Programs and enhanced interrogation programs. Gupta terrorist surveillance programs, wiretapping, enhanced interrogation. Youd had four heart attacks, three catheterizations at this point, a defibrillator, bypass surgery. Did you worry about your physical health impacting your judgment and your cognition . No. Gupta not at all . No. Gupta were you the best that you could be . Pelley the humpback is one of the most fascinating creatures on earth. 80 of their lives are spent submerged. We see a male standing on his head, upside down, singing a song. Pelley males in one region will all sing the same song the same way. But next year, theyll return with a new composition. As you will see tonight, it is remarkable that this whale has been able to come back at all. Im steve kroft. Im lesley stahl. Im morley safer. Im lara logan. Im sanjay gupta. Im scott pelley. Those stories tonight on 60 minutes. [ male announcer ] introducing new fast acting advil. 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Kroft the Government Shutdown that finally ended on wednesday night furloughed 800,000 government workers for the better part of two weeks, but there was one group of federal employees that was able to maintain the lifestyle that many of them have grown accustomed to members of congress. With all the talk about their irreconcilable political differences, we wanted to see if they shared any common ground. And we found some. For example, there seems to be a permanent majority in congress thats completely satisfied with the current state of Campaign Financing and congressional ethics, and members of both parties have institutionalized ways to skirt the rules. Most americans believe its against the law for congressmen and senators to profit personally from their political office, but its an open secret in washington that thats not the case. As the saying goes, the real scandal in washington isnt whats illegal; its whats legal. Georgia senator Saxby Chambliss likes golf, so much so that he spent more than 100,000 the past two years entertaining at some of the finest courses in the world. New york congressman Gregory Meeks prefers football; he spent 35,000 on nfl games. All of this was paid for with political contributions, all in the name of democracy. Peter schweizer i think Campaign Fundraising is increasingly not just about winning elections; its a lifestyle subsidy. Kroft Peter Schweizer is an author and fellow at the hoover institution. For the past few years, he and a team of researchers have been investigating the way congressmen and senators have personally benefited from the hundreds of millions of dollars in political contributions that have poured into the system. I think most people have the impression that Campaign Funds cannot be used for personal expenses. Is that true . Schweizer yes. Regular Campaign Funds cannot, thats correct. But there are ways around it. Like all things in washington, the devil is in the details, and loopholes are usually put in place for a reason. Kroft for example, when Congress Passed the Ethics Reform act of 1989, it plainly stated a member shall convert no Campaign Funds to personal use. But soon afterwards, congressional leaders quietly invented something called leadership pacs Political Action committees that were not technically Campaign Funds, and thus exempt from the personal use prohibition. This is a loophole . Trevor potter right. Thats correct. Kroft Trevor Potter is a former chairman of the federal Election Commission. He says it didnt take long for congressmen and senators to figure out the distinct advantages of having a leadership pac, with no restrictions. Potter since they werent around when the ban on personal use was put into place, theyre not covered by it. And they can be used for literally anything. Kroft over time, the leadership pacs that were created as a way for congressional leaders of both parties to raise money and distribute it to their members have evolved into something different. Today, nearly every congressman and senator has a leadership pac, not just the leaders, and they are used to solicit contributions from friends and supporters in order to advance their political agendas, their careers, and in many cases, their lifestyle. Its like a political slush fund. Potter thats exactly what it is; its a political slush fund. Over time, weve had them. Theyve been outlawed. They spring back in new guises, and this is the latest guise. Kroft potter says they are essentially personal political expense accounts, financed largely by lobbyists and special interest groups. Leadership pacs are now the second largest political revenue stream for members of congress. Schweizer you can use them for babysitting, paying for babysitters. You can use them for paying for car service. You can use them for travel. Nobodys really checking to see whether this is personal or legitimate business expense. Kroft back in 2006, North Carolina senator and president ial candidate john edwards used his leadership pac to pay his mistress Rielle Hunter 114,000 to make a campaign video. And republican congressman Ander Crenshaw of florida spent 32,000 hosting a tour of california wineries for a group of contributors from the defense industry, which he has some oversight of. Schweizer look, theyre not having leadership pac meetings at the hampton inn down the road. Theyre going to the premier golfing and resorts in the United States and in. Sometimes, around the world. And thats ostensibly where theyre doing this leadership pac work. Kroft for example, democratic congressman Robert Andrews of new jersey used 16,000 from his leadership pac, the committee to strengthen america, to fly his family to scotland, ostensibly to attend the wedding of a friend that he was thinking about hiring as a political consultant. Schweizer why he needed to meet him in edinburgh, scotland, at a fourstar resort, i think, is open to question. So they will categorize them as something related to the leadership pac. But in reality, theyre for personal use. Kroft we wanted to talk to congressman andrews about his leadership pac and the family trip to scotland, but were turned down. We did manage to find him at a hearing, and passed him a note announcing our presence. Andrews, it turns out, is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for misusing Campaign Funds to advance the career of his daughter. He agreed to talk to us outside. What about this trip to scotland . Rob andrews i follow all the rules, met the standards, and there is a matter pending before the House Ethics Committee. Under those rules, my obligations not to talk about the investigation until its over. Kroft we talked to the ethics committee. They said they have no problem with you talking to us about this. Andrews well, its my understanding of the rules are that, when theres a pending matter, im supposed to keep it confidential and so are they. So, im going to follow those rules. Kroft these leadership pacs have been described by a lot of people as sort of political slush funds. Do you agree with that . Andrews you know, i think we should take a look at having clearer rules at what they can and cannot be spent for. Id be for that. Kroft thats what almost everyone in congress says, but no one really seems to want reform. It should be pointed out that not all congressmen use the their pacs for their personal benefit, but the federal Election Commission has called the level of abuse substantial. Its former chairman, Trevor Potter, says the commission has consistently recommended to congress that it should outlaw the personal use of leadership pacs. And whats happened to that recommendation . Potter nothing. You know, it enters a black hole. Kroft thats because the leadership pacs have become a political annuity for congress that members can cash in when they leave office, or hold onto for the future. Potter what you see more often is that members will keep the leadership pac, and they will use it in retirement for everything that is vaguely a political expense. If they become a lobbyist, which about half of members who leave congress do nowadays, that becomes their lobbying slush fund. It just keeps going, at least until death. Kroft and even beyond death. Potter well, even beyond death, someone else is spending that money. Kroft when republican congressman paul gillmor of ohio died suddenly from a heart attack in 2007, his staff decided that no political contribution should go unspent. Potter the staff went off to a number of dinners and pizza parties and other events using the leadership pac money. What they said was, well, its a grieving process. And also, we need to talk to each other about getting new jobs, and this is a way to do it. Kroft and nobody had any problems with that . Potter the problem is, its not illegal. Kroft there are lots of things in washington that would seem to be illegal but really arent, if you know your way through the loopholes. Melanie sloan is the executive director of citizens for responsibility and ethics in washington, a small group that tracks campaign expenditures. As we said earlier its against the law to use Campaign Funds for personal use, but sloan says its perfectly acceptable to use Campaign Funds to hire your wife, husband, children, grandchildren, and inlaws. Melanie sloan while there are antinepotism rules that prevent them from hiring their family members on the official staff, they can indeed hire them on the campaign payroll, and do. Kroft and they do . Sloan and they do. Kroft sloan says there are at least 75 members of congress who have hired members of their family to work on their campaign and paid them with political contributions. Until republican congressman ron paul of texas retired last year, he seemed to be the leader with six family members on the campaign payroll daughter, daughters motherinlaw, three grandchildren, and a grand childinlaw, paying them a total of 304,000 over the past two election cycles. But paul only ranked third in total payouts to family members, behind former republican congressman jerry lewis and democratic congresswoman maxine waters, both of california. For some congressmen and senators, this is sort of a family business. Sloan absolutely. It is a family business. They have members of their family on the campaign payroll. And they also will often have members of their family who are lobbyists and lobby on issues in which the member may even be working. Kroft we were interested in talking to republican congressman rodney alexander, who had just retired midterm, after winning a campaign with no democratic opposition last year, a race in which he paid his two daughters a total of 130,000. Congressman . Steve kroft from 60 minutes. We just wanted to ask you about both your daughters on the Campaign Staff . I mean, the figures that we have according to the reports are 73,000 to lisa lowe, and 57,000 to ginger. Rodney alexander thats for a twoyear. Thats for the election cycle. Kroft what exactly did they do . Can you tell me . Alexander do everything others do for other campaigns. Kroft whatever they did, it couldnt have been that stressful. Alexander won 78 of the vote against a libertarian candidate who wanted to abolish the i. R. S. I mean, to some people, it just looks like youre using your Campaign Fund to enrich your family. Alexander well, somebody has to do that work, steve. Kroft so, you kept it in the family . Alexander well, i kept it with somebody that i can trust and if one cant trust their daughter, then who can they trust . Schweizer i think its the kind of nepotism that, in large parts of american society, we frown about. I mean, in corporate america, a lot of corporations have policies that relate to nepotism and the hiring and firing of individual people. But congress has created this domain that allows them to decide whether something is ethical or whether something is good. And its another example, unfortunately, where the rules that apply to the rest of us dont really apply to members of congress. Kroft in january, senator david vitter of louisiana introduced a bill to try and rectify the situation. It would prohibit members from paying relatives with campaign or leadership accounts. David vitter that is a loophole, an area of abuse that we must close. Kroft so far, senator vitter has not found a single co sponsor. And no one is the least bit surprised. Sloan everyone in washington knows this goes on. Its wellknown, an open secret. The problem is people in ohio and new mexico have no idea whats going on here in washington. Kroft sloan says another way congressmen can personally benefit from the use of political contributions is by making personal loans to their Campaign Funds, then charging abovemarket and sometimes exorbitant interest rates. Sloans organization found at least 15 cases, with the worst offender being democratic congresswoman Grace Napolitano who charged her campaign 18 . How much money did she loan her campaign . Sloan she loaned herself 150,000, and over a 12year period, took in 228,000 in interest. Kroft i think everybody would like that investment. Sloan i think so. Kroft and thats legal. Sloan and thats legal. Kroft after weeks of trying to get an interview with congresswoman napolitano, we finally cornered her outside a meeting of the hispanic caucus. She told us that as a woman and a minority, banks wouldnt lend her money, so she had to withdraw 150,000 from an investment account to lend it to her campaign. You loaned money to your campaign, and then charged the campaign 18 interest . Grace napolitano that is correct. To be able to do a lot of the things i had to do were not feasible, unless i did what i had to do. And so at that point, that what was recommended, and thats what i went with. Kroft i dont think theres anything wrong with loaning your campaign money. But then collecting 18 interest from your campaign seems a little too much. Napolitano would you go out and get a loan and not get charged interest . Kroft its still 18 and 228,000 in interest. Napolitano you like to favor 18 . Kroft i do like to favor. I mean, thats what the mafia gets. Napolitano it isnt like ive really profited. I still live in the same house. I drive a small car. I am not a billionaire, or a millionaire, for that matter. Kroft did your Campaign Contributors know that you were paying back a loan, charging the Campaign Committee 18 . Napolitano well, you dont go out and publicize that, but they know that i had a campaign debt. Sloan when folks are asked for Campaign Donations and when they make Campaign Donations, they are doing it because they are in sync with that member of congresss views and they want to see them pushing policies and get reelected. I dont think they have any idea that some of that money is actually going into the members personal bank account. Kroft there are currently two modest Ethics Reform bills pending in congress that would change a small part of what weve been talking about one sponsored by a senate republican, the other by a house democrat. Neither has a prayer of even being debated. Schweizer we hear a lot about how theres so much partisan fighting in washington, steve. Heres a great example of bipartisanship. Both sides like this current system. Welcome to the cbs sports update presented by pacific life. Im james brown. The jets win in o. T. To move within one game of the patriots while dallas is now all along atop the n. F. C. East. The bengals win as time expires and increase their lead in the a. F. C. North. Pittsburgh wins its second straight on the lastsecond field goal over baltimore. Kansas city remains unbeaten while Philip Rivers and the chargers roll past the winless jags. 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Gupta dick cheney is one of the most polarizing figures in america. But whatever your opinion of him, youll be surprised to learn that during his years in government, his biggest fight was for his own survival. He has been the beneficiary of nearly every medical breakthrough to combat Heart Disease over the last 35 years, including a heart transplant at the age of 71. And as youll hear tonight, many of those innovations came just in time to save his life. Its all revealed in a new book called heart that hes written with his cardiologist jonathan reiner. Its a medical story, but also a story about how his disease intersected with pivotal moments in modern history. Cheneys health was so tied to his political career, just 67 days after taking the oath as Vice President , he took a historic and unprecedented action. Dick cheney basically, what i did was i resigned the vice presidency, effective march 28 of 2001. Gupta so nearly for your entire time as Vice President , there was a letter of resignation sitting there. Cheney pending. Gupta pending. Gupta cheney discovered there was no provision in the constitution to replace a Vice President who is alive, but incapacitated. So he drew up a letter of resignation to give to the president. Cheney it says, in accordance with section 20 of title three of the United States code, i, richard b. Cheney, hereby resign the office of Vice President of the United States. Gupta how did president bush react when you told him about this . Cheney a little surprised. But he thought it was a good idea. Gupta it was just three years ago cheney says that people gasped when they saw how frail he had become. Today, just 20 months after his heart transplant, cheneys weight is back to normal, the color has returned to his skin, he has no shortness of breath. How are you feeling . Cheney fantastic. Now, im to the point where i literally, you know, feel like i have a new heart. A lot more energy than i had previously. There arent any real physical limits on what i do. I fish, i hunt. And i dont ski, but thats because of my knees, not my heart. So, its. Its been a miracle. Dick cheney is a product of product of modern medicine at its best. He has suffered five heart attacks, undergone open heart surgery, multiple catheterizations and angioplasties, had a defibrillator implanted, and a pump attached directly to his heart all of that before his transplant at age 71. Each time cheney reached the precipice of death, a breakthrough in medical Technology Extended his life. Bad hearts run in dick cheneys family, and early on, he did little to take care of himself. He had his first cigarette at age 12, and by the time he was president fords chief of staff at age 34, his daily staples included fatty food, beer, and up to three packs a day. Cheney all the Cigarette Companies donated cigarettes in a white box with gold trim around it embossed with the president ial seal. That was kind of, if you were in a Cocktail Party or meeting in washington, and whipped out your president ial cigarettes and lit it up with a park of matches from air force one, that was sort of a status symbol. Gupta after his First White House stint, cheney returned to wyoming to run for congress. At just 37, his genetics and his lifestyle caught up with him. He suffered his first heart attack, and doctors thought he should quit the race, but he didnt want to hear it. You were pretty persuasive because, i mean, they said, it would be wise to drop out of this at the present time. Cheney they said that in the medical records. Gupta they didnt tell you that . Cheney well, i dont recall. What i took away from the conversations was that key phrase hard work never killed anyone. Gupta patients like to hear what they want to hear. Cheney and that may well have been the case here, as well, too. But they also emphasized that stress comes from doing something you dont. Dont want to be doing. Gupta he won that election, and five more after that, but his Heart Disease was steadily progressing. By the time cheney took over as the first president bushs secretary of defense in 1989, hed suffered three heart attacks and undergone quadruple bypass surgery. It was a time of global upheaval. And dick cheney was in the center of it all the collapse of communism, the uprising in Chinas Tiananmen square, and the first gulf war. Cheney our army, navy, air force and marines prepare for one of the largest land assaults of modern times. Gupta looking back, do you think the stress affected your Heart Disease and your Overall Health . Cheney i simply dont buy the notion that it contributed to my Heart Disease. It was in fact that getting back to work, getting back to that job, whatever that job might be, was important enough that i, in fact, kept them separate, i guess would be the way to think about it. Gupta but i do wonder as a doctor, is that really plausible . Can you really keep such a significant medical history and such a significant job separate . Cheney i did. Gupta but when george w. Bush asked cheney to be his running mate in 2000, there was enough concern that the Bush Campaign sought out the opinion of world Renowned Texas heart surgeon Denton Cooley. After speaking with cheneys cardiologist, dr. Jonathan reiner, dr. Cooley told the Bush Campaign that cheney was in good health with normal cardiac function. The normal cardiac function wasnt true. Cheney im not responsible for that. I didnt know what took place between the doctors. Gupta this idea that you have this respected heart surgeon from texas who didnt see you, didnt examine you, and then writes something saying that you have normal cardiac function. That just wasnt true, mr. Vice president. Cheney go ask Denton Cooley about that. Gupta but sir, you saw it. Cheney listen to me i think the bottom line is, was i up to the task of being Vice President . And theres no question. I think based upon the fact that i did it for eight years that they were right. Gupta how were they able to say that you were able to do the job . Cheney the way i look at it, sanjay, is that first of all, i didnt seek the job. The president came to me and asked me to be his Vice President. The party nominated me. The doctors that consulted on it reached a common conclusion. And the people elected me. Now, what basis do i override the decisionmaking process . Do you want to have an offshoot where we come check with sanjay gupta and say, gee, is he up to the task . Thats not the way it works. Gupta despite cheneys insistence that he was fit for office, and just four months after being cleared by his doctors, cheney suffered another heart attack, his fourth. Cheney it was there and it was chest discomfort sufficient so i thought i ought to check it out. Gupta this time, it came while the country was embroiled in the 2000 president ial recount. Cheney needed a stent to prop open a clogged artery. Are you read to take the oath of office . Cheney i am. Please raise your hand and repeat after me. Gupta yet again, modern medicine had helped dick cheney dodge a bullet. But it was just nine months later when cheney confronted what he considers one of the Biggest Challenges of his life, 9 11. With president bush in florida, cheney was in a bunker under the white house helping make decisions, even given authority by the president to shoot down passenger airliners. I mean, as far as stress goes, and again, as a doctor, with your heart history, how worried were you about just your health in the midst of all this . Cheney didnt occur to me. Gupta not at all . Cheney no. I didnt think about my health. I was thinking about the problems we were dealing with. Gupta but what cheney didnt know was that his cardiologist, jonathan reiner, had received the results of a blood test that morning showing his potassium levels were dangerously high, a condition called hyperkalemia. Big concern, i mean, how how big are we talking about . Jonathan reiner potassium of 6. 9 can kill you. Gupta this is a huge problem. Reiner yeah. I laid awake that night, watching the replays of the towers come down and now thinking that, oh great, the Vice President s going to die tonight from hyperkalemia. Gupta another blood test the next day showed cheneys potassium levels were normal. But this level of scrutiny over dick cheneys health is a reminder he is not ordinary patient, and caring for him often required extraordinary precautions. In 2007, when cheney needed his implanted defibrillator replaced, dr. Reiner ordered the manufacturer to disable the wireless feature, fearing a terrorist could assassinate the Vice President by sending a signal to the device, telling it to shock his heart into cardiac arrest. Reiner and it seemed to me to be a bad idea for the Vice President of the United States to have a device that maybe somebody on a rope line or in the next hotel room or downstairs might be able to get into. Hack into. And i worried that someone could kill you. Gupta it might sound farfetched, but years later, this scene from the showtime drama homeland showed just how it could be done to the fictional Vice President. What did you think when you watched that . Cheney well, i was aware of the danger, if you will, that existed, but i found it credible. Because i know from the experience wed had and the necessity for adjusting my own device that it was an accurate portrayal of what was possible. Gupta the precariousness of cheneys physical Health Raises questions about his state of mind when he was helping make decisions, including those about war and peace. You were instrumental in many Big Decisions for the country, including going into afghanistan and iraq. Cheney and terrorist surveillance programs and enhanced interrogation programs. Gupta terrorist surveillance programs, wiretapping, enhanced interrogation. Youd had four heart attacks, three catheterizations at this point, a defibrillator, bypass surgery. Cheney right. Gupta did you worry about your physical health impacting your judgment and your cognition . Cheney no. Gupta not at all . Cheney no. Gupta were you the best that you could be . Cheney you know, i was as good as i could be, you know, given the fact i was 60some years old at that point and a heart patient. Gupta cheney didnt want to acknowledge numerous studies that show a significant connection between severe Heart Disease and memory loss, depression, a decline in decisionmaking abilities, and impaired cognition. Or that he could be one of the many patients vulnerable to these side effects. Did they talk at all about potential side effects because of limited blood flow to the brain, on cognition, on judgment . Was that something that you had heard about in any way . Cheney yeah. Gupta you didnt know about it . You werent worried about it . Cheney no. Gupta both . Did anyone counsel you at all on that . Cheney not that i recall. Gupta what about even things like depression . Cheney no. Gupta and thats all he wanted to say about that. But what dick cheney was eager to talk about was his transplant, detailed in his new book, heart. Cheney when you emerge from, from that gift of life itself, theres this tremendous feeling of emotion, but its very positive. I think my first words when i came out from under the anesthetic when they said it had worked great was, hot damn, literally. Gupta cheney and dr. Reiner wanted to show us just how dramatic his transformation has been. This is an image of cheneys ravaged and diseased heart just moments after it was removed. Reiner this is a rather large basin. And here is the heart. Cheney its the one i lived with for 70 years. Reiner a normal heart would basically be about the size of two fists clamped together like this, maybe even a little bit smaller. And you see this is about half a foot wide. Gupta old heart, new heart. Cheney old heart, new heart. Its one of those situation where bigger is not necessarily better. Gupta thats because a bigger heart cant effectively pump blood through the body. The xray on the left shows cheneys enlarged heart, twice the normal size and pushing on his other organs. On the right, his new heart. And then theres this comparison again on the left, cheneys diseased heart weakened, with narrowed arteries. And his new heart with healthy vessels and no blockages. Cheney dramatically displays how sick i was. Gupta today, cheney says hes taking good care of his new heart. He spends much of his time back in wyoming with his family, and playing rodeo hand to granddaughter gracie. Cheney you wake up every morning with a smile on your face because youve got a new day you never expected to have. And theres a sense of wonderment. Nothing short of magical. Gupta you know, magical, wonderment youre words. Those arent words you typically hear, or expect to hear from you. Cheney like darth vader. Well, those are the words i choose to describe it. Go to 60minutesovertime. Com to hear what sanjay gupta says all Heart Patients can learn from dick cheneys survival story. 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Whale hunting is rare today, but there is still a place on the high seas where theres a battle to eliminate the last vestiges of whaling. There, we found a man who has risked life and limb to end any threat to whales once and for all. Youre watching the ramming of a japanese whaling ship by a combative Conservation Group led by american paul watson. Hes trying to stop the transfer of a minke whale the japanese just killed to the factory ship that will cut it up. Commercial whaling is banned by international agreements, but the japanese and a few others are still launching harpoons. These scenes were shot for the Animal Planet series whale wars. And these scenes were shot by the whalers themselves, who say this is evidence that watson is nothing more than a pirate. The japanese obtained an International Arrest warrant for him. So, for the last year, this conservationist, or pirate, has lived on the worlds oceans unable to set foot on land. We are headed out to International Waters where watson lives on a ship beyond the reach of the law. But before he would meet with us, we had to agree that we wouldnt say where we are, or even what ocean this is. Suffice to say it involved several airplanes and many thousands of miles. Towards the end of that journey, watson sent this trimaran to pick us up. This boat once set the speed record for circumnavigating the earth. He named the boat for an actress who is a supporter, but to us, it looked more darth vader than brigitte bardot. Watson came to the bardot from a floating hideout that we agreed not to show. He is one of the founders of greenpeace. And now, at the age of 62, he calls his new armada sea shepherd. Paul watson the simple fact is this if the oceans die, we die. Sea shepherd was set up to uphold those International Laws and regulations protecting our oceans. Pelley but why is that your job . Countries enforce laws. Why are you doing this . Watson i just do not see the political will on the part of these governments to do anything. Pelley but that makes you a vigilante. Youre deciding on your own that youre going to enforce these laws. What gives you the right . Watson because i want to survive. And i want to make sure that my children survive. And im not going to sit back and watch the oceans be destroyed because governments dont have the political or economic will to uphold these laws. Pelley the whaling ban makes an exception for research. And the japanese proclaim that exception in tall letters on their ships. They set their own quotasabout 900 minkes, 50 fin whales and 50 humpbacks. These are minkes. And even though the japanese reserve the right to kill humpbacks, they havent, according to the International Whaling commission. Watson there is no scientific basis for what theyre doing. We have seen them take a whale onto the factory vessel. Theres no scientist there. Theres nobody measuring anything. They simply cut them up, send them down below, and package them. So, this is not science. Its bogus. Pelley the International Court of justice in the hague will be deciding whether japans whaling is really for research or should be stopped. But while the whaling continues, sea shepherd fouls the japanese plan with rope to catch their propellers. The japanese fire back with water, and earsplitting sirens. Sea shepherd throws stink bombs. The japanese return concussion grenades. You called sea shepherd, which you founded, the most aggressive, nononsense Conservation Organization in the world. And you said, i dont believe in protests. That is far too submissive. What do you mean . Watson well protesting is sort of like, please, please, please, dont do that. But theyll do it anyway. But they just ignore you. So, protest is submissive. Were not a protest organization. Were an interventionist organization. We intervene against illegal activities. Pelley but this is what happened recently when sea shepherd tried to intervene. The whaler kept coming and sheared the bow off watsons 2 million boat, which eventually sank. No one was seriously hurt. Watson claims he has cut the japanese catch because of these tactics; the same tactics that the japanese say are illegal. Youre in sort of a prison, arent you . Watson well its a pretty nice prison. Its. You know, i. I dont mind being on the ocean. Its a beautiful place, and certainly the citizens out here tend to be more peaceful. Pelley but when people call your tactics violent, how do you respond to that . I mean, you look as this footage, it looks violent. Its hostile. Watson the japanese are committing violence against living whales. We are not hurting anybody, so were not violent. Pelley this battle is fought in the last place where humpback whales are considered endangered by the International Agency that decides these things. These South Pacific humpbacks feed here in the antarctic summer, then journey north 4,000 miles to mate. This is where much of the research is done, around a speck on the map called rarotonga. This volcanic island, part of the cook islands, is just 21 miles around with 10,000 residents and not a single traffic light. Here, we found the human who may know humpbacks best. Nan hauser hes right behind the boat. Hello, beautiful. Hes putting on quite a lovely show for us, and you just have to be careful and respect their space. Pelley they take up a lot of space. Nan hauser is an American Marine biologist who intended to come to rarotonga for one month of research, but that was 16 years ago. Now, her home and lab are on the side of the volcano, and she spends her days eye to eye with her subjects. Hauser as you watch them, as you see these massive animals and look at them in the eye, and theyre looking at you, and theyve never seen what a human looks like before. And so theyre curious about you, and youre curious about them. Pelley humpbacks are acrobats. Their fins are like wings up to 20 feet long. They cooperate with each other to hunt for the krill and small fish they eat by the tons. Weve learned a lot about them in recent years, and some of what we know is because nan hauser has risked her life to discover it. Shes part of an International Mission to harpoon humpbacks with small satellite transmitters. That rubber boat feels tiny next to an animal 50 feet long that weighs 79,000 pounds. Hauser its very, very dangerous. All they have to do is pick up their tail and give you a good whack, and all your bones are broken and your organs are ruptured. So its very scary. Very, very scary. My heart is pounding. Pelley when they surface to breathe, the transmitter stuck in their blubber sends a signal. Now, we know humpbacks can travel 10,000 miles a year thats the world record for a mammal. 80 of their lives are spent submerged. And this is where nan hauser has made some of her most beautiful discoveries. Hauser here, we see a male standing on his head, upside down, singing a song. They are motionless and the song bellows out. Pelley the humpback song can be 20 minutes long, and they repeat the same song again and again. Males in one region will all sing the same song the same way. But next year, theyll return with a new composition. So, this is air somehow moving around inside their heads . Thats making this sound, even though they dont have vocal cords . Hauser correct. Its almost, i think, like taking a balloon full of air and going. Pelley the sound carries for miles. And hauser believes, its all to mark their territory. Hauser they take turns singing, perhaps to say, my lungs are bigger. I can hold my breath longer. I can sing a more beautiful song. Im the dominant male. Im going to sing here so you move away and sing somewhere else. Pelley can you do some of the sounds that youve heard . Hauser i think the most common whale sound is kind of a. But we get everything. Weve even had the laughing monkey ee, ee, ee, ee. Creaking doors. Pelley what are they saying . Hauser we dont know. Pelley so you speak whale, but you dont understand it. Hauser absolutely. laughs pelley but she does understand a calfs jawclapping anger. Hauser captured it when a mother went off to mate and left this calf behind. Hauser he does a small clap. Right here. Pelley what does it mean . Hauser now, i know it means, im upset and im going to have a little bit of a temper tantrum. You can see him. Hear him . Pelley hes saying, Pay Attention to me. Hauser exactly. Pelley humpbacks give birth to one calf a year. So their comeback has been slow but steady. Before the whaling ban, there were maybe 5,000 left in the world. But now, its estimated there are 80,000. The biggest threats to them these days are collisions with ships, and the kind of miles long fishing line that wrapped up this whale. Hauser they get wrapped up, and then they get held underwater and they need to come up for air. Otherwise, they suffer and they drown. Pelley hauser hopes that the satellite tags will mark migration routes so that man can steer clear. History may show that we stopped the global slaughter just in the nick of time. Humpbacks are now found in every ocean. Their numbers back to about 30 of what they had been before whaling. Its a sign that a fascinating and beautiful part of the planet is on the mend. [ male announcer ] when we built the cadillac ats from the ground up to be the worlds best sport sedan. People noticed. The cadillac ats 2013 north american car of the year. Lease this cadillac ats for around 299 per month with premium Care Maintenance included. I put in the hourswhere i am today by luck. And built a strong reputation in the industry. I set goals and worked hard to meet them. Ive made my success happen. 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Mercy ships international, the Christian Charity that sails africa mercy, has now received a miracle of its own. Philanthropists bill and sue gross saw our story and donated 20 million toward a second mercy ship. Im scott pelley. Well be back next week with another edition of 60 minutes. And ill see you tomorrow on the cbs evening news. Captioning funded by cbs and ford captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org can you dance . Bum ba bum no. Can you make campbells chicken noodle soup . Yes [ wisest kid ] every can has 32 feet of slurpable noodles. Mom, youre awesome. Bum ba bum ba bum [ gong ] [ wisest kid ] mm mm good how old is the oldest person youve known . We gave people a sticker and had them show us. We learned a lot of us have known someone whos lived well into their 90s. And thats a great thing. But even though were living longer, one thing that hasnt changed much is the official retirement age. 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