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Freed U.S. Hikers Speak; Low Income Seniors Help Train Youth; Peek Behind Gadhafi's Palace; Car Seat Inspired by Race Cars; Worst Pollen Season; Hognappers Hit Midwest; Top Ten CNN Heroes; Extraordinary Heroism; From Grief to Determination
Aired September 24, 2011 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: American hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer are returning to the United States tonight. They were locked up in Iran for two years on charges that they were spies. Since Wednesday they have been free in Oman, where they made their first public statement just a short time ago.
CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom is in Oman. So, Mohammed, what did they say?
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, Fredricka, it was just a short while ago, (INAUDIBLE) a press conference here at the VIP lounge at the Muscat Airport.
Shane Bauer spoke first. He said getting off the plane that brought us here three days ago was the most incredible experience of our lives. We will never forget the excitement of seeing our loved ones waiting for us at the foot of the plane. The joy of embracing them all after so long will stay with us forever.
He then went on to thank the leader Oman, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, for his work to secure their release.
Josh Fattal spoke right after that, gave another short statement. He said just hours after we left prison we were able to swim in the calm waters of the Gulf. We stayed up all night with our loved ones and watched the most beautiful sunrise we've ever seen.
These experiences will be with us for the rest of our lives. We would like to thank Oman for welcoming us, for hosting our families. He went on to also thank the American ambassador here in Oman for his hospitality.
Now, it was a very short press conference. We saw their families there, we also saw Sarah Shourd in the room. They did not take any questions from the press, but we know that they will be departing Oman to come back home probably in the next 30 to 40 minutes - Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: So, Mohammed, did they say anything about how they're feeling? They must be incredibly exhausted.
JAMJOOM: They did look as though they were still tired, not as tired as they looked when they first got here a couple of nights ago. They certainly looked happy to be with their families. At one point Omani officials in the room presented bouquets of flowers to Josh Fattal, to Shane Bauer and to Sarah Shourd. They were sitting along with their families, everybody beaming, looking very, very happy to be back together. And we've been told the past few days that both men have undergone medical tests here in Oman, that they were also spending a lot of quality time with their families after having been separated for so long.
And we do know also that last night that there was an official long awaited engagement ceremony between Sarah Shourd and Shane Bauer. They had gotten engaged originally while they were both in prison in Tehran, notorious Evin Prison, but last night it was made official. And Shane Bauer gave a ring, an actual ring, to Sarah Shourd, and - and they got their official engagement, finally, underway.
So now they're making their way home and looking forward to - to finalizing the wedding plans that they've been wanting to do for so long - Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Now those hikers now U.S. bound.
Thanks so much, Mohammed Jamjoom.
In Italy now, prosecutors are defending the DNA evidence used to convict American Amanda Knox of murder. Today was the second day of closing arguments in the appeal of Knox's conviction. She and her former boyfriend were found guilty two years ago of killing fellow college student Meredith Kercher.
The defense contends the evidence was mishandled. Knox's mother says she is cautiously optimistic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDDA NELLAS, AMANDA KNOX'S MOTHER: I am. But none of us, you know - none of us let us go to that it's for sure place because it's not for sure. You never know what could happen. You know, the first trial here, we were sure that she would be acquitted because there was no evidence, and that obviously didn't happen.
But we're - you know, I think we'll all a little less stressed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
And live pictures right now from the nation's capitol where lawmakers are taking the weekend off despite their inability to reach a spending deal to keep the U.S. government up and running. If no agreement is reached next week, the federal government could shut down some agencies after the end of the business day on Friday.
And for the second week in a row, Republicans used their weekly address to attack federal regulations. Speaking this morning, Maine Senator Susan Collins called for a time out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: Business owners are reluctant to create jobs today if they're going to need to pay more tomorrow to comply with onerous new regulations. That's why employers say that uncertainty generated by Washington is a big wet blanket on our economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: During her address Collins claimed federal agencies are drawing up more than 4,200 new rules.
And President Barack Obama's weekly radio address also focused on the economy. He says if the U.S. is going to get serious about jobs, we would - it's necessary to get serious about education.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Education is an essential part of this economic (AUDIO GAP) undeniable fact that countries who out educate us today will out compete us tomorrow. Businesses will hire wherever the highly skilled and highly trained workers are located.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The president says his $447 billion jobs bill will help modernize and rebuild schools.
America's jobs crisis is hitting some groups particularly hard - teens and young adults without high school diplomas. There's a program in Washington that's helping prepare them for full time jobs or college by putting them together with senior citizens.
Athena Jones has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is not your typical school.
TAYLOR CUNNINGHAM, FOSTER GRANDPARENT: Let me show you how to do that dough.
JONES: And 81-year-old Taylor Cunningham is not your typical instructor.
CUNNINGHAM: Good. You're doing it good, baby.
JONES: Here at Potomac Job Corps, low-income youth ages 16 to 24 can study to get their high school diploma or GED; become computer literate; or learn a trade like culinary arts, carpentry or cosmetology.
CUNNINGHAM: They call me "Pop-pop" (ph).
JONES (on camera): "Poppa"? CUNNINGHAM: "Pop-pop" (ph).
JONES: "Pop-pop"?
CUNNINGHAM: Yes.
JONES (voice-over): A group of low-income senior citizens like Cunningham, who used to be a cook, serve as foster grandparents, helping teachers train the youth.
CUNNINGHAM: (INAUDIBLE) flipping that.
Chef, they instruct me, when he assign them to do anything, he instructs me to see that they are doing it the right way.
JONES: The southwest Washington Job Corps campus houses some 480 students, many of them considered at risk.
Ronnie Taylor is a rarity among the participants. He has a college degree, but he couldn't find a good paying job and wasn't making enough money to get by.
RONNIE TAYLOR, JOB CORPS STUDENT: (INAUDIBLE) Job Corps, pick up a trade, reclaim my passion for cooking.
JONES: Taylor is nearing the end of the program and he has a job at a local restaurant.
This Job Corps site is one of 124 nationwide funded by the Department of Labor at a cost of about $1.5 billion a year. The program places 90 percent of students who complete the typical two year course in full time jobs, college or the military.
Cheryl Christmas, who runs the Washington Foster Grandparent Program, says it helps the seniors who take part stay active.
CHERYL CHRISTMAS, FOSTER GRANDPARENT PROGRAM: Low income often comes with it a lot of health issues. The idea of volunteering, getting out, being connected, it reduces the isolation of these seniors, so they get that health benefit.
JONES: The seniors get a commuting allowance and $2.65 per hour tax- free stipend in return. It's money they can use.
CUNNINGHAM: It's a big help.
JONES: For the teenagers at this site, the program is a chance for a good life.
TAYLOR: For me, finding my passion in cooking again, it's made me more motivated to get out and become more successful. So, I tell you, it's changed me for the better.
JONES: Officials say the Job Corps Program is expensive, but worth it.
JANE OATES, ASSISTANT LABOR SECRETARY: It's not a feel good program. This is a program that is an investment in these young people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) hold the knife. The knife is an extension of your hands.
JONES: Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: The FBI is rewarding the folks who helped them catch James "Whitey" Bulger. He and his girlfriend were arrested this summer after eluding police for 16 years. The FBI says more than $2 million was paid to at least two tipsters.
Bulger, an alleged Boston mob boss, is accused in 19 murders.
A dead satellite is now out of the cosmos. NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite fell out of orbit overnight over the North Pacific Ocean. No one knows for sure where any of the pieces may have landed, but a news photographer in San Antonio, Texas captured this image, convinced that that could be a piece of that debris of that satellite.
All right, endurance swimmer Diana Nyad is not giving up on her dream. Last night she began a new attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida. Nyad was forced to abandon an earlier attempt last month.
Well, this time the 62-year-old briefly got tangled up with jellyfish and she was treated for stings, then she took off again. She hopes to make to it Florida by Monday.
And the house of Gadhafi has fallen, and that's not just a figure of speech. Literally his houses have been destroyed. Our Ben Wedeman took a stroll through one of Moammar Gadhafi's once opulent palaces in Libya, now just broken glass and smashed up figures. You're going to see all of that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Moammar Gadhafi tightly controlled his image as a common man thrust into leadership in Libya, but the civil war is revealing just how luxuriously he really lived.
Here is CNN's Ben Wedeman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: We're outside Moammar Gadhafi's palace in Sabha, Southern Libya. It's a surprisingly sumptuous palace, given that he was a man who always prided himself for living in a tent. This, however, is no tent.
Nonetheless, it does look a bit messy. It was recently redecorated by NATO. Let's go inside and have a look.
This is the front door to the palace. Of course, the doors have been knocked off the hinges. It's not clear whether that's the result of the NATO bombing or from the revolutionaries who have made themselves at home here in this palace.
Now, if you were Gadhafi, this is where you'd probably meet visiting heads of state in this entranceway, a nice fountain in the middle and, up above, an attractive sun roof; however, now minus almost all its glass.
It is blazing hot down here in the Sahara Desert, so what better way to cool off than to go take a dip in your own personal private swimming pool?
Moammar Gadhafi always said he's just an ordinary citizen with no official functions and that his personal salary was just a few hundred dollars. Obviously, though, he must have found some money, maybe in his nest egg, to build all of this.
But it's not all fun and games, being the Brother Leader of the Libyan Jamahiriya. There's also the serious matters of state to be dealt with, probably discussed here in this conference room.
After a long day of grueling statecraft, what better way to relax than to lie in a nice, comfortable Jacuzzi? You wouldn't find this in a Bedouin's tent.
This is the master bedroom, and I think what Libyans found most shocking when they were finally able to get into these palaces, is that the man the official media always portrayed as being a man of the desert, shunning the luxuries of life, clearly seemed to enjoy them.
This is where one of the bombs hit the palace through the roof, into the basement. Now, we don't know if anybody was killed or injured when this hit took place. We do know, however, that in the last few months, most government facilities and palaces were evacuated in anticipation of exactly this sort of eventuality.
The five star lifestyle Moammar Gadhafi enjoyed is probably a thing of the past. We don't know where he is or where he's gone, but it's pretty clear he's not enjoying accommodations like this anymore.
I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Sabha, Southern Libya.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: The president of Russia today announced he will not run for re-election next year and named the man that he would like to succeed him. That man, Vladimir Putin.
Putin already served two terms as president. The Russian constitution barred him from running for re-election in 2008, so he became prime minister instead. Now, it is legal for him to be president again.
The election is set for March.
In Eastern Germany, a man is in custody today. Police say he fired an air gun at some guards working security for the Pope's visit to Germany. No one was hurt, and police say the Pope was never in danger. And the CEO of investment giant UBS resigned today. The Swiss bank lost $2.3 billion in a rogue trading scandal.
A U.S. Air Force sergeant is recognized for heroism under fire, but he didn't think he'd make it out of Afghanistan alive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STAFF SGT. ROBERT GUTIERREZ, U.S. AIR FORCE: I told myself, I'm going to get up, I'm going to fight, I'm going to kill them. I'm going to do what I got to do. If it happens, it - if I bleed on and die, it happens, but they're going to go first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Staff Sergeant Robert Gutierrez is nominated for the Air Force's highest war time medal. You'll hear how he earned it and how his entire unit is alive today because of him. That's later this hour.
Car crashes are the leading cause of death for children three to 14 years old, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. But car seats can go a long way in saving lives.
Reynolds Wolf shows us a new car seat design inspired by race cars in this "Technovations."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The first children's car seat was introduced in 1921, but by today's standards early versions didn't offer much safety. Ninety years later, an Indiana division of Dorel Industries is looking to the Indy 500 for ideas to create what they believe is the safest car seat yet.
BARRY MAHAL, DOREL INDUSTRIES: Being close to Indianapolis really is what inspired us to try to work with them.
WOLF: The answer is in a material similar to the ones used in race car seats. It's a foam called "Air Protect." It reduces the impact by spreading out the force of the collision, and "Air Protect" has been put to the test.
MAHAL: We've concentrated on side impact crashes, primarily because they are the most dangerous. In all the advances of automotive safety, a lot of that is up in the front of the vehicle. But when you talk about side impact crashes, you basically have about 18 inches of distance between the side of the vehicle and the occupant.
WOLF: Developers says the key is protecting the child's head and the upper torso.
MAHAL: The design of the seat itself, how we have larger wings out the side, so that we're dealing with and addressing the intrusion that happens on a side impact crash.
WOLF: "Air Protect" is on the road now, and investors hope crash statistics will be the only thing taking a hit.
Reynolds Wolf, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, red eyes, runny nose, sneezing, might sound like a cold but these are also symptoms of allergies. Take a look at the top 10 things that trigger allergies.
Ten, cockroaches; perfume, number nine; eight, medicine; seven, latex; six, food. The top five when we come right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. We've been talking about what triggers your allergy symptoms. The top five include - mold, number five; insect bites, bee stings, number four; dust mites, number three; animal hair, number two, such as dog or cat hair. And then number one, pollens.
So you've probably been sneezing a whole lot lately. The pollens, they're probably causing that this time of year. It's the subject of our weekly look at how to get and stay healthy.
Dr. Bill Lloyd is in New York right now. So - OK, so how do fall allergies differ from spring allergies?
DR. BILL LLOYD, HEALTHY LIVING EXPERT: Fredricka, spring allergies involve flowers and grasses, so they're very geographic. Different parts of the country have different amounts of allergies.
Within the fall, Fredricka, it's ragweed, and ragweed grows in all -
WHITFIELD: That's the big one.
LLOYD: -- 50 states. Yes, it is. And each of these ragweed plants can put out one billion granules of pollen carried by the wind even to metropolitan areas. So no one is safe when it comes to fall allergies.
And, of course, you've got to be careful about those pollen counts. You hear a lot about them in the news. But the only pollen count that - that really matters is the one at the tip of your nose. It can be very high in your neighborhood and be very low some place else.
WHITFIELD: So why is it being predicted that this is probably one of the worst fall allergy seasons that we've experienced in a while?
LLOYD: It has a lot to do with the extreme weather that we've enjoyed this summer. In areas that were wet, of course, plants grow bigger. When the weather is very, very dry, these pollen granules get even bigger and more numerous. So the weather has a profound effect in influencing the amount of ragweed that's going to be around in the fall.
WHITFIELD: OK, so what can we do to kind of relieve these fall allergies?
LLOYD: You got to stay away from the pollen. So, the first rule is to limit your outdoor exposure. Get inside, close the windows, run the air conditioner to keep that filter clean.
You might also think about taking more showers. Bathe more frequently, and bathe your pets more frequently.
Fredricka, you know, cats and dogs are outside all day and they bring in a lot of these pollen. During the fall don't let your pets anywhere near the bedroom because they'll be bringing the pollen in with you and then you'll have it all night.
If you do get congested, you might try something simple, like some nasal saline that will literally wash the pollen out of your nasal passages.
WHITFIELD: Oh, really?
LLOYD: But if your symptoms continue, though, you want to think about a non-drowsy over-the-counter relief, and if that doesn't work it's probably time to see your doctor with something a little stronger.
WHITFIELD: And it seems like there's a - a much greater abundance of over-the-counter remedies these days, right?
LLOYD: Oh, there's an enormous amount of products and it's easy to make a mistake.
I would think it would be important, when you're going to get an over- the-counter allergy remedy, make sure you marry up your symptoms with the product. Don't be buying products that treat symptoms that you don't have. Make sure if you're taking other medications that the product you choose doesn't adversely interact with the medications you're already taking. Check with the pharmacist before you make that purchase.
And then, once again, look for the non-drowsy kind. Nothing is absolutely non-drowsy, but products that include Loratidines, brands like Claritin or Alavert, they're going to allow you to relieve yourself of your symptoms and continue to function throughout the day.
WHITFIELD: Fantastic. Thanks so much, Dr. Bill Lloyd. Hopefully folks will feel a little bit more relief now. Get rid of that ragweed, yes. I'm sure a lot of folks -
(CROSSTALK)
LLOYD: We'll talk again soon.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Dr. Bill Lloyd.
Well, I don't hear anybody sneezing, so I guess everyone's all right.
All right, a researcher at Purdue University has developed what could be described as a homing device for cancer. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. PHIL LOW, PURDUE UNIVERSITY: The more malignant tissue that the surgeon can remove, the better the prognosis will be for the cancer patient.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The procedure uses a dye that tracks cancer tumors and is visible under fluorescent light. Illuminated cancer cells helps surgeons pinpoint and then remove small tumors that might normally be missed.
The light aided surgery has been used on more than a dozen patients in clinical trials and now will be tested by the Mayo Clinic.
All right, farmers across the Midwest are mystified. Pig barns are emptying, hundreds of pigs disappearing in the night. In a few minutes we're going to talk to a farmer who came out to his barn one morning only to find hundreds of pigs gone.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: OK, we're hearing the background is music from El DeBarge, and then there's some pictures right there of me and my family, and then a number of other folks there at the Evening of Excellence that's been sponsored by Southern Power and "Essence" magazine. This was in Washington, D.C. last night, at the great Ronald Reagan Building.
It really was an extraordinary event, particularly because they were honoring three extraordinary people who were doing some incredible philanthropic work, and I was lucky enough to be the host of the event, Bonnie.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You looked stunning.
WHITFIELD: I'm sorry, I'm kind of grooving right there to El DeBarge. That was the milder grooving to El DeBarge. If you recall, he is, you know, great music coming from the '80s R&B and soul.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
WHITFIELD: And among the people who were honored, Dr. Regina Benjamin, as well as Tom Joyner and his wife, Donna Richardson-Joyner, all of them doing extraordinary things to provide great health in communities that are not getting it and then also making sure that kids are getting to college who otherwise may not be able to afford it.
So they were being honored last night, and I really had the privilege of being there to help host the event. It was really a great event in Washington.
SCHNEIDER: It looks fantastic, and you looked stunning.
WHITFIELD: It really was. Oh, that's nice. Thank you. (CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: I had a lot of - had a lot fun. It was a good time.
SCHNEIDER: Great.
WHITFIELD: Wish you were there.
SCHNEIDER: Wish I was, too.
WHITFIELD: It was very rainy last night, but it didn't dampen anyone's spirits.
SCHNEIDER: I have to say - and it's still raining in Washington, D.C.
WHITFIELD: Still.
SCHNEIDER: There's a reason for it. We've got this weather pattern that doesn't want to go away. And it's an area of low pressure that's called a cut off low. And it does mean more rain for D.C. are and for New York area and even further to the south.
So here's our low pressure her and when low pressure gets cut off from the jet stream it doesn't have a way of moving on out so we can get some better weather and that's why we're seeing so much rain across much of the eastern half of the country.
Right now, the heaviest rain is actually over the Carolinas. That's we're seeing some of the strongest storms. And you can see that here in our radar picture. Some heavy downpours clipping areas of Eastern North Carolina, but also moving into parts of Virginia and Maryland and Delaware. You can see some of the heavier rain offshore, Jersey Shore getting hit with some showers as well as Long Island South Shores.
So it's been a rainy day in New York and we'll see more of that unfortunately as we go through much of the weekend. But the heavier thunderstorms are clinging to the Outer Banks, Eastern North Carolina and some strong thunderstorms popping up in the Myrtle Beach area as well. So the first weekend in fall is certainly feeling like a wet one across much of the country.
But it's also becoming a cool one as high pressure drops down a little bit further south later on tonight those clear skies allow radiation cooling, meaning the cool air just sits there that really sets in. So temperatures tonight, Fredricka, will drop down into the 40s in Kansas City. In the the 40s. We haven't seen that in a long time.
WHITFIELD: I know. Too soon that's what I say.
SCHNEIDER: Too soon.
WHITFIELD: And I know we're going to get much more of that -
SCHNEIDER: Oh, yes.
WHITFIELD: -- as the season carries on. All right. Thanks so much, Bonnie.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
WHITFIELD: All right. Checking our top stories right now.
American hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer are on their way home to the U.S. after their release from captivity in Iran. This is short time ago. We heard their voices for the first time since they were released.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH FATTAL, FREED U.S. HIKER: We would like to thank Oman for welcoming us and hosting our families. We would also like to thank the American ambassador, Richard Schmierer and his wife, Cindy, for their hospitality. We hope some day to return to this wonderful country, but for now we're eager to get home at last.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Fattal and Bauer talked to reporters shortly before boarding an airplane in Oman. Destination, the United States. They have been in jail in Iran since 2009, charged and convicted on spying charges after crossing the Iranian Border from Iraq.
And a lovely day for a little R&R for President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton. They hit the links at the Andrews Air Force Base Golf Course. They played a foursome with the president's Chief of Staff and one of Clinton's aides.
Well, the Republicans are holding a presidential straw poll today at a convention. Centered in Orlando, several of the GOP candidates attended the event. Herman Cain just spoke a short time ago. Straw poll results are expected some time this evening.
And we're going to turn to a story out of Southern Minnesota that got our attention. The region is Pig Country. And apparently hognappers are on the loose there. One hundred fifty pigs vanished from this farm last weekend. One hundred fifty plump, ready for slaughter pigs worth about $30,000.
But this isn't the only place hognappers have struck. Last month nearly 600 full sized squealing pigs disappeared during the night from a farm not far from this one - estimated value of that heist, $100,000. The local sheriff says he rarely hears of one pig being stolen. Now he's plagued with hundreds disappearing at one time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARC CHADDERDON, NICOLLET COL SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Not only is it difficult to steal that number of animals as you're talking semi-loads of animals that are being stolen, but you have to take them somewhere. They're not like stealing a vehicle or something like that. These animals either need to be taken care of, watered or they need to processed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. Why pigs? Why now? Farmers are getting record high prices for their hogs this year turning pigs into a hot commodity. And economists speculate the thief - the thieves, rather, are another sign of this troubled economy.
So Ryan Bode is on the phone with me right now. He is the farmer who discovered 150 of his pigs missing last weekend.
All right. So Mr. Bode, tell me what happened when you went to the barn and saw that nothing was there?
RYAN BODE, HOG FARMER (via telephone): It wasn't actually like that. We do an inventory when we empty out a site like that and did the paper work and found out we were missing 35 to 40 pigs per room on a - on a 4,000 head site. So that's where the 150 pigs come from.
WHITFIELD: So how do you suppose this happens? Kind of in the darkness of night?
BODE: Yes. It had to be in the middle of the night. During the day there is traffic around these sites. There's people in and out. Feed trucks coming in and out. So it had to be during the night when they knew nobody was going to be around.
WHITFIELD: So had there been any talk, you know, in the community that something might be awry, that people need to, you know, look out for their farms, keep a close count of - of their livestock, that something like this could happen?
BODE: There really wasn't much - much talk before this happened. You know now, of course, it's a big buzz in the community. I suggest other producers, you know, take a look at the security on their facilities and make sure that they are secure and people just can't walk in and out as they please.
WHITFIELD: Well, it seems awfully difficult to just go into a barn and steal, you know, 30 pigs at one time and in other incidents, hundreds. How do you suppose it's happening?
BODE: You know, I'm only speculating. I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but to get 30 pigs out of a barn I would think that if the people knew what they were doing it could be done in 10 to 15 minutes.
WHITFIELD: Really? How so. Explain how that would unfold.
BODE: Well, if somebody sneaks up to the barns, you know, just on foot, gets in, and gets everything ready, maybe gets the pigs out into the alleyway and then they radio back to have the trailer come up, open the door and, you know, chase them out of the trailer and then they're gone.
WHITFIELD: So where - you know, the home where you sleep, is it far from the barn? Would you be able to hear a vehicle on your property when something like this were to happen? BODE: Actually where this - this facility is located, the nearest neighbor is probably two miles away. And with the corn, you know, as tall as it is this time the year, and it is in a pretty isolated area, you really probably wouldn't notice anybody going up to the site.
WHITFIELD: So, Mr. Bode, what are you doing to try and protect the livestock that you have right now to make sure that nobody comes in?
BODE: In all of our - in all of our facilities like this, we're adding another barrier on the inside where these people got in just another barrier to get through and we're adding more security, more motion sensors and stuff outside. Just, you know, to keep this from happening again.
WHITFIELD: All right. Ryan Bode, all the best to you and hopefully that added layer of protection is going to help you and many other farmers out.
BODE: All right. Thank you much.
WHITFIELD: And hopefully soon investigators will get to the bottom of what's going on there.
All right. People from all corners of the world are helping others. Ten of them have actually been chosen as CNN Heroes and now it's up to you to decide who will be the hero the year. Find out how next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. This is the fifth anniversary of CNN Heroes, honoring everyday people who are changing the world.
Over the years we've received more than 40,000 nominations from our global audience in more than 100 countries. Last Thursday, we announced this year's Top Ten CNN Heroes.
Here's our Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Now that we've announced the Top CNN Heroes of 2011, I want to show you how you can vote for the CNN Hero of the Year.
This is the main page of CNNHeroes.com. Now, down here, you'll notice are the list of all top 10 CNN Heroes. Each one will receive $50,000, plus a shot at becoming CNN Hero of the Year.
That's where you come in. Here's how you can vote for your favorite CNN Hero. First, you can learn more about all the Heroes by clicking on their fan pages. I want to show you how - how to do that. As an example, I'm going to go here and click on Patrice Millet. We're just using Patrice as an example to walk you through the voting process. Any of the 10 nominees would be worthy of being CNN Hero of the Year and that is entirely up to you. Now, after you look at each fan page, pick the person who inspires you the most and click on "Vote Now," which is right over here, on the right. Click on that and a new page comes up. It shows you all the top 10 heroes. Choose the person you want to vote for.
For now I'm going to, say, randomly pick Taryn Davis. So if I pick Taryn Davis, again, just as an example, her photo will show up here, under the "Your Selection" area. Then it shows you a security code over here. You type in that security code. You click on the red box, which is over here for vote.
And there's something new this year. You can vote online and on your mobile device, your laptop, your tablet, pretty much any Smartphone or cell phone with a browser. Just go to CNNHeroes.com.
And remember, you can vote up to 10 times a day for your favorite hero through Wednesday, December 7th.
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WHITFIELD: The CNN hero the year will be awarded $250,000. Who will it be? You decide. Go to CNNHeroes.com now to vote for the most inspirational hero online and on your mobile device. All 10 will be honored live at "CNN Heroes, An All-Star Tribute" hosted by our own Anderson Cooper, Sunday, December 11th, but only one will be named CNN Hero of the Year.
Badly wounded and under heavy fire from the Taliban. You're about to hear how this man saved his Special Forces Unit in Afghanistan and earn a medal for extraordinary heroism. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The U.S. Air Force has awarded its highest medal for heroic action under fire. It's called the Air Force Cross. And the man who will receive it tells a breathtaking story of courage and dedication in Afghanistan.
CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr met him in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Air Force Staff Sergeant Robert Gutierrez was never going to give in.
STAFF SGT. ROBERT GUTIERREZ, MILITARY HERO: I don't have time to - I don't have time to sit there and die. I told myself, I'm going to get up. I'm going to fight. I'm going to kill them. I'm going to do what I have to do. If it happens, if I bleed out and die, it happens, but they're going to go first.
STARR: Operating with his Special Forces team in Afghanistan, Gutierrez's job was to call in air strikes if they came under attack. This time, it was bad, in a village, Taliban firing at them from all directions. But what happened to Robert Gutierrez would have done in most men. GUTIERREZ: I can't breathe. I was like I can't breathe. I can't breathe. And my words were getting cut short.
STARR: Gutierrez was shot. His left lung collapsed. He was bleeding.
GUTIERREZ: Like at that point, I'm - I'm just gasping for small bursts of air.
STARR: Crawling towards Gutierrez, this Special Forces soldier. The military will only let us say his name is Mike. A sergeant first class, he is the unit's medic. Under fire, he will save Gutierrez, so Gutierrez can save them all. Mike uses as long needle to re-inflate Gutierrez' collapsed lung. Gutierrez can breathe again.
GUTIERREZ: Excuse me. I'm sorry. I just, you know, I owe a lot to him.
STARR: But the entire team is in deep trouble. The team leader and two others are wounded. Finally, Gutierrez has enough breath to radio a pilot overhead.
GUTIERREZ: He just says, there's a sizable force on the - on the east side of the compound and they're all armed. They're all coming up towards your guys' location.
STARR: The plane can't bomb. The U.S. troops are too close by. So Gutierrez still bleeding calls in two F-16s. They fly in very low and fast in a show of force. Then an A-10 comes through, firing its guns. The team then walks wounded and exhausted, for nearly two miles to get picked up by a Medivac helicopter.
GUTIERREZ: I refuse to die out there.
GENERAL NORTON A. SCHWARTZ, AIR FORCE CHIEF OF STAFF: The Secretary Donley has approved the award of the Air Force Cross to Staff Sergeant Robert Gutierrez.
STARR: Staff Sergeant Gutierrez says he's 98 percent recovered and he can't wait to get back out to the frontlines once again.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: OK, I think everyone agrees, Bonnie, that in soccer you must have hand/eye coordination.
SCHNEIDER: And maybe, well, head coordination.
WHITFIELD: That's right.
All right, this exemplifies I guess a lack of all of that?
SCHNEIDER: Yes. Or maybe using them all at the same time, what happens?
WHITFIELD: OK. I'm cringing at this one. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD (voice-over): Oh, that is cruel. OK, well, accidents can happen.
OK, so - yes.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): That really hurt. (INAUDIBLE) -
WHITFIELD: He got hammered there. Oh, my goodness. This isn't funny.
SCHNEIDER: A lot of people thought it is.
WHITFIELD: That hurts.
SCHNEIDER: They're all laughing in the control room.
WHITFIELD: Oh, no. Maybe they didn't play soccer.
SCHNEIDER: That happened in Australia -
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: That's not funny. Ouch.
SCHNEIDER: Hit the wall and then - and then hit his - it bounced right onto his head. I think because he wasn't facing it, he didn't have time to get out of the way.
But this is one popular video on YouTube.
WHITFIELD: Oh, sorry. Sorry, mate.
SCHNEIDER: Three hundred thousand views.
WHITFIELD: I'm sure he's not happy that people are watching this 300,000 strong, and who knows what all the comments are.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Maybe most are cringing for him.
SCHNEIDER: Oh, you know, he was facing the wall.
WHITFIELD: And hopefully not laughing at that moment.
Oh, my gosh. That hurts.
SCHNEIDER: That does hurt.
WHITFIELD: Oh, I'm feeling for him there. Sorry, mate.
SCHNEIDER: Oh, he walked it off. Good.
WHITFIELD: Well, good. That's good.
(CROSSTALK)
SCHNEIDER: Impressive.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, that has gone viral, regardless of where you stand on that happening. Ouch.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: I'm cringing for him. I am, too. Oh, my goodness.
SCHNEIDER: Well, he was OK.
WHITFIELD: You ever played soccer?
SCHNEIDER: Yes, I have (INAUDIBLE). It's fun.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Usually it's the kick in the shin. That's what I least liked about it.
SCHNEIDER: Right.
WHITFIELD: Getting kicked in the shin.
All right, we'll have many more viral videos -
SCHNEIDER: Yes.
WHITFIELD: -- later on throughout the weekend.
All right, thanks so much, Bonnie.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
WHITFIELD: And (INAUDIBLE) in weather, right? OK.
SCHNEIDER: Yes. We have lots of them coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, the U.S. Peace Corps is celebrating 50 years. Its workers come from all across America.
Donna Shanor from Austin, Texas is now living in Costa Rica, and she's working to empower other young women in her new community.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONNA SHANOR, AUSTIN, TEXAS (through translator): OK, do you know where I'm from?
STUDENTS (through translator): Texas.
SHANOR (through translator): From Texas. Where is Texas? (SPEAKING IN SPANISH).
And Costa Rica? (SPEAKING IN SPANISH).
I always wanted to explore the world. I always wanted to travel. I grew up knowing about the Peace Corps because my father served in the late 1960s in Somalia, as a Peace Corps volunteer.
This is a mural - this pic collage that I did when I first got to Costa Rica. I brought a bunch of pictures back from home.
This is a picture of my brother in 2005. He was in his senior year in college and he was at a party and just was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Four people were shot and my brother was the only one that died.
I remember that moment very clearly and I remember in that moment saying I'm going to live and I'm not going to live in hate. I refuse to. So I chose Peace Corps because I can wake up every morning and I can choose love and choose life every single day.
In out, over under. In front, behind.
I started a group called "Grupo Esperanza." And that's a group with kids here (INAUDIBLE). They're all teenagers and we - I just get together with them. I ask them what do you se as an issue that affects you and they identify the issue that they thought affected them and then we talk about, OK, what are we going to do about it?
So for them to say this is a problem in my community and I'm going to do something about it is just amazing for them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Everything we've done together, she has taught me. I have learned from her, just as she has from me. A very beautiful experience with Donna.
SHANOR: I feel like I'm building my brother's legacy and I'm also building my own. I know he would be happy. I know his, you know, his spirit is looking down at me, he;s thrilled that I'm here.
I know that I'm making a difference and people are making a difference in me, too.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
