Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

BP Oil Disaster: One Year Later; Wildfires Spread Across Texas; Libyan Rebels Ask for Help; Match.com Faces Lawsuit; Talk Back Question; Bullet-proof Boxers

Aired April 20, 2011 - 12:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. I'd like to get you up to speed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got to get behind those trees.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: New video into CNN. Storm chasers capture a tornado on the ground in northeastern Missouri. The twister shredded one home and smashed several barns. Parts of seven states were under a tornado watch at one point this morning. New watches are likely this afternoon as the storms move south and east and temperatures rise.

Showers will pop up over parts of Texas today, but crews say rain will do little to calm the firestorm raging on parched land just an hour's drive west of Dallas-Ft. Worth. Four wildfires have merged now, creating an inferno that covers 150,000 to 200,000 acres.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just burning from tree to tree. And it's so dry, once one tree goes, or gas under a tree goes, then the next one can go. And it doesn't even need wind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Today marks exactly a year since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, killing 11 workers. Over the next three months, almost five million barrels of oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico. Plenty of gooey oil still coats the marshes of Louisiana.

Our CNN's David Mattingly shows us part of our special coverage, "CNN In Depth: The Gulf a Year Later."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's like tar. So sticky. Look at that.

(voice-over): It's also saturated the fragile soil. You can find it a foot below the surface.

(on camera): Right down here. Yes, it's down into the roots. Look at that. It's like a -- it's a like a paste.

This is how most people find submerged oil out here. It looks clean right now, but not for long.

Hit it.

(voice-over): Watch what happens as a couple of quick spins from our airboat churns up the sediment below and releases the hidden oil.

(on camera): That's not mud we are looking at, is it?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: The government added several new rules to the Passenger Bill of Rights today. They take effect in August.

Now, for starters, airlines must spell out all of those pesky fees and taxes now on their Web sites. Airlines must also refund your baggage fee if they lose your bags. That seems pretty obvious. Bumped passengers also may get more money. And tarmac delays for international flights cannot go past four hours.

Well, just a short time ago, the government unveiled a simplified terror alert system replacing that color-coded chart. An imminent threat is the more serious of the two. It warns of a credible, specific and impending threat. An elevated threat means a credible threat of terrorism does exist.

Investors apparently shaking off their worries about the U.S. government's debt rating today. Stocks surging at the opening bell. Right now, the Dow Jones up about 200 points or so.

Now more on those wildfires across Texas. The flames have scorched a million acres and destroyed 170 homes now. Today, firefighters from 34 states are now on the frontlines.

Our Ed Lavandera is with us. He's in Palo Pinto, I believe.

And Ed, give us a sense of what the conditions are right there on the ground where you are.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, actually, the conditions are better today. It's cloudy. The temperatures are much cooler. And the winds have settled down a bit. So hopefully that will hold for the rest of the day and give a lot of these firefighters a much-needed rest.

We were caught in a fascinating situation yesterday afternoon as we watched those firefighters on the frontlines go head-to-head with one of these walls of fire that was coming down a mountain ridge.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The relentless waves of fire erupted here along Hellsgate Drive. (on camera): You can see how these low-level trees and the dry brush just add to this fuel. In a matter of seconds, these flames devour all of these trees, dry it up, and keeps moving on this way.

(voice-over): For these volunteer firefighters from Lone Camp, Texas, Hellsgate is a fitting backdrop for the showdown they're about to face with these wicked flames.

BOZO HENDERSON, LONE CAMP FIRE DEPT.: It's hard to stop. The ground is all dry and everything. There's no moisture anywhere. There's nothing slowing it down.

LAVANDERA: The wildfire shoots over a mountain ridge, and Bozo Henderson -- yes, that's his name -- knows the fire is pushing right at them. They're the last line of defense where Hellsgate hits Highway 16.

HENDERSON: If it jumps 16, I don't know what's going to happen after that. It's just going be ugly.

LAVANDERA (on camera): What's the fear over here?

HENDERSON: There's another fire back over here, and we're trying to keep it from merging.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got to get to the safety zone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, what do you think? Can I have an engine down here at this house?

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Brandon Thornburgh (ph) tells me the flames shooting from the treetops reach up to 100 feet high and that temperatures deep in the woods could reach well over 3,000 degrees.

BRANDON THORNBURGH (ph), FIREFIGHTER: As you say, the flames are just racing.

LAVANDERA (on camera): Look at that.

THORNBURGH: Wave after wave, they keep exploding and creating new head fires. The one down below is coming our way. It's actually --

LAVANDERA: Splitting up a little bit?

THORNBURGH: -- it's splitting like this and coming this way.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Other fire teams set backfires to slow the flames. An aerial tanker shoots over the hotspot, dumping fire suppressant. But the flames are now at the edge of Hellsgate.

(on camera): So we've been doing live reports from here, but the winds have shifted. And as you can see, it's starting to blow everything back on us. And we've been told by firefighters that we need to get out of this area. (voice-over): We race out of the area through the thick smoky haze. The firefighters, standing their ground until the end. One of the Lone Camp firefighters would tell me later this was one of the few battles they won on this day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: Suzanne, it's a good thing they were able to block that fire there at that point. They were then sent off to another fire that was just on the north edge of Palo Pinto, where we are, which forced the late afternoon evacuation of this area.

And the firefighters say these fires tend to kind of suck together and try to get together and become a bigger, much more powerful fire. So it was a good thing they were able to do that yesterday. Our thanks to those guys for letting us spend some time with them yesterday afternoon -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Absolutely. Thanks, Ed.

Well, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who some call America's toughest sheriff, is back with another controversial idea, and he's asking for your help.

That is our "Talk Back" segment today.

Carol, you and I have both interviewed this sheriff on numerous occasions. I did so with immigration issues. But clearly, there's something else that he's putting out there that a lot of people are responding to.

COSTELLO: He has another idea on his plate, and it's as controversial as all of his other ideas.

I'm sure you've heard of outspoken Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the guy who says it like it is, who's tough on immigration, tough on crime, the guy who puts inmates in pink underwear, who puts dogs in air-conditioned cells and inmates in tents outside.

Well, here is his latest idea, and it's as controversial as the rest of them.

On his Web site, Sheriff Joe is posting mug shots from the county jails, and inviting you to vote for the "Mug Shot of the Day." For Arpaio, the "Mug Shot of the Day" contest is not just for fun, it could result in valuable leads for investigators.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNT, ARIZONA: I want people to tune in to see if their neighbor has been arrested.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Well, there goes that neighbor's privacy. Some are saying that this is just unfair.

Now, Sheriff Arpaio is not the only one posting mug shots online. You have got popular Web sites like the SmokingGun.com and newspaper Web sites featuring mug shots, and the public loves them. It actually sells newspapers.

I know. It's fun looking at all those disheveled, woozy shots of Nicolas Cage and Lindsay Lohan and Nick Nolte, and all of those other regular people in mug shots. But have you ever thought not everyone who is in a mug shot may actually be guilty? Arrested, yes, but not necessarily convicted. Some might even be found innocent. Yet, those mug shots can live on in cyberspace, available for public viewing and public ridicule.

So, the "Talk Back" question today: Is it fair to make mug shots public?

Facebook.com/CarolCNN, and I'll read your comments later this hour.

MALVEAUX: And Carol, so the sheriff doesn't make any distinction between whether you're innocent or guilty. All the mug shots go online.

COSTELLO: You get a mug shot, you're in the country jail, and he puts them online and you vote for the best one.

MALVEAUX: OK. I have a feeling people are going to weigh in on this one.

COSTELLO: Big time, yes.

MALVEAUX: All right. Tanks, Carol.

Ahead "On the Rundown," France and Italy plan to send military officers to Libya to advise the rebels. Our CNN's Nic Robertson, he has just gotten back from Tripoli. He has an amazing first-person account of many of those stories.

Also, seafood safety. David Mattingly advises us on all things related to the Gulf.

Plus, infomercials. They urge you to buy gold. Is it really a good idea?

And also, a woman who was assaulted after getting a date through Match.com, suing now the company.

And this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: When you get on a plane, you know that after everybody has boarded and the doors are closed, they tell you've got to switch out your CD players, your DVDs, your game players, laptops, things like that. And I have to say, I sometimes wonder whether it really matters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: We're wondering the same thing. Why do you have to power down your cell and laptop on flights? We'll see why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Federal safety officials said today that they are launching now an investigation into an incident involving first lady Michelle Obama's plane. Mrs. Obama's plane had to abort its landing and circle Andrews Air Force Base yesterday because it was too close to a military plane that was ahead of it.

A senior administration official says the planes were three miles apart, when there should have been at least five miles apart of separation. Now, the official says it's suspected to be an air traffic controller mistake.

Air traffic control and passenger safety have been in the headlines a lot lately. Cases of air traffic controllers sleeping, watching movies on the job, well, they keep piling up. There have been at least seven incidents just in the past couple of months.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says federal authorities have taken steps now to address the problems involving air traffic controllers. He was here with us in an interview on Monday, and he said the controllers and the towers have to do their part as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAY LAHOOD, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: They need to take personal responsibility for the idea that they have the lives of thousands of people in the job that they do every day. And so they need to be well-rested and well-trained, and they need to just say they're going do this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So you know that the announcement when you're taking off or landing to turn off the cell phones, the computer, other electronic devices? Well, our CNN Chief Business Correspondent Ali Velshi explains why it is that airlines ask you do that and whether or not it really matters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, at this time, please turn off or put away all electronic devices.

VELSHI: When you get on a plane, you know that after everybody has boarded, the doors are closed, they tell you you've got to switch out your CD players, your DVDs, your game players, laptops, things like that. And I have to say, I sometimes wonder whether it really matters.

Well, the short answer is yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For passengers on (INAUDIBLE) switch, we ask that you turn it off now.

VELSHI (voice-over): In 1991, Federal Communications Commission banned the in-flight use of 800 megahertz cell phones, citing, "potential interference with ground networks." Cell phones, the FCC says, differ from other personal electronic devices in that their signal strength is stronger and could potentially cause disruptions to the cell system towers.

(on camera): Now, before you get mad at the airlines, it's actually not their policy. It's the FAA. They have got a motto called "Safety First," and what that means is they ban all electronics at what they call critical parts of the flight. That's the takeoff, the landing, and when you're below 10,000 feet.

(voice-over): For the non-critical portion of the flight, anything above 10,000 feet, the airline has to prove to the FAA that the particular device would not interfere with the navigation and communication systems of the particular aircraft in use, which is why some airlines allow Wi-Fi capabilities and other forms of electronic devices, and some don't.

But there are those out there who say the need for these regulations is a myth. Experts who have read flight incident reports and perform scientific tests suggests that while there's no specific empirical evidence directly linking the use of personal electronic devices on planes with disasters, why take the chance at 30,000 feet?

DAVE CARSON, BOEING ELECTRICAL ENGINEER: The possibility of interference, where there's a potential for interference, would be similar to somebody saying, hey, I can drive through a stop sign without even slowing down and nobody's hit me yet. Obviously, it must be OK to do that. The same thing could be said of using a cell phone or wireless device on an airplane.

VELSHI: I'm a heavy in-flight electronics user, but I think we can agree on one thing -- no one matter what the future flying rules and regulations are, no one really wants to sit next to someone on an plane and listen to them talk endlessly for hours.

Ali Velshi, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: We have three stories. Only one can air later this hour. So let us know which one you would like to see by texting 22360.

The first choice you have, how do you get more people to watch television? Well, make it action-packed, intensely-emotional show, and do it in Spanish. Find out why Spanish soaps are reviving a dying genre and increasing ratings here in the United States.

Second choice, bullet-proof boxers. The Marines order up specially-woven silk underwear to protect troops on the frontlines.

And your third choice, a new drink with colorful packaging, fruity flavors, and 12 percent alcohol creating some controversy. The reason, critics say, Blast is being marketed to kids.

Vote by texting 22360. Text 1 for "Spanish Soaps"; 1 for "Bullet-Proof Boxers"; or 3 for "Blast Controversy." The winning story will air in the next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Well, here now to go behind the headlines with the news shaking up the rest of the region is our own Nic Robertson, who joins us.

And Nic, it is so good to see you here in person. We have seen your repots, many of your fine reports. You've just come from Tripoli in Libya, and you have spoken to rebels on the ground, officials at the highest level of the Libyan government.

What is your assessment now about what is taking place inside Libya? Is it going to remain a stalemate, and are we going to see Gadhafi go?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If you had asked me a half an hour ago, I might have said that there's a behind- the-scenes process going on, that there is efforts to bridge the gap between what the United States, Britain and France wants, which is Gadhafi gone, then part of the rebels to take power or take some control of the country. I might have said that that was a possibility, trying to bridge the gap between that position and what Gadhafi himself wants and what the Turkish government appears to be willing to accept as well.

But I had a phone conversation a few minutes ago, and the indications are to me now that the gap is actually growing bigger, that the positions are hardening, that the Libyans are taking it very badly, that the French and the British and the Italians, perhaps, are now prepared to commit more troops. There is a potential for this stalemate that we're getting into to be broken out of. There is a dialogue position that's going on, but it does seem that positions are hardening right now.

MALVEAUX: You were a part of a story that really galvanized the world when it came to looking at how the Libyan people are oppressed, a young woman who burst into the hotel room where you were and other journalists were staying and had alleged that she was gang-raped by Gadhafi's forces.

What is the update now with here? Is she still in house arrest? Is she with her family? Is she being detained?

ROBERTSON: She's in a terrible limbo. She can't leave Tripoli, which means she can't leave the country. She wants to leave the western part of Libya so she can get to her family in the east of the country. She can't do that. There has been some kind of communications with her that she might be able to leave soon. But these have come to nothing. Somebody a week or so ago check to see if she had her passport ready to go. That's come to nothing.

Worse, the psychological torture on her seems to be getting worse as well. She received a phone call this week saying that her father had died. Now, this turned out to be a broader rumor that other people thought was the case.

CNN checked it out. And this wasn't true. But this is sort of the psychological pressure that she's under.

Another idea that seems to be floating in some government circles is that the people who she alleges raped her will be put on trial, that her honor will be restored, and she'd be able to leave the country then. But now she just seems to be a pawn that's been lost in part of the bigger game right now.

MALVEAUX: Such a sad story, Nic.

You also -- you were at Tahrir Square during the revolution, Egypt revolution. We have learned new information today that 846 civilians died in that 18-day period. Mubarak is now obviously being investigated.

What do we know about whether or not he will be linked to those civilian deaths?

ROBERTSON: Well, the indications are that as the leader of the country, he will be perhaps implicated in responsibility for their deaths. I think in all these situations that are happening across the Middle East right now, we're not really going to know the details until the dust has settled. In Egypt, the dust is beginning to settle. In Libya, we have no idea really how many civilians have been killed.

So, will Mubarak bear responsibility for this? Certainly Colonel Gadhafi is going to be expected to bear responsibility for the deaths of Libyans. So, it would seem that Mubarak, as president, is going to have to share some of that blame, culpability, responsibility.

MALVEAUX: Nic, so good to see you in person, your excellent reporting, as always. We appreciate what you've been doing.

ROBERTSON: My pleasure.

MALVEAUX: Thank you, Nic.

Now, for "CNN In Depth: The Gulf a Year Later," David Mattingly is in Grand Isle, Louisiana.

And David, tell us about the safety of the Gulf seafood, a big seafood concern for a lot of people still. Is this just an uphill battle to basically convince people that it is OK to eat the seafood? MATTINGLY: That's right, Suzanne. And it's a battle that the fishermen here have been fighting since day one of this oil spill, is the Gulf seafood good to eat, is it safe? If you have any reservations about the safety of Gulf seafood, you may be changing your mind in a moment.

Coming up, I'm going to show you in way that brings into perspective just how safe this seafood is -- coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Ahead "On the Rundown," "CNN In Depth.." One year after the oil disaster started in the Gulf of Mexico, a lot of people are wondering whether seafood from the Gulf is safe to eat. We're going go live to Grand Isle, Louisiana.

Plus, gold prices going through the roof. We're going to find out why.

And a woman claims she was sexually assaulted by a man she met on Match.com. Tips on how to protect yourself if you're using one of those online dating services.

It's exactly one year now since the worst environmental disaster in this nation's history began, the BP oil spill. As part of our coverage, "CNN In Depth: The Gulf a Year Later," we remember the 11 men killed when Transocean's Deepwater Horizon's drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20th, last year.

Authorities say more than 200 million gallons of oil gushed into the Gulf. It took 87 agonizing days to completely stop the flow of oil.

The disaster is still impacting the people, the water, the wildlife in that area, one year later.

We're focusing on current conditions on the Gulf oil disaster anniversary. Last hour, we looked at cleanup efforts and the ongoing fight to save wildlife.

Well, this hour, we're looking at tourism and business. I want to begin with the business angle.

The seafood industry, many of us still question whether or not you should eat seafood from the Gulf.

Well, our David Mattingly, he is with us live from Grand Isle, Louisiana, with some of the answers.

And David, first of all, tell us, because a lot of people have questions, is the seafood really safe?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And just yesterday, the last of the closed federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico were open. So now all of the federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico are now open for fishing. But fishermen here are still fighting that problem, that question that has tainted the Gulf seafood, possibly even more than the actual oil itself. So the best way to show you how safe the seafood is, is not to give you all of the numbers just in a blanket fashion here, but to actually show you how much seafood you can eat before you reach the government levels of concern.

And helping me here in Grand Isle is the dockmaster Kerry Besson (ph).

You're going to pour out the shrimp here. Let's pour it out and let's demonstrate.

Now, these are all Gulf shrimp brought out right here in Grand Isle. See that big pile of them there, Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: Yes.

MATTINGLY: We're looking at 63 pounds of shrimp. Why 63 pounds? Well, according to the state of Louisiana, the testing they've been doing on how much oil is in the seafood, they figured out that you can eat 63 pounds of shrimp every day for five years before you reach a level of health concern.

They also did the same testing on oysters. So you can eat five pounds of oysters every day for five years. Nine pounds of fish fillet every day for five years.

I also talked to NOAA, because they did more testing for what sort of contamination there might be from the dispersant. About 2 million gallons of that went into the Gulf, fighting this spill. When they tested for dispersant, let's say we cut this pile in half. About 25 pounds of shrimp per day for a year is what NOAA says you can eat. You will be having problems from just eating that volume of seafood more than you have from the contamination. But that does not stop the stigma the fishermen here have been fighting. How's business right now?

KERRY "BOZO" BESSON, DOCK MASTER: Business is good. It's picking up everyday.

MATTINGLY: It's picking up. But you've been fighting that stigma since day one. The waters are open. They're bringing the fish in. But are they still having trouble selling it?

BESSON: No, sir. How are things going?

MATTINGLY: Right here. We talk about shipping to the other parts of the country. The word hasn't gotten out. What are you seeing happening there? You still having to convince people when they come down here?

BESSON: No, sir. It's all good.

MATTINGLY: Oh, it's all good.

BESSON: It's all good.

MATTINGLY: OK, what we've been talking to with the state before is that they're now engaged in a big marketing campaign, not just here, but all the way through Florida to let everybody know outside of these areas that the fish is good to eat. The tourists that are coming here, you're getting the word. You're doing a good selling job on your own. But now they want the rest of the country to know, the fish are in, they're biting, and it's time to eat. Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: All right, David, thanks. Excellent demonstration. I like how you showed that. That really does bring the point home. Thank you, David. Appreciate it. Please thank your guest as well.

Along with the seafood industry, the tourism industry also took a hit when gushing oil polluted the Gulf waters. Kenny Glavin talked with us live during the height of the disaster. And he's the general manager of a Sheraton hotel in Biloxi, Mississippi. He's nice enough to join us again via Skype from Biloxi on the first anniversary of this spill.

Kenny, thank you so much for being here. We spoke at the time of the oil spill. And your hotel was preparing this grand opening in July. You'd only been on the job a month or so ago. And one of the things that you had mentioned is that the hardest part is really the psychological damage. How are you doing now?

KENNY GLAVIN, GENERAL MANAGER, SHERATON IN BILOXI, MS: You know what? We're starting to see some numbers that are very encouraging. It's a battle to have people to have the confidence to come to the beautiful Mississippi Gulf Coast. And it's working. We had 26 miles of sand beach that is cleaner than ever. Our islands are being restored. And the tourist confidence for a great place to have a vacation, this is the spot.

MALVEAUX: What is different today, do you suppose, from a year ago?

GLAVIN: Well, you know what? I think the difference is, you know, we've stressed -- we've always been the hospitality state. But there's a better value today for the traveler. And I think the word over the last year has really gotten out there.

BP has stepped up to the plate and has provided bonds from marketing to get the word out from pictures and radio and TV adds. And I think there's just a renewed focus on our hospitality that we're famous for.

MALVEAUX: And when you had spoken the last time, there were a lot of people who were worried. A lot of anxiety, whether or not business would come back, tourists would come back. What has given you that sense of renewed confidence?

GLAVIN: Well, you know, again, we went through a lot of challenges with Katrina and the economic recession, the oil spill. And, of course, now gas prices. But we've always stepped to the plate on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and provided the traveler with a lot of warmth and a lot of hospitality options that they, I think, recognize. We have the curious tourists that come down here to just check it out. And when they come down here, they have all of the options with the gaming, the historical significance of our antebellum homes, and just the shopping or the beautiful beach and weather. It's a can't-miss vacation if you're looking for a great, super place to go.

MALVEAUX: All right. Well, Kenny, we're glad things have improved. Sounds like by the ringing of the phone that business is good, that people are trying to reach out to you. Thanks again. Glad --

GLAVIN: You know? I just want to leave you with one message if I can leave a message --

MALVEAUX: Sure.

GLAVIN: Listen, f you're looking for a great vacation, I know I've said that word a couple of times. This is the place, come see is. We need you. And I think if you're looking for R&R, you need us.

MALVEAUX: All right. The place to go. Thank you, Kenny. Good pitch there.Go get that phone call.

GLAVIN: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: OK.

Well, its value keeps climbing. But should you really be investing your money in gold? Our Carl Azuz is looking at the possible payouts as well as the pitfalls.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: By now, you've probably seen the commercials, heard the chatter online. Why is everybody talking about buying gold? Today, gold is trading at a new high, $1,500 an ounce. And some say it could go even higher.

So, what's causing this new gold rush? Our Carl Azuz is here to break it down for all of us. And Carl, it's happening in my neighborhood, too. All of these places, buy gold, sell gold. What is happening right now?

CARL AZUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, essentially, you are seeing a second gold rush. I mean, it sort of recalls the nineteenth-century miners looking for gold in them thar hills. Basically, in a nutshell, Suzanne, the economic downturn has once again drastically increased interest in gold as an investment. That's partially out of fear that a greater economic collapse could depreciate the value of paper money.

So, this is your bottom line -- uncertainty makes gold shine. Investors are looking at recent headlines. They're seeing disasters in Japan, spike in crude oil prices, instability in the Middle East and North Africa. And they're looking at major financial issues as well. Inflation -- investors use gold to hedge against inflation. We're seeing some inflation in emerging markets, and it's starting in Europe.

There's alsothe debt ceiling debate. In essence, the more gridlock we see in Congress and the more uncertainty we see worldwide, the more attractive gold appears.

MALVEUAX: So, Carl, I mean, there was a time when the dollar was linked to gold in value. It made it more stable. So, what's different?

AZUZ: Well, you're absolutely right. I mean, we used to be on the gold standard from around the 1870s to the 1970s. And we were on and off this gold standard, which meant to some extent, the value that the dollars carried had to be backed up by gold.

Now, though, the dollar isn't backed by gold. It's basically backed by a promise from the U.S. government that says a dollar is worth a dollar. That's part of the reason why its value is so volatile.

MALVEUAX: Is it possible that it's overvalued now?

AZUZ: Absolutely. Absolutely could be overvalued. Some people are calling it $1,500 an ounce gold as a bubble. Because five years ago, remember, gold was around $500 an ounce. However, if the dollar continues to be weak as expected, and with all of this uncertainty worldwide, some analysts are saying that gold could keep inching up from the time being.

MALVEAUX: So should I be investing -- should I be investing in gold? That's what I want to know!

AZUZ: That's the golden question. Because we see so much ads on tv. We see so much on the Internet. We see these advertisements. Before we run off and convert our nest egg in to gold doubloons, though, there are a few things we need to keep in mind. First, we're talking about 24-karat gold when we talk about this new sky-high per value ounce.

Secondly, you want to be very careful before you go with a company just because you saw an ad on TV or online. We all need to watch out for this. There are actually gold ATMS, you see one here. They really do exist. You turn in your cash. You get gold. So, you want to look closely at the rates you're getting. Make sure they're for 24-karat gold, and the specifics of the deal, because nobody, Suzanne, wants to end up with fool's gold.

MALVEAUX: Good analogy. Love that.

AZUZ: Those are all your gold puns for the day.

MALVEUAX: Used them all up.

AZUZ: Mm-hmm.

MALVEAUX: Thank you, Carl.

AZUZ: Thank you very much.

MALVEAUX: Appreciate it.

With chocolate Easter bunnies right around the corner, one candy business is selling environmentally friendly treats. It is part of our "Green Solutions in Focus" series. Photojournalist Sailor Fare visited the shop in Brooklyn.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIZ GUTMAN, CO-OWNER, LITTLE BIT SWEETS: I'm Liz Gutman and I co-own with Jen King Little Bit Sweets. And we're a small candy company based in Brooklyn, New York.

We make small batch candies and sweets by hand. This is a beer caramel that I'm tumbling out right now.

We source as many ingredients as possible locally. We also really like working with other small producers, and we know they care about their stuff as much as we care about ours.

That would be my guess.

Walking around the green market, you just see stuff. For the beer and pretzels, I was like, oh, well Martin's Pretzels, those awesome big, crunchy ones.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can we get two of the eight-pounds?

GUTMAN: You wander around, you find, oh, we should use this honey, it's really good. You come across things that are up to our standards.

For us, the packaging was a big part of our philosophy because so much of a lot of candy, especially higher-end stuff, the boutique stuff, is just about packaging. And like, oftentimes what you're really paying for is the packaging, which doesn't sit right with us. So, we try to keep our packaging minimal. We use the wax paper, which is better than the little plastic wrappers. We print all our labels ourselves. Because we're small scale. We keep the waste down that way. The paper we use to label the candy bar and stuff is all recycled and recyclable. The (INAUDIBLE) ribbon that we use is made from recycled soda bottles.

Our business philosophy is really about always trying for more and trying for better and greener and tastier and every aspect of it. And in the products themselves. In our packaging, in the facilities, in the how efficient we are in the kitchen, always working towards something better.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Tune in this Saturday for more of our "Green Solutions in Focus" series. Tom Foreman hosts this special Eatocracy edition at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: A woman who says she was sexual assaulted by a man she met on a dating website goes public with her story. And that is the focus of today's law & order. Carole Markin is part of a class action lawsuit against match.com. In an interview on CNN, she described the incident that led to the lawsuit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROLE MARKIN, FILED SUIT AGAINST MATCH.COM: We walked into the apartment building. We took the elevator. We went to my apartment. I opened the door. He rushed into the bathroom and I sat down on the couch. And I was about to say to him, you can only stay here for about 10 minutes because your car's going to be towed. And before I could even get those words out of my mouth, he jumped me and forced me into a compromising position. And I tried to resist, but he's a big man. He's about a foot taller than me and about 100 pounds heavier. And he forced me to unconsensual sex.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: The attorney for the man accused by Markin denies that there was any assault. She says, quote, "in the apartment that evening, sex was a topic of conversation. Then, our client and Jane Doe engaged in consensual, romantic contact together, just as they had on May 16, 2010. Eight days later, Jane Doe inexplicably called the police."

Well, joining us from New York is Sunny Hostin from "In Session" on our sister network, truTV. And, Sonny, match.com has responded, promising to screen its members. So what exactly can the website do?

SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION" ON TRUTV: Well, there's a lot the website can do. But what the website has agreed to do, as you mention, in the next two to three month, they will start screening perspective match.com members and current members against the National Sex Offender Registry. That, I think, is certainly a move in the right direction. A move in the direction of being a good corporate citizen.

But they're not saying they're going to conduct background checks, Suzanne, for other things. Not necessarily sex offenses, but maybe violence offices. Maybe domestic violence-related offenses. And so while this is a move in the right direction, this certainly is not necessarily going be a catchall. It's not going to necessarily protect the over 1 million FaceBook -- not FaceBook, match.com users. But it is a step in the right direction.

MALVEAUX: So, Sunny, for those who are using online dating sites, how can they protect themselves?

HOSTIN: There are ways that they can protect themselves. One of the ways, and I give this tip to all of my friends that are dating online, there are so many people dating online, about 40 million Americans, I say be your own detective. You can conduct background checks. There are companies that do it. It's not very expensive. But if you get someone's full name, date of birth, address history, you can become your own detective. Google is your friend. FaceBook is your friend. I also say, check the sex offender registries. Not only the National Sex Offender Registry, but you can also check local sex offender registries. So you can do the background checks yourself.

The other thing that I usually advise folks to do is meet in public places. Not for the first date, not for the second date, but I would say for the first five dates, public places. A Starbucks, a coffee shop, a tea shop. That's what you do.

The other thing is, you bring a friend. You don't only bring, you know, any friend, you bring that suspicious friend that doesn't trust anyone so that friend can sort of do the gut check. Suzanne, a lot of my friends bring me. But, of course, I'm a former federal prosecutor with FBI training, so certainly you may not have that friend, but you bring the suspicious friend.

And, lastly, trust your instinct. There are so many people that are victims of sexual assault that I have spoken to and they've said, I ran away from my gut. I ran away from my instinct. Don't do that. If you have the red flags and he seems really creepy or she seems really creepy, run away.

MALVEAUX: Sure. All right, excellent advice. And, Sunny, I guess there might be people calling you saying we're going to bring you along for the date.

HOSTIN: I'll come, I'll come.

MALVEAUX: All right. Check it out. All right, thank you, Sunny. Appreciate it.

Today's "Talk Back" question, is it fair to make mug shots public? Well, Jessica says, "I thought they had privacy laws? You can be innocent and for them to blast you like that is so wrong." More of your responses straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Vote for your favorite mug shot. Yes, that's the idea coming from Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio. He is famous for dressing inmates in pink underwear and a number of other controversial things. And now he's asking for people, online voters, to choose a mug shot of the day.

Carol, I don't know, what are people saying about this? It sounds a little crazy?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it sounds a little crazy and people are saying very interesting things. I love these comments. "Talk Back" question today, is it fair to make mug shots public?

This from Jen. "I am a strong believer in the freedom of information, but publishing mug shots on the Internet for the purpose of public ridicule is wrong. Everyone, even convicted criminals, should have a right to the preservation of dignity." This from Don. "Don't want your mug shot all over, don't get arrested. If that person is a child molester, wouldn't you want to know their face if you saw them talking to your kid?"

This from Jami. "Why not go back to public flogging or being put in 'the stocks' in the town square? How would you feel if your child or spouse were wrongfully accused of something and their photo made public?"

This from Meghan. "If you're innocent, then no. if you're not, then yes. Who cares about fair if you're committing a crime. Did the criminals think it was fair then to commit the crime? No, so let us laugh at their expense."

This from Ammon. " Who cares if a celebrity is picked up? Now politicians, that's another story. Would love to see their mug shots if they are found guilty so we can vote them out."

Please continue the conversation. Facebook.com/carolcnn. And thanks, as always, for your comments.

MALVEAUX: All right, Carol, thank you.

COSTELLO: Sure.

MALVEAUX: All right. Well, you told us what story you'd like to see. Your "Choose The News" winner up just moments away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: You told us which story you wanted to see. Well, here it is, your "Choose The News" winner. CNN's Chris Lawrence brings us the story about bulletproof underwear.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Realistic, designer underwear.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You say the words antiballistic boxers or bulletproof briefs and people laugh. But look what it does to this bullet. Now, slow it down. A bullet being repel in part by new strengthened silk underwear. British troops in Afghanistan are already wearing it. The Marine Corps put in an urgent request for protective undergarments. And the Army is looking at several versions to protect American soldier, from Kevlar cups, to something shaped sort of like a diaper.

COL. BILL COLE, U.S. ARMY: But they all basically work to slow down the fragments. We're looking to prevent penetration of the genitals, of the lower abdomen. All of these work to that effect.

LAWRENCE: You hear the boom when an IED goes off. What you don't see is all the sand, grit, debris that gets sucked into the explosion and shot like a rocket right up at the Marine who stepped on it, or any soldiers nearby. Since there are now more foot patrols in Afghanistan, that debris has been tearing into the groin and inner legs of American troops.

COL. TODD DOMBROSKI, U.S. ARMY: The severity is up as well. And with that, something we don't talk about as much for several reasons is, you know, the dangers to the groin. And they are up as well.

LAWRENCE: U.S. military officials already feel confident about the silk shorts because those have been used by the Brits in combat. Various companies have been testing their own versions, but the Army will need to run its own before committing millions of dollars to mass production.

COLE: But I'm scrambling to get as much ballistic testing done as I can and to have soldiers, both male and female, down at Fort Benning wearing different products and giving me feedback on wearability.

LAWRENCE (on camera): Again, some of the stuff being tested is bulletproof, some not. The version that the U.S. military is considering, though, has some anti-bacterial treatment which can help wounds from becoming infected. The Army hopes to ship a small number of undergarments over to Afghanistan in May. The Marines hope to have their men and women wearing them by later in the year.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Well, if your choice did not win or you just want to check out the runners up, I'll have links to them on my page at facebook.com/suzannecnn.

CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Randi Kaye, who's in for Ali Velshi.

Hey, Randi.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, Suzanne. Thank you.