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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Cause of Whitney Houston's Death Revealed; Outrage in Florida
Aired March 22, 2012 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone. It's 10:00 here on the East Coast and we begin tonight with breaking news on two fronts tonight.
The coroner's report is back in the death of Whitney Houston. The bottom line, drowning, heart disease, cocaine, plus a cocktail of other drugs legal illegal in her system when she died. We will talk to Dr. Drew Pinsky and 360 M.D. Dr. Sanjay Gupta shortly.
But we begin with a story unfolding before our very eyes. After a day of big developments the killing of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed African-American teenager shot by a neighborhood watch captain in a central Florida gated community. Tonight the outrage has gone national and come full circle. It has come home.
You're looking at a rally that took place tonight in Sanford, Florida. People gathering from all around the country, not far from where on the 26th of February Trayvon Martin was returning to his future stepmother's home with a bag of candy and an iced tea. That evening George Zimmerman, armed with a 9.-millimeter automatic, pursued Trayvon, allegedly confronted him and then shot him dead.
Today after weeks of withering criticism about his department's handling of the case and a vote of no confidence by Sanford's city commission, Sanford's police chief temporarily stepped aside, but did not step down. Nor did Sanford's city manager fire him even though he has the power to do so. In a moment we will ask him directly why.
First John Zarrella is at tonight's rally.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF: Anderson, some of the late developments today is that Governor Rick Scott, Florida's governor, has appointed a special task force to also contribute to this investigation.
And it's being headed by state attorney Angela Corey from the Northern District of Florida. We assume she will get her group together, impanel that task force pretty quickly on. We are here at this rally, as you know. Many thousands of people here tonight. We just heard from the Reverend Al Sharpton. We are now hearing from Trayvon Martin's parents.
They are speaking right now. Earlier today they met with the members of the Department of Justice, the FBI and the U.S. attorney from the Middle District of Florida. In those meetings they were told, look, please, give us patience. Have patience. This is going to take time. And they were also told that the investigation by the federal government, the Department of Justice, civil rights violations investigation that they are just getting started, just beginning the fact-finding and they do not at this point have all the facts or anywhere near all the facts -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right, John Zarrella, thanks very much.
Keep in mind that civil rights investigation by the federal government really may hinge on whether or not George Zimmerman uttered a racist slur on that 911 tape. We're going to play you an enhanced audio recording of that 911 tape. We ran it through with our best audio engineer here at CNN. We played it for you last night. We will replay that for you because it's critically important in terms of the federal investigation and the possibility of federal charges in this.
It is worth starting tonight with Police Chief Lee's own words. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL LEE, SANFORD, FLORIDA, POLICE CHIEF: I stand by the Sanford Police Department, its personnel and the investigation that was conducted in regards to the Trayvon Martin case. It is apparent that my involvement in this matter is overshadowing the process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Chief Lee says he stands behind the investigation, but at almost every stop along the way, "Keeping Them Honest" both his statements and the course taken by his department have come into question.
It begins the night of February 26 when George Zimmerman says he shot Trayvon Martin in self-defense acting properly he says according to Florida's stand your ground law. Looking at the police report you can see at least initially police suspected the shooting may have been a crime.
Take a look at the upper left-hand corner in the offense section. It reads homicide, negligent manslaughter, unnecessary killing to prevent unlawful act. Zimmerman was taken to police headquarters after the shooting. Further down, the responding officer, Timothy Smith, writes, "Zimmerman was placed in the interview room at SPD where he was interviewed by investigator D. Singleton."
His gun was kept as evidence. But Zimmerman was allowed to leave. We don't know anything about how the interview was conducted. Sanford City Manager Norton Bonaparte said he was questioned extensively and made to reenact the shooting.
Whatever police did, we do know they concluded that Zimmerman was in the clear and there wasn't even probable cause to hold him on suspicion. Yet they already had one key piece of evidence that should have been very suspicious, evidence in George Zimmerman's own words that called into question his claims of self-defense.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: Are you following him?
GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, FLORIDA: Yes.
911 OPERATOR: OK. We don't need you to do that.
ZIMMERMAN: OK.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
COOPER: Police had access to that 911 tape from the very beginning. They only made it public last Friday under very heavy pressure from the Martin family three weeks after the fact.
Earlier this week, Chief Lee publicly downplayed it, seeming to take Zimmerman's side, calling what the 911 dispatcher said "not a lawful order that Mr. Zimmerman would be required to follow."
Legally, that is absolutely true, but it was unusual for the chief to say so given how quiet his department has been about answering any questions concerning the case.
Let's get back to the investigation. The family's attorney says police never asked neighbors if anyone was missing a child, which could suggest they suspected at least at the time that Trayvon was an intruder, not a kid visiting his dad in the neighborhood. Nor did they check Trayvon's cell phone. They say his phone was locked and they're waiting for records from the phone company. As of yesterday they still hadn't contacted the last person to speak to Trayvon alive. He was talking to his girlfriend just seconds before his killing.
The Martin family, on the other hand, did uncover the cell phone records, traced the girlfriend. She gave the family attorney Benjamin Crump a statement recounting the call -- quote -- "He said this man was watching him, so he put his hoodie on, said he lost the man." She went on to say -- quote -- "I asked Trayvon to run and he said he was going to walk fast. I told him to run, but he said he was not going to run."
She said the man caught up to Trayvon -- quote -- "Trayvon said, what are you following me for? And the man said, what are you doing here? Next thing I hear is somebody pushing and somebody pushed Trayvon because the headset just fell."
So at the end of the day, here's what we have. At least two key pieces of evidence casting suspicion on George Zimmerman's self- defense claim, allegations the Sanford Police Department did a sloppy job, a vote of no confidence by the Sanford City Commission, a Justice Department investigation, a big rally tonight and a national uproar, all of it 25 days and counting since Trayvon Martin headed home from the store with a bag of Skittles and iced tea and his whole life ahead of him.
Given all of that, given the national attention, the intense local pressure, a lot of people are asking not just at tonight's rally for two things, the arrest of George Zimmerman and the firing of Chief Lee. He just stepped down today.
One man tonight has the absolute power to do one of those things, fire the chief. He's not exercising it, Sanford City Manager Norton Bonaparte. Earlier tonight, I asked him why and why George Zimmerman is not in custody.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Mr. Bonaparte, I heard you do an interview with Al Sharpton this evening on MSNBC and you said you want justice for the "murder of Trayvon Martin." You use the word murder which is not a word one would use to describe an act of self-defense or justifiable homicide or anything under the stand your ground law.
If you believe Trayvon Martin was murdered, why hasn't the man who shot him been arrested?
NORTON BONAPARTE, CITY MANAGER, SANFORD, FLORIDA: What I have been told, Anderson, and this is a law enforcement matter, that when the police arrived, they handcuffed Mr. Zimmerman, they took him to the police headquarters, they questioned him, they brought him back out to the scene, they asked him to reenact what happened.
And based upon what they heard from him and based upon the evidence that they saw at the scene and based upon some information from witnesses, they could not un-corroborate the fact that he said it was self-defense. What they have determined, at least at the scene, was that because of the Florida state statutes, they could not arrest him.
COOPER: So do you believe Trayvon Martin was murdered, though?
BONAPARTE: I believe that he was certainly killed and it was unfortunate and it was a tragedy. No parent wants to have their child killed, whether it's murder, accident or anything like that.
I think what we need to look is how we can get justice and at this point we're looking for the state's attorney to look at the evidence that Sanford police has provided along with the evidence they will get from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the grand jury.
COOPER: So your use of that word earlier murder was not to indicate that you believe it was not self-defense?
BONAPARTE: I believe that's up for the state's attorney and the justice system to look at. I am not going to be prejudging. We have a judicial system and I'm looking forward that justice is done.
COOPER: The police chief of your city, Bill Lee, stepped aside temporarily today. He said he stands by the investigation into Trayvon Martin's death and is only stepping aside because he's become a distraction. Is that acceptable to you?
BONAPARTE: Yes. I think it was very clear to Chief Lee that based upon the city commission's vote yesterday of no confidence and the uproar that's brewing not only in this city but around the country regarding the focus being on the police chief and not on the killing of Trayvon Martin, that he decided to step aside so that we can refocus on getting justice for the death of Trayvon Martin and that's through the justice system.
COOPER: Do you have confidence in the investigation thus far?
BONAPARTE: I don't know the investigation. That's why Mayor Triplett, Congresswoman Brown and myself went to Washington, D.C., to ask the United States Department of Justice to overlook and for them to review and share with us do they think there was a fair and impartial investigation?
COOPER: But clearly, I mean if you went to ask for outsiders to look at the investigation, that would indicate a concern you have about the investigation?
BONAPARTE: What I say is that because of the national attention and because of the tragedy of this place, the tragedy of the killing of Trayvon Martin, we want to have outside eyes look at this, fresh eyes, independent eyes over the Sanford Police Department so that we can have confidence in whatever they find.
COOPER: You said earlier on CNN -- quote -- "If this took place in another city, certainly Mr. Zimmerman would have been arrested."
What did you mean by that?
BONAPARTE: I said that when I spoke to other law enforcement officials, one in particular in New York indicated that if it had taken place in New York, Mr. Zimmerman would have been arrested. However, based on Florida's laws, he understood why the Sanford police did not arrest Mr. Zimmerman.
COOPER: Trayvon Martin's parents have said this evening they want Chief Lee to be permanently removed. You have the authority to fire him. What do you say to Trayvon's parents?
BONAPARTE: I say I will remove him if I have reason to believe that he did something inappropriate. I am not rushing to judgment. I have called for a review.
I want to know the facts. Did the Sanford Police Department do something they shouldn't have done or did they not do something they should have done? Give that to me and then I can make a determination not only just about Chief Lee, but about the whole Sanford Police Department.
COOPER: Do you have confidence in the investigation that Chief Lee oversaw?
BONAPARTE: Right now, it doesn't make a difference. What we really want is to make sure that the state's attorney has all the information they need so they can determine whether they should indict Mr. Zimmerman and we have provided them with the police department, but in addition to that they have information and the resources of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the United States Department of Justice.
COOPER: So you don't want to go on the record saying whether or not you have confidence in the investigation or not?
BONAPARTE: What I go on record saying we want justice for the Martin family. Right now, it's in the hands of the justice system through the state's attorney office. He's the one to determine what the fate of Mr. Zimmerman is in terms of pressing charges.
COOPER: Mr. Bonaparte, I appreciate your time. Thank you.
BONAPARTE: Thank you.
COOPER: Let's bring in legal analysis, former federal prosecutors Jeffrey Toobin and Sunny Hostin.
Jeffrey, clearly he doesn't want to take a position. I mean, he's kind of just ducking all over the place.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: And I don't know what the heck that business is with taking a temporary leave. What does that mean?
COOPER: There's the other question I wanted to ask you about. The police chief stepping down, does that really mean anything?
(CROSSTALK)
TOOBIN: No. And what does it mean to temporarily step down? Is he still in charge of the police department, except for this case? Is he just taking vacation? It seems like a -- it is either too much or too little, but it's a meaningless gesture, I think.
COOPER: Sunny, the meeting today between Trayvon Martin's parents and the Department of Justice, what does that mean for the case?
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: You know, I think they wanted to manage the family's expectations. I think they wanted to ask the family's patience so that they can continue the investigation. It's just the very beginning.
And I think Jeff will agree with me, trying a federal hate crimes case, it is just very difficult to prove. You have to prove specific intent, so you have to get into someone's head, and it's the highest level intent under our criminal law system. I think they wanted to manage the family's expectations but make it very clear they are there, they are on the ground, they are investigating, but they are not taking over the investigation because this in my view is still very much a local law enforcement case.
COOPER: I want to talk in a little bit about what was in his head and what we know about that based on what he said on the 911 tapes, whether he used a racist slur because that does have a key impact on whether the feds can bring in charges. Before we get there, though, we know very little about the gun that was used. Apparently, the police confiscated it. That's a big issue.
TOOBIN: It's an enormous issue because the ballistics and the autopsy evidence, they're not public yet and they will be extremely important.
I mean, for example, Zimmerman told the story, we don't know the details, of how this shooting took place. Does the autopsy evidence match up with that? For example, he will say I shot him in the chest or I shot him, you know, in the arm or whatever. Does the autopsy evidence confirm that? Does the autopsy evidence show that he shot him in the back when he said he shot him in the front? That's very important and we don't know that yet.
HOSTIN: And I think there's some crucial evidence missing because my understanding is that Zimmerman was allowed to leave the police station with the very clothes that he had on for the shooting.
So if there is any discrepancy in terms of how far he was away from Trayvon Martin, that information is now lost, that forensic information is now lost. You can't have gunpowder residue and that sort of thing because apparently it just wasn't conducted appropriately.
(CROSSTALK)
TOOBIN: .. alcohol test either. Now that evidence is gone forever.
COOPER: Right.
Also, I mean we know from at least two eyewitnesses, Trayvon Martin was face down on the ground. Still, he could have been shot in the chest and the bullet could have spun him around. We simply don't know enough of the details of the...
(CROSSTALK)
TOOBIN: When you interviewed those eyewitnesses, that was a very striking image of him straddling Zimmerman, on top of him, straddling him face down, which is just -- I mean, the whole thing is bizarre, but that was I thought a very bizarre image. You wonder how that could have happened.
COOPER: We have got to take a quick break. Jeffrey and Sunny, stay with us.
There's plenty more on this and other stories on CNN.com. We will continue to talk about it right after this break.
We're on Facebook, follow me on Twitter @AndersonCooper. We're tweeting about this case right now and having a conversation on Twitter about it. Up next, we don't know where the shooter, George Zimmerman, is tonight. We're also learning a lot about who he is or at least some more about his background. We will take you up close next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: I want to take you up close tonight. Who is George Zimmerman? Who is this volunteer neighborhood watch captain who says he fired in self-defense?
His name is now well-known across the country, and we're beginning, just really beginning to learn about his background. We know that he's dreamed of a career in law enforcement. Yet he once had a run-in with the law and his father insists that his son is certainly no racist.
John Zarrella reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): George Michael Zimmerman, 28 years old, until a month ago he was, his neighbor Frank Taaffe says, just a guy who cared.
FRANK TAAFFE, NEIGHBOR OF GEORGE ZIMMERMAN: George was a caring, passionate -- he had a passion for the safety of our neighborhood. And he demonstrated to the rest of us that one person could make a difference. He was an average guy, just like me.
ZARRELLA: We know him only from what people say of him, from a couple of pictures there are of him and from his voice on the 911 calls he made February 26, the night he shot and killed Trayvon Martin.
ZIMMERMAN: This guy looks like he's up to no good or he's on drugs or something. It's raining and he's just walking around looking about.
ZARRELLA: Zimmerman says the shooting was self-defense. He has not been charged with a crime. What we have been able to piece together about George Zimmerman's life, you might say is a contradiction.
In 2005, he's arrested for resisting a police officer without violence after an incident at a local bar. He pleads not guilty. But later he enters a six-month pretrial diversion program as part of a plea deal. As this document shows, it's extended two months because -- quote -- "My program participation has not been satisfactory."
Later that year, Zimmerman and his ex-fiancee both file for protection against domestic violence after each alleged there was pushing and hitting. None of this sounds like the boy George and Kay Hall knew. Zimmerman was an altar boy in the Catholic Church. He didn't move to Florida until after he graduated high school here in Manassas, Virginia, in this house across the street from hall. KAY HALL, FORMER NEIGHBOR: They were a tight-knit family, very good with their children, were very well behaved. They didn't run around loose or anything. They were faithful. They were active in the Catholic Church.
ZARRELLA: And this is the George Zimmerman, the just a guy side, the man trying to make something of his life, the side George Hall knew. Zimmerman was a part-time student at Seminole State College studying general education, but today the college withdrew him for safety reasons.
He's worked various odd jobs, security for a home party company. And for a time around 2008, he worked at CarMax.
(on camera): That same year Zimmerman applied for and was accepted into a citizens outreach program run by the sheriff's department, which introduces participants to law enforcement procedures. Before he is accepted, Zimmerman has to explain his 2005 arrest.
(voice-over): He writes in part -- quote -- "I hold law enforcement officers in the highest regard as I hope to one day become one" -- end quote.
In fact, a couple of years ago, Zimmerman called his old neighbor George Hall, asking for a letter of recommendation for a law enforcement application.
GEORGE HALL, FORMER NEIGHBOR: Very positive one. I have nothing but the strongest positive feelings for the whole family, including the boys.
ZARRELLA: We don't know what happened to the application, but when he volunteered for and became the neighborhood watch captain a couple of years ago, it may have been George Zimmerman's way of walking a beat.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: John, what are we hearing from others who knew Zimmerman and his family?
ZARRELLA: You know, Anderson, we heard late this afternoon from the parish priest in Manassas, Virginia, where the Zimmerman family attended church, and that parish priest wrote in a statement that they were very saddened by the developments, what had happened.
But he also said that Zimmerman was very active in the church as a youth, not just an altar boy, but he also worked in the church office and he added that the Zimmerman family was well respected within the community -- Anderson.
COOPER: John, thanks.
Once again let's bring in legal analysts Jeffrey Toobin and Sunny Hostin. I want to play for our viewers in case they missed it last night part of this 911 tape that a lot of people believe has a racist slur on it. We have enhanced the audio with our best audio engineer at CNN to try to really isolate the sound.
Again, you may be offended by what you hear, but this is incredibly important potential evidence so we're playing it for you without beeping out anything, so if there's a young child in the room, you might want to have them leave. But I just want to give you that warning right now. Let's play this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: How long does that portion last that everyone is talking about?
RICK SIERRA, CNN AUDIO DESIGN SPECIALIST: A second, 18 frames.
TUCHMAN: As second, eighteen frames, so that's about 1.6 seconds?
SIERRA: Correct.
TUCHMAN: So let's listen to it like 10 times in a row if we can.
SIERRA: OK.
TUCHMAN: What we're listening for is the racial slur "coons." It follows the "F" word. Some people say they hear it. Others say they don't.
ZIMMERMAN: (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: So we talked about this last night, Jeff. This is incredibly important. Why?
TOOBIN: It is, because most homicides are prosecuted by the states. A crime only becomes a federal crime in terms of a homicide if there is racial animosity at the heart of it. So if the Department of Justice can establish that he used a racial slur and then seconds later shot young Mr. Martin, that makes it a much stronger potential federal case. And all the issues that we talked about in terms of the stand your ground law become immediately irrelevant.
COOPER: And, Sunny, he already is on tape calling -- saying these a-holes, they always get away.
HOSTIN: That's right.
COOPER: Which you could interpret as certainly a derogatory comment toward an African-American male. Whether or not it's based on race, unclear.
HOSTIN: Right. I think that's right. So you're talking about the cumulative evidence at this point. And the Justice Department no doubt will be looking at that.
I know when this story first broke, Anderson, that was my first reaction. What did he mean by these a-holes? Did that sort of have a racial tinge? But now that I hear this I think slur now, sort of isolate it, you take all of that together, including his actions, that I think would be a pretty strong case for the Justice Department.
TOOBIN: Yes, this is a much bigger deal than these a-holes, because these a-holes could refer to prowlers, burglars, and certainly that's what his defense would say. If he's using the slur that both of us hear, then that...
(CROSSTALK)
TOOBIN: I hear C-O-O-N-S. That's what I hear. But, obvious, we have good enhancement material, but the FBI has the best in the country. They use tapes in all their organized crime cases. And when I was an assistant U.S. attorney, all the organized crime prosecutors spent all their time with headphones and enhancement material. This is something they can do very well.
HOSTIN: That's right.
COOPER: Interesting. We are going to obviously continue to follow it, and I think we have online more of Gary Tuchman's piece because really it's a fascinating really isolation of that sound.
Let us know what you think on Twitter what you heard on that tape.
Jeffrey Toobin, Sunny Hostin, thanks very much.
Other breaking news tonight, official word on what killed Whitney Houston. Initial toxicology report is out. The number of drugs that were in her system when she drowned in a hotel bathroom, we will tell you what the autopsy says. We will talk to Dr. Drew Pinsky and also Dr. Sanjay Gupta about what it all means next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, finally some answers tonight about what killed Whitney Houston.
The Los Angeles County coroner released an initial autopsy report just a short time ago saying that Houston accidentally drowned, but that heart disease and cocaine were a factor. The report is just a page-long, but it says a lot, including that it appears Whitney Houston used cocaine just before she collapsed in the hotel bathtub where she was found dead, that she was alive when she slipped under the water and that a cardiac event complicated by the cocaine use may have caused that slip.
Now, other drugs were also found in her system, marijuana, Xanax, a muscle relaxer and an allergy medicine. But they did not contribute to her death, according to this report. The coroner says no trauma or foul play was suspected. Let's talk about it with chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta; also Dr. Drew Pinsky, host of HLN's "Dr. Drew."
So Sanjay, the autopsy report says she died from accidental drowning with heart disease and cocaine use as a contributing factor. I find it really confusing. What does this mean?
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think the best way to sort of put it together is that she had a history of heart disease. It sounded like what is known as arteriosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. That's something that's pretty typical and something that can be tremendously worsened by the use of cocaine.
Your arteries are already a bit narrow but hardened as a result of this disease, and you add cocaine, which can cause constriction. It can cause spasm of those blood vessels. It causes a big adrenaline surge. And all of that can be very damaging to the heart and cause a cardiac event as they described it or a heart attack.
Specifically, Anderson, that could cause her to lapse into unconsciousness. As you know she was in the bathtub, as was mentioned, and she slid into the water at that time. So that's how you -- that's how, sort of reading this whole report, sort of piece it together.
COOPER: Sanjay, how do we know she died from drowning and not from a heart attack from cocaine use?
GUPTA: Yes. This is one of those -- those tough things to really talk about. But the way you know is because her lungs had water in them. So what that basically means is at the time she went into the water, she slid into the -- underneath the surface of the water, she was still breathing. And then when she was still breathing, though unconscious, she actually inhaled water, and it went into her lungs. And then that's the way the coroner could make that determination, Anderson.
COOPER: Dr. Drew, I don't know. This is probably a stupid question. I don't understand, though. If you were breathing and you go underwater and you inhale water, doesn't your body doesn't your body wake -- don't you wake up? Or don't you -- why wouldn't she realize she's drowning?
DREW PINSKY, HLN HOST: Right. Now, the presumption here is what Sanjay described as a heart attack was probably a -- either, as we say, the narrowing the arteries, causing a clot, which injures the muscle, which causes a massive rhythm disturbance; or a rhythm disturbance of the heart which normally beats regularly, just from the direct effect of the cocaine that results in no blood pressure.
So she's really in kind of a rapid coma, and she may not respond normally to things like the external environment if something is over her mouth like water.
Also, by the way, you add the Xanax. You add the central nervous suppression of the Flexeril in there, and it makes it even more likely that she's not going to breathe.
COOPER: The autopsy report, though, Dr. Drew, did say that all those other things -- the marijuana, the Xanax, the Flexeril, the Benadryl -- they did not contribute to her death. What kind of -- what does that tell you?
PINSKY: Well, you know, again, we're trying to piece together a preliminary report. And I think what they mean is there was not a direct result, direct correlation to her death. The direct effect is the cocaine, the heart event and then the drowning. The other medicines may have exacerbated things. They certainly didn't help, but they didn't directly cause her demise.
But let's be clear here. The entire story is an addiction death. This is somebody in massive relapse, as we've all been saying here. Though Anderson, I must tell you, your beloved Ambien has been spared in this particular case. But this is an addiction death. She was in relapse, and somebody in her age group exposed to cocaine is in serious trouble. They have cardiac events.
COOPER: Well, I mean, that -- it obviously -- questions like where did she get the cocaine, if she'd flown into L.A. She wasn't living there.
PINSKY: Exactly.
COOPER: Who was her contact?
PINSKY: That is all...
COOPER: People in her circle must have known, because she's not out getting her own cocaine, I would imagine.
PINSKY: And this -- these -- Bobby Brown's family, his sister, and his nephews, her nephews, Whitney's nephews and cousins of Bobbi Kristina are laying the blame. They're very clear about what happened. And it's really uncomfortable to hear. But they say it tonight.
COOPER: We'll watch that at 9.
Sanjay, how long would something like -- cocaine, how long would you have to take it for before it really damages your heart? Is this a one -- can this just be a one-time event or is this something that is long term?
GUPTA: It can be a one-time event, but also there's a lot of studies that have been done about chronic cocaine use and how it damages some of the smallest blood vessels that supply the heart. And it's a terrible problem actually, because when you have the kind of heart damage that results from chronic cocaine use, it is very difficult to treat, as well, with some of the typical medications that you'd use. So it can cause long-term damage.
But you know, Anderson, you hear stories about people who are young, who tried it early on in their lives, that can also have a catastrophic heart event like Drew was describing, again, because you get this huge adrenaline surge. You also get this reaction where your blood vessels spasm. So instead of allowing blood to sort of flow through normally, the blood vessels that go to the heart, it's spasming. And therefore, the blood -- the heart itself is not getting enough blood. And that can happen in a young person, as well.
COOPER: Scary stuff. Drew, as I said, we'll be watching you at 9 p.m. on HLN. Sanjay, thanks very much.
President Obama made a promise today on his four-state energy tour. Did he signal a possible shift to his position on that Keystone Pipeline? We'll talk about that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Another "Keeping Them Honest" report. The politics of oil. In Cushing, Oklahoma, today, President Obama made this announcement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Right now a company called TransCanada has applied to build a new pipeline to speed more oil from Cushing to state-of-the-art refineries down on the Gulf Coast. And today I'm directing my administration to cut through the red tape, break through the bureaucratic hurdles, and make this project a priority.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, the pipeline he's talking about is actually part of the controversial Keystone Pipeline that TransCanada and many Republicans and some Democrats in Congress want to build from Canada to the Gulf Coast.
Now, in January, the Obama administration denied a permit for the full pipeline. Last month TransCanada said it would move forward and start building the southern half of its hopeful pipeline, which would begin in Cushing.
Today as part of a two-day, four-state energy tour, President Obama promised to do his part to fast-track the work. Right away Republicans pounced.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today the president announced he was going to open a path of the Keystone Pipeline. That's right. This is a Pipeline to Nowhere, that's a good one. So Obama is matching Santorum's Bridge to Nowhere with a Pipeline to Nowhere.
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The southern half is great, but you've got to get the oil from -- you've got to get the oil out of Canada and North Dakota. MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Apparently, the slipping poll numbers have convinced him to announce the lower half of that pipeline. If we can get his poll numbers just a little lower, we may be able to get the other side, too. So let's get that job done.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Now, this is what I'm calling the Obama energy gap. Up here in Canada and in North Dakota we've got all this oil. And the president is down here in Oklahoma taking credit for part of -- of the pipeline that's going to go through the normal process.
It's already gotten its approvals. And this idea that the president is going to expedite this will have no impact on the construction of this pipeline.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, "Keeping Them Honest," House Speaker John Boehner has a point. Permits for pipelines within U.S. borders are issued at the state and local levels. Federal government doesn't have much to do with the approval process unless the project crosses the U.S. border.
The White House is standing by its claim, saying that fast tracking the project will have a real impact but not saying exactly how it will shorten the timeline or by how much.
With gas prices already high and climbing, the timing of President Obama's energy tour probably isn't surprising. In a new Gallup poll, four in ten Americans describe the country's energy situation as very serious.
The Republican presidential nominees are hoping high gas prices will be President Obama's Achilles heel in November.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: This is a president who doesn't like oil, coal, natural gas, nuclear. We're seeing some of the results of that even as you look at gasoline prices today.
SANTORUM: When you see that gas pump; when you're pumping gas the next time, and you see that number go from dollars with two columns to that third column and you see that zero come up, think of zero for "O" for Obama.
GINGRICH: I've developed a program for American energy, so no future president will ever bow to a Saudi king again and so every American can look forward to $2.50 a gallon gasoline.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: For his part President Obama has called out his rivals for, he says, playing politics with gas prices.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: This has been going on for years now. And every time prices start to go up, especially in an election year, politicians dust off their three-point plans for $2 gas.
We can't just drill our way to lower gas prices. There are no quick fixes or silver bullets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: A lot of people wondering if the president's support for the southern half of the Keystone Pipeline is a signal the president will flip-flop on the northern part of the pipeline. Let's look at the "Raw Politics" tonight.
Joining us is political contributor and Democratic strategist James Carville, also Rich Galen, Republican strategist and former press secretary for Newt Gingrich.
So James, is this big energy push from the White House basically a sign of desperation, a sign that those gas price attacks by the Republicans are having an effect?
JAMES CARVILLE: I think it could be a little bit of the latter. I mean, the idea they're doing this now, I mean every energy expert agrees on it. The president doesn't have anything to do with gas prices. But every political person knows that when these things rise, you know, it hurts the president a little bit. So it could be that they, you know, decide to get out in front of this.
The other explanation is that they may think energy prices will go down, and by doing this action that they'll think they will get more credit for it. I have no idea. But I suspect it's one of the two, Anderson.
COOPER: Rich, whether it's fair or not, is this line of attack by the Republicans working?
RICH GALEN, FORMER NEWT GINGRICH PRESS SECRETARY: Well, of course it is, because any president, who at this point happens to be a Democratic president -- had it been a Republican president, the roles would have been reversed but the language would have been almost exactly the same.
Another point I think, though, James, that particularly may bother the president and the president's folks is that high gasoline taxes are -- high gasoline prices are the most regressive tax, because they hit hardest the people that can least afford it.
I mean, thank goodness you and I, if we -- if the gas prices go from $3 to $4, it's a couple of Starbucks. But if we were worried about trying to get to the end of the month on our paycheck, an extra 30 bucks is a big number.
So this goes right to the heart of the core of Barack Obama's, you know, supporters. And I think he needs to show -- he can't change it, but he does need to show that he's trying hard to do as much as he can.
COOPER: James, is there a risk for the president in making a big deal of the decision like the Cushing pipeline? I mean, couldn't taking all this action now imply that he does have some sort of control over prices? If they don't come down after this, will some viewers assume it's his policies that have failed?
CARVILLE: It could have some effect. But by the same token, he who lives by high energy prices dies by high energy prices. And I don't have any idea what the energy prices are going to be in October.
But let's say they come down. I mean, whatever goes up, comes down. Then the president will say, "I was out front." It won't have -- them coming down will have as much to do with him as them going up do. But that's the danger of doing this kind of thing.
And actually, since the president has been in office, production, domestic production has been up, and consumption has been down, which tells you that we're in a world market or it tells you that political instability are having some kind of a factor on these energy prices and speculators.
But again, I have no idea what they're going to do. But if they go high, it does take some political toll on the incumbent. That I would readily agree with.
COOPER: Rich, when you hear your former boss, Gingrich, talking about -- you know, guaranteeing $2.50 gasoline per gallon, I mean, do you buy that?
GALEN: No.
COOPER: No?
GALEN: No. NO, I mean the days of $2.50 gasoline are long gone. But there are things to do.
As you know, Anderson, I do some work with Boone Pickens on the Pickens plan of natural gas. We're very focused on trying to bring natural gas onto especially heavy-duty trucks where the infrastructure in terms of refueling is a big issue.
But in five years we could reduce our import totals from OPEC by about 40 percent, which would have an effect.
But is that going to happen between now and November? No. But it's the kind of thing that we need to do.
One of the problems I think that the president is facing is that Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, a physicist, has been so laser-like focused on battery powers. We know that's not ready, it's not ripe yet. The Volt line has been shut down.
So there are some issues that I think this administration has to -- has to deal with. They made some bad bets, I think.
COOPER: Rich Galen -- I'm sorry, James, do you want to say something?
CARVILLE: Yes, I just -- I'm not sure, technology moves pretty quickly. And like I say, production is up under this president and consumption is down. That ought to help at some point.
COOPER: Yes. James Carville, Rich Galen. Guys, thanks very much.
We've got new word tonight about the American soldier accused of killing 16 civilians in that shooting rampage in Afghanistan. We'll tell you what charges the Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales is going to face. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, I'm Isha Sesay with a "360 News & Business Bulletin."
A Pentagon official tells CNN that Staff Sergeant Robert Bales will be charged with murder in the killing of Afghan civilians. It could happen tomorrow. It's expected he'll be charged with 17 counts of murder, although 16 people are reported killed. There's no explanation at this point for the discrepancy. Sergeant Bales is being held in a military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
A more than 31-hour standoff between French police and an armed gunman accused of murder came to a bloody end this morning. Police in Toulouse stormed the suspect's apartment. Officials said he opened fire, and they shot back and killed him. Twenty-three-year-old Mohammed Merah was a self-described jihadist.
Dharun Ravi says that using a Web cam to spy on his college roommate Tyler Clementi's same-sex encounter did not lead to Clementi's suicide. Now facing 10 years for a collection of crimes including bias intimidation, he spoke with ABC News's Chris Cuomo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS CUOMO, ABC NEWS: Do you hate gay people?
DHARUN RAVI, CONVICTED OF CRIMES RELATED TO ROOMMATE'S SUICIDE: No, I don't hate gay people.
CUOMO: Do you believe Tyler Clementi was intimidated by you and your actions?
RAVI: He knew that I wasn't trying to, like, intimidate him because he was gay and scare him because he was gay. I think he understood that.
CUOMO: You feel confident of that?
RAVI: Yes, I feel confident of that.
CUOMO: Did you want to out Tyler Clementi?
RAVI: No.
CUOMO: Did you record him having sex?
RAVI: No.
CUOMO: But it was all said, and people believed it?
RAVI: Yes.
CUOMO: And what did that make you?
RAVI: It made me the worst possible person.
CUOMO: You're the face of the bully.
RAVI: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Mississippi's attorney general is moving once again to challenge the legality of almost 200 pardons, including those of four convicted murders.
Former governor Haley Barbour issued the pardons as he left office, but the attorney general claims he did so in violation of the state constitution.
Despite repeated requests, Governor Barbour refuses to come on "360" and answer questions about the scandal.
Stock in the company that makes Etch-A-Sketch soared today. Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich have used the toy as a prop on the campaign trail, exploiting a gaffe made by a top Mitt Romney aide. "The L.A. Times" reports Etch-A-Sketch sales have jumped 1,500 percent.
And this cat definitely has nine lives. She fell 19 stories from her owner's high-rise apartment in Boston and survived with one minor injury. Her name is Sugar, and she landed on a patch of soft grass and mulch. Nine lives, one lucky feline.
Now back to Anderson.
COOPER: Isha, thanks. It's panda-monium on "The RidicuList" next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Time now for "the RidicuList," and tonight we're adding panda tea. An entrepreneur in China has launched a new beverage business called panda tea, which makes it sound all kinds of cute and cuddly. After all, who doesn't love a panda? They're adorable. Right?
But the not-so-secret ingredient in panda tea happens to be tons of panda droppings. I mean that literally, just ton after ton of panda poop, which is used to grow the leaves for this tea. Tea leavings. Mmm. Who's thirsty now?
Look, I don't like hot beverages, but even if I did, I'm not sure I would take the "mess tea" plunge.
The owner of the company says it's very nutritious, On the count of just the sheer volume of excrement that -- well, you know -- you know what? I'm going to let him tell you about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): The digestion and absorption of the panda are not good. They keep eating, and they keep producing feces. They're like a machine, churning out organic fertilizer. They absorb less than 30 percent of the nutrition from their food. That means more than 70 percent of these nutrients become waste.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: OK. No. 1, don't say "The RidicuList" never taught you anything about the bowel idiosyncrasies of the giant panda.
It is true, though. Apparently, their particular poop does, indeed, make rich fertilizer. Let's call it panda-monia nitrate. And pandas make a lot of it because they eat up to 40 pounds of bamboo a day. Which I guess explains why they always have those shoot-eating grins.
No. 2, is it just me or is the tea guy perhaps just a little too into his business model? I mean, should the head of the company really be wearing that? I mean, how can you take someone seriously when they're dressed like that at work?
Look at him in this meeting. A grown man in a full-on animal costume. I mean, who does that?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Oh, a bib. The bunny has a bib. This is pretty much the strangest assignment I ever had. Nobody laugh. Hello.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: OK. In my defense, the ape asked me to do that.
Now, I'm sure the pandas didn't ask the tea guy to put on that costume. Come to think of it, I bet he also didn't bother to ask if he could have all their poo so he could use it as night soil. Yes, today I learned night soil is another way to say manure. Also, meadow muffins. Did you know that? Meadow muffins.
By the way, a cup of the Dung Fu Panda is going to cost you. Dung Fu Panda. The first batch is ready, and it's priced at about $200 a cup. Right. Two hundred dollars. But if you're the adventurous type or if you just like to splurge on crap -- literally -- sorry -- you won't find a better cup of tea on "The RidicuList." That's it for us. "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now.
