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CNN Live Today
Water Worries in New England; Donald Rumsfeld to Face Questions on National Guard on Border; Paul McCartney, Wife Split; Gator Hunters Help Out After Florida Attacks
Aired May 17, 2006 - 10:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back to the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY. I'm Daryn Kagan.
Some major stories that we are following for you this hour, letting more members of Congress in on the secrets. On Capitol Hill today more lawmakers will learn details of the domestic wiretap program.
And sending troops to the border. The defense secretary faces questions about the president's immigration plan. Live pictures from Capitol Hill there.
On the weather front, it has been sunny across much of New England today. That's good news, but there still are many water worries.
Our Dan Lothian has been on dam watch. And by that we mean dam, D-A-M, although he may spell it differently all of those days in the rain.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
KAGAN: Right now...
LOTHIAN: I'll tell you, it's...
KAGAN: Go ahead, Dan.
LOTHIAN: It's just great to have the sun out. You know, it was something that we haven't seen in about a week. so it's great to feel the sunshine now.
Some residents across northern New England are getting a chance to really assess the damage and begin to clean up. But as you mentioned, there has been sort of a dam watch that is ongoing, specifically this one in Amesbury.
The concern being that, with still so much pressure being placed on this dam, will it hold? And not only on the dam, but some of the rocks that line the waterway here. Could they fall into the water and potentially clog the system, leading to more problems?
I'm joined now by the fire chief, Amesbury fire chief, William Shute.
What is -- what is your biggest -- your primary concern right now here?
CHIEF WILLIAM SHUTE, AMESBURY FIRE DEPARTMENT: The primary concern, that it holds up and doesn't change any more than it has changed in the last 24 hours. Meaning, we don't need to have any more debris or any more failures of this dam, because that has consequences about 100 yards downstream, where it goes underneath the town. If that becomes a problem or blocked, that causes a catastrophic water flow through the upper arch, which will create a major problem for the community.
LOTHIAN: Another quick question. In terms of what can be done, my understanding is you're going to bring in some reinforcements for the wall right in front of the dam.
SHUTE: That is correct. We're waiting for the water levels to drop where it can be safely done. Right now we need about another foot to foot and a half drop in the water levels before the dam, before we can get the resources in.
LOTHIAN: Thank you very much, Chief.
So the rain has gone away, but for now, at least, the problems have not -- Daryn.
KAGAN: All right.
Dan Lothian live from Massachusetts.
Dan, thank you.
Let's see what the weather is doing in the near future. Jacqui Jeras has that for us -- Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Daryn. It's doing good things, actually, finally.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: All right, Jacqui. Thank you.
Clear skies in New Orleans today. Just one thing showing in the skies above New Orleans. Look at this huge plume of smoke.
We're hearing from the fire department there, from Associated Press, that firefighters are battling what's a huge warehouse fire. If you check out these flames, they look like they have fully engulfed the building.
I can tell you the warehouse is located in the Lower Garden District, right on the Mississippi River there. In terms of what's inside or what caused it, or any injuries, that information is still coming in to us here at CNN. More pictures and information as it is available. But once again, it's a warehouse fire in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Shedding light on a secret program. Today the White House brings more lawmakers into the loop on domestic wiretaps. Those briefings will come ahead of tomorrow's confirmation hearings for General Michael Hayden to be CIA director.
Hayden ran the National Security Agency when the surveillance program started. The White House has agreed to share details about the wiretapping with the House and Senate intelligence committees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: You've got the chairman of both committees, Chairman Roberts and Hoekstra, say, look, we'd like to brief in all the members of the committees. And so I think it's perfectly rational to go ahead and do that.
There are a lot of misperceptions about what the NSA did and didn't do under Mike Hayden. And our view is, the more people who know and remain discrete about it, the better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Committee members say they need more information before Hayden's confirmation hearing tomorrow.
The immigration battle and closing ranks on Capitol Hill on that issue. Live pictures now from the Hill.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is appearing before the Senate panel. Also, there is Joint Chiefs Chairman Peter Pace, who you see there. They're facing questions on both immigration and Iraq.
Just within the last hour, those proceedings were briefly interrupted by a peace protester. She was led out of the room without incident.
But on immigration, an apparent sense of agreement. Lawmakers have hammered out compromises on two key issues, hiring 1,000 more Border Patrol agents, and trimming a guest worker program. No more than 200,000 immigrants would be able to be a guest worker in any particular year.
The guest worker program is something that the president has pushed. He also wants to use National Guard troops along the Mexico border.
The latest now from the Pentagon and CNN's Barbara Starr.
Barbara, I imagine you've had a chance to listen in to the hearings this morning. Have we received any more details on how this National Guard program along the border might work?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The details indeed, Daryn, are slowly beginning to surface, because now, the Pentagon clearly front and center in part of this immigration debate on Capitol Hill today. Later this afternoon, there will be a hearing at the Senate Armed Services committee about all of this.
This morning, this Senate hearing on appropriations is continuing. It is the topic the senators want to talk about.
What we have learned is that, roughly speaking, the price tag for this deployment of up to 6,000 National Guardsmen to the southern border over the next two years, that price tag could reach as much as $1.4 billion. And that will have to be paid for out of existing budget funds, the National Guard has been told.
We see Lieutenant General Steven Blum there, the head of the National Guard Bureau, asking questions about all of this, trying to explain to the senators that it is his view that the National Guard will still be ready for any mission it is called to do in Iraq, in Afghanistan, or even in the aftermath of a hurricane, because, of course, hurricane season is upcoming.
Secretary Rumsfeld spoke a few moments ago about his view on the ability of the National Guard to do this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The up to 6,000 Guardsmen and women proposed for this effort represent less than 2 percent of the total National Guard force of some 400,000 plus. And for the most part, they will be deployed during their two or three-week active duty for training period. As such, this will not only not adversely affect America's ability to conduct the war on terror, or respond to other domestic emergencies, it will actually provide useful, real-life training for the members of the National Guard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Daryn, the Pentagon's view is the Guard will not be stretched too thin. But indeed, they've already really sort of fenced off, if you will, the hurricane states. Louisiana, Mississippi and Georgia will not have to send any of their National Guard troops to this new border mission, so that they can be ready for the hurricane. Texas, however, will have to make do and deal with both the border situation and the hurricane season -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And since this is the Appropriations Committee, we're talking money. Any price tags coming up on all of this?
STARR: Well, again, they say that roughly they've calculated it at about $1.4 billion dollars, but certainly that will depend on how it all sorts out, how many Guardsmen go to the border, how long they stay, and what the cost of it will really be.
KAGAN: Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon.
Barbara, thank you.
So get this: Saddam Hussein wants to testify on behalf of a co- defendant. The question is, is the judge going to let that happen?
Court adjourned a short time ago. The former Iraqi leader did get a chance to speak today. He objected to a witness who was a child at the time of a deadly government crackdown. The charges against Hussein stem from that crackdown. The chief judge says he'll decide by Monday whether the former Iraqi leader will be permitted to take the stand.
If you mix several hundred million dollars with a fiery Cuban leader and stand back, wait for an explosion. Fidel Castro went ballistic over a "Forbes" magazine report. It names him one of the world's wealthiest rulers. "Forbes" estimates that Castro's wealth is about $900 million.
Castro blasted the report as rubbish and made a bold offer if the report could be proven.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. FIDEL CASTRO, CUBA (through translator): If they prove it, they don't have to do anything else. I will resign my post.
They can take everything they have pursued all their lives. OK. That's what it is. That is the offer, and I dare them to stop stupid comments.
Find me the evidence. Find me an account. Find me a dollar.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Well, for the record, "Forbes" says the estimates for Castro and other leaders are more art than science.
Back to live pictures now from New Orleans. Firefighters there are fighting a huge warehouse fire. The warehouse is located in the Lower Garden District along the Mississippi River. No word on what was inside, including what the warehouse was storing or if there were people inside at the time of the fire.
News ahead of a microscopic super bug. Its bite can be deadly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every time we use antibiotics inappropriately, they see what we can use against them, and the resistant ones tend to flourish.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: It's a killer that could be as close as your health club. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will take a closer look.
For better or worse, for richer, for poorer, 'till the media do us part. An ex-Beatle and his wife call it quits, and they are blaming the media. Details ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Looking at these live pictures once again, this is New Orleans. A huge warehouse fire in the Lower Garden District right along the Mississippi River there. You can see they're using helicopters to dump water.
No word on what exactly is inside, stored inside this warehouse. But we are getting word that nobody was inside the warehouse at the time that it started. Also, this is in an industrial area, and there are no neighborhoods nearby.
On to entertainment news. It is his biggest breakup since the Beatles. Paul McCartney confirms that he and his wife, Heather Mills McCartney, are separating.
Our Paula Hancocks joins us live from London.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It had been rumored for some time that there was marital strife between Sir Paul McCartney and his wife, Heather Mills McCartney. On this Wednesday, we have confirmation that the two have decided to go their separate ways.
Sir Paul McCartney gave a statement through his P.R. company which said, "Having tried exceptionally hard to make our relationship work, given the daily pressure surrounding us, it is with sadness that we have decided to go our separate ways."
Now, the two have said that they have come under a tremendous amount of pressure from the British tabloids and the press, and also from the world's press, obviously two very high-profile people going out with each other. Show business in this particular country is very popular, as it is across the world.
Now, the two have been thought to be living apart for recent weeks after friends say that they had many blazing rouse. They were married about four years ago back in June, 2002, in an Irish castle. That was a private affair.
And then a couple of years later Heather Mills gave birth to a baby. They named it Beatrice. Sir Paul McCartney also has three children from his previous marriage.
And the two say that they have come under a lot of pressure because the British tabloids have been criticizing Heather Mills tremendously over the past four years. In fact, at one point, Sir Paul McCartney actually wrote her a message on Heather Mills' Web site to say, please leave her alone, you're being too intrusive, too spiteful, and much of what you're writing is just not truthful. So they have been under pressure.
Now, obviously, as they are saying they're going to split, the speculation is rife about exactly what the financial situation will be. The former Beatle legend is worth about $1.4 billion, apparently. His personal fortune is worth that much. And Heather Mills did offer to give a prenuptial and sign a prenuptial agreement before the wedding, but Sir Paul McCartney said that he thought that was unromantic.
So speculation is how much money will she get if they do, in fact, go ahead with a divorce. Some speculation saying it could be as much as $400 million. But the couple through their P.R. companies at the moment are saying they just need time to get through this very difficult time, especially as there is a young baby involved as well.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, London.
KAGAN: More on the McCartneys now. Heather Mills McCartney is known for her campaign against landmines, fur and leather. She and her husband, Sir Paul, talked about her passion. It was just two months ago when they appeared together on "LARRY KING LIVE".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL MCCARTNEY, SINGER: She has made a stance from the word go, and she doesn't use fur or leather in any of her collections. And actually, these boots Heather has on...
HEATHER MILLS MCCARTNEY, ACTIVIST: These boots, they look like leather that I've got on, and they're not. They're just a plastic.
P. MCCARTNEY: They're fake leather.
H. MCCARTNEY: They're just a fake leather.
P. MCCARTNEY: These boots are made for walking, Larry, and one of these days, you know what's going to happen.
H. MCCARTNEY: I'll walk right over you
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Well, they were smiling then.
You can catch Larry King's interviews weeknights at 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
If you're in the market for a new home, one California broker may have exactly what you're looking for, but then again, maybe not. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange to explain more on that -- Susan.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
KAGAN: I want to show you some new pictures we're getting in. This is Lawrence, Massachusetts. The flooding continues.
I think we have those pictures. Well, there we go. New pictures right there.
Oh, so still big water problems, even though the rain has subsided. We're going to get a report from what's happening in New England, also the weather picture with our Jacqui Jeras just ahead.
Also ahead, sorry, guys. Nicole Kidman about to hear wedding bells. She's off the market. She's also going to be hearing a lot of country music as well. Details ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: It is a common germ and now it has morphed into a super bug, a bacteria that makes millions of people sick, it makes them even sicker. Now it's spreading outside of hospitals.
Our senior medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, investigates for "AC 360".
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For April Frans, it began with small mysterious bumps on her skin. She had no idea where they could have come from. No recent scrapes or scratches could explain them. But soon they grew to become painful boils on her legs.
APRIL FRANS, MRSA PATIENT: I was embarrassed to go to the doctors because I thought they would tell me it was an STD.
GUPTA: A possible sexually transmitted disease, but she was happily married, not at high risk. Her doctors first concluded that she had a simple staff infection. Treatment was simple. Drain it, clean it, and take antibiotics. But it simply didn't work. And it was only the beginning of what would be a two and a half year ordeal.
April's mysterious ailment only got worse. During that time she gave birth to her son, Owen. She continued to develop painful new boils every month, some as big as golf balls.
FRANS: I had been through about 20 doctors, most of them diagnosed with it an ingrown hair, a spider bite, acne.
GUPTA: All of them wrong. All mistaken diagnoses. It wasn't until last November when April's condition was finally identified. Its true name, Community-acquired Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. It's a long name for a brand new kind of illness, or a bug, if you will, one that doctors know surprisingly little about.
FRANS: I've had some doctors say, well, it's serious; and other doctors say, oh, everybody has it.
GUPTA: Confused by the mixed messages, April took her diagnosis and went in search of facts. She learned her superbug, MRSA, could be lethal.
While the vast majority of patients will develop skin infections, at least 6 percent will suffer from serious effects from the disease, such as infections of the blood, bone, or muscle, pneumonia, even death.
Take a look at this CT scan. You can you see part of this man's abdominal wall had to be removed after it was destroyed by the infection. It is only treatable by rarer, often more expensive antibiotics. In many cases IV lines and isolation are required. Similar antibiotic resistant staff infections were once found only in hospitals where antibiotics are used in abundance. Now these new kinds of MRSA are spreading fast, even in people who rarely use antibiotics. For medical researchers, it's an urgent challenge.
DR. SUSAN RAY, EMORY DIVISION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We don't know how it's made the jump. The germ developed this resistance in the community and separate from the hospital.
GUPTA: One theory points to the misuse of antibiotics.
DR. JONATHON JACOBS, NY-PRESBYTERIAN WEILL CORNELL: I don't think the spread of MRSA is surprising at all. Every time we use antibiotics inappropriately, they see what we can use against them, and the resistant ones tend to flourish.
GUPTA: And new strains with ominous names such as USA300 can spread quickly.
Interestingly, people could be carriers and infect others without showing any signs of illness themselves. Outbreaks have been reported in prisons, daycare centers, military barracks, gyms, and locker rooms, places where people live in close quarters, and potentially have poor hygiene and broken skin.
RAY: How is MRSA spread? We would like to know for sure so that we could stop it. Having active skin lesions is probably the most important risk factor for spreading to others.
GUPTA: No doctor can tell April if she'll ever be truly cured, but she tries to contain the MRSA by washing her hands, wiping down surfaces, spraying disinfectant on doorknobs and toys. But despite her disinfecting rituals at home, her 1-year-old developed boils. He was hospitalized for three days.
FRANS: My friends couldn't come over without wearing a gown and a glove to hold my son, which was very hard for me. Actually what went through my mind at that point was, it was all my fault.
GUPTA: In fact, experts say, spreading this new kind of staff superbug is common among families.
RAY: These are not parents that are neglecting their children or doing a bad job. This is just a very strong germ.
GUPTA: So how did April get infected in the first place? No one knows. Both her husband and their older child, 7-year-old Cathy, have been tested. Doctors say it didn't come from them.
FRANS: It's kind of hard because I don't really know what it is, and, you know, there's no real answer on what causes it or how I got it.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE) KAGAN: Dr. Sanjay Gupta's part of a team covering the world for "ANDERSON COOPER 360" weeknights at 10:00 Eastern. To get your daily dose of health news online, log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and information on health and fitness. The address is CNN.com/health.
I want to show you two stories we're following, developing stories. This is from New Orleans. This is a huge warehouse fire, a four-alarm fire at this warehouse. It's along the Mississippi River in New Orleans. It sent a huge cloud of smoke into the area above New Orleans today. No reports of any injuries. It's burning in the Lower Garden District, near the New Orleans Convention Center. As you can see, they're not only using fire trucks, but helicopters being brought in to drop huge loads of water as well. No injuries there.
And now live pictures from Lawrence, Massachusetts. They are watching the Powwow River, keeping a close eye on a dam that hold back the Powwow River. There's a torrent of water. This is of course all the rain that's been there over the past week, even though the skies are cleared. The water still a huge problem. It has flooded much of New Hampshire and parts of Massachusetts as well. There's a stone wall that's part of the dam that holds back the Powwow river. It flows into the Merrimack, and that stone wall began to shift yesterday. It's holding for now, but officials are worried that debris caused by the eroding banks or pieces of the dam could block the river and flood the town, so we're watching that from Massachusetts.
Katrina was the wakeup call, but some coastal residents hit the snooze button on that. New poll finding most are not prepared if a hurricane strikes. Sixty percent of those questioned in the Mason Dixon poll say they have no disaster plan, none. Sixty-eight percent don't have a hurricane-survival kit, and 83 percent have taken no steps to make their home stronger in the event of a hurricane. The poll finds Florida residents are better prepared than others along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
Also from Florida, a gator hunter's work is never done.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been tired for five days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: It's a busy time for Florida trappers. CNN LIVE TODAY goes gator hunting.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Absolutely incredible pictures coming your way out of New Orleans this morning coming our way, a huge warehouse fire, a four- alarm warehouse fire. Live pictures there. You can see the huge plumes of smoke that are over the skies of New Orleans this morning.
Reporter Dave McNamara with our affiliate WWL is very close to the scene.
Dave, any word on the cause of this fire?
DAVE MCNAMARA, WWL REPORTER: No, Daryn, there's not yet. The firefighters are still very much involved in trying to knock this blaze down. This is about two blocks upriver from the large New Orleans Convention Center. I guess the one thing that's working in firefighters' favor is that the wind direction is blowing the smoke and the flames toward the river, and not toward any of the structures that would be in the area.
This is one of the New Orleans riverfront landmarks, the twin smoke stacks of an old steel mill. Well, this would be right next to where that steel mill is. Don't know what's causing this. This is a scene reminiscent of what we were seeing almost nine months ago with Hurricane Katrina. This fire is on the scale of that large warehouse fire you probably remember that erupted down the riverfront just after Katrina, and we've got, you know, the water-toting helicopters that have been pulled into service for this, and they will circle the fire, scoop up water, we assume, from the river on the other side of where we are, drop their load of water on the flames and make another circle back to get more, and they have a couple, two or three, helicopters that are involved in that operation, along with New Orleans fire crews that are fighting the blaze from the ground.
One thing we're keeping an eye on, there's a rail line that runs on the city side of where those warehouses are. There's a train that's right alongside the warehouse, and we see a number of tank cars that are also very close to where this fire is. We don't know what's in the tank cars. We're not sure of what hazard that may pose, but we do see that a number of fire trucks have positioned themselves between that rail line and the burning warehouse. This fire has been under way for in excess of an hour now, still has some fight left to it, as you can see in your live pictures, a lot of smoke, although we're seeing more of the white smoke now, which tends to indicate that they're beginning to suppress some of the flames.
KAGAN: Dave, let me ask you this, because you mentioned right after Katrina, and it was right after Katrina that we saw big problem fighting fires, because of electricity being out and the water lines not being restored, would that still be a case in this Lower Garden District now?
MCNAMARA: No, actually, Daryn, this is an area that was spared much of Katrina's damage. This area did not flood. This area has had utilities since fairly soon after the hurricane. This would be on the uptown end of New Orleans, you know, the higher ground, so they've had working water in this area for months, and so that should not be an issue. There may have been perhaps some confusion or difficulty in getting some of the fire engines across to where this is, because we have this train that seems to be blocking perhaps some of the access to that area, but fire crews were able to get inside, and it also looks like we may be getting some water on the riverside, perhaps in some of ports. Fire boats that may be fighting it from that side of the fire as well.
KAGAN: Any word on any injuries?
MCNAMARA: No. We have some medics that are standing by in the area. We have not gotten word on any injuries at this point, not to say that there haven't been. Typically in this kind of a situation, as smoky as this (INAUDIBLE), you can perhaps have firefighters that may have breathed too much of the smoke out here. The other thing is we don't know what's burning yet. We don't know what may have been soared in this riverfront wharf. This is a very active port, and a number of materials come and go from this facility here.
KAGAN: And we'll check back with you. Dave McNamara on the phone from our affiliate WWL, watching the huge warehouse fire in New Orleans.
Thank you, Dave.
On to Florida now. More than a dozen fatal gator attacks over six decades, and then suddenly there were three in a matter of days. So who are folks in Florida calling? The gator hunters. They've never known times like these.
CNN's Susan Candiotti has a story that aired on "ANDERSON COOPER 360."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Todd Hardwick catches gators for a living. In 25 years he's reeled in more than 1,000 of them. Compares it to riding a bucking bronco and taping its snout shut. Sometimes Hardwick asks a reporter to hold the catch pole while he catches his breath.
TODD HARDWICK, ALLIGATOR HUNTER: I have been tired for five days.
CANDIOTTI: He's been going nonstop since the first of three women were killed by three different alligators in Florida. Yovy Suarez Jimenez, jogging at dusk near Fort Lauderdale probably took a break along a canal when an alligator, suspected to be this nine-foot alligator, attacked. Her arms were found in its stomach. More than 100 miles away, another young woman went snorkeling in a canal. Friends found her with her head caught in a gator's jaws. It was too late to save her. Also last weekend, a third woman was found floating in a canal behind some homes. Todd Hardwick, veteran hunter, never at a loss for words, finally is.
HARDWICK: I'm speechless. I mean, I'm absolutely stunned.
CANDIOTTI: Of 20 fatal attacks in nearly 60 years in Florida, Hardwick cannot recall three so close together.
HARDWICK: People forget that an alligator is a cold-blooded predatory reptile. In that split second, he just, bam, gets it, pulls it into the water, game over.
CANDIOTTI: Florida wildlife agents say this year's dry season is not that unusual, and mating season's the same. It's just that man continues to elbow in on the alligator's habitat.
HARDWICK: Everybody wants their alligator caught first. Everybody's got the biggest, meanest alligator.
CANDIOTTI: And because of the string of attacks, trappers' phones are ringing off the hook.
HARDWICK: These are all state permits to go and remove alligators. They said that he was out of the water on the land and they would like him removed as soon as possible, that he's eaten three ducks already.
CANDIOTTI: Over the years Hardwick has suffered only one serious injury. He took a giant hook in an arm when a line came loose and a gator's rolls made the cut even deeper. Most trapped gators are killed. Their hide, meat, skull all sold. If attacked, same advice that you get if it were a shark. Fight for your life.
HARDWICK: Smack this gator, punch him, gouge his eyes out. They want an easy prey.
CANDIOTTI: P.S. Because the population is so healthy at a million and a half, hunting season is starting earlier this year.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Whoa. ANDERSON COOPER, always on the hunt for good stories. He serves them up on "AC 360" weeknights at 10:00 Eastern.
Well, you're going to love this story. This guy shows up at a TV station. He thinks he's there for a job interview. Oops, a little mixup and ends up live on television being interviewed. They thought he was somebody else. You got see the expression on his face.
Stay tuned. We'll show it to you, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: This just in to CNN out of Houston, Texas. We're getting word that the Enron case in the federal trial has gone to the jury, so deliberations begin there. Jeffrey Skilling and the founder of Enron, Ken Lay, are charged with intentionally lying about the health of their company while dumping $500 million in their own stock. Those are charges that they have both vehemently denied, and both took the stand in their own defense. Now their fate and their futures is in the hand of this federal jury in Houston, Texas. We will watch how that comes in.
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
KAGAN: From what looks like kind of a nightmarish day on Wall Street to talk about dreams, there's a new technique that uses your dreams to work out the problems you face when you're awake.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you dream in color?
BOB STICKGOLD, HARVARD DREAM RESEARCHER: I do.
GUPTA: Do you dream with sound?
STICKGOLD: Yes.
GUPTA: Can you dream your own death?
STICKGOLD: Yes.
GUPTA (voice over): Harvard dream researcher Bob Stickgold believes dreams are important and can be educational. But...
STICKGOLD: A lot of our dreams are probably just goofy dreams. And to read too much into that is probably a waste of time.
GUPTA: Yet, for many of us, dreams hold a key to a deeper understanding of ourselves. Even the goofy ones.
JUSTINA LASLEY, DREAM GROUP LEADER: A dream is multifaceted. You can look at it from different viewpoints.
GUPTA: Author and dream analyst Justina Lasley is a dream group leader.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The title of my dream is...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Misplaced items.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the cabins looked the same.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My dream that I want to share was...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Taking pictures of the fog.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I first recorded the dream, I didn't see all this.
LASLEY: The dream group just multiplies the amount of impact that one dream can have on one individual.
GUPTA: This group has met for more than 10 years. They say they've gained confidence, insight, and new ways of using their dreams in their waking lives.
CORINNE ADAMS, DREAM GROUP PARTICIPANT: I kind of float out with some kind of wisdom, some -- some little extra bit of wisdom.
EMILY WOOD, DREAM GROUP PARTICIPANT: The whole idea that I would take the job that I have now, I don't know that I would have had -- had an idea that I would do that.
PAULA MCINERNY, DREAM GROUP PARTICIPANT: Someone will say something that touches a nerve, something that I haven't been able to share or even think about. And it just opens the floodgates.
TALLULAH LYONS, DREAM GROUP PARTICIPANT: The important thing has been the recognition of patterns and themes. I want to go to sleep so that I can dream. And I think that makes a big difference.
GUPTA: A difference that she and others work on seeing when they're awake.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: The guessing game is over for one hot celebrity couple. Country star Keith Urban may be singing "You're My Better Half" for his girlfriend, Nicole Kidman. The actress called Urban her fiance to "People" magazine and Reuters reports that Urban's publicist has confirmed their engagement. Nicole and Urban met last year at a dinner in Australia, where they were both brought up. No word on when the wedding would take place.
A guy named Guy goes for a job interview. Well, poor guy -- he ended up live on the news. The shocking interview and his experience, just ahead on LIVE TODAY.
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KAGAN: We admit it -- sometimes we TV people goof up. And it happened to our colleagues at the BBC. They put the wrong guy on the air, and they did it live.
Our Jeanne Moos tells the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the story of two guys named Guy and how the BBC got the wrong guy, not Guy Kewney, but Guy Goma.
GUY GOMA, WRONG GUY: I was so shocked.
MOOS: You'd be shocked, too, if you came to the BBC applying for a job in the I.T. department and then ended up live on TV, being mistakenly introduced as an expert on a complex court case involving Apple.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So what does this all mean for the industry and the growth of music online. Well, Guy Kewney is the editor of the technology Web site "News Wireless." Hello, good morning to you.
MOOS: As the BBC's competition put it...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There had been a monumental mix-up.
MOOS: The British papers are having a field day. The real expert and the job seeker were waiting in separate reception rooms when a producer went to the wrong room and brought out the wrong guy. That look of shock is worth a second look.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, Guy Kewney is the editor of the technology Web site "News Wireless." Hello, good morning to you.
GOMA: Good morning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were you surprised by this verdict today?
GOMA: I'm very surprised to see this verdict to come on me because I was not expecting that.
MOOS: Meanwhile, the real expert, Guy Kewney was still in reception watching himself being introduced on TV.
GUY KEWNEY, RIGHT GUY: It was one of those moments that you think, good God, what's going on? There can't be another bloke called Guy Kewney.
MOOS: The wrong Guy tried valiantly to answer questions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think now more people will be downloading online?
GOMA: Actually, if you look everywhere, you're going to see a lot of people downloading.
MOOS: Later, he described the experience like this.
GOMA: I was like scared, I said whoa.
MOOS: But he didn't say whoa. He kept going. Maybe he should have gotten a hint this wasn't the usual job interview earlier.
(on camera): So after they pick up the wrong guy at reception, they bring him up to a room where they do what they do to all TV guests -- put on makeup.
GOMA: They start brushing my face. I say, "What's going on here?"
MOOS: Now what's going on is that the tabloids are fighting over the wrong Guy. BBC apologized and interviewed both Guys, since Guy Goma was so good at being an expert.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While we've got you who here, E.U. membership for Bulgaria and Romania, do you think that's a good thing?
GOMA: Not really.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think interest rates are going to go up or down in the next four weeks?
GOMA: Ah...
MOOS: Ah's not for experts. And neither is this face.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: The wrong Guy, but a great guy. Thank you, Jeanne.
I'm Daryn Kagan. International news is up next.
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