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Workplace Shooting Suspect Captured; Calls for Don Imus to be Fired Over Controversial Comments; British Sailors, Marines Describe Ordeal

Aired April 09, 2007 - 14:01   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen, live at the CNN world headquarters right here in Atlanta.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm T.J. Holmes.

Up first this hour, Michigan police say he lost his job, then came back with a loaded gun. Now one person is dead, two others wounded, the suspect now in custody.

NGUYEN: Nevada police say he traveled miles across several states and shot at least three people. We have the latest on the suspect in a bizarre murder spree.

HOLMES: Plus, should his bosses keep put their money where his mouth is? Radio jock Don Imus in hot water and on the air from Al Sharpton's studio.

You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

To Michigan now, where a workplace shooting in suburban Detroit has left one person dead, two others are wounded, and a suspect is in custody. He is 38-year-old Anthony LaCalamita, a former accounting firm employee who police say may have been fired from his job as recently as a week ago. Earlier, right here, we spoke with Robin Simmons of our affiliate station, WDIV, who tells us the victims appear to be targeted.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBIN SIMMONS, WDIV: Police tell us that all of the shootings took place on the second floor. They are not identifying the business involved, but we have been speaking to people who work either inside that specific business or outside, and they have identified this business as Gordon & Associates. It is an accounting firm.

And I spoke to a gentleman who received several calls from his wife this morning. He was at work in another suburb, was not able to take the calls immediately. And when he was able to call his wife back, he was stunned to hear her whispering, really frightened, and telling him that people in her office were hiding because a man had come back who was fired or laid off sometime last week with a gun, and was shooting people.

Now, we do not know exactly what happened that might have led to his departure at least with this company, but we do know that the security codes had been changed in this building. So security was aware that this man was not to be let inside.

HOLMES: Wow.

SIMMONS: He did get inside, though, he did have a long gun. Troy police say they received a flurry of 911 calls when this man walked into this building. And once again, made a beeline for the second floor, shooting at three people. One person killed, two injured. And Troy police do say that at least in his mind, maybe not on paper, maybe not overtly, but he did appear to have some sort of hit list in mind, because these three individuals were specifically targeted.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Again, that was Robin Simmons from our affiliate station WDIV, reporting there for us. And again, the suspect in this deadly office shooting has been caught.

NGUYEN: At this hour, Don Imus taking a lot of heat from Al Sharpton on his radio show. We listened to a little bit of that show a little bit earlier. Now we want to bring you some more clips.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

AL SHARPTON, RADIO HOST: What is any possible reason you could feel that this kind of statement could be just forgiven and overlooked?

DON IMUS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I don't think it should be. I don't think it can be. I think it can be forgiven, but I don't think it can be overlooked.

And I -- when I originally apologized on Friday, I didn't -- I apologized, and I didn't say what everybody says, you know, "If I offended somebody, I'm sorry," because I knew I offended somebody. So I apologized, but I didn't want to be portrayed as offering an excuse, saying what we have is a comedy show, which it is.

I'm not a journalist, I'm not Tim Russert, I'm not a politician. I don't have any -- we don't have an agenda. Our agenda is to try to be funny, and sometimes we go too far and sometimes we go way too far. In this case, we went way too far.

SHARPTON: Mr. Imus, do you think it's funny to call people "nappy-headed hos"?

IMUS: No, I don't.

SHARPTON: So, you thought it was funny Wednesday morning?

IMUS: I don't know if I thought it was funny or not, but we got -- it was a situation where we're sitting there rapping, see. And I'm saying I watched the game last night between Rutgers and Tennessee. And I had one of the sports casters say Rutgers is a lot tougher team, and I -- so I got on the air and I said, "Man, they are tough." I said, "They got tattoos."

And then somebody else said something. And then I said that. So -- and at the time I said it -- because I'm talking about two African- American teams. And at the time I said it, I didn't think -- I mean, I know -- I'm just telling you what I thought. I didn't think it was racial.

I wasn't even thinking racial. I was thinking like a "West Side Story" deal, like one team is tough, and one team is not so tough.

SHARPTON: Nappy is racial.

IMUS: Yes, sir, I understand that.

SHARPTON: Saying "wannabes" and "jigaboos" is racial.

IMUS: I did not say that. And that was said...

SHARPTON: You didn't argue with it, either. It was in the same conversation.

IMUS: No, sir, but that was presented in the context of the Spike Lee film.

SHARPTON: Again, this was -- in that film, with light-skinned blacks and dark-skinned blacks, that was what that was about. Which is what the analogy, I assume, was being raised in terms of the two teams with Tennessee and Rutgers.

IMUS: Well, we weren't really thinking about -- that's obvious. If we had been thinking about it, we wouldn't have said it.

SHARPTON: So we made all of these analogies -- let me get this right. You call these people "nappy-headed hos," but you wasn't talking racial when you said "nappy". "Jigaboos" and "wannabes," but you didn't understand what you were saying? You just - what are you saying, you blanked out?

IMUS: Well, no, I didn't -- No, no, I didn't -- don't tell me -- I didn't say I didn't understand what we were saying. I said I wasn't thinking that. Now, if somebody says "jigaboos" and "wannabes," then my frame of reference is a Spike Lee film.

SHARPTON: Correct, which was about light-skinned, black- skinned...

IMUS: I understand that. But I'm not thinking that it is a racial insult that's being -- that's being uttered at somebody at the time. I think it's in the -- in the process of this -- of this -- what we're trying to rap and be funny.

I mean, I understand it's not funny. I understand there's no excuse for it. I'm not pretending that there is. I wish I hadn't said it. I'm sorry I had it. But...

SHARPTON: All right. Now, let me ask you this, and then we can talk about the things that you want to talk about. If you realize that something must be done, why would you then feel that we are out of order to ask that you step aside?

IMUS: I didn't say that.

SHARPTON: Oh, you don't think we're out of order?

IMUS: No, sir.

SHARPTON: So you've come to sign your resignation today?

IMUS: No, I'm not signing anything.

SHARPTON: So what are you saying?

IMUS: I'm saying you have the right...

SHARPTON: If you wanted -- you want to determine what ought to happen even though you were the one that did the wrong?

IMUS: I didn't say that, either.

SHARPTON: OK.

IMUS: I said you have the right to say and do whatever you want to do. What I want you to do and everybody else, everybody who's calling me a racist, everybody's who calling my a bigot, everybody who says I don't know anything about him, I've heard people say, "I don't know what's in his heart, and I don't know -- I've never listened to his show, but I want him fired." That's an ill-informed decision.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Al Sharpton clearly asking for Don Imus' resignation following remarks that he made last week regarding the Rutgers women's basketball team.

Now, you can take from that what you will. We'll be hearing more from that radio show. We're also going to be hearing more from radio host Roland Martin as he weighs in on this.

HOLMES: Well, Iran is hitting back at reports it mistreated the 15 British sailors and marines it seized in the Persian Gulf last month. Iranian state TV says these images show they were held in comfort and enjoyed complete freedom. Of course, the Brits disagree. Some began selling their order deals to the media, a move that has caused the British government to reverse course today.

CNN Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance in London now for us with details.

Hello, Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, T.J., as well.

That's right, the British Ministry of Defense is reviewing its decision, it says, to allow soldiers, sailors, marines to sell their stories for profit to media organizations. There's been a mounting controversy in this country since it's been announced that there's been an exception made to the rules, and that people who were released by Iran, those 15 sailors and marines, can now use their experiences to make profit.

It's all been compounded by the fact that over the past 24 hours or so, Iranian state television has released new television pictures of the 15 during their captivity in which they looked like they're enjoying themselves.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE (voice over): These latest images of the British sailors and marines are only fueling controversy. Broadcast on Iranian television, they show the captured Britons together and relaxed, playing Ping-Pong, even laughing. It's clearly meant to contrast with their own accounts of rough treatment at Iranian hands.

Then now, revelations they're being allowed by the British Defense Ministry to profit from their experience by giving media interviews usually strictly banned.

BOB STEWART, FMR. BRITISH ARMY COMMANDER: It really does compare very badly against the six people that have died in the last week, against the Royal Marines who are currently fighting a very serious battle in Helmand Province in Afghanistan, and because, quite frankly, vast sections of the armed forces feel it's not fair.

CHANCE: There's been a strong reaction, too, from families of British service personnel who have died in combat. Fathers like Mike Aston, whose son Russell was killed in Iraq nearly four years ago.

MIKE ASTON, FATHER OF CORPORAL RUSSELL ASTON: I know how I felt three years, 10 months after the even watching the rejoicing. I couldn't watch it for a second time. Very upsetting. And now to find out that they can sell their story, it's tacky and it's sordid.

CHANCE: And it may be lucrative. Faye Turney, the only woman captive, singled out by the Iranians, is reported to agree to a six- figure sum for her story.

TURNEY: I was offered a lot of money for this kind of -- my story. I've taken -- I've not taken the biggest offer. I've gone down, because I wanted to speak to yourself, "The Sun," because I knew my point would get across.

I want everyone out there to know my story from my side, see what I went through. When it comes to money, the ship, HMS Cornwall, is getting a percentage of that money to go towards helping the personnel on that ship and their families.

CHANCE: Given what Faye Turney and her comrades went through, there are those who believe a little cash is justified.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's going to suffer for years to come, I suspect, because they were talking about -- you know, one time they thought they were going to be shot. They're going to have to live through those nightmares. And I think if it means it buys a holiday for her and her family, I have no problem with it.

CHANCE: The British Defense Ministry says it's allowing the interviews because of the exceptional media interest in the events, but the fact those embroiled in a less than glorious episode for the British military should get special treatment has riled the many whose tales of heroism and combat may never be told.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: T.J., there's a lot of criticism that's been directed against the British Ministry of Defense. What they say in their defense is that they believe this story was going to come out anyway because of the contacts between the individuals and the media, all their families, and so doing it this way, they say, at least they keep some control over what's said.

Back to you.

HOLMES: All right. And so what happens with them now? After all this settles down, will they be able to go back and continue to serve in the military? Do they even want to? Do we know?

CHANCE: Well, I don't think they've got any choice, quite frankly, T.J. They're being given two weeks compassionate leave to sort of recover from this emotional ordeal that they went through. Then the ship that they're attached to, the HMS Cornwall, is still on duty in the Persian Gulf in the Shatt al-Arab waterway. They're going to be deployed back there whether they like it or not.

HOLMES: All right.

Compassionate leave, that's one way to say it.

All right. Matthew Chance for us in London.

Thank you so much.

NGUYEN: Well, today is the fourth anniversary of the day U.S. forces took Baghdad, but these Iraqis are not celebrating. Thousands took to the streets in the holy city of Najaf to protest the American presence in a rally called by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Four years ago in Baghdad it was a far different picture. Remember this? A statue of Saddam Hussein was dragged down and jubilant Iraqis danced on it. Well, today there is a ban on all civilian vehicle traffic in the capital city.

Ten U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq over the weekend in fighting and attacks north and south of Baghdad. The deaths come as U.S. and Iraqi forces focus more intensely on the insurgent-heavy Diyala Province. The U.S. military death toll has now come to 3,280 since the invasion.

Depression, impotence, fatigue, it is hard enough living with those things in a normal world, much tougher in a war zone. But now more and more Iraqis are looking for an easy fix, and they are getting it.

What CNN's Kyra Phillips found out on the streets of Baghdad is going to astonish you. In fact, she joins us live to talk about it.

What did you find, Kyra?

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, I never expected to think that Iraqis would turn to these types of drugs, but what can I tell you? They're on the black market, they're smuggling them from hospitals, they're smuggling them from across the border. Just take a look at the impact that it's making on the people here to try and forget this war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice over): I have never seen anything like it, an armed national Iraqi policeman just walking into a pharmacy and buying this, Valium and cough syrup with codeine to get high, a combination pharmacist Osama Mohammed says Iraqis buy every day. "The demand just keeps getting greater," Osama says, "as the security situation gets worse. I know what my clients want just by looking at their faces."

Ibrahim Abdul-Aziz comes here for antidepressants. He says they make him feel less nervous. "I hear explosions while sitting in my house. We hear the bangs when we leave the house," Ibrahim tells me. "I just want relief from everything. Without them, I feel crazed."

Osama says the psychological effects of this war are overwhelming, so Iraqis pop pills. Valium and Prozac are favorites.

Osama says the violence is destroying men's sex drives, too. Viagra is now his hottest seller. "I sell more than 10 packets of Viagra a day, plus tonics to activate an erection," Osama tells me. "The psychological effects of the explosions, killing, and dead bodies are affecting everyone."

(on camera): Osama says his customers come in here every day for Viagra and/or antidepressants, and he monitors every single one of them, because he's concerned about overdose. That's why the black market is booming.

(voice over): Thirteen-year-old Hazim Salim says he's not only top of his class, but he's the top Viagra vendor in the neighborhood. When asked, "Who taught you about these medicines?" Hazim says, "I taught myself."

Hazim sells a packet of Viagra for a dollar. It costs twice that in the pharmacy. Most of these vendors tell me they get these medicines from smugglers.

You can find a pill for almost every ailment -- diabetes, bone disease, stomach pain. There's antibiotics, painkillers, even vitamins. Strike a deal and you get your drug.

"We come here," this man tells me, "because we get things we can't get in a pharmacy. It's easy."

An easy fix for temporary moments of peace in a war zone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And Betty, just working that story, I realized, you know, what the Iraqis and even the Iraqi policemen are up against just dealing with all the violence and the chaos. And now they're turning to these drugs, whether it be on the black market or on the pharmacy.

So I contacted the interior minister, the individual that is in charge of all Iraqi police, and I said, "Look, this is what I discovered. Your men in uniform are turning to pills like Valium and cough syrup to try and deal with what's happening on your streets. What are you going to do about it?"

And this is what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: "We want to fight these activities. They're very dangerous materials which affect the health of the human, and when we get reports of our policemen using drugs, we investigate. We're trying to find solution to these problems and to the addictions."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And, of course, I asked him, "Do you even have drug testing for your men and women in uniform?" No, they don't.

Basically, this is what you're dealing with in Iraq. I mean, they're very much behind the times. As they try to pursue this different life, this democracy, these newfound freedoms, this is something else they're going to have to deal with.

When you have drugs being smuggled in, you're getting them from hospitals, and it's free access, basically, at a very low price to feel some type of relief from what they have to deal with. Now the interior minister having to take on a whole other issue, and that's not only dealing with the infiltration of bad guys on the police force, but he's having to deal with drug addiction.

So, we'll see. We'll follow up in a couple months and see if indeed they try to attempt to do drug testing.

NGUYEN: I'll tell you what, this story has just floored us, not only the fact that the police are getting these drugs and there's no drug testing, but the fact there was just a child there selling Viagra. He was the top Viagra seller in his neighborhood and he was just a little boy. It is really astonishing.

Thank you, Kyra. We appreciate the report. HOLMES: Well, he says he was just trying to be funny. You would be hard-pressed to find anybody that's laughing about it now, including Don Imus himself.

Coming up, radio veteran Roland Martin joins us for more on the comments and the controversy.

NGUYEN: Also, three shootings, two deaths, and one suspect. Police fan out in several states looking for other possible victims in a bizarre case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Will racist words kill the radio star? Or will Don Imus escape unscathed and maybe with higher ratings from his latest controversial comments? Under increasing fire, Imus has launched a P.R. offensive in an attempt to recover from this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IMUS: Awesome, rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they've got tattoos and some hard-core hos. That's some nappy-headed hos there, I'm going to tell you that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: After initially dismissing it as "some idiot comment meant to be amusing," Imus is now in full grovel mode. And he's appearing this hour on Al Sharpton's radio show and gave this explanation...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IMUS: I'm not thinking that it is a racial insult that's being -- that's being uttered at somebody. At the time I think it's in the -- in the process of this -- what we're trying to rap and be funny. I mean, I understand it's not funny, I understand there's no excuse for it. I'm not pretending there is.

I wish I hadn't said it. I'm sorry I said it.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right. He's sorry, but is that enough? And will Don Imus' career suffer any serious damage?

Joining us now with some insight, CNN contributor and popular radio host himself, Roland Martin.

Roland, always good to see you.

ROLAND MARTIN, RADIO HOST: Likewise.

HOLMES: Let's start with the comment he made to Al Sharpton, saying, hey, people that are calling me a racist and a bigot and have never heard my show, they shouldn't do that. They should listen to my show first and get an idea of who I am.

Does he -- should he expect and does he deserve to be called a racist given what he said about this Rutgers team?

MARTIN: Well, first and foremost, you have to expand what Imus said. This was not the first time that he or those around him have made what is perceived as racist comments.

His sidekick, Sid Rosenberg, once said that Venus and Serena Williams, you'll never see them posing in "Playboy" -- likely in "National Geographic". Called them animals.

One of his folks referred to outstanding journalist Gwen Ifill as a cleaning lady. They also called Bill Roten (ph) of "The New York Times," a sports columnist there, a quota hire.

So it is not as if this is an isolated incident. That's why you see the level of reaction in this story, because there have been other examples of Imus and his cronies making racist, but more importantly, sexist comments.

HOLMES: Now, does this one in particular stand out from those other ones? Is this one, like, OK, that's the last straw, or is this pretty much in line, just as bad, or maybe not any worse than the other ones he's made?

MARTIN: T.J., the context is different. And let me give you an understanding here.

NBC, "Today" show; ABC, "Good Morning America"; CBS, "The Early Show"; FOX News Channel, "FOX and Friends"; CNN, "AMERICAN MORNING"; MSBNC, Don Imus.

HOLMES: Don Imus.

MARTIN: Don Imus is no longer a shock jock. Don Imus is now a respected media figure.

Yes, he is not a journalist. But when you have presidential candidates, when you have U.S. senators, when you have members of Congress, when you have elite journalists, when you have people like that appearing on his show, he's now in a different standard.

When he was a shock jock, he wasn't hosting the White House correspondents Dinner. When he became part of this particular elite media, in terms of being one of the top shows where folks go to, then he began to host it.

You don't see these people going on Howard Stern's show. You see them going on Don Imus' show. So it's a different standard he is now operating from. He is no longer just a shock jock, he is now part of this major media landscape.

HOLMES: Well, something that's being talked about a little bit now -- and you tell me -- if a black radio host had said the exact same thing, would the story be the same today? Would this even be a story today?

MARTIN: If a black radio host who was like Opie and Anthony or Mancow or one of these grown folks acting like a 12-year-old, the answer would be no. But if Tom Joyner -- if Tom Joyner, who speaks to eight million people a week, who has similar politicians on his show, if he had made such a comment, you would indeed see criticism.

Imus is in a different place. Tom Joyner's show is a 120 stations across the country. Imus is on 70 stations, but also he's on a cable news network. Again, it's a different standard.

Now, you have people out there who are also saying, well, rappers make these comments. And they're absolutely right, and I've talked about them like a dog on this network, in my syndicated column, on WVON, my radio show in Chicago, everywhere. But here's the difference. You do not have rappers sitting with people who want to be president. You do not have rappers sitting with people who are serving as members of the United States Senate.

I am not excusing what they say, I've been highly critical of what they say, but I'm equally critical of him. And this is not a question of either/or. It's and.

HOLMES: So, Roland, what do you say about those folks, those politicians, those presidential candidates who love going on the Don Imus show? What are they -- what are they supposed to do now? Do they have a choice? Or will they definitely be criticized and deserve to be criticized if they continue to go on that show?

MARTIN: Wait a minute. John Edwards just pulled out of a debate that the Democrats were going to host on FOX. The Democrats didn't cancel it.

The Congressional Black Caucus, they're going to hold a debate on the network, as well as CNN. He said, I'm not participating in the one that's going to air on that network.

Now, you tell me, if they have enough sense to appear on those type of shows they deem to be biased, why would you go on this show? What you're doing is you're aiding and abetting. You're participating.

And there's no way in the world that somebody could sit here and accept it or justify it. We have to understand it's a different standard -- understand the context.

HOLMES: Yes.

MARTIN: Imus has made the comments before, and he has to pay the price. And MSNBC is making a ton of money off this show, so the excuse of, well, we don't produce it simply does not fly.

HOLMES: All right. And you told me you don't think he's going to lose his job over this, right?

MARTIN: I don't think he's going to lose his job, but somebody is going to get fired over it, and somebody is going to have to pay for it, because it's not going to go away.

HOLMES: It just won't be him.

All right. Roland Martin for us.

And again, I guess we should ask, what would Jesus really do to Don Imus, fresh off your special?

MARTIN: He would lay hands on him.

HOLMES: He would lay hands on him.

All right. Roland, good to see you, as always, man.

MARTIN: Thank you, T.J.

HOLMES: And we want to know what you folks out there think about this. Should Don Imus' apology be enough to end this controversy over those comments? Take part in our "Quick Vote" at CNN.com.

The results so far, 55 percent of you saying that the apology should not -- is not enough to end the controversy, 45 percent saying no.

NGUYEN: Well, a century of you? That's right, some people think supplements will get you there to that 100 mark. Before you swallow the story, though, you'll want to check in with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He is next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: He's accused of killing two men and shooting a third. Now police say his bizarre murder spree took him thousands of miles across a half dozen Western states. The gentleman we're talking about is not that same gentleman we're showing to you on the screen, however we'll get into the story and talk about what exactly the motive was. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: We're going to have both of those stories in a moment, but first every day you make small, but important, decisions that could add or subtract years from your life, so to help you make the right choices we're launching a five part series called "Chasing Life." It's the title of a new book by our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

And he joins us now with more. This is the key to living longer, Sanjay.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every morning Dr. Frank Pinto pops not one supplement, not two, not three, not even four, but 25 different pills, from alpha lipoic acid to Zinc. Dr. Pinto is a dermatologist in Tifton, Georgia. His wife Rosemary is a family therapist. ROSEMARY PINTO, SUPPLEMENT USER: It is really important to me to stay young. I am six years older than my husband so I feel a responsibility to stay young physically, emotional, mentally.

DR. FRANK PINTO, SUPPLEMENT USER: There's no way to halt the aging process, it's going to happen. People like myself and Rosemary that embark on a program like this, I think we all want to age gracefully.

GUPTA: They try to eat well, they exercise, and when afternoon rolls around, more pills.

All told, the Pintos each swallow more than 40 different supplements every day. You could say it's a leap of faith.

The federal government says Americans spend several billion dollars a year on dietary supplements, and yet the National Institute on Aging doesn't specifically recommend any supplement. Here are just two examples from the "Journal of the American Medical Association."

Does ginkgo help memory? Probably not. Echinacea to fight colds doesn't work. You've heard of antioxidants. People who eats lots of fruits and vegetables that are rich in antioxidants are less likely to get cancer, and they tend to live longer, but one recent study found that taken antioxidants like vitamin A and E in pill form might actually be harmful. Studies have shown that a good diet, not pills is the safest and best way to stay healthy. Frank Pinto agrees.

F. PINTO: If you don't eat properly and you don't get any exercise, taking all the supplements is kind of a waste.

GUPTA: But he's not about to give up the pills.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (on camera): Now, the Pintos have been at this routine, Betty, for about a year. Their hope is they won't get weighed down with the medical problems people face in older age. There's a big uncertainty, though, and one that's hard to solve right now, as to whether this is going to provide any benefit whatsoever. A lot of the data, Betty, says it doesn't, yet people spend billions of dollars on this every year.

NGUYEN: Here's my question to you, Sanjay, 40 different supplements, that sounds like a whole lot. Are they safe at that amount?

GUPTA: Well, there's been a couple studies. For a long time the philosophy was, look, it probably isn't going to hurt you, might help you, why not? If you ask people, that's how you could sort of boil it do you the rationale for taking it.

Now we're starting to see that at least some of the supplements in higher doses not only do not provide any help, they might actually hurt you. Megadosing of things, like Andrew Weil, who I interviewed for the book and for the documentary, used to say megadose vitamin C, you still hear a lot of people talk about that, even he has backed away from that, saying megadosing of vitamin C doesn't make a difference. So hard to say exactly what the interplay of all these supplements is going to be, but there's not a lot of data on it, which is a problem, Betty.

NGUYEN: That is a problem. I take a multivitamin. That is about it. What about you, do you take any supplements?

GUPTA: I take a multivitamin as well, mainly to sort of make up for gaps in my diet. I do, I think I've told you this, I try and eat seven different colored foods a day. Everyone I've talked to said if you're doing that, you're probably getting all the supplements and antioxidants you need in your diet.

I also take fish oils, omega-3 fatty acids. I have a concern about heart disease in my family. There does seem to be some benefit from that, but that's it, and that's certainly not 40 supplements.

NGUYEN: No. That's a long ways from 40. So tell us, Sanjay, why did you write this book and why did you write it now?

GUPTA: I think we're at a really critical point in our medical history here. For a long time, I think there was a backlash against conventional medicine, which I think is too bad, but there was this sort of seeking out of alternative medicines, because people were dissatisfied with conventional medicine.

I think where we are now is we're able to take a critical, evidence-based scientific look at what things actually work in the alternative world, in the supplement world, and there are some things that work. Antioxidants in food form, for example, do provide significant benefit, but gingko, no benefit. Echinacea, no benefit. Vitamin A and E, not only not helpful, but potentially harmful.

So we're really starting to be able to add some science to all of this. It's a true integrative approach, I think, and everything in the book and the documentary you could hang your hat on. I've researched it for over a year, Betty.

NGUYEN: This is really great stuff because a lot of those things you just named, people will really hang their hats on that, and they truly believe that does work, but according to this evidence they apparently don't.

Your "Chasing Life" series continues tomorrow. What are we going to learn then?

GUPTA: Well, Betty, there's a diet out there, which is actually the only proven diet to extend life. It's amazing. People have been doing it all over the world. I'm not going to tell you what it is now. You have to tune in tomorrow ...

NGUYEN: Oh, there you go.

GUPTA: But there's the teaser. It is something that's being studied quite extensively. I'll have the whole story tomorrow. NGUYEN: Well, I'll be watching, that's for sure. So will our viewers.

Thank you, Sanjay.

GUPTA: Thank you.

NGUYEN: And the book again is "Chasing Life." It is on sale now. And you can catch all of Sanjay's hour-long CNN special also called "Chasing Life" this Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

And I want to let you know you can actually win an autographed copy of Sanjay's book, all you have to do is go to cnn.com/chasinglife, but you have got to beat T.J. to it.

HOLMES: All right. I am getting to it, Betty.

All right. We need to tell you about this story coming to us. A strange one, really, about three shootings, two of those were deaths, and now we have one suspect the police are looking for. They're fanning out in several states, looking for other possible victims as well. Strange story here we need to tell you about. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, I need to tell you now that we are expecting a news conference coming to us at the top of the hour about this workplace shooting that took place in Troy, Michigan, which is just north of Detroit, where at least one person was killed, two others wounded, when a man walked into an office building, walked into an office where police say he worked just a short time ago, and is not working there now and went back into this office, and it appears he targeted people in that office. Again, at least one person dead, two injured.

Police say they do have their suspect, though, in custody, Anthony LaCalamita, they say they did find him about an hour north of the shooting scene. Found the vehicle he was alleged to be riding in, and found him as well. They say they do have him in custody but expecting more details to come at the top of the hour on this suspect.

Meanwhile, to another really bizarre story about a suspect who is locked up now, but the investigation just beginning. Twenty-one year old John Joseph Delling is suspected in fatally shooting two men and critically wounding another. Two men were classmates of Delling at Timberline High School in Boise, Idaho. The third went to school in the same area. Now police are looking for a motive, and the mother of the surviving victim, she is looking for answers as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALLY THOMPSON, JACOB THOMPSON'S MOTHER: He knew the name and remembered him as a Timberline student, and that's all. He wouldn't have been able to put a face with him. He doesn't recall any interaction specifically with John Delling. It's bizarre. VERONICAL DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jacob Thompson may not remember John Joseph Delling from high school but he says he recognized him in a photo lineup as a man that lured him out of the his home in Tucson, Arizona on March 20th and shot him in the face, neck and arm.

Delling isn't talking, but police are. They say Delling killed another classmate, David Boss, on Marc 31st in Moscow, Idaho. Then on April 2nd, police believe Delling shot and killed 25 year old Bradley Morris as he was leaving work. His body was found in a pond close to his job site. Morris attended high school near Boise around the same time as the other three, but he didn't go to Timberline.

SHERIFF GARY RANEY, ADA COUNTY, IDAHO: Often crimes are a matter of who did it, it's not so much a who did it, but why he did it. To give you just an overview, in the month of March, Mr. Delling traveled over 6,500 miles in the Western states of the U.S., most of it with no apparent reason.

DE LA CRUZ: Police believe Delling would drive more than 500 miles in a day only to turn around and head elsewhere. He was arrested Tuesday in Sparks, Nevada driving Morris' car and carrying a gun. Delling has waived extradition, and as soon as Tuesday he could be send to Idaho to face murder charges, but police want to know, are there more victims out there?

RANEY: He had to eat, he had to sleep, he had to stop and get gas, he had to talk to people, and we believe those people can help.

DE LA CRUZ: Veronica De la Cruz, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And if you have any information related to this case, you can get in touch with the Ada County Sheriff's Department at www.adasheriff.org or you can call 208-577-3000.

Well, this is the Tucson, Arizona neighborhood, where Jacob Thompson was shot. He managed to survive despite getting hit in the face, chest and arm. Thompson is still in pain and recovering, but he managed to recount that terrifying day to CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACOB THOMPSON, SHOOTING SURVIVOR: I was woke up around about 1:30 by my roommate, who said there was someone outside complaining about my truck being in the way and that it needed to be moved. At that time we kind of hung out in the living room and listened outside for a while. When the commotion died down, we went outside with some flashlights and looked around.

No one was out there, and I decided that I was going to move my truck just in case someone did come back, so that it wouldn't get vandalized. I was going to put it in the garage.

And as I was moving it, I was going around the block, I noticed a person on a bike, drove up to that person, and asked them if they were the person that was in front of my house. The person on the bike then rode to the back of my truck, came back up to the driver's side window, and started shooting through the window.

The only thing that I remember really is the first shot, and then I woke up -- I'm not sure how much long later -- to realize I was in pretty bad shape. I'd been reclined to my chair in my truck, started honking the horn, hoping that somebody would or had already called 911.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And again, if you have any information related to this case, you can get in touch with the county sheriff out there in Idaho. That department's Web site is www.adasheriff.org or you can call 208- 577-3000.

NGUYEN: Check this out, flying low to fight a chill. It is man versus nature, ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: It is 2:49 Eastern. Here are three of the stories that we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM this hour.

In custody, Detroit area police have caught the suspect in a deadly shooting in an office building. One person was killed, two others were wounded.

The suspect used to work in that building, and we are expecting more details at a police news conference that should take place in just a few minutes.

Also, President Bush renewing his call for immigration reform on a visit to an Arizona border post. Last year his fellow Republicans opposed his plan for a guest worker program.

Plus it's a case that drew national headlines, jury selection is under way in Tennessee for Mary Winkler, accused of killing her minister husband with a shotgun. Remember this story? Well, about 160 potential jurors are on hand.

HOLMES: Well, a winter wonderland. That would be great if it was winter. Our Reggie Aqui is in Ohio where snow in the springtime, well, that just ain't right.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REGGIE AQUI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Along main street here, you can see how much snow has accumulated by looking at the top of some of the cars, especially the cars of people who aren't originally from here. That's a Florida car there. You can see he hasn't cleared off the top of that car yet.

Luckily the streets are clear after three days of snow, this is all lake-effect snow coming off of Lake Erie. Now this is an area that's very much used to getting a lot of snow, but not this much snow this late in the season. You can see right behind me, where on Saturday they're they were supposed to have an Easter egg hunt. Usually they hide it in the grass but this Saturday they had to hide it just by throwing the eggs into the snow.

The kids apparently enjoyed it. They parents? Well, not so much. Some of their games have really been interrupted. We're talking about the game of baseball. The Cleveland Indians were supposed to open up at home on Friday. That got canceled. We're told that some folks waited eight hours for that game to resume, and it never did.

They are going to try and do a double header later tonight and they are even considering possible playing some of the rest of their games they're supposed to play this week in Los Angeles, where hopefully there's absolutely no chance of snow.

It's a holiday a lot of families in this area won't seen forget, the Easter that looked more like Christmas. Reggie Aqui, CNN, Chardon, Ohio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Well, it was cold enough to snow in a lot of places and that had a lot of fruit growers worried. One peach orchard in Tulsa, Oklahoma used a helicopters to try to save its crop. The chopper circled the trees during the coldest part of the night. As the pilot explained it, the downdraft from the rotor blades pushes the rising warm air back onto the trees. So now you know.

All right. Jacqui Jeras, she is joining us now. And the big question is, what in the world is going on? This is supposed to be spring, Jacqui.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: More winter in spring. Thanks, Jacqui. We're loving it.

HOLMES: Well, take a look here, an unbelievably brutal crash leaves two people clinging to life, but one passenger that was in that vehicle walked away.

NGUYEN: No way.

HOLMES: We'll tell you what made the difference here.

NGUYEN: Wow.

HOLMES: That's coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: OK. Call this a very powerful lesson on why it's important to buckle up. That twisted wreckage you're seeing here, all that remains after car that slammed into a tractor trailer in Florida. One passenger walked away with minor cuts and scrapes.

NGUYEN: That is amazing.

HOLMES: That person, Betty, was the only person in the car that was wearing a seat belt.

NGUYEN: Buckle up.

HOLMES: The driver and another passenger were critically hurt. Police say the accident happened after a night of partying near the University of Central Florida.

NGUYEN: Well, a workplace shooting, one person dead, two critically wounded and a former employee is in custody. We are standing by for a live news conference right here in THE NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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