up and I go, Yes, I do. I know my mom.
DAVID, SON: I just haven't -- I just don't feel like talking to people about it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It just reminds me (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's OK.
KIM DAHL: Wouldn't, like, a little chunk look good in my garden? What are you thinking?
MERRITT: Sorrow.
KIM DAHL: Yes?
MERRITT: So many people probably go by this and don't even take a second glance just to remember the people who died.
Thirteen other people died, and they didn't get another -- they didn't get a chance to move on with their lives.
KIM DAHL: It's almost like your freedom's taken away. I can't lift the milk up and put it in the cart. I can't bend over and grab stuff and that because it causes pain. But I know I have to live like this now. And it's not, you know, who I really was before.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When my mom is in the hospital or getting surgeries, I have to step in and be the surrogate mother to my younger siblings because she can't do the things she used to love to do. Now I kind of understand why that -- why I have to stand in and why sometimes I have to be the adult.
DAVE DAHL, KIM'S HUSBAND: I don't know if life will ever be normal like it was before, pre -- like it was July of '07 and prior, but we've made the best for it. We've adjusted our lives and we've changed our lifestyle. And we just got to be positive.
KIM DAHL: Between my kids and my husband, I couldn't ask for a better family. I mean, they all just do everything for me.
MERRITT: Put your arms around my neck. Don't (INAUDIBLE)
It's kind of nice that we get to -- that we stayed together. And even though this happened, my dad has stayed strong and did his share of work, and my brother and my sister.
DAVID DAHL: It could have been worse. It could have went -- our family unit here in this house is five people, and within an instant, it could have been two.
MERRITT: Alternately, I think it's a very good experience that made us so close.
DAVID DAHL: We're not 100 percent yet, but we're getting there.
KIM DAHL: If I need anything, they're always there. And I just -- like I said, I couldn't ask for a better family.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And "YOUR $$$$$" starts right now.
