it's a choke point, and as american officials have been warning privately and publicly, a serious flash point. >> what about if they decide to block us off at the straits of hormuz. >> we have made it clear that the united states will not tolerate the blocking of the straits of hormuz. we will respond to that. >> the question tonight is, what will iran do next? what happens then? what's being done right now to head it off. barbara starr is here, and on the phone, curt lithal, former commander of the u.s.s. cole. what do you believe to be the intent of the iranians. were they trying to bait the u.s. military, provoke an altercation? >> maybe just a little bit of both, anderson. the thinking is that the iranians were not looking for a shooting match. they were going to break off, but they were going to cause a little heart-stopping action before they did that. one of the things here is look, the iranians gained intelligence by getting so close to u.s. navy ships. they were able to gauge the u.s.itary response as they come at the shapes. that gives them valuable information if the next time it's not just a cat and mouse game. >> what is the reaction at the pentagon? >> a lot of concern. top officials will tell you, look, these kinds of activities happen out in the persian gulf, that they deal with them. that they have a very strong stance, and that the provocative actiity mainly comes from the revolutionary guard corps which operates the fast boats, but out there on the high seas, if you're a commander of the navy ship and you see three boats coming at you that way, and they come within 500 yards, that's your reality, and as a commander, you have to decide very fast what you're going to do about if. >> let's talk to the former commander of the "u.s.s. cole." everyone knows how dangerous the small vessels can be. what is your reaction to the video and the reaction of the iranian military? >> they were clearly trying to evoke a response from the united states navy. they were trying to gauge and judge, see what our reaction would be, how close they could get, and what kind of actions we were taking in anticipation of them continuing to close or whether we would back off, fire warning shots, what warnings we would give. clearly, the united states navy has indicated that we attempted communications with them. they refused to respond, and at 500 yards, they chose to break off the attack. but again, it is judging, probing, and checking to see how close they may come. every navy ship has an intarant right to defend itself. i'm sure there is within our rules of engagement a no-go bubble, but if they were inside, you would have warning shots fired first. if they continued to close, the officers of those ships must make a determination, sometimes on a split-second notice, that they present a clear and present danger. it's indicating hostile intent or a hostile action, and they'll take action as they see necessary to disable or destroy the boats from getting in close where they could present us with a danger. >> bill, you can count, there are so many incidents over generations where diplomatic issues have been played out at sea. with these kind of provocative actions. so many incidents at sea that have caused larger, larger military conflicts. what message is the state department sending now to the iranian regime, privately and publicly? >> it boils down to don't even think about it. that message is getting out both, you saw with secretary pennetta saying there are these red lines and at the state department, they're pulling out all the stops, using every type of channel they have, because remember, there are no diplomatic relations between the united states and iran. so they have to do it via other countries. the main one, usually, is the swiss because they're the protecting power, but there are other countries. there's qatar, oman, turkey, japan. >> this is a multidimensional chess game that is going on because you have a former u.s. marine who has now been arrested in iran, sentenced to death. his family is from iran originally. he claims -- his family claims he was visiting his grandmother. iran claimed he was spying for the united states. and yet the assassination of another iranian nuclear physicist. someone drove by on a motorcycle, attached a bomb to his car, and blew him and his driver up. explain why the strait of hormuz is so important. >> strategically important, 17 million barrels of oil that flow through there every day. that's a major reason the iranians won't shut it down. it would be economic suicide for themselves. they rely on it to get oil out. the one piece of substantial leverage the u.s. might have are the persian allies. they're quietly talking to the saudis, trying to get them to convince the iranians to take a deep broeth, because if you shut down the strait of hormuz, economic suicide for iran, economic suicide for all of the persian gulf countries that rely on the chan tool get a lot of the oil out and also for commercial and maritime shipping. >> commander, thank you for your time and expertise. let us know what you think. we're on facebook, google plus, i'll be tweeting tonight. >> up next, the pardon mess in mississippi. authorities now know where some of the pardon killers are. one is talking exclusively to cnn. what he has to say about the uproar coming um. >> and doctors who study to become specialists in one of the most prestigious hospitals in the country, cheating on the exam. not only common but encouraged. we investigate on that. >> and isha is here. >> he's a prime suspect in natalee holloway's disappearance, but it was the death of another woman who put him behind bars. he was sentenced today. we'll tell you what he got when we return. since i've lost weight i have so much more energy than i used to, when i'm out with my kids, my daughter's like, "mom, wait up!" and i'm thinking, "shouldn't you have more energy than me? you're, like, eight!" [ male announcer ] for every 2 pounds you lose through diet and exercise alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat. simple. effective. advantage: mom. let's fight fat with alli ♪ tonight, outrage in mississippi. outrage as four convicted killers, one of whom is only talking to cnn, all of whom were freed with full pardoned by departing governor haley barbour. they got out before a judge blocked the release of any more prisoners. keeping them honest, did the governor disregard procedure, as well as his own state's constitution, in setting them free? any way you look at it, it has turned into a real mess. the freed killers are joseph osment, charles hooker and david gatlin and anthony mccray. charles hooker and gatlin are in touch with the authorities. we caught up with him at relative's home in missouri. >> everyone deserves a second chance. >> do you think people should be angry at governor barbour? >> no, sir. he treated us like we his children. >> you'll hear more of that exclusive interview when martin savidge join us. he tracked down mccray. mccray since his wife's killing was accidental. the judge who tried his case says otherwise. there's no dispute about what one of the other pardoned killers did to his estranged wife. and her friend, randy walker. >> i fired the first gunshot. he stepped up to tammy with her holding that baby in a cradled position and shot her with that baby's head no more than 8 inches from where he shot her, just real close. came to the edge of the bed. put the gun between my eyes. i turned my head sideways. he shot me in the side. that probably saved my life. >> he lives in fear gatlin will try to finish what he started. heigate thought gatlin would be behind bars for years to come. instead, he was set free. governor barbour granted pardons to more than 200 convicts overall. the vast majority were on parole already. a court blocked their release because there is reason to believe some prisoners didn't follow the right procedures. under section 124 of mississippi's constitution, inmates seeking pardons have to run notices in local papers for 30 days. anthony mccray says he didn't run any notices and the mississippi attorney general says the governor didn't do what he was supposed to do, make sure the proper procedures were being followed, including by the inmates. we've been covering this story from the beginning. we spoke to the attorney general on wednesday. >> former governor barbour, he kind of ran the state and the governor's office like boss hog. he didn't follow the law. this is a very simple constitutional provision. governor barbour didn't follow it. it's clear he had to have this information. he didn't obtain it. before he signed the pardons. that's caused a public safety issue. these families are afraid out here. these victims have been through a terrible amount. it's a slap in the face to all in the state of mississippi. >> we asked the governor to come on the program. give his side of the story. he declined. all four killers worked in the governor's mansion under the prison's trustee program. governor barbour knew them all. we wanted to know whether he thinks he followed the right procedures. and whether he showed good judgment. his people initially said he was busy. when we reached out again today, we got no reply at all. he did, however, go on fox. >> the reason they work at the mansion is the experts in correction say people who commit a crime of passion, a murder, a crime of passion, are the least likely to ever commit another crime. when my grandchildren are over at the governor's mansion, we trust them to play with and to be looked out for by these people. if i trusted them to be around my grandchildren, i think that makes a pretty plain statement. >> joining us now with the latest and more of his exclusive interview is martin savidge. first, how were you able to find mr. mccray? >> actually, we had gone into that area, that neighborhood, to do a profile on jennifer mccray. that's the woman who anthony mccray had killed, his wife. we wanted to talk to the victim's family to find out what they thought of this pardon and feel really what they thought about the governor's pardoning process. in doing that, we found out, somebody said, you know what, mccray's actually in the neighborhood. we couldn't believe it, but we went and checked and knocked on the door and sure enough, he was there. it took asking the right questions to the right people. >> he was in prison for murdering his wife. you asked him about that. what did he tell you? >> well, when you ask him about it, he'll tell you it was all an accident. i'll talk about that later but listen -- did you mean to kill jennifer? >> no, i didn't. we were tussling over the gun. .25 automatic went off. >> she was shot in the back. >> it went straight through. we were tussling the gun. we were up so close. tussling the gun. went off. >> she started struggling with the gun? >> yes. the table -- knocked over. the trailer -- i turn myself in. and everything. >> when the gun went off and she goes down? >> no, she said -- she was talking to me. >> what was she saying? >> she was saying anthony. she says anthony. i didn't know she was shot. >> you didn't hear the gun go off? >> it went off but i didn't know she was shot. i thought it shot in the floor. that was it. i didn't even know she was shot. because she still was talking. said anthony. like that. >> then she died. >> then she fell. oh, man. like that. you know? i said, somebody call the police. call the ambulance. by that time, i went and turned myself in. >> that is a total fabrication. all witnesses maintain one thing, that there was an argument, that anthony mccray left, came back with a gun, shot his wife in the back. we talked to the judge in the case. he says that anthony mccray stood in the courtroom, stood and looked the judge in the face and admitted to killing his wife. that's not the way it happened. the important thing to note here, anderson, is that this is the same man who was able -- talked to the governor and basically say this is what happened when, in fact, it's a fabrication and apparently the governor bought it. >> it's fascinating to hear governor barbour talk about these are crimes of passion. they're not likely to do it again. my dad was from mississippi and wrote a book about growing up in mississippi. on a book tour, we got to stay in the governor's mansion one night. i was 7 years old or something. in the mid-'70s. back then they had the exact same thing. i remember my dad saying all the guys who work here are convicted of -- they're murderers but they're convicted of crimes of passion. there is this notion in mississippi that it's a crime of passion, therefore, you're not likely to do something again. that seems to be what's behind the idea of pardoning these individuals. >> it's incredibly naive. the account you heard from the governor is ridiculous. he says, look, you can't trust the robbers apparently but the person you can trust is the man who kills. i mean, that is just an outlandish statement. on top of that is you have to realize of course these prisoners, of course they're going to be on their best behavior. they get to chat up the governor every day. that was admitted by anthony. talk to the governor every day. make their point. show how pleasant, how good, how reformed they are. this is the man who holds their fate in his hands. of course they're going to be on their best behavior. anthony mccray said this, once you got into the governor's mansion, it was pretty assured you were going to be set free. in fact, he said, it was tradition. >> it's unbelievable. for folks who maybe aren't from mississippi, you know, they're surprised by this. i'm not that surprised by it. it's incredible so many have been released. clearly without following the proper procedure. great reporting, thank you. let's dig deeper now. mississippi democratic state representative david barea. also senior analyst jeffrey toobin. you actually introduced legislation back a couple years ago that would change the way pardons happen in the state of mississippi. >> that's right, anderson. in 2008 when the governor commuting the sentence of mr. graham who killed adrian in cold blood while she was stopped at a stop light in mississippi, we decided to change the way pardons are granted. but ever so slightly really. we just wanted to make sure that the victims of the crime and the family members of the victims and the law enforcement personnel who worked so hard to put these folks behind bars had an opportunity to be heard prior to the pardon being granted. and that -- so i've tried to pass a bill that would allow for that here. and for results of the hearing to be communicated to the governor prior to the granted of a pardon, and i was unsuccessful in doing that. >> how have your constituents reacted to the news of the recent pardons? >> not only my constituents but everybody i come in contact with on a daily basis, inside the capital, outside the capital, folks from all over the state are all reacting similarly with equal measures of shock and revungz. you know, just the sheer number of pardons is astounding. >> we had the attorney general on the program. he pointed out that under the constitution in mississippi, you have to publish 30 days in advance in a local newspaper where the crime happened or in an adjacent jurisdiction, the fact that this pardon has been applied for. it seems like that was not done. >> that's why the judge issued a temporary restraining order, saying release no one else, till we assure this very unusual provision, this notice provision, has been followed. it seemed almost certain to me. i know the jackson newspaper has said that there was no publication for any of the four murderer es from the governor's mansion so it seems almost certain they'll be returned to prison. what an insane operation. can we just discussion the sexism at the heart of what haley barbour said, the idea that crimes of passion, when you kill your wife, it's somehow less bad, less dangerous, then when you kill a stranger. it's just an appalling idea that i thought went out in about 1957. >> i remember hearing this as a kid and, you know, it was totally accepted. that because it was a passionate act. the idea there's a passionate act is also kind of weird. it wasn't this person was a bad person, they just got caught up in the passion of it all. >> folks from mississippi, friends i have, one of the things they have fought for so long, they say you know, it's not the old mississippi anymore. mississippi has changed. undoubtedly that is true. haley barbour's comments today suggest that at least the long-term governor hasn't changed that much. it's an appalling way to view crime. >> you plan to introduce three new bills on monday regarding these pardons. what are you hoping to achieve? >> first of all, the notice provision in our antiquated constitution is completely ineffecttual in terms of providing any notice. my idea is to provide direct notice, actual notice to the district attorney attorney for a hearing so victims and law enforcement personnel can actually be heard. the other two things i want to do is i want to eliminate the ability for any convicted murderer to become a trustee at the governor's mansion because apparently that's become a path to a pardon. i would like to amend our constitution so no governor can grant a pardon in the last 90 days of his or her term. i think that will be effective at stopping this en masse pardon, while the governor's on the way out the door. >> thank you, representative. appreciate it. we'll follow what happens to your bills. up next, some big surprises in the republican race for south carolina, including which candidate makes an unexpected run for the lead. some new polling and our panel coming up. also tonight, a cnn investigation on a widespread practice among young doctors. you're not going to believe this. training to be radiologists, how they study for their exams to become board certified, it's going to stun you. some leaders in the field are calling it downright cheating. we're keeping them honest. [oinking] [hissing] [ding] announcer: cook foods to the right temperature using a food thermometer. 3,000 americans will die from food poisoning this year. check your steps at foodsafety.gov. raw politics now. this is getting interesting. not only is the race in south carolina getting tight, but it's not ron paul or rick santorum who are closing the gap with mitt romney. it's newt gingrich. they're in a statistical tie in the four-point margin of error. speaker gingrich today literally laughing at governor romney. >> he has a new ad out today that basically says he created thousands of jobs at bain, not $100,000. do you think he misstated the facts? >> of course he did. you know he did. now the question is -- >> are you saying he lied? >> i'm saying he misstated the facts. i'll let you use the language you want to. clearly misstated the facts. "the washington post" gave him three punoekios for the claim. >> they gave that commercial four pinocchios for bending the truth. speaker gingrich called them to either edit the ad or take it off the air. democratic strategist paul begala. republican strategist mary matalin. you saw the numbers, romney, 29. gingrich, 25, paul, 20. race has tightened a bit toward the end. are these numbers to strike fear in the heart of team romney? >> i think not. i'll defer to the panelists who know the party better than i do. if i were advising romney, i'd say you know, so far, good. if he hangs on, he doesn't have to win in south carolina. the only person who ever ran the table in the primaries was al gore when he ran against bill bradley in the 2000 primaries. so i think he's actually in this poll in pretty strong shape. i would worry a lot more about the lasting damage of the attacks on his record as a vulture capitalist because a lot of republicans seem to agree with those attacks. >> is it a lot of republicans are worried about it? it seems like it was perry using that term and his backers backing away from him. >> that's right, and both newt and perry have walked back. they haven't even talked about it in the last few days. it is imperative for mitt to not let paul begala and his cronies define free market entrepreneurship. private equity is superior to public equity. paul's preferred way of financing his version of crony capitalism. i think that poll is off. i think it does not show at all what the other polls show, what i hear from people on the ground, i think santorum is actually the only candidate moving. newt has stopped the bleeding. but paul is right about romney just needs to be respectable here, and then he lost, he came in fourth last time with 15% or something so he's better than he was, but he should be watching santorum. >> erick, is that what you're hearing on the ground as well about santorum? also, do you think this attack using bain capital, do you think it's been successful on romney in south carolina? >> i absolutely think the bain capital attacks have been successful on romney. only because people are now starting to have to look at it. not necessarily because of the way newt or rick perry went after at attacks but raising the attacks. and now we're starting to realize what's unknown about his time at bain capital. byron york writing in the washington examiner says, no one really knows what he's running on. this is what he's running on and we don't know. we can't justify or sustain the losing steam rapidly in south carolina. his supporters are going elsewhere. it changes day to day. i would point out romney -- i don't know that he is worried. he's been in florida, his super pac, the campaign itself, they're running ads in florida, they're already getting ready for the next gain while the other guys are just getting on field in south carolina. >> mistake for romney to be making this jobs claim? had he made the claim that, you know, we made a lot of money, for those who invested with us, that would be something which is obvious and that's what private equity firms are all about. if you invest in a private equity firm, you're investing because you think it's going to give you a bigger return on your investment than anything else. >> right. i think that's where romney made a huge mistake. he tried to pretend his business experience was something that it wasn't. what's different about romney's business experience is not -- he's just dishonest when he describes it. some businesses succeed. some fail. i think voters get that. what they are bothered by is when he makes money even when the business fails. when he makes money even when he lays people off. when he makes money even when he's cutting benefits and jobs. erick talked about brian york who is a conservative writer. conservatives are making the point it's not actually about jobs itself, it's about a very wealthy man enriching himself while laying off middle class. >> james carville last night -- with great glee, i don't think i have ever seen him glow quite so much, being able to use sarah palin's argument in favor of his own argument. which was sarah palin saying there should be transparency, romney should release his tax returns. >> anderson, james has had a longtime crush on sarah, which he gave over a little bit from michele bachmann, and now he's back to this brunette. what is happening is bad for romney is bad for the party, more importantly. we're conflating private equity where the investors make nothing if the things collapse with all the larger issues. he has to defend and explain bain. and what he did there. and his claims he created jobs. more importantly, he has to defend the free market system. make a case for the free market system. which is in direct contrast with obama's philosophy. the reason i keep coming back to santorum is while all this is flying around and we're making fun of each other's french and all of that, santorum keeps making a steady connection between growing government and a deflating economy and the cultural degradation that attaches to that. still ahead tonight, cnn investigation, young doctors and the short cuts they use to pass a critical examine. it's being called outright cheating by some. also, john edwards asks for a delay in his trial for medical reasons. he gets it. we'll explain why coming up. another keeping them honest report tonight in medicine. the term board certified shows the doctor has mastered abarea of expertise. to diagnosis if you have a serious disease. to get board certified, radiologists pass a series of tests during their residency. a cnn investigation has found many doctors take short cuts along the way by getting exam questions from doctors who already took the test. it's been going on for a long time. there's even a name for it. recalls. because the doctors memorize the questions and then write them down. a group that certifies radiologists called it downright cheating. here's special investigations unit correspondent drew griffin. >> this is absolute definitive cheating. >> reporter: dr. matthew webb is a 31-year-old army doctors accepted into one of the military's largest radiology residency programs. a san antonio, texas, based complex around the brook army medical center where webb trained as a resident. it wasn't long before he was stunned to learn an open secret about most of his fellow doctors. they were, he says, cheating to pass medical exams. >> it wasn't until i took my physics exam that i found out that the way the residents were studying for the exam was to study from verbatim recalled back tested that had been performed by prior residents. >> reporter: to become certified by the american board of radiology or abr doctors must pass two written exams and an oral exam. webb says he took the first exam in the fall of 2008. to his surprise, he failed that first test which focuses on physics. he says he went to the director of the radiology program at the time. >> he told me that if you want to pass the abr physics exam, you absolutely have to use the recalls. and i told him, sir, i believe that's cheating. i don't believe in doing that. i can do it on my own. he then went on to tell me, you have to use the recalls. almost as if it was a direct order. >> reporter: an order easily fulfilled. webb found the recalls, the tests, almost verbatim, on the military's website for the radiology residents. cnn has obtained all of these tests. at least 15 years of recalls stored on the military's shared computer network. the test questions. the answers. even presented as a power point. cultivated from years of residents taking tests, recalling the questions, and adding them to what appears to be an ever growing database of glorified cheat sheets. right now, about half of the written test questions are the same every year. >> residents knew about the recalls. the program directors knew about the recalls. a large portion of people were using them. it was just accepted. >> reporter: that bothered webb. not only was this cheating, this was the army. he says his supervisors in uniform didn't seem to care. webb took his complaint of cheating to the very board that certifies radiologists. dr. gary becker is the american board of radiology's executive director. isn't it cheating? >> we would call it cheating. our exam security policy would call it cheating. >> reporter: we showed becker copies of the recall exams from the military's san antonio program. he acknowledged the recalls were very close to the actual test. >> outraged by this. we took this case to our professionalism committee. the result of a deliberation, there and the decision of the board was to go directly back to the training director, the dean of the institution, and we've had those discussions. >> reporter: dr. webb, the complainant, he told us to find out some don't have the knowledge but are able to get through by cheating, it's despicable. do you agree with that? >> i agree. i agree. now, i can say we don't have a -- more information on other programs. we haven't heard similar reports from residents. but if and when we ever hear of any, we're going to track them down. >> reporter: in fact, we did track down information on other programs at the radiological society of north america convention in chicago. where residents told us recall use is wide spread. not just at the army program in san antonio but at programs across the country, including prestigious ones like harvard's teaching hospital massachusetts general. the chief of radiology there says he didn't know personally of anyone using the recalls but also says we did not officially sanction or organize the recalls. do you think it's a big deal? >> yes, recalls are cheating and it's inappropriate. and the abr isn't going to tolerate it. >> reporter: dr. james borgstede is president-elect of the abr. the organization is now cracking down on the use of recalls and is changing its test procedures which were already under way. >> our mission to the public is to say that your certified radiologist has demonstrated the requisite skills to practice on the public. >> reporter: that's what dr. webb thought too. which is why he says he exposed the recalls. in the meantime, he's had other serious trouble. he was fired from the radiology program after something unrelated to the recalls. he was reprimanded by the army for making sexual comments to another doctor and for other conduct unbecoming to an officer. webb calls it a personality dispute that escalated. while he remains an army doctor, he fears his military career is in jeopardy. >> drew, this is unbelievable. i had no idea about this. the fact that it seems so accepted among, you know, many, many years of radiologists. did the military retaliate against this guy for speaking out? is that the implication? >> the military says absolutely no, no retaliation against dr. webb for talking to us. they do wish he had asked permission or advised them in advance. you should read some comments on the website. we had this up. the responses are wild. a lot of doctors, we don't know who they are of course, saying, hey, there's nothing wrong with this, we all do it. >> doctors saying they all do it. does the military -- does the military say this is cheating do they admit this happened? >> they absolutely admit this happened. we did get a statement from them saying residents shared exam questions in the past. the military does not encourage or condone cheating of any kind. but listen, the military admitted some faculty members and program directors were aware of the use of recalled examination questions by residents. in fact, anderson this is what the military says, a smaller number of faculty, and a past program leader, encouraged the use of recall questions as one of several tools to increase medical knowledge and prepare for that exam. the military says they've removed these from computers and residents now have to sign a statement they won't use them. >> what's the radiology board doing about this now? >> the radiology board insists just because doctors used recall, cheated, doesn't mean they're unqualified because they did have to pass an oral exam. the entire test is being revamped. two written exams. they can use a lot more imagery. so the future use of recalls will be very difficult, they say. residents say it's just going to be a matter of time before those, too, can be compromised. >> the fact that they -- it's not even just like one person doing this or doing this year-to-year. the fact they stored all these years worth of recalls so that you could look at multiple years worth, i mean, i don't know, i just find that amazing. >> remember this is not like past tests that have now been published -- this is actually a concentrated effort to remember the questions, to come out, to write them down, verbatim, so you can create this kind of cheat sheet. remember that some of this is a result of the abr not changing its test year after year because 50% of the questions are the same. >> that's another ridiculous thing, yeah. drew, appreciate it. catch more of drew's investigation tomorrow night in a special hour-long program "cnn presents" takes an in depth look at three stories. we investigate the attacker group known as anonymous. dr. gupta looks at toxic schools. that may be making kids sick. and drew's reporting prescription for cheating. "cnn presents" tomorrow night. 8:00 p.m. eastern. >> still to come, more bloodshed in the streets of syria, and another group joins purpose with a specific purpose. and joran van der sloot learns how many years he's going to get after a guilty plea for killing a woman in peru. for my arthritis, i use new capzasin quick relief gel. (announcer) starts working on contact and at the nerve level. to block pain for hours. new capzasin, takes the pain out of arthritis. i wanted to show you my interview with haiti's president tonight but because of breaking news we couldn't do it. i talked to him in haiti. it's a really interesting conversation. you can watch the interview online. let's check in right now with asha. she's here in the studio. thanks for being here. >> thank you for having me in your very cold studio. a syrian opposition group and the free syria army have joined forces. that led to big demonstrations in the streets with calls for the end of president assad's regime but there's no sign the violence will end. at least 11 civilians were killed in syria today including three children according to an opposition group. john edwards has a life threatening heart condition and got a delay in his criminal corruption trial until at least late march. that's according to a source quoting a federal judge. edwards will undergo surgery next month for the heart problem. he's pleaded not guilty to various charges including conspiracy and violated campaign laws. 28 years in prison in peru. that's the sentence for joran van der sloot after he pleaded guilty to killing 21-year-old stephany flores in a lima hotel room nearly two years ago. van der sloot remains the prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of alabama teenager natalee holloway in aruba. standard & poor's has downgraded the debt of several european nations. including spain, italy, and france, and for the first time in nearly 150 years, the world is getting a new look at the old confederate submarine. a massive trust supporting the sub since it was recovered more than a decade ago has now been removed. the submarine was lost at sea in 1864 killing eight crew members. >> amazing to see that. >> it really is. the thing is when it was built from the reading i've been doing it had cutting-edge technology for its time but they don't know why it sank. >> i want to refresh your memory about a couple things. back in september we had a little back and forth, a little tete-a-tete, if you will, and you read a story about a great american character. let's watch. >> and a 360 follow. gumby has surrendered. he was last seen trying to rob a san diego 7 eleven. oddly, nothing was taken. today, jacob and his getaway driver, both 19, turn themselves in. no word yet on what, if any, charges will be filed. anderson, as the foreigner in the strange lands, who or what is gumby? >> you don't know who gumby is. we'll have more on gumby in a moment. and this from two days ago. this is a pattern. watch. >> filed for bankruptcy 11 protection but it will continue to make twinkies, ding dongs and other snacks. i have no idea what any of those things are. >> really? never had a ding dong? >> no, i've never had a ho ho or a ding-dong. i'm not missing out. >> oh, yes, you are. so we have some surprises in honor of your birthday. happy birthday. and look who's here. look who's bringing you -- oh, my god. wow. it's gumby, damn it. wow, gumby, thank you. >> thank you so much. you're way more attractive shall i say in real life. thank you. and high five. >> so that's gumby. have you ever gotten a look at gumby? >> this is the weirdest birthday gift i have ever received. >> well, gumby was upset you didn't know who he was. >> thank you, gumby. i feel i am complete now. >> these are -- so you've got to open up and have a ring ding or -- gumby, yeah. >> hey, gumby. >> so these are ring dings. i want to see you have your first twinkie. have you never really had a twinkie? >> seriously, i've never had a twinkie. the only reference -- it's very, very odd. >> these things can, like, survive a nuclear armageddon. >> i've been told they never expire. my thing is should you ever eat anything that will never go bad? >> yes, you should. >> do i really have to -- are you -- >> uh-huh. >> okay. this is a -- >> how you like that? don't say it till you've had a ring dong, a ring ding. try a ring ding. >> you can put wallpaper up with the stuff inside of there. >> oh, you have to try a yodel too. >> i feel like i'm being force fed. >> okay, that's really gross. which one's this? >> this is the ring ding. i'll give you a yodel too. >> wow. >> gumby is very happy. >> are you on a sugar high or something? i'd rather just have jewelry or shoes or something. >> gumby likes to see anybody eating sugar. >> this isn't bad. which ones are these? >> this is ring dings. the yodels were my favorite as a kid. >> and this this is the -- take a load off. and this -- this is the -- >> gumby's putting the ring ding in his nose. >> and this is the? >> this is the yodel. i haven't had a yodel in years. >> why are -- really funky consistencies. >> 'cause it has to last a long time. so isha, thank you very much for -- >> thank you. >> for all you do and happy birthday. >> thank you. >> gumby -- gumby and are i going out for a drink later on. >> i'm taking the entire team with me. >> one angry restaurant owner on the ridiciest. we'll be right back. time now for the riduculist. tonight, a little combo platter. calling it restaurant wars. we begin at a swanky private dining club in palm beach, florida, where ceo was apparently displeased with the service. he did what anybody would do. leaves less than a 15% tip, you say? not that. asked to speak to a manager? wrong again. no, 76-year-old ceo allegedly broke the waiter's finger. allegedly. that's what the waiter says. why would he do that? he was reportedly upset because the waiter brought the check. club members are normally billed monthly. the police report says the ceo's wife asked for the check. when the waiter brought it, he yell, you shu muck, why did you bring the check to the table. and then proceeded to grab the waiter's hand, squeeze and twist his fingers. the next morning, the waiter went for an x-ray. i'm guessing he's letting his fingers that aren't broken do the walking through the yellow pages to the legal counsel section. i'm also thinking the ceo may want to dine at home sans waiters for a while. it could be worse. he did break his finger, behe didn't go all "good fellas on him. >> what, where's my [ bleep ] drink, i asked you for a drink. i just asked you for a [ bleep ] drink. >> i thought you said -- >> no, no. go get me a [ bleep ] drink. move it, you little [ bleep ] [ gunshots ] now he's moving. >> yeah, so congratulations, john castle, you're second only to joe pesci in "good fellas" as far as taking the customer is always right thing too far, if the reports are true. this isn't the only dissatisfied diner story. let's jet on down to a restaurant in atlanta called bonner's barbecue. yeah. that's where a woman named stephanie took her husband for his birthday dinner. stephanie was not thrilled with the restaurant and posted an online review on yelp calling the food various adjectives including tepid, bland, and odd. the guy would owns boner's barbecue was not pleased. >> the owner posted a message on social media to other restaurant