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300,000 West Virginians Still Without Clean Water; President Obama Expected To Outline NSA Reforms This Week; Anonymous Bidder Pays $350,000 Black Rhino Hunting Permit; Former NBA Player Charles Smith Speaks Out About North Korea Trip; FTC Watching Over Four Dietary Companies For False Advertising; A-Rod Filing Petition In Federal Court
Aired January 12, 2014 - 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: All right, in the CNN's film "Sole Survivor," we learn the stories of four people who were the only survivors of commercial airline crashes. One of those profiled is George Lamsin Jr., who walked away from a crash that killed 70 people including his father. Lamsin now lives in Reno, Nevada, the city where his life instantly changed forever.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the airport where we took off January 21st, 1985. I didn't move here to be near the crash scene, it was more -- I don't know. You think really deep about what you're doing with your life and all the people that were involved with this accident that may have done more with their life. You feel guilty you're not using your life to do something better.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He always talks about -- sometimes he's depressed about it. He's like why am I still here. I made a fool out of myself. I'm not even doing anything with my life. It makes me sad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: During the course of my life, the last 25 years, I have been curious to know what makes a person feel from a situation like me. I haven't been able to talk to anybody who has been through what I've been through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And you can follow (INAUDIBLE) journey to healing when "Sole Survivor" airs at 9:00 eastern time.
All right, much more straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM. We are going to restart right now.
Hello again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
These are the top stories we are following for you this hour.
Patients running thin in West Virginia where hundreds of thousands of people still don't have clean tap water three days after a chemical leak. New health concern and growing economic impact coming up. And the right to kill an endangered black rhino is sold at auction. Hear the winning bid and why some animal conservationists are supporting the sale.
Plus former NBA star Dennis Rodman wraps up his controversial trip to North Korea while his teammate Charles Smith speaks out about his payday. Exclusive CNN interview this hour.
We begin with rising tensions in West Virginia. Three hundred thousand people there haven't had any clean tap water since Thursday. That's when a chemical used to wash coal leaked into water supply. The contamination level are being analyze and the state governor is due to hold a news conference the next hour.
Our Alina Machado is covering this developing story from Charleston, West Virginia.
So Alina, is there any indication the governor is going to give people real time line of when the water ban is lifted?
ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, that is really the big unknown here. The governor's office tells us that chemical levels in the water supply are going down. So, that's good news obviously. But they are also saying that it will likely take several days before they can lift this water ban.
Residents here, as you would imagine, are just anxious for things to get back to normal. We want to show you some video we shot a shot just a little while ago from an inside of Chili's restaurant that opened for the first time since Thursday. That's when this leak was discovered and the ban was put into effect. And we also took the time to talk to a woman who lives in this area who was at the Chili's restaurant enjoying her first prepared meal, a meal that wasn't micro waved since Thursday. And here is what she said about her concerns once this water ban is lifted. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELE ROSE, RESIDENT: I think that it's going to take some time, but I would probably wait and test myself. I could still smell it before I could trust I could use it.
MACHADO: Even if they lift the ban a few days.
ROSE: I will probably wait, I don't know, maybe a few days maybe to a week to actually consume it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACHADO: So Fredricka, I think it's safe to say there will likely be a few days for things to get back to normal here just from the perspective of the residents who are apprehensive after everything they have been through.
WHITFIELD: So I wonder, Alina, is anything being said to the residents there about the potential help impact of this leak, what might happen or what might people experience if they did consume a lot of that water contaminated water before it was banned to do so?
MACHADO: Well, that's the other unknown in this story. We know that -- we don't know how long the situation is going to go. And the health risks associated with this chemical are also unknown. So, of course, that is causing a lot of anxiety. We know that dozens of people have been to emergency rooms, not because they are experiencing symptoms but because they are worried about the chemical exposure.
WHITFIELD: See. Ok, Alina Machado, thanks so much. Of course, that news conference about an hour from now, we'll be taking that from the governor.
All right, now to some big news out of Iran. Just over a week from today, Iran will start getting rid of its uranium stockpile. That's according to the White House who says Iran will also dismantle some infrastructure that makes higher level uranium enrichment possible. It's part of the deal that was first announced in November. In exchange some sanctions against Iran will be eased.
President Obama calls it a big deal saying this, quote, "with today's agreement we have made concrete progress. I welcome this important step forward. And we will now focus on the critical work of pursuing a comprehensive resolution that addresses our concerns over Iran's nuclear program," end quote.
After months of backlash over NSA spying program, this week, President Obama is expected to outline new reforms. Last summer, Edward Snowden leaked information about the NSA's massive surveillance program. Since then, people around the world have demanded changes. President Obama says, he wants to make Americans feel more confident and comfortable.
Erin McPike explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN MCPIKE, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Trying to end a worldwide uproar over NSA spying, President Obama will unveil how he'll keep his promise to reform government surveillance programs.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We may have to refine this further to give people confidence. And I'm going to be working very hard on doing that. And we have to provide more confidence to the international community.
EDWARD SNOWDEN, NSA LEAKER: We can find better balance and mass surveillance.
MCPIKE: The president has suffered months of blowbacks since Edward Snowden's revelations last summer that the NSA has been collecting personal phone records on every American and spying on world leaders including allies like Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel. He's called in experts, tech company leaders and in the past few days, key members of Congress. SEN. MARK UDALL (D), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: There were many members of Congress there both house and the Senate that cover ideological spectrum who urged him to throttle back the collection of metadata on a bulk level. I hope he listens.
MCPIKE: He is deciding whether to accept recommendations from an independent review commission that include storing personal data outside the government with a private third party, possibly phone companies, and require government get a judge to approve access.
A public advocate to represent Americans privacy rights when those decisions get made and that spying on foreign leaders get high-level approval.
PETER SWIRE, NSA REVIEW GROUP: We have many countries of common interest still having a more thorough process to really look through that and don't do it just because there's an opportunity to do it.
MCPIKE: Balancing security and privacy is a tricky political question and critics are bound to be unsatisfied.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: We can continue to refer to ourselves as a quote, unquote, "free country" when the United States government is collecting information on virtually every telephone call made in America, getting into people's e-mails, focusing on the websites that certain people are visiting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCPIKE: Before he left for his two-week vacation in December, the president said he'd make a, quote, "pretty definitive statement about how he'd like to change the agency to make Americans feel for comfortable.
Now, as you know politically, the most controversial piece of the issue is the domestic spying on American civilians. But going about changing some of the programs will take congressional approval. So, look for some fireworks on Capitol Hill in the coming months, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Erin McPike. Thank you so much for that.
OK. It's going to be another cold week along the east coast, but not as cold as it has been lately. And the west coast will get more rain.
Meanwhile, this weekend storms and high winds slammed the south to the degree of knocking down this construction site and making people pretty worried about their safety.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw my neighbor's patio furniture flying across the parking lot so then I went down into the garage and waited.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Last week I had to wear (INAUDIBLE) and hat, gloves, stay shield, scarf, all sort of stuffs to keep on -- quite a difference. (END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Difference indeed. A lot of details of weather forecast for you later on the hour.
All right, onto Texas now, an anonymous bidder paid $350,000 for a permit to kill an endangered black rhino. The controversial auction has been criticized by wildlife advocates and even children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATTI WESTON, PROTESTER: If people are really interested in conservation and keeping them alive, why don't they use their money, their wealth in more productive ways rather than killing a rhino. It just doesn't make sense.
CARTER RIES, WILDLIFE PROTESTER: They shouldn't be doing rhino poaching period. So, doing it here makes it is better how?
OLIVIA RIES, WILDLIFE PROTESTER: I don't know why they are doing it. Maybe they are just doing this so they can get a few pictures with the rhino laying down dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So, despite the protest, the Dallas safari club went ahead with it anyway. They say the money will be donated to help save the threatened species.
Ben Carter, executive director of the Dallas safari club joining me now over the phone.
So Ben, perhaps you were able to hear the sentiments of those protesters, young and old. They are asking how is it that conservation means killing an animal first.
BEN CARTER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DALLAS SAFARI CLUB (via phone): Well, you know, we just raised the most money that's ever been raised at one time for black rhino conservation. And we're extremely happy and proud of the money we've raised. We know that we just have an effort now that will isolate, help increase black rhino population to this auction.
WHITFIELD: To what extent and all $350,000 raised is going toward conservation? And at what point or to what extent do you believe this conservation effort will help assist the black rhino?
CARTER: That's an easy answer, because Namibia is a small country with about 2.5 million people. They don't have the resources that it takes to manage and do a lot of the things they need to do to make sure they can protect the black rhino. I will say that Namibia has one of the best records for actually protecting black rhino. They had very few poached over the last number of years. But wildlife takes money to be managed and to flourish. And this has been what scientists and biologists have told us is the very best way for us to help increase the black rhino population. And this $350,000, 100 percent of it is going straight to Namibian wildlife products trust fund which is their market exclusively for black rhino conservation. It is for anti-poaching measures, for habitat studies, for relocations, things they need to do to make sure that the black rhino population thrives.
WHITFIELD: What can you tell us about the highest bidder? I realize anonymous, but what can you tell us about that person or that entity and what their motivation has been.
CARTER: You know what, it's all for conservation. In talking to person that bought it, they want to make sure we raised as much money as we could to again make sure that we helped increase this black rhino population.
WHITFIELD: But you do understand why people are having a hard time understanding how conservation, this effort of conservation equates to killing of rhino, whether it's an aged one that doesn't add to the population, you know, is not able to help reproduce or not.
Help people understand how it is killing a member of an endangered species, 1700 black rhino in Namibia and how killing one could advance the population as a whole.
CARTER: Scientists and biologists tell us what is the best way to help increase the black rhino population. What we did, this auction, is what they say is the best way to raise money to help increase black rhino population.
You know, this program was developed and is approved and supported by three of the highest and most well respected bodies of science for wildlife in the world. You've got (INAUDIBLE) supporting this and the U.S. fish and wildlife are supporting this. And those people, that's all they focus on is on wildlife management.
And I think the biggest problem that we have is that a lot of people just don't get the facts and don't understand them because they don't know about it. And you know, generally speaking, as we have told the story of how this works and where the money is going, most people understand that and they get it. They see what we're doing. And it makes sense that if you have this much money at one time, make them flourish and had more increase the black rhino population, it makes sense.
WHITFIELD: What do you say to the critics, the people who say, this is just an excuse to help a hunter make a huge trophy kill, period.
CARTER: Again, it's not. We have an auction here that raised money that's going to go strictly for conservation of the black rhino and help increase that population.
WHITFIELD: Ben Carter, executive director of the Dallas Safari Club, thanks for your time.
CARTER: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Coming up later, he was one of the president's top advisers. Now he's slamming Barack Obama in a tell-all book.
Also next, a former NBA player who was in North Korea with Dennis Rodman and talking about his trip. Hear his shocking takeaway.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A big playoff weekend for NFL and New England Patriots dominated in a huge win yesterday at home. They beat Indianapolis Colts 43-22 and the Patriots advance to the AFC championship game. Quarterback Tom Brady has high hopes for another win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM BRADY, QUARTERBACK, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: We keep playing like that where defense is getting the ball for us. And really, what we've done the last three or four weeks, the running game has just been awesome. So, it's helped everything out. It does, makes it easy to be handed off and go 70 yards for a cud. It's a great feeling and great way to score. So, hopefully we keep doing it. Hopefully, we can do it next week, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Over on the NFC side Seattle Seahawks beat New Orleans Saints 23-15. And the fans were shaking that stadium literally.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)
WHITFIELD: The fans are known as the 12th player on the field because they are so loud. And according to earthquake sensors hooked up to the stadium, the ground was actually shaking yesterday.
Former NBA player Charles Smith says he has no regrets about his trip to increase with Dennis Rodman. He spoke exclusive to CNN's new day this morning.
Victor Blackwell has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHARLES SMITH, FORMER NBA PLAYER: I absolutely understand why so many people are angry and that's why I went.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Setting the record straight. The former NBA star Charles Smith speaking out Sunday in a wide ranging interview about his controversial trip to North Korea.
SMITH: I had an opportunity to go somewhere, to a recluse country that no one goes to. We were invited by the Olympic committee from North Korea that had assured our safe passage in and out which they did. And it was an experience. I think the information we gathered and what we saw, it was an experience.
BLACKWELL: This week, Smith had traveled to the communist country with other former NBA players including Dennis Rodman to play an exhibition game against the North Korea team. But days later, their trip continues to spark outrage.
DENNIS RODMAN, FORMER NBA PLAYER: Do you understand what he did?
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What did he do? You tell me. Will you tell me, what he do?
BLACKWELL: And filled with bizarre moments like this.
RODMAN: Happy birthday to you happy birthday to you.
BLACKWELL: Smith says Kim Jong-Un's birthday was something he was unaware of.
SMITH: When I did meet him, you know, he smiled, he was very engaging, direct eye contact. He seemed very confident. It was pretty simple.
BLACKWELL: What's not in question is whether the players were paid to go. They were.
Bluntly, was there compensation, any money that came to you from the North Korean government?
SMITH: Absolutely not. I think I'm astute enough to understand the dynamics, especially collecting monetary dollars from North Korea. No, we did not get paid from North Korea at all. I mean, the guys --
BLACKWELL: How much was it then? That's a question I typically wouldn't ask.
SMITH: Let me finish answering the question.
BLACKWELL: Go ahead.
SMITH: There is no different than the top CEO of a country retiring and becoming a consultant. So, if anybody has an issue with us being compensated, that's absurd.
BLACKWELL: Sports diplomats or something else. The debate continues over the group's purpose, a trip not sanctioned by Washington or the NBA. While detained American Kenneth Bae's safety remains uncertain.
SMITH: You know, there's a lot that happened on that trip above and beyond playing a match. And I'm only sharing with you my experiences good, bad, or indifferent. I don't know in the foreseeable future, but I believe there are going to be positive outcomes from this. And there are already positive outcomes from this. We accomplished a relationship on the sports side in North Korea. Where it goes from there, I do not know.
BLACKWELL: Victor Blackwell, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: So did this effort at forced diplomacy go out-of-bounds. Charles Smith painted the trip as a success. Yesterday, I asked hall of famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar what he though.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR, FORMER NBA PLAYER: I think that it certainly back fired on them. I don't think they had a really good idea of what they could accomplish because just so much that isn't known about North Korea. It's a very unpredictable place. And the leadership there can do some very bizarre things. You know, caution is usually the best way to approach situations like that. And you know, when you have no idea of what's going to happen, it's usually a wise thing to do to stay away from those kinds of situations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And a group of players returned from North Korea this past week but Rodman was not with them.
All right, Governor Chris Christie trips over a bridge, and President Obama is slammed by a new book.
All things political with Candy Crowley next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A big political week in New Jersey. Governor Chris Christie will face more scrutiny over the bridge closing scandal as the state assembly vote on extending subpoena powers and more fallout from the controversial memoir written by former secretary of defense Robert Gates who questions the commitment from the commander in chief.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: As I write in this book, there was this absence of passion, this absence of a conviction of the importance of success that disturbed me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: He was talking specifically about the Afghanistan war and the commitment toward it.
CNN's chief political correspondent Candy Crowley here with me now.
So Candy, how much of a disruption is this book for the president now looking at a crumbling Iraq as he also tries to get his domestic agenda on track?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly does take some headlines. We had Senator John McCain on today saying Iraq is the way it is because he did lack that commitment. The president did lack that commitment. That his whole agenda was get out of these wars, get out of these wars. People have kind of pushed that forward saying we have to be really careful in Afghanistan.
I think the domestic agenda is the domestic agenda and right now it's about unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless. But it will when we heat begin over how many trips remain in Afghanistan and how many will be remote. I think this comes up and plays a part. But I think politically, with the president right now is focused on domestic issues.
WHITFIELD: And Governor Chris Christie, well, he's in damage control over that bridge closure, will have lots of investigations on local and federal level. So, how nervous should Christie or his staffers be about Thursday's vote on extending subpoena powers for investigators.
CROWLEY: If Chris Christie told the absolute truth in his news conference and at this moment we have no reason to believe he didn't, if he's telling the truth, the main thing he has to fear is how long this goes on because it's a headline grabbing situation.
The assembly in his state of New Jersey will continue to sort of look into it. And it just sort of sucks the oxygen from everything else Christie would like to do, either in his state or nationally.
His staffers, I think, probably are more worried about the legal aspect. Again, this is assuming the truth is Chris Christie knew nothing about it. His staffers have much more worry about because our folks saying, look some laws were broken here. So, they don't want anything that points to some kind of lawsuit or any kind of charges being leveled against him.
I think the thing with Chris Christie is at that moment we're really unsure where this story is going to take us. And it's a point that John McCain made to me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I think he stated very clearly he should have known. I think he stated very clearly and very openly and honestly. That's why he has to answer every single question. Is this a blow to him? Obviously. How permanent it is, I think we will know in the days and weeks ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: So basically when you look at Chris Christie's political future, a term we often use, Fred, that you will know and that is to be determined. So, we will just have to see how this plays out for Christie, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Candy Crowley, thanks so much.
CROWLEY: Thanks, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Also coming up A-Rod says he's going to court to fight his suspension. What are his chances? Our legal experts weigh in.
And next, all those products to help you lose weight, why the government says might be a scam.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, bottom on the hour and welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
A look of our top stories crossing the CNN news desk right now.
Next hour, West Virginia's governor will address a major water contamination process that has left 300,000 people in his state without clean tap water. Tests are being done to determined if a chemical used to wash coal remains in the water supply after Thursday's leak. People have had to use bottled water for drinking, cooking and washing for three days.
In Texas, an anonymous bidder paid $350,000 for a permit to kill an endangered black rhino. The controversial auction has been criticized by wildlife advocates. But despite protests, the Dallas safari club went ahead with it. They say the money will be donated to Namibia to help save a threatened species.
And France's first lady has been hospitalized. She was admitted Friday for what has been described as stress and fatigue. She's the partner of French President Francois Hollande because they are not married. The hospitalization follows a magazine report alleging Hollande was having an affair with an actress. CNN has reached out to president, to the first lady and the actress but there has been no response.
Today, Pope Francis named 19 new cardinals. They come from all over the world and range in age from 55 to 98. All but three are under the age of 80 which makes them eligible to elect the next Pope. Pope Francis will formally unveil their names at a meeting next month.
And now a quick weather update. Better weather for the east coast but different for the west. Our Jennifer Gray has the forecast.
JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Fred, after a stormy day yesterday, definitely much quieter across the country. We have mostly cloudy skies in the south, still mild temperatures across the east coast, still stormy though in the Pacific Northwest. They have been rainy over the past couple of days.
But look at these temperatures. We are 14 degrees above normal in D.C. And this is your tomorrow forecast. So 57 degrees your high temperature, 14 degrees above normal in New York at 52. Temperatures do drop just a bit by Tuesday. But still 40s and 50s across the northeast and temperatures even close to 70 degrees down in the southeast.
So, we do have another storm system setting up late Monday night. It is going to bring a couple showers to the southeast. It shouldn't be quite as stormy as we saw over the weekend. And it definitely has cold air with it but not arctic air like we saw with the system last week. So, looks like things are a little bit better, a little closer to normal as we go through the upcoming week -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Jennifer.
All right, the so-called miracle weight loss product millions of Americans see on television aren't living up to height apparently. The federal trade commission says four companies sold products that don't work and call their ad campaign shameless and deceptive.
Here is CNN's Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is called Sensa, seems enticing for the New Year's resolution you made to lose weight. But as they say, if it sounds too good to be true --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without dieting, sprinkle Sensa on. Eat all the foods you love and watch the pounds come off.
TODD: Sensa markets a powder to enhance the smell and taste of food which the company says makes you feel full faster. $59 for a month's supply.
SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: I may not have gone to a fancy Ivy League school but I sure understand that is good old-fashioned horse manure.
TODD: Senator Claire McCaskill is launching an investigation into those ads asking people to help by flagging potential scams. Sensa one of the four diet supplement makers, the MTC has charged with deceptive advertising saying there is no prove those products work. Other targets, HCG diet direct, distributors of Hormone drops. Place them under your tongue, the company says, and you'll lose weight fast. Lean Spa, a company the FTC shut down for using fake websites to market colon cleansing and diet products. And the popular beauty company L'Occitane, for omen scented creams which the company claim could trim more than an inch of fat in just a month.
MCCASKILL: They are honing in on the fact people want to lose weight and they don't want to work at it.
TODD: The FTC is making these companies pay $34 million in settlement, the money refunded to customers. Nutritionist Katherine Tallmadge worries about who these companies are targeting.
KATHERINE TALLMADGE, NUTRITIONIST: A teenager client recently asked me for advice about these drugs that her friends were taking. I was alarmed thinking that teenagers and even children were taking these potentially dangerous supplements.
TODD: And with the weight loss industry exploding in America, Senator McCaskill warns going after those four companies is like playing the game of whack a mole.
MCCASKILL: There are many companies that are doing this. And with every one that is found, another one will pop up.
TODD: Contacted by CNN, L'Occitane says the testing of skin creams like this will become even more rigorous to comply with FTC. Sensa says it's product is solid but that it ads would be changed. Lean Spa said its product was great but a marketer was to blame. HCG diet direct which marketed those hormone drops, didn't respond to our calls. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: U.S. soldiers fought to break apart al-Qaeda in Iraq. Next, hear what some of them think now that the terror group is making a comeback.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: When U.S. troops left Iraq they had shattered al-Qaeda. But two years later al-Qaeda linked fighters are back stronger than ever. Just today, more than 20 people were killed and dozens others wounded in car bombings and shootings. It's disturbing news for soldiers who fought to rid Iraq of militants there.
Our Martin Savidge has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Americans fought for Fallujah not once but twice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That rocket whistle coming and the explosion was just massive.
SAVIDGE: House to house, street by street.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The combat came down to five yards in the flak jacket. It was seeing the whites of their eyes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think mortars are rockets hit an ammo dump so it exploded big time.
SAVIDGE: Some of the hardest, bloodiest warfare since Vietnam.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When it came to Fallujah, that was stand up fighting.
SAVIDGE: Nate Watkins and Mike Dasher were in the same artillery unit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a pretty cool photo here.
SAVIDGE: For days they loaded and fired 100 pound shells into the city.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just felt lying an eternity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it was constant shooting.
SAVIDGE: Adam Mathes was a 23-year-old second lieutenant leading his platoon into the heart of the fight.
ADAM MATHES, FORMER MARINE: I went to Iraq with 41 marines and came home with 22. SAVIDGE: All of which explains why what happened in Iraq today matters a great deal to them. Adam calls Fallujah a kind of hometown.
MATHES: We gave a lot. Spilled blood, lost friends, invested a lot of our young adulthood to that city.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do care and I hope it's a bump in the road.
SAVIDGE: Mike and Nate are pragmatic saying they didn't leave Iraq thinking everything would be --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hunky-dory.
MIKE DASHER, FORMER MARINE: To my opinion the government there is going to be test add long time and it is a part of that.
SAVIDGE: But Nate admits sometimes he has doubts.
NATE WATKINS, FORMER MARINE: Unfortunately, my inclination is now it doesn't feel so much like it's worth it. But I hesitate to say that because knowing the sacrifice that it takes and what's, you know, been spent.
SAVIDGE: Adam has no doubt saying the marines (INAUDIBLE).
MATHES: And courageously, for other people to enjoy the possibility of self-determination. That's never a waste of time.
SAVIDGE: Which is why Adam says he and other marines will be watching closely what happens next.
MATHES: Part of me is actually very excited to see how the people of Fallujah and Ramadi, and how people we lived with and grew close even as we were fighting, see how they actually stand up and determine for themselves how the future will be written.
SAVIDGE: Martin Savidge, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And in this country, A-Rod will still get a big check but his playing days might be over. What his next move to stay in the game?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Alex Rodriguez will not be back on a baseball field until 2015. After much of his suspension was upheld this weekend, an arbitrator said yesterday Rodriguez will be suspended for 162 games for allegedly doping. A-Rod says the decision doesn't match the facts and he's going to fight it.
Here is Jason Carroll.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Alex Rodriguez has always said that the allegations against him are false. This announcement was not totally unexpected for Rodriguez or his legal team, but it was still a major disappointment for major league baseball's highest paid player.
Alex Rodriguez, a Yankee known for setting records now has one more. Has he the dishonorable distinction of getting hit for the longest suspension for doping in baseball's history, a 162 games suspension, benching him for an entire season, potentially ending the 38-year- old's career.
This after baseball's chief arbitrator reduced the initial 211 game suspension and it will be imposed on Rodriguez for allegedly using performance enhancing drugs.
Rodriguez releasing a statement saying the number of games sadly comes as no surprise as the deck has been stacked against me from day one. I have been clear that I did not use performance enhancing substances. And in order to prove it, I will take this fight to the federal court.
MIKE WISE, WASHINGTON POST: My advice to Alex Rodriguez would be the same advice I gave Lance Armstrong years ago, just fess up.
CARROLL: Major league baseball wanted the initial suspension to stand saying while we believe the original 211 game suspension was appropriate, we respect the decision rendered by the panel and will focus on our continuing efforts on eliminating performance enhancing substances from our game.
ALEX RODRIGUEZ, BASEBALL PLAYER: I banged the table and kicked a briefcase and slammed out of the room.
CARROLL: Rodriguez went to arbitration after MLB imposed the 211 game suspensions but quickly became frustrated by the process. He spoke out on sports radio after he stormed out of a hearing last November, upset after learning baseball's commissioner Bud Selig would not testify about allegations MLB used unethical tactics while investigating Rodriguez.
RODRIGUEZ: I exploded. I was very upset. I probably overreacted but that's just it came from the heart and this has been a difficult process.
CARROLL: In all 13 players were suspended last year after MLB found they had used PEDs obtained from the now defunct biogenesis clinic in Florida, all suspended for 50 games except Milwaukee Brewers right- fielder Ryan Braun received a 65-game ban. Some, but not all, been saying Rodriguez punishment was justified.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like how do you hand out 162 ban to one person and not give anything to all these other people doing the same thing. But yes, I guess it is, if you talk about just A-Rod, yes, I think it's too harsh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he deserves it. I don't think there should be doping in baseball. It is America's pastime.
CARROLL: Former Chicago White Sox first baseman Frank Thomas inducted into baseball's hall of fame called the Rodriguez suspension a sad day for the sport.
What are some of your thoughts about everything that's going on with Alex Rodriguez.
FRANK THOMAS, HALL OF FAME BASEBALL PLAYER: I've said for years, many years, things spiraled out of control in the late '90s and 2000 era. It's sad because Alex was such a great talent.
CARROLL: Will Rodriguez get to keep playing while he appeals the suspension? His attorneys will ask a federal judge for an injunction to allow Rodriguez to continue swinging the bat while he fights to clear his name.
Rodriguez stands to lose some $25 million because of the suspension. But this is not just about money, Rodriguez says this is about fair play and this is about the loss of his reputation.
Jason Carroll, CNN New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And a new interview with Major League Baseball key witness might hurt A-Rod's fight. The man who says he gave Rodriguez 10 substances, Anthony Bosch, gave a stunning interview to 60 minutes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Once Alex Rodriguez was fully under your protocol, what were the various banned substances that he was taking?
ANTHONY BOSCH. FORMER BIOGENESIS CHIEF: Testosterone, insulin growth factor one, human growth hormone and some different forms of pep tides?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: All of them banned.
BOSCH: All of them banned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: And he knew that?
BOSCH: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Was Rodriguez injecting himself with these substances?
BOSCH: I was (INAUDIBLE). So, there are times that he would ask me to inject.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: You injected him?
BOSCH: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Personally?
BOSCH: Personally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: I'm joined now by attorney Carrie Hackett and Mo Ivory.
All right, well, this is pretty tough for A-Rod to perhaps counter. But, this is the kind of thing that has been swirling around the investigation involving him. Now, the arbitrator says Ok, we are going to reduce the suspension, but still nonetheless, he is suspended.
So Mo, he is says he is going to take this to federal court. How does he do that?
MO IVORY, HOST, THE MO IVORY SHOW: Well, we he is going to appeal just as he did the last time. And this time, he is going to appeal the arbitrator's decision and go to federal court. But he has a very small chance, I mean, almost none of winning this. Arbitrators are not in the business of -- I mean, federal judges are not in the business of overturning arbitrators when players and owners agree in the collective bargaining agreement that this is how we will resolve our differences. And even if the suspension has not been as harsh, let's say people think it is, I don't necessarily think it is, but that it is Major League Baseball won't be able to go to a federal judge and have the same kind of -- it is on both side. Federal judges just not going to change the decision of an arbiter.
WHITFIELD: And if this were to go to federal court, it means, A-Rod is going to be up against Anthony Bosch and that certainly could go well?
CARRIE HACKETT, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No, it couldn't. And A- Rod has said in the past that all of this information about him is hearsay. And that if this actually goes to a court like the federal court, this information is not going to come in. What is so interesting about what Anthony Bosch said is that he actually injected A-Rod. That is not hearsay. That is going to be something that would be admissible in any court and I think they have really got them there.
WHITFIELD: So, what about the MLB and paying him? For the next year, he won't be playing. It means, he is going to be out some, you know, 20-something million dollars that he won't be receiving. But then, after that he has two years left on his agreement.
New York Yankees, what kind of recourse can they take?
IVORY: Well, I mean, they already signed an agreement with him that allows them to -- that says he is going to have to get paid if he plays. So, I mean, really, it is about (INAUDIBLE), right? It is about the issue of why did you pay this guy all of this money?
Listen, Alex Rodriguez has said in the past that he has used steroids. So then, he comes back and he gets this humongous contract. It is really about the ownership of the Yankees putting so much in one player. But they are obligated when he comes back in 2015 to pay him the money that he has to be paid for playing.
When this suspension is over, he goes back just like normal, he plays. And I think it is 21 million for one year and then the next year. So, he really would only lose this money in 2014.
WHITFIELD: So Carrie, is this kind of tip of the iceberg if A-Rod goes down and suspended, eventually is out of thinking just like you heard bone of the sound bites from, you know, someone who was just on the street is that why just A-Rod? Might there be others that are going to face the same demise too?
HACKETT: I think that there will be. And I think that they are making an example of him so that in the future, when this type of thing happens and when there is doping in baseball, that they can follow up and there can be consequences and that players will understand that when they are using these types of products, there are going to be consequences.
IVORY: And then you will be thinking that why Alex Rodriguez? Well, why wouldn't you make an example of the biggest start?. He is the biggest, why he is a perfect person to make an example of.
WHITFIELD: All right, Mo Ivory and Carrie Hackett, thanks to both you, ladies. Appreciate it.
All right in a gym, unlike any other, no machines or weights, just monitors and keyboards? Why many companies are sending their workers to CyberGym?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Former computer hackers are helping some companies to the test to make sure they don't get taken down online.
Ian Lee reports CyberGym exist in a country known for its government spying abilities.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: A hacker group has taken down the Vatican's Web site.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: The cyber attack on the justice department website --.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Chinese hackers attacked a federal election commission.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Cyber attacks against U.S. newsmakers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: By hacking into the private e-mails of the Bush family.
IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to CyberGym, a training ground for the defense of cyber attacks located on non- descript farm between Tel-Aviv and Haifa. It fits, it will former hackers of Israel's intelligence community against cyber warriors of private companies in case CyberGym for the trainee. Trainees practice over and over again on real world scenarios ranging from attacks by a lone Wolf to complex terror and state actors.
OFIR HASON, CEO, CO-FOUNDER, CYBERGYM: We are trying to cleans out and cause the Chinese to feed and to touch the damage that critical from a cyber threat.
LEE: The goal here is not to learn how to stop and attack, but how contain it, minimize the damage and discover its origin.
NIR DAGAN, ISRAEL ELECTRIC CORPORATION TRAINEE: Tell me I forget. Show me, I learn. Let me do it, I understand. And this is what we do here.
LEE: Today's trainees from Israel Electric Corporation take turns playing offense and defense. This real world scenario is preparing this computer expert for one of the most active battle fields on the planet. The Israeli electric corporation receives between 6,000 to 8,000 attacks per day.
Some advice from the experts whose identities we were asked to conceal, the biggest mistake you can make online.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kicking the OK button without reading and understanding the windows.
LEE: And for large companies like Target and SnapChat, who recently been in hacker's crosshairs, this advice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Incest in the training of personnel that are exposed in the critical systems and their security status would be much higher.
LEE: The lesson taught here, a good defense comes from knowing a strong offense.
Ian Lee, CNN, Hadera, Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: In Italy, it was a day of blessings and baptisms, this was the theme inside the (INAUDIBLE) chapel as Pope Francis baptized 32 children. It included new born children of Vatican employees. The Pope said the children are a link in a spiritual chain and that the parents have a duty to transmit faith to their children.
