i have spent well over 1,000 dives with sharks. being at the beach is incredibly safe. driving to the beach is far more dangerous than swimming with sharks all around you. please don't worry about sharks when you go to the beach. sharks need to fear from us, we are killing them the rate at 250,000 a day. >> you clearly have to have a great deal of respect for them and be mindful they are stronger than you. thank you all for joining us. one week from tonight, larry interviews jermaine jackson. time now for anderson cooper and "ac 360." we begin with breaking news out of florida. tonight the possibility of a shocking new motive revealed in a double murder that stunned the country. melanie and byrd billings, parents of 13 adopted kids were shot to death in their home earlier this month, killed by intruders dressed like ninjas. authorities say they were the victims of robbery. there's more. the state attorney's office believes there was more than one motive beyond robbery, telling

cnn the billings were a target of a contract hit, that the crime was a part of a murder for hire plot. sheriff david morgan leading the criminal investigation is responding to that report. david mattingly with the news. >> reporter: sheriff david morgan confirming publicly that a murder for hire scheme is a possibility they're looking at in the murder of byrd and melly billings. they have been looking at this possibility since the beginning. following up on what he called uncorroborated information. now, all these weeks later, they are still working on it and not ready, yet, to rule out the idea that the billings murder was a hired hit. >> let me state emphatically that at the onset of the billings investigation, the escambia county sheriff's office was in receipt of uncorroborated information that would lead a reasonable person to believe that this was an avenue of an investigation we should, in fact, pursue.

i want to ensure the media and the citizens of escambia county that we have and will continue to do that very thing. >> our source with knowledge of the investigation goes further than that, saying that the state's attorney's office believes that murder for hire was the second motive in this case. but a statement from the state's attorney tonight does not confirm this. it reads -- it is the position of the office of the state attorney that the prime motive in this case was robbery. however, we will consider all possibilities and review any evidence concerning the issue of motive. anderson? >> david, did the sheriff say anything about motive or about suspects? >> he will not say anything about motive or suspects regarding the idea this was a murder for hire case. he does say, however, of the eight people already been arrested, some of them charged with murder in this case, that as the investigation goes forward, we would see additional charges come up against them. so, clearly this case is not

over yet. they're still looking at adding more possible charges to the people they already have in custody. >> eight people arrested in the investigation. did morgan, the sheriff, say anything more about additional motives in the case? >> they are looking for others, talking about this for a couple weeks saying there are two, possibly more people they are possibly ready to arrest any time. we are expecting to see that sometime this week. we're told it may be next week. but two, possibly more. showing that this case continues to get broader as they continue to look into all these different types of allegations. >> let's dig deeper with stacey on wits with the florida state's attorney's office. joins us from miami. we heard the sheriff talk about, cnn reporting that a contract hit may have been a motive. what do you make of that? >> i think most people when they heard about this first when the arrest came out, most people probably said the way this was carried out, just seemed to be a little more than a robbery. it was planned. the ninja-style outfits.

it was precise. they practiced a month before. generally the people were saying it just doesn't sound like a robbery. the fact now they're investigating this murder for hire, i don't think it's so unusual. i think they're going to keep it close to the vest because they are still investigating. >> keep it close to the vest as they should. i mean, the idea of a revenge killing in some way, what would be a possible motive for revenge killing in a case like this? >> we're not going to know anything until basically people start slipping. the woman who was arrested, the last one arrested for accessory after the fact. the bottom line is she's going to be the flip witness, the one starting to talk to get a good deal. now you are sfarting to hear the aspect for murder for hire. maybe some of them are starting to talk. additional charges might come down. they might be looking for additional suspects. we're going to have to wait and see. as this progresses, as people start talking, as more evidence comes forward we're going to hear more about it. >> what's interesting, though,

what may complicate this is the same source also told cnn the state attorney's office is working under the belief most of the suspects in this case thought they were actually -- robbery. really only some were plotting to hit? >> i mean, the sources in what i read, the bottom line, people up from the gentleman, gonzalez, who they say was the shooter knew what was going on and the people lower were lassoed into the robbery. as a prosecutor i tell you theories do change as evidence becomes more prevalent. as people start talking, especially in a case where you have more than one person arrested -- more than one suspect. in this case, eight people. people start talking. different theories, different portions of the investigation start coming forward as the case goes forward. that's what you're going to hear in this case. the theory might change. you don't need a motive to prosecute any of those cases. people want to know why and that's why the fascination with this case. why would somebody do something to these people who seem to be genuine and caring and took in

all the special needs kids? >> do we know what's happened? the kids? >> it's my belief one of the -- the eldest daughter agreed to take the children. that's the best place for them. she had a relationship with them. they were her brothers and sisters and i believe that's where they are now. >> stacey on wits, we appreciate your time tonight. thank you. >> thank you. i want to remind you, join the live chat at ac360.com. share your thoughts with erica and i and other viewers watching right now. about to log on myself. ahead tonight, new information in the michael jackson investigation. new word on jackson's possible efforts to get that drug, propofol. another delay involving the corner's report. new economic numbers have some wondering if the recession is over. we'll check the facts for you. florida's python problem. tens of thousands of them are on the loose. hard to believe. we're going to take you on the hunt to round them up before they do more taj. i drove my first car from my parent's home

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tonight, disturbing picture coming into focus in the michael jackson investigation. randi kaye following the clues she found in search warrants served this week at the las vegas home and office of dr. conrad murray. jackson's personal physician. randi reported on the search warrants last night on the program. you had time to dig through warrants. one doctor mentioned caught your eye. >> reporter: absolutely, apderson. we learned michael jackson asked one of his former doctors for propofol, the drug authorities believe killed him, two months before he died. in all, seven doctors are

mentioned in the search warrants filed after dr. conrad murray's home and office were searched in vegas. he's been jackson's personal physician since may of this year and had been hired to go on the final tour with him. in the search, waiters were looking for letters, notes and any correspondence between dr. murray, michael jackson and other doctors. here's the key nugget. investigators mentioned in the warrant, a west hollywood doctor named allen met ger, he was jackson's internist until 2003. tonight his lawyer said metzger handed over files but was not asked to. his lawyer told us in april of this year, dr. met ger asked jackson to visit him and told him, quote, michael jackson asked him about the i.v. sleep medication propofol. dr. met ger told jackson it was, quote, dangerous and potentially life threatening and could not be used outside of a hospital. authorities believe propofol is what killed jackson and the source has told cnn jackson's

personal physician, dr. murray, gave him propofol within 24 hours of his death. here we see a pattern, anderson. two months before his death, dr. met ger says jackson asked him for propofol, too. dr. met ger's lawyer said the doctor prescribed drugs to him under omar arnold. omar arnold, one of the 19 aliases mentioned in the search washt. his lawyer told us dr. met ger did that because he thought it was, quote, his duty to protect privacy of his client. >> there were other doctors, too, mentioned. what's your connection to michael jackson? >> reporter: the other doctors include dr. arnold crime. asked about his name in warrant, dr. klein's lawyer said his client is cooperating with investigators. also mentioned is the las vegas dentist. and beverly hilled

anesthesiologist randy rosen. he got a visit from the coroner's chief investigator. the doctor who gave jackson the five-hour physical to make sure he was healthy enough to go on his tour, he's also mentioned. dr. david slavit out of new york. we tried rey eied reaching out them out of new york. there's also a dr. adams listed. no first name listed. we couldn't find him anywhere. and the nurse that treated jackson for a few months, cherilyn lee, mention in there as well. jackson begged her for propofol, the sedative reserved for hospital use so he could sleep. they had no idea her name was in the search warrant but is cooperating with investigators. >> you got word today from your sources the autopsy was delayed yet again. this time indefinitely. what's going on? >> reporter: that's what we're trying to figure out. i spoke to the source who knows about the autopsy who told me the coroner's office met yesterday with the los angeles police department and district attorney's office and made a

joint decision to delay the release of the autopsy and toxicology report indefinitely. all parties agreed to that, i'm told, because they need more time to gather information, go through medical records. they're still looking at follow-up. i asked if the results may be released next week. the response was, quote, i have no idea. >> do we know what the delay means for dr. conrad? i mean for dr. murray? clearly at this point it seems to be the central focus of the investigation, at least the most prominent name? >> reporter: i spoke with his office today. his spokeswoman wasn't sure what to make of the delay. i asked her if she thought the delay was good or bad and what it meant and was told, quote, dr. murray is awaiting the results of the investigation and like everyone else wants to know how michael jackson died. she would not comment on the fact investigators were searching his vegas properties looking for evidence of the sale or shipment of the drug propofol which we know now has likely contributed to jackson's tet.

a third interview with dr. murray has not been scheduled. investigators, though we know they requested that over a week ago. let's dig deeper with jami floyd, attorney and anchor of "in session." dr. metzger says two months prior to michael jackson's death, asked for propofol. cherilyn lee said it was three months before the death he asked her about this drug. clearly he seemed to have been on a search for this drug. >> looking for it and he ultimately finds it or at least all indicators are that he ultimately finds it. that doesn't mean it's the cause of death and doesn't mean if it is the cause of death he gets it from dr. murray. the link has to be made directly to a particular individual then we have to know that that individual administered it before charges can be filed. it's clear he's looking for it. it's heartbreaking he needs this to sleep? this is a hospital-setting. at least a clinical setting.

>> it doesn't even put you to sleep. it puts you under. it doesn't allow your body to recover the way sleep allows your body to recover. >> i'm in the a doctor. my understanding in following the coverage and reading on this, it may not show up in the toxicology report. >> right. >> so it may be difficult to determine whether it contributed to cause of death. then it becomes hard to know what the manner of death was. it why part of the reason why this all delayed the way it has been. >> it was interesting. i was skeptical of that nurse, cherilyn lee when she came forward. she was on our air the first night. yet, she was the first one to really introduce diprivan, pro. foal into the investigation and it's popping up all the time. >> right. i, too, thought she was kind of sketchy. what she said initially starts to dove tail with what's been coming out in the weeks that have passed and seems to be corroborated by all of the independent facts. she may become a key player.

what's hay mai amazing to me are the number of health care providers attached to michael jackson. it's incredible to me that the number of physicians he's either consulting with are actively seeing in -- he's relatively young man presumably we know he had his problems and addictions. presumably relatively healthy. rehearsing to midnight every night yet he needs a heavy duty narcotic to sleep. incredible and, again, very, very sad. ultimately finds it somehow if the investigators are on the right trail. >> the autopsy, the fact the results of that are delayed indefinitely. what do you make of that? have you ever heard something like that? >> there's the possibility it's going to be inconclusive. deeply disturbing because everybody wants an answer. we like answers in this country. we don't like inconclusive results. there's a possibility we might not ever know. everybody's going to say we might get the result, we're going to know the cause of death. we may not. i think it's more likely than not there are a number of

contributes factors and they want to get it right before they come to the podium. >> the family conducted their own autopsy. they must have the results of that. >> sometimes what happens -- i have seen this. in big cases with notorious and well-known decease and then in lesser known cases you can have inconsistent results when the family has its own autopsy conducted and then you have the public medical examiner. that may be part of what the holdup is here. wel have to wait and see. >> it's not uncommon for well-known people to have aliases used in order for them to get prescription drugs. some medical personnel and pharmacy could say, oh, well this person is getting prescribed something. sell that information to -- >> there's nothing to prevent the pharmacy or somebody who works at the pharmacy from releasing your private information about what you're getting. if you're a celebrity or even if you're not a celebrity, go after them, after the fact. violation of privacy. by that time the information's out.

if you're a celebrity -- >> it's in the computer system of a pharmacy, lish, you know, one of those big chain pharmacies. >> if i'm your doctor and i heard this, in the interest of your privacy, if you have a legitimate medical lead, i might want to use a different name. here's the problem. what if you don't have a legitimate medical need? what if you have an addiction? what if i'm overprescribing in many of these cases and this is whey think we saw in the anna nicole smith case. that's yet to be proved in court. we start seeing three, four, five, maybe 15, 12, 20 aliases to get medications that aren't medically necessary for medically legitimate purposes. that's the fine line between the privacy protection and what really can be an illegal use of aliases to get your hands on prescriptions. >> it seems clear michael jackson, whether it was the fact he was traveling to so many different places or not did not have sort of a centralized medical authority who was overseeing all his care. he was basically going from here to there, doctor to doctor and,

perhaps, it was a doctor shopping case. >> when you're michael jackson or heath ledger or anna nicole smith or any other celebrity and i want to get your hands on these drugs, you're going to get them. even if a doctor will tell you know or a nurse like lee will tell you know, eventually you're going to find a doctor who will tell you yes. you find someone who is financially compromised -- i'm not saying murray was this person because nothing has been proved. i think he's being scapegoated before the information is out. you're going to find that person eventually. people like michael jackson have a certain amount of power in our culture as celebrities. ultimately they do that shopping as you call it. they get their hands on those prescription drugs and they can be abused. they are being abused too much. >> jami floyd, appreciate it. thanks very much for being with us. investigators try to figure out who is prescribing what to michael jackson, florida, where police are scrambling do crack down on the pill mills.

also, is the recession actually over? new economic report getting a lot of attention. 7

coming up, the investigation into michael jackson's death. shedding new light on a decades old problem, prescription drug abuse. a growing network of so-called pill mills has made scoring prescription drugs ease your than ever. we'll tell you where. joe johns is keeping them honest. erica hill with a 360 news and business bulletin. >> three americans in iranian custody after straying across the border from iraq. seep your kurdish official tells cnn the three traveled through tourist area near the iranian border to go backpacking. the group contacted a fourth traveller who stayed behind. they told that person they were lost and surrounded by military personnel speaking farsi. the u.s. embassy in baghdad has not confirmed the report. there is more backlash over the fat cat wall street bows bonuses.

the house voting today to limit exec pave pay for firms with over $1 billion in assets. the move follows reports the nation's largest banks awarded nearly $4,800 million plus bonuses in 2008. senator chris dodd has an early form of prostate cancer. appearing at a news conference the senator insisted he feels fine. adding that he'll undergo surgery after the senate adjourns next week. the seven astronauts aboard the space shuttle "endeavour" returning to earth after 16 days in space. while in orbit they met with the six crew members on the international space station. that group of 13 set a record for the most people assembled in space. see, makes you want to go? doesn't it? >> absolutely. >> i knew it. is it finally over? new signs the economy may be on the mend. what the new numbers may mean. for your wallet and for washington. david gergen and ali velshi join us. pythons on the loose. believe it or not, it is a growing threat in parts of florida. john zarrella takes along on the snake hunt. >> wow.

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there are new signs the recession may soon be over. a report out today shows the pace of economic decline slowed dramatically. the gdp shrank just 1% versus 6.4% from january to march. president obama commented on the good news this afternoon. >> this morning the gdp revealed the recession we faced when i took office was even deeper than anyone thought at the time. it told us how close we were to the edge.

but the gdp also revealed that in the last few months the economy has done measurably better than we had thought, better than expected. >> cautious but optimistic nevertheless. while the freefall appears to be over, unemployment continues to rise and consumers aren't spending. the pain may be easing but are we on the road to an actual recovery? will it feel like a recovery? ali velshi joins us. "your money, your future." the gdp has done better than they thought. does this mean this is behind us? >> no. it is an interesting measure, it is old, as you mentioned from the second quarter of this year, march until the end of june. let me give you a pattern. let me show you the last two years of the gdp which is the broadest measure of all economic activity in this country. first of all, this is what the dow has done, another indicator. let's go back to election day, november of '08. look at where we were. we were just about 9,000. look where we've gone.

back to march '09. the bottom of the market. look at what's happened now. we have traced this market back up and we are where we were on election day. that's one of the indications this market is doing a lot better. gdp is another of these indications. we're still shrinking this economy, anderson, but a lot less than we were before. >> let's talk about this cash for clunkers program. $2 billion. another $2 billion approved to keep this thing going. it's been a surprising hit, right? >> yeah. i've got to tell you, i have some penance to do. i was one of the doubters. this didn't seem like it made a whole lot of sense. this was a program putting $1 billion aside to give you people. you had until november to do this to trade in your old clunker to buy a new car. they ran out of money in the first week. today before congress left they authorized another $2 billion to add to the first $1 billion so that people could continue to do this.

40,000 people have taken advantage of it already. dealers say another 200,000 people are ready to do this, anderson. this low-hanging fruit of a program that none of us thought was going to work might be one of the most successful enterprises in an effort to stimulate the economy. ford is saying it's expected to one of its best months in a very long time because of this. >> how does it basically work? >> basically if you have a car that is old and doesn't get good gas mileage. instead of trading it in or selling it you go buy a new car that is fuel efficient. you get a voucher from the dealer. if you go and scrap that car you get $3,500 or $4,500 from the government. for frugal people who have old cars that are not fuel efficient but didn't buy a new car, this is tempting them to buy a brand new fuel efficient car. money for trading in your clunker and get a fuel efficient car. that is working well. >> that is good news. ali velshi, thank you very much. let's move on to the "raw politics." senior political analyst david gergen joins us from boston. signs the economy might be doing better.

how much does the news today help the president? he was cautious in his statement today, obviously. >> he wanted to claim credit. i think most economists would tell you it was the private sector, exports were up more, business investment is up more. but they will also say that the government helped. probably most of the credit from economists would go to the federal reserve and ben bernanke and they have thrown everything they could at this economy and making a difference. some of the credit belongs to president obama and the stimulus program. not just the stimulus program but foreclosure program, efforts to get credit moving. in politics all these things matter less. when you are the incumbent and things start looking better you claim credit and you usually get it. >> it really fair, though? only some $60 billion of the $787 billion in the stimulus program has actually been spent. i mean, it's hard to say, well, it's the stimulus plan because they've only spent $60 billion of it?

>> that is why i say economists would tell you you're absolutely right, anderson, that it's a modest part of this turnaround. there's probably the psychological factor that the obama folks would claim as well having this new president, fresh, promising president. i do think they deserve a lot of credit in the obama administration for making sure we didn't go over the cliff. but you know, anderson, once you start going out as president as he did today and claiming a lot of the credit for this -- starting to make this turn, you also make it your economy. it becomes the obama economy. so if economists are right that he faces a real danger that this growth pattern or this turnaround is going to level off after a while, and we're going to have a long, painful recovery without a new jobs, that's going to be the obama economy, too. that is not good news for the president. >> where does health care stand? another house committee approved a plan to pave the way for health care reform.

obviously senate still has their issues with it. how do you see this playing out? >> this has been a very good day for the president and having the house go out now with -- there were three committees considering health care. all three have voted health care out and recommended to the full house. that means we are very like lib going to get the full house to vote in the fall and very likely to pass. the senate, remains a very big problem for the president, indeed. democrats remain a major problem for the president. you're president obama today you can at least say this. this country under a variety of presidents went back to the 1940s, i've been trying to have national health care passed. no president has ever gotten it to a vote on the house or the senate. president obama is about to get there. his chances of getting a full health care package done is going to be a big drama. it is still an uphill fight in the congress. but tonight he can take comfort and find encouragement in the fact that all three house committees that have been

considering have now passed that bill recommended to the full house passage of a bill. they have to settle a lot of differences in the fall. >> david gergen, appreciate it. have a good weekend, david. join the live chat at ac360.com. let us know what you think, do you feel the recession may be over? next on the program, filling prescriptions for suspected drug addicts and breaking the law. cops go undercover, make a bust. we'll take you along. later, massive snakes on the loose. i find this story hard to believe. one man's solution. the python hunter down in florida when "360" continues. ♪ music up and under.

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dr. conrad murray emerged in the criminal investigation of the death of michael jackson. the case could involve other physicians who treated the singer. a question for the police and dea surrounds prescriptions for powerful drugs and painkillers. did any of jacksons doctors sacrifice his health and life to make money? if a patient needs a fix, there's probably a place he or she can get it. they're called pill mills. medical clinics that for a price

give addicts their fix. joe johns tonight is "keeping them honest." >> reporter: broward county florida. >> pull over here. pull over. >> reporter: sheriff's detectives in a minivan listening to radio transmissions waiting for an undercover drug deal to go down. >> counting the money. counting the money. >> stay here. >> reporter: they are about to arrested a local guy named matthew sullivan and charge him with selling prescription painkillers to a female undercover office. we're talking oksy to done pills. powerful narcotic ps an street-level deal but nothing like cocaine, heroin or marijuana. the pain pills are prescribed by doctors and they are sold by pain clinics. that have cropped up all over south florida. especially in broward. sullivan says he is an addict. >> what is it like living in that life? >> neverending. like a hamster wheel, you know? >> reporter: how much do you take a day? >> 20 pills, 30 pills. >> reporter: sullivan did not admit breaking the law in our

interview. police say sullivan got fresh prescriptions earlier in the day before they arrested him. >> reporter: from july 30th, 112 of those and this one, july 30th also he got 150. people come here from all over the east coast to score pa painkillers from legal pain clinics. cops call them pill mills. police say it all began here at this pain clinic that has closed down and relocated. >> this is what our sergeant calls ground zero here. this is where we started getting the crowds of people coming from out of state to obtain the pills illegally here. all it took was for us to drive into work and see 80, 90 people milling around here waiting for the pain clinic to open up. >> reporter: that was two years ago, now the dea says more than 6.5 million pills were sold here in the last half of last year and police say the clinics are making money hand over fist. in the last half of 2008, authorities say 50 of the top

doctors dispensing oksy to done in the nation worked in south florida and 33 of those doctors worked right here in broward county. why is it such a big problem here? until recent florida was only one of a dozen states with no way to monitor the sale of the drugs. the state of the florida has just passed a new law to track sales of pain killers. which should make it harder for people to abuse the system. it could take years to feel the effects. >> right now you can go to ten clinics a day. if you want to. it's illegal but you can do it unless the police follow you. with the new monitoring system in effect, you can only bo to one clinic once a month and that's all the pills you're going to get. >> reporter: keeping them honest because there are several other states with no monitoring system, the clinics could move somewhere else. which is why some experts are pushing for a national solution which is a computerized federal prescription drug monitoring system to track drugs nationwide. john walters was national drug czar under president george w. bush. >> you can have a check in a

database that's confidential, wlorpt whether or not this person was doctor shopping, whether this was the 15th prescription and whether a parm sift possibly filled that prescription. >> reporter: a possible fix for a broken system, no fix at all for the addict. joe johns, cnn, broward county, florida. >> amazing to think some states don't have a system to check on things like that. up on 360, meet the python hunter searching for huge snakes in florida and hoping to stop the reptiles from getting even more out of control. we'll take you on the hunt. going to the dentist can be especially painful for people with a certain color of hair. can you guess what color of hair that is? i'll tell you coming up. saving money, saving time, and saving for the future. regions makes it simple - starting with lifegreen checking and savings - featuring free convenient e-services, up to a $250 annual savings account bonus and a free personal savings review.

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in florida tonight where alligators and crocodiles lurk in the waters a dangerous new predator has emerged and it's growing in number and size. take a look at this. a burmese python more than 17 feet long was caught on the grounds of a hospital near lake

okachobee. 17 feet long. these snakes travel more than a mile in a day. they eat just about anything. thousands of pythons are on the loose. they were kept as pets and discarded by their owners. one man is on a mission to find them. john zarrella takes us on the trail. >> reporter: joe wazaluski drives along a stretch of road that bisects florida's everglades. night is coming on quickly. he's looking for snakes. one in particular. >> the next ten miles seem to be the hotspot for burmese pythons. >> reporter: a reptile expert is one of a handful of men sanctioned by the state to hunt down and rid the glades of pythons. an extraordinary move to what scientists believe is a threat delicate ecosystem. >> it's a large predator and they're eating basically everything in sight. that's the problem. >> reporter: 20 years ago there were none here, today perhaps 100,000.

no one is quite sure. night is the best time to catch these nonvenomous snakes. that's when they're on the move. wasaluski spots something. he jumps from the truck, runs to it. >> this is not a python. it's a banded water snake. >> banden water snake? >> do you want to pick him up? >> do i? >> he'll bite you. >> reporter: still no pythons at least not alive. there is a dead one and several more small snakes and a baby alligator, too. >> oh, man. and he got hit by a car. >> reporter: two hours into our hunt, suddenly wasaluski is on it. he sees one. >> yeah, baby! look at the size of this one. >> reporter: skillfully he grabs it behind the head. it instantly coils around his arm. he will lock the snake into a crate and take it to the national park biologist to be studied and destroyed.

but first we've got to untangle it from his arm. >> this is a good one. this is a good ten feet. >> reporter: nah. >> at least 12. >> reporter: he doesn't get paid. it is voluntary. he knows they have to be eliminated. he has a soft spot for the reptile. >> guess what? it is not this snake's fault. he didn't mean to be here. >> reporter: some are believed to have gotten here when reptile breeding everglades near -- were destroyed during hurricane and re. >> why don't you take this side? >> you take the head end. >> reporter: others from pet owners who disposed of them after they got too big. they can grow up to 200 pounds but this one is no longer a problem. >> one down. >> reporter: yeah. >> 100,000 to go. >> reporter: 100,000 to go. john zarrella. >> with us now, the python hunter. joe wasaluski, thank so much for

being with us. are there really 100,000 of these snakes out there? >> we really can't put a number on it at 100,000 or 150,000. or 50,000. it is so new in the game. we really don't have an idea. we know there is a lot. >> they are a danger to the ecosystem. when a new predator is introduced. we've seen that around the world. are they a threat to humans? >> you know, where pythons come from, where they originate, burmese pythons, there's never been a human killed and eaten by one. i highly doubt that will happen in florida in the everglades, that is. >> what is -- how serious a danger are they to the environment, to the ecosystem? >> they are a danger to the ecosystem just because they're a top predator. you know, and they will eat a lot of birds. we found a lot of different animal, mammals, birds and alligators in their stomach. on the other hand, people forget

we have a big predator that lives in the everglades for millions of years. alligators. >> how long could they have been released for? they can't have -- if there are 100,000 of them, is that because they have mated with each other and given birth in the wild or have 100,000 actually been released? >> no. no. no. probably what happened, '92 was hurricane andrew. about 800 baby pythons were literally blown into the everglades. if you look at statistics, you look at five, six years for them to mature and breed, we're at the third generation right now. that's where these numbers are spiking. >> i hadn't realized it goes back to hurricane andrew. what about that 17 footer? caught in florida roaming around a construction site. do you normally see them growing to that size? >> you know, honestly, i didn't see a picture of the animal. they said it was 200 pounds. that was probably someone's released pet.

a wild burmese python 17 feet long is probably going to be under 100 pounds. so that was probably a pet. >> and the snakes you send them to where? they are studied and ultimately killed? >> yeah. they are euthanized, humanely i euthanized. actually, i work with the -- sending the animals that i capture to everglades national park to the biologists there and they'll just take biometric data, links, measurements, weights, and check their stomach and see what they've been eating and it's all for science. >> what if people have a snake they want to get rid of. obviously, they should not release it in the wild. what should they do with it? >> no. please, if you have a pet snake that you don't want anymore, please, send it to a zoo, a rehabilitation center, wildlife reblgts center, that is. it's against the law in florida

to release nonindigenous species. you shouldn't do it anywhere in the states. take it somewhere and let it be taken care of professionally. >> what is the most difficult thing about catching a python? >> finding them. finding them. i love catching them. catching them is the easy part. finding them is the hard part. >> it doesn't look -- with a snake that big, though, it wraps around you pretty quickly. basically, i mean, isn't that how a python kills its prey ultimately by wrapping around and smothering it? >> yeah, they're constrictors. but they know they're not going to eat -- we're not natural prey for them. >> of course. >> see, they're really cryptic. one can be right next to you. one could be 20 inches away and you won't see it. that is the problem. when the snake coiled around me that was defensive. i had it and it doesn't have arms and legs and that is how it defended itself. >> you volunteer for this? >> yes. i don't get paid for this. >> why do you do it? >> i love snakes. >> you love snakes. >> yeah, i love snakes. you know, there's a lot of

people like me out there. and we want to try to help this problem. we want to try to help it out. we'll never get all the pythons out of the everglades. they're here to stay. hopefully we can manage them. >> joe wasaluski, i appreciate you out there doing what you're doing. thank you so much. stay safe. >> you're welcome. up next on the program, missing explosives. blocks of tnt, dynamite and more stolen. authorities asking for your help to recover them. a lightning strike and one lucky guy. more of his close call coming up. announcer: welcome to the now network. currently, thousands of people

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coming up, a close call for one man when lightning strikes. tonight's "shot." erica hill with the 360 bulletin. the last of britain's troops left iran today. at the height of the war, uk had 46,000 troops in iraq. 179 britains lost their lives during the conflict. hundreds of explosives belonging to state and federal agents are missing tonight. gone from a storage unit at a port in washington state. among the items? 96 pounds on tnt.

17 sticks of dynamite and 1,500 feet of detonation cord. also some consumer fireworks. the atf is investigating. honda is expanding a recall due to faulty airbags. those airbags are suspected of causing at least six injuries and one death. the issue here, the defective airbags and over-pressurize. allows metal fragments to cut through them and injure or kill passengers. the models include 2001 and 2002 honda accords. 2001 honda civics. and 2002 and 2003 accra tl models. hair color and your dentist. connection? maybe you don't see it immediately. get this. new research published in the "journal of the american dental association" finds redheads are twice as likely to avoid the dentist as people with dark hair. why? i'm going to tell you. turns out redheads are more sensitive to pain and require more anesthesia which ups their anxiety levels when it comes to going to the dentist.

>> what about nitrous oxide? do you get nitrous oxide at the dentist? >> laughing gas? >> yes. >> i think when i had my wisdom teeth out i had it. >> it's incredible. >> crazy stuff. apparently redheads in some cases require 20% more anesthesia. >> they should give the laughing gas before they give the anesthesia. >> maybe you're in the wrong line of work. >> exactly. yeah. that's really what you need to be taking from me is medical advice. next on the program, beat 360 winner. daily challenge to viewers to come up with a better caption than the one we come up with for a photo on the blog every day. i've only tried nitrous oxide in a dental setting, by the way. tonight's picture, activist wearing a mock bottom and hospital gown petition the lawmakers on capitol hill for health care reform. i didn't know what a mock bottom was at first. >> there you go. you probably wish you still didn't know. >> we need health care reform, no ifs, ands or butts.

viewer winner from ottawa, canada. just like the viewer summit, bottoms up, yes, we can. cathie, can grojlations. beat 360 t-shirt on the way. we've seen a lot of storms this summer. one man got dangerously close and caught it all on tape. it's our shot of the day. bad cholesterol but your good cholesterol and triglycerides are still out of line? then you may not be seeing the whole picture. ask your doctor about trilipix. statin to lower bad cholesterol, along with diet, adding trilipix can lower fatty triglycerides and raise good cholesterol to help improve all three cholesterol numbers. trilipix has not been shown to prevent heart attacks or stroke more than a statin alone. trilipix is not for everyone, including people with liver, gallbladder, or severe kidney disease, or nursing women. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you are pregnant or may become pregnant. blood tests are needed before and during treatment to check for liver problems. contact your doctor if you develop unexplained muscle pain or weakness, as this can be a sign of a rare

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i think i'll go with the basic package. good choice. only meineke lets you choose the brake service that's right for you. and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. for tonight's "shot," wicked weather. check out how close one guy got to getting struck by lightning. take a look. >> is he on that roof there? >> he's on the videocamera, i think, right? >> what's that thing moving on

a roof? watch. is that a person up there? >> oh, i guess so. yeah. >> that the person who almost got hit or the videocamera guy? >> i think it's both. is that a person? >> i'm going to go out on a limb and say if that's a person, i'm glad she didn't get hit. what are you doing on a roof? >> no one seems to have actually watched it. >> apparently not. >> fascinating piece of video. >> i'm hearing corrects in my isp. >> you don't think it looks like a person? >> no, it's not a person. nobody watched this thing before we aired it. no one knows what we're looking at. >> if we watch it enough times, maybe we'll figure out it's a chair. if you wanted to sit out there and get hit by lightning, you could. >> check out how close this chair got to getting hit by lightning. that's what i should have read. right there. clearly the guy with the videocamera came pretty close as well. >> super close. >> all right. okay. a little information. here we go. apparently recorded in st. augusta, florida. just a couple days ago. >> i think that's augustine. >> is it really, now?

>> isn't it? >> this is one of those things i probably read, too, before going on the air with it, don't you think? >> i don't know if this is true but i thought i read on a blog earlier that it's friday. >> for the love of god, it's two minutes to 11:00 on friday. >> cut the man some slack. >> all right. we are so done. coming up at the top of the hour, breaking news out of florida. stunning d double murder in florida. we'll have the latest right ahead. where will you find the stability and resources to keep you ahead of this rapidly evolving world? these are tough questions. that's why we brought together two of the most powerful names in the industry. introducing morgan stanley smith barney. here to rethink wealth management. here to answer... your questions. morgan stanley smith barney. a new wealth management firm with over 130 years of experience.