Return to Transcripts main page
Next@CNN
Hubble Space Telescope Takes Pictures Of Oldest Known Galaxies; Venice Sinking Beneath Famous Canals; What Does It Take To Build The World's Fastest Swimsuit?
Aired March 13, 2004 - 15:00 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.
DANIEL SIEBERG, TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Hi Fred, that's right. They came, they crashed. They tried to go far, they made it a few miles and in the end, none of the 15 autonomous robots that arrived here in Barstow, California, were able to complete the race. And we're here at the start area where it's very quiet right now. They had set up this area to start the race early this morning. A lot of activity frenetic activity as the teams started the race, trying to make it across the desert terrain about 200 miles from here Barstow to just outside Prim, Nevada.
The teams, this race was open to anybody. It was sponsored by Darpa, which is the research agency of the defense department, trying to find new ideas for autonomous vehicles. There is a congressional mandate for 2015 to have a third of the military vehicles unmanned or autonomous. The reason behind that is it would allow soldiers to not be put in harm's way and these robots could then do sort of the dull, dirty or dangerous work, instead of the actual soldiers on the battlefield.
Now as we are saying none of the robots were able to complete it. Some of them made it several miles. Most of them didn't get that far. And so they had to call the race. But these teams have been working for quite awhile. In fact they've been working on these projects for several months. There was a qualification process this week in which time they had to go through certain obstacles and certain trials before they could even get to this point to try to get that million dollars.
And there was a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of optimism behind these teams. They represented everybody from Carnegie Mellon University to Virginia Tech. Even a group of high school students were involved in this race. So it was certainly open to everybody to try and compete, in the end no one did, so the race is open for another couple of years. Darpa says that million-dollar prize may be available in a couple of years, about 2006 when they might hold this race again.
All of the robots operated in similar manner using GPS, laser, sonar, computer programs, everything they could to try to traverse the desert terrain. Very challenging to try to go 200 miles even admitted by the organizers here, by Darpa. They realize it's very difficult to try to get across this terrain. Even during the qualification round there was some trouble with getting off the start line for some of the teams. But the enthusiasm is still here.
Darpa says they're optimistic about the future. That this is a learning experience and in the years ahead these autonomous vehicles will be refined and that they will be available in a more widely basis. In fact maybe even used by civilians. For now I'm Daniel Sieberg, live in Barstow, California. "NEXT@CNN" begins right now.
ANNOUNCER: Today on NEXT@CNN, the Hubble space telescope takes a picture of galaxies from the beginning of the universe. But the end may be near for the orbiting telescope.
Also, the water that gives Venice its famous canals is slowly destroying the ancient city. We'll show you a plan to reduce the damage, and tell you why some people oppose it.
And what does it take to make the world's fastest swimsuit? All that, and more, on "Next."
SIEBERG: Well the road to Darpa's robot race has been a long and bumpy one, and even a little windy sometimes. The teams spent much of the past week here at the California speedway in Fontana tinkering with their creations and testing whether they were up to the challenges of the cross-country race. They can't bleed, they don't get tired and they can't feel any emotions. That's just the way the military wants them.
But their human creators have invested blood, sweat, and yes probably some tears, so the bots may one day replace soldiers in situations that are dull, dirty or dangerous.
JOSE NEGRON, DARPA RACE DIRECTOR: Unfortunately, combat is ugly and they will always have to go to harm's way. But if we can avoid as many and save as many human beings as we can, then that's what we're going to do.
SIEBERG: The size of the robots varies almost as much as the diverse backgrounds of the teams. Carnegie Mellon University has a long history with robotics but one of its team members admits there's still a long way to go.
JAY GOWDY, CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY: It's very hard to get people to realize that they are so much more capable than any robotic system now and will be for a long time. All of the robotic systems you see working now work by cheating. They work by shooting out laser beams and measuring how far away things are.
They work by shooting out sound beams and bouncing them off. There's not a robot out there, which can really look out, understand its environment and navigate around in it.
SIEBERG: But even with the long road ahead the enthusiasm behind robotics is contagious for beginners. Take team logic, robot rookies from Walden, New York. They managed to enter with a budget of under $10,000. That's a fraction of the other competitors. After taking advantage of an online auction site.
SETH GABE, LOGIC TEAM LEADER: Ebay basically, I got everything at 10 percent or less of retail value, GPS $600. When it would have been $6,000. I got our laser sensor for $50 instead of $3,000 because the person didn't know what it was.
SIEBERG: Robotics as a whole is still largely unfamiliar to people. And it could stay that way for a while, at least until all the kinks are worked out.
GOWDY: Robots are going to fail. Robots are going to kill people accidentally. That is going to happen. And many of the civilian ventures know that when that happens they're going to get sued. But the military is much more interested in saving their soldiers' lives and being more effective. And so it's a place where we can actually develop these technologies to the point where they will be safe for civilians and will make civilians' lives easier.
SIEBERG: All right, well the Darpa race is part of an effort to develop future robots for military tasks. Some present day robots are hard at work on Mars. The Rover Spirit sent back pictures of what scientists are calling the Laguna trench. That is an area where the Rover has gouged out the Martian soil in order to study the minerals underneath.
It also took pictures looking out into space, including the first image ever taken of earth taken from another planet. Earth is kind of hard to see in the glow of sunrise in the bigger picture. But easier to see in the inset. The Hubble space telescope delivered a prize to astronomers this week, the deepest ever view of the universe. A photo of light that had been traveling through space for billions of years. Miles O'Brien has the story.
MILES O'BRIEN, SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Take a look back, way back in time. It's the universe, as we have never seen it, young, odd- shaped galaxies growing, exploding, and devouring each other. A tough neighborhood captured by the Hubble space telescope.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just unbelievable.
O'BRIEN: It is a longtime exposure of a piece of seemingly dark sky near Orion about a tenth of the diameter of the moon. There are at least 10,000 galaxies here, as they looked as relative youngsters about 12 billion years ago.
STEVE BECKWITH, DIRECTOR SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INST: At the depth of the ultra deep field there must be more than a trillion galaxies on the whole sky. And each of those galaxies contains roughly 100 billion stars.
O'BRIEN: But it could be Hubble's last big hit. A shuttle mission to make repairs, add two new instruments and extend Hubble's life should have been under way about now. But in January, NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe canceled all future shuttle missions to the telescope, leaving Hubble to deteriorate and ultimately expire in orbit in two to four years.
SEAN O'KEEFE, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: I'm not happy with the way this decision needs to work out. I'd rather it not be this way. But I think it's the only responsible thing to do. O'BRIEN: At least a couple of Senators are not happy about it either. Senators Christopher Bond and Barbara Mikulski Thursday asked O'Keefe to consult the National Academy of Sciences before scrapping Hubble. O'Keefe agreed to talk to the NAS but he says safety rules in the wake of the "Columbia" accident prevent a Hubble repair mission.
The accident board told NASA future shuttle flights not headed to the International Space Station and safe harbor must adhere to a more rigorous set of standards for on-orbit inspections, repairs, and even rescue by another shuttle. All of it is unproven, and unrealistic, according to O'Keefe.
O'KEEFE: It comes down to the basic fundamental that you either comply with the recommendations of the "Columbia" accident investigation board report, or you do the Hubble servicing mission. One or the other, you can't do both.
O'BRIEN: But many astronomers and engineers beg to differ.
ROBERT ZUBRIN, PRESIDENT MASS SOCIETY: If we give up Hubble out of fear, we give up the human exploration of space. In the human exploration of space, cowardice is not an option.
O'BRIEN: Astronomers say there is plenty more science for Hubble to do and the telescope would be ten times more powerful than shuttle astronauts could spend some time under the hood.
BECKWITH: Personally, I would take the risk to service Hubble if it were my life. But I couldn't ask someone else to do that. That's a difficult decision that people in NASA have to make.
O'BRIEN: Of course, it is administrator Sean O'Keefe who does have to do that. And while there is no doubt no shortage of astronauts willing and eager to fly to Hubble, no one wants the task of explaining why an accident wasn't avoided.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Coming up, Britain gives the green light to some genetically modified crops, and that's got green groups seeing red.
And later in the show, what can or should be done about a Web site that may endanger police officers and their families?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SIEBERG: After years of tests, and protests, the British government this week approved a commercial crop of genetically modified corn. The crop will be used for cattle feed and won't be planted until next year. Now except for Spain, European union countries have balked at planting crops that have been genetically altered. But as Jim Bolden reports, GM crops have taken root in a lot of other places.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM BOLDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bob Fiddaman is one of the few European farmers who has grown a disease resistant genetically modified crop. But it was only a trial for the British government. The crop had to be destroyed. He hopes he can soon commercially grow GM crops like potatoes.
BOB FIDDAMAN, NATIONAL FARMERS UNION: I mean, it would save thousands of tons of chemicals. It would help everybody including the old guy who suffers from organ blight just the same as a conventional grower and it will be a real benefit to the environment because we will not need to use the pesticides that may say they don't wish to use.
BOLDEN: But because of public pressure, Europe has not approved any new GM crops over the past six years. Until Britain's tentative approval of GM maize on Tuesday. So less than 1 percent of the world's GM crops are grown in Europe. Something anti-GM campaigners are proud of.
CLAIRE OXBORROW, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH: A lot of European countries are still keen to kind of keep their areas GM free. There's a grain movement now across Britain and across Europe for GM free areas.
BOLDEN: The opposite is happening around the world. A fifth of all farm acreage is now planted with GM. Two-thirds of all that is grown in the United States, including most of its soybean and cotton, and nearly half its corn. A third of GM is now grown in Argentina, Canada and China. The U.S. government is pushing Europe, through the world trade organization, to open up to GM imports and to more planting. European biotech firms like Sentenga (ph) Navartison (ph) buyers say more European countries are close to lifting their GM moratorium.
JULIAN LITTLE, BAYER CROPSCIENCE: This year, looks as if the year, the breaking of that moratorium. All of the laws that were requested by the various countries are now in place, and we can move on, on a case-by-case basis.
BOLDEN: Britons will soon see labels on their food that has GM. Biotech firms say that will give consumers choice. Anti-GM groups say people won't buy GM once they clearly see it's in their food.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIEBERG: Remember the string of arson attacks on SUV dealerships in southern California last summer? The fires supposedly were set in the name of the underground Ecogroup Earth Liberation Front. Well authorities arrested a Cal Tech grad student Tuesday. William Catrail (ph) is being held without bail pending a hearing later this month. The man arrested earlier Josh Canoll (ph) says the FBI now owes him an apology.
It's true that American cars have long been a reliable source of jokes. But now they're turning out to be reliable in a different way. "Consumer Reports" released its latest survey of reliability and top picks this week and it has some surprises. Fred Katayama reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRED KATAYAMA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Quality and style, the hallmarks of European cars. But after a long, steady climb. Detroit's rugged automakers finally pulled ahead of the Europeans in reliability. The first time they've done that since "Consumer Reports" began tracking regional competition in 1980. The magazine says that Europeans averaged two more defects per 100 vehicles than American cars and trucks last year. Twenty-four years ago, the U.S., once a laughingstock, had double that of its western rival.
MICHAEL FLYNN, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: They're doing a number of things right. They've been making for some years now a series of incremental improvements in how they design and build cars. In addition to that they're also paying I think more attention to supplier quality than perhaps they used to. So they're looking at what their suppliers are doing.
KATAYAMA: Even Europe's luxury brands slipped in the reliability ratings, scoring well below average every model put out by Mercedes- Benz, all Audis, even BMW's pricey 7 Series. The most improved player, Ford. Witness the Focus.
DAVID CHAMPION, CONSUMER REPORTS: When it was released, it had a lot of problems and we couldn't recommend it because of reliability. This year, the reliability has come up to average for the 2003 model year, above average for the Focus.
KATAYAMA: Still the Asians are miles ahead with one-third fewer defects. After enduring a series of rigid tests, Japanese brands dominated the list of top picks that weigh performance, reliability and safety. The top three row sport utility the Honda Pilot. The VW Passat tied the Honda Accord for best family sedan. The Ford Focus topped the small car in fun to drive categories. But it's the sole American on the list.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Coming up, Cyber cam painting has become as important as old-fashioned stump speeches and media buys. We'll take a look at how it happened.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SIEBERG: Computers play an essential role with the participants here at the Darpa Grand Challenge, whether they're in the garage or on the racetrack. You can bet that even robots are sick of spam. Well four major Internet service providers said this week that they've started suing spammers. The lawsuits were announced on Wednesday by Microsoft, Earthlink, Yahoo! And AOL, which is part of CNN's parent company Time Warner.
Hundreds of people being sued are identified as John Doe at this point. Now lawyers say they're confident that they can find out the real identities of the spammers. The lawsuits are the first major industry move under the new Can Spam Law that took effect January 1st.
Well another week of primary voting and another week of scattered glitches with electronic voting machines. In the Florida primary on Tuesday, most voters using electronic touch screens had no problems. But in a few precincts voters didn't get to cast primary ballots at all. That's because poll workers pressed the wrong button. The next day Florida Senator Bob Graham and New York Senator Hillary Clinton announced that they'll introduce legislation requiring a paper trail to back up electronic voting throughout the country.
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, (D) NEW YORK: This legislation will ensure that voters will be able to verify a paper ballot that accurately reflects their intentions, and that will be locked away, and will be the official ballot in the event of a recount.
SIEBERG: And the Internet as a whole has played a bigger role in this election season than in any other. And much of the credit, or blame goes to a grassroots Web site called Moveon.org. A handful of people started this site in their homes and now it claims 2 million members. More from Kathleen Koch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESOPNDENT: As much as Democrats love it --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I want to especially thank Moveon.org.
KOCH: Republicans loathe it.
ED GILLESPIE, CHAIRMAN REPUBLICAN NATL. CMTE: It's not appropriate political discourse.
KOCH: But everyone agrees Moveon.org is changing American politics. From the living room of the California couple that started it in 1998, the liberal grassroots Web site has ballooned to some 2 million active contributing members.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This song is a song and a prayer for peace.
KOCH: Move On has mobilized massive anti-war protests. Jammed Capitol Hill phones and faxes and raised millions for hard-hitting ads, including one calling the president a liar.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Saddam Hussein had an advanced nuclear weapons development program.
BILL GREENE: Moveon.org keeps us pretty busy.
KOCH: Bill Greene helped launch the conservative Web site Rightmarch.com a year ago. One of many trying to blunt the liberal organization's impact.
GREENE: Whenever say Moveon takes a particular action, we very quickly put together a counteraction, a countermove.
HOWARD DEAN, (D) PRESIDENTAL CANIDATE: Like moveon.org we seek to build a community of millions and strengthen the voice of our people. KOCH: Howard Dean adopted Moveon's tactics giving him an early boost. Even the Bush/Cheney campaign has focused its unusual efforts toward online constituents, releasing its first campaign ad not on TV, but on the Internet.
MICHAEL: They really have shown people that the Internet is hospitable, not just to protest, but for establishment politics, as well. Moveon has shown people how to use the Internet to work the system.
KOCH: And, say observers, shown Democrats how to get tough.
CHUCK TODO: Made the Democratic Party a little more aggressive and in some ways a little more like how the Republican Party has been. The Republican Party is very much, much more unified in its message.
KOCH: But some point out Moveon hasn't been able to change policy. Here at the White House or on Capitol Hill. Organizers insist they're getting closer.
BILL PARISER COHEN, FOUNDER MOVEON.ORG: We'd love to see one day that ordinary people actually can effectively counter in all circumstances, you know, big money and special interests. And that day is probably a ways off. But we're going to move towards it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Coming up in our next half hour, why would anybody deliberately drive into a tornado?
And the long-awaited NEXT@CNN swimsuit edition. It's probably not what you're thinking. But check it out anyway.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta. NEXT@CNN continues in a moment, but first a check at the headlines. As funerals begin for some of the 200 people killed in the Madrid terrorist attacks. And thousands of people crowd the streets in anti- government movement. The government announces that authorities have detained several suspects in the case. Brent Sadler joins us now from Madrid with the latest -- Brent.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Fredericka. Dramatic developments here over the past hour. The Spanish authorities announcing that they have arrested 5, including 3 Morrocans and 2 other of Hindu origin, they say. They have been formally arrested. Two others of Spanish origin; Indians, are being held for questioning at this stage.
The announcement of those arrests and questioning came at the same time as thousands of Spaniards and other nationalities came out on the streets of central Madrid to protest outside the headquarters of the ruling Popular Party, claiming that the ruling Popular Party had been covering up information about an Islamic terror link so as to protect the ruling coalition at the polls when Spaniards vote Sunday -- Fredericka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Brent Sadler, thanks very much for that report coming from Madrid there. We'll have more news on this later on and throughout the evening right here on CNN. Now back to more of NEXT@CNN.
SIEBERG: Welcome back to NEXT@CNN. Coming to you this week from the DARPA Grand Challenge, here in California. Now, if you think that robots racing across the desert for a million dollar prize is unusual, and it kind of is. Consider the folks who race through wind and rain to catch a tornado. CNN meteorologist Chad Myers caught up with a pair of storm chasers in Oklahoma.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Looks like we've got a warning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) has issued a tornado warning for Herman County and southwest Oklahoma.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: This is not what we expected. A month ago we called storm chaser's Val and Amy Castor who track tornadoes for KWTV in Oklahoma City to ask if we could conduct an interview, to take a look at their tracking equipment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ...environmental conditions are favorable for widespread wind damage and tornadoes with these storms.
MYERS: Then we could not imagine this day we'd see the first tornadoes to touch down in Oklahoma since last May. So the husband and wife team invited us to tag along for a real-life tornado chase. We knew we were in good hands; the chase vehicle looked like a storm center.
VAL CASTOR, SENIOR STORM TRACKER: We've got a laptop computer with GPS and mapping. We've got ways to send back live audio and live video, and we've got scanners, we've got radios, we've got three cell phones in there.
MYERS: But even with all their experience and technology, Val says actually seeing a tornado is rare.
We don't get to see tornadoes a lot of the time. I mean, as a matter of fact, it's probably one out of every twelve times to where we see a tornado.
MYERS (on camera): Tornado chasing has a lot of hurry up and wait. But right now, it's hurry up. We're on our way back to Oklahoma City to get away from the storm that's behind us.
(voice-over): And then, we waited.
Over the past ten years the National Weather Service says the 1,000 tornadoes reported yearly nationwide kill about 80, and injure some 1500 more. CASTOR: I've seen it take cars off the ground, and carry cars a couple hundred yards in the air -- you know, and roll them on the ground and just twist them up -- you know, I've seen it blow away entire houses.
MYERS: Helping TV, radio and the weather service get storm information to the public is what drives the Castors to chase tornadoes 50,000 miles a year.
CASTOR: Why do I chase? Because I love it. People call us nuts, people think we're crazy, but it does take a special type of person to do it, and the main reason we do that is to try and save lives.
MYERS: No lives were lost this day, although 16 tornadoes were reported, we never saw one.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIEBERG: The soaring price of natural gas has utility companies rethinking their dependence on the fuel. Many are putting coal fired plants back on the drawing board. Some environmentalists are concerned about the rush to coal, but experts say there's no cause for concern. Ceci Rodgers has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CECI RODGERS, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's no shortage of coal in the United States, and that's probably the main reason utilities are eager to build more coal fired plants.
ROGER DENNISON: The future of coal is really looking bright because it's plentiful and it's very inexpensive way to generate electricity.
RODGERS: Some are even calling it a coal rush. Nearly 100 new power plants fueled by coal are being proposed in 36 states across the U.S. The utility industry hopes fueling plants with coal will help them meet the growing demand for cheap electricity and reduce their dependence on natural gas, whose cost has more than tripled. But environmentalists are worried the new plants will belch out the kind of pollution that prompted the first clean air act more than four decades ago.
JOHN THOMPSON, CLEAN AIR TASK FORCE: Across the nation there's some 50,000 mega watts of new coal being proposed, and almost all of it relies on pulverized coal technology that we've seen since 1950.
RODGERS: The rush to coal comes as federal regulators are about to impose caps on how much mercury, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide can be released into the atmosphere.
BILL WEHRUN, EPA: And, that will be a guarantee of to folks here that emissions, even from new construction are -- cannot exceed current levels and in fact will be significantly lower than current levels once these rules take effect. RODGERS: Bob Macelvein provides research to utilities, regulators, and environmentalists and says every new plant on the drawing board is meeting stringent pollution standards.
ROBERT MCILVAINE, MCILVAINE COMPANY: If you're going to be focusing on the pollution problems, really -- you know, the amount that could be contributed by these new plants is minuscule compared to what's going out of the present plants.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Coming up we'll show you how you can run a background check on yourself, and to tell you why you might want to.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SIEBERG: Say there's a website that describes undercover police officers. Not only that but gives their home addresses and even identifies their children, surely no one would ever put up such a site, and if they did, surely there's a law against that sort of thing, right? Well, since we're bringing it up you probably know the answer to that question. Gary Tuchman reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It isn't hard to spot police officers when they're in uniform, but many cops do their work undercover, in plain clothes for their protection. And that's why a website that has undercover officers' names, addresses, pictures and, in some cases, pictures of their family members, has made many angry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wouldn't want some people that I arrested to know where I live because who knows what they're capable of.
TUCHMAN: The operator of the site is believed to be a New Yorker currently out of the country. Why he's doing this is not clear, but in addition to undercover cops in New York, he also has information about uniformed offices, judges, and federal officials in other parts of the country.
"New York Daily News" reporter Michelle McPhee has been investigating the website.
MICHELLE MCPHEE, "NEW YORK DAILY NEWS": The most egregious thing on the website is descriptions, physical descriptions of both the officers and the officers' children. "So and so jogs in this park at 8:00 a.m."
TUCHMAN: But, is the Web site illegal? As of now, apparently not. MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (R), NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: I don't know who is doing it, and probably can't stop it, but it is irresponsible.
TUCHMAN: Can it be stopped? A congressman is drafting legislation.
REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK: My legislation would say to police departments that they have an absolute to go into a court, and if they can show that a law enforcement official's life would be in danger if an internet website revealed information about them, that they can get an order that an internet service provider would have to take that website down.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Even if such a bill passed, nobody pretends it would be easy to enforce. A spokesman for the NYPD says the department is troubled by the website and would hope it starts getting less publicity.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIEBERG: While we're on the topic of security, a new service makes doing a background check as easy as requesting your credit report, easy not only for employers, but job seekers.
Sharon Collins reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHARON COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With national security on heightened alert, many companies now require deeper background checks for potential employees.
JAMES E. LEE, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER V. P., CHOICEPOINT: What we are seeing employers ask for today, is first and foremost, are you who you say you are? Second, it is criminal history.
COLLINS: A new service by ChoicePoint, an information security firm, is offered on Yahoo! hotjobs.com. It gives job seekers access to much of the data available to would-be employers. People can view their information, in many cases, even before they apply for jobs and ensure that the data sent to potential employers is correct. All for a fee, and at the click of a button.
LEE: You can do it all online. It's all returned to you online.
COLLINS: ChoicePoints services raise from credential and criminal checks to more in-depth inquiries. By accessing public reports from law enforcement, government agencies and educational institutions throughout the country, ChoicePoint says it offers its clients a variety of tools that can unlock the doors to the past.
LEE: People are truly looking for a way to differentiate themselves in the job market. No one's out there corrupting my information, no one has stolen my identity. COLLINS: ChoicePoint says that securing people's personal data is a priority, especially with the risk of identity theft. The company also says that the millions of records stored in their databases are kept confidential. That each search requires authorization by the person to be checked, and unless a report needs more in-depth research, not even ChoicePoint employees have access to that data.
LEE: So if you're checking on yourself, no one sees that information, literally, but you.
COLLINS: The cost for their service ranges from around $25 to over $200, depending on how deeply you want to dig. But, will it help you land a job? According to Kay Brawley of the National Employment Counseling Association, quote, "It would certainly not hurt and would demonstrate the seriousness of the candidate, as well as provide different information than what's usually found in a resume."
And the new site is about to get some competition. Careerbuilder.com plans to roll out its new search service later this month.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: When we come back, Venice, Italy, is known as the bride of the sea. But it may be time for a divorce or at least a legal more personal space. We'll explain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SIEBERG: The city of Venice was built in the marshland of northern Italy by people escaping foreign invaders. But now, 1,500 years later, Venetians cannot escape the fact that their city is sinking. Alessio Vinci reports on what they're trying to do about that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): For centuries, water protected Venice from invaders and has been part of its unique beauty.
But today, that same water may be giving this ancient city its kiss of death. The combination of increasing sea level and land corrosion is causing weekend floods, know here as "aqualta," giving the impression the city is sinking.
The first alarm bell sounded on November the 4th 1966 when a violent storm hit the lagoon, submerging the entire city under almost 2 meters of water. Then, in more recent times, November 2002, with water levels at close to a meter-and-a-half, flooding large portions of Venice. Yet, for millions of tourists visiting Venice each year, all of this has become an attraction and most don't even realize what is really happening.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just quite fascinating, it's an amazing phenomenon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty. I like it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, sure, it's a lot of fun for the people.
VINCI: Don't say that to Elbeno Girardi (PH).
ELBENO GIRARDI, MANAGER, CAFFÈ QUADRI: Not an easy business day, huh?
Aired March 13, 2004 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DANIEL SIEBERG, TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Hi Fred, that's right. They came, they crashed. They tried to go far, they made it a few miles and in the end, none of the 15 autonomous robots that arrived here in Barstow, California, were able to complete the race. And we're here at the start area where it's very quiet right now. They had set up this area to start the race early this morning. A lot of activity frenetic activity as the teams started the race, trying to make it across the desert terrain about 200 miles from here Barstow to just outside Prim, Nevada.
The teams, this race was open to anybody. It was sponsored by Darpa, which is the research agency of the defense department, trying to find new ideas for autonomous vehicles. There is a congressional mandate for 2015 to have a third of the military vehicles unmanned or autonomous. The reason behind that is it would allow soldiers to not be put in harm's way and these robots could then do sort of the dull, dirty or dangerous work, instead of the actual soldiers on the battlefield.
Now as we are saying none of the robots were able to complete it. Some of them made it several miles. Most of them didn't get that far. And so they had to call the race. But these teams have been working for quite awhile. In fact they've been working on these projects for several months. There was a qualification process this week in which time they had to go through certain obstacles and certain trials before they could even get to this point to try to get that million dollars.
And there was a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of optimism behind these teams. They represented everybody from Carnegie Mellon University to Virginia Tech. Even a group of high school students were involved in this race. So it was certainly open to everybody to try and compete, in the end no one did, so the race is open for another couple of years. Darpa says that million-dollar prize may be available in a couple of years, about 2006 when they might hold this race again.
All of the robots operated in similar manner using GPS, laser, sonar, computer programs, everything they could to try to traverse the desert terrain. Very challenging to try to go 200 miles even admitted by the organizers here, by Darpa. They realize it's very difficult to try to get across this terrain. Even during the qualification round there was some trouble with getting off the start line for some of the teams. But the enthusiasm is still here.
Darpa says they're optimistic about the future. That this is a learning experience and in the years ahead these autonomous vehicles will be refined and that they will be available in a more widely basis. In fact maybe even used by civilians. For now I'm Daniel Sieberg, live in Barstow, California. "NEXT@CNN" begins right now.
ANNOUNCER: Today on NEXT@CNN, the Hubble space telescope takes a picture of galaxies from the beginning of the universe. But the end may be near for the orbiting telescope.
Also, the water that gives Venice its famous canals is slowly destroying the ancient city. We'll show you a plan to reduce the damage, and tell you why some people oppose it.
And what does it take to make the world's fastest swimsuit? All that, and more, on "Next."
SIEBERG: Well the road to Darpa's robot race has been a long and bumpy one, and even a little windy sometimes. The teams spent much of the past week here at the California speedway in Fontana tinkering with their creations and testing whether they were up to the challenges of the cross-country race. They can't bleed, they don't get tired and they can't feel any emotions. That's just the way the military wants them.
But their human creators have invested blood, sweat, and yes probably some tears, so the bots may one day replace soldiers in situations that are dull, dirty or dangerous.
JOSE NEGRON, DARPA RACE DIRECTOR: Unfortunately, combat is ugly and they will always have to go to harm's way. But if we can avoid as many and save as many human beings as we can, then that's what we're going to do.
SIEBERG: The size of the robots varies almost as much as the diverse backgrounds of the teams. Carnegie Mellon University has a long history with robotics but one of its team members admits there's still a long way to go.
JAY GOWDY, CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY: It's very hard to get people to realize that they are so much more capable than any robotic system now and will be for a long time. All of the robotic systems you see working now work by cheating. They work by shooting out laser beams and measuring how far away things are.
They work by shooting out sound beams and bouncing them off. There's not a robot out there, which can really look out, understand its environment and navigate around in it.
SIEBERG: But even with the long road ahead the enthusiasm behind robotics is contagious for beginners. Take team logic, robot rookies from Walden, New York. They managed to enter with a budget of under $10,000. That's a fraction of the other competitors. After taking advantage of an online auction site.
SETH GABE, LOGIC TEAM LEADER: Ebay basically, I got everything at 10 percent or less of retail value, GPS $600. When it would have been $6,000. I got our laser sensor for $50 instead of $3,000 because the person didn't know what it was.
SIEBERG: Robotics as a whole is still largely unfamiliar to people. And it could stay that way for a while, at least until all the kinks are worked out.
GOWDY: Robots are going to fail. Robots are going to kill people accidentally. That is going to happen. And many of the civilian ventures know that when that happens they're going to get sued. But the military is much more interested in saving their soldiers' lives and being more effective. And so it's a place where we can actually develop these technologies to the point where they will be safe for civilians and will make civilians' lives easier.
SIEBERG: All right, well the Darpa race is part of an effort to develop future robots for military tasks. Some present day robots are hard at work on Mars. The Rover Spirit sent back pictures of what scientists are calling the Laguna trench. That is an area where the Rover has gouged out the Martian soil in order to study the minerals underneath.
It also took pictures looking out into space, including the first image ever taken of earth taken from another planet. Earth is kind of hard to see in the glow of sunrise in the bigger picture. But easier to see in the inset. The Hubble space telescope delivered a prize to astronomers this week, the deepest ever view of the universe. A photo of light that had been traveling through space for billions of years. Miles O'Brien has the story.
MILES O'BRIEN, SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Take a look back, way back in time. It's the universe, as we have never seen it, young, odd- shaped galaxies growing, exploding, and devouring each other. A tough neighborhood captured by the Hubble space telescope.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just unbelievable.
O'BRIEN: It is a longtime exposure of a piece of seemingly dark sky near Orion about a tenth of the diameter of the moon. There are at least 10,000 galaxies here, as they looked as relative youngsters about 12 billion years ago.
STEVE BECKWITH, DIRECTOR SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INST: At the depth of the ultra deep field there must be more than a trillion galaxies on the whole sky. And each of those galaxies contains roughly 100 billion stars.
O'BRIEN: But it could be Hubble's last big hit. A shuttle mission to make repairs, add two new instruments and extend Hubble's life should have been under way about now. But in January, NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe canceled all future shuttle missions to the telescope, leaving Hubble to deteriorate and ultimately expire in orbit in two to four years.
SEAN O'KEEFE, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: I'm not happy with the way this decision needs to work out. I'd rather it not be this way. But I think it's the only responsible thing to do. O'BRIEN: At least a couple of Senators are not happy about it either. Senators Christopher Bond and Barbara Mikulski Thursday asked O'Keefe to consult the National Academy of Sciences before scrapping Hubble. O'Keefe agreed to talk to the NAS but he says safety rules in the wake of the "Columbia" accident prevent a Hubble repair mission.
The accident board told NASA future shuttle flights not headed to the International Space Station and safe harbor must adhere to a more rigorous set of standards for on-orbit inspections, repairs, and even rescue by another shuttle. All of it is unproven, and unrealistic, according to O'Keefe.
O'KEEFE: It comes down to the basic fundamental that you either comply with the recommendations of the "Columbia" accident investigation board report, or you do the Hubble servicing mission. One or the other, you can't do both.
O'BRIEN: But many astronomers and engineers beg to differ.
ROBERT ZUBRIN, PRESIDENT MASS SOCIETY: If we give up Hubble out of fear, we give up the human exploration of space. In the human exploration of space, cowardice is not an option.
O'BRIEN: Astronomers say there is plenty more science for Hubble to do and the telescope would be ten times more powerful than shuttle astronauts could spend some time under the hood.
BECKWITH: Personally, I would take the risk to service Hubble if it were my life. But I couldn't ask someone else to do that. That's a difficult decision that people in NASA have to make.
O'BRIEN: Of course, it is administrator Sean O'Keefe who does have to do that. And while there is no doubt no shortage of astronauts willing and eager to fly to Hubble, no one wants the task of explaining why an accident wasn't avoided.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Coming up, Britain gives the green light to some genetically modified crops, and that's got green groups seeing red.
And later in the show, what can or should be done about a Web site that may endanger police officers and their families?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SIEBERG: After years of tests, and protests, the British government this week approved a commercial crop of genetically modified corn. The crop will be used for cattle feed and won't be planted until next year. Now except for Spain, European union countries have balked at planting crops that have been genetically altered. But as Jim Bolden reports, GM crops have taken root in a lot of other places.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM BOLDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bob Fiddaman is one of the few European farmers who has grown a disease resistant genetically modified crop. But it was only a trial for the British government. The crop had to be destroyed. He hopes he can soon commercially grow GM crops like potatoes.
BOB FIDDAMAN, NATIONAL FARMERS UNION: I mean, it would save thousands of tons of chemicals. It would help everybody including the old guy who suffers from organ blight just the same as a conventional grower and it will be a real benefit to the environment because we will not need to use the pesticides that may say they don't wish to use.
BOLDEN: But because of public pressure, Europe has not approved any new GM crops over the past six years. Until Britain's tentative approval of GM maize on Tuesday. So less than 1 percent of the world's GM crops are grown in Europe. Something anti-GM campaigners are proud of.
CLAIRE OXBORROW, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH: A lot of European countries are still keen to kind of keep their areas GM free. There's a grain movement now across Britain and across Europe for GM free areas.
BOLDEN: The opposite is happening around the world. A fifth of all farm acreage is now planted with GM. Two-thirds of all that is grown in the United States, including most of its soybean and cotton, and nearly half its corn. A third of GM is now grown in Argentina, Canada and China. The U.S. government is pushing Europe, through the world trade organization, to open up to GM imports and to more planting. European biotech firms like Sentenga (ph) Navartison (ph) buyers say more European countries are close to lifting their GM moratorium.
JULIAN LITTLE, BAYER CROPSCIENCE: This year, looks as if the year, the breaking of that moratorium. All of the laws that were requested by the various countries are now in place, and we can move on, on a case-by-case basis.
BOLDEN: Britons will soon see labels on their food that has GM. Biotech firms say that will give consumers choice. Anti-GM groups say people won't buy GM once they clearly see it's in their food.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIEBERG: Remember the string of arson attacks on SUV dealerships in southern California last summer? The fires supposedly were set in the name of the underground Ecogroup Earth Liberation Front. Well authorities arrested a Cal Tech grad student Tuesday. William Catrail (ph) is being held without bail pending a hearing later this month. The man arrested earlier Josh Canoll (ph) says the FBI now owes him an apology.
It's true that American cars have long been a reliable source of jokes. But now they're turning out to be reliable in a different way. "Consumer Reports" released its latest survey of reliability and top picks this week and it has some surprises. Fred Katayama reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRED KATAYAMA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Quality and style, the hallmarks of European cars. But after a long, steady climb. Detroit's rugged automakers finally pulled ahead of the Europeans in reliability. The first time they've done that since "Consumer Reports" began tracking regional competition in 1980. The magazine says that Europeans averaged two more defects per 100 vehicles than American cars and trucks last year. Twenty-four years ago, the U.S., once a laughingstock, had double that of its western rival.
MICHAEL FLYNN, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: They're doing a number of things right. They've been making for some years now a series of incremental improvements in how they design and build cars. In addition to that they're also paying I think more attention to supplier quality than perhaps they used to. So they're looking at what their suppliers are doing.
KATAYAMA: Even Europe's luxury brands slipped in the reliability ratings, scoring well below average every model put out by Mercedes- Benz, all Audis, even BMW's pricey 7 Series. The most improved player, Ford. Witness the Focus.
DAVID CHAMPION, CONSUMER REPORTS: When it was released, it had a lot of problems and we couldn't recommend it because of reliability. This year, the reliability has come up to average for the 2003 model year, above average for the Focus.
KATAYAMA: Still the Asians are miles ahead with one-third fewer defects. After enduring a series of rigid tests, Japanese brands dominated the list of top picks that weigh performance, reliability and safety. The top three row sport utility the Honda Pilot. The VW Passat tied the Honda Accord for best family sedan. The Ford Focus topped the small car in fun to drive categories. But it's the sole American on the list.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Coming up, Cyber cam painting has become as important as old-fashioned stump speeches and media buys. We'll take a look at how it happened.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SIEBERG: Computers play an essential role with the participants here at the Darpa Grand Challenge, whether they're in the garage or on the racetrack. You can bet that even robots are sick of spam. Well four major Internet service providers said this week that they've started suing spammers. The lawsuits were announced on Wednesday by Microsoft, Earthlink, Yahoo! And AOL, which is part of CNN's parent company Time Warner.
Hundreds of people being sued are identified as John Doe at this point. Now lawyers say they're confident that they can find out the real identities of the spammers. The lawsuits are the first major industry move under the new Can Spam Law that took effect January 1st.
Well another week of primary voting and another week of scattered glitches with electronic voting machines. In the Florida primary on Tuesday, most voters using electronic touch screens had no problems. But in a few precincts voters didn't get to cast primary ballots at all. That's because poll workers pressed the wrong button. The next day Florida Senator Bob Graham and New York Senator Hillary Clinton announced that they'll introduce legislation requiring a paper trail to back up electronic voting throughout the country.
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, (D) NEW YORK: This legislation will ensure that voters will be able to verify a paper ballot that accurately reflects their intentions, and that will be locked away, and will be the official ballot in the event of a recount.
SIEBERG: And the Internet as a whole has played a bigger role in this election season than in any other. And much of the credit, or blame goes to a grassroots Web site called Moveon.org. A handful of people started this site in their homes and now it claims 2 million members. More from Kathleen Koch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESOPNDENT: As much as Democrats love it --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I want to especially thank Moveon.org.
KOCH: Republicans loathe it.
ED GILLESPIE, CHAIRMAN REPUBLICAN NATL. CMTE: It's not appropriate political discourse.
KOCH: But everyone agrees Moveon.org is changing American politics. From the living room of the California couple that started it in 1998, the liberal grassroots Web site has ballooned to some 2 million active contributing members.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This song is a song and a prayer for peace.
KOCH: Move On has mobilized massive anti-war protests. Jammed Capitol Hill phones and faxes and raised millions for hard-hitting ads, including one calling the president a liar.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Saddam Hussein had an advanced nuclear weapons development program.
BILL GREENE: Moveon.org keeps us pretty busy.
KOCH: Bill Greene helped launch the conservative Web site Rightmarch.com a year ago. One of many trying to blunt the liberal organization's impact.
GREENE: Whenever say Moveon takes a particular action, we very quickly put together a counteraction, a countermove.
HOWARD DEAN, (D) PRESIDENTAL CANIDATE: Like moveon.org we seek to build a community of millions and strengthen the voice of our people. KOCH: Howard Dean adopted Moveon's tactics giving him an early boost. Even the Bush/Cheney campaign has focused its unusual efforts toward online constituents, releasing its first campaign ad not on TV, but on the Internet.
MICHAEL: They really have shown people that the Internet is hospitable, not just to protest, but for establishment politics, as well. Moveon has shown people how to use the Internet to work the system.
KOCH: And, say observers, shown Democrats how to get tough.
CHUCK TODO: Made the Democratic Party a little more aggressive and in some ways a little more like how the Republican Party has been. The Republican Party is very much, much more unified in its message.
KOCH: But some point out Moveon hasn't been able to change policy. Here at the White House or on Capitol Hill. Organizers insist they're getting closer.
BILL PARISER COHEN, FOUNDER MOVEON.ORG: We'd love to see one day that ordinary people actually can effectively counter in all circumstances, you know, big money and special interests. And that day is probably a ways off. But we're going to move towards it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Coming up in our next half hour, why would anybody deliberately drive into a tornado?
And the long-awaited NEXT@CNN swimsuit edition. It's probably not what you're thinking. But check it out anyway.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta. NEXT@CNN continues in a moment, but first a check at the headlines. As funerals begin for some of the 200 people killed in the Madrid terrorist attacks. And thousands of people crowd the streets in anti- government movement. The government announces that authorities have detained several suspects in the case. Brent Sadler joins us now from Madrid with the latest -- Brent.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Fredericka. Dramatic developments here over the past hour. The Spanish authorities announcing that they have arrested 5, including 3 Morrocans and 2 other of Hindu origin, they say. They have been formally arrested. Two others of Spanish origin; Indians, are being held for questioning at this stage.
The announcement of those arrests and questioning came at the same time as thousands of Spaniards and other nationalities came out on the streets of central Madrid to protest outside the headquarters of the ruling Popular Party, claiming that the ruling Popular Party had been covering up information about an Islamic terror link so as to protect the ruling coalition at the polls when Spaniards vote Sunday -- Fredericka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Brent Sadler, thanks very much for that report coming from Madrid there. We'll have more news on this later on and throughout the evening right here on CNN. Now back to more of NEXT@CNN.
SIEBERG: Welcome back to NEXT@CNN. Coming to you this week from the DARPA Grand Challenge, here in California. Now, if you think that robots racing across the desert for a million dollar prize is unusual, and it kind of is. Consider the folks who race through wind and rain to catch a tornado. CNN meteorologist Chad Myers caught up with a pair of storm chasers in Oklahoma.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Looks like we've got a warning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) has issued a tornado warning for Herman County and southwest Oklahoma.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: This is not what we expected. A month ago we called storm chaser's Val and Amy Castor who track tornadoes for KWTV in Oklahoma City to ask if we could conduct an interview, to take a look at their tracking equipment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ...environmental conditions are favorable for widespread wind damage and tornadoes with these storms.
MYERS: Then we could not imagine this day we'd see the first tornadoes to touch down in Oklahoma since last May. So the husband and wife team invited us to tag along for a real-life tornado chase. We knew we were in good hands; the chase vehicle looked like a storm center.
VAL CASTOR, SENIOR STORM TRACKER: We've got a laptop computer with GPS and mapping. We've got ways to send back live audio and live video, and we've got scanners, we've got radios, we've got three cell phones in there.
MYERS: But even with all their experience and technology, Val says actually seeing a tornado is rare.
We don't get to see tornadoes a lot of the time. I mean, as a matter of fact, it's probably one out of every twelve times to where we see a tornado.
MYERS (on camera): Tornado chasing has a lot of hurry up and wait. But right now, it's hurry up. We're on our way back to Oklahoma City to get away from the storm that's behind us.
(voice-over): And then, we waited.
Over the past ten years the National Weather Service says the 1,000 tornadoes reported yearly nationwide kill about 80, and injure some 1500 more. CASTOR: I've seen it take cars off the ground, and carry cars a couple hundred yards in the air -- you know, and roll them on the ground and just twist them up -- you know, I've seen it blow away entire houses.
MYERS: Helping TV, radio and the weather service get storm information to the public is what drives the Castors to chase tornadoes 50,000 miles a year.
CASTOR: Why do I chase? Because I love it. People call us nuts, people think we're crazy, but it does take a special type of person to do it, and the main reason we do that is to try and save lives.
MYERS: No lives were lost this day, although 16 tornadoes were reported, we never saw one.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIEBERG: The soaring price of natural gas has utility companies rethinking their dependence on the fuel. Many are putting coal fired plants back on the drawing board. Some environmentalists are concerned about the rush to coal, but experts say there's no cause for concern. Ceci Rodgers has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CECI RODGERS, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's no shortage of coal in the United States, and that's probably the main reason utilities are eager to build more coal fired plants.
ROGER DENNISON: The future of coal is really looking bright because it's plentiful and it's very inexpensive way to generate electricity.
RODGERS: Some are even calling it a coal rush. Nearly 100 new power plants fueled by coal are being proposed in 36 states across the U.S. The utility industry hopes fueling plants with coal will help them meet the growing demand for cheap electricity and reduce their dependence on natural gas, whose cost has more than tripled. But environmentalists are worried the new plants will belch out the kind of pollution that prompted the first clean air act more than four decades ago.
JOHN THOMPSON, CLEAN AIR TASK FORCE: Across the nation there's some 50,000 mega watts of new coal being proposed, and almost all of it relies on pulverized coal technology that we've seen since 1950.
RODGERS: The rush to coal comes as federal regulators are about to impose caps on how much mercury, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide can be released into the atmosphere.
BILL WEHRUN, EPA: And, that will be a guarantee of to folks here that emissions, even from new construction are -- cannot exceed current levels and in fact will be significantly lower than current levels once these rules take effect. RODGERS: Bob Macelvein provides research to utilities, regulators, and environmentalists and says every new plant on the drawing board is meeting stringent pollution standards.
ROBERT MCILVAINE, MCILVAINE COMPANY: If you're going to be focusing on the pollution problems, really -- you know, the amount that could be contributed by these new plants is minuscule compared to what's going out of the present plants.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Coming up we'll show you how you can run a background check on yourself, and to tell you why you might want to.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SIEBERG: Say there's a website that describes undercover police officers. Not only that but gives their home addresses and even identifies their children, surely no one would ever put up such a site, and if they did, surely there's a law against that sort of thing, right? Well, since we're bringing it up you probably know the answer to that question. Gary Tuchman reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It isn't hard to spot police officers when they're in uniform, but many cops do their work undercover, in plain clothes for their protection. And that's why a website that has undercover officers' names, addresses, pictures and, in some cases, pictures of their family members, has made many angry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wouldn't want some people that I arrested to know where I live because who knows what they're capable of.
TUCHMAN: The operator of the site is believed to be a New Yorker currently out of the country. Why he's doing this is not clear, but in addition to undercover cops in New York, he also has information about uniformed offices, judges, and federal officials in other parts of the country.
"New York Daily News" reporter Michelle McPhee has been investigating the website.
MICHELLE MCPHEE, "NEW YORK DAILY NEWS": The most egregious thing on the website is descriptions, physical descriptions of both the officers and the officers' children. "So and so jogs in this park at 8:00 a.m."
TUCHMAN: But, is the Web site illegal? As of now, apparently not. MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (R), NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: I don't know who is doing it, and probably can't stop it, but it is irresponsible.
TUCHMAN: Can it be stopped? A congressman is drafting legislation.
REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK: My legislation would say to police departments that they have an absolute to go into a court, and if they can show that a law enforcement official's life would be in danger if an internet website revealed information about them, that they can get an order that an internet service provider would have to take that website down.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Even if such a bill passed, nobody pretends it would be easy to enforce. A spokesman for the NYPD says the department is troubled by the website and would hope it starts getting less publicity.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIEBERG: While we're on the topic of security, a new service makes doing a background check as easy as requesting your credit report, easy not only for employers, but job seekers.
Sharon Collins reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHARON COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With national security on heightened alert, many companies now require deeper background checks for potential employees.
JAMES E. LEE, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER V. P., CHOICEPOINT: What we are seeing employers ask for today, is first and foremost, are you who you say you are? Second, it is criminal history.
COLLINS: A new service by ChoicePoint, an information security firm, is offered on Yahoo! hotjobs.com. It gives job seekers access to much of the data available to would-be employers. People can view their information, in many cases, even before they apply for jobs and ensure that the data sent to potential employers is correct. All for a fee, and at the click of a button.
LEE: You can do it all online. It's all returned to you online.
COLLINS: ChoicePoints services raise from credential and criminal checks to more in-depth inquiries. By accessing public reports from law enforcement, government agencies and educational institutions throughout the country, ChoicePoint says it offers its clients a variety of tools that can unlock the doors to the past.
LEE: People are truly looking for a way to differentiate themselves in the job market. No one's out there corrupting my information, no one has stolen my identity. COLLINS: ChoicePoint says that securing people's personal data is a priority, especially with the risk of identity theft. The company also says that the millions of records stored in their databases are kept confidential. That each search requires authorization by the person to be checked, and unless a report needs more in-depth research, not even ChoicePoint employees have access to that data.
LEE: So if you're checking on yourself, no one sees that information, literally, but you.
COLLINS: The cost for their service ranges from around $25 to over $200, depending on how deeply you want to dig. But, will it help you land a job? According to Kay Brawley of the National Employment Counseling Association, quote, "It would certainly not hurt and would demonstrate the seriousness of the candidate, as well as provide different information than what's usually found in a resume."
And the new site is about to get some competition. Careerbuilder.com plans to roll out its new search service later this month.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: When we come back, Venice, Italy, is known as the bride of the sea. But it may be time for a divorce or at least a legal more personal space. We'll explain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SIEBERG: The city of Venice was built in the marshland of northern Italy by people escaping foreign invaders. But now, 1,500 years later, Venetians cannot escape the fact that their city is sinking. Alessio Vinci reports on what they're trying to do about that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): For centuries, water protected Venice from invaders and has been part of its unique beauty.
But today, that same water may be giving this ancient city its kiss of death. The combination of increasing sea level and land corrosion is causing weekend floods, know here as "aqualta," giving the impression the city is sinking.
The first alarm bell sounded on November the 4th 1966 when a violent storm hit the lagoon, submerging the entire city under almost 2 meters of water. Then, in more recent times, November 2002, with water levels at close to a meter-and-a-half, flooding large portions of Venice. Yet, for millions of tourists visiting Venice each year, all of this has become an attraction and most don't even realize what is really happening.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just quite fascinating, it's an amazing phenomenon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty. I like it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, sure, it's a lot of fun for the people.
VINCI: Don't say that to Elbeno Girardi (PH).
ELBENO GIRARDI, MANAGER, CAFFÈ QUADRI: Not an easy business day, huh?
