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Trying to Stop Syrian Violence; Santorum Leads in Kansas; A Look at the New iPad; Inside Japan's Nuclear Meltdown; Brees On Bounties: I Was Unaware; Kardashians Hit With $5M Lawsuit; Doctor Replaces Meds With Exercise; Cameron Preps Epic Dive
Aired March 10, 2012 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: A top world diplomat asked Syria's president, face to face, to stop the carnage and killing in his country. Former Secretary-General Kofi Annan is in Damascus meeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Opposition activists say more than 60 people were killed today in fighting across Syria.
Israel launched air strikes against suspected militants in Gaza again today. It is the second day in a row. At least 15 Palestinians are reported killed, more than 20 others injured. A Palestinian Authority spokesman blames Israel for ramping up violence in the region. Israel says the air strikes targeted terrorists who attacked civilians near Gaza.
In Washington State, a search is on for a suspect who allegedly shot a female deputy and stabbed a judge before fleeing. The incident began yesterday afternoon in a courthouse in Montesano, a small town south of Seattle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE DAVE EDWARDS, STABBING VICTIM: When I went to assist the deputy, he had a weapon in his hand, a knife or something, and he was stabbing at her.
He got -- got away from the deputy and went pop, pop, and turned and looked at me and then he went out the front door with the (inaudible) with the gun in his hand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Police still have -- don't have, rather, a clear motive for the attacks.
Mississippi's attorney general says he's looking for options, this after the state supreme court upheld more than 200 pardons granted by former Governor Haley Barbour. Attorney General Jim Hood says he wants to put a measure before Mississippi voters to amend the state's constitution on how governors hand out pardons.
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WHITFIELD: Right now to the race for the White House, Kansas is the latest GOP battleground with caucuses there just wrapping up. Forty delegates are at stake. CNN political director Mark Preston joining us now from Washington. So, Mark, any results or how soon?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, I'll tell you what, Fred, we do have numbers coming in right now. Let's go right to the board and take a look at them and show you how Rick Santorum is doing so well right now. Look at those numbers right there. Rick Santorum at 54 percent right now, followed by Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney at 17 percent each, Ron Paul at 11 percent.
And if you see the numbers are slowly ticking in right now, let me tell you where this vote is coming from and what we're looking for. Right now this vote is coming from rural areas in the central and the western part of the state. We haven't seen anything come in from the eastern part of state yet.
Our decision team here in Washington is specifically looking at Johnson County. They suspect that if Mitt Romney were to make up the distance between what he has now between him and Rick Santorum, he would need to do very well in these big populous areas, such as Kansas City.
So that's where we're watching the vote right now. As you can see, we're up over 30 percent at this point. And it keeps ticking in. It keeps ticking in. So, obviously, stay with us and we will give you the latest results in the Kansas caucus, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Meantime, in some of the other caucuses where the numbers are in, it appears that Mitt Romney did particularly well.
PRESTON: He did. He woke up this morning to 18 delegates in hand. What he did is he won nine delegates from Guam and nine delegates from the North Mariana Islands. He sent his son, Matt, out there as a chief surrogate to rally support for him. And it was a good move. It was worth the cost of the plane ticket and a couple hotel room nights and probably the jet lag his son has to face.
But I tell you what, in this race for the Republican presidential nomination, it all comes down to delegates. You need 1,144 to win the Republican presidential nomination, every delegate counts right now. So those 18 that Mitt Romney won from these two territories, very, very big for him.
WHITFIELD: All right. All right. Thanks so much, Mark Preston. Appreciate that. Check back with you.
And, of course, you want to join us every Sunday afternoon at 4 o'clock Eastern time when I dedicate an entire hour to the presidential contenders in the 2012 election.
All right. U.S. employers continue to ramp up hiring. The latest figures from the U.S. Labor Department show a total of 227,000 jobs created in February. It's the third straight month of gains above the 200,000 mark.
The unemployment rate didn't fall, however. But it also didn't increase, holding steady at 8.3 percent. And the private sector continues to lead the way with 233,000 new jobs. In his weekly address, President Barack Obama touted private firms which have added jobs every month since March 2010.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: More companies are choosing to bring jobs back and invest in America, manufacturing is adding jobs for the first time since the 1990s. And we're building more things to sell to the rest of the world, stamped with three proud words: Made in America. And it's not just that we're building stuff. We're building better stuff. The engine parts manufactured here in Petersburg will go into the next generation planes that are lighter, faster and more fuel- efficient.
That last part is important, because whether you're paying for a plane ticket or filling up your gas tank, technology that helps us get more miles to the gallon is one of the easiest ways to save money and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: But some Republicans say it will take more than jobs to spark a turnaround in the U.S. economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JACK DALRYMPLE, (R) NORTH DAKOTA: As a nation, what progress has been made to balance our annual budget deficit? Have any real spending reductions been proposed by the Democratic majority in the Senate?
Has President Obama made any real attempts to reduce spending? All we see are budgeting games. The American people are growing tired of the constant pleas for tax increases from this administration long before any real proposals appear for spending reductions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The U.S. Labor Department says less than half of the 8 million jobs lost during the recession have been recovered so far.
The unthinkable, happening on more than one occasion in the United States, thousands of people forced to be sterilized. One of the victims speaks out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Decades ago forced sterilization was both legal and common in the U.S. State governments did it to thousands of people deemed to have, quote, "unfit human traits."
Over 60 years later, one of them, one of the victims is speaking out. Here is Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZABETH COHEN, SENIOR CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 1945, California Sonoma State Home. Charlie Follett, a 14-year-old ward, is singing in a field when he's ordered inside.
CHARLIE FOLLETT, PATIENT STERILIZED BY FORCE: First, he shot me with some kind of medicine. It's supposed to deaden the nerves. And then, the next thing I just heard was snip, snip, and that was it.
COHEN: Did they tell you what they were doing to you?
FOLLETT: No.
COHEN (voice-over): They didn't have to tell him. He knew: a sterilization by force.
How did you know what it was?
FOLLETT: Well, because, see, there's been others in there that had it before me.
COHEN (voice-over): The other boys at the home had warned him how much it would hurt.
FOLLETT: Well, when they done this side here, it seemed like they were pulling my whole insides out.
COHEN (voice-over): The 1930s through the 1950s were the heyday of the eugenics movement in the United States. The goal: to rid the country of the feeble-minded, defectives. And it wasn't some fringe or secretive program, it was well known and paid for by the states where it was practiced. Entire families labeled shiftless, degenerates.
Sixty thousand men and women, boys and girls sterilized, some living at home; others like Follett, in state institutions. His parents were alcoholics and couldn't care for him and his sister. Thirty-two states had eugenics programs, but California was in a league of its own. The Golden State sterilized 20,000 people, more than twice as many as the next state, Virginia, and a full third of the nation's total.
It was led by California's elite, including at the time, the president of Stanford University and the publisher of the "Los Angeles Times." The efficiency of California's program didn't go unnoticed. In the 1930s, the Nazi party in Germany was so impressed it asked for advice, and Californians leading the program were only too happy to help.
COHEN: So Eugenesis (ph) in California sent this book to the Nazis?
CHRISTINA COGDELL, CULTURAL HISTORIAN, UNIV. OF CALIF-DAVIS: Yes, they did.
COHEN: So, the Nazis used this book as a model for their sterilization program?
COGDELL: Absolutely. Germany used California's program as its chief example that this was a working successful policy.
COHEN (voice-over): California, the leader in forced sterilizations, but decades later, not a leader in making amends to victims. A few hundred survivors are still alive by one scholar's estimate, but the state has offered no reparations.
Follett has tried for years, but says he can't even get a politician to talk to him, not even his own state representative, who also refused an interview request from CNN. His friend, Rudy Banlasan, a nursing student, shows me letters he's written, to no avail, on Follett's behalf.
COHEN: Do you think the state of California just wants to forget about this, forget it ever happened?
RUDY BANLASAN, FOLLETT'S FRIEND: Honestly, I think they're just waiting -- I mean, I hate to sound so cynical, I think they're just waiting for the victims to die and forget this whole thing ever happened.
COHEN (voice-over): Compare that chilly response to the State of North Carolina.
GOV. BEV PERDUE, NORTH CAROLINA: The state of North Carolina is a partner with you in trying to bring awareness.
COHEN (voice-over): Governor Bev Perdue has invited sterilization victims to the capital, heard their stories, apologized personally, set up a taskforce to help them, and recommended that each victim receive $50,000 in reparations.
In California, just a statement of apology by Governor Gray Davis in 2003, saying, in part, "It was a sad and regrettable chapter in the state's history, and it is one that must never be repeated again."
COHEN: An apology from the governor, is that enough?
AREVA MARTIN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: No, no. It's a start, but it's only a start. These people deserve to be compensated, just like any other victim that has had their rights violated.
COHEN (voice-over): Keeping them honest, I went to California to get some answers from the state's leaders.
COHEN: We've been calling and emailing your office for a long time now.
COHEN (voice-over): Governor Edmond brown wouldn't talk to us, but did send a statement regretting the harm done to victims. We asked again about his policy on reparations. His office told us, we have nothing more to add.
We sought out another politician we've been trying to contact, Assembly Speaker John Perez.
COHEN: So can we come on in and speak to him?
JOHN VIGNA, SPOKESMAN, CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY SPEAKER: He's actually tied up with meetings right now.
COHEN (voice-over): His spokesman, John Vigna. VIGNA: This is a issue we're just -- I -- that I personally am just learning about. I'm looking into it.
COHEN (voice-over): Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett wouldn't talk to us either. Her spokesman, Andrew Lamar.
ANDREW LAMAR, SPOKESMAN, CALIFORNIA SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Whether was it published?
COHEN (voice-over): 2003. I mean, why hasn't anything happened since then?
LAMAR: That's a good question.
COHEN (voice-over): Follett now has lung cancer and just celebrated his birthday in the hospital. He said he would use any money he got to buy a place of his own and live out his last few years independently, tragically aware that California's eugenics policy worked exactly as intended. He has no children.
FOLLETT: What really teed me off was that they killed my -- my last day now.
COHEN (voice-over): There will be no more Folletts?
FOLLETT: If I should die tomorrow, everything's died.
COHEN (voice-over): Whether he and other victims will get justice or just die away is up to politicians in California. Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Sacramento, California.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And a grim anniversary tomorrow, the deadly earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that rocked Japan. Ahead, we'll take you inside the worst nuclear meltdown in a quarter of a century.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A documentary about hunger in America is getting a lot of buzz at Austin's South by Southwest festival this week. "Finding North" is the title of the documentary, and CNN's Ali Velshi talks with the celebrity chef who inspired it in this week's "Fortune Brainstorm."
ALI VELSHI, CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Food deserts, let's just explain that. These are urban areas where --
TOM COLICCHIO, CELEBRITY CHEF: And rural areas.
VELSHI: -- and rural areas, where quality fresh food is not readily available.
COLICCHIO: Where fresh food is not available at all. So the only option you have is to buy junk food and highly processed food. And that is actually what's causing the obesity problem. So we look at obesity, it's just the flip side of poverty -- I'm sorry; the flip side of hunger. It's not that people are overeating --
VELSHI: Which is the way -- it's the opposite of the way it used to be. It used to be that poor people were skinny.
COLICCHIO: Right.
VELSHI: Now we have got poor people who put on more weight because they're eating the wrong foods.
COLICCHIO: They're eating the wrong foods, exactly, exactly. Cheap foods are not healthy.
VELSHI: And then that extends to health care problems because a lot of these people develop diabetes.
COLICCHIO: Well, that's exactly right. And so if you want to fix the problem, experts say that about $20 billion will fix the problem per year, and the associated health care costs are $120 billion.
VELSHI: What's the best fix for it?
COLICCHIO: I think the best fix for it, it's a combination of -- it's -- really get down to it, it's changing the poverty level. And there is not a president out there that will change that poverty level. If we look at, to qualify for food stamps or SNAP dollars, 20 -- for a family of four, you have to make under $28,000. It's just not enough. It's not enough to get by.
And so I think it's changing the poverty level, number one. And there is a political fix to this. If you look, again, at subsidies, if you look at getting more people to -- and have access to foods. It's on so many different levels. But our mission is just to raise awareness.
VELSHI: Tom Colicchio, I'm glad you're doing it. Thank you for being here at South by Southwest. And hopefully we've helped you raise awareness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Ali.
Apple revealing its new iPad. It goes on sale next Friday. But it is worth buying? Our tech expert tells us next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. In the race for the White House, caucus numbers are in for Kansas. Let's go to Washington and our Mark Preston, our political director with some results. Drum roll, please. Mark?
PRESTON: Well, Fred, you know, we've been waiting to find out who would win the Iowa caucus -- or rather the Kansas caucus -- (inaudible) Iowa. Let's take a look. CNN is ready to make a projection. With that projection, Rick Santorum has won the Kansas caucuses. Fred, he will take away at least 20 -- now 20 of the 40 delegates that were at stake. He could win more.
We have to wait to see how the vote total shakes out right now. But as you can see, he had such a commanding lead out there, 53 percent of the votes so far and of course 70 -- almost 75 percent of the vote is in.
So Rick Santorum scores a big victory on this Saturday, something that he was hoping for, a little wind at his back as we head into Tuesday, when we really set our sights on what happens in Alabama and in Mississippi. Fred?
WHITFIELD: And it will be interesting because that kind of momentum is something that Rick Santorum's camp would want. There have been some polls that shows that he might do fairly well, come Mississippi and Alabama. And you have to wonder when you have a result like this, so close to an upcoming primary, how influential this Kansas caucus just might be for him.
PRESTON: Yes, absolutely. I mean, look, they're going to take this. They're going to trumpet it. They're going to herald it. And they're going to try to get as much press and support as they can over the next 72 hours. Mississippi and Alabama, very important for a couple reasons, one, it's because Newt Gingrich staked his candidacy on doing very well in the South. He won Georgia.
But he really needs to do well in Alabama and Mississippi. If not, a lot of people will be asking for him to step aside, and Mitt Romney has not won in the South yet. And he is looking for a win. If we look at the polling right now, Mitt Romney might have a shot at winning one of those states.
But as you said, Rick Santorum is doing very well in the South. And perhaps this Kansas victory might push him over the edge.
WHITFIELD: All right. On to Alabama and Mississippi next. Thanks so much for those early results and now Kansas showing a Santorum win.
All right. Apple has a new iPad. The tech company unveiled its latest gadget this week in San Francisco. It goes on sale actually next Friday. CNN's tech expert Marc Saltzman was there when they rolled it out. He is joining us right now via Skype from Toronto. So, Marc, did you like what you saw?
MARC SALTZMAN, TECH GURU: I did. You know, it's hard for any product, really, to live up to the tremendous hype that preceded the event. So I mean, they could have unveiled an iPad that makes you breakfast and you'll still feel disappointed because it doesn't have all of those, you know, whiz-bang features we were anticipating.
But if you look at the specs -- and I've had a chance to play around with the new iPad following the even, it is, without question, the best tablet on the market, primarily because of its retina display, which refers to resolution so good that the human eye can't see the individual pixels, the little dots that make it the image.
So four times the resolution, as compared to the first two iPad models. So really just a stunning screen. It's got 4G or LTE connectivity. So both AT&T and Verizon and select cities have, you know, wireless speeds that rival, if not exceed, your home's internet connection. So those are the two big callout features. There are a few others as well. I think it's a great product.
But there was so much hype leading up to the event that there is always that tinge of disappointment at the beginning until you touch it. The magic is always in the experience with Apple products.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. So what was it like when you did get a chance to touch it?
SALTZMAN: Well, the first thing you notice is the great screen, without question, you know, flicking through photos, videos, playing games, even text looks super, super crisp. So that is the first thing you notice.
On the down side, however, the new iPad is a tad heavier. It is 1.44 pounds for the wi-fi version, and 1.46 pounds for the wi-fi and 4G model. It doesn't sound like much, compared to last year's 1.33-pound model. But you do feel it. It is a little bit heavier. But overall, you know, the speeds are -- we've never seen speeds this fast.
Excuse me. It has a better camera. It's got voice dictation. It's not quite Siri, which is that personal assistant built into the iPhone 4S. But you can dictate your emails and surf the Web using your voice. So it does have enough features sort of to justify the purchase if you've been holding out on an iPod.
WHITFIELD: And enough to keep the competition at bay for a bit?
SALTZMAN: I think so. I mean, you know, already the iPad is the overwhelming leader in this space, I mean, 55 million iPads sold to date in less than two years. And with some analysts predicting they'll hit 100 million units by the end of 2012. I mean, I think that I Apple has such a commanding lead that this product is good enough to hold off, to stave of the competition.
And there's a lot of competition. The Kindle Fire is only $200, compared to the $499 iPad. You know, and some Samsung Android tablets are really amazing as well. So there is stiff competition. But I still think Apple, you know, that coupled with their momentum and their very clever marketing, they're going to stay the leader for a long time.
WHITFIELD: OK. And this was the new CEO, Tim Cook's, kind of first big product unveiling. How did he do?
SALTZMAN: I thought he did well. He seemed very comfortable on stage at the Yerba Center for the Arts. I did see him unveil the iPhone 4S at Apple's headquarters. That was a much smaller crowd.
But he seemed comfortable. He was wearing an untucked button-down shirt and black slacks. You know, he didn't have, of course, that trademark Steve Jobs "just one more thing" at the end, though he did (inaudible) -- he did tease to the audience of about 300, 400 analysts and journalists that there were big things coming from Apple in 2012.
Just, you know, maybe we were hoping for a little bit more, maybe the iTV, (inaudible) an Apple TV, but, you know, it's all good and I thought he was -- I thought he did a good job.
WHITFIELD: Well, the anticipation will still be great. All right. Thanks so much, Mark Saltzman, appreciate that from Toronto.
And for more high-tech ideas and reviews, just go to CNN.com/tech and look for the gaming and gadgets tab, or follow Mark Saltzman on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
All right. A grim anniversary tomorrow. The deadly earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that rocked Japan next. We'll take you inside the worst nuclear meltdown in a quarter of a century.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, what is your definition of success? One man follows his passion from the courthouse to the art museum.
Looking at our top stories right now, a winner in the Kansas caucus, CNN projects Rick Santorum as the winner. He will take at least 20 of the state's 40 delegates. We'll have more on the Kansas results at the top of the hour.
A top world diplomat asks Syria's president face-to-face to stop the carnage and killing in his country. Former u.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is in Damascus meeting Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. Opposition activists say more than 60 people were killed there today in fighting across Syria.
Israel launched air strikes against suspected militants in Gaza again today. It is the second day in a row. At least 15 Palestinians were reported killed, more than 20 others injured.
Palestinian authority spokesman blamed Israel for ramping up violence in the region. Israel says the air strikes targeted terrorists who attacked civilians near Gaza.
It was a year ago tomorrow that Japan was rocked by a deadly earthquake and tsunami. First there was shaking then a massive wave followed by the worst nuclear disaster in over 25 years. CNN's Kyung Lah has a rare look inside the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A year after these reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant exploded in a triple meltdown. Reporters were reminded this is still one of the most hazardous placed on the planet.
We wore head to toe protective gear, full facial respirators and hazmat suits and then we drove up to the world's nuclear accident in 25 years. (on camera): This is our first look on the ground at the reactors. This is the heart of the nuclear problem in Japan. What you're seeing over my shoulder are the reactors. There are four of them.
The two that you see offer my right shoulder. Those are two of the reactors that exploded in the early days of this disaster. When you take a look at the reactors, you can see that they have a long way to go.
This is a year after this disaster and you can see the force of the explosion crippled those buildings. You can understand how so much radiation spewed from this point when standing here.
(voice-over): An army of 3,000 workers are now here daily in shifts to control the melted nuclear fuel and contain the further spread of the radiation. Inside the onsite crisis management building of the plant, a control center monitors progress and safety 24 hours a day.
The highest risk we still see is if something goes wrong with the reactors says plant manager, Takeshi Takahashi. The plant is in cold shutdown. But the nuclear fuel needs constant cooling and the situation is far from over.
Tepco says the plant won't be decommissioned for at least 30 to 40 years. The challenge is evident as we drive around the Fukushima plant. Debris still mangled from the tsunami sits untouched because of radiation concerns.
These blue tanks and these larger gray ones hold water contaminated with radiation. Tepco is continuously challenged with finding more space for the water. Work conditions and safety while they improve since early days of the disaster remain a constant concern.
This woman used to give tours to the public at the Fukushima nuclear plant. Before the accident, I explained to many people that the nuclear power plant is safe, she says. Now that this has happened, I feel very sorry I ever said that.
She also lived here. She's now an evacuee, uncertain of when or if she can ever return home. A year later, she and 78,000 others are the legacy of this accident, paying the price for nuclear energy goes wrong. Kyung Lah, CNN at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And once you've reached one level of success, what do you do?
Straight ahead, two lawyers talk about volunteering in non-profit groups and leaving the courthouse to follow their passions.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: These days many people in their 50s are searching for new jobs or new opportunities. Our Julie Peterson introduces us to two lawyers who left the courtroom to follow their passions. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIE PETERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At first, Joe Bankoff and Gordon Smith seemed an unlikely pair of friends. Bankoff, lover of the arts, Smith, athlete and college tennis champ, but they share two important bonds. Most of their careers were seen as high profile senior partners.
JOE BANKOFF, FORMER LAWYER: I represented "Saturday Night Live" in a libel suit.
PETERSON: At Atlanta's mega law firm, King & Spaulding.
GORDON SMITH, FORMER LAWYER: I tried a lot of cases for General Motors. Loved doing that. We did represent a tobacco company.
PETERSON: And both left law several years ago at the height of great professional success, turning part time volunteer passions into full time career work.
Bankoff made the switch first. In 2006, he was persuaded to take over as CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center. The Atlanta non-profit where he was already volunteering.
BANKOFF: I was not expecting this. This was not a plan. I'm not that organized.
PETERSON: Woodruff comprises several of the cities' cultural crown jewels including the Atlanta Symphony and the High Museum of Art.
BANKOFF: We've actually created theater at the alliance for children that are 18 months to 3 years.
PETERSON: The father two of adult children says the arts teach lifelong skills like innovation and how to work in a group.
BANKOFF: I don't care whether it's a jazz group, a dance group, whether it's stomp or classical ballet or other things or drama group. You now put yourself in a situation where kids are motivated to do better tomorrow than they did yesterday, to create something which they cannot do by themselves.
PETERSON: Bankoff took a 75 percent pay cut defining success on his own terms.
BANKOFF: All of a sudden, it becomes clear that most precious thing you have left is time. And the question of how you're going to invest that time becomes much more relevant.
PETERSON: Then about a year later, Bankoff's former colleague Smith was approached to run the U.S. Tennis Association after volunteering with that non-profit, for many years.
(on camera): Is there one moment that stands out where you said I got to do this? SMITH: It's when someone very senior in the USTA, I was on the board at the Usta, came to me and said Gordon, I think you're the best person that we could bring on to move this organization forward as executive director.
PETERSON (voice-over): Before making a final decision, Smith went to Bankoff for advice. Should he, too, switch to the non-profit world?
SMITH: It's pretty good. You ought to give it a try.
PETERSON: With an immediate blessing from his wife, Smith became the USTA's executive director. The couple moved to New York. Smith, father of three grown children, loves his work and sees it as a chance to give back to the sport that developed him as a young man. He recently re-upped for a second four-year term.
SMITH: There comes a point when you think, you know, is there something that would give me more satisfaction in a nonmonetary sense than what I'm doing now?
PETERSON: Smith's got big plans.
SMITH: We're going to get more kids 10 and under playing the game. You don't have to be a member of a club. We're going to get millions of kids playing the game.
PETERSON: Both admit running a large, mostly volunteer organization was an adjustment.
BANKOFF: As a lawyer, you're used to talking first and frankly talking a lot. You have to learn to shut up. You need to talk less. You need to talk last.
PETERSON: Each is very satisfied with the decision to give back.
(on camera): Do you have people approach who you are where you were 10 years ago saying, no, I'm scratching my head?
SMITH: He said jump. That's what I would say.
BANKOFF: Absolutely.
PETERSON (voice-over): And they both say that the leap took them from success to relevance. Julie Peterson, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: A suspect leads police on a chase. What makes this one so unusual? Check out the ride. How police took down the bus driver.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the fierce storms torch to the Midwest and south last weekend taking 40 lives, emergency recovery teams scrambled to respond to devastated communities across 10 states.
Among the relief workers heading into the destruction zone was CNN Hero, Tad Agolia and his first response team of America.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go ahead and get this debris cleared enough so we can get the claw in here. What we got here is a few hours after the tornado struck this community.
We've cleared the road. We've provided the light towers. We powered up the grocery stores. We powered up the gas station to provide the essentials that this community needs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Since 2007, Agolia's team has crisscrossed the country providing recovery assistance to thousands of people at 40 disaster sites for free. This week they worked tirelessly for days restoring services and clearing tons of debris.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See if can you grab the claw actually cut the roof right in half? It's very hard for traditional equipment without the claws to actually grab this debris.
That's why you need specialty equipment like this. We're removing it from the community, but time is of the essence. There are a lot of people that want to get back in here. They're looking for anything they can salvage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do you do this? Why did you choose this road?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether I'm watching the super cells go over the small communities, I want to be there to help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get to work. You do good stuff.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Now some other stories we're following in Albuquerque, New Mexico, an unusual police chase. Police say this wasn't the suspect's first stolen bus. It was actually his second.
The other one was found in a ditch early anywhere the day yesterday. He eventually ran over several spike strips before the tires blew out. Affiliate KOAT reports that police shot him three times during the takedown, but they don't know his condition.
All right, next to the Houston area where police say a 5-year-old girl was left at her own birthday party. A worker called police Thursday night about a child left in the entertainment center.
The girl's mother reported her missing rather the next morning. Police say the mother of 10 was remorseful and upset. The girl is now with child protective services.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees says he was never aware of the now infamous bounty program. In a letter to fans, he also said there is no place for it in the NFL.
Some current and former Saints players have admitted to taking part in a scheme that paid bonuses for hits that knocked players out of the game.
Two of the Kardashian sisters are being sued for $5 million. Angry consumers say they're endorsement of a diet pill was misleading. I talked to our legal experts, Avery Friedman and Richard Herman about it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD HERMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The definition of obscenity I've been saying is Kardashian. This is obscene. They're on with the pictures that are airbrushed, not even them, claiming to have lost all this weight taking this product.
They're just doing it for the bucks. They don't know what they're talking about. They made so much express misrepresentations.
WHITFIELD: Do they have to be held libel?
HERMAN: Yes. You can't represent that this product does certain things to you when it does absolutely nothing! Nothing, no scientific evidence that caffeine is the cure to weight loss, it's ridiculous, Fred.
They're going to get hammered. I got the lawsuit here. I read it. The federal district court in New York, it's a thick, nice class action. It breaks down all the misrepresentations. I hope they get hammered on this and again thrown out.
WHITFIELD: If the Kardashians are able to say we did take these Quicktrim, you know, pills or tablets and we do still look like we do in those pictures that we just saw them. Is that defense enough for them?
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHT ATTORNEY: Well, here's what that's about. That's what they're going to say. It's actually a beautifully plead, responsibly pleading in federal district court, 51 pages. And it represents that under the Consumer Protection Act that the Kardashians are responsible in the marketing.
Nothing in the 51 pages, Fredricka, nothing, says that they have ownership interest in this, but the question is they found four people, four people who really are relying on the Kardashians.
I think the only four people in America, but it's a serious case. We're going to know the answer to that after some discovery. We're way too early to learn what's really going to happen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Our legal guys always telling it like they see it. You can catch them every Saturday, noon Eastern Time.
All right, Scott Zahn was on the road to life threatening obesity. So he got on the road to recovery and made it all the way to CNN's Fit Nation Triathalon. How he did it after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: From life threatening obesity to a triathlon victory. That's the path Dr. Scott Zahn took after he became one of CNN's Fit Nation triathlete last year.
So after being told he would have to start taking both high blood pressure and high cholesterol meds, Dr. Zahn joined the CNN team. Chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells us what happened next.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, you know, we're in year three now, the Fit Nation triathlon challenge and we see some remarkable transformations among the CNN viewers who have raced with us.
One of those people is Dr. Scott Zahn. Scott is a pediatrician and he decided to start his own triathlon challenge at the medical center where he works. I caught up with him and found out how he's paying his experience forward and helping other people now change their own lives.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: This idea again of trying to get other people to join you to do a triathlon, what was reaction from your colleagues, your friends, your employees that are doing this with you?
DR. SCOTT ZAHN, 2011 FIT NATION TRIATHLETE: Well, it actually wasn't that hard when they saw what happened to me, the transformation that I had made. So a lot of people were very excited about trying it themselves. We had about 50 employees that applied and it was hard to pick just six of them to be part of our six pack.
GUPTA: You know, one of the things we talk about quite a bit, this idea of using this sort of lifestyle as medicine. You got off medications yourself. I think a few of your triathletes have a history of heart disease or have heart disease. How does that work out for them? How are they doing and what do you tell them as doctor?
ZAHN: As a doctor, I tell them that it's something they can certainly do. Look at me as an example getting out of three medications and still able to stay off of them.
The people in the six pack here. They're also having that same goal, to get off of medications, to get off cholesterol medicine and blood pressure medicine.
So far with the weight loss they've seen it looks like they're going to be able to do that as well.
GUPTA: You know, I just find that really inspiring, and you were able to get off, I remember talking to at least one of your medications pretty quickly after you started training.
I think that could be sort of an inspiration enough for a lot of people who are watching. Have you been able to keep it up? I know you're doing this tri again.
The one in Green Bay in June and then you're going to join us in Malibu in September. How are you doing? How hard has it been to maintain what we started you on a year ago?
ZAHN: It is challenging to keep it up. To find the time and motivation, but it's easier than it was before I started this whole process. You know, I still look forward to the workouts. It's a matter making sure I fit them into my daily routine.
GUPTA: Well, I'm proud of you Dr. Scott Zahn. Appreciate it. You're a great role model for a lot of people out there. Good luck. We'll see you soon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: You can read more about Scott and also this year's Fit Nation Triathlon challenge at cnn.com/fitnation -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, thank you.
A legendary director gets ready for a major adventure of his own. James Cameron plans to take himself alone to the deepest part of the planet.
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WHITFIELD: James Cameron is not happy just being an Oscar winning movie director. No, he's got his eye is on a much more historic achievement and he is risking his life for it. Jason Carroll went all the way to the Western Pacific for a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In this story, James Cameron isn't the only character taking a voyage to the Mariana trenches deepest point, challenger deep.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to see how we're going do it?
CARROLL: Yes. This, in Cameron's eyes, is the other. His submersible, Deepsea challenger. It took a team of scientists and the National Geographic Society more than seven years to make a sub able to withstand pressures at the trench's depths, 16,000 pounds per square inch.
(on camera): So it does stay vertical like a seahorse.
JAMES CAMERON, EXPLORER/DIRECTOR: See how it stays upright.
CARROLL: I want to tell you a little bit more about the "Deepsea Challenger" as it's docked and resting and being worked on here.
It weighs 12 tons and even though it's on its side it's actually 24 feet high. It's powered by these specially created lithium batteries. And its body is made up of a syntactic foam that was developed by Cameron and his team of scientists and that color that you see there, Cameron calls that Kawasaki green.
CAMERON: I'm pretty used to climbing around this thing.
CARROLL (voice-over): It's a one-seater designed to have Cameron encased in a protective pod.
(on camera): How tall are you?
CAMERON: I'm 6'2".
CARROLL: And it would be easier if it was built for me.
(voice-over): It is a tight fit.
CAMERON: I'm pretty much like this for about 10 hours.
CARROLL: You're not worried about cramps or anything?
CAMERON: Not yet.
CARROLL (voice-over): Cameron expects time will pass as he captures 3D images and hopefully sea life from the trench's floor as he has already done on previous test dives.
CAMERON: I can actually slurp up little critters or I can suck on to an animal and pick him up and drop him on to a biobox.
CARROLL: If something goes wrong there is a failsafe system, a series of weights released with the flip of a switch. It brings little comfort to Cameron's mother who worries.
CAMERON: I love my family and my kids and nothing I love more, but I also have to do this. I also have to go look. It's like Jimmy Stewart says in "How the West was Won," "Sometimes you just got to go see the critter."
CARROLL: Challenger's frontier awaits.
Jason Carroll. CNN, on board the Mermaid Sapphire, in this northern sea.
