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Gator Season in Miami Area; PGA Star Tees Up for Fallen Iraq Heroes

Aired March 23, 2005 - 14:30   ET

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

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


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Live pictures coming to us through the good graces of affiliate WSVN based in Miami, Florida. Not exactly sure what part of the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area we're looking at right now, but what are you seeing, as you look in the -- look at the flatbed of that pickup truck, upper right of your screen. That, folks, is an alligator. At the very least, bound, and maybe more permanent than that.
Don't know the true facts on that just yet, but we have somebody on the line to explain what is an unfolding gator drama there in south Florida. There's the other gator, much larger and obviously very angry there. As you can see, the person with the cell phone walking toward the alligator, kicking up a little dust storm.

Joining us on the line is Todd Hardwick, who is with animal control authorities down there. Todd, can you hear us OK?

TODD HARDWICK, ANIMAL CONTROL EXPERT: Yes, sir. I hear you fine.

O'BRIEN: Good. Are you the guy with the extension cord right there on the cell phone?

HARDWICK: Yes. That's an alligator catching rope, and basically what's going on here is it's officially spring in south Florida. Some parts of the country look for cherry blossoms. Down here in Miami, we look for alligators in the backyard and in the swimming pool. That's how we know it's spring.

O'BRIEN: So we're in the -- you're in the midst of a mating event. And somehow humans got in the middle of what gators like to do in the spring?

HARDWICK: Well, basically, this is the beginning of the alligator breeding season, and part of that process is that the male alligators chase other alligators, male gators, out of the Everglades and drive them into town. So we'll be dealing with hundreds of alligator complaints over the next five months. But it definitely will be peaking in the next three weeks.

Just in the last hour, we've removed a six-and-a-half-foot alligator from a backyard lake, came around the corner, and here we have about a nine or ten footer in a lake that we currently have half- captured. I still need to go into the water, get on that animal, tape his mouth shut and wrestle him up out of there and get him in the truck, and then continue on. We're working about 18 alligator complaints today. And that will probably be up to about 70 alligator complaints within the next ten days.

O'BRIEN: Todd, where are you right now? Could you wave? Where are you? Oh, there you are. There's Todd right there. Hey, Todd. All right. Thank you. I can see you're busy. I appreciate you doing that. I can see you got your hands full.

HARDWICK: Yes. It's going to get real hectic here in eight or ten minutes. I'm waiting on more.

O'BRIEN: Hey, Todd?

HARDWICK: Yes, sir.

O'BRIEN: Would you be willing to do it with the phone on there, just kind of walk us through what you're doing?

HARDWICK: Well, once I get in the water, the alligator will probably eat the phone, so I'll leave it on the tailgate.

O'BRIEN: All right, you know, we're laughing here, but this is serious business, isn't it? Now let me just ask you, though, if you just left that alligator alone there and didn't capture it, what could happen?

HARDWICK: Well, we're already hearing stories that he took a neighborhood cat last night, and there's rumors that he was eying a poodle before I got here. Certainly, the gator that's in the lake is more potential threat to small children because he's a large gator. The one in the back of the truck probably is not a threat to the people, per se, but he is a threat to small pets.

And, unfortunately, in south Florida, as well as all of Florida, this is gator country. We have over 1.5 million gators, and this problem just gets more and more every year because we keep developing and filling in wetlands, and then we wonder why we're up to our armpits in alligators.

O'BRIEN: Well, and let's, you know, let's remind people, it wasn't too long ago, a few decades ago, when gators in Florida were on the verge of extinction and they were protected. And then obviously, they came back with, I guess, a vengeance, is accurate to say and...

HARDWICK: Oh, phenomenal. 1977, they were still an endangered species, and they were removed. And in that time, they've gone from being called an endangered species to, unfortunately, today, being called a nuisance. These folks out here don't appreciate sharing the backyard lake with a cold-blooded predatory reptile.

O'BRIEN: And we agree. We're kind of with you.

HARDWICK: Well, unfortunately, when, you know, human safety is first, I mean, absolutely. Human safety comes before the alligator. Now, it is unfortunate. Where we are standing, ten years ago, was a wetland. This was the alligator's natural environment. We are the encroaching people. We are the invader species. But unfortunately, in this case, the alligator is the one that has to be evicted.

O'BRIEN: All right, so the -- what they've done in recent years, though, is they have allowed limited hunting to sort of thin -- I don't know if herd is the term, but the numbers, thin the numbers of alligators. Has that not worked well?

HARDWICK: It works well as far as allowing people to get out there and enjoy the environment and learn what alligator habitat is like and maybe want to help preserve it. But it has had no impact on the amount of alligators infiltrating the urban area. In fact, if the aerial shot will pan to the west, you will see that we're marching these houses right into the Everglades. We're probably four or five miles from the Everglades right now.

O'BRIEN: Unfortunately, I can't communicate with the chopper pilot right now to make that point, but we certainly understand what you're talking about. Anybody who's been to Florida and has seen the development that has occurred there understands exactly what you're talking about, this meeting of human being and nature.

There you go. Big wide shot there. There's the houses. On the cul-de-sacs there, right up next to that wetlands. And therein is the rub. And let's face it, the gators were there first, right, Todd?

HARDWICK: Absolutely. I'm a huge fan of the alligator. I'm born and raised here, I'm very much aware of the problem facing the alligator. But, again, you know, when human safety comes first, the gators got to go. Myself, I have a 4-year-old at home, and I wouldn't be comfortable with a gator this big or bigger in the backyard lake. You just can't co-mingle people and alligators of a certain size.

O'BRIEN: Hey, Todd, I got a suggestion for you. I don't want to hold you up anymore here. Do you have an assistant you could hand that phone to?

HARDWICK: My assistants are all going to be in the water with me. Once we engage this alligator, it's going to be pretty fast and ferocious out there, and there's no room for error, or any room for distraction. We need to be totally focused, or we'll be leaving with less than ten fingers and ten toes.

O'BRIEN: All right. How long will it take you to do it? Should we just stand by here and watch you?

HARDWICK: We'll probably do this within the next ten minutes. So I'm going to hang up and start gathering my thoughts and my equipment because I'm the one that will actually be out there in waist-deep water with this animal.

O'BRIEN: All right. That's Todd Hardwick. You're looking at him there. He's getting his restraints together to go after that big gator. How long is it, that gator, roughly?

HARDWICK: He's definitely in the nine-and-a-half, eleven foot range.

O'BRIEN: And he looks pretty angry.

HARDWICK: Yes, he hasn't missed many meals, either. He's got good weight on him. He's a good-looking alligator.

O'BRIEN: All right. Well, we wish you well. We're just going -- what we're going to do, Todd, we're going to let you hang up and get to work. Because that's obviously number one. Thank you for your time in the middle of, obviously, a busy day. We're going to touch base with you as soon as you get done.

HARDWICK: OK.

O'BRIEN: And we'll check in, we'll be watching you from the sky there, as you try to do this. Good luck to and you your crew, OK?

HARDWICK: Thank you. Bye-bye.

O'BRIEN: All right. Wow! That's something. Thank you, Todd. That's Todd Hardwick. And he's a brave man.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In the history of live television, I don't think I've ever seen us do that before. That was pure luck, getting that helicopter shot.

O'BRIEN: No, no, that isn't luck, that's the skill of our staff. That's our affiliate's desk. That's WSVN, that's the people in our control room, those are our guest bookers, all working as a team to give you Todd Hardwick. All these people behind us. They're not just sitting around watching soap operas, folks, they're doing this kind of thing. So we're going to watch this very closely, and you're not going to miss a thing. Don't worry.

We're going to take a little break. The gator is there. There you see it, in case you missed it. The gator, in case you missed it. And as soon as Todd gets his act together, we're going to be watching it. We'll see how you catch a gator. You ever wonder how to catch a gator? You're going to see it here live on LIVE FROM in just a moment. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, a young wife recalls her 2-year-old daughter kneeling beside her father's coffin, asking where's daddy? It's been exactly two years since the death of Lieutenant Frederick Pokorney. He died in the ambush in Nasiriyah. He was the first U.S. marine killed in the Iraq War to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Army Captain Christopher Scott Seifert also left a young family behind in service to Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was killed by a fellow soldier in a grenade attack at a camp in Kuwait.

Well, these are just two personal stories that have grabbed the attention of a PGA golfer. Now Rory Sabbatini is teeing one up for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. Roy joins us now from Pinaverde (ph) Beach, Florida, to tell us about the fund and what he's doing to help families who have lost a loved one to war. Hi, Rory.

RORY SABBATINI, PGA GOLFER: Hi, how are you?

PHILLIPS: All right, I'm going to ask you a question now, and hopefully your cameraman can work with me. I need you to lose the chair and stand up, because the camouflaged pants are a huge part of what you're doing here. And this is live TV, folks. Rory, you're a champ. All right.

SABBATINI: There you go.

PHILLIPS: All right. This is how this all begun. We're going to talk about the fund in a minute. But tell us about these pants and why you're going to be wearing them on tour.

SABBATINI: Well, actually, my wife and I, middle of last year, you know, we were thinking about a new charities to try and support, and something that, you know, would mean a lot to us. And while my wife was in a flight, she actually read an article in a magazine about the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. So through brainstorming and through working with the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, we came up with an idea to wear camouflaged pants to try and obviously bring some attention to the charity.

PHILLIPS: Now, who designed the pants? Where did you get them?

SABBATINI: Well, actually, the material came from the Pentagon. The -- obviously, I had them tailored. I got the fabric and had them tailored with my tailor back at home in Dallas.

PHILLIPS: Well, I'm just wondering if Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld approved those pants.

SABBATINI: Well, I don't know. I haven't quite asked him that one yet.

PHILLIPS: All right. On a much more serious note, let's talk about what you're doing now. Every eagle, every birdie, you are donating an amount of money to this fund that helps families that have lost a loved one. Tell me what you're doing.

SABBATINI: Well, actually, you know, personally, we're trying to think of a way to try and help out the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. So the way we decided to do it was, for every birdie I made during the year, I was going to donate $250. And then for every eagle I made, $1,000. So, you know, try and bring some highlight to them, but also financially try and support them, too.

PHILLIPS: Now, Rory, what if you get a hole-in-one?

SABBATINI: I haven't thought about that one. I think that would qualify as an eagle. But I think in that situation, we might have to make an exception, some kind of larger donation.

PHILLIPS: Outstanding. Now, have you had a chance to talk with vets and to talk with families that have been affected by Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom? And if so, what has stood out to you the most? What's made an impact on you? Because it's easy, when you're on tour, you're around a bunch of golfers, you're into the game. You don't always have a chance to get in touch with those human stories of what's taking place overseas.

SABBATINI: Well, exactly. You know, obviously, I haven't had a chance to talk to any of the families. I've had interactions with family members that, you know, have sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, you know, cousins over in Iraq and Afghanistan. But, you know, my wife's family's from a military background and, you know, I understand the sacrifices that are given in order for us to be able to have the freedom and the opportunity to be even able to play golf events at home with the sense of security that we do.

And you know, the sacrifices that these men and women give is just unbelievable. You know, it was something that, you know, I felt the least I could do to try and help them out, especially families that are in a situation of, obviously, emotional, but also financial dire straits, in a sense. You know, it's just a way to try and help them out -- help the families out that need some support and some assistance.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's pretty awesome what you're doing. Now I have a question for you. I sent you a picture from when I was covering Operation Iraqi Freedom from the USS Abraham Lincoln. And this was a picture just before the war. Did you have a chance to see it?

SABBATINI: I did have a chance to see that.

PHILLIPS: All right, this is one of the young kids that actually works on the jets, Rory. And this was a way for him to relieve stress, teeing off the edge of the carrier. And I just want to know, what do you think of his finish?

SABBATINI: Well, actually, a pretty good finish. But you know, I can understand, you know. As a golfer, I look for other ways to release any kind of stress or any kind of tension. And you know, I can understand why, being in that situation, to be able some kind of normality would be so relieving in a sense. And you know, that's awesome to see that he has an opportunity to do that.

PHILLIPS: I bet they'd love for you to come visit the carrier.

SABBATINI: I bet they would, but I just -- I don't want to be the one going to find the golf balls.

PHILLIPS: Yes, exactly. It's a deep swim, believe me. Rory Sabbatini, what a great story. We're going to be watching you, rooting for you. And hats off to your wife, Amy. And we will plug the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. And I can't wait to see how many birdies and eagles you get and if, indeed, you get a hole-in-one, will you let us know ?

SABBATINI: I will definitely let you know.

PHILLIPS: All right, we're cheering for you, Rory. Thank you so much.

And this programming note. "NEWSNIGHT" follows up with the 507th maintenance group tonight. Two years ago today, they took a wrong turn in Iraq and became POWs. You're going to hear their stories again tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

O'BRIEN: All right. We got a couple of live events happening now.

Let's take you to Houston, KHOU, the affiliate chopper shots there over Texas city. If you're familiar with the area, of course, a lot of refineries, petrochemicals big in Houston. This 35 miles southeast of Houston. An explosion and fire there. It's at a B.P. plant. And beyond that, we don't have many more details for you. No word on any injuries. Obviously, fire officials on the scene, trying to battle that blaze.

Let's go back live to Florida, too, and just check in before we take a break. Just check in on the gator situation. Nothing new yet to report there. As we told you just a few moments ago, Todd Hardwick with animal control there in Florida -- ooh, sorry about that camera work there. They don't know they're live.

But -- oh, there's another gator, potentially. I don't know what's going on there. But in any case, the gator entrapment procedure, if that is a technical term, I don't know, has not begun. We're watching it close for you -- Closely for you.

Well, you know what they say. Beware of false idols, or false idol graphics, in this case. Brooke, why don't you fill us in?

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Kyra and Miles, a big mistake during last night's "American Idol" show. So what went wrong and what is Fox doing to fix it? I'm live in Hollywood with those answers and much more when LIVE FROM returns.

PHILLIPS: Ooh, she said Fox, but we love Brooke.

All right. Remember the Virgin Mary grilled cheese? How could you forget? It was disgusting. Well, the woman who kept the sandwich for all those years now says she has something else for eBay.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Live pictures, Miami, Florida. WSVN, their chopper providing these images. Todd Hardwick has a real handful by the tail there. That's his assistant. Todd is the one who's grabbing the tail of that big nine-foot alligator, which as he pointed out just a few moments ago, Kyra, doesn't look as if it's missed many meals. There's some missing cats in the neighborhood. Fortunately -- not fortunately, you don't want to lose your pet, but the point is, this clearly...

PHILLIPS: Yes. We were worried about the person, possibly.

O'BRIEN: This clearly could be a menace to children in particular, because when they're hungry and mating and active as they are this time of year, obviously, bad things can happen. Now I have always been told -- correct me if I'm wrong -- you don't want to be anywhere near one of the tails of those things. But I think he must have it bound in such a way. Because the tails can whip at tremendous velocity. Have you heard that before?

PHILLIPS: Yes. And also, well, they talk about the speed of the tail and the head and as it flips around. So you think you're at the back of the alligator. Meanwhile, the head can turn around so fast, and you're gone.

O'BRIEN: Oh boy, look at that.

PHILLIPS: Well, I'm not -- look it, I'm guessing he started with the mouth and worked his way down.

O'BRIEN: Look at him go there! You know, yet another use for duct tape. What would we do without it? I just -- you know, it's an amazing thing, and I don't know how the world existed before it happened. But there you go. He's got the jaws duct-taped up there, which is obviously a big step in all of this. And...

PHILLIPS: I'm seeing a new show for this guy.

O'BRIEN: Well, Todd's already -- he's already an Animal Planet star. So, you know, this is another day on the television for him.

PHILLIPS: And what's amazing, too, when we got word about this, you were available to connect with him via cell phone as he was getting ready, explaining how this was all going down.

O'BRIEN: We have the best staff in broadcast and cable television combined.

PHILLIPS: Thanks to our affiliate there, of course.

O'BRIEN: WSVN.

PHILLIPS: WSVN out of Miami.

O'BRIEN: So -- but as he does this, I've always wanted to know -- and I wish I had him back on the phone, we could ask him later. I've always heard that if they're going after you, if you're on the golf course or whatever and they go after you, you should run in zigzags. And I think that's true, but I wanted to find out from him if that was a myth.

PHILLIPS: Now what happens to the alligator now, though? Once they get him or her, how do you tell...

O'BRIEN: Would they take that gator to the Everglades, to a place where that gator could not be a threat.

PHILLIPS: Right, and let it go?

O'BRIEN: I believe that is the intent. But how far away can they get the gator? I think that's the goal. But we'd have to ask Todd to double-check that. In any case, he is, obviously, a man who, number one, knows what he's doing, number two, has a fair amount of courage.

PHILLIPS: And he wasn't even nervous.

O'BRIEN: Well, I mean, gosh. I mean, these things can really do a number on you. And like I say, I -- the experts would probably correct me on this. I'm sure it was some wives tale that I heard, that those tails can be so much more dangerous. But he has been around that tail, yanking it by the tail as if it was no big problem. And there you see all the news crews trying to get shots as he finishes the job here. But I think we can probably declare that gator no longer a threat to that community, which is just across the street there.

PHILLIPS: The next focus of Animal Planet. Stay tuned. We'll have the exclusive.

O'BRIEN: All right. Yet another potential crisis solved in south Florida. You saw it here live right here on CNN.

PHILLIPS: Let's hope there's not a crisis on Wall Street.

O'BRIEN: That's why you got to tune in all day long. You never know what's going to pop into your set here.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Israel is famous for its policy of compulsory military service. If you're 18 or older, you are expected to serve.

PHILLIPS: Just ahead on LIVE FROM, a group of young Israelis who would rather serve time than serve in the military. See what they object to.

O'BRIEN: And that story of the Virgin Mary grilled cheese? Well, it's back. Another offering on eBay. You are going to really want to know this. Believe me.

Up first this hour, time running out, options running out as well on the multi-pronged effort to prevent Terri Schiavo from dying. The latest breaking front, the Appeals Court here in Atlanta, which ruled overnight against reinserting the feeding tube, which, of course, as you know, was removed last Friday.

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Aired March 23, 2005 - 14:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Live pictures coming to us through the good graces of affiliate WSVN based in Miami, Florida. Not exactly sure what part of the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area we're looking at right now, but what are you seeing, as you look in the -- look at the flatbed of that pickup truck, upper right of your screen. That, folks, is an alligator. At the very least, bound, and maybe more permanent than that.
Don't know the true facts on that just yet, but we have somebody on the line to explain what is an unfolding gator drama there in south Florida. There's the other gator, much larger and obviously very angry there. As you can see, the person with the cell phone walking toward the alligator, kicking up a little dust storm.

Joining us on the line is Todd Hardwick, who is with animal control authorities down there. Todd, can you hear us OK?

TODD HARDWICK, ANIMAL CONTROL EXPERT: Yes, sir. I hear you fine.

O'BRIEN: Good. Are you the guy with the extension cord right there on the cell phone?

HARDWICK: Yes. That's an alligator catching rope, and basically what's going on here is it's officially spring in south Florida. Some parts of the country look for cherry blossoms. Down here in Miami, we look for alligators in the backyard and in the swimming pool. That's how we know it's spring.

O'BRIEN: So we're in the -- you're in the midst of a mating event. And somehow humans got in the middle of what gators like to do in the spring?

HARDWICK: Well, basically, this is the beginning of the alligator breeding season, and part of that process is that the male alligators chase other alligators, male gators, out of the Everglades and drive them into town. So we'll be dealing with hundreds of alligator complaints over the next five months. But it definitely will be peaking in the next three weeks.

Just in the last hour, we've removed a six-and-a-half-foot alligator from a backyard lake, came around the corner, and here we have about a nine or ten footer in a lake that we currently have half- captured. I still need to go into the water, get on that animal, tape his mouth shut and wrestle him up out of there and get him in the truck, and then continue on. We're working about 18 alligator complaints today. And that will probably be up to about 70 alligator complaints within the next ten days.

O'BRIEN: Todd, where are you right now? Could you wave? Where are you? Oh, there you are. There's Todd right there. Hey, Todd. All right. Thank you. I can see you're busy. I appreciate you doing that. I can see you got your hands full.

HARDWICK: Yes. It's going to get real hectic here in eight or ten minutes. I'm waiting on more.

O'BRIEN: Hey, Todd?

HARDWICK: Yes, sir.

O'BRIEN: Would you be willing to do it with the phone on there, just kind of walk us through what you're doing?

HARDWICK: Well, once I get in the water, the alligator will probably eat the phone, so I'll leave it on the tailgate.

O'BRIEN: All right, you know, we're laughing here, but this is serious business, isn't it? Now let me just ask you, though, if you just left that alligator alone there and didn't capture it, what could happen?

HARDWICK: Well, we're already hearing stories that he took a neighborhood cat last night, and there's rumors that he was eying a poodle before I got here. Certainly, the gator that's in the lake is more potential threat to small children because he's a large gator. The one in the back of the truck probably is not a threat to the people, per se, but he is a threat to small pets.

And, unfortunately, in south Florida, as well as all of Florida, this is gator country. We have over 1.5 million gators, and this problem just gets more and more every year because we keep developing and filling in wetlands, and then we wonder why we're up to our armpits in alligators.

O'BRIEN: Well, and let's, you know, let's remind people, it wasn't too long ago, a few decades ago, when gators in Florida were on the verge of extinction and they were protected. And then obviously, they came back with, I guess, a vengeance, is accurate to say and...

HARDWICK: Oh, phenomenal. 1977, they were still an endangered species, and they were removed. And in that time, they've gone from being called an endangered species to, unfortunately, today, being called a nuisance. These folks out here don't appreciate sharing the backyard lake with a cold-blooded predatory reptile.

O'BRIEN: And we agree. We're kind of with you.

HARDWICK: Well, unfortunately, when, you know, human safety is first, I mean, absolutely. Human safety comes before the alligator. Now, it is unfortunate. Where we are standing, ten years ago, was a wetland. This was the alligator's natural environment. We are the encroaching people. We are the invader species. But unfortunately, in this case, the alligator is the one that has to be evicted.

O'BRIEN: All right, so the -- what they've done in recent years, though, is they have allowed limited hunting to sort of thin -- I don't know if herd is the term, but the numbers, thin the numbers of alligators. Has that not worked well?

HARDWICK: It works well as far as allowing people to get out there and enjoy the environment and learn what alligator habitat is like and maybe want to help preserve it. But it has had no impact on the amount of alligators infiltrating the urban area. In fact, if the aerial shot will pan to the west, you will see that we're marching these houses right into the Everglades. We're probably four or five miles from the Everglades right now.

O'BRIEN: Unfortunately, I can't communicate with the chopper pilot right now to make that point, but we certainly understand what you're talking about. Anybody who's been to Florida and has seen the development that has occurred there understands exactly what you're talking about, this meeting of human being and nature.

There you go. Big wide shot there. There's the houses. On the cul-de-sacs there, right up next to that wetlands. And therein is the rub. And let's face it, the gators were there first, right, Todd?

HARDWICK: Absolutely. I'm a huge fan of the alligator. I'm born and raised here, I'm very much aware of the problem facing the alligator. But, again, you know, when human safety comes first, the gators got to go. Myself, I have a 4-year-old at home, and I wouldn't be comfortable with a gator this big or bigger in the backyard lake. You just can't co-mingle people and alligators of a certain size.

O'BRIEN: Hey, Todd, I got a suggestion for you. I don't want to hold you up anymore here. Do you have an assistant you could hand that phone to?

HARDWICK: My assistants are all going to be in the water with me. Once we engage this alligator, it's going to be pretty fast and ferocious out there, and there's no room for error, or any room for distraction. We need to be totally focused, or we'll be leaving with less than ten fingers and ten toes.

O'BRIEN: All right. How long will it take you to do it? Should we just stand by here and watch you?

HARDWICK: We'll probably do this within the next ten minutes. So I'm going to hang up and start gathering my thoughts and my equipment because I'm the one that will actually be out there in waist-deep water with this animal.

O'BRIEN: All right. That's Todd Hardwick. You're looking at him there. He's getting his restraints together to go after that big gator. How long is it, that gator, roughly?

HARDWICK: He's definitely in the nine-and-a-half, eleven foot range.

O'BRIEN: And he looks pretty angry.

HARDWICK: Yes, he hasn't missed many meals, either. He's got good weight on him. He's a good-looking alligator.

O'BRIEN: All right. Well, we wish you well. We're just going -- what we're going to do, Todd, we're going to let you hang up and get to work. Because that's obviously number one. Thank you for your time in the middle of, obviously, a busy day. We're going to touch base with you as soon as you get done.

HARDWICK: OK.

O'BRIEN: And we'll check in, we'll be watching you from the sky there, as you try to do this. Good luck to and you your crew, OK?

HARDWICK: Thank you. Bye-bye.

O'BRIEN: All right. Wow! That's something. Thank you, Todd. That's Todd Hardwick. And he's a brave man.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In the history of live television, I don't think I've ever seen us do that before. That was pure luck, getting that helicopter shot.

O'BRIEN: No, no, that isn't luck, that's the skill of our staff. That's our affiliate's desk. That's WSVN, that's the people in our control room, those are our guest bookers, all working as a team to give you Todd Hardwick. All these people behind us. They're not just sitting around watching soap operas, folks, they're doing this kind of thing. So we're going to watch this very closely, and you're not going to miss a thing. Don't worry.

We're going to take a little break. The gator is there. There you see it, in case you missed it. The gator, in case you missed it. And as soon as Todd gets his act together, we're going to be watching it. We'll see how you catch a gator. You ever wonder how to catch a gator? You're going to see it here live on LIVE FROM in just a moment. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, a young wife recalls her 2-year-old daughter kneeling beside her father's coffin, asking where's daddy? It's been exactly two years since the death of Lieutenant Frederick Pokorney. He died in the ambush in Nasiriyah. He was the first U.S. marine killed in the Iraq War to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Army Captain Christopher Scott Seifert also left a young family behind in service to Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was killed by a fellow soldier in a grenade attack at a camp in Kuwait.

Well, these are just two personal stories that have grabbed the attention of a PGA golfer. Now Rory Sabbatini is teeing one up for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. Roy joins us now from Pinaverde (ph) Beach, Florida, to tell us about the fund and what he's doing to help families who have lost a loved one to war. Hi, Rory.

RORY SABBATINI, PGA GOLFER: Hi, how are you?

PHILLIPS: All right, I'm going to ask you a question now, and hopefully your cameraman can work with me. I need you to lose the chair and stand up, because the camouflaged pants are a huge part of what you're doing here. And this is live TV, folks. Rory, you're a champ. All right.

SABBATINI: There you go.

PHILLIPS: All right. This is how this all begun. We're going to talk about the fund in a minute. But tell us about these pants and why you're going to be wearing them on tour.

SABBATINI: Well, actually, my wife and I, middle of last year, you know, we were thinking about a new charities to try and support, and something that, you know, would mean a lot to us. And while my wife was in a flight, she actually read an article in a magazine about the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. So through brainstorming and through working with the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, we came up with an idea to wear camouflaged pants to try and obviously bring some attention to the charity.

PHILLIPS: Now, who designed the pants? Where did you get them?

SABBATINI: Well, actually, the material came from the Pentagon. The -- obviously, I had them tailored. I got the fabric and had them tailored with my tailor back at home in Dallas.

PHILLIPS: Well, I'm just wondering if Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld approved those pants.

SABBATINI: Well, I don't know. I haven't quite asked him that one yet.

PHILLIPS: All right. On a much more serious note, let's talk about what you're doing now. Every eagle, every birdie, you are donating an amount of money to this fund that helps families that have lost a loved one. Tell me what you're doing.

SABBATINI: Well, actually, you know, personally, we're trying to think of a way to try and help out the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. So the way we decided to do it was, for every birdie I made during the year, I was going to donate $250. And then for every eagle I made, $1,000. So, you know, try and bring some highlight to them, but also financially try and support them, too.

PHILLIPS: Now, Rory, what if you get a hole-in-one?

SABBATINI: I haven't thought about that one. I think that would qualify as an eagle. But I think in that situation, we might have to make an exception, some kind of larger donation.

PHILLIPS: Outstanding. Now, have you had a chance to talk with vets and to talk with families that have been affected by Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom? And if so, what has stood out to you the most? What's made an impact on you? Because it's easy, when you're on tour, you're around a bunch of golfers, you're into the game. You don't always have a chance to get in touch with those human stories of what's taking place overseas.

SABBATINI: Well, exactly. You know, obviously, I haven't had a chance to talk to any of the families. I've had interactions with family members that, you know, have sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, you know, cousins over in Iraq and Afghanistan. But, you know, my wife's family's from a military background and, you know, I understand the sacrifices that are given in order for us to be able to have the freedom and the opportunity to be even able to play golf events at home with the sense of security that we do.

And you know, the sacrifices that these men and women give is just unbelievable. You know, it was something that, you know, I felt the least I could do to try and help them out, especially families that are in a situation of, obviously, emotional, but also financial dire straits, in a sense. You know, it's just a way to try and help them out -- help the families out that need some support and some assistance.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's pretty awesome what you're doing. Now I have a question for you. I sent you a picture from when I was covering Operation Iraqi Freedom from the USS Abraham Lincoln. And this was a picture just before the war. Did you have a chance to see it?

SABBATINI: I did have a chance to see that.

PHILLIPS: All right, this is one of the young kids that actually works on the jets, Rory. And this was a way for him to relieve stress, teeing off the edge of the carrier. And I just want to know, what do you think of his finish?

SABBATINI: Well, actually, a pretty good finish. But you know, I can understand, you know. As a golfer, I look for other ways to release any kind of stress or any kind of tension. And you know, I can understand why, being in that situation, to be able some kind of normality would be so relieving in a sense. And you know, that's awesome to see that he has an opportunity to do that.

PHILLIPS: I bet they'd love for you to come visit the carrier.

SABBATINI: I bet they would, but I just -- I don't want to be the one going to find the golf balls.

PHILLIPS: Yes, exactly. It's a deep swim, believe me. Rory Sabbatini, what a great story. We're going to be watching you, rooting for you. And hats off to your wife, Amy. And we will plug the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. And I can't wait to see how many birdies and eagles you get and if, indeed, you get a hole-in-one, will you let us know ?

SABBATINI: I will definitely let you know.

PHILLIPS: All right, we're cheering for you, Rory. Thank you so much.

And this programming note. "NEWSNIGHT" follows up with the 507th maintenance group tonight. Two years ago today, they took a wrong turn in Iraq and became POWs. You're going to hear their stories again tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

O'BRIEN: All right. We got a couple of live events happening now.

Let's take you to Houston, KHOU, the affiliate chopper shots there over Texas city. If you're familiar with the area, of course, a lot of refineries, petrochemicals big in Houston. This 35 miles southeast of Houston. An explosion and fire there. It's at a B.P. plant. And beyond that, we don't have many more details for you. No word on any injuries. Obviously, fire officials on the scene, trying to battle that blaze.

Let's go back live to Florida, too, and just check in before we take a break. Just check in on the gator situation. Nothing new yet to report there. As we told you just a few moments ago, Todd Hardwick with animal control there in Florida -- ooh, sorry about that camera work there. They don't know they're live.

But -- oh, there's another gator, potentially. I don't know what's going on there. But in any case, the gator entrapment procedure, if that is a technical term, I don't know, has not begun. We're watching it close for you -- Closely for you.

Well, you know what they say. Beware of false idols, or false idol graphics, in this case. Brooke, why don't you fill us in?

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Kyra and Miles, a big mistake during last night's "American Idol" show. So what went wrong and what is Fox doing to fix it? I'm live in Hollywood with those answers and much more when LIVE FROM returns.

PHILLIPS: Ooh, she said Fox, but we love Brooke.

All right. Remember the Virgin Mary grilled cheese? How could you forget? It was disgusting. Well, the woman who kept the sandwich for all those years now says she has something else for eBay.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Live pictures, Miami, Florida. WSVN, their chopper providing these images. Todd Hardwick has a real handful by the tail there. That's his assistant. Todd is the one who's grabbing the tail of that big nine-foot alligator, which as he pointed out just a few moments ago, Kyra, doesn't look as if it's missed many meals. There's some missing cats in the neighborhood. Fortunately -- not fortunately, you don't want to lose your pet, but the point is, this clearly...

PHILLIPS: Yes. We were worried about the person, possibly.

O'BRIEN: This clearly could be a menace to children in particular, because when they're hungry and mating and active as they are this time of year, obviously, bad things can happen. Now I have always been told -- correct me if I'm wrong -- you don't want to be anywhere near one of the tails of those things. But I think he must have it bound in such a way. Because the tails can whip at tremendous velocity. Have you heard that before?

PHILLIPS: Yes. And also, well, they talk about the speed of the tail and the head and as it flips around. So you think you're at the back of the alligator. Meanwhile, the head can turn around so fast, and you're gone.

O'BRIEN: Oh boy, look at that.

PHILLIPS: Well, I'm not -- look it, I'm guessing he started with the mouth and worked his way down.

O'BRIEN: Look at him go there! You know, yet another use for duct tape. What would we do without it? I just -- you know, it's an amazing thing, and I don't know how the world existed before it happened. But there you go. He's got the jaws duct-taped up there, which is obviously a big step in all of this. And...

PHILLIPS: I'm seeing a new show for this guy.

O'BRIEN: Well, Todd's already -- he's already an Animal Planet star. So, you know, this is another day on the television for him.

PHILLIPS: And what's amazing, too, when we got word about this, you were available to connect with him via cell phone as he was getting ready, explaining how this was all going down.

O'BRIEN: We have the best staff in broadcast and cable television combined.

PHILLIPS: Thanks to our affiliate there, of course.

O'BRIEN: WSVN.

PHILLIPS: WSVN out of Miami.

O'BRIEN: So -- but as he does this, I've always wanted to know -- and I wish I had him back on the phone, we could ask him later. I've always heard that if they're going after you, if you're on the golf course or whatever and they go after you, you should run in zigzags. And I think that's true, but I wanted to find out from him if that was a myth.

PHILLIPS: Now what happens to the alligator now, though? Once they get him or her, how do you tell...

O'BRIEN: Would they take that gator to the Everglades, to a place where that gator could not be a threat.

PHILLIPS: Right, and let it go?

O'BRIEN: I believe that is the intent. But how far away can they get the gator? I think that's the goal. But we'd have to ask Todd to double-check that. In any case, he is, obviously, a man who, number one, knows what he's doing, number two, has a fair amount of courage.

PHILLIPS: And he wasn't even nervous.

O'BRIEN: Well, I mean, gosh. I mean, these things can really do a number on you. And like I say, I -- the experts would probably correct me on this. I'm sure it was some wives tale that I heard, that those tails can be so much more dangerous. But he has been around that tail, yanking it by the tail as if it was no big problem. And there you see all the news crews trying to get shots as he finishes the job here. But I think we can probably declare that gator no longer a threat to that community, which is just across the street there.

PHILLIPS: The next focus of Animal Planet. Stay tuned. We'll have the exclusive.

O'BRIEN: All right. Yet another potential crisis solved in south Florida. You saw it here live right here on CNN.

PHILLIPS: Let's hope there's not a crisis on Wall Street.

O'BRIEN: That's why you got to tune in all day long. You never know what's going to pop into your set here.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Israel is famous for its policy of compulsory military service. If you're 18 or older, you are expected to serve.

PHILLIPS: Just ahead on LIVE FROM, a group of young Israelis who would rather serve time than serve in the military. See what they object to.

O'BRIEN: And that story of the Virgin Mary grilled cheese? Well, it's back. Another offering on eBay. You are going to really want to know this. Believe me.

Up first this hour, time running out, options running out as well on the multi-pronged effort to prevent Terri Schiavo from dying. The latest breaking front, the Appeals Court here in Atlanta, which ruled overnight against reinserting the feeding tube, which, of course, as you know, was removed last Friday.

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