Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Faith Versus Religious Knowledge; Landslide In Mexico; Rethinking The Safety of LASIK
Aired September 28, 2010 - 09:58 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: CNN taking a cross country food journey this week. We sent reporting teams to every corner of America and beyond. Our mission: to get fresh answers about how our food is grown. How the choices we make impact our health and our state of mind, budgets and, of course, just the pure joy of eating.
We teamed up with new cnn.com food destination to bring you eatocracy.com to bring you eatocracy, mind, body and wallet.
So this hour we're exploring the impact of food deserts -- or food desserts rather.
Neighborhoods with limited access, rather, to affordable fruits, veggies and whole grains. Now these are places where it's tough if not impossible to actually find a grocery store. But convenience stores stocked with candy and chips dot the street corners. Fast food restaurants are everywhere you look.
Take Detroit, for example. There's not a single chain grocery store within city limits or Philly. It's rife with food deserts. The childhood obesity rate there is double the U.S. average. Nationwide, more than 23 million live in food deserts. But in Los Angeles one neighborhood has bloomed into an oasis for healthy living.
That's where Casey Wian takes us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary Jones drives 12 miles to this weekly exercise and cooking class in south Los Angeles and she shops for fresh produce at a farmer's market in the same neighborhood city hall because there's nothing like this where she lives.
ROSEMARY JONES, SOUTH L.A. RESIDENT: Don't have health insurance so I get free exercise plus I'm exposed to fresh food and, you know, it makes a big difference in my life.
WIAN: She's lost weight and her back problems are gone.
And Enrique Quintero has dropped 12 pound. Like many hear He's struggled for years with his weight. And I was dwindling local food options.
(on camera): How difficult was it to eat healthy? ENRIQUE QUINTERO, SOUTH L.A. RESIDENT: Well, everyday, life in city is so fast. You get hungry you just eat anywhere you see at a fast food restaurant. And that was a major cause of my weight gain.
WIAN: Two years ago the Los Angeles city council passed a moratorium on new fast food restaurants in south L.A. because the county found 30 percent of the population here was obese. The farmer's market which accepts federal food assistance checks was another step.
COUNCILWOMAN JAN PERRY, LOS ANGELES: Well, I wanted to respond quickly to the tissues related to childhood obesity. Lack of food choices. This was a fast way to come in, put together a farmer's market. Reach out to people who require some form of federal assistance and those who don't and to bring fresh fruits and vegetables right in here at our neighborhood city hall.
WIAN: The bigger challenge, attracting supermarkets to the area. The 1992 Los Angeles riots hastened a decades-long exodus of major food retailers.
There's a plenty of good deals on beer here at this neighborhood market in south Los Angeles. And across the street, another store is advertising leaders of soda for 99 cents.
For years, these were the only grocery shopping options for residents of this community. In fact, a 2002 study found that an area encompassing five entire zip codes and more than 125,000 residents, there were no full service supermarkets.
But since the city passed a moratorium on new fast food restaurants in this area, two new supermarkets have moved in, bringing healthy food options to this community for the first time in decades.
(voice-over): This fresh and easy market opened in February as part of a larger residential and retail development.
WALTER CATHEY, JR., FRESH N EASY: We believe whether you live on the west L.A. side of California or in south L.A., you should have the right to the same types of quality fresh foods and vegetables.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) stores that have the quality of food that you really needed. I ended up gaining a bunch of weight just because of the quality of food that was here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They have more organic stuff. More healthier choices beside the regular market that they have. So I think it's good for the community.
WIAN: And good for business. Fresh N Easy said it's pleased with the performance of its south L.A. store and considering opening more locations nearby.
Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE) KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. "Eatocracy, Mind, Body and Wallet." It continues next hour and I'll be talking to a working single mom on a very tight budget. She's actually got two teenage boys that apparently eat her out of house and home. But now she's changing her shopping habits to keep her sons healthy and she has got an interesting story to share with all of you.
Remember, cnn.com/eatocracy for more stories on healthy eating. It's also where you can learn more about how to unlock the CNN healthy eater badge on Four Square.
Well, people of faith may know god but knowing about god that's a totally different story. The Pew Research Center quizzed Americans on their knowledge of religion and listen to this. The highest scores were not the devout believers, they were actually atheists and agnostics, that people that rejected religion outright just aren't exactly sure what they believe.
Now Mormons and Jews came a close second, outperforming Protestants and Roman Catholics when it came to knowing details about all religions. And it was even more shocking to see that people claiming a religion couldn't even answer simple questions about their own faith. For example, more than half of Protestants couldn't even identify Martin Luther as the guy who actually led the establishment of the Protestant Church.
Well the quiz was 32 questions long. The average number of correct answers, 16. That's half. It seems like a lot of wrong answers for a nation where just about four in five people say that they belong to some sort of religious group. World renown spiritual leaders, Deepak Chopra and Marianne Williamson are joining me live from Denver and L.A. and also in L.A., along with Mary Ann there, one of my favorite pastors, the Reverend Art Cribbs of the San Marino United Church of Christ. It's great to have all three of you this morning. My favorite topic. All right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: OK. I just want to make sure we got phones with all of you. I know you're having some issues. You know what I want to get all of you to respond to this first question because it's the one that had us all talking and we were pretty surprised about the fact that those who scored highest were atheists and agnostics. Does that surprise you, Deepak?
DEEPAK CHOPRA, SPIRITUAL TEACHER: No, it does not. I think it is looking harder for answers and the devout usually are close minded. Fervent belief is a cover up for insecurity and you see all the problems that arise from fervent believers who we call fundamentalists. I think the survey sounds like counter intuitive but it isn't. If you go deeper, it says nothing about value judgment. You know, who feels closer to god? Who embodies divine attributes like love, compassion, goodness, truth, equanimity, peace of mind? Who despairs over death? So there's a difference between religious experience and religious knowledge. PHILLIPS: You know, Mary Ann, the head of the American Atheist Dave Silverman actually said that he just gave his daughter a Bible and that's how you make atheists. What do you think about the fact that agnostics and atheists actually knew more than those that claim a religion and say that they are very faithful and knowledgeable about what they believe?
MARIANNE WILLIAMSON, SPIRITUAL MOVEMENT WOMEN'S LEADER: You know, there's a line (INAUDIBLE) that says many conspire with god who do not yet believe in him. I think what Deepak was saying is so important that the religious experience is what matters. And so if a person has love in their heart they are serving god whether they "believe in god or not."
So when we make the conversation about the religious experience, which is not about dogma, which is not about doctrine, which is not about my club versus your club but about the way we live our lives in humility and an effort to forgive and live peacefully. I've known people who call themselves atheists, certainly people who consider themselves agnostic, which, you know, an agnostic is someone who is just open to exactly what is it.
I think that's the religious experience. And that's where the conversation is moving now. Not to all of the external issues but to the internal issues of the heart. And if an atheist is a loving person I think that's what god cares about.
PHILLIPS: Reverend Cribbs, Jews and Mormons, other top scorers here in this study. Mormons showing more knowledge than evangelicals on the Bible and Christianity. Does that surprise you?
REV. ART CRIBBS, PASTOR, SAN MARINO CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH: Not at all. I'm working with a wonderful friend of mine, Douglas Hunter here in Los Angeles on a project, he's a Mormon. When I go to his home he is studying the Bible with his very small children, he and his wife, and so I don't know how representative Douglas is about other Mormons but I was excited to see him doing that and perhaps many of us can learn from that.
What is fascinating, though, and I heard John Roberts earlier talk about maybe this is the way we can have more debates, both the Koran and the Bible tell us not to debate, not to have arguments, for example over religion. I find it fascinating that those of us who practice our faith know so little about it. Maybe that's a pretty good thing. Maybe just kind of learning how to experience life and love among many people.
I would wish though we could do more comparisons of understanding how our faiths are so interwoven, how closely aligned we are in terms of the values, the tradition as opposed to thinking my way is the only way.
PHILLIPS: Yes. And Deepak, you have addressed that a number of times about the fact that we really are so much alike in many different ways. Do you want to respond to that? CHOPRA: Kyra, there are three principles that are common and unifying in all religious experience. Number one, transcendence, a realm that, you know, Christians call the kingdom of heaven, other people call nirvana but a realm that is beyond space, time, that is eternal.
Number two, the interconnectedness of life and being. And number three, the values that emerge from that. Platonic ideas like truth, goodness, beauty, harmony and divine qualities like love and kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity.
These are the three principles in every religion. So this is where we should look. This is what religious experience is. Otherwise, the Bible becomes cultural mythology as does the Koran as does any other religious literature. You have to go a little deeper.
PHILLIPS: So let me ask you this. OK. Going deeper. Marianne, what do you think? Is it more important to have knowledge or faith?
WILLIAMSON: Well, I think that they are both important. Obviously, faith - the issue of real faith, the word itself is more than just belief. It's experience. That's what matters. Our experience of love for each other. Our experiences of a sense of forgiveness and A sense of humility and a sense of peace making. That's beyond belief and that's beyond what we normally think of faith.
The power of faith has to do with faith that there is a higher power that can do for us what we can't do for ourselves. Faith that love will heal all things. Faith in other people. I think that god is not just looking to us to have faith in him. The experience of god is having faith in other people.
I think where the issue of ignorance versus education is so important is because as the other two gentlemen have been speaking, that which we are ignorant of we're more likely to fear and in today's world it's so important that we see our common humanity, and in seeing the common values, the spiritual values that are universal to all the religions you are then less likely to judge a person of another religion and nothing short of peace on earth is at stake.
So I think it's extremely important right now for us not only to find the power of love, to claim the power of love, to stand on the power of love but also to see the ways in which other religions and other groups of people do no less than we do.
PHILLIPS: Reverend Cribbs, your thoughts? Are we stronger people for knowing more about our religion, or maybe being more - having more faith and being more faithful and just believing in what we are taught?
CRIBBS: Well, that's an interesting question, Kyra, because I think very often we get lost in our minds around religion as opposed to practicing our faith. I think it would be wonderful today in this very exciting era where we have so many challenges around economics and war to begin to practice our faith, a faith that calls for forgiveness, a faith that calls for mercy, a faith that calls for us to be charitable, to care about others more than we care for ourselves.
If we could begin to practice our faith, to understand that we are to love one another, that we are not to declare war on persons who are different than we but that we are to stretch our imagination to find ways to be helpful. Our faith informs us to think about the other. Even in love relationships, I think marriages would be stronger if we thought about how do we please the other more than how can I seek pleasure.
If we in this era of economic challenge were to think about the poor, the vulnerable, how do we lift up those who are at the bottom before we think about greed and what I can do for myself. Just as Marianne was saying a moment ago, if we begin to think of a higher power to be able to be Muslim, to submit ourselves, to understand that we do not live a solitary life, that we're communal by nature and that we're called to be together. The practices of faith, it seems to me, become more important than intellectual discourse over what I believe and why my faith is the way and your faith is not.
PHILLIPS: And Reverend Cribbs, Marianne, Deepak, stay with me. I have one more question to hit you with right after the break. I want to talk more about education and religious understanding in just a moment.
And we also have a pop quiz. Three questions from that Pew study poll that we want to read to you. What was Mother Theresa's religion? When does the Jewish Sabbath begin. And what is Ramadan? We're going tell you the answers and also what the study tells us about who knew the answers. It may surprise you.
But first, quickly, before we go to break, Rob Marciano on some breaking news. Rob, what do you have for us?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, there's been a landslide in Mexico Oaxaca, Mexico, just outside, about three or four hours outside of Oaxaca, in southwestern Mexico. This area has seen a tremendous amount of rain in the past few days. And early this morning there was a landslide that reports are telling us 300 homes affected by this landslide and national newspaper here is reporting that there may be as many as 1,000 people dead.
Again, that's reported by the national newspaper. We don't have confirmation on that yet. I can tell you this though, they have seen a tremendous amount of rain for sure. This area right here. This is pretty much what's left over of Matthew. We talked about that last week and a lot of rain there. That's the issue there. We'll try to get more information about what's going on just outside of Oaxaca with that landslide potentially taking hundreds of lives. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We're wrapping up our conversation now with world renown spiritual leaders, Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson and the Reverend Art Cribbs who is with the San Marino United Church of Christ. I just want to ask all three of you, guys, before we go, you know, the fact that this Pew study shows that we know god but we don't know a lot about god, overall.
Deepak, do you think that we need to incorporate more religion 101 in our school curriculum earlier on and continue that throughout our educational process so we can make better decisions?
CHOPRA: Yes. I think, Kyra, knowledge is essential. And so is experience. Knowledge without experience is meaningless and experience without knowledge can be confusing. You need both. When you have knowledge you do see the commonalities. You mentioned, Ramadan, the month of fasting that Muslims embark on. It was very close to Rosh Hoshana (ph) this year, almost the same time. It's the same idea. The atonement that one does going inward.
And many of the rituals are very similar. When you see the commonalities you're likely to more tolerant and also likely to have more contextual understanding of where people are coming from, leads to less conflict.
PHILLIPS: Marianne?
WILLIAMSON: Absolutely. Just what Deepak said. Our love for god is not a love for something outside of ourselves. The experience of god is our love of each other. And when we study comparative religion, we begin to see something that's not just about god but we begin to understand other people better. We begin to understand what lies in the heart of the people who practice that religion.
When we begin to see the universality of these spiritual themes, then as Deepak was saying what is going on in the heart of the Jew, in Yom Kippur? What is going on in the heart of the Catholic at confession, which, by the way, are the same things. It has to do with atoning for our errors. What is going on in the heart of the Muslim or the heart of the Hindu or the heart of the Christian during particular rites and rituals and holidays?
That's why this is the key to peace on earth. Right now, when we hold god as something which is exclusive and separates us from others, this actually leads through this belief in separation, it leads to conflict and violence. But when we recognize that god is the love in our hearts then, of course, our faith leads to us peace. What could possibly be more important on the earth today?
PHILLIPS: Reverend Cribbs, final thought?
CRIBBS: I would hope that we would learn more about mercy and forgiveness. I believe the path to god is relationships that we have with each other to the extent that we learn more about each other, concern ourselves about people who are in places that are unfamiliar to us, to make ourselves more knowledgeable about the world itself.
It seems to me it's a path to god, to have an openness, a spirit of compassion, a spirit of forgiveness, a spirit of mercy. Right now we have a religion of war. We have a religion of greed. We have a religion of separation and disdain for one another. If there's a way to break into that at every opportunity and I don't want to put anything else on our schools. I think they are already overburdened.
But I believe that we could have a practice in our homes, in our community just to know how to say hello to one another. Learning different languages and having experiences with people in other parts of the world and fortunately today because of transportation and technology, it's not difficult to get to know the other but I believe we have to have a consciousness, a desire to know one another.
The path to god is not through some practice or some ritual. But it's through the hello, the how are you today? How are we doing? What are we doing to make this a better, safer world for ourselves and our future. And finally, to the extent that we become less egocentric and more concern, compassionate, loving and offering forgiveness. I believe we will then understand god in our lives.
PHILLIPS: What a much more beautiful place this world would be. Reverend Art Cribbs, Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, what a terrific discussion. I know it would be. I thank all of you and respect all three of you so much. Thank you for your time today.
CRIBBS: Thank you.
WILLIAMSON: Thank you, Kyra.
CHOPRA: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: And a new safety warning about LASIK surgery from a former FDA official who actually helped to prove it. He said he wouldn't let his loved ones go through with it now and he wants the FDA to issue a strong warning. We're having him and actually the man who performed the first LASIK surgery in the U.S., both here, live, on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Breaking news out of Austin, Texas right now. We're getting reports that apparently there was a gunman on the loose there at the university. Not sure if there's any other injuries but we are being told that that gunman did take his own life. The university right now is on lockdown. And also there are reports out that there might a second suspect. We still don't know.
These are live pictures of the university via our affiliate there, out of Austin, KVUE. Once again, a gunman that was on the loose there on the campus has taken his own life. Reports of possibly another suspect on the loose, the university is on lockdown. No injuries reported at this time. We'll keep you updated on the situation there at UT Austin as we get more information.
Another developing story right now is a landslide in Mexico. Rob Marciano tracking that for us. Rob.
MARCIANO: Yes. This is in Oaxaca, the capital city of that state, south of Mexico City. There's a village just to the east in the mountains of the east about three, four hour drive and there was a mudslide earlier today that reportedly took out 200 to 300 homes and we're fearing there's about 1,000 people that may be trapped in a mudslide that has mud and debris as tall as potentially 900 feet.
So that's a scary proposition there. Obviously search and rescue is on the scene in this very pretty rugged terrain out here to the east of Oaxaca. And you know, obviously, reports are pretty sketchy. But that does not sound very good. I can tell us this between tropical storm Karl and tropical storm Matthew, we've had a tremendous amount of rain in this area and that's probably what did it over the past 16 days, well over a foot of rain. And another tropical storm later in the hour we might be seeing our next tropical storm, Nicole, developing in the northwestern Caribbean.
Kyra, back over to you.
PHILLIPS: All right. Rob, thanks.
MARCIANO: You bet.
PHILLIPS: Well, correct your vision with laser precision and little down time. That's the promise of LASIK. For 15 years now, Americans have been going into the procedure hoping that they will see me like this without contacts or glasses. But imagine your results ended up more like this. The FDA official who helped promote LASIK now says it's not safe. He wouldn't even recommend it to anyone that he cares about.
We're going to talk to him along with a LASIK doctor who performed the first surgery here in the United States. But first let's walk through LASIK surgery step by step.
All right. It starts with a thin flap of the outer cornea. It's lifted up and out of the way. Then a laser flattens the inner part of the cornea. But critics say that that can lead to microscopic scar tissue and big vision problems like halos, starbursts and blurred vision. But industry experts say those effects are minor and often temporary. A lot of back and forth here.
So is LASIK safe or not? Morris Waxler is a former FDA official who helped approve LASIK back in the '90s but now he's changing his mind and is actually warning against it. He's joining me live from Greenbay, Wisconsin. And in Houston, I'm also joined by Dr. Stephen Slade, an eye surgeon who along with a colleague actually performed the first LASIK surgery here in the United States.
It's great to have you both. I'm hoping that we will be able to educate our viewers that are struggling with this and also who may be thinking about doing this very soon and Morris, why don't we go ahead and start with you. You approved this back in the '90s. At that point in time, why did you approve it? Why did you give the green light and feel so confident about the procedure?
MORRIS WAXLER, FORMER FDA OFFICIAL: Well, to put it in a nutshell, of course, it wasn't just myself, there was regulatory team in which I was one of the leaders. Essentially, our focus was on making sure there wasn't a loss of visual acuity. And as a consequence, we didn't pay enough attention although we did pay some attention to other problems that occur when you slice a cornea and then take some tissue out of it.
So it's not a concern about the loss of best corrective visual acuity, it's a concern about not being able to get rid of your glasses and your contact lenses, that's only about 60 percent are able to do that. And then in addition you have these glare halos, night driving problems even if you happen to have reasonably good visual acuity. So the focus became if you'll excuse the expression was on the visual acuity parameters.
PHILLIPS: OK. Stephen, why don't you go ahead and respond to that. Because you helped perform the first surgery. Other doctors come to you now even to get this surgery done. You still believe in it. What do you think about what Morris is saying now?
DR. STEPHEN SLADE, OPHTHALMOLOGIST: Well, good morning. I was there from the start. And what Morris is saying today is simply wrong. The science is not there. LASIK is arguably the most studied elective procedure that we have today in the United States. Since that original FDA approval more than 28 other protocols, extension of LASIK, different exomer (ph) lasers have been approved through the FDA.
That represents over 16,000 eyes that have been extensively studied not just for loss of best corrective vision but specifically for what Morris is talking about, glare, halos, even night driving simulations. Some 17 million patients have had this done in the United States alone. It's approved in every country in the world. All branches of our military have approved it as well as our astronauts. Some 300 peer reviewed studies have been done on LASIK alone. The science is there that shows that LASIK is safe and effective, which, by the way, importantly is precisely what the FDA's position is today that it is safe and effective.
PHILLIPS: So, Morris, what has changed your mind? You mentioned a bit of that in your first answer but what is it that is so concerning to you where you are even telling people that you care about "don't do it."
WAXLER: Well, I think it's straightforward, actually and I hardly disagree with Steve, and I respect him a great deal.
I have reviewed -- there certainly has been a great deal of research by refractive Lasik surgeons on the topic. I've reviewed the PMAs, the data that was partly which I had reviewed when I was at the agency and looked at specifically at those tables that relate to haze and halo and night driving problems. And despite Dr. Slade's comments, these problems are persistent. They remain. I looked specifically if they remain after a year, and they do. I've heard from many, many patients who call me -- this started about three years ago -- I had put Lasik issues behind me. Was working on many, many other products.
There's -- the failure rate if you calculate a failure rate based on FDA data, and you can se it from the charts I sent to CNN, the failure rate is over 50 percent. That includes taking into account that only 60 percent can get rid of their glasses and contact lenses, 18 percent or more suffer from glare halo, dry eyes and similar problems. And in addition, people have a very small percent but maybe less than 1 percent, maybe about 0.7, 0.8 percent, a problem with the cornea is too thin and it bulges. This is a serious problem requiring a corneal transplant or hard contact lenses.
People are having a miserable time with Lasik.
PHILLIPS: Now, Doctor -
WAXLER: It took me --
PHILLIPS: Go ahead. I'm sorry.
WAXLER: Go ahead.
PHILLIPS: No, go ahead. Finish, Morris. I'm sorry.
WAXLER: It took me two to three years -- it took me two to three years to figure out that I was wrong to discount the haze and halo and other effects. These have not been studied extensively. They are being -- when they are studied, they are studied by people who have a financial interest in the outcome, and there's not an independent study that's been done.
And, in fact, one of the big problems is that in the military, some of the ophthalmologists who have been responsible for the military adopting these issues have a side business in which they conduct -- they perform Lasik surgery. So, they've profited mightily by this.
So, it's being promoted heavily as if it's nothing, like getting your finger nails manicured or your hair curled. It's not. It's a serious problem. You're taking a perfectly formed cornea, messing it up by taking a slice, putting a flap over it. If you add up all the risks associated with that and add in a few incompetent surgeons you have a lot, a lot of problems. And people are suffering from this, and they need help.
PHILLIPS: Sure. Dr. Slade, he threw out a lot of information there, a lot of numbers, and I'm trying to bring this all together. But bottom line, there are -- and we can't refute that, number of patients who do have the blurry vision, the halo, the double vision. I know a number of people that have had to go back and get another surgery, a third surgery. They still have to wear glasses.
You know, what do you do with those patients that do experience those type of after effects. And, you know, tell us why it's still worth doing it, despite the number of folks that are not being successful with it?
SLADE: Right. Well, certainly I'll address that.
I would like to point out that I do disagree with everything Morris, just about everything he just said. I don't believe that the military doctors who did the treatments there -- Lasik has proved better night driving after Lasik than before Lasik. I don't think they are compromised or disreputable.
But let me address your question because you actually touch on the most important thing, and that are -- that is the patients. And these are our patients. As opthamologists, these are all our patients that have had problems with Lasik. That's the most important thing there is. And we will do everything in our capabilities medically to help them. And we are doing that.
Morris -- some of the data he put out was from 20-year-old technology. The first FDA approval was in 1995, based upon - '99 - based upon machines that are now 20 years old. Since then, for example, we don't slice the cornea as Morris said. We use a laser to make a flap and lift that up. We use much more sophisticated oblation patterns than we did with 20-year-old technology.
Think about what your laptop or cell phone looked like 20 years ago. The patients that have had problems with older forms of Lasik or even other forms of retractive surgery, again, are our focus. And we will do everything for them that we possibly can. New drugs have been developed for dry eyes. New screening techniques. Morris misrepresented the rate of actasion (ph) in this country. We now can screen for that. It's far lower.
The highest published rate is 0.66, not 0.7 percent. That was outside of the U.S., and that was the highest range. We can detect those patients now. We have new drugs for dry eyes. We have ways -- better antibiotics, as I mentioned. Lasers to make flaps Much more sophisticated laser oblation patterns. We can treat the cornea with medications when it as actasia (ph), or if we need to, we can do surgery using a laser.
We can treat cataracts for the first time today with a laser. The amount of technology that's available for these patients is -- it's there. And believe me, we are committed to them. There's nothing more important.
PHILLIPS: Bottom line to the patient: get out and do your homework and your research and read what everyone has to say, including Dr. Steven Slade and Morris Waxler. I appreciate you both. Something that a lot of people have been talking about. Popular subject.
Gentlemen, thank you.
This brings us to our blog -
SLADE: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: You bet.
Our blog question today. We asked you to share your experiences with Lasik surgery. Natalie said, "Four years post-Lasik, I still have dry eyes, fluctuating vision and night vision disturbances. Oh, and for $3,000, I'm still wearing glasses. Lasik is like playing Russian roulette with your eyes."
John said, "My wife and I had Lasik two years ago. Her vision now is better than mine and she feels safer she did before,especially while driving which is important because she is the one who drops the kids off at school."
Francoise said, "I had Lasik surgery seven years ago. I still have a problem with dry eyes and feel like my eyes have some type of film on it. If I was to do it all over again, I would not consider it."
Thanks so much for weighing in. I always want to hear from you. Just log on to CNN.com/kyra or my Twitter page @kyracnn and share your comments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Breaking news out of Austin, Texas. We're getting word there was a shooter on the loose there at UT Austin, and apparently, we're being told now he took his own life. There are reports there might be another suspect that's on the loose.
The university right now is on lockdown. Police on the scene trying to figure out exactly what's going on, if it's safe for students at this point. We caught up with a witness just a few seconds ago. Our affiliate there out of Austin, News 8, had this for us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're on the UT campus this morning. Shots rang out early right before 8:00 this morning at one of the libraries here on campus. I'm going to give you a scene setter here and show you how many people have shown up so far. We have the media already come up to cover this event. We've had at least two armored vehicles that have shown up with S.W.A.T. team members from DPS, the Austin Police Department and as well as University of Texas police.
From what we're being told, the gunman that was identified this morning has shot himself, and they are looking for a second suspect at this time. It's not yet confirmed whether or not there is a second suspect. But this is a locked-down situation on campus as police continue to come in and helicopters are now arriving to continue to survey the campus of the University of Texas.
So far, again, we have confirmed that there is one shooter that is dead inside a library. Shots were fired inside that building. Nobody was hit, from what we're being told from the communications director. But that shooter is now dead --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: All right. And just to correct what I said, that was obviously not a witness. That was a reporter for News 8 Austin. Getting information from public affairs folks there; at that point had not talked to any witnesses. But on the phone with us now, Micha Geisenberg, a student there at UT Austin. Micah, tell us what's going on right now. What kind of information have you been getting?
MICAH GEISENBERG, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN STUDENT (via phone): OK, right now, I'm right across from the library. There's S.W.A.T. police, dogs, National Guard, everything you can think of.
PHILLIPS: Have you been told -- what have you been told? Has anyone given you any information? Are your on campus, and have you been told not to move -
GEISENBERG: Yes, ma'am.
PHILLIPS: You are on campus?
GEISENBERG: I live off campus, but we got an e-mail around 8:45 that said "Possible shooter at DCL. Be cautious." So, I took the bus because I had class at 9:30. Then around 9:00, we got an e-mail who said "if you're off campus, stay off campus." But I was on the bus already. Bus got to campus and dropped off like normal. And I was trying to make my way to gate. But they're not letting anyone go to class.
The business school is actually right across from the library. And that's all locked down. It's chaos right now.
PHILLIPS: OK. So, you're obviously in a safe place. Are you in a building or are you with other students?
GEISENBERG: I'm actually outside with a group of people right across from -- I guess the crime scene.
PHILLIPS: OK. Have you been told to leave campus, or has everybody been told stay where they are until they figure what's been going on, and if indeed, there's another shooter?
GEISENBERG: It's just stay where you are for right now.
PHILLIPS: OK. And do we know if there is another shooter that may be on the loose? Have you gotten that information?
GEISENBERG: You know, I'm really not for sure. But north of where the library was, there is a big group of S.W.A.T. that met up, and they just ran right past us to go behind thereby.
PHILLIPS: Got it. So, it looks like the scene is centered around the library.
GEISENBERG: Yes, ma'am.
PHILLIPS: Did you actually hear the shooting when it took place the first time around?
GEISENBERG: After I got off the bus, I did hear one gunshot.
PHILLIPS: You did hear one gunshot?
GEISENBERG: Yes, ma'am.
PHILLIPS: Was it in the library or outside of the library? Do you know?
GEISENBERG: I was probably half a mile away from the library, but it sounded like it came from that vicinity.
PHILLIPS: OK. And do you know anything, if there had been any reports of any injuries? We've been told -- we haven't been able to confirm any injuries that point. How about you? Have you received any information there on campus?
GEISENBERG: Well, I do see an ambulance, but they are not giving out any real information right now.
PHILLIPS: OK. Is the ambulance opened up? Do you see anybody on a stretcher, or is it closed up right now?
GEISENBERG: It's closed up right now.
PHILLIPS: Okay. So the S.W.A.T. team has surrounded the library, is that what you're saying?
GEISENBERG: Well, they just went in the back. I don't see them at the moment. National Guard --or police right now, S.W.A.T. team are also moving this way. And I don't know. They have a bazooka.
PHILLIPS: OK. And this e-mail you got this morning -- the first one you received is this a campus-wide e-mail that goes out to all of your emails that are registered -- tell me how that works, like the first warning you got and what it said.
GEISENBERG: It was a UT service alert. I actually got it through text message.
PHILLIPS: OK.
GEISENBERG: And I actually can pull it up real quick if you want.
PHILLIPS: Sure. Yes. That would be great. Pull it up for me.
We're talking with Micah Gisenberg, a student there at UT Austin who's actually got his eyes on the library where the S.W.A.T. team has moved in --
GEISENBERG: They are walking in the back of the library.
PHILLIPS: OK. Walking into back of the library right now. We have reports that one shooter has taken his own life, but there are reports that possibly another shooter might be on the loose there on campus. So far, we haven't been able to report any injuries.
Micah, go ahead and read that text message to me you got through the university.
GEISENBERG: So, the first text at 8:23 was "Armed subject reported last seen at PCL." And that was it.
PHILLIPS: And what is PCO (sic)?
GEISENBERG: PCL -- that's the library.
PHILLIPS: OH, PCL. Got it. OK. That's all right. Public library, right? Public campus library?
GEISENBERG: It stands for someone's name - Perry-Castaneda Library.
PHILLIPS: Oh, got you. The name of the library. All right. And then what was the next text message you got?
GEISENBERG: I'm not sure the exact time, but I'm pretty sure it was probably 8:50. "Armed subject reported last seen at PCL. Shelter in place. Stay where you're at. More information to follow."
PHILLIPS: Got you. Have you gotten any other text messages since then?
GEISENBERG: No ma'am, I have not.
PHILLIPS: OK. So, you got information through the university. Now do you see any other students walking around? Does it look like it's pretty contained right now?
GEISENBERG: In the library, we're all blocked. They have everything blocked off. They have cop cars everywhere. But behind the yellow tape, there's probably a group of about 50 of us, some reporters, other people just watching on.
PHILLIPS: Any idea at that time in the morning, around 8:00, how many students are in the library studying? Or, I mean, is this exam time this week?
GEISENBERG: There's midterms this week. So, there could have been a decent amount. So, I'm really -- I can't really tell you a good estimate, honestly.
PHILLIPS: Got it.
GEISENBERG: But that is the most populated library on campus.
PHILLIPS: It is the most populated library on campus.
GEISENBERG: Yes, ma'am.
PHILLIPS: OK. Have you been able to talk with any of your other buddies or classmates via text or on the phone? Have you been able to get any information from your buddies?
GEISENBERG: I have a buddy in engineering, and they are not letting them leave class. So, he's stuck in class.
PHILLIPS: Got it.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: All right. Go ahead. I'm sorry.
GEISENBERG: I'm sorry. And I have some other friends that live in the dorms. The dorms are shut down, too. They can't leave or exit.
PHILLIPS: Got it.
GEISENBERG: (INAUDIBLE) get in.
PHILLIPS: And what -- now you have campus -- do you have campus police or campus security? Do you know?
GEISENBERG: There's the UT Police Department up here, I'm pretty sure the Austin Police Department is here. I see a tape thingy kind of right across the library.
PHILLIPS: Got you.
GEISENBERG: And I see dogs.
PHILLIPS: Okay. And you said the S.W.A.T. team has come in and going into the back of the library. Does that seem to be where all the focus is in right now, is in back of the library?
GEISENBERG: From the S.W.A.T., yes. There's some police still scattered around every where.
PHILLIPS: Got you. Give me an idea of the library -- it's been a long time since I've been to that campus -- where the library is. What is around the library? What other buildings, you know, how close are they to the library? How condensed is that area?
GEISENBERG: Well, probably about 100 yards to the right of the library is the most populated dorm on campus. It houses around 3,000 people.
PHILLIPS: Okay. Oh, wow.
GEISENBERG: Yes, ma'am.
PHILLIPS: And how many levels are in the library?
GEISENBERG: I believe there's five.
PHILLIPS: Five. Okay. So they are going to have to clear five levels of that library.
And once again, for our viewers that are just tuning in, Micah, you're calling into us -- what year are you by the way?
GEISENBERG: This is my second year at UT.
PHILLIPS: So, you're a sophomore at UT.
For those who are just tuning in, University of Texas, Austin. There was a shooting early this morning. We're being told that that shooter has taken his own life, but right now the S.W.A.T. team has moved in, various police departments have moved in, even Micah, our student there that called into us said he's seen the National Guard roll -
(SIREN SOUND)
PHILLIPS: -- roll into campus there. What are we hearing there, Micah?
GEISENBERG: There's a loud siren coming in. (INAUDIBLE)
PHILLIPS: Okay. Micah Gisenberg, our sophomore there at UT, calling in to us. Actually heard one of the shots ring out there near the library on the UT campus.
Micah, thanks so much. Stay with us for a second, we might want to get some more information with you, but we're following this shooting that took place at UT Austin. No reports of injuries so far. We do know the shooter took his own life. There might be another shooter. Police there on the scene trying to assess what exactly to do next.
Right now, UT Austin on lockdown. We're going to take a quick break. We've also got a landslide in Mexico. Our Rob Marciano is going to cover that for us next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. We're continuing to falling - following, rather -- breaking news out of UT Austin. This is what we can tell you so far.
This morning at about 8:23, that's according to one of the students there in Texas, that they got a text message that there was a possible shooter there near the library. And they were to avoid coming on to campus, if they hadn't left for class yet. If they were on campus already, to stay put.
Since then, we have learned that that shooter has taken his own life but possibly there might be another shooter on the loose. Seems like the area of concentration is around the library there on campus. According to a student, the S.W.A.T. team has rolled in. Various police departments from the university to the Austin police. Also the National Guard, one student reporting is also there, trying to assess how threatening this can be.
Another student now joining us, actually from his dorm. Matthew Holiner calling into us. Matthew, how close are you to that library?
MATTHEW HOLINER, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, AUSTIN, STUDENT (via phone): I'm just a couple of blocks to the south of the library. The library is to my north, but I've been seeing all the action unfold from the window of my dorm room.
PHILLIPS: OK. So, tell me, take me from the beginning. What have you seen, heard, what do you know?
HOLINER: About 8:00 a.m. I was actually in my room studying, and then about 8:10 a.m., I heard a series of loud bangs. And at first, it really caught me off-guard. I would say about seven. And of course, in the back of my mind, I thought could that have been gun shots?
So, of course, I went right to my window, looked out, and I then saw people running. So then of course as soon as I saw people running, I thought, could this be a shooter? And I looked around. And I never actually saw the shooter. And none of those people were injured. They were running. I think they were just startled by the loud noises.
And then about five minutes after the shots are fired, I saw the first police car head north towards the library, and then a second, a third. And now I'm looking at almost ten cars outside of my window right now. I've seen armored cars headed to the north towards the library as well. Right no,w they have the road taped off, and students are staying around behind the tape. They're not letting the students go anywhere on campus. It's on lockdown. Been quite an exciting morning, to say the least.
PHILLIPS: No doubt. Did you by chance see any bodies taken out of the library? I understand there's an ambulance there that you can possibly see from the library. Have you seen any transportation of any bodies possibly any shooting victims, the shooter himself?
HOLINER: Well, yes. Since I'm south of the library, I do not have a clear view of the library. But I've seen at least two ambulances head north towards the library. But I have not seen any bodies transported.
PHILLIPS: Got it. Matthew Holiner, student there at UT Austin. Sure appreciate you calling in, Matthew. Hope you stay put.
We'll continue to follow this breaking news story out much Austin, Texas there at the university. One shooter already taken his own life. Possibly another shooter on the loose. We'll keep following that story for you.
Another developing story breaking right now, a landslide in Mexico. And Rob Marciano has been following that for us.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Heavy rain the past several days. Matthew has really dumped a lot of rainfall to this area, just east of Oaxaca is where this landslide occurred early this morning.
I want to get right to a reporter that I believe we have on the phone. Kirsten Johnson, who is out of Oaxaca. Kirsten, what time did this happen, and what do we know as far as how many people may be affected by this landslide?
KIRSTEN JOHNSON, VIDEO JOURNALIST (via phone): It happened about 4:00 in the morning when many were still sleeping inside of their homes. There's really not a whole lot known besides what the Oaxaca state governor said this morning on the Televisa news station program. And he said there were between 100 and 300 people - or I'm sorry -- homes that had been buried and up to as many as a thousand people who may be trapped under the mud right now.
MARCIANO: Give us the idea of the terrain. I assume it's rugged. Are search and rescue crews able to get to the people that have been trapped?
JOHNSON: That's the tricky issue right now. They have army, they have police, they rescue and medical teams on the way. But this is a very mountainous region with very muddy roads that are very hard to get to, especially after the recent rains from Tropical Depression Matthew.
MARCIANO: All right. Kirsten Johnson, thank you very much for that report. Santa Maria (INAUDIBLE) is the name of the village, and we'll be reporting on this throughout the day. No doubt. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Great, Rob. Thanks so much.
And like Rob pointed out, our Drew Griffin in for Tony Harris today. He's going to continue our breaking news coverage of these two big stories right now.
We'll see you back here tomorrow. Drew, picking it up right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
