tv Anderson Cooper 360 CNN August 17, 2012 7:00pm-8:00pm PDT
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we aren't changing the lives of these girls. if you give them the right tools, they're capable of moving forward. it's 10:00 p.m. on the east coast. paul ryan out with his tax returns. disclosing two years worth. he's put out a year and an estimate. we'll run those numbers shortly. we're going to begin, though, keeping them honest. with how paul ryan opposed president obama's stimulus act then sought out and accepted millions of dollars from it. then denied taking the money. finally, acknowledged it happened but suggested that the letters asking for the money were crafted by his staff. today, he took heat for it all on the campaign trail. >> what the american idea's all about. >> why did you lie about --
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>> who epitomize -- >> that's a heckler in springfield, virginia, tearing up a romney-ryan sign. obviously not a fan. take a look at congressman ryan during the debate over the stimulus. >> we can do better than this. this bill is unworthy of our new president's signature. this is just a long spending wish list. from every spending interest group that's out there. we've all proposed alternatives, not this one. this one won't work. my fear is we're going to make matters worse. >> people are still arguing about that. once the bill passed, plenty of big-name republicans began asking for a piece of it. they were talking jobs. >> we can create a lot of jobs. again, the estimates of job creations of 85,000 to 160,000
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some jobs for the commonwealth, most of that in this area. >> he lobbied for stimulus money. and so did a lot of his colleagues. what about paul ryan? here's what he said on a boston call-in show in 2010. >> i assume you voted against the stimulus. i'm just curious if you accepted any moneys in your district. >> no, i'm not one who votes for something, then writes to the government to ask them to send us money. i did not request any stimulus money. >> keeping them honest. well, that's simply not true. in 2009, congressman ryan wrote to the departments of energy and labor seeking stimulus money for a pair of local green energy companies. one ended up with more than $20 million. and congressman ryan, who you'll remember, sounded so skeptical that stimulus would create any jobs, he writes that the company in question believes it will, quote, create or retain approximately 7600 new jobs. over the three-year grant period. and, quote, i was pleased that the primary objectives of the
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project will stimulate the local and area economy. by creating new jobs. at the bottom, sincerely, paul ryan. the existence of these letters has been known since 2010. the story resurfaced on tuesday in boston when someone rediscovered that radio clip with joe from stouten. mr. ryan was asked about it yesterday. >> of course you are also very outspoken against the stimulus, the obama stimulus plan. a report came out again today in the ap. it was a repeat of that "wall street journal" article. from a couple of years ago where you had asked for stimulus money for your district. is that report accurate? >> i don't recall. i haven't seen this report so i can't comment on it. i oppose the stimulus because it didn't work. >> a short time after that, congressman ryan's office put out a statement suggesting the letter's signed sincerely paul were just routine staff work. quote, after having these letters called to my attention, i checked into them and they
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were treated as constituent service requests in the same way matters involving social security or veteran affairs are handled. this is why i didn't recall the letters earlier. they should have been handled differently and i take responsibility for that. a lot to talk about with democratic strategist maria cardona and eric erickson, red state. eric i'm going to start with you. paul ryan first said he didn't ask for any stimulus funding and the program didn't create any jobs it turned out he did ask for stimulus money in 2010 for at least four letters that we know about. his program, some of those programs were actually funded. when he said stimulus doesn't work, one of those letters he wrote to the energy secretary. he talked about the jobs that would be created stimulating the local economy. how much of a problem is this in terms of seeming hypocritical to voters?
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>> you know, i think it's a little bit of a problem for paul ryan. but i remember writing about this at red state in 2010. i'm surprised it's coming up now. it was so out there then. with a number of the republicans who voted against. the stimulus plan wanted it. look, paul ryan is not as conservative as the democrats would like him to be. he voted for t.a.r.p., the general motors bailout, capping ceo pay. he voted against the stimulus in 2009. but he voted for the 2008 stimulus, medicare part d and no child left behind. conservatives may not like it but it's a little bit surprising the democrats are pushing these attacks. i guess on the hypocrisy angle. they seem to not really have a cogent argument on paul ryan. and i think painting him as more of a moderate doesn't help them with the other rhetoric they're pushing towards him. >> maria, what do you think of that? do youhink this is a symbol of the democrats not having a cogent argument and seeing what stick against him? >> no, i think the opposite. what i've seen this week and the risk that the paul ryan pick is actually demonstrating for
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republicans is it's not just that they handed the democrats and the obama campaign exactly what they've been asking for, which is have this be a choice selection. between two very different visions, but i think what you've also seen this week with the flip-flop on the stimulus, the flip-flop on medicare in terms of paul ryan bashing the president erroneously i might add cutting $716 billion from medicare when his own budget does that. and then we also see that he voted against a piece of legislation in 2010 that would actually give small businesses more freedom and more money and now he's bashing the obama campaign for restrictions on small businesses. so instead of what -- what the romney campaign wanted of a whole lot of paul ryan rubbing off on mitt romney, we're seeing the opposite. a whole lot of mitt romney rubbing off. on paul ryan, in terms of the
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flip flop, and perhaps this is not somebody we can trust. the same way a lot of voters believed about mitt romney. >> erick, when we were speaking a couple months ago, you and i specifically said this conversation was going to be jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. now we're talking about anything other than jobs. now we've heard from the gop, bring it on, we want to talk about medicare. do you think that strategy is a winning strategy, or is it just symbolic of a rough week? >> i've been concerned with it, but it's interesting you would characterize it as a rough week. because when you consider the obama administration has done anything but want to talk about medicare this week, we had monday joe biden open his mouth. tuesday, he opened his mouth. then you had some folks who were on a different network drop the "n" word trying to say mitt romney was a racist. the democrats, thus far, they've gone after income taxes this week, they've gone after seamus the dog. now paul ryan possibly being a flip-flopper. they haven't actually engaged on
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the medicare issue that they've tried to avoid the issues of jobs and medicare. i think they're having a hard time going after paul ryan. >> i would say, i wasn't characterizing it as a rough week. i was asking you if it was a rough week. >> for obama, yes. >> let's talk about -- if you think about much of the conversation on the democratic side was about joe biden. replaying his remarks in front of an audience. talk about being off message and having a lot of the conversation about something. you wouldn't want to be having a conversation about, right? >> yes, i agree. joe biden's remarks were definitely off message. i wish he hadn't used those words. it frankly gives republicans exactly what they want. which is a distraction to not talk about medicare. because i really do think they believe that is not a winning argument for them.
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when joe biden talked about the -- what he should have said in terms of unshackling but he used the unchain word, that was unfortunate -- >> wait, wait, you're not telling me the difference between unshackling and unchained -- would have made all the difference there, right? >> no. the words he used actually distracted from the message he was trying to deliver. is what paul ryan and mitt romney want to do and the republicans is to put american voters back in the mercy or at the mercy of wall street. and that message was a little bit diluted, given his choice of words. >> there's always next week, that's for sure. >> maybe the president will take questions. >> maybe mitt romney will too. >> i would like for both of them to do that. that would be great. thank you, appreciate it. let us know what you think. we're on facebook or follow us on twitter, @ac360.
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we'll tell you what's inside them shortly. we're also going to talk about ryan as a force. not every congressman can stand up and spar with the president of the united states, as paul ryan has over the years. we're going to talk about his pros and his cons with our political panel. first, here's joe johns on the ryan-obama rivalry. >> reporter: in politics, it's a formula. generous words of praise for an adversary. followed by rhetorical daggers and spears. president obama and congressman ryan can start out nice but don't end up that way. >> congressman ryan is a decent man. he is a family man. he is an articulate spokesman for romney's vision but it's a vision i fundamentally disagree with. >> reporter: that respectful tone has been a constant. between the two men over the years. january 2010. the budget battle's in full swing. the president in rare form. taking it to house republicans
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at their annual retreat. but he softened his tone when it came to paul ryan and his big idea to slash the federal budget. >> i think paul, for example, head of the budget committee has looked at the budget and has made a serious proposal. >> reporter: a serious proposal. remember those words. >> i've read it. i can tell you what's in it. and there are some ideas in there i would agree wi. there are some ideashat we should have a healthy debate about because i don't agree with. >> reporter: at least half joking, the president makes a little reference to the next election, all in good fun. >> in case he's going to get a republican challenge, i didn't mean it. don't want to hurt you, man. >> reporter: but everything changes and, frankly, it was a classic washington grudge match waiting to happen. two intelligent politicians, polar opposites, still with a lot in common. both are family men. they're young. president, 51. ryan, 42. each represents the ideological future of their parties.
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later in the year sure enough, they were taking turns lecturing each other. at the president's summit on health care, on the big idea of his administration. though ryan also started out nice enough. >> mr. president, you said health care reform is budget reform. you're right. >> reporter: but it was all downhill from there. >> this bill does not control costs. this bill does not reduce deficits. instead, this bill adds a new health care entitlement at a time when we had no idea how to pay for the entitlements we already have. >> reporter: note the president's facial expression. the president would later lecture congressman ryan on his signature achievement in a speech at george washington university last year with ryan seated in the front row. the president was now ripping up ryan's big house budget idea. >> i believe it paints a vision of our future that is deeply pessimistic. it's a vision that says if our roads crumble and our bridges collapse, we can't afford to fix them. that's not right.
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it's not going to happen as long as i'm president. >> reporter: and by now it was not even a serious idea any longer. >> there's nothing serious or courageous about this plan. nothing serious about a plan that claims to reduce the deficit by spending a trillion on tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. i don't think there's anything courageous >> reporter: ryan emerged firing back with intensity. >> exploiting people's emotions of fear, envy, and anxiety, is not hope, it's not change, it's partisanship. >> joe johns with us. along with john king and senior political analyst david gergen. john, i'm going to start with you. congressman ryan, and i want to talk about the taxes. he's just released his tax return. that's how we started this evening, taking a look at them.
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saying he never paid less than 13% effective rate. still not going to release less than two years. what can you tell us about paul ryan's tax returns? >> in terms of the rate, he's paid more than his new boss governor romney. in 2010, he paid a rate of about 16%. in 2011, last year, he paid a rate of 20%. over those two years, paul ryan made a combined $540,000 total. that's a pretty healthy salary. some of that is from his congressional salary. his wife had some investments. some of it she inherited from her mother. imagine that, $538,000, paul ryan makes over 2010, 2011. governor romney made $42 million, $42 million in that period. so safe to say governor romney's taxes are a bit more interesting. >> i bet they are. president obama's campaign manager actually said we'd like to see some of those interesting years. in fact, we'll leave it at three additional years. we'll pull off on our attacks. the response was like nice try but certainly not going to happen. we've been talking about it now for another day.
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do you think that the obama campaign is winning on this? do you think that voters even care about this issue? >> i talked to a senior romney adviser tonight who said no, it doesn't hurt. he said it stopped hurting. he made that point, he said, because it's not new information. he said any voters -- this debate's been going on for weeks, if not months. any voter who was going to leave mitt romney because he won't release more taxes is already gone. however, soledad, just tonight, peter hart, very respected pollster. conducts these nonpartisan focus groups. he sent out a memo tonight saying he had 12 suburban women in paul ryan's home state. trust me, if you read this report, these women did not have nice things to say about president obama either. they said he's weak. he hasn't been will to make tough decisions. on the tax issue, many of them said, what is he hiding? leaders should be more transparent. peter's conclusion on this, and peter does these focus groups like nobody else, was because voters don't know a lot about mitt romney, this raised trust. >> you covered ryan on capitol hill for a dozen years or so.
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democrats really sought to make him the republican budget bad guy i guess is how i would put it. is there a sense they actually got what they wanted? i mean, he seems fine and comfortable playing the attack position. he seems that he makes romney better on the campaign trail. is this a case of, you know, be careful what you wish for because they could benefit from that? >> i think what you see is what you get. ryan's looking for this fight. he said as much today. we also know he can be a very persuasive guy. he got a lot of support on capitol hill for his budget plan. of course the question i think at the end of the day is whether the american people are going to be buying what he's selling. because back a few years ago ryan was a big supporter of president george w. bush's social security plan, which will know went nowhere. that tells you it's not easy to get the support.
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is >> david gergen, why do you think we're hearing so much from ryan and romney attacking president obama on medicare so intently? is it a good strategy? especially when you were thinking jobs, jobs, jobs, is going to be the strategy? >> i think it's a case of the best defense is a good offense. and they've really gone on offense this week. because they know these attacks are coming. they know that there is an opportunity here for the obama administration to paint them as hard hearted, cruel towards seniors, while they're giving away tax breaks to the upper income. so they're going on offense. so far i think it's working reasonably well from a republican point of view it the the ryan campaign has energized the overall romney effort. and we now have on television paul ryan, the vice presidential candidate, is playing on the same level as president obama. almost as if they're equals. of course in normal politics, that's anything but. so in the short term i think they feel they picked up some
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points on this. it's the long term that really matters. as joe johns said, the real question is how this plays over the long haul. >> that's the $64,000 question, isn't it? president obama's campaign has just responded to all those attacks about medicare with a new ad. i want you to listen to that. >> the nonpartisan cracks down on medicare fraud, waste and abuse and strengthens guaranteed benefits. and the ryan plan? aarp says it will undermine medicare and could lead to higher costs for seniors. >> so, is this a sign, then, that the rn attacks are working and it's forcing the obama campaign to make ads like that? is it a sign that the president's campaign has, as you were talking about, a great offense in order to defend themselves? which is it? >> i think the obama team is on the counteroffense with that. it's a strong ad. they're going to see a lot more of them. conservatives will tell you they
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don't accept the premise of the ad. aarp is totally partisan. aarp of course did support obama care. there are a number of seniors. has had a lot of fights with aarp on his positions on support for seniors over the years. but i do think what you're going to see from the obama campaign -- they're going to push back. the obama campaign thinks there's pay dirt here. the obama campaign thinks they can put this romney/ryan ticket away on this issue. and the romney people are going to fight really hard, going into the convention, see if they can convince the public. we'll have to see how this plays out. i think it's one of the most interesting questions in a long time. here's what's good for the country. let me add this briefly. in 1992, we had ross perot came into the campaign and put deficits right on the table. remember, he brought those charts to larry king? we went and the country made progress on deficits in the next few years.
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even those ross lost that campaign. it's -- this is good for the country to have a conversation about medicare now. to see if we can't get to the bottom of this. let's have a vote. let's see which way we're going to go. >> lots of people thumbing through copies the congressional budget office reports. which cannot be a bad thing it a little boring. thank you. nice to see all of you. appreciate your time this evening. >> thank you. coming up next, a major development in a story we reported exclusively last night on "360." the fatal shooting of a michigan man in a hail of gunfire by police. you see us, at the start of the day. on the company phone list at's a few names longer. you see us bank on busier highways. on once empty fields. everyday you see all the ways all of us at us bank
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an update to a story we reportedxclusively. last night on "360." we learned today the justice department has opened a civil rights investigation into the shooting death of a man by police. the shooting was caught on an amateur video. we're showing the video because it reveals how police handles what's become a controversial case. a major issue in saginaw. and now the subject of a federal investigation. what you're about to see happened in a parking lot on july 1st. police said that 49-year-old milton hall had some kind of a run-in with a convenience store clerk before he got into a standoff with police. who say he was holding some kind of knife. here's how it ended. i have to warn you, the video is graphic.
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[ shooting ] cnn counted the sounds of at least 30 shots on that videotape. hall's family says he suffered from serious mental health issues. lots more happening tonight. gary tuchman joins us now with a "360" bulletin. the united nations has a new point man in syria. annan resigned two weeks ago after failing to reach a cease-fire. according to the opposition, at least 168 people were killed in syria today, including 40 in and around damascus. where this youtube video is claimed to have been shot. india next. big city train stations packed with as many as 7,000 people fleeing cities. that's after students and workers from the northeastern state said they received text messages threatening retaliatory attacks for ethnic violence in their state. back home, five people are behind bars in louisiana.
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in connection with a pair of related shootings that left two sheriff deputies dead and two others wounded. two other suspects have been arrested but are still hospitalized. recovering from gunshot wounds. talk about determination. on sunday, diana niad will begin her fourth try at swimming the 103 miles from cuba to florida. the 62-year-old says this will be her last attempt. she is an amazing role model. we just hope the sharks and the jellyfish stay away. >> we are rooting for her. there is new video tonight that adds to what we know about the fatal shooting of a young man by police -- in police custody is what i'm trying to is it going to answer the question was it suicide or was it homicide? we've got details next.
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police in jonesboro, arkansas, have released new information in the case of travis carter, the young man who died while in their custody. a few weeks ago. they've released video from a police cruiser which offers a glimpse of the scene. they also put out a number of videotaped eyewitness interviews. does this new information answer the key question? was carter's death suicide or was it homicide? randi kaye tonight with our report. >> reporter: no one is disputing that chavis carter died from a duane shot to the head while in the back seat of a police car in jonesboro, arkansas. the question is who pulled the trigger. police say he committed suicide. >> i've seen some of our people in custody do some amaze things. >> reporter: carter's mother doesn't buy it. she believes jonesboro police killed her son. >> i think they killed him. >> reporter: at this point, it's still debatable and still under investigation.
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here's why. 21-year-old chavis carter was handcuffed at the time the fatal shot was fired. double locked behind his back. is it even possible physically to be handcuffed behind your back a somehow pull the trigger on a gun you weren't holding when you were handcuffed? >> for the average person that's never been in handcuffs, would react exactly the same way that you just did. how can that be possible? well, the fact of it is, it's very possible. it's quite easy. >> reporter: chavis and two others were pulled over july 29 just before 10:00 p.m. for driving suspiciously. the first officer called for backup. then the two of them searched the car and the trunk. they say they found a small amount of marijuana. and some small plastic bags. they did not find a gun.
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according to the officers, carter was then placed in the back seat of one of the police vehicles. at that point, they say, he was not handcuffed. it wasn't till later when the officers searched the suspect's vehicle and found drug paraphernalia like electronic scales and a large bag of white powder that they patted down carter again. they placed him once again in the same police vehicle's back seat only this time, he was handcuffed. how carter managed to shoot himself while handcuffed using a concealed weapon police missed during not one but two searches is a mystery to many. including the fbi who was looking into it. >> in their searching, they find a small bag, $10 worth of marijuana, but they miss a gun? >> apparently. >> reporter: is that disappointing to you? >> yes. >> reporter: the chief says the two men with carter who were white were released. but carter was held back after the officers who were also white discovered he'd given them a fake name. there was a warrant for his arrest in mississippi where he
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skipped out on a drug diversion program. the chief says his officers don't know exactly when the fatal shots were fired even though they were just feet away. according to this incident report, one of the officers heard a loud thump with a metallic sound. but thought it came from a vehicle that ran over a piece of metal on the roadway. don't your officers know the sound of a gun being fired? >> one would think. when those guns are in a confined space, it can be very different. >> reporter: it wasn't till the officers were about to leave when police say one of them smelled something burning in his vehicle. the chief says it was likely gun smoke. that's when police say the officer found chavis carter bloody and slumped over in the back seat. the officers say they called an ambulance and tried to revive carter. he died at the hospital. carter's mother says it just doesn't add up. she told reporters her son was
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shot in the right side of the head but she points out he was left handed. police would only say he was shot in the head. >> they searched him twice. i mean i just want to knowhat really happened. >> reporter: theresa carter says her son called his girlfriend from the scene to tell her he'd phone her from jail. which to her raises the question, does that sound like someone planning to commit suicide? in jonesboro, supports have held vigils. like many, they wonder what motive carter had to kill himself. a $10 bag of marijuana. white powder that hasn't tested positive for drugs and is likely sugar. an outstanding warrant. we asked the chief about theresa carter's allegations, that one of his officers pulled the trigger. can you safely say you've ruled that out? >> at this stage in the investigation -- certainly a remote possibility but we haven't excluded everything but
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i feel confident that's not what it is. but i certainly understand how she might feel that way. >> reporter: randi, police in arkansas have now released that dash cam video from the officer's car that night. i know you've had a chance to go through it. what in particular sticks out to you? >> i should point out first that the two squad cars were parked trunk to trunk so they don't capture any video of chavis carter in the back seat of the police car. on this video that was released, you see two officers standing around questioning the two white suspects, who they later let go. you see them about eight minutes into the traffic stop leading chavis carter to the squad car unhandcuffed at the time, then he goes out of frame. you hear one officer questioning him, asking him his name, where he's from. he's extremely polite. he answers yes, sir, no, sir. you don't get any sense of tension at all. the officers are polite and calm. and carter is as well. >> so i guess the key question is do you hear the bullet being
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fired in the audio portion of the tape. >> i watched and listened to that video several times. nowhere on that video or in that audio do you hear the sound of a gunshot or a pop or anywhere that remotely sounds like a bullet being fired. remember, the officers said they didn't recall hearing the gunshot. one thought he heard a pop but thought it was a car going over a piece of metal in the road. >> are there any witnesses who might be able to help get at the truth? >> there are several witnesses. police released several witness interviews. we're not sure -- we should point out -- how many witnesses in all were interviewed. police redacted their information so we don't know who they are. or how to contact them. these released intervis today include two african-american and one white witness and not a single witness puts the officers in the car or in the back seat with chavis carter at the time of the shooting.
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two of the witnesses remember hearing a gunshot or something that sounded like it. but when asked about where the officers were at that moment, listen to what one witness said. >> and then about 10, 15 minutes after that, we hear a loud pop. i'm like, what is going on. >> you heard a pop? >> it sounded like a gun going off. >> so where were the police officers when you heard this? >> they were standing on the outside of the car. >> when you heard the pop, the doors were open? of the police car? >> the one he had in the back seat wasn't open. >> they were closed? >> yes, sir. >> another witness says he remembers one of the officers opening the door to his squad car and yelling to his partner for help. another thing, soledad, i should point out, you do hear on the tape one of the officers talking about taking chavis carter to the county jail, which may speak to their intentions. but, still, no clear answer on what happened. and, really, there may never be. >> wow.
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so complicated. randi kaye, thanks. coming up next, people helping the four legged survivors of the wild fires out west. ering ] ...that's not yours. [ goat bleats ] na, na, na -- no! [ male announcer ] now you can take a photo right from video, so you'll never miss the perfect shot. [ hikers laughing, commenting ] at&t introduces the htc one x. now $99.99. rethink possible. now $99.99. you know, ronny... folks who save hundreds of dollars by switching to geico sure are happy. and how happy are they jimmy?
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while they went to shelters or to stay with friends or family, the animals needed a place to go. so the county said they could come here. and since the fire broke out, it's been a temporary home to as many as 400 animals. how big of an event has this fire been for this community? >> i can't put it in words. i've never seen anything like it in my nearly 15 years. -- 50 years. people have asked me, have you ever done this before. i've gone through training and simulated exercises but doing the real thing is a whole different learning process. >> reporter: mark is the lead veterinarian whose skills became vital in saving some of the injured animals. >> we had reports of a large number of burn victims coming to our triage. we had set up a triage center. i had to go take a walk and kind of regroup. and, you know, starting to tear up and -- i said, okay, you got
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to deal with this and put your emotions aside and, you know, get ready to go. >> reporter: these are the lucky ones. authorities believe many, possibly hundreds, of animals died in the fire. some owners racing to cut their fences to give their livestock or pets a fighting chance. >> hi, hanna. >> reporter: at the local animal hospital, veterinarians are tending to these cats and dogs with burn wounds. >> we're watching for signs of stress, especially in the larger animals, because they tend to get stressed a little bit easier at times. >> reporter: facebook has helped reunite some of the animals here with their owners. elsewhere, authorities believe some are still roaming. >> there are probably still a large number of animals, horses and cattle, running around the county. there's a lot of good samaritans that are finding the animals just out in the field or out in the -- the road. we send crews out to get them. >> reporter: kim just moved to town two weeks ago.
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and was frantic to get her horses to safety. also at stake, her livelihood, raising goats. >> we're with them from the time they're born. we attend their births. we are there through the whole pregnancy. then we milk morning, noon and night. >> reporter: the county says the animals can stay indefinitely. the community has stepped up with tons of donations. volunteers are donating their time. >> definitely getting my feet wet. >> reporter: this person recently graduated from veterinary school and accepted a job in alaska. >> normal gut sounds, all four quadrants. >> reporter: she has pushed back her start date to help. tell me why you're doing this. >> i can't imagine not doing this. i don't know -- i took an oath in may. >> reporter: an oath to look after these four legged creatures whose lives were also up-ended by this sprawling fire. >> dan simon joins us live now. obviously some of those animals are pets. but others are crucial for
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livelihoods. this is just devastating for the community on all kinds of levels. >> that's exactly right. agricultural and livestock are extremely important to this community. that's why you see so many animals. they're vital to the local economy. some of them have been able to go home. as some of the evacuation olds get lifted. others will remain at that shelter as it were till, you ow, their owners are able to get the green light and go home as well. before we leave you, i want to give you a quick update on the fire. you can see some of the smoke behind me. crews continuing to dump water on it. they seem to be getting an upper hand on it. they haven't lost any homes in the last couple of day. lightning strikes could happen this weekend so crews will watch it closely. >> dan simon. thank you. gary tuchman now with a "360" news and business bulletin. >> south africa's president jacob zuma says he's launching an inquiry into the shooting
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deaths of 34 striking miners. the violence broke out about two hours from johannesburg. tensions over a union dispute have been mounting. plus claim they were acting in self-defense. progressive insurance offering a settlement. a legal battle that played out over social media. it started with a post saying, quote, my sister paid progressive insurance to defend her killer in court. progressive admitted participating in the defense. of the underinsured driver who ran a red light. tonight, whitney houston's final film hits the big screen. the remake of the 1970s cult classic "sparkle" follows the ups and downs of an all girl group in detroit. coming up next, why is a penguin in someone's apartment? there's a good chance booze is involved. the riduculist is up next. [ male announcer ] citi turns 200 this year.
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in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult ones. but, through it all, we've persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. so why should our anniversary matter to you? because for 200 years, we've been helping ideas move from ambition to achievement. and the next great idea could be yours. ♪
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tonight, the number one pick of riduculist videos featuring people who do dumb, illegal or wacky things. it's all thanks to viewers who cast their votes this weekend, ac360.com. the video you've chosen the antics of a few tanked up guys in australia. >> time now for the riduculist. tonight, we're adding the case of the purloined penguin. the feckless and the flightless. three drunk guys stole a penguin from the sea world in australia.
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these brainiac got a whole penguin, marched it back to their apartment. and being in their late teen, as well as bombed out of their minds, they captured the moment on video for posterity. >> hello, mr. penguin. >> i can't believe i have a penguin in my apartment, man. >> that's when they woke up hungover and realized they stole a penguin. they also videotaped themselves engaging in a lile dwi. diving while intoxicated. >> that's not all they did that night. >> i'm going in there, man. >> still undetected by sea world security, they swam with the dolphins. >> yo, look at them. penguins -- better -- >> amazing. >> they swam with the dolphins. look, might as well. i mean, you're there, right? it's nighttime, you're wasted, why not? now that the police have that video, it's undeniable proof they did that on poipurse. we had to pretape this because you know how many times it took me to say poipurse correctly?
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they did it on purpose. on poi -- i can't say it. on poipurse. they did it on purpose. poipurse. on purpose. that they did it on poi -- [ laughter ] poipurse. i was there. i did have it. poipurse. put it back. poipurse. on poipurse. poi. not poor. on poipurse. sometimes it's not easy doing this job. look, don't want to encourage this kind of behavior. you have to admit from a standpoint of epic drunk and ventures, it kind of rivals the movie "the hangover." [ lion growling ] >> ha.
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tiger. >> he's not kidding. there's a tiger in there. >> no, there isn't. >> yeah! >> how does a tiger get in the bathroom? it almost killed me. >> hey, bro, you mind putting on some pants? i find it weird i have to ask twice. >> pants at a time like this. >> get back to the drunk guys who turned sea world into their own private studio 54. they panicked and let the penguin go in a nearby waterway. he was eventually rescued. it also happened to be a love story. not for the drunk guys. for dirk, the penguin. dirk had another reason not to stray too far. his partner, peaches. while she's been somewhat coy this morning, no doubt she, too, is relieved to see him again. >> dirk and peaches. reunited and it feels so good. dirk and peaches. the guy, well, they feel pretty bad. >> we are, all three of us, sorry, sea world, the time lost searching for dirk.
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