Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Hannah Anderson Makes First Public Appearance; Beaver Creek Wildfire In Idaho Still Raging; British Police Have New Information On Princess Diana's Death; Governor Chris Christie Wants Marijuana Bill Expanded; More Disclosures On NSA's Surveillance Program Revealed; CIA Says "Area 51" Does Exist; New Info in Princess Diana's Death; Sinkholes Continue to Plague Florida

Aired August 17, 2013 - 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: Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here are the top stories we're following in the CNN NEWSROOM.

British police say they've received new information about the death of Princess Diana and they're investigating it. A lab report from London seconds away.

Kidnapping survivor Hannah Anderson makes her first public appearance. Hear about her demeanor and what her father is saying about her future.

Plus, it's a place detailed in sci-fi flicks, so where alien and spaceships land and never leave? Now, the government reveals the truth about the super secret area 51.

We start in London where police are looking into new information about the death of Princess Diana. They have not given any details about it, but they just announced today they are, quote "scoping information that has recently been received" end quote. Atika Shubert will be joining us momentarily with more information on what British police are willing to reveal.

In the meantime, here in the U.S., the Beaver Creek wildfire in Idaho is still raging, and the blaze has continued to spread, sending massive walls of fire perilously close to homes and resorts in the Sun Valley area. Some 64,000 acres have already been destroyed. At least 1600 homes have been evacuated, and Idaho governor, Butch Otter, is urging other residents to leave, saying firefighters need to fight the fire, not go on rescue missions.

Cold and wet, you could say that. Friday was the coldest August day ever recorded in Atlanta and the southeast. Overall it's being pelted by rain again today.

Jennifer Delgado, where is all this water going?

JENNIFER DELGADO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, Fredricka, flooding once again the big story across parts of the southeast.

Look at this video coming in to us out of Bloomington, North Carolina. And this is showing you the result of heavy rainfall in a short period of time across this area, Bloomington, North Carolina. Apparently, residents apparently can't get through their neighborhoods because the roadways are so bad.

And over to our graphics here, you can see these totals have been really impressive. We are talking four to six inches across parts of Florida as well as into Georgia, and more rain is on the way. And that's why we have these flood watches and warnings in place for today and even through tomorrow, because the ground is just so saturated. The rain keeps coming down. Of course, that is what leads to flooding.

Now, as we go through the next 24 to 48 hours, we are still going to pick up another two to four inches of rainfall. But anywhere you see in the red and orange, we potentially could see six inches of rainfall coming down in the next four days. So, more the flooding like what we saw coming out of Wilmington will be possible.

So, what is causing all this? Well, we have a low pressure that moving following in the Gulf of Mexico. This system here now has a 30 percent chance of tropical development. But this is causing all our problems up here, because we're getting that moisture, that tropical connection, and that is fueling moisture, and it's just been enhanced right along that stationary front, and that's why we're dealing with all these flooding woes.

And as we go through today as well as tomorrow, we will start to see that boundary system lifting a bit more up towards the north. And that means a bit more rainfall for areas including Atlanta, as well as in the areas, more like north and South Carolina. And of course, in a wider view, we still have a threat for fires to burn out in the west. That includes Idaho where they're dealing with a fire there, and it looks like some red flag warnings in place with wind gusts expected up to 30 miles an hour --Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much, Jennifer Delgado.

All right, let's get back to London now where police are looking at new information about the death of Princess Diana.

Atika Shubert joining us live now.

So Atika, what do we now know?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we don't have any more details on what exactly this information is. British police are simply saying that they received this new information, then they are scoping it out there, assessing it for its relevance and credibility, and that its specialist in crime operations command will now take a look at this information.

They have also made it clear that they are not at this point reopening the investigation into her death. But of course, with this new information, there is always the possibility of them reopening that investigation in the future. So that's all we have at the moment. There have, of course, been numerous investigations into her death. And in 2007, there was actually a judge-led inquiry that basically said it was the negligence of her driver and of the paparazzi vehicles that were following her that caused her death in that terrible car crash in Paris. And it happened nearly 16 years ago. In fact, the anniversary of her death is August 31st, so the timing of this information coming out and quite sensitive. And as you can imagine, there is a lot of speculation now on twitter and all kinds of social media.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Atika. Keep us posted when you do get more information.

Meanwhile, Diana's son, Prince William, is headed back to work this week after taking time off following the birth of his son, Prince George. But before going back to his job at the royal air force, he sat down with CNN's Max Foster to talk about his new baby, his wife Katherine, and his most important title of dad. And you can see parts of the interview Monday morning on "New Day" with Kate Bolduan and Chris Cuomo beginning at 6:00 a.m. eastern time.

All right, New Jersey could be on the verge of expanding medical marijuana options for patients, including children. Governor Chris Christie said yesterday he will sign off on a bill if a few changes are first made. It's a big win for one father who has been fighting to get edible marijuana for his 2-year-old daughter Vivian. She has a seizure disorder and other drugs have not helped.

Alina Cho joins me live now from New York with more on this.

So Alina, what are some of the changes the governor wants?

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, as you know, this is a story that's been getting a lot of attention the past week. Basically, Governor Chris Christie has sent this medical marijuana bill back to the state legislature after it sat on his desk for a couple of months. He is now saying he will sign it if edible forms of marijuana are approved, but only for minors. In order to qualify for this program, parents would still be require to get approval from the pediatrician and a psychiatrist, as well as a separate prescription from a qualifying doctor. There are 250 qualifying doctors in New Jersey.

Some believed that requirement is simply too strict. In fact, here is what Brian Wilson, the father of little Vivian, the girl you just saw there in the video, who confronted Governor Christie this week, told our Wolf Blitzer last night. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN WILSON, FATHER OF VIVIAN: It makes a lot of headache and heartache for parents to shop around for doctors who understand anything about medical marijuana to get them to sign up for this. So you know, for parents who are already going through a lot of trouble just with what their children's ailments are, they now have to go through that extra step that you don't have to go through for any other medication. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: Governor Christie would also want to keep in place a provision that would put no limits whatsoever on the numbers of strains of medical marijuana that New Jersey can dispense. Now, that is very good news for 2-year-old Vivian and other children like her.

Vivian, in case you have not heard, has a rare form of epilepsy. It is called Dravet syndrome. It causes severe seizures. Sometimes they can last up to an hour long. She's on a special diet, special medication. But her parents strongly believe that the only thing that will control this, the only remedy, is this special form of medical marijuana. Now, if the state legislature goes along with Christi's suggestions, Christie says he will sign the bill.

And Fred, you are asking me about this earlier, it is entirely possible that if the governor signs the bill, the medical marijuana that Vivian and other children need, could be available for these families as early as September, so next month.

WHITFIELD: That's actually pretty quick. I know for a lot of folks who have been waiting for so long.

All right, thanks so much, Alina Cho.

All right, it is indeed the story everyone has been talking about. Is marijuana harmful or helpful? CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta cuts through the smoke on America's green rushed tonight on CNN 8:00 eastern time and pacific.

All right, kidnapping survivor, Hannah Anderson, appeared in public for the first time this week. She was rescued in the wilderness in Idaho last Saturday, a week after a family friend allegedly abducted her.

On Thursday night her family and friends held a fundraiser for her. And as Casey Wian reports, she made us surprise appearance.

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, Hannah Anderson looked uncomfortable, perhaps, a little scared as she headed past a dozen cameras or more without speaking to reporters when she walked in to that fundraise. And once she was inside, there were people who were there, said she was much more comfortable. What she really wanted to accomplish was to thank all of those people who have supported her throughout her ordeal and are continuing to support her moving forward.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WIAN (voice-over): Hannah Anderson's arrival at a fundraiser for her family came as a surprised to her relatives and friends.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This night was an unexpected reunion, honestly. All our friends were here. It was like we haven't skipped a beat.

WIAN: The media were invited to Boll Weevil restaurant in Lakeside, California, but were not allowed inside during Anderson's reunion.

BRETT ANDERSON, HANNAH ANDERSON'S FATHER: Hannah sends her love. She is doing good day by day. And we will just keep looking forward from here.

WIAN: Wearing Hannah strong and pray for Hannah t-shirts, neighbors, friends and the teenager's grandparents helped raise money for Anderson's mother and brother's funeral.

ANDERSON: I want to thank all of you for coming. This is a small community that we are part of. And it is to came together, put it on this fundraiser for Hannah and hopefully her future and healing.

WIAN: What has it meant for this community to have to go through this horrible ordeal?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's horrible what that guy did what he did. It is sickening to me. And I just want to put it all to rest.

WIAN: The fundraising event drew a large crowd. Raffle tickers sales, cash donations and 20 percent of the restaurant sales, all donated to the Anderson family.

ANDERSON: We have a lot of its friends' in front of us. And right now, we're just looking for her future and get her settled.

WIAN: A family hoping to help Hannah adjust after she was allegedly kidnapped by her father's best friend.

BRANDON FAMBROUGH, HANNAH'S COUSIN: And you keep hearing the term Uncle Jim, it really was like Uncle Jim to them.

WIAN: Meanwhile, we are still learning new information about what police discovered at DiMaggio's burned-down home. This newly released search warrant obtained by CNN affiliate, KFMB, says that Police discovered a handwritten note and letters from Hannah. The detective say proved DiMaggio had control over that house. Police also recovered incendiary devices leading them to believe the house fire was caused by human actions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIAN: Given what we have learned about Hannah Anderson's kidnapping, some of the other items that were seized by police, very, very chilling -- empty boxes that once contained camping gear and empty box that once contained handcuffs and lots of ammunition -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Casey Wian. Thank you.

So tonight, the full story of this unimaginable crime and rescue, CNN brings you the dramatic details of the kidnapping and heroic effort that led to the rescue of Hannah Anderson. That's CNN tonight, 6:00 eastern time.

All right. And Hannah will be talking about her ordeal online, just days after her rescue. It might have been good therapy for her. But being too open on the internet can put your children in a dangerous place.

And we thought, area 51 was just something a conspiracy theorist dreamed up? Well, it turns out it was not a conspiracy. It is real.

Plus, we are going to give you a rare view from inside a sinkhole. CNN's David Mattingly dived for a peak, literally swimming in one, right there. More next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: 16-year-old Hannah Anderson surprised people when she spoke out online just days after she was rescued from a traumatic alleged kidnapping. Well, just a few days after her ordeal, she answered questions on social media site ask.fm. One person asked if she is glad the FBI agents killed the man accused of kidnapping her, James DiMaggio. And Hannah's answer, absolutely.

But is Hannah sharing too much too soon and why is she answering to people that she doesn't even know? I talked with a forensic psychologist J. Buzz Von Ornsteiner, about that earlier today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

J. BUZZ VON ORNSTEINER, FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST: She may not feel comfortable at this time talking to an adult. She may not feel comfortable talking to her father. She may not be ready or feel that she has the emotional control talk to a therapist. So she turns to the Internet, something she does feel comfortable with, something she probably has daily in her structure.

I know that's hard to understand, but I'm pleased she's not in isolation, that she's reaching out on some level trying to rejoin the living, breathing world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The internet might be helping Hannah readjust, but it also can be a very dangerous place for young people.

Two girls in Canada were allegedly driven to suicide by sexual predators they met online. Police say the bad people are getting bolder, smarter and more high-tech.

CNN's Paula Newtown has been covering the story. And yesterday, we talked about ways to protect your children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: There are two specific things I want to point out. The first is when we talk about young people trying to explore their sexuality. A lot of people are taking selfie, a picture of themselves that are perhaps provocative. They think they're sending it to another 15-year-old, another 14-year- old and even some kids younger than that. No, Fredricka. A lot of time what happens is --

WHITFIELD: I don't even understand that. Why are you doing that?

NEWTON: And that is another issue. You know how difficult it is to have these conversations with young people, but tell them it's not just your friends looking at that. There are predators getting information from those photos, getting information from those photos. A lot of it, I hate to tell you, is going on realtime on line with these young people. They believe they are only speaking to each other. They believe they are only on video with each other, they are not.

WHITFIELD: They think it is a private space.

NEWTON: And it is not. It is an open forum that many people who you don't want to have access have access to it now.

And then, let's deal then young children, OK? The anecdotal thing the police officer told me that the sensitive nature that I can -- we can't really talk about their cases. But in terms of examples, they are talking about examples from kids as young as five or six. Parents are saying they are really unsupervised? Well, a lot of parents don't think they're unsupervised.

But the point is, they are saying if you would not leave your child in a park alone at five or six, do not leave them with an Internet device that's connected to the Internet, connected to a camera anywhere in the house unless you can see them. If you're not going to leave them alone on the swings and drive away, do not leave them in your home alone with the device connected to the Internet.

WHITFIELD: And even if your child is in the same room as you and they are obviously -- You have to look in every now and then, just to make sure. Be involved, if anything, so it doesn't -- so, you don't feel like you're just being a helicopter parent, I guess.

NEWTON: Absolutely. And like my kids, when it's too quiet in the house, go upstairs. Your kids are in the closet looking at something that they were supposed to look at.

WHITFIELD: Exactly.

NEWTON: Look in the closet.

WHITFIELD: OK. All great advice but all so scary as well.

Thanks so much, Paula. Appreciate that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Egyptian security forces move in on protesters occupying a mosque. We will tell you how the crackdown ended, coming up.

But first, a hotel's trash can be a homeless' charity treasure if CNN heroes gets involved. Thanks to one man's hot moment, a ton of stuff that would have ended up in Chicago landfills is now helping thousands of people live better. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Housekeeping.

JUDSON KINNICAN, CNN HERO: On a day to day basis, there are tons of items that are thrown away. It's shocking to understand how much hotels have in excess. I was doing a lot of volunteering, and I saw how desperate need people were for all of those types of things, and I thought to myself how I could be that connection, that matchmaker.

My name is Judson Kinnican and I collect a mission around Chicago for charity that don't have the money and the manpower to do it on their own.

He did a multitude of different items donated and whatever charity's need, we can get them those items.

But hygiene is 365. You can need that every single day of the year.

A lot of great stuff in here. We partner with over 40 hotels. We work with dozens of companies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fantastic. That's a lot of showers right there. They're going to love this.

KINNICAN: The access from corporations is always great because there is always an overage for a damaged product is still good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is a double impact here. We are being environmentally responsible and people in Chicago are really benefitting from this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many years?

KINNICAN: Two or three if you got them.

Men and women struggling with issues of poverty, they have as much personal dignity as anyone else. So, anything that they can do to keep themselves looking good and feeling good is important. It's a simple concept but it's very labor expensive.

This thing is full.

But it is fun for me. When this is empty, give me a call. I will come pick it up. And if I can improve people's lives, it's a double bonus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: We need your help to find more inspiring people like Judson. Please go to CNNheroes.com right now to nominate someone you know who is making a difference and deserves to recognized.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: There are more disclosures about a surveillance program. A new report in the "Washington Post" says the agency may have violated privacy laws thousands of times.

Dan Lothian has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Revelations in the "Washington Post" raise new questions about whether the snooping violates privacy laws, and comes just a week after President Obama trumpeted safeguards that he says helped minimize the risk to Americans' privacy.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Checks are in place. And those abuses would be against the law and would be against the orders of the Fiske.

LOTHIAN: An internal NSA audit in other top secret files revealed there were more than 2,000 violations in the recent 12-month period, mostly unintentional. The NSA says when mistakes are made, the agency reports the issue internally and to federal overseers and aggressively gets to the bottom of it.

But the new report raises concerns about that balance of power. The "Washington Post" reported the chair of the Senate intelligence committee, Diane Feinstein, wasn't even aware of the audit until it was reported in the paper. Feinstein disputes that, but in a statement admitted that the committee can and should do more to independently verify that NSA's operations are inappropriate and that its reports of compliance incidents are accurate.

And the top judge on the secretive court that approves surveillance programs said judges aren't able to independently verify whether the government violates the law, saying they are, quote "forced to rely upon the accuracy of the information that is provided to the court."

Critics have been demanding more oversight.

JESSELYN RADACK, GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT: Why is the government spying on its own people?

LOTHIAN: And even prominent Democrats are troubled. Nancy Pelosi called the new report extremely disturbing. Congressman Jim Lanchovan, deeply concerned. Cracks in the public trust seem to widen after embarrassing testimony by the director of national intelligence, James Clapper, in a Senate hearing last March.

SEN. RON WYDEN (D), OREGON: Does the NSA collect any type of data on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?

JAMES CLAPPER, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: No, sir.

WYDEN: It does not?

CLAPPER: Not wittingly. There are cases where they could inadvertently perhaps collect, but not wittingly.

LOTHIAN: James Clapper later apologized for what he called clearly erroneous testimony.

The Hite House is also defending the NSA. In a statement, deputy White House spokesman Josh Earnest saying in quote "this administration is committed to ensuring that privacy protection are carefully adhered to and to continually reviewing ways to effectively enhance the operations, but this latest revelation no doubt putting more heat on this debate between privacy versus security.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Dan Lothian reporting.

All right, there are no UFOs or aliens, but the government now admits area 51 does exist. Ahead, we will tell you about newly released details on the super secret site.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: British police say they are now looking into new information about Princess Diana's death. She was killed in a car crash almost 16 years ago in France. Police say they are assessing if information they recently received is relevant and credible, but they didn't give any other details. According to the British press association, the new information might include an allegation that Princess Diana was murdered by a member of the British military.

Again, police have not given specifics, that coming from another report, but they say they are looking into everything. We will have more information from London coming up.

In Egypt, security forces have secured and cleared a mosque in Cairo. They clashed this morning with protesters who support ousted President Mohamed Morsy. The demonstrators had been holed up in the mosque overnight and were surrounded by security forces. State TV reports that more than a thousand Muslim Brotherhood members have been arrested. Both sides are blaming each other for starting the violence.

President Obama is dealing with the crisis in Egypt while on vacation. The president is in Martha's Vineyard with his family. Today, it's his last full day off there. He heads back to the White House tomorrow.

For generations, we have heard about Area 51, the place in Nevada that's synonymous in popular culture with government secrecy and UFOs.

Well, it turns out it does exist.

As CNN's Dan Simon shows us, it's been one of the biggest worst kept secrets of the CIA.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hollywood has long showed an obsession with Area 51.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to earth.

SIMON: From aliens to UFOs, it helped fuel a perception that the government has been holding on to top secret information about this remote facility in the Nevada desert. Until now, it had only really existed in places like "The X-Files" on television. But newly released CIA documents officially acknowledge the site for the first time.

Andy Jacobson spent several years researching Area 51, publishing her findings in a book.

ANNIE JACOBSEN, AUTHOR, "AREA 51": This has kind of become a national pastime and a great debate, you know, about aliens and the locus of this is Area 51.

SIMON: But if you are looking to gain insight into aliens or spaceships, you might be disappointed. The report makes no mention of those things. Instead it says that Area 51 was a testing site for the government's aerial surveillance programs during the Cold War. Not that sensational. But it's likely to cause more fascination about this mythical place.

JACOBSEN: I think any document that comes out about Area 51 stirs up the pot of intrigue. People are inherently fascinated with Area 51. It says so much about national security secrets. So, I think any new release makes people even more interested.

SIMON: The documents obtained through a public records request by an academic researcher may put an end to questions about the site's existence. But experts like former CIA officer Bob Baer who calls it one of the agency's biggest secrets says the debate will rage on about whether we're really alone.

BOB BAER, FORMER CIA OFFICER: Now, this isn't going to go away. The myths about area 51 will always be out there. I don't even know what went on there and I was in the CIA a very long time and people that worked out there have told me recently they didn't know all that was going on there.

So, there's sort of, you know, secrets within secrets and it will always remain a mystery. And always remain a place of fascination.

SIMON: Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And she was paralyzed from the waist down, but you'll never believe what this bride did on her wedding day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Now, for a story of love, faith and the will to overcome. It happened at a wedding.

After an accident seven years ago, Stevie Bale (ph) was paralyzed from the waist down, but that didn't stop her from living life to the fullest. And last Saturday in Toledo, Ohio, she got married and kept her promise to walk down the aisle. It's a ceremony none of her wedding guests will ever forget, flanked by her father and her trainer, Stevie walked down the aisle using a walker.

Our Brooke Baldwin talked to the couple this week as they enjoyed their honeymoon in Hawaii.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVIE VANAUSDALE, BRIDE: It was -- it was pretty incredible. I mostly tried not to really let myself think about it or get too emotional because I would have never made it to the end of the aisle. But it was -- it was almost like the whole accident was coming full circle. And I was defeating everything that, you know, doctors and people told me would never happen, just keeping a promise to myself more than anything was amazing.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: You looked absolutely gorgeous, by the way. And I understand that this guy sitting next to you played a pretty big role in helping you, you know, sort of regain just this confidence, this ability to do this.

Jared, how did you two meet?

JARED VANAUSDALE, GROOM: Well, a mutual friend -- became a mutual friend eventually, a good friend of mine, Terry Mullenger (ph). Her daughter was injured in a pretty serious train accident about 3 1/2 years ago. I just kind of did everything I could to make sure that I was there for her to make sure that, you know, she had what she needed.

And through her and through that accident, Stevie and I sort of crossed paths because of Terry. She kind of made it a point to make sure that we met and exchanged phone numbers because she kind of thought from day one that her and I would be good together. Apparently, we were.

BALDWIN: So because of someone's tragedy, you two met and fell in love. Congratulations, really, again to both of you.

And, Stevie, I understand you're helping talk to a lot of people who have gone through similar accidents as you have. What's next for you? Masters program, I hear?

STEVIE VANAUSDALE: Yes. I will be attending the University of Toledo in the fall to get my masters in counseling. And I hope to become a counselor of teenagers who've been through tragic events in their life, just to kind of let them know that, you know, I've been there and you can get through this. It may not be tomorrow. It may take years. But it does get better.

BALDWIN: Stevie and Jared, thank you two both, very much. Enjoy Hawaii. Congratulations, such an inspiration.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: On to Florida now, and guess what? They are everywhere, but sinkholes are rarely seen until it's too late. We'll give you a look at what causes sinkholes and show you what they look like from the inside.

A man born with a disability has beaten the odds to hit one out of the park.

Syracuse Chiefs announcer Jason Benetti couldn't play baseball as a kid, but as our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports, in this week's "Human Factor," that never kept him out of the game.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's Wednesday night at the ballpark in Syracuse, New York, and the Syracuse Chiefs, they're taking a beating from the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Rail Riders. Jason Benetti is up in the press box. He's calling the game.

Benetti has been the voice of the Chiefs now for four years and he has a loyal following, although few would recognize him off the field. When they do meet him, they're usually surprised.

JASON BENETTI, SYRACUSE CHIEFS ANNOUNCER: I like that people are surprised.

GUPTA: Benetti has a mild form of cerebral palsy that causes him to walk with a slight lump. He's had it since he was a toddler and has lived with the stares and glares that come with being different. That's also why he thinks he initially gravitated toward radio work.

BENETTI: But of course I wanted to do it because I was not on camera.

GUPTA: Benetti learned that meeting people gave him strength. He's wicked part. He has a journalism degree from Syracuse University and a law degree from Wake Forest. He now realizes his condition is something to be proud of, not something to hide.

BENETTI: Murphy's throw is there, got him.

GUPTA: And he now does play by play on television as well.

BENETTI: If my look is an vision for somebody on television, great. I'm going to change your mind.

GUPTA: But life is not just about sports. He knows he can make a difference, especially when it comes to inspiring young people with disabilities. This month he hosted a group of campers from CHAT, an organization that helps children who cannot speak use advanced technology to communicate. He gets great satisfaction watching the kids make a connection.

BENETTI: All you do is tell us what happened, and there you go.

It's fantastic. I love seeing the light bulb go off for people because many light bulbs have gone off for me. GUPTA: An adjunct professor at SU, Benetti would eventually like to write more and live by the water. But for now, life is full of locker rooms, player interviews, and books of stats.

BENETTI: Mesa is safe!

GUPTA: And for Benetti, he'd have it no other way.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We're learning about shocking new claims in the death of Princess Diana. Police said today they are looking in to new information.

Atika Shubert is live for us now in London. So, Atika, what more have you learned?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we don't know exactly what this information is. We all know is that British police are saying they're scoping this information out, assessing it for its relevance and credibility and that specialist officers will now be looking at it. They've also said they are not at this point reopening the investigation, although, of course, that may be reopened at some point in the future.

Now, we understand from the British Press Association that the information comes from the parents-in-law of a former soldier and that the information was handed to the police by the royal military police.

So, we do know a little bit more about the source of the information, but we don't know exactly what that information is.

Now, all of this comes amid all kinds of speculation. You might remember when she died in 1997 in that car crash. There was a lot of speculation, including public allegations, that she had been murdered. And so we understand, according to the British Press Association, that this information is about that allegation of murder.

But at this point, we don't have any details on exactly what that information is.

WHITFIELD: In the meantime, Atika, does the British police, don't they always get a lot of information as it pertains, perhaps, to the late Diana?

SHUBERT: They do get a lot of information. So what makes this interesting is the fact that first of all, they feel clearly it's important for them to make a statement. And also, it's been 16 years, and a lot of the information, a lot of that speculation had really been put to rest in 2007 with a judge-led inquiry, with an 800-page police investigation that said this was basically a very violent and tragic accident, and it was due to the negligence of her driver and the paparazzi that were chasing her into that tunnel in Paris.

So, a lot of people felt the speculation was over. So, now, to have this come up again years later, it's a shock to a lot of people here.

WHITFIELD: All right, Atika Shubert, keep us posted from London.

And next hour, "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." -- what do you have for us, Sanjay?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: Fred, I'm going to have much more of my investigation into medical marijuana and also how it may have saved the life of one little girl.

Also, details on a ground-breaking new test to diagnose Alzheimer's, perhaps a full decade before the onset of memory loss.

And five foods you should never eat. Some of them you'd never guess.

We got all that and much more ahead, 4:30 Eastern.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: You may remember earlier this week, part of a Disney resort collapsed into the ground. The cause: yet another Florida sinkhole swallowing the earth and buildings above. Sinkholes continue to draw headlines in the Sunshine State and now have drawn our David Mattingly to look for the inside story, literally.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's just a few short steps down to an incredible underground sight.

JERRY BLACK, GEOLOGIST: This was the original cavity that eventually collapsed in.

MATTINGLY: A massive sinkhole carved out of solid limestone by drops of water.

(on-camera): So, this is what a sinkhole looks like from the inside.

BLACK: From the inside, yes, before you fill it up with the sand and dirt.

MATTINGLY: And if someone were living right on top of this, they'd be at risk.

BLACK: Yes.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Geologist, Jerry Black, says Sunshine State homeowners might be surprised to find out just how common these are.

(on-camera): What are the chances of someone having a house in central Florida and living on top of something like this?

BLACK: Very good. Not probably as close to the surface as this, but you definitely have cavities of this size all over the state of Florida.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Fossils found in this sinkhole show it's been around since the ice age. But no different, Black says, than the sinkholes we see opening up today.

These are just a few of his pictures. But one thing they all have in common is water.

BLACK: Rain water is going to turn into ground water and that's what's naturally acidic. That's the device that dissolves the limestone and will help create these cavities.

MATTINGLY: What is unusual about this sinkhole, it's easy to get inside. Called the Devil's Den, it's open to tourists for viewing and diving. And dive instructor, Prince Johnston, takes me under for a look. I find that this seemingly placid pool of water is anything but.

PRINCE JOHNSTON, DIVER INSTRUCTOR: The water has gone down considerably because of the aquifer, but it's also risen when we've had hurricanes and tropical storms, it has risen another 45 feet.

MATTINGLY (on-camera): Forty-five feet?

JOHNSTON: Forty-five feet.

MATTINGLY: So, the water is constantly going up and down --

JOHNSTON: Up and down.

MATTINGLY: -- depending on drought or hurricane.

JOHNSTON: Right.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Down here, it's easy to see how fluctuating ground water has silently wreaked havoc. I passed by limestone boulders as big as cars sitting on the bottom. And these same forces are still at work, compounded by the demand for fresh water.

JOHNSTON: It is progressively dropping yearly. And, that's basically over the whole state of Florida. An aquifer is getting lower and lower.

MATTINGLY: Perhaps, most striking to me, how appearances of this sinkhole are so misleading. A single beam of sunlight reveals the cavern is even bigger below the water line with tunnels and passageways carved deep into the darkness. But most disturbing could be the view from up top.

The round open is deceptively small. Little indication of the cavern that's just beneath my feet.

(on camera): Until a hole like this opens up, there's really no warning, is there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct. It is that random and that sudden. And it could happen, obviously, overnight or at any time.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): It can and it does with thousands of sinkholes opening up in Florida every year.

David Mattingly, CNN, Williston, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. He had a $50 million contract, and was on top of the comedy world. Then, disappeared from stage. Now, comedian David Chappelle is making another move.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: How many of you walk away from a $50 dollar contract?

Well, comedian Dave Chappelle did just that several years ago, saying he was burned out. But, apparently, he's ready to get back onstage.

Here's CNN's Nischelle Turner.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NISCHELLE TURNER, ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, some are calling this a comeback kicking off a new comedy tour in Austin, Texas, next week. He's headlining "Funny or Die's" oddball comedy and curiosity festival which will play in 15 cities around the country. Now, this tour also includes a host of popular comedians but to many people, you know, this is the biggest project that Chappelle has been involved with since he walked away from his hit Comedy Central show and a $50 million salary back in 2005.

He just said he was burned out at the time. This tour has Chappelle fans hoping that he's ready to do more high-profile projects, because he's basically just been making appearances at comedy clubs since his show went off the air. By the way, if you're wondering, according to the people that have seen him perform recently, he's still got it.

Fred, back to you.

WHITFIELD: Still funny. All right. Good job. Thanks so much, Nischelle.

All right. Let's go to Hayward, California, now, where they a little demolition this morning.

That was the Cal State east campus building. Workers brought the building down because it was built too close a fault line and considered vulnerable to earthquakes. Not to be outdone, demolition experts in Dayton, Ohio, brought down a 12-story building sandwiched between two other buildings.

Wow. Was that close. The 100-year-old building was demolished to make for a (AUDIO GAP).

And a touching moment at the zoo, as this adorable giant panda cub, first to be born in Taiwan, meets her mother for the first time since her birth. How sweet. These are the newest images of the panda cub who was born last month at the zoo, and caretakers had been watching her around the clock. Oh -- so tender and tiny.

All right. That's for me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Pamela Brown is next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(MUSIC PLAYING)