Transcripts For HLN HLN News 20100225

she was down in the tank and we saw the thrashing and the bubbles. it was just so, so traumatic. >> my son directly, we just want to know that you are okay. >> trees down, lines have come down. this is just heavy, wet. it's pulling things down. >> i was just thinking, oh, my god. it looked like, dare i say it sex on the dance floor. >> i like that he spoke on the economy, helping to stimulate jobs. good afternoon to you, i'm christi paul, welcome to hln news and views. i hope this thursday is being good to you so far. starting with the story everyone is talking about today, 40-year-old dawn brancheau was one of the most experienced train terse orlando seaworld theme park. her death is such a shock to her co-workers and to the park visitors who witnessed it yesterday. seaworld has canceled all killer whale performances at its florida and california parks a killer whale named tilikum dragged brancheau under the water during an afternoon performance in the shamu stadium. the trainer's sister said she had been fascinated with whales since a childhood trip to seaworld. >> when you talk to her about the whales, you thought you were talking to her about her children. she talked about who was acting up and not behaving. she loved them to death. >> seaworld is trying to determine why it turned on its trainer. it was a 12,000-pound mammal and it was involved in the death to at a canadian theme park in 1991. and a man who sneaked past seaworld security died in tilikum's tank. several people witnessed yesterday's events, including park visitors who were hanging around the whale tank after the show. >> took off really fast and then he came back around to the glass, jumped up and grabbed the trainer by the waist and started shaking her violently and her shoe -- that was her shoe floating. >> within like five minutes, she was down in the tank and we saw the thrashing and the bubbles. and him pushing her with his nose and it was just so, so traumatic. and all the people around and, of course my daughter and she saw it and i tried to shelter her eyes from it but it was too late. >> some witnesses suggest, there were problems with the orca during the performance but seaworld is rejecting that suggestion. >> no, that's inaccurate. we -- he had just finished a really good session with dawn. dawn was one of his most experienced trainers and had one of the best working relationships with this animal. she had done a great session with him. he seemed to enjoy what he was doing at the time. nothing would indicate that there was a problem whatsoever, not with him or any other animal in our environment. >> dawn brancheau spent more than ten years working with the killer whales at seaworld. she was considered a leader among the staff of marine mammal handlers at the park. now, ten years ago, she spoke about her job with our orlando affiliate, wesh. >> let's talk a little bit about your relationship with the whales. do they really get to know you, dawn and -- >> they do. they definitely do she is watching us very closely. we interact with them all day long in a lot of ways. very well. yes, we do and we do know them very well. she sees me a lot. she sees my mannerisms. she gets to know me what i look like and the ways i interact with her throughout the day and in shows and spending time ruck them down which they love. animals are sensitive to touch. they can feel those things. we touch their bodies and she seems to enjoy that as well. >> a trainer, dawn brancheau, a native of indiana, was 40 years old. the man who investigators want to question in connection with the killing of 7-year-old somer thompson now faces child molestation and child porn charges. jared harold appeared a north florida court today. he was charged yesterday with child molestation and 12 counts of producing child pornography. that's on top of the 29 counts of child porn possession he also faces. florida investigators also say they want to talk to harold about somer thompson's death. remember, she vanished last october while walking home from a jacksonville area school. her body was found in a south georgia land fill two days after she disappeared. well, summits are nothing new in washington. this one is certainly a little different. these are live pictures from president obama as he hosts a much-hyped summit at blair house, across from the white house with republicans and democrats. he plans to meet all day if needed to discuss the stalled health care reform. the republicans want the president to start over on health care legislation but house speaker nancy pelosi says it is too late for that the president says politics has trumped practical common sense when it comes to reform. some critics are blasting the nationally televised six-hour event as a mere public relations stunt n his opening statements, president obama said he hoped the lawmakers wouldn't just play to the cameras in the room. reforming health care obviously a hot topic right now on the streets as well as the hill. passions are running high on both sides of this issue. that's why we sent our very own joe carter out to hear what you have to say. >> i'm joe carter and we are taking it to the streets to find out what's on your mind. president obama has recently shifted his focus from health care onto create jobs and stimulating the economy. your thoughts on that? >> i think that is his only choice right now he tries to do both, neither one gets done. so he is stuck. >> i'd like to see the president make good on his word. you know, everything that he said he was going to do, you know, for this country, and for the people in it. >> i don't know that i necessarily believe what he says. words are cheap. actions count. >> i like stimulating jobs because that is what we need right now. >> i think that needs to be a top priority for the united states to get us back on ground and for us to be able to be a powerhouse again, 'cause i think we have lost that. >> used to say it is the economy, stupid. when the economy is bad that has got to be your main, principal focus. >> i understand health scare important but where it is right now is a little better than where our economy s. >> that is something that worries me. because i'm working on my degree right now and i know a lot of people that have bachelor's and master's degrees and cannot find a job. >> as much as we need health care to be dealt with we have a situation that is the only focused situation, which would be the depression. and i don't care if you have health care if you can't afford to pay for your rent. >> you think you can have a solid health care system unless you have people back to work. the economy, i mean. >> i would still like to see health care reform but, you know that may just have to wait. >> i'm joe carter and i will see you on the street. so we hope you are going to weigh in on this. should congress pass a compromise of the health care bill it already has or should she just scrap it and start all over? do you think the health care summit is good bipartisan discourse or is this all a political show? give us a call at 1-877-tell-hln or e-mail us cnn.com/hln. text your comments and views to hlntv. i would like to you focus on facebook as well. we are going to air your responses throughout the day. well, the killer whale shows at the seaworld in orlando and san diego temporarily suspended after a whale killed a trainer yesterday. the question a lot of people are asking now is, beside what is should happen to the whale, is to blame for the tragedy or is seaworld itself responsible? your views, next. seaworld in orlando isopened today and visitors are flocking to the theme park where a trainer died yesterday. shows at the shamu stadium is canceled until further notice. the park is investigating what happened, of course, but it is pretty clear there are no plans to euthanize tilikum, the killer whale that attacked its trainer. >> seem to be doing really, really well. add great session and at the end of it she was apparently rubbing the animal down and then apparently, the whale pulled her n. >> will tilikum be put down, since he has attacked before? >> no absolutely not. >> why not? >> he is a large animal. he is a killer whale. we understand the risk of working with these animals. >> so, what do you think? should these giant predators even be held in captivity? very popular your views question today. richelle is here to tell us what a lot of are you saying about it and there are -- i mean, a lot of people are saying, on my page anyway, we still feel sad for the trainer but these animals are not accustomed to this. >> yes, people are very passionate about this, christie. and they really have very strong feelings about these animals. we are going to start with an e-mail from amanda in maryland. this is what amanda wrote, "it is all well and good to say that whales should not be held in captivity, but the fact remains that these are social creatures that could not survive without their pads we do not have the ability to teach them to survive on their own. keiko's death taught us that much. we should not take more whales from the ocean but the whales held/born in captivity should remain there" okay. holly is calling us from michigan. holly, you're already headed to seaworld in a few days. you are very attached to killer whales. so what is your thinking on this? >> i truly believe that he is a wild animal. i mean, you have to expect the unexpected. i hate to say it. and my heart goes out for the family. >> of course. >> i feel really bad. but they are wild. i have a good question is tilly actually born in seaworld or was he actually born in the wild and brought to seaworld? all the rest of them were born in captivity. >> i believe tilly was actually born in the wild i'm going to check on that four, i believe tilly was born in the wild and brought to seaworld. i suppose you have differing opinions on, depending on where the whale was born? >> exactly. >> so, what do you think? how does this break down for you if an animal was born in in seaworld or in captivity, what do you think that they should stay there? i assume? >> caller: it is so hard 'cause i think for the whales, too, i love them. i went there seven years ago and seeing the whales first-hand and i got to speak to dawn about the killer whales. i went there half an hour early just to see. this and they are amazing creatures but they are wild. and if he is having problems, obviously in captivity, he is the biggest whale, let him go the others are not having problems. >> but if this is all he knowses, that is the question, if this is all he knows, could he survive if they let him go now. from this point forward, how do you feel about bringing -- how do you feel about -- this is a separate question. some people were saying i understand that maybe we have to have some of these animals in captivity to keep the breed alive but some people say maybe you are crossing the line if you use them for entertainment. how do you answer that question? >> caller: i believe that they are just showing us what animals could do. >> okay. >> we show everybody what we can do as humans, why can't we show what the killer whales can do. or elephants, the tigers, just like the tigers. look what happened to them gentlemen. i mean, they have done these shows for years and all of a sudden, the tigers turned on them. what do you do? you have to expect the unexpected. >> holly, thank you for the phone call. talk to gigi calling us from pennsylvania. gigi, you are one of the people that don't like to see animals in captivity at all. >> caller: no reason we should have animals in captivity. you know, we are a species. who are we to take animals put them in captivity and look at them, stand around the zoos and look at them. i don't go to zoos anymore 'cause it's ignorant to animals. you go to the zoo, the animals are the farthest point away, they don't want to bother with people. it is just not right and i'm sorry to see this happen. i mean, it's sad. >> very sad. >> but i'm telling you, it is going to happen. it is a killer whale and it's happened before. these whales can survive in the wild, just like if me and you, if we had to survive with nothing, we would make it happen. we would go back to caveman days, if we had to. >> gg, let me ask you this, 'cause you are very passionate. let me ask you this, the flip side would be surely there is something to be learned from putting some animals in captivity in a particular environment. do you see any benefit to that at all? >> caller: no i think if you want to learn from animals, go to their environment. >> okay. >> caller: you know, they were put in their environment for a reason. and i think if you are going to learn best from animals, you are going to learn best whenever they are in their environment, knowing what they know. >> gg, thank you. >> not whenever they are put into an environment that they are not used to, that they are not happy w. >> gg, i got to cut you off. thank you for the phone call. for the conversation. you can tell the kind of topic this is going to be today. we struck a nerve with a lot of people. we want to pose the question to you again. is it necessary to study and preserve the species, preserve whales, meaning have them in captivity or do you think that some of these whales are just being used to entertain us, does that bug you? are these types of accidents, like what happened yesterday, these horrible accidents, is this inevitable with the multi-ton mammal a predator in the wild. call us, e-mail us or send us a text or comment on our facebook page, standard text rates aply. this is going to be a rel really good discussion today and i did find out that tilly was caught in the wild and then brought into captivity. people want to know those types of things as they form their opinion. >> important to know. i shall rush areal, thank you very much. >> sure. i think you have seen this video or part of it. i can tell you students, yeah, students saw something they cannot believe at a high school pep rally and i'm thinking you are not going to believe it either. two of their teachers are in hot water for one risque performance. the parents of missing '80s sitcom actor have made an emotional plea to find him. a search of a park in vancouver have turned up nothing. they had this message for his son. >> we just want to that you're okay, and if it means you want to stay here, you want to -- you know, change your life and stay here and find peace and happiness here as you have in the past, that's okay. >> andrew koenig has a history of depression and had been off his medication about a year. two canadian teachers performed a lap dance in front of students. this is cell phone video posted on the internet. canada cbc reports the male and female teacher did a lap dance at a high school in winnipeg. students were just stunned. >> i was just thinking oh, my god. it looked like, dare i say it, sex on the dance floor. >> it was humorous at first, but then when they continued it was disturbing. >> school officials says that the teachers clearly right there, crossed the line. they were sent home without pay. renting rather than owning your home gives you some flexibility, right, you can move after your lease is up a lot of times maintenance and landscaping are taking care of but there is one thing you need to do to protect yourself and your wallet if you do rent. hln money expert, clark howard, explains. >> are you a renter? right now, one in three americans rent instead of owning a home but most of those who rent leave themselves unprotected. you know if you own a home, you need to insure it. if you have a car, you need to insure it. but when you're a renter, you don't think about that. but renter's insurance is cheap and really important. you might think a renter's insurance is just in case somebody breaks into your place and steals your stuff but it could be for many other reasons. something could go wrong in the apartment building and maybe it could be water or who knows what. that comes in and damages your stuff and without renter's insurance, you're out of luck. every time during the winter, there will be these apartment fires and then the word comes, no one had renter's insurance, so the red cross is having to find a place for people to live. renter's insurance is so comprehensive and so cheap, just make sure you have something special with it known as replacement value coverage. i'm clark howard. for more ways for you to fatten your wallet, go to cnn.com/clarkhoward. why your facebook and twitter posts could land you on pleaserobme.com. thank you so much for being with us here. that is dawn brancheau. she was one of the most experienced trainers at the orlando seaworld theme park. and her death is a shock to her co-workers and to the park visitors who witnessed what happened yesterday. let me tell you about it. a killer whale named tilikum dragged brancheau underwater at the end of an afternoon performance in the orlando park's shamu stadium. sea world has canceled all killer whale performances at its florida and california parks. the trainer's sister says she had been fascinated with whales since a childhood trip to seaworld. >> when you talked to her about the whales, you thought you were talking to her about her children. she talked about who was acting up and not behaving. she loved them to death. a lot of them, she was there when they were born and she raised them. >> dawn brancheau spent more than ten years working with the killer whales at seaworld and she was considered a leader among the staff of marine mammal handlers at the park. ten years ago she actually spoke about her job with the orlando affiliate, wesh. >> not only a wonderful showman but you are physically fit it is a tough job, isn't it? >> we go through a lot of physical exertion. you can see in the show, deep-water work, breath holds version high-energy behavior is what the animals. obviously, they are give out a lot of energy, too, but working together and -- >> what are you doing there? >> that is a sit down i'm sitting on the nose of a killer whale as she is blasting me through the water. those are porpoises behavior. doing deep behave glors the water with the animals, kind of ac seine waiting the power and strength of the killer whales. >> i watched the whale yesterday push you down toward the bottom of the pool. how many did you dive? >> 36 feet is how deep the pool s. >> you are not wearing scuba gear or anything? >> just getting used toment your body acclimate to us the deep water as far as how deep you go. >> trainer dawn brancheau, native of indiana, was 40 years old. seaworld, in orlando, by the way is open today and apparently visitors are flocking to the theme park where that trainer died yesterday. shows at the shamu stadium are canceled, as i said, until further notice. and the park is obviously still investigating what happened but it's pretty clear there are no plans to euthanize tilikum. . seemed to be doing really, really well. had a great session. at the end of it she was rubbing the whale down and apparently he pulled her n. >> will tilikum be put down since he attacked four? >> no absolutely not. >> why not? >> he's large animal. he's killer whale. we understand the risk of working with these animals. >> zookeeper jack hanna says he knew brancheau for the last ten years and says she would not want anything to happen to tilikum. so let me ask you is it necessary, you think, to study and preserve these species or are these whales, bottom line, just being used to entertain us? are these types of accidents inevitable, do you think with a multiton mammal that is a natural predator in the wild? we would really love to you weigh in on this us. call us at 1-877-tell hnl, text us at hlntv. standard rates apply. e-mail us at cnn.com/hln. the man who investigators want to question in connection with the killing of 7-year-old somer thompson now faces child molestation and child porn charges. jared harrell appeared in a north florida court today, charged yesterday with child molestation and 12 count of producing child pornography on top of the 29 counts of child porn possession he also faces. now, florida investigators say they want to talk to harrell about somer thompson's death as well. remember, she vanished last october while walking home from a jacksonville area school. her body was found in a south georgia landfill two days after she disappeared. boy, we are still in winter's grip. the northeast u.s. is getting the brunt of it again right now a major winter storm expected to dump eight inches of snow from philadelphia to new york city. the winds could be the worst problem here though with gusts up to 45 miles an hour in some places. this is what it looks like in albany, new york's capital city there. of course, the national weather service says when it is all said and done, spots like pennsylvania's lehigh valley, about 80 miles north of philly, by the way could see up to 18 inches of snow. winter storm warnings actually stretch into ohio, too, along much of the appalachian mountains and as far south as the tennessee, north carolina line. so do be careful out there if you are in that area. the late night talk shows have had a field day with the tiger woods scandal. now, an animal rights group is joining in. the message they are sending using him as an example. summits are nothing new in washington. this is a bit different. today, president obama is hosting a much-hyped bipartisan health care summit with key democrats and republicans at blair house. the president plans to meet all day, if needed, with congressional leaders to discuss the stalled health care reform. now, republicans want the president to just scrap it all and start over on health care legislation, but house speaker nancy pelosi says it is too late for that the president says politics has trufrnted practical common sense when it comes to reform. some critics are blasting the nationally televised six-hour event though as a mere public relations stunt n his opening statements though, president obama said he hoped the lawmakers wouldn't just play to the cameras in the room. there are so many things -- so many things to talk about when we are talking about health care, because this is one controversial topic and it is one of your views stories today. richelle carey is here talking to you about it as we all r what is the consensus? >> consensus? really? nice, christie. impressive. >> joking. i know. >> i was looking at that voond i was thinking think of the longest meeting you've ever had at work. and then it's on tv. oh, my goodness. okay. the question is should congress compromise on a bill or just start over as some republicans want or is this health care summit is it a good idea? i got comment. brenda is like, "whatever. i'm watching the debate and so far, i am not impressed. they are going around the same circle. i have not heard anything to give me hope for any resolution." paul believes in universal health care. he wrote this, "the health care lobbyists are costing us millions. remember, health care insurers report to the shareholders. they don't give a monkey's uncle about you or me." okay, people are calling us as well. let's talk to mel in sterling, kansas. mel, you like the idea of the summit? you are hopeful that something might come out of it? >> caller: um, i am pretty hopeful that something will come out of it. i think that opening the lines of communication between republicans and the democrats is the first step and by holding a summit, i think that really shows the american people that, you know, if you are willing to take criticism from both the left and the right. >> okay. do you think that anyone is going to play it up for the camera or do you think that with the cameras being there, people might be able to kind of peer into the process in a good way? >> caller: i think basically making public to everyone, i think it really shows he is following put himself out there like his head is on the line, basically. he is being held accountable that way. >> okay. well there are republicans putting their heads on the line as well. >> i would agree with that it takes a little compromise, push and shove to get what they want. even though some republicans are hesitant to pass this, they recognize that health care needs to be reformed in some way. >> mel, thank you for the phone call. we will have to see what comes of the summit. got facebook comments, too. dallas wrote this, "starting over sounds great. if we are talking about rebooting the health care system so that it does not have to rely on health care coverage to function, however, starting the legislation over is a poorly veiled attempt at stalling the process." this from melinda. "there have been so many adjustments to this legislation, i doubt any of the democrat or the republicans know what's in it and what isn't. start over, make it quick and get things into motion." de anna says this, "having gone two years without insurance coverage recently, i know specifically why we need to act on this and now. listen to diana's story. she says i worked 30 years and always had health insurance until i became disabled, couldn't afford cobra. medicare doesn't start for two years after your social security benefits. you could be me, people. think about t" that is a tough spot to be in, christie is it not? >> very good way to put it to make people think about it. >> personal stories, for sure. >> guy got this from pam request it is just a political show. some of the stories they mentioned didn't even seem real, made up probably." >> oh, dear. >> gives you insight what people think of our elected leaders. >> that is a good point. like that is how they see them, some of them do seem like they were born in front of the camera. that's for sure. we want to get your thoughts on. this should congress pass a compromise on health care or do you want them to scrap this whole thing, start over? what do you fwhit summit that's going on right now? you think this is a good thing? think it is all for show? we willing giving you snippets of what is going on all day. i know you have seen this video, oh. >> oh, dear. >> students saw something they cannot believe at a high school pep rally and i'm betting you will, too. two of their teachers in hot water after one risque performance. >> i'm jane velez-mitchell. here is my issue. shattered lives across two states and two decades. accused of raping more than 100 children, this could be the worst case of pedophilia in u.s. history. the system failed these children. it has to change. this former doctor was accused of sexual assault, multiple times, dating become to 1994, including claims he gave inappropriate vaginal exams to young girls, but he wasn't even suspended. you know, we always scream and yell after the fact about red flags and missed warning signs. it has to change. we need federal laws, for example, demanding parents and/or nurses be present during doctors' exams. and we need to suspend doctors, even suspected of sexual abuse. we must protect our children. i'm jane velez-mitchell and that's my issue. the woman accused of prostituting her daughter, shaniya davis is free on bond. shania was later found raped and murdered, remember. how could her mother get out on bond? jane velez-mitchell speaks to the little girl's heartbroken father about this latest development tonight. stay with us for that. well, several people who knew a trainer at seaworld say she treated killer whales like her children, which makes it even more tragic that she was killed by one yesterday. dave dimarco of affiliate central florida, news 12 1 3 joins us with the latest developments. dave, thanks very much. how is her seaworld family doing today? >> oh, it has certainly been a very somber day out here, a lot of people are still working and trying to put on these shows. other than the killer we'll show, where this happened yesterday. but sher talking about exactualexact l exactually what they believe happened. and dawn brancheau was killed. another trainer topside on that deck says she was leaning forward, just trying to reward this giant killer whale, tilly, for a great session that he just finished up and it was her ponytail that brushed up against him, somehow set him off and that is when he yanked her into the water and held her below. that has caused them to cancel all of their shows nationwide right now, as they just try to deal with this, re-evaluating the safety of these -- the trainers and their interaction with these killer whales and also giving them a time to grieve. there are 28 other trainers out here that work with those killer whales. dawn branch choker the woman who was killed, had actually been here for 17 years and that has led her to actually be training many of the other trainers. >> dawn was one of those unique people that had an incredible way of connecting with animals and people. everybody loved her. every animal loved her. so, she was living in her dream and she was awesome at it. she was a phenomenal girl. >> reporter: so at this point it is unclear when they will return to their shows out here. they say they just really want to pay a proper time of respect for ms. brancheau and her family and her husband before getting back to these shows. and one of the big questions, of course is what is going to happen to tilly. i did ask the curator of zoological services out here and he says right now the biggest thing they are trying to do is find a safely -- a safe way to be able to care for him and then they would like to perhaps get him back into the shows but that is something they are not sure if they are going to do at this point, as you mentioned. three deaths now associated with this giant killer whale in his lifetime. >> right. right. and i have to wonder, because the park is open today. we want to point out, i know the whale exhibit is not open or the shows are not open, but the park is open. how are people who are going into the park today what is their reaction? what are they saying? >> we saw a pretty big outout here, especially since it is a little chilly day for orlando weather. i'm sure a lot of people just wanted to come out and be a part of this right now what they have seen. but i would say that a lot of people, they -- of course disappointed, as they had planned trips here and were hoping to see the killer whale show, but a lot of people actually are concerned with the well being of tilly right now and wanting to know what will happen to him and that's been one of the big concerns, people, of course, a lot of whale lovers out here and they just were really hoping that he wouldn't be put down and that's something that we are not hearing right now. they are just going to try to find a way to safely care for him. >> okay. all righty. dave dmarko there in orlando. thank you very much, dave, we appreciate it. the parents of missing "growing pains" actor andrew koenig just want to know he was oh koenig was visiting with friends in vancouver when he disappeared a week ago. police say there has been no activity on koenig's cell phone or bank records since february 16th and the search of a park in vancouver, which koenig love loved to visit turned up nothing. koenig's parents who arrived in van could you have they are week sent an emotional message to their son. >> we just want to that you're okay, and if it means you want want to stay here, you want to change your life and stay here, then fine. peace and happiness here. as you have in the past, that's okay, that's okay. you don't have to come back. just let us know that's your intention. >> andrew koenig has a history of depression and had reportedly been off his medication for about a year. well, peta is lampooning tiger woods. the animal rights group is trying to put up this billboard in tiger's hometown of windermere, florida. it reads too much sex can be a bad thing for little tigers too, encouraging people to spay and neuter their pets. so far no advertiser has been willing to put up that billboard, though. it was supposed to be a dance competition, people. some school kids, though, saw a whole lot more. two canadian teachers performed a lap dance in front of students. this is cell phone video posted on the internet but canada cbc reports a male and female teacher did this lap dance at a pep rally last week in winnipeg and students were just stunned. >> i was just thinking, oh, my god. it looked like, dare i say it, sex on the dance floor. >> it was humorous at first, but then when they continued, it was disturbing. >> a school official says the teachers clearly crossed a line and they were sent home without pay. president obama is hosting a televised summit on health care, but what about jobs? >> i'd like to see the president make good on his word. you know, i mean everything that he said that he's going to do for this country and for the people in it. >> words are cheap. actions count. >> your views on president obama's focus on the economy and health care reform. >> the temperatures may be frigid, but the atmosphere here is red hot. welcome to comcast on the red carpet. i'm at the 14th annual maryland state police polar bear plunge, maryland's premier winter event. >> this is my kind of weather. >> perfect day for a plunge. >> you got to get in. >> this is a huge event. it's amazing. we started back in '96 and it was probably like hundreds of people, and now it's just thousands. it's turned into a major standout event for the state of maryland. >> this is the it first time we've had a snow like this and it really does tell who this is all about. it's raising money for a special group of people and they're coming no matter what the weather is. >> how do you do this? >> why? because i love the energy. >> the show must go on. the polar bear plunge, great benefit for special olympics, one of the great charities in maryland, and a ton of people out here. everybody is warm and in the spirit of giving, so it will be a great day. >> for one of the rookie soup sr plunger, this was an item on his life to do list. >> i've never done it. you've heard of the movie the bucket list. this was on my bucket list of things to do. i've accomplished it and can check it off my list. it was a great, great opportunity. >> this is the most amazing group of people i've ever worked with. for those of you who have not been here before, you'll leave here with life long friends. >> as a first time plunger, it's not what you expect. i never expected to cry, but i did yesterday and today because the super plungers were so much. to hear the stories are heart-felt. >> i was a first time super plunger in freezing cold water. >> what's the water temperature? >> cold. >> my first time, i could never do it. this this year, i was like, alright, i'm here, i'm going to do it. we're in little costumes. it's cold out there. nothing compares to how cold it is out here. >> it's rewarding because of the smiles you put on the athletes faces and the camaraderie you get to be with the parents, then the family atmosphere that keeps drawing everybody back. >> are you ready? are you ready? >> it gets better every time. >> this is serious business. >> every year i challenge all of the delegates and the house delegates to come out and plunge f they are not going to plunge, they should give us money for the special olympics. >> it's a wonderful cause, special people, and an important segment of our society, and we have to step up and be there for them. >> for law enforcement, it's a special, unique connection with the spec olympics. police officers love to be out there among the crowd, and they love to be around everyone, the young and the old. >> the 2010 marked the inaugural year, a special plunge on friday for maryland's elementary and high school students. >> we had about 2,000 students out here yesterday. the energy was amazing. these kids embraced the concept. for them to do something bigger than themselves and be active, it's awesome. >> it's for the special olympians. we live for, go for, die for, is to give them an opportunity to participate if the games. >> our athletes are children and adults. we have athletes in their 70's. they can choose from 28 different sports all year long. we're not a one-time a year attraction event. everyday of the year an athlete is benefits from the funds raise. >> with over $3 million raised from the efforts this year, some may wonder where the money goes? >> it goes straight to the athletes like myself and show that athletes with disabilities can do anything that they put their minds to. >> think about it t you can sit there as a child and see kids playing tennis, basketball, football, running track. now as a kid because somebody looked at you as having some type of disability, you don't have a disability. this allows you to go out there and do everything that everybody else can do. you're just like everybody else. >> the bay may be chilly, but you see the steam off of me. that's the warm from our hearts. >> this is what you call freezing for a reason. to learn how you can contribute to special olympics maryland, check out smoddot organize. go to on demand and click get local for what's going on in your community. for comcast red carpet,  she was down in the tank and we saw all the thrashing and the bubbles. it was just so, so dramatic. to my son directly, we just want to know that you're okay. >> trees down, this is just heavy wet pulling things down. >> i was just thinking oh, my god. it looked like, dare i say it, sex on the dance floor. i like that he's focusing in on the economy and helping to stimulate jobs. just some of the stories we're covering all day. thanks for choosing us, i'm chuck roberts, welcome, indeed. seaworld theme park orlando is open again today, but the stadium where the trainer died yesterday is closed and will be for a while. she was attacked by a killer whale named tillicum. it's the third fatal encounter between the 12,000 pound orca and a human being. in 1991 he was one of three whales in a tank where a trainer died. in 1999 a man who got into the park after hours was found dead in his tank. tilly turned on the trainer at the end of the performance as several park visitors watched in helpless horror. we have some conflicting reports as to what happened and when yesterday at seaworld. lauren row of kmg spoke to a woman who actually watched the tragic attack at shamu stadium. >> the first thing that i knew was wrong was when he took off. i thought that was very strange, the way he shot out like a rocket. >> reporter: victoria and her 5-year-old daughter knew they were watching tillicum. they had seen him countless times. but today they knew something wasn't right. >> things happened so quickly, i think between seeing that and then the sirens, you just knew that it was bad. >> reporter: it happened in just seconds. >> and then tillicum just shot off like a rocket. then he came back up, bobbed up and he had somebody in his mouth. >> reporter: victoria and her friend started getting worried about their safety and the safety of their small children. >> she said do you think that he could break through the glass and i said i don't know. >> reporter: from where she stood victoria and her daughter could not actually see the whale snatch the trainer, dawn, but what they did see was enough to keep them away from seaworld for a while. >> you know what these trainers do, they give their lives to these animals. and they are doing something that they love. and for that to happen. i want to cry for her. i want to cry for the trainer, i really do. >> we also hope to get more answers very shortly. in about three minutes we'll talk to chuck taump kins live, the head trainer at seaworld orlando. dawn brancheau was one of the most experienced trainers at seaworld. her death was a shock. her sister said she had been fascinated with whales since a childhood trip to seaworld. >> the whales were like her children. she's married, she does not have children, she has nieces and nephews and she's the most favorite aunt. she's a wonderful aunt to all of them. but she did not have children. the whales were her children. >> the killer whale shows at seaworld orlando, san diego and san antonio are temporarily on hiatus after the incident. actually the san antonio park had not opened yet foet season. the question people want to know is what will happen for the whale, what should happen? is it to blame or is seaworld responsible? the man who investigators want to question in connection with the killing of 7-year-old somer thompson places child molestation and child porn charges. jarred harrell appeared in a court today. there are 12 counts of producing child pornography on top of the 29 counts of child porn possession he faces. florida investigators also say they want to talk to him about somer thompson's death. she vanished in october walking home from a jacksonville area school. her body was found in a south georgia landfill two days after she disappeared. well, we're very much still in winter's grip, but the northeastern u.s. is certainly getting the brunt of it again. right now a major winter storm could dump at least 8 inches of fresh snow from philly to new york, but the winds could be the worst problem. wind gusts up to 45 miles an hour in some places. this is what it looks like in the new york capital of albany. the national weather service says spots like pennsylvania's lehigh valley about 80 miles north of philadelphia could see 18 inches of snow. winter storm warnings actually stretch into ohio along much of the appalachian mountains and as far south as the tennessee-north carolina line. a church in virginia lets people bare their soul and pretty much everything else during service. the white tail chapel is a clothing optional congregation. it's a family oriented environment and god really doesn't care what you're wearing when you pray. >> i come here and, you know, you look around. you can't tell who's unemployed and who's a millionaire, who the corporate executive is and who the plumber is. >> the church is paurt of a nudist resort. more than 10,000 visited the colony last year. students saw something they can't believe at a high school pep rally, now two of their teachers are in hot spot for their risque performance at a school-sponsored event. i want to bring you back to that story we've been following for you, the whale trainer that was killed yesterday in florida. we've heard reports the whales were acting odd or oddly before the horrible accident, so the question a lot of people have been asking is were there any warning signs. let's get some answers. chuck tompkins is the head of animal training at seaworld. first of all, condolences on dawn's death. i know she was an important part of your family and very close to everyone there. >> yes. >> what do you think happened yesterday? was her long hair a problem? >> what we know is dawn was interacting with this particular killer whale. she was in front. she had long hair, a ponytail. the ponytail went in front of her face, right in front of tillicum. he apparently grabbed that ponytail and pulled her underwater. >> was he playing? >> we're not sure what was going through his head. this was the first time we've ever had an incident like this. >> was he and other whales uncooperative in the show that just preceded this event? >> no. that's not true at all. as a matter of fact, dawn had reported to the trainers that were working with her as well as the trainers that were working with dawn, he had completed an absolutely perfect session with her. he was a very good animal, he had performed well. all the other whales were normal as well, so there was nothing that would indicate there was going to be any problem whatsoever. >> was he isolated from the others? >> absolutely not. tillicum. there are times that he's away from the females and times he's with the females. in the social structure of killer whales, sometimes the females don't want him around but his day is normally interacting with the females in shows, sometimes with the trainers, sometimes by himself so it's a variable schedule all day long. >> but they have good days and bad days, right? they're like people? >> absolutely. all animals do. but we're trained to understand those times and we're very careful what we do and how we handle those situations. tillicum is not an animal we get in the water with. we work him very special. because of the previous incidences and the fact that he's a 12,000 pound killer whale, we were very careful around him. we had training protocols and procedures that had us very carefully working him. >> were previous deaths his fault? >> well, it's hard for me to know. his first death was in a marine life park not a part of seaworld. he was with two other killer whales. a trainer fell in and was drowned. we're not sure that he was a big part of that one. we do know that in 1999 we had a homeless person come into our park, spent the night in our park, apparently got in the pool and tried to swim with him and we found that person had died of hypothermia. i don't think we can attribute those incidences with what happened here. now, we do recognize that he had those incidences and due to the fact that he was a large appeni we had special protocols in place and that's why we did not get in the water and swim with this particular animal. >> chuck, thank you very much. sorry for your loss. really quickly, does anybody have any home video? have you seen any video of the actual event? >> i don't know of any that are out there right now. >> chuck, thank you for your time, sir. all the best. so what do you think, should these giant predators be held in captivity? it's a very popular "your views" question today. richelle carey is here to tell us what you're saying. >> this has really struck a nerve with a lot of people. i don't think i even expected the kind of response we're getting. a lot of responses. let me jump in. we're pulling comments as quickly as we can from my facebook page. jessica wrote this. she feels like if there's a purpose with it she's okay to have animals in parks. if it benefits the species from going extinct, by all means it's not wrong to keep them in captivity. unfortunately this was a freak accident that seems to have happened from a problem whale, which of course it's up for debate whether or not this is a problem whale. we just got a bit of an explanation from the trainer right now. stephanie wrote this. why do we forget that these are wild animals? it is unfortunate that we can't be satisfied observing them in their world instead of forcing them to live in ours and entertain us. got this from jillian. this is the first incident like this since seaworld opened. the trainers that work with these whales know the dangers but do the job because it's what they love. just like any other dangerous job or sport. safety precautions need to be looked at to try to prevent another tragedy. i think it's great that we have animals in parks for education and entertainment. linda is calling us from florida. linda, you were one of the people that was very upset by this. linda, are you there? >> caller: yes. i am very upset about this whole situation. number one, the whales do not belong to be in captivity. it's just a matter of time before they're going to strike out because they don't realize what they're doing. you know -- >> they're wild. >> caller: the trainer is just toys to them. just think of you being in a cold, locked area for a certain amount of time what you wolf like. they belong in the ocean and, you know, allowing them to float around and be happy like that, i just don't -- i just think no matter what it's just a matter of time before the whale strikes out. >> linda, let me ask you this. is it a risk that perhaps we have to take to keep this species alive? >> caller: well, maybe, but i mean i really don't think it's a risk worth taking that aspect because i mean look at this 40-year-old lady lost her life. yes, she did know the risks because obviously she was doing that, but i just -- i don't think -- i really think that it's cruel. >> linda, thank you for the phone call. i appreciate it. let's hop on over to alaska. janice is calling from alaska. you told my producer, luis, you want all the whales released, all of them. >> caller: this is janice from alaska, and i've lived up here over 35 years. i've watched orca killer whales and many species migrate through our waters. the number one rule in wildlife photography is the animal is unpredictable. period. you put them in an enclosed space, which that's not their habitat. i had heard where her hair had come up front. that was a fish to that killer whale. when he seen that hair bob out. to me, the whales need to be re-released back out into the ocean and people can travel to where they migrate and see the wonders in life and not locked up. you can even see the dorsal fin up on the top that it's bent over. this animal was introduced, brought in from the ocean. >> all right, janice, we're going to have to let you go but i think people can definitely sense the passion in your voice as well. you think that this is completely wrong-headed. chuck, i tried to give you a sample of what we're getting today. people are really hurt and they're hurt for the trainer's family as well. what's on your page. >> lynn wrote this. i saw shamu at seaworld and the show wasn't all that impressive. it was definitely not worth the misery these animals suffer from being in a restricted, artificial environment. they should all be released. it's not humane. whales are too big and too wild. >> the question is is it necessarily practical to release these animals that have been in these parks? i don't know that we necessarily can, chuck. let me remind you of the issues we're trying to deal with. should killer whales be held in captivity? is the science worth it, is what we're learning worth it or do you think the entertainment factor is just wrong? there's so many questions here. tell us what you think. you can e-mail us at cnn.com/hln. send us a text to hlntv. the phone number is 1-877-tell-hln or comment on our facebook pages as well. we've got all pages and we really want to keep talking about this. you got a lot of information from the trainer as well. that was a great interview. >> okay, thank you. yeah, we learned a lot. it was supposed to be a pep rally but a lot more than school spirit was on display in winnipeg, manitoba. two canadian teachers performing a lap dance in front of the students. cell phone video is the evidence. it's viral, believe me, on the internet. cbc news reports a male and female teacher did the lap dances at a pep rally last wednesday at a high school in winnipeg and students were stunned. >> i was just thinking, oh, my god. it looks like, dare i say it, sex on the dance floor. >> it was humorous at first, but then when they continued, it was disturbing. >> school officials say the teachers clearly crossed a line. they were sent home without pay and remain on suspension. the parents of "growing pains" actor andrew koenig are asking people in the vancouver area to look at for their son. what police have learned by looking through his cell phone and banking records. wee getting word of another scary incident involving a shark-filled aquarium at the dubai mall. a leak from the aquarium sent hundreds of gallons of water gushing everywhere, startling shoppers who had no idea what was going on. this is video after the incident. the breach in the massive tank was quickly plugged. mall officials said the 33,000 fish inside were unhurt. an attraction featuring an underwater tunnel has been shut down. peta is lampooning tiger woods. the animal rights group is trying to put up a billboard in tiger's hometown which reads too much sex can be a bad thing for little tigers too, encouraging people to spay and neuter their pets. so far no advertiser has been willing to put up the billboard. the parents of andrew koenig said they just want to know he's okay. koenig was visiting friends in vancouver. he went missing more than a week ago. police say there's been no activity on his cell phone, no banking activity either since february 16th. the search of a park in vancouver which koenig loved to visit, that is of course stanley park, turned up nothing. koenig's parents, who arrived in vancouver this week, sent an emotional message to their son. >> we just want to know that you're okay, and if it means you want to stay here, you want to change your life and stay here, then fine, peace and happiness here. as you have in the past. that's okay, that's okay, you don't have to come back, just let us know that's your intention. >> andrew koenig has a history of depression, according to his folks, and had reportedly been off his medication for about a year. the father of the man accused of shooting two students at a colorado middle school says his son had become increasingly erratic in recent weeks. police say 32-year-old bruco strongeagle eastwood showed up at his old school tuesday around midday. about 3:00 he started firing at students in the parking lot. eastwood's father says his son had been doing strange things, like unplugging the refrigerator and complaining that eating macaroni made too much noise. he says he also caught him yelling at imaginary friends. >> i think i mentioned that he heard voices, but he was actually talking to like people all the time. he would sit down at the table and have a conversation with three or four people at a table that weren't there. so he knew that he had problems and i knew he had problems. >> eastwood is in jail on attempted murder charges. a math teacher tackled him and held him down until police arrived. most people wouldn't want their closest friends to witness their divorce proceedings, but south carolina's governor, soccer sanford, his divorce proceedings will be televised for the whole world to see. it could get ugly. find out who will be taking the stand tomorrow. the seaworld theme park in florida is still trying to sort out why a killer whale turned on his trainer. the orca killed veteran handler dawn brancheau at the end of a performance yesterday. the 12,000 pound marine mammal has a history of it was involved in the death of a trainer at a canadian theme park in 1991 along with two other whales. eight years later a man who apparently sneaked past seaworld security after hours died in tillicum's tank. several people witnessed yesterday's event including park visitors who were hanging around the whale tank after the show. >> it took off really fast and he came back around to the glass, jumped up and grabbed the trainer by the waist and started shaking her violently and her shoe -- i think it was her shoe floating. sirens immediately started. >> within like five minutes that she was down in the tank and we saw all the thrashing and the bubbles and him pushing her with his nose. it was just so traumatic. and all the people around. of course my daughter, and she saw it and i tried to shelter her eyes from it, but it was too late. >> some witnesses suggest there were problems with the whale. in fact all the whales during the performance. seaworld rejects that suggestion. >> no, that's inaccurate. he had just finished a really good session with dawn. dawn was one of his most experienced trainers and had one of the best working relationships with this animal. she had done a great session with him. he seemed to enjoy what he was doing at the time. nothing would indicate that there's a problem whatsoever, not with him or any other animal in our environment. >> we are just getting word of the official cause of death of the trainer at seaworld. the orange county medical examiner says the 40-year-old trainer, dawn brancheau, probably died from multiple traumatic injuries and drowning after the killer whale pulled her into the tank. the sheriff's department said co-workers couldn't immediately help her because the whale was so aggressive after grabbing her by the ponytail and pulling her in. there are no signs of foul play and everything points to it being a tragic accident. several people who knew dawn brancheau said she treated killer whales like her children, which makes it even more tragic that she was killed by one. lori is a senior l lecturer andn affiliate of the center for ethics not too far down the road here in atlanta. she's joining us live to talk about the events of yesterday, lori, thanks for your time. >> thank you. >> can whales act out of revenge against humans? do they have that capability? >> it's not really a question of whether or not they have the capability for revenge, it's a question of whether or not these large intelligent social mammals really belong in the confinement that we see them in. it's really important to remember that there's not a single instance of an orca that is a killer whale injuring, let alone killing a person in the wild. all of these injuries and deaths occur in captivity, which tells you that there's something wrong with the captive situation. >> could they -- could this one have been playing with her, do you think? >> i don't think that this one could have been playing with her. i think orcas are extremely intelligent animals, and they can distinguish between prey and friend and remember in the natural setting they have cultural traditions. they make all kinds of complex distinctions. so it's very unlikely that he was trying to play with her in my opinion. >> tilly being wild born, would that present a different set of circumstances and challenges for seaworld? >> oh, absolutely. i think the fact that this animal was taken from his family group when he was two years old and put into captivity suggests that he was traumatized by the event. we know that killer whales live only about half as long in captivity as they do in the wild and they are under an extraordinary degree of stress. so really the whole overall package here speaks to the fact that we need to reevaluate whether these large social animals should be in captivity. >> as so many of our viewers have been asking that thing. we've got facebook questions. daisy writes this, there are some animal that say benefit from dwelling in zoos, pandas, for example, but when you throw a huge whale into a tank, its life is dramatically shortened. beluga whales are a great example. just look at the fins of the orangeain the tank. they're bent and stunted. do you agree with that? >> yes, i do. we don't see those kinds of bent fins in the wild. it's something that's due to an effective captivity. >> what do you think should happen to tilly? >> there's two things that could happen. one, we could try to find his group out in the wild and rehab him and send him back home where he belongs. >> there are risks. >> of course there are risks. there are tremendous risks and these are not to be taken lightly. or he could be sent to someplace that would be designated as a marine sanctuary for animals of this sort. >> the ones who are not wild born and performing, are they different characteristically? >> it is really hard to know. the fact is, is that the captive born animals grow up in such an artificial setting that it's really difficult to know what the effects are on their psychology. they can't be good. and so i think again, this is not a question of this individual whale, but the entire industry. >> so nothing good comes from these shows. >> no. >> lori, thank you very much for your expertise. thanks for coming in. we want to know what you think about this horrible tragedy so we hit the street or in this case the georgia aquarium to get your views. >> reporter: okay, so we're standing out in front talking to folks about to go inside the aquarium, talking to them about yesterday's unfortunate incident at seaworld. jennifer is from california. jennifer, you know exactly what happened yesterday. >> right. >> your thoughts on the incident. >> my thoughts are i feel sorry for tilly. i think he's going to be ostracized for just acting probably something that was more instinctive for him rather than a mean thing. i don't think he was trying to be mean to his trainer, i think it's just an unfortunate accident. >> reporter: you know, some people say these wild animals are just that, in fact wild, and we should expect them to have this behavior once in a while. do you agree? >> i totally agree with that. i think they have to be very, very respective of the animals. to me it kind of looks the way they're viewing it on the news right now, he's being ostracized, he's being kept in a small tank, like you've been bad and now we're going to keep you away. they were saying that the killer whales are very social type of animals, that they like and need that interactivity with their family. you know, he's not really seeming to get that right now. >> reporter: so you think maybe this incident was the cause of its social environment? >> i'm thinking that possibly a little bit. i know that they didn't swim with him. he did kind of hang out with just the females. he didn't have the same interactivity with the trainers and with the swimmers as most of the others do. his position there is a little different. >> reporter: you're about to go inside the aquarium and will see lots of beautiful, wild animals. your stance on whether or not this is animal cruelty or whether or not it's a good teaching and scientific tool? >> i think i'm about 50-50 on that. you know, i don't want him to be euthanized, i want him to be still taken care of well and respected and not, you know, made to feel like he did something wrong. >> reporter: so do you think it's a good thing to have animals in the aquarium, in the zoo? >> oh, don't get me started on zoos, no, no, i don't do zoos. i think for aquariums, i don't mind some of the smaller types of animals, but, you know, the bigger ones i think should be left in their natural habitat. you know, you can take plenty of cruises, being from california, i'm close to monterey. you can go out on the bay and take cruises and see the animals in their natural habitat and not have to watch them swim around, you know, in a caged environment. so i know it's kind of contradictory going into the aquarium, but i'm not there for the big ones, i'm there for the little guys. >> you enjoy all the fish. >> right. >> reporter: we'll be out here getting people's opinion on the tragic incident that happened at seaworld in orlando. >> joe carter will gauge a lot of opinion across the street at the aquarium. we're still in winter's grip but the northeastern u.s. is getting the brunt of it again. man what, a winter. a major storm expected to dump at least 8 inches from philadelphia to new york city, but the winds could be the worst of it. gusts to 45 miles an hour in some places. that's what it looks like in albany, new york's capital. it's very pretty. it's also very dangerous. the national weather service says when it's all said and done, spots like the lehigh valley in pennsylvania 80 miles north of philly could see 18 inches of snow. winter storm warnings stretch into ohio and as far south as the tennessee-north carolina line. the old smoky mountains. tomorrow's divorce proceedings between south carolina's governor mark sanford and his wife, jenny, will be televised. the charleston post and cure yur says tv cameras will be allowed in the court and stations are scrambling to get a spot in the courtroom for the proceedings that start just after 11:00 a.m. eastern. jenny sanford will take the witness stan and explain why her marriage is over. she filed for divorce after mark sanford confessed in public to having an affair with an argentinan woman. have you ever posted something on facebook about how you're heading out to the beach or going to the mountains for the weekend? it seems harmless, but a new website doesn't see it that way. why your facebook and twitter books could lapped you on pleaserobme.com. president obama today hosting a much-hyped bipartisan health care summit with key democrats and republicans at blair house. he is meeting all day he says if needed with congressional leaders to discuss the stalled health care reform package. it has been a front burner hot topic for at least a year and it's one of our "your views" stories today, we're talking health care reform. richelle carey is here with more on what you're saying. >> i wonder if there was at least free food at that thing. >> i hope so. a buffet. >> at the very least, chuck. couple of questions here. do you want congress to compromise on a health care bill, do you want them to start over? do you even like the idea of this summit, this coming together with the cameras there? a lot of different opinions here so let's jump right in. i pulled a comment from my facebook page, richelle carey hln. eric was very brief. i'm one democrat that agrees with the gop, start over. bob agrees. let me get to say a word here my mom would rather me not say. start over? how stupid. the thaert stone walled when they had a chance to be part of the solution. mike is calling us from orange, texas. all right, mike, have you watched any of it? >> caller: yes, richelle. i was watching it and the suggestion that they should start over is ridiculous. in the first place i think they should compromise. it's gone way too far to be talking about starting over, i don't get that at all. >> well, there's some pretty big differences, though. i mean big. i think that's where the idea of a compromise is coming from. but you believe in pushing forward. >> caller: well, yeah. they should push forward. now, as far as it being televised, you know, i don't get it. i don't understand why they would do it. it's not the same as a meeting behind closed doors. it's going to end up being, you know, highlights, you know, throughout the day. john mccain and the president, and it just ends up being like obama says, it ends up being campaigning. he asked them not to play to the camera, and what do they do, they play to the camera. if it's talking points, campaigning, it's pointless. and the suggestion that they should start over is awful. >> some people would say the cameras add an element of transparency that so many people say that they want but you don't see it that way. you think that people are not themselves when the camera is around. >> caller: that's what i think. >> i get you. >> caller: the camera is -- like i say, it's different behind closed doors. the president, it shows him allowing -- giving them the opportunity -- >> mike, i've got to let you go. i'm sorry, i've got to cut you off. thank you for your opinion. we want your views on this as well. if you think that people are genuine with the cameras around at this summit and if you think maybe they ought to compromise on a health care bill or just throw the whole thing out. call us at 1-877-tell-hln. the e-mail address is cnn.com/hln or send a text to hlntv, standard text rates apply, or comment on our facebook pages as well. richelle carey hln or chuck and christi have pages as well. chuck, i resent the insinuation people are d disingenuous when cameras are on. the recession has cities across the country hurting big time, but not austin, texas. we'll see how austin is building up america. >> reporter: at jenny's little longhorn saloon, the crowd is always happy when dale watson is on the bandstand. and they should be. not only is he a bona fide country music legend who lives here, but also their community is building up its economy even while the recession is holding much of the country down. >> i don't feel like we have felt it as much. >> reporter: dale's fans have an idea why. >> a lot of different types of businesses here. >> people support their local businesses, small businesses. >> businesses want to come here because it's a tax saving. and that creates growth during these periods of recession. >> reporter: with a strong base of steady jobs in government, higher education and the private sector, this is, after all, home to dell computers, austin is hanging tough. while nationwide unemployment is around 10%, austin's is closer to 7. while foreclosures continue to rock many communities, real estate analysts are predicting austin will be one of the country's strongest markets this year. >> number one was gold medal chili. >> reporter: and while in many places gloom has prevailed, here even in something as simple as the annual chili cookoff at the jewish community center, you can find people pulling together in the face of adversity, across religious, ethnic and economic lines. >> there's a thousand reasons to be separate, right, and to separate ourselves into groups. the great thing about this community is we're finding all sorts of reasons to be together. >> reporter: back at jenny's, that's a sentiment dale watson shares. it's not the recession hasn't hit here, it has hit here but the town has reacted to it differently. >> i'll go with that, yeah. it definitely has hit here but we don't feel it as much because i think we support local businesses more here, and that goes from dell computers to joe's coffee shop downtown. >> reporter: big and small, it's all connected. and that's part of what has kept austin swinging. all of that has some economic forecasters predicting this part of texas, from austin all the way down to san antonio, could lead the nation's economic recovery. tom foreman, cnn, austin. the attorney for the man charged with kidnapping and rape jaycee dugard, they're saying he he's -- stopping them from contacting jaycee dugard. they want to appoint someone to act as an intermediary. they have pleaded not guilty to kidnapping jaycee dugard and holding her captive for 18 years. they're due back in court tomorrow. if you like to tweet or update your facebook telling all your friends you're on vacation or heading out to a weekend getaway, you may want to show up -- you may show up on a website called please rob me.com. which gathers information people post about being away from home. the people writing the site said it's not meant to encourage robbery, it's meant to create awareness. they said the website is not breaking any laws. california could say no to cussing. the state assembly votes in a resolution that would call for a statewide cuss-free week that would happen the first week in march every year. the resolution honors a teen who started a no-cussing club at his middle school. the late-night talk shows have had a field day with the tiger woods story. animal rights group joining in big-time. the message they're sending u using tiger as an example. 'o'o'o she was down in the tank and we saw all the thrashing and the bubbles. it was just so, so trau matible. >> i saw him directly. we just want to know you're okay. >> the trees down. lines that have come down. >> this is just heavy, wet, it's pulling things down. >> i was thinking, oh, my god. it looked like -- dare i say it -- sex on the dance floor. >> helping them do their jobs. busy day here at hln. we're so glad you're with us, though. i'm christi paul. i hope thursday's been good to you so far. first of all, 40-year-old dawn brancheau, a shock to her co-workers and the park visitors. she was married. she does not have kids. but those who knew her say she loved the whales like they were her own children. >> a great opportunity for people to come and do any of our programs where they can get a sample of the water and what it's like to be a trainer, as well as an applicant to come do a swim test. >> talk about the other things you do. you've done marathons? >> i've participated in two marathons. >> this is an interview she did in 2000. she had been working with killer whales for ten years. and by all accounts was the best at it. the trainer's sister said she had been fascinated with whales since a childhood trip to sea world. >> when you talked to her about the whales, you thought you were talking to her about her children. she would tell you who's acting up today, not behaving. she just loved them to death. a lot of them, she was there when they were born. and she raised them. >> in case you didn't know, here's what happened. a killer whale dragged dawn underwater at the end of an afternoon performance in the shamu stadium. the county medical examiner said she most likely died from multiple traumatic injuries while the whale pulled her into a pool. core workers couldn't immediately help her because the whale was so aggressive after it grabbed her by her ponytail and pulled her in. sea world will revise its procedures apparently for killer whale performances, but it will not isolate the orca who killed the trainer. the 12,000-pound marine mammal does have a history, involved in the death of a trainer at a canadian theme park in 1991. eight years later, a man who apparently sneaked past sea world security after hours died in his tank. several people witnessed yesterday's events, including park visitors who were hanging around the whale tank after the show. >> he took off really fast and came back around to the glass, jumped up, and grabbed the trainer by the waist and started shaking her violently. >> and within five minutes, she was down in the tank. and we saw all the thrashing and the bubbles. and him pushing her with his nose. it was just so, so traumatic. all the people around, and of course, my daughter and -- she saw it. i tried to shelter her eyes from it. but it was too late. >> someone has suggested there were problems with the orca performance. but sea world is rejecting that suggestion. >> no, that's inaccurate. we -- he had just finished a really good session with dawn. dawn was one of his most experienced trainers and had one of the best working relationships with this animal. she had done a great session with him. he seemed to enjoy what he was doing at the time. nothing would indicate that there was a problem whatsoever. not with him, or any other animal in our environment. >> hln's own jane velez-mitchell joins us later in the hour with her take on what she thinks should happen to the whale. but you know, we want to know what you think about this horrific tragedy here. there are so many things to discuss when it comes to this. so we hit the street, or in this case actually at the georgia aquarium to get your views. >> reporter: all right. so we're still on the street talking to folks that are actually going in and coming out of the aquarium. rob's from pennsylvania. he's about to go inside the aquarium. he's very up to speed what happened in orlando yesterday. your thoughts? >> first, that it is tragic. i wouldn't -- there's a lot of thoughts that run through your mind as you read those events and hear all the different eyewitness accounts that happened. part of it is, you think that it is a wild animal. that there are certain instincts they're going to probably have. the other part is, you know, concerned, what's going to happen next. you know, i'm assuming there's going to be a lot of pressure on sea world. >> yeah. >> and this is, what, third time it's happened. >> reporter: it's been linked -- this specific whale has been linked to three incidents. not 100% of the whales. >> true. >> reporter: but it's been linked to three different deaths. >> true. the question becomes, what do you do with an animal that's been in captivity most of its life that's that big. how are they going to care for this if they don't want trainers or other individuals to be there. are they able to take care of the animal moving forward. so there's a lot of different emotions that are at play for this. so it's definitely unique and kind of interesting situation. >> you're about to go into the aquarium and see a lot of animals that should be, quote unquote, in their natural habitats? do you think it's animal cruelty? >> i think there's a balance to it. i think animal cruelty is kind of a harsh word. i think that there are certain things that you take into account. this is something -- i mean, how can i put it, this is not something everybody can go see. i can't just go down over to savannah, walk along the beach and see this. but at the same time it's something that's very important, both from an economic standpoint, for our ecology, everything. it's such -- in the ocean, two-thirds of the world. so it's pretty important to have more information, to learn more about it. i think there's a strong need for that. and it starts with things like this. access. >> reporter: at the same time it's -- this still is a wild animal out of its normal habitat, out of its normal environment. >> we should respect that, too. if you go back to sea world, that's, what, a 30,000-pound animal that is a predator. and, you know, fair question would be, the trainer was alone with it. is that appropriate, too? there's a lot of different things that you could ask to say, is there anything that sea world could have done to limit that probable outcome. everything from the age to knowing that that whale had been -- or shouldn't say whale -- orca had been related to two other incidents. there's a lot of questions. but as far as this, it's a balance. i think they're neat. >> reporter: and they are neat. it's a great balance. rob, you have very good views and very good opinions. enjoy your time in the aquarium. >> thank you. >> reporter: we'll talk to people all afternoon about that tragic incident in orlando. >> the killer whale shows are temporarily suspended after yesterday's incident. the question a lot of people are asking, among all the elements to talk about this, is what should happen to the whale. your views is coming up next. how would you like to get rid of your light bill forever? this can happen, thanks to one new ecosolution. it's happening right now, for some people, in all of all places, india. much of the population there is poor. but the country is rich in sunshine. so an enterprising business is installing solar power for its customers. many of whom have never even had electricity before. >> reporter: i can't believe it, she says. my home is bright. >> the goal is profit, yes. but you know, we always tell people that we are in between ngo and corporate. we're socially driven. if tomorrow we were to choose, if you were to ask us to choose between lighting up 300 homes and doing an institutional installation, we would choose the 300 homes. >> the install costs about $150, which is out of reach for most of these new customers, so banks in india are offering affordable loans. the best part is that once the loan's repaid, these people own their own electricity basically. sea world in orlando is open today. and vision tors are apparently flocking to the theme park where the trainer died yesterday. shows are canceled until further notice. the park is investigating what happened. but it's pretty clear there are no plans to euthanize the killer whale that attacked its trainer. >> she seemed to be doing really, really well. he had a great session. at the end of it she was apparently rubbing the animal down and the whale pulled her in. >> will he be put down? >> absolutely not. >> why not? >> he's a large animal. he's a killer whale. we understand the risks of working with these animals. >> so, what do you think? should these giant predators even be held in captivity? this is a very popular "your views" question today. people are very passionate about animals. >> yes, they are, christi. this is one of the bigger responses we've ever gotten on a topic. dave's been holding from idaho. he wants to get in on this. dave says -- dave, i understand you say there's no way you can ever truly train out an animal's natural instinct. which is kind of what seems to happen in these parks. pick up from there. what do you think? >> caller: it's a wild animal. it's 12,000 pounds. release it into its own captivity, into the habitat where it belongs. for the same price that you go to sea world, you can go from san diego all the way to seattle, washington, and pay the same price to see these magic -- these beautiful creatures in their own habitat. >> do you see -- >> caller: the only -- you don't get to see the screaming kids. you can view them in their own wild hab i talt. it's beautiful. >> dave, you see no benefit to these parks at all? clearly it would seem to me that the people who run these parks do love these animals. it seems to me. you don't see any benefit to these parks at all? >> caller: i've been to sea world in san diego. and it's a large tank, don't get me wrong, but you cannot view them in their own habitat. they need to be viewed, but not publicly like this. >> dave, thank you for your phone call and your passion. everyone that's called today, no matter what their opinion is, feels deeply about this. a deep attachment to the animals and compassion for the trainer's family as well. jillian wrote this. this is the first incident like this since sea world opened. the trainers that work with these whales know the dangers, but do the job because it's what they love. just like any other dangerous job or sport. safety precautions need to be looked at to try to prevent another tragedy. i think it's great we have animals in parks for education and for the entertainment. there's a lot of comments for people to take exception to the entertainment. we'll share some of those as well. beth wrote this. first, prayers go to dawn's family. dawn, the trainer. i think sometimes people forget that animals, wild and domestic, can become dangerous in a split second. they are animals. people get too comfortable around them, thus letting their guard down. it can happen to anyone, unfortunately some situations result in death. just a few comments there, christi. what do you have on your page? >> it's not the whale's fault. the trainer knew the dangers every time she got in the water. i think it's all about the bottom line. they bring in lots of money. they'll keep them, capitalism at its best. we've had a lot of people talk about the money. >> that comment right there, i think there's probably another, i don't know, at least 50 comments we have that mentioned that as well. that is representative of some of your views out there. so we still want more views. the question, is, animals, wild animals in basically captivity at these parks, these whales, these killer whales, is it necessary to have them in captivity to study them, to preserve the species, or do you think this is just completely unnatural? and do you resent even the entertainment factor of it? are these types of accidents like what happened yesterday, is it just inevitable because of the type of animal we're talking about? call us with your views at 1-877-tell-hln. e-mail us at cnn.com/hln. or send us a text to hlntv, standard text rates apply, or continue to talk about this on facebook as well. you know, actress kirstie alley is back in the spotlight. she opened up to oprah recently. but wait until you hear how oprah surprised the former "cheers" star. we're getting word from affiliate klas, the police vehicles and moving vans are outside singer wayne newton's las vegas ranch. no one saying why. here's what we do know. newton was reportedly being sued by the motor speedway because he failed to pay on a $3 million loan. a detroit area airport also alleges newton owes more than $60,000 after abandoning a plane there more than three years ago, and then in 2005 the irs said newton owed nearly $2 million in taxes and penalties. so just a lot of assumptions going on right now. kirstie alley's struggle with weight over the years has been no secret. well, now the star of "fat actress" and "cheers" has a new reality series. brooke anderson knows all about alley's ups and downs with weight. she's with us now from los angeles. it seems like she's got a good handle on herself when it comes to this. because she's so self-deprecating. >> reporter: she's very funny about it. it's really the way she approaches life in a rot of respects. she has been very open about her struggle with weight over the years. she lost a ton of weight, a spokeswoman for jenny craig. but now her weight has spiraled out of control again. and she's going public to talk about it. she says she's humiliated she's let it happen again. we all know oprah winfrey's couch has been a really comfortable place for kirstie alley for a few years. she revealed her new bikini body after losing that weight on jenny craig, now she's going back to oprah about gaining it all back, and talking about letting people down, letting people whom she inspired down. she said that for about a year and a half, she didn't watch her diet. and she did not exercise. and that was a mistake. but her good friend oprah really made the visit fun. she actually surprised her with a visit via satellite from kirstie's celebrity crush, jamie foxx, kirstie screamed with excitement. we got a sneak preview of the episode with oprah. kirstie said she wants jamie foxx to be her booty call. they had a lot of fun with that. she's an open book, and now she's actually chronic willing her new weight battle in a new reality show called "kirstie alley's big life." >> she's been so candid about her struggles. you have to wonder at some point, is it a good idea for her to be putting herself out there like that again? there are people that aren't so nice about it. >> reporter: there are those people, you're right. she's talked about the paparazzi and how they've been mean to her and called her fat in public and how they were actually her original inspiration to do something about her weight. i personally think it's refreshing she is so forthcoming about her battle and her struggles with weight, because it's a real issue a lot of people can relate to. but others say she's setting herself up for disappointment here. kirstie has said she needs somebody to keep her on task. she needs somebody overseeing her, needs the pressure. so maybe all these cameras, this reality show will be her new motivation to stay diligent with what she wants to accomplish. let's take a quick look at a clip from "big life." >> i was thin my whole life. until i gained 75 pounds. then i lost 75 pounds. and then i gained 75 pounds. >> very honest about it. it is an a&e show. we'll have more on "showbiz tonight." plus, octo outrage, a brand-new firestorm erumts as the ladies of "the view" debate nadia suleman's decision to possibly have more children in the future. you've got to tune in for that. "showbiz tonight" 11:00 eastern and pacific on hln. we'll see you then. >> brooke, thank you so much. president obama is hosting a televised summit on health care reform. will anything really get accomplished today? or do you think it's just a big publicity stunt? you are weighing in on that. so glad to have you with us. 40-year-old dawn brancheau was one of the most experienced trainers at orlando theme park. her death is a shock to the co-workers and visitors who witnessed it yesterday. a killer whale named tilikum dragged dawn under the water in the shamu stadium. audience members say it seemed to be part of the show at first. >> we never saw like any biting or anything. it just looked like it was playing at first. like it never seemed to be like aggressively trying to hurt her in any way. it just seemed to be all in training. >> we have the results of brancheau's autopsy that says rescuers were not able to immediately jump in and render assistance to her due to the whale's aggressive nature. she was recovered from the water by sea world staff members after the animal was coaxed into a smaller pool and lifted out of the water by a large scale or platform that lay on the bottom of that tank. brancheau was married. she didn't have kids. those who knew her, though, say she loved the whales like they were her own children. she apparently had been working with killer whales for about ten years. and by all accounts, was the best at it. if you listen to anybody who talks about her. sea world has canceled, by the way, all killer whale perform answers at its florida and california parks. but those parks remain open. its park in san antonio is not open for the season until this weekend. the sea world is still trying to sort out why obviously the orca turned on its trainer. this is a 12-000 marine mammal that had a history in the death of a trainer at a canadian theme park in 1991. eight years later, a man who apparently sneaked past sea world security after hours died in tilikum's tank. the trainer's sister said she would not want anything bad to happen to tili because of her death. >> when you talked to her about her whales, you thought she would be talking about her chirns. she would tell you who was acting up today and who was not behaving. she loved them though death. a lot of them she was there when they were born and she raised them. >> witnesses suggest there were problems with the orca during the performance. but sea world is rejecting that suggestion. now, the park obviously is still investigating what happened. but it's pretty clear there are no plans to euthanize tilikum. >> she seemed to be doing really, really well. he had a great session. and at the end of it, she was apparently rubbing the animal down. and then apparently the whale pulled her in. >> will tilikum be put down because of this? >> no, absolutely not. absolutely not. >> why not? >> he's a large animal. he's a killer whale. we understand the risks of working with these animals. >> hln's jane velez-mitchell has her own take on what should happen to the killer whale and she's going to share it with us in just a few minutes. we want to know what you think about this horrific tragedy. there are so many different elements and questions coming out of this. so we hit the streets, or in this case actually just outside the georgia aquarium to get your views. >> reporter: all right. we're still on the street talking to folks that are actually going in and coming out of the aquarium. rob's from pennsylvania. he's about to go inside the aquarium. he's very up to speed on what happened yesterday in orlando. rob, your thoughts on the tragic incident at sea world? >> first, that it is tragic. i wouldn't -- there's a lot of thoughts that run through your mind as you read those events and hear all the different eyewitness accounts that happened. part of it is, you think that it is a wild animal. that there are certain instincts, behaviors they're probably going to have. the other part is, a concern, what's going to happen next. you know, i'm assuming there's going to be a lot of pressure on sea world. >> reporter: yeah. >> and this is, what, the third time that it's happened. >> reporter: it's been linked -- this specific whale's been linked to three incidents. not 100% of the whales. >> true. >> reporter: but it's been linked to three different deaths. >> true, true. so the question becomes, what do you do with an animal that's been in captivity most of its life that that's big. how are they going to care for this if they don't want trainers or other individuals to be there. are they able to take care of the animal moving forward. so there's a lot of different emotions that are at play for this. so it's definitely unique and kind of interesting situation. >> reporter: you're about to go into the aquarium and see a lot of animals that should be, quote unquote, in their natural habitats. do you think it's a teaching tool or animal cruelty? >> i think there's a balance to it. i think animal cruelty is kind of a harsh word. i think that there are certain things that you have to take into account. this is something that -- i mean, how can i put it, this is not something everybody can go see. i can't just go down over to savannah, walk along the beach and see this. but at the same time, it's something that's very important, both from an economic standpoint, for our ecology, everything. it's such a -- ocean, is, what, two-thirds of the world. it's more important to have more information, to learn more about it. i think there's a strong need for that. and it starts with things like this. >> reporter: yeah. >> access. and so -- >> reporter: but at the same time, this still is a wild animal. out of its normal habitat. out of its normal environment. >> we should respect that, too. if you go back to sea world, that's, what, a 30,000-pound animal that is a predator. and, you know, fairer question would be the trainer was alone with it. is that appropriate, too? there's a lot of different things that you could ask to say, is there anything that sea world could have done to limit that probable outcome. everything from the age to knowing that that whale had been -- or shouldn't say whale, orca had been related to two other incidences. i don't know. there's a lot of questions. but as far as this, it's a balance. i prefer it. i think they're neat. >> reporter: and they are neat. it's a great balance. rob, you have very good views and very good opinions. we really appreciate it. have a good time in the aquarium. we'll be out here talking to people all afternoon about the tragic incident in orlando. back to you. >> thank you, joe. we want to know what you think as well. is it necessary, do you think, to study and preserve the species or are these whales just being used to entertain us? are these types of accidents inevitable, say, with a mammal that's a natural predator in the wild? give us a call 1-877-tell-hln. or e-mail us at cnn.com/hln. or text us, hlntv. president obama is hosting a televised summit on health care reform. think anything's really going to get accomplished here today? here are live pictures as he debates. or do you think this is just a big publicity stunt? you're weighing in. we are getting word from affiliate klas that police vehicles and moving vans are outside singer wayne newton's las vegas ranch right now. newton was reportedly being sued by the las vegas motor speedway because he failed to pay on a $3 million loan. an airport says newton owes more than $60,000 after abandoning a plane there more than three years ago. and the irs said newton owed nearly $2 million in taxes and penalties. obviously a lot of speculation about what's happening there. but we do not have an official word. summits are nothing new in washington. this one, however, take a look at it, it's a bit different. today president obama is hosting a much-hyped bipartisan summit with key democrats and republicans at blair house. the president plans to meet all day if necessary with congressional leaders to discuss the stalled health care reform package. republicans want the president to start over on it, scrap it altogether and begin again. but house speaker nancy pelosi says it's too late for that. and tempers are flaring. president obama slammed his former rival, john mccain, that he reneged on a campaign promise. he chided mccain for using political talking points and said the election is over. it prompted mccain to say, quote, i'm reminded of that every day. we all wanted to watch this stuff live. health care, definitely a controversial topic. it's one of our your vice stories today. richelle carey is here talking about it with all of you. >> christi, we are getting feedback from some people who did watch some of it live. so let me get a comment from christina from my facebook page. i sat here and watched a full hour of the summit. and she says it was a waste of time. in her opinion. she says, i would like to think i'm pretty moderate at watching this pony show. it's brutal. something needs to be done. washington ready to take this seriously and stop picking on each other, i'll tune back in. let all liberals and conservatives join forces to focus on our needs. the need we're talking about is health care reform. people are calling us as well. let's talk to daveed calling from columbus, ohio. what do you think about the summit and the idea of pushing forward on health care reform? or just starting all over? >> caller: i believe the problem the starting all over is a weight of time. the process is they're already in, since the time of clinton. right now people, i believe they're playing to the camera, and the one speaking in the room right now is the president trying to get something pushed through, something done for the american people. we wanted transparency. and we're going back to this time frame. he never gave a time frame that he is going to have cameras in the process. but at least he's doing it. >> so you -- >> caller: right now i believe we just need to go forward. there's lots in common -- >> i just want to cut you off because we're tight on time. you actually think there's enough to compromise on. a quick call from mike in oregon. mike, you watched a little bit of the summit and you like the fact that you had the opportunity to watch it? you there, mike? >> caller: yes, i'm here. >> mike, you like the idea it was televised? >> caller: i was watching the part where mccain asked obama about the -- being televised. and i believe -- i honestly believe that if it's not televised, nobody will really know what's going on. basically everything's done behind closed doors. somebody has to say it. >> so you thought it was high time the cameras were there. mike, thank you. and if you like the idea of the cameras and you want to take advantage of it, watch the live coverage of the health care summit on our sister network on cnn, or cnn.com. do you like this is televised? or the congress should find some compromise on health care? or should they just start over? tell us what you think. e-mail us at cnn.com/hln. send us a text to hlntv. or call us at 1-877-tell-hln. or comment on my facebook page, richelle carey hln. and chuck and christi have pages as well. back to you, christi. >> i don't know how we go from that to this, but -- >> oh, i know what's next? >> i thought you did. a church in virginia lets people bare their soul and pretty much everything else during service. the white-tailed chapel is a clothing optional congregation. the pastor said it's a family oriented environment. god doesn't really care what you're wearing when you pray. >> i come here and, you know, you look around. you can't tell who's unemployed, and who's a millionaire. who the corporate executive is and who the plumber is. >> the church is part of a nudist resort there. more than 10,000 people visited the colony last year, by the way. and then we move to this. students saw something they cannot believe at a high school pep rally. and two of their teachers are in hot water for one risque performance. i don't think you'll believe it either. the sea world theme parks in florida and california are reviewing their procedures now for killer whale performances. and also providing counselors for their training staff. this, of course, following the death of a trainer at the orlando park yesterday. >> we're very careful what we do, and how we handle those situations. tilikum is not an animal we get in the water with. we work him very special, because of the previous incidences and the fact that he's a 12,000-pound killer whale, you know, we were very careful around him. training protocols and procedures had us very carefully working him. >> hln's jane velez-mitchell has some issues with performances like those at sea world. she's joining us now from new york. this is just hard to take in, isn't it? >> whenever you see animal exploitation, follow the money. christi, this is a big business. this animal has made them millions of dollars. and in the process, this animal has gone through hell. the hell of confinement. one of the things that we don't talk about very much is that this whale was born in the wild. born free, in the waters off iceland and was captured in 1983 when it was very young. same say two, some say three. so it has spent approximately a quarter of a century traveling around in circles, swimming in circles. critics say the area that it is confined to would be the equivalent of putting a human being in a bathtub. christi, if you were confined to a bathtub for 25 or 26 years, swimming in circles, wouldn't you get frustrated and angry and rageful and maybe a little crazy? this animal needs to be released into the wild, into a sanctuary. brazil and chile are two of the countries who have created coastal sanctuaries in recent years. some of them are 5,000-mile longs. the transfer can occur. sea world needs to stop breeding these animals for profit and needs to release these animals back into the wild. >> we've been asking viewers coming from your same vantage point, and i'm just playing devil's advocate, of course, because you know how i feel about this. what about using these animals to study them, to study how they live? how do we do that otherwise? >> look, you can study an animal in a sanctuary, okay? if you really want to help the whales, there are numerous nonprofit organizations. sea shepherd, greenpeace, international fund for animal welfare, humane society, dozens and dozens of organizations that are fighting whaling, that are fighting to get international treaties in place that will protect these animals. that's the way you're going to save the to protect these animals. that is how you save the species not by capturinining them in th wild. this is exploitation. it is making money. the science is the cover. this is a for-profit corporation and it is all about the money. >> do you think seaworld will step up and do something like that? they said they will not euthanize this mammal. >> why not send him to a sanctuary. it has suffered enough. any time you see animals in confinement, it is a theme that comes up over and over again, billy the elephant left in isolation, pigs kept in gestation crates, veal calves, hens in battery cages. at the end of the day it is somebody making a profit. they don't have a voice. we human beings have to say this is not we want for entertainment. this is a show. this animal's purpose is to splash the audience. that is not science. >> right, but do you think seaworld will step up and do that? >> i would love to see it. i don't think that they are bad people. i think they care about the animals in the sense they deal with them daily and have emotional attachment, but the big picture is this entire industry, the circuses and the seaworlds, it is of the 20th century of the 19th century. it is going to have to go away and we have to come up with humane ways to entertain people and teach them about animals. there are plenty of ways to teach kids about whales without keeping them in a pen. we are going to debate this tonight on "issues." >> i have no doubt you are. we are still debating it here this afternoon. is it necessary to study and preserve this species or are these whales being used to entertain us? are these accidents inevitable? call us, 1-877-tell-hln. $$$$ she was down in the tank. we saw the thrashing and bubbles. it was so, so traumatic. >> to my son directly, we just want to know you're okay. >> trees down, lines that have come down. this is heavy, wet. >> i was just thinking, oh, my god. it looked like, dare i say it, sex on the dance floor. >> i like helping the city with jobs. >> some of the stories we are covering right now. hln news and views. i'm chuck roberts, welcome. seaworld theme park orlando is reopened but the stadium where the trainer died yesterday is closed. she was attacked by a killer whale called tilikum. in 1991 he was one of three whales in a tank where a trainer died. in 1999 a man got into a park after hours was found down in his tank. tilikum better known as tili turned on the trainer as others watched in horror. we talked to chuck tompkins about practices at the park and what happened yesterday. first of all, condolences on dawn's death. i know she was an important part of your family and close to everyone there. was her long hair a problem? >> well, what we know is dawn was interacting with this particular killer whale, tilikum. she was in front, long hair, a pony tail. the pony tail went in front of her face. in front of tilikum. he grabbed the pony tail and pulled her underwater. >> was he play something. >> we don't know what was going through his head. in the 46 years we have been working with killer whales this is the first time we had an incident like this. >> was he or other whales uncooperative in an event prior to this? >> no. that is not true. dawn reported he had completed absolutely perfect session with her. he was a very good animal. he performed well. all the other whales were normal as well. there was nothing that would indicate any problem whatsoever. >> was he isolated from the others? >> absolutely not. tilikum, there are times he is away from the females. in the social structure sometimes the females don't want him around. his day is interacting with the females in shows, with the trainer, sometimes by himself. it is a variable schedule. he is not isolated for extended periods of time. >> they have good days and bad days like people? >> absolutely. we are trained to understand those times and careful with what we do. tilikum is not an animal we get in the water with. we work him special because of previous incidences and he is a 12,000 pound killer whale we were very careful around him. we have training protocols and procedures that had us very carefully working him. >> were previous deaths his fault? >> well, it -- it's hard for me to know. his first death was in a marine life park not a part of seaworld. a trainer fell in and was drowned. we are not sure he was a big part of that one. we do know in 1999 we had a homeless person come into our park, spent the night in our park, apparently got in the pool and tried to swim with him. we came in the next morning we found that person died of hypothermia. we do recognize he had those incidences and due to the fact he was a large animal we had special protocols in place. that is why we did not swim with this particular animal. >> understood. sorry for your loss. last thing, does anybody have any home video? have you seen video of the actual event? >> i don't know of any out there right now. >> chuck tompkins, thank you for your time. a florida medical examiner concluded the trainer died of traumatic injuries and drowning. she was pulled under water by tili the killer wail. brancheau was considered a leader of marine mammal handlers. ten years ago she spoke with our orlando affiliate wesh. >> let's talk about your relationship with the whales. do they really get to know you, dawn? >> they do. she is watching us very closely. we interact with them all day. very well. yes, we do. we do know them very well. she sees me a lot. she gets to know me. what i look like, the ways i interact, in shows and rubbing her down. animals are real sensitive to touch. they can feel the things. we do touch their bodies. she does seem to enjoy that as well. >> trainer dawn brancheau, native of indiana, was 40 years old. summits are nothing new in washington. today president obama is hosts a much-hyped summit at blair house. these are live pictures. the president plans to meet all day with congressional leaders. republicans want him to start over on the health care package. house speaker nancy pelosi says it is too late for that. tempers have flared. the president slammed john mccain for using his time to complain that the president reneged on a campaign promise to bring change to washington. president obama said the election is over. that prompted mccain to respond, i'm reminded of that every day. reforming health care is a hot topic on the streets. joe carter is out there sampling the passions. he is out there listening to what you're having to say. >> reporter: i'm joe carter. we are taking it to the streets to find out what is on your mind. president obama has recently shifted his focus from health care to creating jobs and stimulating the economy. your thoughts. >> i think that is his only choice. if he tries to do both neither one gets done. he is stuck. >> i would like to see the president make good on his word. everything he said he was going to do for this country and for the people in it. >> i don't know necessarily i believe what he says. words are cheap. actions count. >> i like he is focusing on the economy and helping to stimulate jobs. that is what we need. >> i think that needs to be a top priority for the united states to get us back on ground and to be a pourhouse again. i think we've lost that. >> like they used to say, it's the economy, stupid. when the economy is bad, that's got to be your main principal focus. >> i understand health care is important. where it is right now is better than where our economy is. >> that is something that worries me. i'm working on my degree. i know a lot of people who have bachelor's and master's degrees and cannot find a job. >> as much as we need health care to be dealt with, we have a situation the closest to the situation is the depression. >> i don't think you can have a solid health care system unless you have people back to work. >> i would still like to see health care reform. but, you know, that may just have to wait. >> reporter: i'm joe carter and i'll see you on the streets. >> you can watch the full health care summit on cnn and cnn.com throughout the day. we still have to get your thoughts on this. should koj pass a compromised health care package or scrap it and start over? do you think the health care summit is a good bipartisan discourse or a political theater show? call us 1-877-tell-hln. e-mail us at cnn.com/hln and text views at hlntv. we have facebook pages, chuck roberts hln will bring mine up. we hear your views on the tragedy at seaworld. what should happen to the whale? is it to blame or is seaworld responsible? welcome back. seaworld orlando has reopened and visitors are flocking to the theme park where the trainer died. shows at the shamu stadium are canceled until they re-evaluate their protocols. so far seaworld officials have not announced any plans to euthanize tili? should these predators being in captivity at all. >> people are saying so much, chuck. there is an overwhelming number of responses to this. people are very emotional about it. a lot on my facebook page, richelle carey hln. sandy says we need to continue to learn from these great mammals. it was an accident and she would want it to continue, she being this very experienced trainer who was killed. so sandy says say a prayer for her and her family. amanda says i think if he could live on his own we should set him free. no animal should be locked up just for us to enjoy. that is just sad and wrong. how would you feel if you were locked up in a cage for people to look at you? ivana is calling from connecticut. you say that all of this bugs you. none of it is natural. even the training of these whales bothers you. >> caller: yeah, yeah, it does, richelle. it is unnatural. for 25 years they paraded tilikum out, using bells and whistles to perform unnatural acts. it is sad. he lives there. he trains there. he performs there and he'll die there and to me the whole thing, the training process, the public comes, they sit, they watch, they enjoy themselves, they go home. while they're at home tilikum is in that tank training for days, mont, years, 25 years of his life has been in that tank training day after day after day to perform unnatural acts. set him free. he needs to be set free. >> okay. yvonne, thank you. margaret is holding from washington state. you say you would never give a place like seaworld a dime of your money? >> no. i went up to the gates a number of years ago because i was nosey and wanted to see what was going on. i told my traveling companion there is no way on god's green earth i would give seaworld a dime of my money for this horrible practice. >> why do you feel so strongly? it is so clear in your voice. >> caller: well, i'm from tacoma, washington. i live in the pugot sound region. we have healthy pods of whales. we had a new baby born this week. we have many whale watching tours. for under $50 you can get on a boat, go for a half day, have a great boat ride and see the whales. the tour operators and the ferry system are in communication with each other. they have to stay a very, very respective distance from these great animals. >> we actually have had a lot of people call today that said something similar to what you are getting at. there are other ways to see these animals besides having to go to -- this is not about taking shots at seaworld, but people say if you love the animals go to where they are. which is the point clearly margaret was trying to make. chuck, i told you people have been emotional. what is on your page? >> jeany writes this, they exist to live in the ocean, not cage studied an abused. we have abused them long enough. it is sick. michelle says these animals are not kept caged solely for entertainment purposes. biologists are studying these animals, giving us a better understanding why these creatures exist. point/counterpoint. >> the common thread, all these people, they clearly love these animals. clearly. so keeping these wild animals in these parks, do you think it is necessary to study and preserve species or do you think it is wrong to use them for any type of entertainment or some legitimate science to get out of this? call us. 1-877-tell-hln. the e-mail address is cnn.com/hln. text us hlntv. standard text rates apply. good discussion. >> it is. we have new video of a leak at the shark-filled aquarium in the dubai mall. that leak sent hundreds of thousands of gallons gushing everywhere. shoppers are shown wading through the mess. the leak was quickly plugged. things were back to normal in a few hours. the 33,000 sea creatures in the tank were unhurt. winter is not letting go. in the northeastern united states a blast of snow and wind. conditions are tough to walk through, but good for sledding. which areas are getting hit hardest? we are still in winter's grip. the northeastern u.s. getting hit really hard. it is already the snowiest winter on record in philadelphia. a major winter storm could dump six to eight inches from philadelphia to new york city. the winds are the real problem. gusts to 55 miles an hour in spots along the coast. here is what it looks like in albany, new york, the state capital. the national weather service says the lehigh valley of pennsylvania, 80 miles north of philly, could see up to a foot and a half of snow. winter storm warnings stretch into ohio in the appalachian mountains and tennessee/north carolina line. the man investigators want to question in the killing of summer thompson faces child molestation and child porn charges. jarret harrell appeared in a florida court. 12 counts of producing child pornography on top of the 29 counts of child porn cases. they want to talk to him about summer thompson's death. she disappeared walking home from school. her body was found in a south georgia landfill. the man charged with kidnapping and raping jaycee dugard is in court again. public defender suzanne gelman is asking the judge to appoint someone to act as an intermediary between jaycee and dugard. garrido and his wife have pleaded not guilty to kidnapping dugard and holding her captive 18 years. the parents of andrew koenig just want to know he is okay. koenig was visiting friends in vancouver when he went missing. there have been no activity on his cell phone or bank records since february 16th. a search of a park in vancouver that he loved, stanley park, has turned up nothing. his parents arrived in vancouver this week and sent an emotional message to their son. >> we just want to know that you're okay. if it means you want to stay here, you want to, you know, change your life and stay here and find peace and happiness here as you have in the past. that's okay. that's okay. you don't have to come back. just let us know. that's your intention. >> andrew koenig has a history of depression and reportedly had been off his medication for about a year. a legend in the world of free skiing has died in a horrific fall in california. cr johnson was killed yesterday taking a run down a steep shoot in california's squaw valley. he was 26. johnson was wearing a helmet when he fell and smashed his head against rocks. johnson had competed in the winter x games. he had a remarkable return to skiing after suffering a brain injury in another skiing mishap five years ago that left him in a coma for several months. students saw something they couldn't believe at a high school pep rally and two of their teachers are in hot water. seaworld in orlando is revising procedures for killer whale performances. they will not isolate tilikum. he was involved in the death of a trainer in a canadian theme park in 1991. eight years later a man sneaked past security and died in tilikum's tank. several people witnessed yesterday's disaster. >> took off really fast and came back around to the glass, jumped up, grabbed the trainer violently. her shoe was floating. >> within five minutes that -- she was down in the tank and we saw the thrashing and the bubbles and him pushing her with his nose. it was so, so traumatic and all the people around and, of course, my daughter, she saw it and i tried to shelter her eyes from it but it was too late. >> some witnesses suggest there were problems with the orcas during the performance. we talked to seaworld curator chuck tompkins and asked him more. was he and other whales uncooperative in the show just proceeding this event? >> no. that is not true at all. dawn reported to the trainers working with her he had completed absolutely perfect session with her. he was a very good animal. he performed well. the other whales were normal. there was nothing that would indicate any problem whatsoever. >> a florida medical examiner claims dawn brancheau died of multiple traumatic injuries and drowning. she was pulled under for an extended period of time. she was considered a leader among the staff of marine mammal handlers. ten years ago she talked about her job with wesh. >> you are not only a wonderful showman, you are physically fit. it is a tough job? >> yeah. we go through a lot of physical exertion, deep water work, breath holds. they are giving out a lot of energy, too. we are working together. >> what are you doing here? >> that is a sit down. i'm sitting on the nose of a killer whale and she is blasting me through the water. we are doing deep behaviors in the water with the animals, accentuating the power and strength. >> i watched the whale push you down. how many feet did you go? >> 36 feet. >> you are not wearing scuba gear or anything? >> no. just get used to it. your body ak co lates to the deep water. dauj brancheau was a native of indiana and was 40 years old. we hit the georgia aquarium. >> we are out front talking to folks, of course, about what happened in orlando, florida, at seaworld. this is rosemary from atlanta. she came out of the aquarium. given what you know about the incident yesterday, your thoughts? >> i think it was a sad accident. >> yeah. you know, it is still an animal. it doesn't have museum feelings, i don't think. whatever it does it is doing for a reason. it is either hungry. i don't think it was attacking necessarily. >> your thoughts on taking these animals out of its natural habitat and putting them in seaworld and the aquarium or the zoo? >> i prefer the aquarium because the animals are not on show. they are on display. i think that it is more of a natural place. i think -- i was talking to one of the volunteers today and i said if these fish have never been with, you know, out in the wild they're not afraid of humans exactly. i look at them through the windows all day long. >> the question, too, how would they survive if they were put in the wild. >> i don't think they would. there are those at seaworld it is a different environment. i think they are there as part of a show. >> do you think those animals like seaworld, for instance, are good for science and research and teaching or like animal cruelty putting them in that environment? >> i don't think it is cruelty exactly, i think everything adapts. no one is picking on them. they are feeding them. but they -- i don't know. it is hard to tell. >> it is a chance for us to get up close and personal with these wild animals. would you agree? >> yes. as long as you are not, you know, messing with them too much. >> yeah. of course. rosemary, thanks for your time. i really appreciate it. enjoy your day. for now, back to you. >> we want your views, too. you have a chance to tells what you think. is it necessary to study and preserve this species or are whales being exploited to entertain us? are these types of accidents inevitable, a multi-ton mammal that is a natural predator in the wild. call 1-877-tell-hln or cnn.com/hln or text hlntv. brand new video of a leak in a shark-filled aquarium in a dubai mall. hundreds of gallons of water spilled out and soaked people in the mall. four shops closed. the leak is plugged. mall officials say the 33,000 sea creatures were unhurt. >> we are in the winter's grip. the northeastern states are getting hit the hardest. a major winter storm could dump eight more inches of snow, but the winds are the real problem. gusts of 55 miles an hour. here is beautiful albany, new york, the state capital in a winter wonderland. the national weather services when it is all said and done, spots like lehigh, pennsylvania, could see a foot and a half of snow. winter storm warnings stretch into ohio along the ach lach yan spine and the smokeys in tennessee and alabama. president obama is still hosting a health care summit. will anything get accomplished? summits are nothing new in washington. this one is a little different. today the president hosts a much-hyped bipartisan health care summit with key democrats and republicans at blair house. these are live pictures. that is john mccain. the combatants in the '08 presidential race. the president plans to meet all day to win congressional leaders' support for the health care package. republicans want him to start over from scratch. house speaker nancy pelosi says it is too late. tempers have flared between these two men, president obama and former rival john mccain. >> they want us to sit down together and do what is best for all americans not just people who live in florida or happen to live in over favorite states. they want a uniform treatment of all americans. i hope that would be an argument for us to go through this 2,400-page document, remove all the special deals for the special interests and favored few and treat all americans the same under provisions of the law so they will know that geography does not dictate what kind of health care they would sieve. i thank you mr. president. >> let me just make this point, john, because we're not campaigning anymore. the election is over. >> i am reminded of that every day. >> yeah. so the -- we can spend the remainder of the time with our respective talking points going back and forth. we were supposed to be talking about insurance. >> you've seen a sampler and have been following it. you could have followed it in real time on many tv outlets. do you think it is a good bipartisan debate? is it political theater? is it a photo-op. nathan writes, i think in all honesty it is an attempt by the government to convince they are working hard when they are, in fact, hardly working. dale is on the line in bangor, michigan. >> caller: it is snowing right now. >> have you been watching this? >> caller: yeah. it is disappointing some people were looking at their watch. i wish i was a senator. i have two bills to pass. you could save $10 billion a month if you didn't have a war and did reform your food stamp program and quit making meals out of twinkies and potato chips and soda pop. >> do you think they will reach a deal at the end of the day? >> caller: no, sir. >> they are too entrenched? >> caller: your minority whip is dead set against it. as long as he drags his feet the democrats don't have a chance. >> jay in york, pennsylvania, you say there are a lot of smart people in the room. do you think something will get done? >> caller: good question. i thought it was very informative when their public has their opinion formed but no one knew the details until today. i didn't. >> there is a lot more unknown than known. do you think these are people of goodwill. can you comment on that? >> caller: i think they are knowledgeable people. whether they sit down and put it to work. the big question i come up with, do we want the government control involved in our health care plan. it was announced this morning that they know that in medicare programs there's a lot of fraud there and yet they don't know how to control the fraud so i would say where is the fraud control in the medicare plan or in the national health care plan? how are they going to control fraud in that should they get involved? >> jay, thanks. the government may not be the best steward of this. appreciate the call. facebook, derek writes, something is better than the nothing millions of americans have now. start with something then improve it later. the republican side had eight years of nothing already. approve this billion giving millions of americans something and work on improving it. mark has a different opinion. this legislation is not in the best interest of the country. maybe when we can afford it and have our deficit and overspending under control, we need to stop the bleeding of the taxpayer and not just with a band-aid. >> great comments. thanks, everybody. continue to weigh in. health care summit, bipartisan discourse or political show? cnn.com/hln. the toll free number 1-877-tell-hln. you can comment on our facebook pages. mine is chuck roberts hln, richelle carey has a lively discussion under way as well. the man who investigators want to question in kwex connection with the disappearance and death of summer thompson, jarret harrell. investigators also say they want to talk to harrell ability summer thompson's death. she vanished walking home from a jacksonville school. her body was found in a south georgia landfill two days later. the father of a man accused of shooting two students in a middle school in littleton say his son became increasingly unstable in the weeks. he opened fire in the parking lot. his father said his son had been doing strange things like unplugging the refrigerator and complaining eating macaroni made too much noise and caught him yelling at imaginary friends. >> he heard voices. but he was talking to people all the time. he would sit down at the table and have a conversation with three or four people who weren't there. he knew he had problem. i knew he had problems. a mat teacher tackled him and held him down until police arrived. the man charged with kidnapping and raping jace see dugard may be preparing for an insanity defense. his lawyer says he is mentally ill. the prosecution has requested a protective order from contacting dugard. the public defender is asking the judge to appoint someone to act as an intermediary between her and dugard. filip garrido and his wife pleaded not guilty to holding her captive for 18 years. they are due back in court tomorrow. you know the new credit card protections that took effect, there is a loophole big enough to drive a truck through. poppy harlow fills us in. >> reporter: there are interest rate on credit cards that you might not be able to believe. one example, there is a credit card from first premier bank of south dakota that charges 59.9% interest. but here at the municipal credit union in new york their credit cards are capped at an 18% interest rate by law. so why the divide? well, despite the latest credit card regulation there is no cap on the interest that banks can charge their consumers on credit cards. some say that is a gaping hole in the most recent legislation. >> what we have right now are millions of americans who are paying 20%, 25% or 30% more on interest rates on their credit cards and frankly that is immoral. that is usury. >> reporter: whether or not the government should cap interest rates is ah contentious issue. to find the root you have to go back 30 years to a 1978 supreme court ruling that deregulated interest rates allowing national banks to charge any interest rates they wanted. in the court's opinion justice william brennan says it is better left to the wisdom of legitimate public policy been able to get it in this bill, we would have. credit card companies are always going to make money. we're not for them not making money. the question is the abusive practices and unlimited interest rate. >> reporter: case in point, the nearly 60% interest rate we toll you about. banks offer these super high-rate cards to the most risky borrowers. as credit card issuers grapple with new laws regarding fees, there's evidence more are turning to higher interest rates to make up for that shortfall. but when it comes to finding a solution, the american bankers association argues simply capping rates just won't work. >> history has shown that interest rate caps harm the very people it's intended to help. this means low-income people, people who have had problems with credit in the past, and people who haven't had a lot of experience with credit. they end up not being able to get credit. >> but here's the thing on that, chuck. there are nonprofit credit unions where, like the one in new york where we got these credit cards, and they're capped at this 18% interest rate by law. and generally they're far below that when you look here, for example, at their interest rates, 11%, 10%, 9%. you get the idea. what this shows us is that you have the banks abiding by one law and you have the credit unions abiding by another. that is why you have the politicians crying out saying we need stricter regulations on what interest rate can be charged on credit cards from banks. we're following it. >> one of the oldest debates it is, cap rates, profits, bonuses. it never evens. >> it never does. let's check numbers on the big board. the dow industrial is only off 61 points. they had been down 170 points in that neighborhood, increasing worries over the debt crisis in greece, continuing doubts about a global economic recovery has posted doubts. have you ever posted plans for your night out, exotic vacation? how you could end up on pleaserob pleas pleaserob me.com. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx she was down in the tank and we saw the thrashing and the bubbles. it was just so, so traumatic. to my son directly, we just want to know you're okay. >> this is trees and lines that's have come down. it's heavy, wet. oh, my god, it looked like sex on the dance floor. i like that he's focusing on the economy and helping to stimulate jobs. a lot on the agenda today. we'll work in your views as well. those are just some of the stories we're covering right now. thanks for choosing hln news and views. seaworld theme park in orlando is open again today, but the stadium where that trainer was killed yesterday, that stadium is closed. she was attacked by a killer whale named tilikum. it is the third fatal encounter between that 12,000-pound orca and human beings. back in 1999, a man who got into a park after hours was found dead in his tank. tilikum turned on the trainer at the end of a performance after several park visitors watched in helpless horror. our chuck roberts asked seaworld caurator if there had been problems during the show with the whale. >> was he and other whales uncooperative in the show that just preceded this event? >> no. that's not true at all. as a matter of fact, dawn had reported to the trainers that were working with her, as well as the trainers that working with dawn, he had completed absolutely perfect session with her. he was a very good animal. he had performed well. all the other whales were normal as well. so it was nothing that would indicate there was going to be any problem whatsoever. >> the dawn he's talking about is the trainer dawn brancheau. the medical examiner says she likely died from drowning and multiple traumatic injuries. she was pulled under water. she spent more than ten years working at seaworld and was considered a leader among the staff of marine mammal handlers. ten years ago she spoke about her job with our affiliate. >> let's talk about your relationship with the whales. do they really get to know you, dawn? >> they do. they definitely do. she's watching us very closely. we interact with them all day long in a lot of ways. very well. yes, we do. and we know them very well. she sees me a lot, my manner ex-s. she gets to know me, the way i look. animals are real sensitive to touch. they can feel all those things. we do touch their bodies, and she does seem to really enjoy that as well. >> the trainer dawn was 40 years old. she was a native of indiana. new video to show you of a leak at a shark-filled aquarium at the dubois mall. one of the city's biggest tourest attractions hundreds of gallons of water spilled out, soaking people in the mall, forcie ining shops to close dow. the leak has been plugged and things are actually pretty much back to normal. all officials say the 33,000 sea creatures inside the tank were not hurt. summits are nothing new in washington. this is a little different. the president there. is he bored? i don't think so. i think he's listening intently. today the president is hosting a much-hyped health care summit. republicans want the senators to start over on the health care package. nancy pelosi says it's too late for that. some critics are blasting the similar-hour at the le vised event as a public relations stunt. republican senator john mccain accused the president of using political talking points at the summit. >> it's a town hall meeting that i conduct all over the state, people are angry. we promised them change in washington. and what we got was a process that you and i both said we would change in washington. >> let me just make this point, john, because we're not campaigning anymore. the election is over. >> i'm reminded of that every day. >> yeah. >> oh, dear. well, senator mccain also said the president did not bring change to washington like he promised during the campaign. >> actually, what that all is supposed to be about is health care. right now health care is a hot topic on the streets as well as on capitol hill. but should the president really be focused on other issues instead? joe carter went out on the streets to hear what you have to say. >> reporter: i'm joe carter and we're taking it to the streets to find out what's on your mind. president obama has recently shifted his focus from health care on to creating jobs and stimulating the economy. your thoughts on that? >> i think that's his only choice. if he tries to do both, neither gets done. so he's stuck. >> i'd like to see the president make good on his word, you know, everything that he said he was going to do, you know, for this country and the people in it. >> i don't know that i necessarily believe what he says. words are cheap. actions count. >> i like he's focusing on the economy and helping to stimulate jobs. that's what we need right now. >> i think that needs to be top priority for the united states to get us back on ground and be able to be a powerhouse again. i think we've lost that. >> like they used to say, it's the economy, stupid. when the economy's bad, that's got to be your main focus. >> i understand that health care is important. where it is right now is a little better than where our economy is. >> that's something that worries me because i'm working on my degree right now, and i know a lot of people that have bachelor's and master's degrees and cannot find a job. >> as much as we need health care to be dealt with, we have a situation that's the only closest situation we can imagine would be a depression. i don't care if you have health care if you can't afford rent. >> i don't think you can have a solid health care system unless you have people back to work, the economy booming. >> i'd still like to see health care reform, but, you know, that may just have to wait. >> reporter: i'm joe carter, and i'm see you on the street. we are getting word from multiple sources that police vehicles and moving vans are outside singer wayne newton's ranch in las vegas. it's right there. we don't know why right now, but newton was reportedly being sued by the las vegas meter speedway because he apparently didn't pay a $3 million loan. the detroit-area airport also alleges that he owes more than $60,000 after abandoning a plane there more than three years ago. in 2005, the irs said newton owed nearly $2 million in taxes and penalties. so we don't know why, but you can clearly see all the vehicles there. a church in virginia lets people bare their souls and pretty much everything else during church services. the white tail chapel is acongr. the pastor says it's family oriented and god doesn't really care what you're wearing when you pray. >> i come here and you look around, you can't tell who's unemployed and who's a millionaire. who the corporate executive is and who the plumber is. >> you can tell some other things, though. if you want to know what this is about, this church is part of a nudist resort. more than 10,000 people visited the colony last year. students say something that they can't believe happened at their high school pep rally. now, two of their teachers are in hot water for their risque performance. we have breaking news coming to us from fresno, california, where an arson suspect has opened fire on deputies and fire investigators. they were apparently trying to serve an arrest warrant. four people, including two deputies and a police officer, were shot. one was shot in the head. they all have been taken to the hospital. two of the shooting victims are in critical condition. witnesses say after shooting the officers, the gunman barricaded himself inside a house and continued to fire. we are trying to get you more information on the situation coming to us from fresno, california. we've been telling you about the killer whale named tilikum, the orca killed its trainer yesterday at seaworld in orlando. it is the third fatal encounter between the orca and human be g beings. should these giant predators be hell in captivity? let's start with two callers that both deal with wildlife conservation. bruce is a wildlife biologist in phoenix. bruce, you say that there are positives, things that are good, about these animals being held in captivity. make your case. >> caller: yeah. unfortunately, we consider it a necessary evil. a lot of times it's the only exposure young people, or people for that matter, in american society today have with nature. you may remember -- i know there's books, there's tv shows, all sorts of nature shows, but remember back in fifth or sixth grade you're talking about snakes or owls, looking at pictures, and one day the wildlife guy shows up with a snake or an owl. big difference, you know. you pass it around the room, get to pet it, hold it. that sticks with you a long time, and we need that kind of exposure to ensure that wildlife conservation continues because we need public support like that. >> okay, bruce. thank you. got someone on the phone who is listening who wants to weigh in. bruce, appreciate your perspective and appreciate what you do for a living. susan, you're calling us from maryland. what is your response? we have other people that line up with what bruce is saying, that there's something to be learned from this, that people have experience with animals that they otherwise wouldn't. what's your take on that? >> caller: well, i absolutely agree that there is nothing like a face-to-face encounter with wildlife, and that is one of the reasons that the public is just in love with these kind of places. but when it comes to a creature like a killer whale, they are so big, their range is so far in the wild that they are being kept in what is basically a container. and, in most cases, i think zoos and aquariums serve a wonderful purpose, but we have to look at this particular animal and really try to reassess what we're doing. the point that i had made earlier in an e-mail was that with the, you know, 3d imax theaters, incredible documentaries we can see in high-definition television, the internet, we have all kinds of means to educate the public about marine mammals, endangered species. we really have to revisit this situation. >> susan, let me ask you this, too. along those lines, there are natural habitats we can also make our way to to see these animals as well. >> caller: that's right. through whale watching and eco-tourism. not everybody is fortunate to be able to have that experience, but i think that the media and technology and advances have given us tools to be able to look beyond keeping these creatures, especially killer whales -- i'm not advocating that all zoos and aquariums be about. nowhere near that. my point is that kill whales are a different breed and keeping whales in captivity is probably something we need to move beyond at this point. >> susan and bruce, thank you both very much for that discussion. i hope i was able to facilitate it a little bit. thank you. let me get some e-mail and facebook comments out there. we got this from fidget from canada. what's the point of studying them if we're not going to learn? shouldn't we have learned by now that they are intelligent feeling creatures th s that beln pods and in the ocean. when we take that away from them, we only can learn how cruel humans can be. an overwhelming number of comments on facebook. jeanne wrote this, they are supposed to be in ocean, not to be used for entertainment. we have abused them long enough. it's sick. we've been trying to share lots of different points of view. we still want to hear what you think. should killer whales be held in capti captivity? are you bugged by the entertainment factor of it? what do you want us to know about this? e-mail us at cnn.com/hln, send us a text to hlntv. standard text rates apply. 7-year-old asia johnson hasn't been seen or heard from for more than a month. today the oklahoma state bureau of investigations renewed its plea to the public for help. it also issued this warning for lester hubs, the man accused of abducting this child. it would be better to turn yourself in than make investigators find you. they also described in some pretty grisly detail how they believe aja's mother was killed back in january and where aja was at the time. >> tanya hobbs had filed for a protective order just months before she was murdered. that protective order documents that lester hobbs had threatened to kill her children with a hammer. it now appears that lester hobbs carried out that threat and actually used a hammer to kill his own wife, very possibly while aja lay on the sofa next to him. >> oh, dear. investigators say hobbs is known to change his appearance, but there are two things that clearly identify him. they say he has the word "rose" tattooed on the back of the fingers of his right hand and "love" tattooed on the back of his left hand. they also say he may be raising money by shooting pool. winter is holding on tight. the northeastern u.s. is getting the brunt of it again right now. a major winter storm could dump at least eight inches of snow from philadelphia to new york city. but the winds could be the worst problem with gusts of up to 55 miles per hour in spots along the coast and in some of the mountainous areas, this is what it looks like in albany, the capital of new york. the national weather service says when it's all said and done spots like pennsylvania's lehigh valley could see up to a foot and a half of snow. winter storm warnings actually stretch into ohio along much of the appalachian mountains, as for south as the tennessee/north carolina line. stocks rallied yesterday but gave most of it back today. poply harlow joins us with the wrap-up of the trading day. y poppy, good to see you. >> you, too. a down day for market, stocks tumbling right after the opening bell, a lot of worries about greece's debt crisis leading to possibly a broader european debt crisis. the concern that's unnerving investors is that the problem could spread across europe and really unyou ravel our economic recovery in this country. weighing on stocks today we had a pretty sour report on jobless claims jumping by more than 20,000 last week. analysts had expected a decline in jobless claims, and we should note jobless claims have jumped 12% over the last two weeks. so the major averages erased most of wednesday's gains but they did end well off their worst levels of the session. taking a look at the closing numbers on wall street, the dow down 53, ending at 10,321. nasdaq and s&p also fractionally lower today. meantime, making headlines in the business world, fed chief ben bernanke back on capitol hill telling the senate committee that the central bank is looking into whether u.s. you banks worsened greece's debt crisis. some u.s. banks are said to use complicated currency swap to help greece understate the debt problems betting thalt country would default on its debt. coming up tomorrow, friday on wall street, we'll get key reports, consumer sentiment, existing home sales, also a revised reading on fourth quarter gdp, the final day of the trading week. a lot of questions today about why a killer whale at seaworld turned on its trainer. next jane velez-mitchell host of "issues" will give her take on this tragic incident. don't go anywhere. 40-year-old dawn brancheau was one of the most experienced trainers at orlando seaworld. her death is a shock to her co-workers and park visitors who saw this happen yesterday. a killer whale named tilikum dragged her under water at the end of a performance in the shamu stadium. audience members said, at first it just seemed like it was part of the show. >> we never saw, like, any biting or anything. it just looked like it was playing at first, like it never seemed to be aggressively trying to hurt her in any way. it just seemed to be all in training. >> we now have the results of brancheau's autopsy. it says rescuers were not able to immediately jump in and help her because of the whale's aggressive nature. she was recovered from the water by seaworld staff members after the animal was coaxed into a smaller pool and lifted out of the water by a large scale/platform that lay on the bottom of the smaller tank. tell you a little bit more about her. she was married. she did not have kids. those who knew her say she loved the whales like they were her own children. >> that's why it's a great opportunity for people to come and do any of our programs where they can get a sample of the water and what it's like to be a trainer. >> that is an interview she did with our orlando affiliate in 2000. she had been working with the killer whales for ten years and by all accounts was the best at it. seaworld has canceled all killer whale performances at its california and orlando parks. the park isn't open for the season until this weekend in san antonio. seaworld is still trying to sort out why the orca killed this trainer. the 12,000-pound mammal has a history, 1 of three whales involved in the death of a trainer at a canadian theme park in 1991. eight years later, a man who apparently sneaked past security after hours died in tilikum's tank. the trainer's sister insists she would not want anything bad to happen to tilly because of her death. >> when you talked to her about the whales, you would thought she was talking about her children. who was acting up and not behaving. she loved them to death. a lot of them she was there when they were born and she raised them. >> some suggest there were problems with the orcas during the performance. seaworld rejects that indication. it's clear there are no plans to euthanize this particular wail. >> she seemed to be doing really, really well. he had a great session. and at the end of it she was apparently rubbing the animal down, and then apparently the whale pulled her in. >> will tilikum be put to sleep for this? >> absolutely not. >> why not? >> he's a large animal. he's a killer whale. we understand the risk of working with these animals. >> we want to know what you think about this horrific tragedy? what's your reaction to it? we hit the street, rather, in this case just outside the georgia aquarium, to get your views. >> reporter: so we're standing out in front of the georgia aquarium talking to folks coming in and out of the aquarium about the incident that happened yesterday in orlando. this is john from new york. he is about to head inside the aquarium. you know what happened yesterday. >> yes. >>. >> reporter: your thoughts on the incident, accident. >> extremely unfortunate. i am questioning the training. >> reporter: the training of the trainers? >> the orcas, whether they're completely safe. my understanding is that this has happened with this particular orca before, similar violent incidents. >> reporter: it's been linked to two other deaths, not quite the same situation but certainly linked to a couple of other deaths. you're about to head inside, go to see these wonderful, beautiful animals. is this animal cruelty or good for science and research an a chance for us to see these animals up close and personal? >> i think it's the latter, good for research and for us us to see them up close and personal. this is our second time here. >> reporter: oh, really? >> we're coming back to see it because we enjoyed it so much. >> reporter: is there a big difference between something like the aquarium and the zoo or the zoo versus seaworld? >> seaworld, my understanding, i've never been there, but they make these animals do tricks like they did. >> reporter: yeah. >> and with the history of this particular orca and i question the training also of the people, whether it was completely safe. things like that. i'm wondering if they should do this. >> reporter: do it, period. >> the jumping and the tricks and everything. >> reporter: you're think having an animal like this 12,000-pound whale and performing is asking for trouble. >> i think due to the possibility, yes. you're asking for it. >> reporter: do you think there's anything that can be done that's going to help these animals not have violent acts against people? >> maybe there's a more intensive training. i'm not aware of it, but should we be doing it at all? for our enter containmentainmeng that is six tons and has a history. >> reporter: john, enjoy your time. we appreciate your opinions. we've been talking to many people about this. we've heard opinions on both sides. back to you. >> great dialogue on this topic. we appreciate your views all the time, and when you see joe, tell him what you think. we have new video to show you of a leak at the shark-filled aquarium at the dubai mall. it's one of the city's biggest tourist attractions. it was quite a mess earlier when the leak opened p up. i mean, really opened up. hundreds of gallons of water spilled out, soaking people in the mall, forcing shops to close down. it has been plugged up. things are actually back to normal. mall officials say the 33,000 sea creatures inside the tank were not hurt. i want to get back to this breaking news we're following out of fresno, california. an arresting suspect opened fire on deputies and fire investigators who were trying to serve an arrest warrant. as a result, four people, including two deputies and a police officer, were shot. one was shot in the shed. at least two of these victims are in critical condition. witnesses say after shooting the officers the gunman barricaded himself inside a house, continued firing, and a neighbor says he heard what sounded like hundreds of shots. this is an ongoing situation. we are continuing to get you more information. 7-year-old aja johnson hasn't been seen or heard from for more than a month. today the oklahoma state bureau of investigations renewed its plea to the public for help, and it also issued this warning for lester hobbs. he is the man accused of abducting aja. this is what they are saying. it's better to turn yourself in than make investigators find you. they also described in some pretty gruesome detail how they believe aja's mother was killed back in january and where aja was at the time. >> tanya hobbs had filed for a protective order just months before she was murdered. that protective order documents that lester hobbs had threatened to kill her children with a hammer. it now appears that lester hobbs carried out that threat and actually used a hammer to kill his own wife, very possibly while aja lay on the sofa next to him. >> investigators say hobbs is known to change his appearance, but there are at least a couple of things that clearly identify him. they say he has the word "rose" tattooed on the back of the fingers on his right hand and on his left hand the word "love" tattooed. they also say he may be raising money by shooting pool. we're getting word from multiple sources that law enforcement vehicles and moving fans are outside of weigh wayne newton's house, his ranch, in las vegas. at this point, no one is saying why or why the vehicles are there are, why the agency or any of the vehicles are there. but newton was reportedly being sued by the las vegas motor speedway because apparently he didn't pay on a $3 million loan. also, detroit-area airport is alleging he owes more than $60,000 after abandoning a plane there more than three years ago. and in 2005, the irs said that newton owed nearly $2 million in taxes and penalties. somebody's trying to sort something out. just don't know what yet. president obama is hosting a televised summit on health care reform. will anything really get accomplished? is it a big old publicity stunt? your views on that next. summits are nothing new in washington. i mean, they do these things a lot. this one is a little different, though. we're on this one live right there. the president is hosting a much-hyped bipartisan health will care summit with key democrats and republicans. this is happening at blair house. it's been a long day for them. the republicans want the president to start over on this stalled health care reform package. house speaker nancy pelosi says it is too late for that. let's give you another little nugget from what happened today. a lot of critics are blasting this as it being a publicity stunt. john mccain accused the president of using political talking points at the summit. >> at the town hall meetings that i conduct all over my state, people are angry. we promised them change in washington, and what we got was a process that you and i both said we would change in washington. >> let me just make this point, john, because we're not campaigning anymore. the election's over. >> i'm reminded of that every day. >> yeah. >> oh, dear. some of your comments today have been that you thought folks were playing for the camera. i don't know. maybe that's what you meant. health care is definitely a controversial topic. it has been one of the more viewed topics of the day, whether you think there should be a compromise, maybe you think they should start over, maybe you don't like what you've been seeing on tv today. let's jump in so i can read some of the comments on my facebook page. mike wrote us this -- the arguments by both sides are not disingenuous. i believe they believe what they are saying. it's just that the cameras, in the name of transparency, prevent compromise. the cameras cause politicians to be politicians. mike, that is a great sentence. we like that. drew wrote this -- it seems it's a political show happening to say i gave it at least one try. even though i'm all for a better and vast health care for all, i would be content being able to write off on my taxes the money i spend for health will carthis. jayne wrote this -- if they can't put something together after this, they should be ashamed of themselves. barbara says this is all show. all of this rhetoric doesn't benefit me or my family or anyone else without health assurance and unable to afford it. the politicians are too busy disagreeing to get anything accomplished that will benefit the people. linda sent us this -- the president is giving us transparency and people are still complaining. to start over is ridiculous. thanks. thank you very much for your views, thoughts on this. you can still get in on our topics. we appreciate it. call us right now at 1-877-tell-hln. or send us an e-mail or a text to hlntv. or on my facebook page. well, students saw something they could not believe at their high school pep rally. now two of their teachers are in hot water for their risque performance. there's a clip of it right there. "prime news" is coming up in a few minutes. let's check in with my friend mike. your first story is something that viewers wanted to make sure we knew about. they were facebooking me about this, mike, because they're so upset about this development in the shaniya davis case. >> cute little shaniya davis, 5 years old. the allegations are that her mom used her to pay off a drug debt. she's raped and murdered. now her mom is out of jail, been bonded out. people are going, wait a minute. this takes place, the crime she's accused of, her own mother. she's out on bond? >> which is legal. >> right. >> it is the system. >> ght. then it gets into, what was the bond? 50,000, 51,000. they came up with 10% of that? viewers think that is very low for such a horrific crime here. we'll talk about it, 1-877-tell-hln. we'll keep you posted on the terrible tragedy at seaworld, a whale attack on a senior trainer. we'll hear from her, some old footage of her talking about her passion for her job and the whales and the relationship that have been built. but it leaves the question you've been talking about all day. >> the viewers have been very passionate about it. >> we're going to hit on first and foremost, what happened. what should happen to this whale in particular. and should these whales even be in captivity? should there be shows at seaworld? call in. a story you're going to talk about, the lap dancing teachers. >> my eyes, my eyes! >> i know. we had to do some blurring or should do some blurring when you look at this. what should happen to these teachers? you're going to talk about it. we're going to talk about it. call in. . >> a high school pep rally? >> i know. nice example. >> my eyes! i've it a few times today. >> a few too many. >> perfect for "prime news," isn't it? >> it is. we want to bring you a story we've been trying to keep in the top of your mind. the parents of missing "growing pains" actor andrew koenig just want to know he's okay as any parent would. koenig was visiti ining frinds vancouver when he disappeared. the search of a park in vancouver which koenig loved to visit has turned up nothing. koenig's parents arrived in vancouver this week, sent an emotional message to their son. >> we just want to know that you're okay. and if it means you want to stay here, you want to change your life and stay here, fine. y find peace and happiness here as you have in the past, that's okay. that's okay. you don't have to come back. just let us know that's your intention. >> andrew koenig has a history of depression and reportedly has been off his medication about a year. the man investigators want to question in connection with the killing of 7-year-old somer thompson facing child molestation and child porn charges appearing in a north florida court today. there are new charges against him. child molestation and 12 counts of producing child pornography on top of the 29 counts of child porn possession he also faces. florida investigators also want to talk to harrell about thompson's death. her body was found in a landfill in south georgia two days after she disappeared. winter holding on tight but the northeastern u.s. is getting the brunt again. a major storm could dump at least eight inches of snow from philadelphia to new york city but the winds could be the worst problems with gusts up to 55 miles per hour in spots along the coast and mountainous areas. this is what it looks like in albany, the capital of new york. the national weather service says when all said and done spots like lehigh valley, north of philly could, see a foot and a half of snow. winter storm warnings actually stretch into ohio along the appalachian mountains and as far as the tennessee/north carolina line ja this was to be a dance competition. some kids saw a whole lot more. here we go. two canadian teachers performed a lap dance in front of students. you're watching cell phone video posted on the internet. it's all over the interweb, in fact. a male and female teacher did the lap dance at a pep rally last friday at a high school in winnipeg and the students were stunned. >> i was just thinking, oh, my god, it looked like, dare i say it, sex on the dance floor. >> it was human oohumorous at f >> the teachers were sent home without pay. a lot of questions why a killer whale killed its trainer. next host of "issues" jane velez-mitchell will give us her take on that tragic incident. %%

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