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First Female Vice Presidential Candidate Geraldine Ferraro Passes Away at Age 75; President to Address Nation About Libya Operation; Republican Presidential Hopefuls Converge on Iowa Ahead of Caucus; Real Estate Foreclosures Still a Potential Problem for American Economy; Rebel Forces Take Back a Major City From Pro-Gadhafi Forces in Libya; America Banning Some Food Imports From Possibly Contaminated Areas in Japan; Witnesses Claim Sniper Fire Against Anti- Government Protesters In Misrata, Libya

Aired March 26, 2011 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We begin this hour with the passing of a political trailblazer. America's first female vice presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro died today after a 12 year battle with cancer.

In 1984, the former congresswoman helped change the political landscape as a vice presidential candidate of a major U.S. political party. Ferraro was 75. Later in this hour we talk in detail about her American political history.

Rebel forces in Libya say they now completely control an important city close to the country's oilfield. People celebrated on burned out tanks after days after air strikes. The Libyan deputy foreign minister tells reporters why government troops pulled back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KHALED KAIM, LIBYAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER: The last two days, what the so-called coalition or what we call it the crusader, they fall of the attack on the army forces and civilians in Libya and nearby. The coalition forces were derelict. They were heavily enforced. That is why the Libyan armed forces decided to leave early this morning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: President Barack Obama plans to take to the air waves to talk about Libya on Monday night. CNN's live coverage starts at 7:00 p.m. eastern time.

And to Syria. Syria's state-run news agency says gunmen opened fire on activists filling the streets today. No word on casualties, but dozens are reported dead after weeks of clashes. The head of a human rights group called the violence unnecessary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WISSAM TARIF, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INSAN: If they really intend to inform, they have to start moving forward with the people. They have to walk their talk. Enough is enough. We will do this and we will do that. This can be peaceful. Reform can happen peacefully. The price does not have to be blood in Syria. The regime holds the weapons, not the protestors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: In Japan, concern over radiation levels in the sea water. Tests show radiation has spiked in the Fukushima Daiichi plant. It is not clear where the radiation is coming from. They are trying to figure out if there was a leak at one of the plants damaged by the earthquake two weeks ago.

Accused cop killer Jamie Donald Hood is in jail today. He surrendered to police in Athens, Georgia last night after a long hostage standoff. Hood is accused of shooting two officers, one died. Hood was watching the standoff. Negotiators went to communicate with him and he released four hostages during the standoff. Four others were freed when hood surrendered.

We are still waiting to find out who is America's newest multimillionaire. Officials say one ticket bought in Albany, New York had all of the right numbers. The jackpot is $319 million.

Now back to Libya. Two days before president Obama talks to the American people about the U.S. role in Libya, our Sandra Endo has the latest.

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The president is expected to layout the objective in Libya. That speech is set for Monday night. He continues to defend his decision in the conflict. In the weekly radio address, the president touted the successes of the efforts so far saying that U.S. and coalition forces have successfully knocked down Moammar Gadhafi's defense mechanisms. The president says the U.S. had to get involved in order to save lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States should not and cannot intervene every time there is a crisis somewhere in the world. But I firmly believe that when innocent people are being brutalized, when someone like Gadhafi threatened a bloodbath to destabilize an entire region, and when the entire international community is coming together to save thousands of lives, it is in our national interest to act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ENDO: The president is facing criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say there is a lack of Congressional involvement in the decision making for Libya. President Obama yesterday held a conference call with leaders to layout the objectives and concerns.

However, there is still some discontent especially among Republicans who are questioning the efforts and the cost of this involvement. Clearly, a lot needs to be hashed out. The president maintains the U.S. involvement will remain limited and focused and clear. He does say that no ground forces will be involved.

WHITFIELD: Sandra, thank you. The president's speech will be conducted from the National Defense University in Washington D.C. that is Monday night. You can watch it here on CNN at 7:00 eastern time.

This is a real shocker in many circles. In the Abercrombie and Fitch new spring catalog, take a look right there. Swimsuit season is coming up. It is not unusual to have bikinis. But what if those bikinis were padded and marketed to young girls as young as seven and eight years old.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Let's get to eastern Libya now. That is where opposition forces say they repelled tanks known to Moammar Gadhafi today. We have Arwa Damon with us now. It is nightfall there. What kind of activity is happening right now?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, we just got back from the city that the opposition managed to finally regain control of after fighting for it for well over a week now. That is by and large thanks to air strikes overnight. Driving into the city the northern entrance where the fighting had been taking place. We counted 14 tanks, most of the tanks damaged by these air strikes. There were large rate craters.

A lot of the tanks being used by opposition fighters where they were fighting on top of them chanting the victory and firing into the air and also thanking the international community for the intervention. Many people are saying without the air strikes, they would not have been able to win back the critical city.

Residents are slowly coming back and surveying the damage. The aftermath of what the Gadhafi forces had done to their homes. A number of them had been looted. The damage is not as widespread as would have imagined given the intensity of the fire and tour that we had been hearing out there. The opposition heading west saying it fully intends to capitalize on this one and take the fight to Tripoli.

WHITFIELD: I wonder if you would give us a better understanding of this. Why is Ajdabiya such a pivotal city? Why it would be a victory for one side or important to protect if you are representing the other side of the conflict?

DAMON: Well, Fredricka, Ajdabiya this is the first major city on the west of Benghazi if you were to head from Tripoli. It is viewed as a gate way to the west. They feel as if the cities that come west of here, they will take it fairly easily.

It is also a key gate way to the very same areas I just mentioned because these are oil areas so very economically critical. Ajdabiya was being viewed as the entrance to these places, they could keep going westward. Gadhafi forces want to keep the forces out the area. That is why this area is so important.

WHITFIELD: Arwa Damon, thank you so much. I appreciate that.

Now off to a different kind of conflict, a clash of a different scale, this one very peaceful. These are live pictures of London where tens of thousands of people are marching through the streets there.

The march was organized by the trade organizers. They say the government's proposed spending cuts are not the way to fix the deficit there. For the most part, we do understand this march has been peaceful. Although there have been some conflicts, to what degree, we're not sure, but some conflicts between the protesters and police. But obviously a pretty significant turnout in the event today.

Same country, same city, but certainly not a conflict. This one is going to be a celebrated union. The royal wedding of prince William and Kate Middleton. It is weeks away. It is not too late to get on the go. Experience it firsthand. Here is Richard Quest with the scoop.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is the countdown to the royal wedding. It is still time to witness the nuptials in person. It is far easier to plan now than in 1981 when Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer.

GABE SAGLIE, TRAVELZOO: We have the online travel revolution at our disposal now.

QUEST: When looking for a hotel, be adventurous.

SAGLIE: The further away you are from central London, the more affordable your hotel will be. I would say look at cities an hour or two hours outside of London.

QUEST: Without an invitation, you won't be able to crash the wedding itself. Plan ahead and pick your spot on the royal professional route between Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace. With the pubs staying open late on the weekend of the wedding, you won't go Thursday thirsty. You can come too. There is always room for one more.

Richard Quest, CNN, Buckingham Palace, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Perhaps a trip to London is not your cup of tea. How about a luxury cruise? Norwegian cruise line will celebrate with a prince and princess brunch and royal high tea. On some ships, the wedding will be seen on two-story television screens.

CNN.com is sending an iReporter to wedding to cover the wedding. Send us a video by April 10th telling us why it should be you to be going to London for that we had wedding. Get your submissions in. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This will get your attention. "Appalling," that is just one of the words that critics are used to describe the latest offering from clothing retailer Abercrombie and Fitch. They are talking about these right here. Seem like ordinary swim suits. These happen to be padded bikini tops for young girls as young as seven or eight. Is that appropriate? That is the question that is being asked.

Here now is Janet Wu of our Boston affiliate WHDH.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANET WU, CORRESPONDENT WHDH: Push up bras and bathing suits are certainly not unusual or shocking, except when they are made for little girls.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is weird. There is no need for that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They don't need push-up bras. They don't even need bras.

WU: It is the latest shocker from Abercrombie and Fitch, know for pushing the envelope when it comes to sexuality and teens. These push-up tops are made for girls as young as seven.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is no need for seven-year-old girls to be worrying about their bodies.

WU: A local professor says this kind of thing is actually dangerous.

GAIL DINES, SOCIOLOGY PROFESSOR: It gets young girls to think about themselves in sexual ways before it is appropriate.

WU: She adds the potentially negative effects are not limited to the young girl.

DINES: It sends out bad signals to adult men about young girls being appropriate sexual objects.

WU: Regarding sending a message, A&F removed the words "push-up" from their website, but the padded tops are still there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And we tried contacting Abercrombie and Fitch and asked for their response. A company representative who actually hung up on our representative here at CNN before we could get his name said this, "We are not releasing any information. Thanks, and have a good day."

This isn't the first time Abercrombie and Fitch stirred some controversy over clothes with kids. Look at the 2002 CNN Money story. Back then the company initially refused to recall a line of thong underwear for tots. The underwear had the words "eye candy" and "wink-wink" written on them.

So now the issue is the padded bikinis for little girls. We hope to be joined by a psychologist momentarily. We hope to add to the conversation of whether it is appropriate or not.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, more information now on all that is taking place in Libya. We understand according to some eyewitness accounts that several busloads of troops representing Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's army are in Misrata. We are also told by eyewitnesses that these troops represent some sniper activity that has been taking place in Misrata.

Right now we are joined on the phone by a council member of Misrata. We are not revealing his identity for his safety. He is calling in to give us his eyewitness account.

Mr. Councilman, you have to speak slowly and clearly for us because I understand our signal may not be perfect.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, COUNCILMAN IN MISRATA: OK, several busloads, at least nine busloads of well-equipped snipers with backpacks and sniper rifles arrived in Misrata. They were located into a school by the highway just off the entrance of Misrata.

And they have already started organizing and evacuating people from their homes. And not allowing them to take their belongings or their cars. It is just one horrible scenario after another. They are asking people to leave their homes and go away, just go away, not allowing them to take their cars or any of their belongings.

That is on top of the usual heavy and random shelling of the city each morning. Each morning, we wake up to the sounds of shells landing nearby our homes. Nobody is safe. Look for the head of the emergency operations. He will tell you about the cases of complete families wiped out. He will tell you about the suffering of the people and how the Gadhafi troops are asking people to leave their homes and sometimes shooting them with injuries.

There are injuries. There are deaths. As I said before, not allowing them to take their belongings or their cars. It is just one crazy scenario after another.

WHITFIELD: And you are telling me Mr. Councilman, you are telling me all of this is taking place with the no-fly zone in place. Within the past few hours, you have seen this new presence of troops who you say are snipers who are evacuating and forcing people from their homes. Are you also witnessing or heard accounts that people are being injured as they are being forced from their homes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes, anybody. The young men are being shot at. Sometimes they shoot in the air, sometimes they shoot low. There are injuries to legs and stomachs.

And let me make one point. Those buses were civilian buses. They belonged to a carrier company, a public carrier company that runs coaches between Misrata and Tripoli. And so he had his troops disguised in public service coaches. Now they are already terrorizing the city.

I would like to pass the phone to a doctor to tell you about the medical situation, please.

WHITFIELD: OK. As he passes the phone on to someone, we are hearing from the councilman who is saying he and others are witnessing that there are troops loyal to Moammar Gadhafi that have taken the residents of many people in Misrata, which is outside of Tripoli, and that these residents he says on some of these occasions, people have been injured. These troops, according to this eyewitness account from this councilman, these troops disguised themselves by coming into the city of Misrata in civilian buses.

Now he has handed the phone over to someone. If you are with me now, I realize we cannot identify your name because of your personal security. But what role are you playing? Are you also a councilmember? What role do you play in the town of Misrata?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, EMERGENCY WORKER IN MISRATA: I am in charge of the emergency operations centers here with the medical supply.

WHITFIELD: Let me ask you this, do you feel like you are risking your life to have this conversation right now with me to talk about what is taking place in Misrata?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really -- nobody is safe in this city. I have to say something for my people, the people of the city and the people of Libya. Nobody can guarantee safety. The situation is so serious here. Yesterday, one family was in the building and this lady had a girl in her hands. (INAUDIBLE) Nobody can imagine that. I saw it with my eyes. More than 20 people shooting with snipers, shooting in the chest. The last one was dead.

WHITFIELD: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The operations today, just before I talked with you, arrived with 20 patients shot by snipers. All of them stay in their homes and they are shot in their homes.

WHITFIELD: You are seeing more people who are coming in being described as snipers. You are an emergency worker. We are not revealing your name for your personal protection. And because our signal is very spotty there I think we are grasping the fear people are feeling in Misrata just outside of Tripoli, the capital city of Libya.

You are telling us that many representatives of the Gadhafi government are coming in and intimidating people and in many cases, as you say, injuring people in Misrata. Thanks so much for calling in. We will have much more of the news after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: And then there were eight, the elite eight in the NCAA tournament. Last night take a look at the game between the perennial power houses Ohio State and Kentucky. It came down to the last shot. Look at that one right there. Ohio State missing it and with it a shot at the national title. Kentucky won in an upset, 62- 60. The Buckeyes were ranked number one in the nation, were, past tense.

Joining that select group is Kansas. The Jayhawks knocked the spiders out of the NCAA tournament. One of our producers is sad. Final is Kansas 77 and Richmond 57. They play the commonwealth for a chance to go to the final four.

And from basketball, now let's talk politics. Conservative activists are converging on the capital of Iowa to hear from several Republicans who may run for president. Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is speaking right now. Let's listen in.

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN, (R) MINNESOTA: It is at risk today. It is at risk today. What happens between now and November 6, 2012, especially here in Iowa, will forge the difference with what happens in 2012. Do you think you are up to it? I know you are up to it.

WHITFIELD: All right, Michele Bachmann there, and there are many others who will take to the microphones. Might they declare whether they will be in a run for the White House? We shall see. Our senior political editor Mark Preston is at the conservative principles conference in Des Moines. Mark, the other big names there is who, and why is this such a pivotal appearance to make?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Michele Bachmann really sounds like a presidential candidate there, doesn't she. She is really playing to her strengths.

And these are hardcore conservatives, folks who will go out in January of 2012 or February of 2012 and appear at the caucuses. Michele Bachmann is speaking now. We also heard from Haley Barbour, and we heard from Newt Gingrich. We have Herman Cain, a businessman from Georgia, as well as John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N.

Right now, we are hearing, Fred, the idea of ideals and social ideals and the economy and national security, three main themes that they are tying together. These are candidates that are hoping to appeal to the folks that have given up their Saturday in Des Moines to hear about politics.

WHITFIELD: Already, Mark, this is a giant horse race. There is a gigantic field of candidates. We are talking a year and a half before the 2012 presidential elections. At what point this year? This spring or this summer, will we hear these potential candidates say yes, I am in for sure.

PRESTON: We heard from a couple of them. Tim Pawlenty is all in. Newt Gingrich is all but in. He will make it official in the next couple of weeks. We are waiting to hear from Mitt Romney. When will he make that announcement? The big question, is Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor, the 2008 vice presidential nominee, will she get in?

And then Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who won the Iowa caucuses in 2008, is still mulling a bid. So this time, back in 2007, Fred, the field was pretty much set. People were off to the races. Right now, they are going in slower.

I have spoken to a lot of the voters here and they are frustrated. They want to see the candidates out here. They want to touch them and feel them. Iowa voters and New Hampshire voters, they are very much involved and play an important role in picking presidential nominees.

WHITFIELD: Maybe next time we talk, what is the logic behind waiting so late. There is a real reason. I cannot wait to talk to you more about that, why so many wait so late before they throw their hat in the ring. Mark Preston, thank you so much.

And for the latest political news, you know where to go, CNNpolitics.com.

All right, this is the place to be if you want to talk about with money. It is affecting homeowners across the country, talking about mortgages underwater, people who owe more on their home than it is actually worth. It means it is hard to make the mortgage payments and sell the homes.

Joining us right now is financial planner Karen Lee. She is the author of "It's just money, so why does it cost so many problems?" Thank you for letting me get a preview of that one. Karen, let's talk about this. I thought and many thought we were out of the woods on the big foreclosure crisis, that we were on the mend and we were getting there in terms of the real estate market, getting a chance to rebound. No. So it is a problem still.

KAREN LEE, FINANCIAL PLANNER: I think our economy is in a recovery, but the real estate market is facing more foreclosures. I think up to three million more is expected this year. It is a backlog.

WHITFIELD: What do you do? You find out I owe more than your home is worth. How do I save my home? How do I save my finances?

LEE: The first thing is assuming you are not having trouble making your payments, just make your payments. Your home is your shelter. One day, you will not be underwater, and one day, hopefully you will pay it off and you will live rent free. So as long as you are not having problems, stay in your home and keep making payments.

But if you see trouble on the horizon, maybe you are worried you will get laid off or a slowdown in the business, look for a mortgage modification. You might call your lender and ask them if there is anything they can do.

WHITFIELD: Because they want you to stay in the home. LEE: They do, Fred. Many people said they called a year ago they have not done anything. Try again.

WHITFIELD: What about for some homeowners who are saying maybe I should walk away?

LEE: First let's quickly talk about the short sale. That is an option. What you do, you try to find a willing buyer for your house. You go to your bank. Let's say you owe $150,000. You find a buyer for $130,000. You go to the lender and ask if they will accept this. If not they're going to foreclose.

The one caveat there is the difference, that loan forgiveness goes away, but it will be taxable income to you next year. Talk with a tax person before you do that.

Now let's talk about the people who are just walking away.

WHITFIELD: It sounds unbelievable. It seems so farfetched, but so many people are having dialogue about that. They say I can't make these payments. So I'm out.

LEE: Let's first talk about the people who are not yet in that situation. They are thinking my home is underwater. I bought it as an investment. I will walk. Think real hard before you do it. It will trash your credit for seven to ten years. And proliferate the problem of bringing the home prices around you lower.

WHITFIELD: People are thinking the immediate.

LEE: If you are drowning and there is no other choice, talk to a bankruptcy attorney. Get a consultation. If you are going to foreclose, you may want to consider bankruptcy as well.

WHITFIELD: Karen Lee, I hope we get to talk about something uplifting next time. Thank you so much, Karen.

LEE: Here is an escape for you. The Black-Eyed Peas are dedicating their latest video, "Just can't get enough" to the people of Japan. They were in Tokyo a week before the deadly earthquake and tsunami hit. Now they are asking fans to help in this "Impact your World."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was blown away because we were just there. We were just with friends there in Japan walking around with our video on the streets of Tokyo. This was 1999, the first time we went. We fell in love with it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's take care of the family members. This video is dedicated to Japan and all of the beauty and all of its beauty and all of its people.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: So for more ways to help, CNN is launching a new high-tech way for smart phone users to take action immediately. Scan this image with your smart phone to load our web site. You will find links to charities to help disaster victims in Japan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Mourning the death of a real political trailblazer. Geraldine Ferraro died today at the age of 75. Back in 1984 she became the first woman to run for vice president for a major political party. Doug Brinkley is a presidential historian joining us now from Austin, Texas. Good to see you.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: I wonder, for her, that is her legacy. She was the first female vice presidential nominee. At the same time she was a three-term congresswoman. What do you suppose she is hoping people will best remember about her trail blazing efforts?

BRINKLEY: I think clearly it is about the women's movement. When she got elected from New York's ninth district in 1978, there were few women in congress. I think there were 17 women in 1978. So she was a rare bird to start with.

By 1984, the fact that they are in San Francisco at the convention, Walter Mondale, a former vice president, picked her to be number two on the ticket. She brought a lot of energy to the Mondale campaign. They lost to Ronald Reagan in 1984, but Ferraro became an outspoken person for women's rights, again child abuse, and created a bipartisan aura about her. She was liked by the Bush family and the Clintons equally.

WHITFIELD: And she was tapped by Mondale, did she embrace that right away or did she has to mull it over a while thinking about the challenges that may come with being that first or the excitement of it?

BRINKLEY: Nobody ever accused Ferraro of not having chutzpah. She thought women needed to have the playing field open up. She was willing to be a progenitor. She learned from Shirley Chisom, an African-American woman who ran for Congress. She could challenge these things. You could get a name for yourself.

Ferraro was celebrated in 1984 not just as being the first woman vice president or first woman on the presidential ticket, but also as her Italian-American roots. Italian-Americans have had a lot of bigotry hurled at them, the notion of the mafia or corruption, being Catholic alone.

And she also was a pioneer in that way. In fact, it was because of Ferraro and Mario Cuomo that Italian-American started feeling they had a place at the American political table.

WHITFIELD: And this is was President Obama said, releasing this statement from the White House. "Geraldine will forever be remembered as a trailblazer who broke down barriers for women of all walks of life." Douglas Brinkley, thank you so much for helping us celebrate the life of Geraldine Ferraro and remembering her legacy.

BRINKLEY: Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, I know the calendar says spring and you're thinking, OK, tulips blooming and sunshine. But spring also means severe nasty weather.

(WEATHER BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, now new worries about radiation from Japan not in the air, but this time in the imported food. What the FDA in this country is doing about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, the U.S. is now on board with banning imported milk, fresh fruit and vegetables from of course the region around the damaged Japanese nuclear plant. But some Americans are still quite skeptical. Our Ted Rowlands explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mei Lee says she's concerned about the possibility that radiation could get into the food she buys from this Japanese grocery store in Los Angeles.

MEI LEE, GROCERY SHOPPER: I really care about the food, actually, if from Japan. I want to make sure. For example, the fish, I'm not going to buy anything. Probably now it's OK. But probably two or three months later, I'm not going to buy any fish from Japan.

ROWLANDS: These noodles are made in Tokyo and there are two concerns going on in this Japanese market in Los Angeles. One is that customers are worried they won't be able to get their hands on products like that made in Japan, so they're buying a lot of them. The other revolves around radiation fears, obviously. About 30 percent of the fish at this market comes from Japan. And folks here at the store say a lot of customers are concerned about radiation.

GENE IKEDA, NIJIYA MARKET: A good amount of people come in and ask questions about regarding, you know, if products are -- you know, have radiation and that. But all of our products do come through the FDA. They're inspected very tightly. Anything that we get, it's safe.

ROWLANDS: Despite official reassurances that Japan's nuclear plant problems don't affect the west coast, people, especially on the west coast, don't necessary believe they're safe.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the experts aren't telling us everything.

ROWLANDS: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They don't want to cause panic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The government has an invested interest in saying no. They're finding it in the food, in the water, in some people. Obviously there's some problem with it. But whether it's going to come here or not, who knows?

ROBERT DEMAYO, PSYCHOLOGIST, PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY: The fear touches a very basic part of our brain that fears the unseen danger. The advisories touch that part of our brain which is intellectual. The fear trumps that part of our brain that can intellectually process what the doctors are telling us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And this one (INAUDIBLE) from Japan.

ROWLANDS: Experts say Mei Le and others who buy Japanese products in the U.S. don't need to worry right now but that doesn't mean they won't.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)