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How Prison Changed America's Domestic Icon; BTK: 'Reporter's Notebook'

Aired March 04, 2005 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: By the way, the president attended some other business this morning before going to New Jersey. He nominated EPA veteran Stephen Johnson to run the agency. He's been the acting administrator, by the way, since the president tapped Michael Levitt to move from EPA to Health and Human Services.
Teams with dogs plan to give up their search for the missing Florida girl Jessica Lunsford. They have focused on a one-square-mile area around the third-graders home. Jessica disappeared more than a week ago. Police are saying they have no suspects. They have no strong leads.

Insurgents shot and killed an Iraqi police chief outside his home today. Another police chief was targeted Thursday, but the gunman missed, and al Qaeda in Iraq has launched an Internet site, we learned, urging Muslims to wage holy war against the United States.

The sister of Michael Jackson's accuser returns to the stand this hour in his child-molestation trial. She already told jurors Jackson gave the boy alcohol and spent time alone with him in the bedroom as well. The trial resumes today. We will follow it for you.

Keeping you informed, we're CNN, the most trusted name in news.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS" is taking an exclusive look at how prison changed America's domestic icon, Martha Stewart. Paula Zahn hosts tonight at 8:00 Eastern, and it's only here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's told me she learned a lot about how things are on the other side of the tracks. She knows a lot about these families, cares about them. She's gotten sort of mellow.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Martha has taken up prison causes while serving time. In a Christmas letter posted on her Web site, Martha writes about her fellow inmates, encouraging America to think about these women, devoid of care, devoid of love.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's really learned a lot about the lives of women who are in prison. She's learned about what she thinks are often mandatory sentences that are overly harsh, particularly for women with young children.

ZAHN: Visitors say this newfound passion for prison reform is just part of an overall Martha Stewart transformation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think she's been more reflective than she's really had an opportunity to be given the intensity of building up that company. .

ZAHN: In this exclusive footage, a revealing look at Martha inside prison.

Here's Martha cheerfully welcoming friends upon their arrival.

Here again, chatting it up with visitor after visitor.

Friends say gone is the aloof, high-strung Martha they used to know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's achieved a certain kind of serenity. She didn't used to listen much. She knew what she should do and went about it. Now she listens.

ZAHN: And does this video show a trimmer, toned Martha? This visitors say, thanks to yoga classes, daily chores and avoiding the quote, unquote, "bad food."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She like the fact that she's getting really buff, you know?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Friends who visit her say it looks like she spent a few months at the Golden Door Spa, and that they're amazed that she looks like she really is relaxed, that she's lost about 10 pounds.

ZAHN: But apparently there's one prison snack that isn't off limits for Martha.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She (INAUDIBLE) the vending machine, and she says some of these items are really good. For $1.50 you can get chicken wings out of the vending machine cold, and put them in the microwave, and she says actually they're really, really good, and I'm eating these chicken wings, and I'm thinking, gee, her standards have really changed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Well, kind of all relative, I guess, by what you eat the rest of the time. "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS" tonight at 8:00 Eastern on CNN, an exclusive look at the newly freed Martha Stewart.

SANCHEZ: In other news around the world on this day. Here's the movie wrap for you, in Alberta, Canada, four mountain Canadian police officers are dead, shot to death while investigating an illegal marijuana farm. Police it's the worst single attack on police in Canada in 120 years. The suspect reportedly killed himself following these shootings.

In Russia now, five people are dead and four others under arrest. Police say all are suspected of helping prepare last fall's attack on a school in Beslan; 330 people, half of them children, died in that takeover.

And in Kiev, Ukraine's former interior minister has been found dead in his country home, an apparent suicide. The minister had been implicated in the decapitation of an investigative journalist back in the year 2000.

Also a sordid case that we're following in western France. The local deputy mayor describes it as a horror of horrors. Sixty-six people are on trial. They're charged in pedophilia ring that involves 45 children, one of them only six months old. Prosecutors say parents sold their children for food, for money, for cigarettes and for alcohol.

KAGAN: We focus back here in the U.S. The break in the BTK strangler case was national news, even international news, but unless you live in or around Wichita, it might be hard to imagine the impact this development had, and the media scrutiny has had on the community.

Our David Mattingly gives us a sense of that in his "Reporter's Notebook."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHIEF NORMAN WILLIAMS, WICHITA POLICE: The bottom line, BTK is arrested.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What you probably didn't see when that press conference was going on was all of the hugs and all the congratulations and all the handshakes that were going on as all the key players walked into the room one at a time.

The chief of police walked over to where all the city council members were sitting. He shook all of their hands, and you could see how gratified they were that this arrest had been made and the heartfelt thanks that he was offering to them for their continued support through all of this.

A lot of emotion in that room, but it just did not come through the camera in many cases.

The news conference was on Saturday. By Tuesday, we're seeing what I call media burnout among people here in Wichita. Everyone who had even the most remote connection to Dennis Rader was being tracked down and asked all those annoying questions about what he was like, what they knew about him. And they were being asked that over and over and over by every reporter that would come knocking on the door, that would come calling.

And you know, we hear all the time about how friendly people in Kansas are, and I'm here to tell you that is absolutely true, because we have given them every reason to be rude to us. We have given them every reason to want us out of their state permanently, but they have been very nice through it all and very polite, even when you're, like, the 50th reporter knocking on their door.

What a lot of people don't know outside the state of Kansas, and something that really surprised me, was that there was a citizen's group here that was just days away at the time of the arrest from launching a petition drive, asking for a grand jury investigation into how the police department was handling this case, because they were tired of not hearing anything from police about this case.

When I sat down with the police chief and was able to ask him questions about this investigation, he says very little about what's going on, because they're very tight with the information here.

But he did let us know that they were working toward creating a one-on-one conversation with this killer, which I just found fascinating. He wouldn't say if it was verbal. He wouldn't say if it was written, but he said it was satisfied that they were actually making one-on-one contact with this killer.

And it was just a couple of weeks ago, he told me, that they felt like momentum was starting to build and this communication was leading them to an arrest.

I think the most enjoyment that I've had, if it's possible to enjoy covering a situation like this, it's the -- talking to former police chief, Richard LaMunyon, who was the police chief back in the '70s when the case first came up, to see the relief and happiness on his face, knowing that this case was finally closed.

You look back at some old news footage, and you see him talking to the public then, trying to reassure him, saying that he believes that BTK will be caught. I asked him again 30 years later that same question. He still believed that BTK was going to be caught. And last weekend, he was right.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And that was our David Mattingly in Wichita, Kansas. To learn more about the evidence so far in the BTK case, check in with CNN.com.

SANCHEZ: Here's a question for the ladies. Are you pregnant, or are you thinking of becoming pregnant?

KAGAN: We have some information on newborns and genetics, and some defects you might need to know about.

SANCHEZ: And there's been this horrible chimpanzee attack that we've been telling you about. Up next, we're going to be talking to a wildlife expert, one of the best -- I can vouch for that -- on what causes chimpanzees to become so aggressive at a certain age.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The U.S. Senate has voted to overturn a Bush administration plan to allow imports of cattle from Canada. Those imports have been restricted because of concerns over mad cow disease and in effect, the senators voted to keep those restrictions in place. In Lynchburg, Virginia, the Reverend Jerry Falwell reportedly says he has recovered enough from pneumonia to leave the hospital today. Looking at file video of him in 2000. Falwell has been in the hospital for nearly two weeks. He tells a local newspaper his doctors say he can go home, provided he does not resume his normal preaching duties for the time being.

SANCHEZ: Children can be treated for a wide range of potentially fatal ailments if those problems are detected early enough. But screening newborns for genetic disorders is not a universal practice. Here now is CNN's medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His mom calls him her miracle baby. 2 1/2-year-old Nathan Gunther was born with a deadly genetic disorder called MCAD. Problem is nobody knew he had it, but then by pure chance when Nathan was ten months old, his blood was tested as part of a pilot program in Georgia, which was go about to add the MCAD test to its newborn genetic screening program.

LAURA GUNTHER, MOTHER: The disease affects one in 20,000 babies. And the fact that our son was one of 200 babies picked and that they found him is just an absolute miracle. There's no other explanation for it.

GUPTA: MCAD prevents the body from breaking down stored fat for energy, causing everything from seizures to coma, even death. Nathan would have most likely died in his sleep, but with treatment, he'll soon celebrate his third birthday. And when Nathan's little Thomas was born, doctors knew to test for MCAD. Thomas tested positive and his treatment began immediately, a random test effectively saving two young lives.

Genetic screening of newborns began in the 1960s. The screening has then expanded significantly, but there's a big difference in what conditions different states test for. Some states test only for four conditions, others as many as 40.

DR. PAUL FERNHOFF, GENETICIST: As parents and parents groups who have really been pushing states and all of us in the profession to enlarge newborn screening and make it equitable so that all babies have the same opportunity to have the testing to prevent this death and disability for all children.

GUPTA: Most doctors agree the recommended group of core of 29 genetic screening tests are a good idea, but it's not that simple.

FERNHOFF: The problem is there's an additional about 25 other conditions that come up on the testing that we're really sure. We're not sure whether or not they're really a disease, we're not sure -- although we think we have a treatment for, we're not sure the treatment may prevent the problem from occurring.

GUPTA (on camera): Doctors say education about the benefits and limitations of the testing is key. For most parents of the newborns, this is all the information they receive: a simple green form with some information about the testing and a place for the blood samples.

(voice-over): More information about newborn genetic screening is available online and everyone should consult their obstetrician. For the Gunthers, testing is a matter of life and death.

GUNTHER: Wouldn't you rather know than not know? Knowing makes all the difference in the world. You can plan your children's life or you can plan their funeral.

GUPTA: Thanks to newborn genetic screening, the Gunthers say Nathan and his little brother Thomas will live long and healthy lives.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: And of course, we should remind you that you can get your "Daily Dose" of health news online. Just log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness for you. The address cnn.com/health.

KAGAN: Two people badly hurt in a vicious chimp attack. We'll have the latest on the condition and we're going to hear from a wildlife expert about why this might have happened.

SANCHEZ: That's coming up right here after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Now those are chimpanzees you're looking at. Let's set up this story for you now by showing you exactly what happened. A man and a woman visited an animal ranch. They're there to visit and celebrate their chimpanzee's birthday that was being kept there at their ranch. It used to be kept at their house. Instead, some of the other chimps there suddenly break out and attack this couple viciously, so viciously, in fact, that authorities had to come in and kill the animals, shoot them, to stop the attack. They say if they hadn't done that, they probably would have killed the man.

Rob Magill is a wildlife expert. He's at Miami Metrozoo, and a good friend.

Ron, everything OK down there at Metro Zoo post-hurricanes, I suspect.

ROB MAGILL, MIAMI METROZOO: Yes, the hurricanes this year, fortunately for us, Rick, didn't effect us, it was more effective in the center part of the state.

SANCHEZ: Well, good to have you with us.

MAGILL: My pleasure.

SANCHEZ: Would you explain us to why a chimpanzee seemingly at a certain age would react this way, and is it typical?

MAGILL: Well, I'm not going to say it's typical. I will say their this, the chimpanzees have -- misconceptions about them have been perpetuated through the media. You see this recent commercial, the Super Bowl commercial, where they've got these chimpanzees laughing, making this funny commercial, and this type of perception is what leads to tragedy, because people think the animals are in fact tame, that they can be your friend, they can be pets. The worst belief you can have. These animals are 98 percent genetically identical to human beings. That 2 percent is very important to understand. Just like humans their personalities can range, each chimp is an individual.

When you try to keep the chimp in captivity, especially in small cages or in, you know, environmental conditions that are not conducive to their well-being, these animals become psychologically affected many times, and they can be very dangerous.

SANCHEZ: Dangerous? My gosh, Ron, I've been reading these stories, as well as our crew here, bit off the man's nose, bit off another part that we prefer not too say on TV. I mean, I have been talking about this as well as our crew here, bit off the man's nose, bit off another part that we prefer not to say on TV. I mean, they're literally saying, Ron, if they hadn't killed this animal, that animal would have killed that man.

MAGILL: And that's most likely so, Rick. You know, for the longest time, people believed chimps were just these vegetarian, gentle animals, and it wasn't until Jane Goodall did that landmark research where she found that their not only not vegetarians, but they can be vicious, aggressive murderers. They will go and murder other primates and eat them. They can be very violent, very powerful. An adult chimp has the strength of four adult human beings.

SANCHEZ: Well, these chimps were 13 and 16, by the way. Does that tell you anything?

MAGILL: Absolutely. They've reached sexual maturity. These animals now are becoming territorial. They're becoming very dominant. They're trying to establish a hierarchy. They may have looked at this gentleman as a threat. They may have disliked him for whatever reason. Just like there are people, Rick, you have somebody who's a great guy, who tries to work and working in philanthropy and stuff like that, and then you have a serial killer. They're both human beings. How can they be so different? It's the environment in which they were raised.

SANCHEZ: But suffice it say, and let me see if I can nail you down on this. Chimps are cute when they're little. When they grow up, they're not necessarily cute pets. You would say to people what about that. .

MAGILL: Chimps are never good pet. There's an old saying, that says you can take an animal out of the wild, you can never take the wild out of the animal. Unfortunately for decades, they've been used in entertainment, which is just terrific, because they're only used as youngsters. When they grow out of that phase, they're dumped, and they become animals that become psychologically affected and become dangerous. This is why they cannot be used in entertainment. They can not be used as pets. These animals need to be kept in environmentally sound conditions, where only an accredited zoo or an accredited sanctuary can maintain them properly.

SANCHEZ: Rob Magill from Miami's Metrozoo knows his stuff. We thank you, Ron, for sharing that with us.

MAGILL: Thank you, Rick.

KAGAN: We have business and weather updates up next. CNN LIVE TODAY is back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

Martha Stewart's release is the big story today. So let's check in with the dot.com desk. They have an interactive look at Martha's history and what our Web users are saying. Here now is Veronica De La Cruz.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ: What's next for the domestic diva? For all things Martha Stewart, you can visit CNNmoney.com/martha. The online special chronicles the homemaking maven's life from her days on Wall Street to her conviction a year ago for lying to investigators about a personal stock sale.

But did that five months out of the spotlight help her career and her company? Brownkeys (ph) Research found that Stewart's image has steadily improved in recent months after hitting a low a year ago.

And what do you think? You can weigh in online with CNNmoney.com's "battle of the sexes" quiz. In this scientific poll, both men and women were asked how they felt about Stewart. For example, more women than men say that if a male business executive had been in the same situation, he would not have been prosecuted. But both genders agree that the business woman will bounce back after leaving prison.

With that said, Martha Stewart is already slated to star in two TV shows, a daily talk show and a spinoff of "The Apprentice." From the dot.com desk in Atlanta, I'm Veronica De La Cruz.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS," 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN, a look at the newly-freed Martha Stewart. We have exclusive video from inside the prison as Stewart greets visitors.

SANCHEZ: Let's go over to the Big Board now and see what's going on there, and as we look at the numbers, we see that the industrials are looking good. Yes, don't what the volume is, but it looks good. 78 as far as the Dow is concerned. And I think last we checked the Nasdaq was up right. (WEATHER REPORT)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired March 4, 2005 - 11:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: By the way, the president attended some other business this morning before going to New Jersey. He nominated EPA veteran Stephen Johnson to run the agency. He's been the acting administrator, by the way, since the president tapped Michael Levitt to move from EPA to Health and Human Services.
Teams with dogs plan to give up their search for the missing Florida girl Jessica Lunsford. They have focused on a one-square-mile area around the third-graders home. Jessica disappeared more than a week ago. Police are saying they have no suspects. They have no strong leads.

Insurgents shot and killed an Iraqi police chief outside his home today. Another police chief was targeted Thursday, but the gunman missed, and al Qaeda in Iraq has launched an Internet site, we learned, urging Muslims to wage holy war against the United States.

The sister of Michael Jackson's accuser returns to the stand this hour in his child-molestation trial. She already told jurors Jackson gave the boy alcohol and spent time alone with him in the bedroom as well. The trial resumes today. We will follow it for you.

Keeping you informed, we're CNN, the most trusted name in news.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS" is taking an exclusive look at how prison changed America's domestic icon, Martha Stewart. Paula Zahn hosts tonight at 8:00 Eastern, and it's only here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's told me she learned a lot about how things are on the other side of the tracks. She knows a lot about these families, cares about them. She's gotten sort of mellow.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Martha has taken up prison causes while serving time. In a Christmas letter posted on her Web site, Martha writes about her fellow inmates, encouraging America to think about these women, devoid of care, devoid of love.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's really learned a lot about the lives of women who are in prison. She's learned about what she thinks are often mandatory sentences that are overly harsh, particularly for women with young children.

ZAHN: Visitors say this newfound passion for prison reform is just part of an overall Martha Stewart transformation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think she's been more reflective than she's really had an opportunity to be given the intensity of building up that company. .

ZAHN: In this exclusive footage, a revealing look at Martha inside prison.

Here's Martha cheerfully welcoming friends upon their arrival.

Here again, chatting it up with visitor after visitor.

Friends say gone is the aloof, high-strung Martha they used to know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's achieved a certain kind of serenity. She didn't used to listen much. She knew what she should do and went about it. Now she listens.

ZAHN: And does this video show a trimmer, toned Martha? This visitors say, thanks to yoga classes, daily chores and avoiding the quote, unquote, "bad food."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She like the fact that she's getting really buff, you know?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Friends who visit her say it looks like she spent a few months at the Golden Door Spa, and that they're amazed that she looks like she really is relaxed, that she's lost about 10 pounds.

ZAHN: But apparently there's one prison snack that isn't off limits for Martha.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She (INAUDIBLE) the vending machine, and she says some of these items are really good. For $1.50 you can get chicken wings out of the vending machine cold, and put them in the microwave, and she says actually they're really, really good, and I'm eating these chicken wings, and I'm thinking, gee, her standards have really changed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Well, kind of all relative, I guess, by what you eat the rest of the time. "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS" tonight at 8:00 Eastern on CNN, an exclusive look at the newly freed Martha Stewart.

SANCHEZ: In other news around the world on this day. Here's the movie wrap for you, in Alberta, Canada, four mountain Canadian police officers are dead, shot to death while investigating an illegal marijuana farm. Police it's the worst single attack on police in Canada in 120 years. The suspect reportedly killed himself following these shootings.

In Russia now, five people are dead and four others under arrest. Police say all are suspected of helping prepare last fall's attack on a school in Beslan; 330 people, half of them children, died in that takeover.

And in Kiev, Ukraine's former interior minister has been found dead in his country home, an apparent suicide. The minister had been implicated in the decapitation of an investigative journalist back in the year 2000.

Also a sordid case that we're following in western France. The local deputy mayor describes it as a horror of horrors. Sixty-six people are on trial. They're charged in pedophilia ring that involves 45 children, one of them only six months old. Prosecutors say parents sold their children for food, for money, for cigarettes and for alcohol.

KAGAN: We focus back here in the U.S. The break in the BTK strangler case was national news, even international news, but unless you live in or around Wichita, it might be hard to imagine the impact this development had, and the media scrutiny has had on the community.

Our David Mattingly gives us a sense of that in his "Reporter's Notebook."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHIEF NORMAN WILLIAMS, WICHITA POLICE: The bottom line, BTK is arrested.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What you probably didn't see when that press conference was going on was all of the hugs and all the congratulations and all the handshakes that were going on as all the key players walked into the room one at a time.

The chief of police walked over to where all the city council members were sitting. He shook all of their hands, and you could see how gratified they were that this arrest had been made and the heartfelt thanks that he was offering to them for their continued support through all of this.

A lot of emotion in that room, but it just did not come through the camera in many cases.

The news conference was on Saturday. By Tuesday, we're seeing what I call media burnout among people here in Wichita. Everyone who had even the most remote connection to Dennis Rader was being tracked down and asked all those annoying questions about what he was like, what they knew about him. And they were being asked that over and over and over by every reporter that would come knocking on the door, that would come calling.

And you know, we hear all the time about how friendly people in Kansas are, and I'm here to tell you that is absolutely true, because we have given them every reason to be rude to us. We have given them every reason to want us out of their state permanently, but they have been very nice through it all and very polite, even when you're, like, the 50th reporter knocking on their door.

What a lot of people don't know outside the state of Kansas, and something that really surprised me, was that there was a citizen's group here that was just days away at the time of the arrest from launching a petition drive, asking for a grand jury investigation into how the police department was handling this case, because they were tired of not hearing anything from police about this case.

When I sat down with the police chief and was able to ask him questions about this investigation, he says very little about what's going on, because they're very tight with the information here.

But he did let us know that they were working toward creating a one-on-one conversation with this killer, which I just found fascinating. He wouldn't say if it was verbal. He wouldn't say if it was written, but he said it was satisfied that they were actually making one-on-one contact with this killer.

And it was just a couple of weeks ago, he told me, that they felt like momentum was starting to build and this communication was leading them to an arrest.

I think the most enjoyment that I've had, if it's possible to enjoy covering a situation like this, it's the -- talking to former police chief, Richard LaMunyon, who was the police chief back in the '70s when the case first came up, to see the relief and happiness on his face, knowing that this case was finally closed.

You look back at some old news footage, and you see him talking to the public then, trying to reassure him, saying that he believes that BTK will be caught. I asked him again 30 years later that same question. He still believed that BTK was going to be caught. And last weekend, he was right.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And that was our David Mattingly in Wichita, Kansas. To learn more about the evidence so far in the BTK case, check in with CNN.com.

SANCHEZ: Here's a question for the ladies. Are you pregnant, or are you thinking of becoming pregnant?

KAGAN: We have some information on newborns and genetics, and some defects you might need to know about.

SANCHEZ: And there's been this horrible chimpanzee attack that we've been telling you about. Up next, we're going to be talking to a wildlife expert, one of the best -- I can vouch for that -- on what causes chimpanzees to become so aggressive at a certain age.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The U.S. Senate has voted to overturn a Bush administration plan to allow imports of cattle from Canada. Those imports have been restricted because of concerns over mad cow disease and in effect, the senators voted to keep those restrictions in place. In Lynchburg, Virginia, the Reverend Jerry Falwell reportedly says he has recovered enough from pneumonia to leave the hospital today. Looking at file video of him in 2000. Falwell has been in the hospital for nearly two weeks. He tells a local newspaper his doctors say he can go home, provided he does not resume his normal preaching duties for the time being.

SANCHEZ: Children can be treated for a wide range of potentially fatal ailments if those problems are detected early enough. But screening newborns for genetic disorders is not a universal practice. Here now is CNN's medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His mom calls him her miracle baby. 2 1/2-year-old Nathan Gunther was born with a deadly genetic disorder called MCAD. Problem is nobody knew he had it, but then by pure chance when Nathan was ten months old, his blood was tested as part of a pilot program in Georgia, which was go about to add the MCAD test to its newborn genetic screening program.

LAURA GUNTHER, MOTHER: The disease affects one in 20,000 babies. And the fact that our son was one of 200 babies picked and that they found him is just an absolute miracle. There's no other explanation for it.

GUPTA: MCAD prevents the body from breaking down stored fat for energy, causing everything from seizures to coma, even death. Nathan would have most likely died in his sleep, but with treatment, he'll soon celebrate his third birthday. And when Nathan's little Thomas was born, doctors knew to test for MCAD. Thomas tested positive and his treatment began immediately, a random test effectively saving two young lives.

Genetic screening of newborns began in the 1960s. The screening has then expanded significantly, but there's a big difference in what conditions different states test for. Some states test only for four conditions, others as many as 40.

DR. PAUL FERNHOFF, GENETICIST: As parents and parents groups who have really been pushing states and all of us in the profession to enlarge newborn screening and make it equitable so that all babies have the same opportunity to have the testing to prevent this death and disability for all children.

GUPTA: Most doctors agree the recommended group of core of 29 genetic screening tests are a good idea, but it's not that simple.

FERNHOFF: The problem is there's an additional about 25 other conditions that come up on the testing that we're really sure. We're not sure whether or not they're really a disease, we're not sure -- although we think we have a treatment for, we're not sure the treatment may prevent the problem from occurring.

GUPTA (on camera): Doctors say education about the benefits and limitations of the testing is key. For most parents of the newborns, this is all the information they receive: a simple green form with some information about the testing and a place for the blood samples.

(voice-over): More information about newborn genetic screening is available online and everyone should consult their obstetrician. For the Gunthers, testing is a matter of life and death.

GUNTHER: Wouldn't you rather know than not know? Knowing makes all the difference in the world. You can plan your children's life or you can plan their funeral.

GUPTA: Thanks to newborn genetic screening, the Gunthers say Nathan and his little brother Thomas will live long and healthy lives.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: And of course, we should remind you that you can get your "Daily Dose" of health news online. Just log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness for you. The address cnn.com/health.

KAGAN: Two people badly hurt in a vicious chimp attack. We'll have the latest on the condition and we're going to hear from a wildlife expert about why this might have happened.

SANCHEZ: That's coming up right here after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Now those are chimpanzees you're looking at. Let's set up this story for you now by showing you exactly what happened. A man and a woman visited an animal ranch. They're there to visit and celebrate their chimpanzee's birthday that was being kept there at their ranch. It used to be kept at their house. Instead, some of the other chimps there suddenly break out and attack this couple viciously, so viciously, in fact, that authorities had to come in and kill the animals, shoot them, to stop the attack. They say if they hadn't done that, they probably would have killed the man.

Rob Magill is a wildlife expert. He's at Miami Metrozoo, and a good friend.

Ron, everything OK down there at Metro Zoo post-hurricanes, I suspect.

ROB MAGILL, MIAMI METROZOO: Yes, the hurricanes this year, fortunately for us, Rick, didn't effect us, it was more effective in the center part of the state.

SANCHEZ: Well, good to have you with us.

MAGILL: My pleasure.

SANCHEZ: Would you explain us to why a chimpanzee seemingly at a certain age would react this way, and is it typical?

MAGILL: Well, I'm not going to say it's typical. I will say their this, the chimpanzees have -- misconceptions about them have been perpetuated through the media. You see this recent commercial, the Super Bowl commercial, where they've got these chimpanzees laughing, making this funny commercial, and this type of perception is what leads to tragedy, because people think the animals are in fact tame, that they can be your friend, they can be pets. The worst belief you can have. These animals are 98 percent genetically identical to human beings. That 2 percent is very important to understand. Just like humans their personalities can range, each chimp is an individual.

When you try to keep the chimp in captivity, especially in small cages or in, you know, environmental conditions that are not conducive to their well-being, these animals become psychologically affected many times, and they can be very dangerous.

SANCHEZ: Dangerous? My gosh, Ron, I've been reading these stories, as well as our crew here, bit off the man's nose, bit off another part that we prefer not too say on TV. I mean, I have been talking about this as well as our crew here, bit off the man's nose, bit off another part that we prefer not to say on TV. I mean, they're literally saying, Ron, if they hadn't killed this animal, that animal would have killed that man.

MAGILL: And that's most likely so, Rick. You know, for the longest time, people believed chimps were just these vegetarian, gentle animals, and it wasn't until Jane Goodall did that landmark research where she found that their not only not vegetarians, but they can be vicious, aggressive murderers. They will go and murder other primates and eat them. They can be very violent, very powerful. An adult chimp has the strength of four adult human beings.

SANCHEZ: Well, these chimps were 13 and 16, by the way. Does that tell you anything?

MAGILL: Absolutely. They've reached sexual maturity. These animals now are becoming territorial. They're becoming very dominant. They're trying to establish a hierarchy. They may have looked at this gentleman as a threat. They may have disliked him for whatever reason. Just like there are people, Rick, you have somebody who's a great guy, who tries to work and working in philanthropy and stuff like that, and then you have a serial killer. They're both human beings. How can they be so different? It's the environment in which they were raised.

SANCHEZ: But suffice it say, and let me see if I can nail you down on this. Chimps are cute when they're little. When they grow up, they're not necessarily cute pets. You would say to people what about that. .

MAGILL: Chimps are never good pet. There's an old saying, that says you can take an animal out of the wild, you can never take the wild out of the animal. Unfortunately for decades, they've been used in entertainment, which is just terrific, because they're only used as youngsters. When they grow out of that phase, they're dumped, and they become animals that become psychologically affected and become dangerous. This is why they cannot be used in entertainment. They can not be used as pets. These animals need to be kept in environmentally sound conditions, where only an accredited zoo or an accredited sanctuary can maintain them properly.

SANCHEZ: Rob Magill from Miami's Metrozoo knows his stuff. We thank you, Ron, for sharing that with us.

MAGILL: Thank you, Rick.

KAGAN: We have business and weather updates up next. CNN LIVE TODAY is back in just a moment.

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Martha Stewart's release is the big story today. So let's check in with the dot.com desk. They have an interactive look at Martha's history and what our Web users are saying. Here now is Veronica De La Cruz.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ: What's next for the domestic diva? For all things Martha Stewart, you can visit CNNmoney.com/martha. The online special chronicles the homemaking maven's life from her days on Wall Street to her conviction a year ago for lying to investigators about a personal stock sale.

But did that five months out of the spotlight help her career and her company? Brownkeys (ph) Research found that Stewart's image has steadily improved in recent months after hitting a low a year ago.

And what do you think? You can weigh in online with CNNmoney.com's "battle of the sexes" quiz. In this scientific poll, both men and women were asked how they felt about Stewart. For example, more women than men say that if a male business executive had been in the same situation, he would not have been prosecuted. But both genders agree that the business woman will bounce back after leaving prison.

With that said, Martha Stewart is already slated to star in two TV shows, a daily talk show and a spinoff of "The Apprentice." From the dot.com desk in Atlanta, I'm Veronica De La Cruz.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS," 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN, a look at the newly-freed Martha Stewart. We have exclusive video from inside the prison as Stewart greets visitors.

SANCHEZ: Let's go over to the Big Board now and see what's going on there, and as we look at the numbers, we see that the industrials are looking good. Yes, don't what the volume is, but it looks good. 78 as far as the Dow is concerned. And I think last we checked the Nasdaq was up right. (WEATHER REPORT)

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