have a note from nora that sounds corny, but it means a lot to even have that fleeting connection with the, with her, what a lovely woman. >> i missed out, unfortunately, and didn't get a chance to meet her, but i've been a big fan for so many years and it is an honor to do a play about the time when tabloid journalism was at a height. >> "julia julia" was almost an un-noraesque film about two women, but her love for cooking and writing and for all this that goes along, i think that was, in a lot of ways, the last. and for me, a quintessential nora ephron film, it was different than the others. i think when we all read "lucky

guy" for the first time we thought, i've never seen this before. this takes an insider and this takes an insider with a story tell i telling what other people don't have. and i think we are all part of something that is one-time only, a confluence of nora's talents and without a doubt the horrible timing that went along with it. >> it's a stunning play. it's already taken a huge amount at the box office, but i think the reality is when it opens it will live up to that. it's just got a magic to it, which is a lot to do with your mom, jacob, i think the writing is just extraordinary. also, i got this interview from today, the great chemistry you guys all have as a cast is very p palpable and came through on the screen. >> i think we are the yankees.

>> the tabloid industry is putting us back on the map right where we belong. >> right where it ended. anything we hoped we would establish as a lucky guy, to get into the tabloids. >> gentlemen, thank you all very much, indeed. and best of luck. >> great. i can't wait to come on tv to talk about you guys. good evening, everyone. breaking news in the doorstep murder of a top law enforcement official, the chief of prison in colorado after a high-speed chase, police open fire. the question is, did they get the killer? also tonight, an exclusive that this man went free today after 23 years in prison for murder he almost certainly did not commit. meet the man who as a teenager helped put him away and deck lads later asked him to come forward, finally, what made him

wait so long. and the $500 million question, who is behind the biggest art heist in history? the list of potential suspects reads like a hollywood script. we will take a look at who may have done it ahead. but first, a texas shoot-out is how a gunman took the life of colorado's prison chief at his home, tuesday night. >> now, two states away, the story might be ending just as quickly and violent with a high speed chase and a shoot out. it might be that this is the get away car and the driver is there. ed lavandera has the latest for us. >> reporter: hi, anderson. investigators from colorado are in the process of flying down to texas tonight to start investigating the remnants of a high-speed chase. it's ended with the driver of a four-door cadillac.

that driver led them on a high-speed chase that topped more than 100 miles an hour. it all started around noon eastern time when this car was pulled over by a sheriff's deputy in montague county, just on a rural stretch of remote texas highway. as the deputy approached the car, the driver of the car shot the deputy several times. fortunately, the den advertise was wearing a bullet-proof vest and is being treated at the hospital. it ended with that cadillac getting into a crash with an 18 wheeler. despite the crash, the driver got out of the car and kept shooting at law enforcement that was chasing him. the law enforcement then shot him, he was flown to a hospital in houston, i mean in ft. worth, excuse me, where he was pronounced dead. now investigators who are trying to identify him say he did not have any identification on him, they took his finger prints and right now are in the process of trying to do that. there appears to be very strong connections between the driver of that cadillac here in texas and the murder of the director of the prison system there in colorado. as well as a connection to

another murder case in the denver, colorado, area. this was on sunday afternoon. a pizza delivery driver was found murdered on the outskirts of denver. and authorities there in that area are telling us there are also strong connections between the driver of this cadillac and that pizza delivery murder as well. so investigators from that case are also coming down here to look into all of this as well. a lot of moving parts in this case, anderson, as investigators from colorado come down here to texas. we're told by the sheriff here in wise county that there's evidence inside that car, that cadillac, that will be very useful and interesting for those investigators from colorado. we want to give you the latest update, as well, on the sheriff's deputy from montague county. his name was james void, he was the initial officer who approached that cadillac. he was shot twice in the chest. formally he was wearing a bullet-proof vest and treated in the hospital. there was also another bullet

that grazed his head, and we are told he's expected to make a full recovery from those wounds, but right now authorities are on their way to try to make as much as of a connection between the case here in north texas involving the high-speed chase and that murder of tom clemmons there in colorado. so, anderson, that's the latest from wise county in texas. anderson? >> appreciate the update on that case. now, the remarkable story. a man named david ranta who went free this afternoon in new york after serving 23 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. convicted despite passing a polygraph and convicted despite abuse by investigators. now several witnesses say they lied and one, who you will meet in a moment, said she's coached in the lineup who to pick. first, mary snow on how david got his freedom back.

>> reporter: this is 58-year-old david ranta today. >> thank you, your honor. >> reporter: this was david ranta in 1990, when he was arrested for a murder he didn't commit, and sentenced to 37 1/2 years behind bars. it all happened in front of this building in brooklyn, after a thief tried and failed to rob a diamond courier who sped away. the robber then turned his gun on a beloved rabbi that was shot through his car window and died four days later. the community was in anguish. and the nypd was under pressure. a massive effort followed to find the rabbi's killer. the investigation dragged on for six months. the lead detective at the time was louis scarcilla, a man known within the nypd to use unorthodox tack sixes to get his man. then, a major break in the case.

a key witness came forward, a 13-year-old neighbor of the rabbi, on his way to school that morning, a teen named menachem lieberman saw a suspicious looking man in a car around the time of the shooting. eventually, police honed in on david ranta and he was brought in for a lineup. the 13-year-old lieberman identified ranta as the man in the car. at trial, alleged accomplices of ranta's testified that he had killed the rabbi. he was found guilty of second degree murder and has been in prison ever since with all hopes of appeal failed. that is until two years ago, when lieberman revealed a secret, something that only he knew and that had been weighing on him for over 20 years. he admitted in an affidavit that he was coached, told by an nypd detective to pick the guy with the big nose. more troubling allegations emerged. michael baum was david ranta's original lawyer. you believe he was framed? >> without a doubt.

without a doubt. i believed he was framed then. my concerns about that have never wavered. yes, he was framed. >> reporter: there has always been the question of ranta's supposed confession after the crime. when he was arrested, detectives said he admitted to being at the scene of the crime, but not the shooter, only that wasn't recorded. but written down on paper by detective louis scarcilla, ranta says that's wrong that he didn't admit to anything. he said he never confessed. >> ma'am, all i have to say is i stand by my confession, the confession that i took. >> reporter: there are investigators who are saying rules were broken. >> yep. ma'am, i didn't do anything wrong. i stand by my investigation. >> reporter: the brooklyn district attorney did not stand by the investigation and today, a judge agreed. >> sir, you are free to go. >> reporter: in an interview ranta gave the "new york times" this week as his release was pending, he said quote, i've

lived for years in a cage, stripped down, humiliated. i'll be able to touch people again, to make decisions. to be honest, what's ahead scares me. >> hard to imagine being in prison for 23 years for a crime you didn't commit. mary snow joins me now. you were in the courtroom. what was the emotion like there? i can only imagine. >> reporter: yeah, anderson, you know, it was so emotional that the judge started crying at one point, as soon as david ranta walked into that courtroom, his family members were just overcome with emotion. in particular, his daughter, priscilla, was 2 years old when her father was arrested. these family members have had their hopes dashed before so they were very nervous going into this hearing. >> if david ranta didn't kill the rabbi, who did? >> reporter: well, a woman had come forward in the 1990s to say that her husband had admitted to killing the rabbi, but her husband had been killed in a car

accident not long after the murder. now, ranta's initial attorney said that he used that information to try and get the conviction overturned in the mid-'90s and that didn't work. he said that there were questions about credibility that were raised, and now those claims had been examined once again. investigators now saying that the woman's claim there was not enough evidence to either back them up or discredit them so the bottom line is, we may never know who killed the rabbi. >> mary snow, appreciate it. david ranta's road to prison started with that 13-year-old boy, menachem lieberman who said he was coached in a lineup to i.d. david ranta. ranta's road to freedom also began with that same young man, mr. lieberman, his word, only this time freely given and truthfully spoken. 23 years without freedom for one man. for the other, 23 years carrying a very heavy weight on his conscience.

joining me tonight in a "360" exclusive, menachem lieberman. what happened during the lineup? what did the detective say to you? >> as i was walking in the room to the lineup, he told me that i should pick out the guy with the biggest nose. >> when he said that to you, what did you think? >> i was too young back then to realize that this was a setup. i mean, to me this was basically -- it was just part of the process. >> when did you realize that david ranta probably wasn't guilty and the investigation, particularly your picking him out of the lineup, was mishandled? >> i think as the years went by, i remembered what happened, that somebody told me, but as more and more i found the news of innocent people getting let free in various ways, i started to think back to the trial i was

involved and remembered where i was told who to pick out of the lineup. >> at the time, did you tell anybody else about what had happened? >> no. this is something i carried with me. i mean, i didn't have anybody in the world. as i grew older and saw more and more of this wrongful conviction, it really bothered me. i mean, it's something that bothered me very much, until two years ago i decided i have to get it off my chest. i have to tell the authorities what happened. >> what did it feel like to live with this secret all these years? as you started to think about it, how did that feel? >> when i was younger, i didn't even think that he's not guilty. i read a couple of articles. i never knew the part where he always categorically denied it, i mean, as i got older, i read a

few times there was a local jewish magazine that had the story, ran the story, and that's when i saw and it's got to be three years ago in florida, and i happened to meet wineburger on one occasion and he found out i was one of the witnesses, and he started to say, you're a liar, and i didn't want to admit to him what happened but that's kind of reminded me that this can't go on forever. somebody has to know what happened. >> how do you feel now that you have spoken up and that justice has been done? >> i mean, i was very happy when i was able to call, and the main point was for me to get it off my chest. i wasn't sure at that point. i felt that he might not be guilty but as the first deputy who worked on this case told me, i mean, as he started to

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for politics now there's new movement on gun control legislation in congress. senate majority leader harry reid has introduced a bill that would expand background checks and check on gun trafficking. it does not include a specific banning on assault weapons, which is a priority of the obama administering, but he'll allow a ban to the amendment of the bill. however, reid said he will allow debate on the ban as an amendment to the bill. today, vice president joe biden, the administration's point man on getting congress to act, met in new york city with mayor michael bloomberg, himself an outspoken proponent of stricter gun control laws. they were joined by families of the victims of the school massacre in newtown, connecticut. biden pushed against the national rifle association, others who are trying so far successfully to block new laws,

including a ban on assault weapons. >> three months ago, a deranged man walked into sandy hook elementary school with a weapon of war. that's what he walked in with, with a weapon of war. and that weapon of war has no place on american streets and taking it off america's streets has no impact on one's constitutional right to own a weapon. >> the parents of grace mcdonnell, one of the newtown children killed, they were there. grace's mom said they have a responsibility to their daughter to fight for change. >> this isn't about completely eliminating the possibility of another newtown. unfortunately, very little in life is certain. however, if together we can make real progress and bring about meaningful change so that it is far less likely that others will have to die so young, so senselessly, then shouldn't we be doing everything we can to bring about that change? >> chris and lynn mcdonnell have been on this program before,

sharing with us their enormous grief over the loss of their beloved grace. i talked to them again today. i think so many people who saw the interview that you did in those terrible days immediately afterward were just stunned by your strength and your ability to even speak. how do you move forward every day? >> thank you. i think we move forward for grace and we move forward for our son. you know, every day we look at him and we know that we have to do this for him, and we have to do it to honor grace. if we didn't try to live like we lived when she was with us, i feel like we wouldn't be honoring her, and that's how we celebrate her life. so every day, we talk about her at dinner and we have the same conversations and do the same things we would do as a family as if she was with us. >> after my brother passed away, i found it and still find it hard to talk about him. i'm amazed that you're able to talk about grace every day, to jack.

>> right. well, for us, we love to celebrate her. she was just so beautiful and had so much light around her and gave us so much that for us, talking about her is healing, and laughing. we laugh more than we cry. we remember -- we have beautiful seven years and if someone had told me seven years ago this would happen, we wouldn't change one day that we spent as a family, or one thing we ever said. >> how's jack doing? >> he's, as any young adolescent, he has his own challenges, and he's with our guidance helping him to take a step forward each day. >> yeah. it's a long road for all of us. you know, i don't know if you ever get to the end of the road. i think from what i've heard, it gets less bumpy. but i think for us, we have to live in the moment and live in the day, and just get through that.

>> you were at an event today that the vice president was at, mayor bloomberg was at. what is your message? what do you want people to understand? >> we want people to make a personal connection with this issue of gun violence, and to begin to look at things from a different perspective. we feel that if you can make a personal connection, find a new perspective, you're able to make change. you're able to move the dialogue forward. >> i know it was interesting to me, you mentioned senator rob portman, who because his son told him that he was gay, he changed his position on same sex marriage. that's a signal to you. >> i mean, i respect him so much for, you know, respecting his son and his choices, but i think because that he felt that so

personally, he was able to make that change. i wonder, i believe this with all my heart, that if any of the senators and congressmen and women were in our shoes for one day, one hour, and felt the pain that we have without our daughter, you know, maybe they would find their own moral compass and take action over inaction. >> you're thinking if they experience what you have been through, they would know, understand a little bit more what it's like and actually work more towards some sort of legislation? >> i think if anybody could feel this pain, to move yourself forward or to help try, we owe it to our daughter grace. i feel we owe it to our country, to our children, but we wouldn't want to see anybody have to go through this again. >> the president has said, vice president biden has said they are still hoping for an assault weapons ban or some sort of control on assault weapons. is that, for you, is that a vital piece of legislation?

>> any type of violence isn't a result of one underlying factor. sandy hook massacre is a great example of that. i feel that if an assault ban was in force at that time, the outcome would have been completely different. so it's a component of a broader set of more comprehensive solutions. >> you also said today that this wouldn't necessarily prevent, you know, a massacre from ever happening again. >> well, life is so uncertain. we can't predict anything. look, we would have never thought we would be in the situation we are. life is so fragile. >> is there anything else you want people to know? >> i would just like to thank everybody for the letters and the thoughts and the prayers and all the support we received has been overwhelming and has really touched our hearts. >> compassion of the broader community has been tremendous. >> amazing. and has really helped to give us peace and strength, and i know we'll continue to carry us through the next coming days, weeks and months.

>> thank you very much for talking. >> thank you. >> thanks. the parents of 7-year-old grace mcdonnell. as always, find more on this story at cnn.com. up next, michele bachmann says obama care could literally kill you if you're a woman or a child or a senior. it's a strong statement. the question is can she back it up with actual evidence? decide for yourself. we're keeping them honest. later, the mystery of the starving baby seals and the extraordinary effort happening right now to save them. stamps.com is the best.

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keeping them honest after staying quiet for the past day or so, congresswoman michele bachmann took the house floor and made some unfounded claims, this time about obama care which house republicans are trying to get appealed. she says it will literally kill people, literally. kill them. dead. before going further, we should point out that we're not partisan on this. when democratic congressman allen grayson said the gop's health care plan was for people to die quickly, we called him out on it. we're not trying to pick parties or choose sides. we're interested in facts and politicians who play fast and loose with the facts which of course brings us back to michele bachmann. i say again because you may remember that when last we

caught up with the minnesota congresswoman just two days ago, we were literally trying to catch up with her as she raced away from our dana bash. we sent dana to talk with her because the congresswoman was giving a speech on the benghazi killings, she veered into claims, false ones, that the obama white house budget was loaded with lavish perks, including a staff just to walk the first dog. here's dana's exchange with ms. bachmann. >> what i want to ask you about is the fact you said he had -- you talked about the excesses that he's engaged in, the fact that he has a dog walker, which is not true. >> the big point of my speech was about benghazi. this was an absolute disaster. >> you also made specific accusations about the president spending money that other presidents also made. >> the real issue is there are four americans that are dead. the secretary of state was not in conversation with the secretary of defense or with the chair of the joint chiefs of staff. >> i think that's an important point. i think that's an important point but this is another -- >> -- the president of the

united states didn't care about those four americans and they were killed. that's the point. >> but if you want to focus on that -- >> w. we want to focus on national security. that's it, dana. that's what's important. >> -- then why bring up the other things? >> you want to talk about dog handlers and there's four americans killed? >> congresswoman, you're the one who brought it up. >> she tried to twist it, making it look like dana was the one bringing up dog walkers in the wake of the death of four americans. it should be pointed out again, michele bachmann is the one who made that connection. we're simply asking her about public statements she made and apparently she has no facts to back them up. today, she took to the house floor and said this about the affordable care act, obama care. >> the american people, especially vulnerable women, vulnerable children, vulnerable senior citizens, now get to pay more and they get less. that's why we're here. because we're saying let's repeal this failure before it literally kills women, kills

children, kills senior citizens. let's not do that. let's love people. let's care about people. let's repeal it now while we can. >> literally kills women, kills children, kills senior citizens. her words. keeping them honest, there may be plenty good or bad about obama care but literally killing people, sort of a new one. does she have any evidence to back up such an explosive and by the sound of it unequivocal claim? we asked ms. bachmann to come on the program. like tuesday, she declined. once again, we ask dana bash to try to get some answers. she joins us now. you have just gotten a statement from the congresswoman's spokesman. how does she back up her claims? >> reporter: that's right. let me just answer that by reading you the statement and the statement is from her spokesman. he says obama care is forcing doctors into the employ of cost-cutting hospitals, gives government the authority to determine services that will and will not be covered, has a board independent of congress that can

cut payments for care and allows the secretary of health and human services to force all health plans to eliminate any doctor that doesn't practice medicine the government's way. the history of government-run health care systems around the world is a history of denial, delay and sadly, even death. anderson, i notice that she responded not long after the democratic campaign committee which is in charge of getting rid of republicans, of defeating them in elections, put out a press release blasting her, saying she would rather be in washington as a right wing celebrity than solving problems back in minnesota for minnesota's middle class. remember, she got a scare back in november. her election, her congressional election was closer than she expected and democrats are hoping to beat her this time. >> we certainly appreciate the response. it doesn't seem to back up the claim, though, that this health care will literally kill women, children and senior citizens. a lot of the things she's claiming right now about the government will be able to select who gets care or not, you could say about insurance companies right now, choosing who gets coverage or not.

>> that's a great point. it doesn't back that up. she and other republicans, you know, have argued for years they believe obama care will ultimately mean people will lose their insurance and their health will be in danger. of course, she took that to a whole other level by saying that they would literally be killed, which you're right, she doesn't address in the statement. >> dana, appreciate it. isha is here with the "360" bulletin. u.s. intelligence officials now believe the assad regime in syria did not use chemical weapons on its own people. despite claims by rebel forces that those weapons were used, officials tell cnn there are multiple indicators that they were not deployed. president obama is on an out of state dinner in israel marking the close ties between the u.s. and israel. he was awarded the presidential medal of distinction, israel's highest civilian honor. major change coming to chicago. 53 underutilized public schools will be closed. officials say the money saved will be used to install air conditioning in other school facilities, invested in libraries and used to buy ipads

for students in grades 3 through 8. a man in australia himself a new father says instinct kicked in when a mom in a supermarket screamed her baby wasn't breathing. although not trained in cpr, he came to the child's aid to clear her airway, listened to instructions from paramedics over the phone and saved the child's life. >> wow. the $500 million question, who is behind the biggest art heist in history? the list of potential suspects reads like a hollywood script. we will take a look at who may have done it ahead. also ahead tonight, a mystery at sea. dozens of sick sea lions washing up on california beaches. see what's being done to save them next. upside down. >> hi. >> hi. you know, i can save you 15% today if you open up a charge card account with us. >> you just read my mind. >> announcer: just one little piece of information and they can open bogus accounts, stealing your credit, your money and ruining your reputation.

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ends sunday. superior service, best selection, lowest price, guaranteed. ♪ sleep train ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ welcome back. in crime and punishment, 23 years ago this week, the biggest art heist in history went down in boston's isabella stuart gardner museum. thieves dressed as police officers made off with 13 pieces

of art worth an estimated half billion dollars. it's an absolutely fascinating story filled with mystery and intrigue and it's the subject of a special report we're going to be airing tomorrow night. last night we took you inside the heist with an exclusive interview with a night watchman who actually let the thieves into the museum. tonight we're digging deeper into the whodunit aspect. over the years everyone from museum employees to notorious gangsters have been considered suspects. randi kaye picks up the investigation. >> i'd like to say it is boston's last best secret. >> reporter: boston's last best secret. who stole the 13 works of art from the isabela stuart gardner museum and where are they now? it is a question that continues to puzzle museum security director, anthony amore. what is it about this case that keeps you up at night that just doesn't sit right with you? >> there were lots of quirky things about it. every time you turned around there was a different interesting fact that you find. >> reporter: one of the biggest

questions for amore, why did the thieves steal what they did. remember the path of the thieves on the second floor, when they went from the dutch room to the short gallery, they bypassed valuable works of art that were small and portable, and worth a lot more than some of the other art they stole. >> the two big rembrandts and the vemeer, those three pieces account for 90% of what's called $500 million, $400 million, $500 million of the value. >> reporter: another big question, why did the thieves bother taking the golden finial that say atop a napoleonic flag? at first it seems they attempted to steal the flag itself, but it proved to be too difficult to take down. >> they wanted very badly to get that flag, and that always seemed to me to the clue that is the most interesting. i know the fbi has spent a lot of time trying to figure that

out, visiting, talking to associations who are involved with napoleonic memoribilia, to see was there a bounty for one of these? >> reporter: why did the thieves want that flag so badly? is it possible they were given a specific list of artwork to steal by a collector who especially loved those 13 works of art? that brings us to another theory, one that has been made popular by hollywood. >> $1 million, mr. bond. >> reporter: do you think it's possible they're in some private gallery owned by some eccentric billionaire somewhere like the dr. no-type character? >> no. the whole idea that a collector's holding on to stolen magnificent works of art all came from that movie "dr. no." it was a 007 movie, james bond movie from 1962 where james bond is going through dr. no's lair

and he sees a painting hanging on the wall. the painting had been stolen the year before. that actually did happen. in 20 years the fbi and five years since then doing these investigations, i have never run into a collector who had million dollar paintings who were stolen. >> reporter: anthony amore doesn't buy the dr. no theory, either. >> my gut instinct is that it's not far. typically when art is stolen it doesn't get moved very far. if i had to guess, i would think it's still in new england. >> reporter: since 2003, the u.s. attorney's office has offered complete immunity to anyone who came forward with information on the paintings. and the museum is offering a $5 million reward. that's a lot of money on the table, so why hasn't anyone come forward? >> randi joins me now live. just this week the fbi announced it actually knows who the thieves are. what more do we know about it? >> the fbi's priority has always been to get the art back and return it to the walls of the museum. more so even than nabbing the thieves. but apparently, they have

finally figured out who did this, who is behind it. the fbi believes the thieves belong to a criminal organization they say is based in new england and the midatlantic states. they aren't naming the thieves because they say this is an ongoing investigation, but here's the thing, anderson. the thieves can't be charged anyway because the statute of limitations has expired. now, in terms of the artwork itself, investigators don't believe the thieves actually still have the artwork, so they're offering this possible immunity to anyone who comes forward with information about it. the fbi thinks the thieves actually tried to sell the art about ten years or so ago in philadelphia. that would have been more than a decade after the heist itself. that deal never happened and unfortunately, the investigators lost track of all the art after that. >> fascinating stuff. randi, thanks. it is an amazing story. we'll have more of it. don't miss "81 minutes inside the greatest art heist in history" tomorrow at 10:00 p.m. eastern. a special right here on cnn. up next, why are baby sea lions beaching themselves in southern california and why does it appear they're starving? we will see if scientists have

answers to the crisis. it's sad but true. nancy grace's handcuff necklace is missing, vanished. we will talk to her ahead in the "ridiculist."

tonight, the story of heartbreaking mystery along the coast of southern california. baby sea lions are beaching themselves and scientists are finding the pups malnourished, half the size they should be, basically starving to death. the answer what's causing this dire situation lies underwater somewhere in the pacific ocean. scientists search for that cause, their first order of

business is to try to save as many of the pups as they can. here's kim long. >> reporter: you are watching the rescue of a dying baby sea lion at laguna beach, california. >> a little california sea lion about eight months old, very thin. emaciated. >> reporter: is this typical? what are you seeing? >> we're seeing a lot of pups that are very underweight. a lot smaller than they would normally be. this thing would easily be 60 to 80 pounds by now. that is 29 pounds. >> reporter: weighed and measured, the sick animal joins more than 100 just like her. >> you're standing in our icu units. we have four icu units. this is where the worst of the animals come. he's a walking skeleton. you can see his pelvis. he just turned, you can see his backbone, the bumps of his vertebrae. you can see his ribs. >> reporter: this what is they should look like. >> these animals are almost ready to go back to the ocean. this is what we should be seeing out in the ocean. not what's going into the

center. >> reporter: what's coming in, all starving, all about six to eight months old. this is an unprecedented crisis for the species in the state says the pacific marine center. you have 113 in house right now. how many do you normally have? >> this time last year we had ten. >> reporter: ten? >> ten. so we are seeing exponentially higher numbers. we're 10 or 11 times higher than last year. >> reporter: it's just a heartbreaking sight seeing so many of these baby sea lions stranding themselves on these populated beaches in southern california. scientists now are trying to figure out why. so when you say off the charts, this is what you're talking about. >> that's what i'm talking about, the fact that these rates for this year are so elevated. the main theory currently is environmental factors. >> reporter: noaa believes it's a lack of food forcing sea lion mothers to wean early but they don't know why the food is disappearing. >> a lot of times they also do lead us back to things that are happening in the ocean that maybe we aren't seeing, or we aren't looking at.

so they can really kind of be the tip of the iceberg to tell us what's actually going on in the water. >> reporter: rescuers on a race to answer this mystery before more sea lions end up like this. >> you talked about the elevated number of sea lion pups being rescued. how many more are we talking about? >> reporter: we are talking about exponentially high. if you think about this as a hospital, this is like the intensive care unit of this particular hospital. normally, they only have ten in the entire building. but take a look inside here. there are 25 baby sea lions, all of these sea lions, they are all sick. they should be up, they should be playing, they should be making a lot of noise. the reason they're laying there is because they are sick. they pulled off the beach, half the weight that they should be and this to the people who are trying to rescue them, this is incredibly sad. they say they are seeing ten times the numbers that they normally see here, anderson. >> that is so sad. thanks very much. >> you bet. >> terrible to see them. coming up, nancy grace's

handcuff necklace is missing, vanished, i tell you. yet some people are pointing the blame at me.

time for the "ridiculist." tonight it is a full-on "ridiculist" mystery. a cold case that is near and dear to nancy grace's heart, literally as in her necklace is missing. we'll hear from nancy in just a moment if she's not too emotional. first, a little background.

nancy's necklace first caught my eye, oh, it was a few weeks ago when we had her on the program to talk about the jodi arias trial. take a look. hey, nancy, are you wearing handcuffs as a necklace? >> yes, i am. would you like a pair? i did it for you, anderson. >> i saw something shiny and the more i looked, i was thinking are those handcuffs? they really are? >> yes, they are. and they work. in case you need to arrest somebody. >> now it seems that nancy will have to use her bare hands if she has to arrest somebody, because ladies and gentlemen, the handcuff necklace is missing. i repeat, the necklace is m.i.a. sometime yesterday nancy lost the necklace. i spoke to her just a short time ago about this trying time in her life. nancy grace, first of all, i want to express my condolences. what happened to your necklace? >> well, anderson, the last time my handcuff necklace was admired on the air, i'd like to point out that you were present. >> i was transfixed by it.

>> you and mark geragos. you were the last ones to admire it on air. you clearly wanted the necklace. you asked about the necklace. you showed a very unusual interest in my handcuff necklace. or, anderson, was it just these? it doesn't work, anderson. so ask your little friend geragos what he did with my necklace. >> now, nancy, first of all, i like that you pulled a larger set of handcuffs from the twins, and -- >> these are real, anderson. >> i'm sure they are. are you sure -- i don't want to accuse your children. are you sure the twins didn't steal this necklace? >> no. the twins have never seen the necklace. the necklace stays at work in a vault hermetically sealed. they have never even seen the handcuffs.