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John Evander Couey Sentenced to Death For Lunsford Murder; Former NASA Astronaut Lisa Nowak Speaks Out

Aired August 24, 2007 - 15:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

LEMON: And as you have just heard, convicted child killer John Couey is condemned to death for the kidnapping, rape and murder of 9- year-old Jessica Lunsford.

With that story for us, live from Miami, CNN's Susan Candiotti -- Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Don.

And the judge making some very powerful comments here as he sentenced John Evander Couey. Couey showed absolutely no reaction. The judge called Couey's actions determined and savage. He used this phrase, that he said -- quote -- "Civil society recoils about what this little girl went through."

He called Couey's actions heinous, atrocious and cruel. He said that Couey's actions -- quote -- "crushed the very life and breath from this little girl."

And, before Couey was sentenced, the judge sent into great detail, horrific detail, about what happened to little Jessica Lunsford, and perhaps some of this bears repeating. The judge did this in order to prove to the court aggravating circumstances under which this little girl was killed.

He reminded everyone that Couey dug a hole, got a rake, obtained garbage bags, then convinced and coaxed this little girl to get inside the garbage bag, because he said he told the little girl that he would take her back home to her father if she got inside the bag. He just didn't want anyone to see him returning her back home.

But, instead, he tied up the bag at both ends, and then he reminded the court of the evidence in this case, that this little girl poked two of her little fingers through the garbage bags in order to try to escape, and that she suffocated to death, death taking anywhere, the judge said, from 1.5 to eight minutes before she died.

Again, the judge had to put this into the record because under Florida law, in order to qualify for the death sentence, certain conditions have to be met. And part of that involves aggravating circumstances. And this, the judge said, certainly qualifies to that end.

In court, as this description was being made by the judge, Mark Lunsford, Jessica's father, stared hard in the direction of John Couey as he sat there between his defense lawyers, Mark Lunsford's eyes filling up with tears as the details of his daughter's death once again were being played out in court.

He did say before this part of the hearing began that he wanted John Couey to be sentenced to death. He did that during a hearing that took place last month -- Don.

LEMON: All right, CNN's Susan Candiotti -- thank you, Susan.

WHITFIELD: Another big case we have been following, a plea agreement filed today in the Michael Vick dogfighting case in Virginia. The star NFL quarterback pleading guilty to a charge of conspiracy involving dogfighting and admitting to taking part in the killing of underperforming dogs. Vick also agrees to cooperate in ongoing investigations.

For their part, prosecutors agreed to recommend the sentence at the low end of federal guidelines. Vick still is looking at prison, however. His formal guilty plea to the single conspiracy count comes Monday in federal court in Richmond.

LEMON: And out of nowhere, the sky just went black. That's how one woman describes what happened in Chicago when a sudden storm hit the city last night and heavy rain and 70-mile-an-hour wind gusts. Well, streets were flooded and blocked by falling trees and branches. The storm also grounded flights at Chicago's busy airports; 40 people were hurt when a roof collapsed at an industrial building in west Chicago.

And sanitary workers were forced to release raw sewage right into Lake Michigan. Federal officials will add up the damages in Wisconsin today from this week's flood. This has been the wettest month in recorded history in several Badger State cities.

CNN's Jim Acosta is in Silver Lake in southeastern, Wisconsin, for us -- Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Don.

I don't know if you can tell by looking at this shot here, but the sun is coming out and the floodwaters in this town in Silver Lake, William Schneider, are starting to recede, and that's a welcome sight for people in this hard-hit area.

And as these floodwaters are receding, we are starting to hear some just heartbreaking stories from homeowners and residents in this area, people who had lined up sandbags in front of their homes to no avail and even people who were planning on purchasing this homes, like this woman right here.

This is Lilly Brown (ph).

And, Lilly, you were just telling us before we went on here that you were planning on closing on this home next month.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

ACOSTA: What's going to happen?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not quite sure what's going to happen right now. This is the first home I have ever tried to purchase. And it's a little disheartening at the moment. I have water under the crawlspace. I have water in the garage.

ACOSTA: You don't typically have a water view here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I didn't purchase lakefront property.

(LAUGHTER)

ACOSTA: But that's what you got.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's what I have got. I have got fish jumping out of the water here. We can fish off the porch if we wanted to.

It's not what I banked on. I love the home. It's a beautiful home. I'm just not quite sure what I'm going to do at this point.

ACOSTA: And how are you neighbors holding up? I imagine that not everyone is in your particular situation. But there are other folks who are dealing with other difficulties.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, they are. And I feel so sorry for them. My heart goes out to the people whose homes are underwater. I'm lucky enough not to be completely underwater yet. I'm hoping that the rain doesn't come anymore.

ACOSTA: Well, Lilly Brown, thank you very much. And good luck to you and your family. We appreciate it very much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, thank you.

ACOSTA: And it's not just people in Wisconsin. Folks down in Illinois, who are downriver from where we're standing, they are waiting to see what happens as these waters move their way. The floodwaters at this point are 15 feet, almost 15 feet above (AUDIO GAP) levels, and that's not what they want to see down in Illinois in the Chicago area -- Don.

LEMON: Absolutely. Jim, and tell -- our heart goes out to Lilly Brown. If she hasn't signed the papers, tell her she doesn't have to close on that house, because it's not what she signed up for.

We certainly wish them well.

Jim Acosta, thank you.

CNN I-Reporters have been out in force during this stormy time. Albert Cansino sent these photos of a car crushed by a tree. He's a police officer in Aurora, Illinois. Look at that. Man. Luckily, he says, no one was hurt in that car.

I-Reporter Chris Niken (ph) was trying to get home in a mess of a rush hour late yesterday in Chicago. This was part of the problem, another downed tree.

In waterlogged Findlay, Ohio, it's time to mop up after days of rain turned roads into river. These pictures from I-Reporter Scott Cortad (ph) show the worst flooding there in almost a century.

WHITFIELD: Flooding and mudslides also in central Mexico, triggered by rains leftover from Hurricane Dean. The fast-moving storm killed at least eight people when it slammed into that country twice. Sugarcane and corn crops were destroyed and so were mango orchards.

But President Felipe Calderon says, for the most part, Mexico was pretty lucky. Its major cities and offshore oil rigs were spared. And most people heeded warnings to evacuate their homes, actually.

Now clearing the way to rebuild along the southwest coast of Peru. A huge cleanup is under way there in Pisco. A powerful earthquake nine days ago destroyed 80 percent of the city. At least 540 people were killed, more than 100 hurt. And 200,000 are left homeless.

Many now are huddling in makeshift tents, pretty miserable. They are depending entirely on help from relief agencies.

LEMON: And the families of those six missing Utah miners are waiting for a miracle. A spokesman admits the families have lost some hope, but says they're still looking to the weekend when a sixth and final borehole should reach the area where the miners were working.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SONNY OLSEN, FAMILIES' SPOKESPERSON: We hope that our loved ones survived the accident and are awaiting rescue. We know that the odds are stacked against them. But miracles happen. We will not give up hope until the very end.

If our loved ones cannot be rescued, we will accept no less than have our loved ones come home to us. If it's humanly possible, they deserve to be here with us, and not in that mountain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, the six miners have not been heard from since August 6. Tonight, a benefit is planned to raise money to drill a hole big enough for a rescue capsule. Some families have demanded that option, but federal experts say it's too risky without confirmation someone's alive.

WHITFIELD: Three British soldiers die in Afghanistan, and what's worse, they may have been killed accidentally by an American bomb. It happened yesterday in southern Afghanistan, not far from Kandahar. The British military says a patrol was attacked by suspected Taliban gunmen. They called in air support and three Brits were killed in the explosions that followed; 73 British troops now have been killed in Afghanistan since 2001.

LEMON: Well, it has been two-and-a-half years since his daughter was kidnapped, raped and killed. Today, Mark Lunsford finally learned what will happen to the man who did it. We will speak to Mark Lunsford, live, straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: And victims of a war that was never actually fought. Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, Kazakhstan was a Cold War testing ground. Many of its people are still paying the nuclear price.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Twelve past the hour. Here are three of the stories we're working on for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Atlanta falcons quarterback Michael Vick has submitted a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy in connection with dogfighting. In a statement included with his plea agreement, Vick admitted participating in the killing of dogs and in a business that involved illegal gambling.

The man convicted of murdering 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford has been sentenced to death. John Evander Couey looked straight ahead as the sentence was pronounced.

And disgraced former astronaut Lisa Nowak today asked a judge to let her get rid of her electronic ankle bracelet. Nowak has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from her bizarre confrontation with a romantic rival last February.

WHITFIELD: Now a tragic story of a place where the Cold War continues. For most of the world, it ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

But for the region in Kazakhstan where the Russians tested nuclear weapons, the story now from CNN's Matthew Chance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): They're the abandoned children of Kazakhstan's nuclear zone, twisted by genetic disorders blamed on this country's terrifying atomic past.

The doctor at this orphanage told me decades of Soviet nuclear testing unleashed a plague of birth defects. For more than 10 years the detonations were above ground and contamination from hundreds of Cold War era explosions keeps on killing.

(On camera): When the Soviet Union tested its nuclear devices it chose one of its remotest, most desolate areas. But there were still people living here. Today in villages like this one, close to the testing zone, many are feeling the terrible effects.

(Voice over): Seriq Kaisha is 62 years old and remembers watching the mushroom clouds as a child.

"We were very frightened, she told me, because the windows in our house would blow out and the walls would shake. My parents both died of cancer and my own son is handicapped, she says.

And Seriq Kaisha isn't alone. Almost every family in her village, 20 miles from the old test site, is affected. I was introduced to Biken by a local doctor, one of the few residents who agreed to be interviewed. She was born in 1951, two years after the nuclear testing began.

Her facial disfigurement, she says, has left her in despair.

"If only there had been no bombs. I could have been equal to everyone else," she says. "My youngest daughter looks like me, too. I worry about her future more than anything."

The problem of defects is so big, there's even a museum of mutations at the regional medical institute. Doctors say jar upon jar of preserved fetuses tell this region's real-life horror story.

TOLEDAE RAKHIPBEKOV, RECTOR, SEMEY MEDICAL INSTITUTE (through translator): You could call these children, and others effected, victims of the Cold War. Kazakhstan has refused nuclear ambitions now because of experienced 40 years of this war. No where else were there so many nuclear tests.

CHANCE: And no where else are so many Cold War casualties still inflicted.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Semey, in Kazakhstan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: It has been two-and-a-half years since his daughter was kidnapped, raped and killed today. Today, Mark Lunsford finally learned what will happen to the man who did it. We will speak to Mark Lunsford live straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: And also in court today, this former NASA astronaut, Lisa Nowak, well, apparently now she is going to be releasing a statement in some format. And we will bring that to you as soon as we get it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

LISA NOWAK, DEFENDANT: ... their families, and, in general, practicing a tabloid approach to this coverage.

I have also received many media requests presented as offers to help me and tell my side of the story. And while it may be that some of these are sincere, I do not see any possible way that additional exposure can help anyone involved. Therefore, at this time, I have no plans to further discuss this unfortunate episode in a public forum. One thing that has surprised me throughout these months has been the number of people whose generosity, insight, and support, and motivation has come shining through this cloudy time.

The hundreds of people who wrote me personal letters, I have read and kept every single one. To friends who visited me, despite the media harassment and who openly support me, the new co-workers who welcomed me with open arms and genuine enthusiasm, they told me, you're on our team now.

My family members have stood by me from the first moment with unconditional love. It would have been very easy for me to permanently retreat into a world of personal sorrow, but my family and friends have given me a greater view about what is important in our lives.

So, even though life may change suddenly and drastically, there can be a lot of good yet to be accomplished. I don't know yet how to do that, or if the final outcome of this case will allow it, but I do know that I have these amazing people to thank for making any future possible.

Finally, I look forward to (INAUDIBLE) and closure for everyone.

Thank you.

LEMON: All right, that was Lisa Nowak speaking. It was a pretrial hearing motions and other things going on in her case. Also, she was asking that the ankle bracelet she's wearing be removed because it was uncomfortable.

Colleen Shipman, who is one of the people that she's accused of harassing, said she didn't want the bracelet to be removed. So, Lisa Nowak saying she's sorry to Colleen Shipman. And she is shocked at the media coverage by all this, and then apologized to her neighbors and her family members for putting them through all of this -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: It's been an emotional time for the Lunsford family as well, but on a whole different scale.

Right now, Mark Lunsford, who is addressing cameras there and reporters there outside the courthouse there hearing the sentencing of the death penalty imposed against John Couey, the man who murdered Mark Lunsford's daughter.

Let's listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

QUESTION: Mark, You heard a lot of graphic testimony at trial, but today you had the judge just go through everything in the case when he finally sentenced him to death. What was that like to have to listen to that again?

MARK LUNSFORD, FATHER OF JESSICA LUNSFORD: It's never easy. I mean, it's never -- it's not going to get any easier.

It's the same story I tell when I testify in other states. But I'll break my own heart 100 times if it will save one child.

QUESTION: Mark, it's the question a lot of us think at home who are watching this around the country and are afraid to ask, but I got to ask it. You're sitting 20 feet away from the man who savagely murdered your daughter. How do you hold yourself up?

LUNSFORD: I get between an FBI agent and a detective.

(LAUGHTER)

LUNSFORD: You know, and I seen on TV, you know, not just long ago where a parent become outraged in the courtroom. Marc Klaas did it. And more power to you. I wished you could have got more of him.

But I through this whole thing have told people that you can't do things like that. It's not that I didn't want to. It's because I told you we couldn't.

QUESTION: Mark, even with minimal appeals, there's a pretty good chance that Couey's going to be in prison a long time before this gets -- before the actual sentence gets imposed.

Is there ever a time where you would want to try and talk to him in prison?

LUNSFORD: Not so much to him, but I do plan to make a visit to the governor and the Supreme Courts.

Florida's lost a lot of children in the last few years to these kind of crimes. There's nothing wrong with this state. But don't you think that we need to send the message across America that Florida's not going to tolerate these kind of crimes, that we will find a way to put an express lane in, and when you commit premeditated murder against a child, that you pay for it immediately?

This is a safe state. This is a good place to visit. It's a great place to tour and have vacations. I think it should be first in line in punishing those that hurt children.

QUESTION: Mark, you mentioned that you don't plan to visit Starke to talk to John Couey. Do you plan to visit Starke on execution day?

LUNSFORD: Oh, yes. I'm actually going to apply for the job.

(LAUGHTER)

LUNSFORD: I will miss on purpose.

I make jokes, and I know that some people don't understand that. But, if I don't joke -- make jokes, then all I'll do is cry. We have got to -- Florida legislators have done a lot for kids since this. But it's not enough. It's not enough, not when you tell our prosecutors they need to make cuts by 4 percent. You are wrong.

If anything, you should be giving them all increases, so that we can get more of these convictions. Child advocacy centers, we need one here in Citrus County. And we can have one. Child advocacies have a very high prosecution rate. And that's why it's so important. But that's up to the people.

Get involved. There's something all -- all of us can do. We need a child advocacy center. Our prosecutors and our law enforcement need the tools and the money that they need. Give it to them. Election time's not far, fellows.

QUESTION: How will you sleep tonight?

LUNSFORD: Probably on my side on a pillow. How will you sleep tonight?

(LAUGHTER)

LUNSFORD: I'm sorry, man.

(LAUGHTER)

LUNSFORD: Sleep, I don't think so, man. I -- I have to do this, because there's a little girl out there and a few other people that knows what that means.

I'm still rubbing. That means I love them a lot. I love all my kids, Gerald and Josh, Elizabeth.

You guys, it's been so hard on you. But your sister ain't far. And we will -- I guess I'll sleep better at night when I know that Florida legislators and our governor and our attorney general is giving our law enforcement and prosecutors what they need. These are not the people to make cuts on.

You want to make cuts, do it to DCF. I got a whole list of reasons why, Ms. Kiper (ph).

Anyway, I did not say that.

(LAUGHTER)

LUNSFORD: What the heck.

But that's -- that's the main thing. You know, we have all seen justice. We have seen how the system prevails. I'm happy about it. I'm thrilled about it. But I still -- I still have to deliver the same message. There's a lot of kids out there that survive these kind of crimes that do not receive justice, a lot of them. And it's our fault.

Well, it's not our fault. It's your fault.

WHITFIELD: You have been listening to Mark Lunsford, the father of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, who was killed at -- by the hands of John Evander Couey, who we just learned within the past hour got the death penalty for the rape, kidnapping and murder of Jessica Lunsford.

And Mr. Lunsford there saying, it's never easy. It hasn't been throughout, being asked how he's been able to maintain such composure through all of this, being at the trial, and then sitting there in the same room with the man who killed his daughter. He simply says, it's never been easy, and it never is -- Don.

LEMON: Yes. And he said, if he didn't make jokes, right, he would cry all the time. And I think anyone who has gone through anything like that can certainly understand those sentiments.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEMON: We're going to move on now and talk about Senator Barack Obama. From America's aging schools to the situation in Iraq, to a spur-of-the-moment free throw, the NEWSROOM goes one on one with Senator Barack Obama. That's next.

WHITFIELD: But, first, there's a lot of talk on how schools can fight the childhood obesity problem, from fewer vending machines, to healthier lunches, and more P.E. classes.

But, as millions of kids go back to class over the next few weeks, will they see any of these changes?

Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been a year since Congress required school districts to commit to wellness programs to combat childhood obesity. But has anything changed in three of the biggest problem areas?

In cities like Oakland, California, and New York City, junk- filled school vending machines are a thing of the past. Policies vary across states and districts, but in schools where machines remain, healthier alternatives, like granola bars, sugar-free drinks, and baked snacks are now sold.

KEN STANTON, UNIVERSITY OF BALTIMORE: Now, it's still not exactly what your mother would prefer you eat.

GUPTA: Loaded with calories and fat, most school cafeterias aren't much better than fast food restaurants. In fact, a recent study by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine finds school lunches are falling short of providing students with healthy alternatives. That's because the government spends more money on high fat foods for school programs.

DULCIE WARD, PHYSICIANS FOR RESPONSIBLE MEDICINE: In 2005, they spent $750 million on meat and dairy products and near $10 million on fresh fruits and vegetables.

GUPTA: But the report says progress is being made. States like California, Florida, Hawaii and New York are allocating more money to add fruits, vegetables and grains to their lunch programs this year.

As for physical education, well, educators are realizing that P.E. May be the only time a child gets exercise. But many schools will have to cut funds somewhere else to bring physical education back.

STANTON: That's been a bit more of a tough battle, even though we are very convinced that it's one of the important pieces of what we need to do.

GUPTA: And that's why the face of physical education is changing. For example, West Virginia schools are incorporating active video games into their curriculum. The videos are relatively inexpensive and get the kids moving without having to hire special phys-ed teachers.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Hello, everyone.

I'm Don Lemon live in the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Kyra Phillips today.

He's got Carolina on his mind, but can Senator Barack Obama count on South Carolina Democrats next January?

LEMON: I followed Obama on a campaign swing through the Palmetto State yesterday to see how he's doing with potential primary voters.

You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

But first, more rain in the Midwest, where a series of storms and floods have made life miserable for a week now. Late yesterday, Chicago joined Ohio and Wisconsin on the list of hard hit areas. A sudden, severe storm brought heavy rain and wind up to 70 miles an hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It went from still to whoa. And my husband and I both saw it and went, wait, whoa. And it just twirled the block around.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our tree, one of the branches like cracked off and fell down and it was really scary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: I bet it was. The storm brought down trees, tree limbs and power lines and stopped traffic at Chicago airports. Northern Illinois is also bracing for surging rivers, the result of heavy rains to the north. It's already caused widespread flooding in Wisconsin. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will begin addressing the damage there tomorrow.

Let's go to Ohio now. Rivers are beginning to recede, finally, and some people are beginning that long, painful task of cleaning up.

Chad Myers here with us with the specifics -- how long will they be doing that and is it going to continue to recede?

I hope.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, the cleanup takes a long time, no matter what -- even if it's a freshwater flood compared to like a saltwater flood. That's even worse when you get a storm surge from a hurricane.

But the problem, when we talk about receding, is that, yes, it's receding somewhere. But downstream it very well may be going up, still. It depends on where you are in that river basin. This is a map from yesterday. This is an incredible map. Everywhere that you see yellow, there was three inches of rain or more. That has to be 1,000 square miles, at least.

Then you get to the red, six inches of rain or more in places in Southern Ohio, Southern Illinois and also into Southern Iowa itself. Not so much rain so far today. It's doing pretty good. And I believe the rain is going to be farther to the east today. So the areas that were so saturated are going to get a little break, because that stationary front slid a little bit to the south, just a little. Fifty miles, and that's all you need. Spread it out a little bit and it's not so bad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney says when it comes to health care for the uninsured, he can do for the country what he did for Massachusetts.

Romney told a Florida medical association today the federal government can help states lower insurance premiums through deregulation. He also said the federal tax code should be changed to make it easier for people to buy private insurance.

Romney often cites the 2006 law that he signed as Massachusetts governor as an example of how the uninsured can obtain health insurance.

Well, given the ongoing operations in Iraq, the views of veterans could be critical for presidential hopefuls in next year's election. A new Gallup survey finds Republican Rudy Giuliani is viewed by most favorably -- or is viewed, rather, most favorably by veterans; followed by John McCain, the only veteran currently in the top tier among candidates of either party.

Democrat Barack Obama makes the best showing with veterans among Democrats. He's followed by John Edwards.

Probable GOP hopeful Fred Thompson is next, followed by Democrat Hillary Clinton.

But Senator Clinton's unfavorable rating is 22 points higher than her favorable rating.

Republican Mitt Romney is next. But many vets express no opinion of him.

LEMON: South Carolina -- a small state receiving big attention from presidential candidates in both parties.

Democrat Barack Obama traveled yesterday to an aging school in rural South Carolina to highlight his support for education reform. His visit revealed the opportunities and the challenges facing his campaign for the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS: What's going on, coastal Carolina?

Ha-ha.

LEMON (voice-over): Big crowds -- young and old -- have become the norm for Barack Obama.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's got something. He's got it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's a leader. He's going to change everything about America and what it stands for.

LEMON: But first he has to overcome poll numbers that put him 20 points behind frontrunner Hillary Clinton among Democratic voters. Obama's campaign is hoping to win over voters across the South with a more intimate approach.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How's it going?

OBAMA: What's going on, man?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.

OBAMA: You doing all right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

LEMON: Like this visit to chat with the customers at Emerson's Barber Shop in Marion, South Carolina. The talk centered around jobs and the war in Iraq. At times, the senator's Midwestern arc sent turned into a Southern drawl.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like that. I like that.

OBAMA: Well, what part are you serving (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

OBAMA: What you gonna to be doing now?

LEMON: But it may take more than a down home approach for Senator Obama to win over black voters. South Carolina is a key primary state, where African-American voters are critical for a victory. But Senator Obama is struggling to win their support. He lags behind Senator Clinton among likely black voters, voters like this barber shop owner Emerson Hunt (ph), who wasn't convinced Obama has what it takes.

But 76-year-old Arlene Burke worked on him.

ARLENE BURKE: I did everything but curl some of him.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: Why didn't you believe?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I didn't think he could carry a Southern state because, you know, generally, Democrats don't cover a Southern state. But was a black guy out there, so I didn't think he could carry a Southern state.

LEMON: Education is a big issue in South Carolina and a big issue with Barack Obama, the father of two school-aged girls.

(on camera): Would you allow Sasha and Aliea to go to this school if you lived here?

OBAMA: Well, if I lived here, I would be fighting to improve this school. But, you know, I would not want Sasha and Aleia to be in a classroom that has no windows. And I wouldn't want them to be in a gymnasium that has no air conditioning. I don't think any parent would. And the parents who live here don't either.

(VIDEO OF BASKETBALL GAME)

LEMON: Barack Obama has a pretty good jump shot, even in an un- air-conditioned middle school gym.

But can he turn it and his candidacy into a slam dunk at the ballot box?

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LEMON: And Senator Barack Obama, on Sunday, heads to New Orleans to unveil what he calls his Gulf Coast Plan for the region that he says he'll enact in his first few days in office if he does, in fact, become president -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Well, they were a band of brothers, now broken up by war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. TIM ROLEN, FAMILY FRIEND: It's happened once. That's hard. That doesn't help you for it to happen again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A family mourns a second time, straight ahead in THE NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Now, a story of service and the ultimate sacrifice. A young man killed in Iraq inspires his two brothers to take up his cause. Well, today, his family is mourning again.

CNN's Thelma Gutierrez has the story of this inspiring band of brothers.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They were literally a band of brothers -- Nathan, Jason and Jared Hubbard -- inseparable until war tore them apart.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God knows you're near.

GUTIERREZ: In 2004, Marine Lance Corporal Gerald Hubbard was killed by a roadside bomb in Bribadi (ph) Iraq, along with his best friend, Jeremiah Barrow.

ROLEN: You worry as a parent. The worry factor goes off the chart when they're doing what they're doing.

GUTIERREZ: Despite the death of their brother, Nathan and Jason decided to enlist in the Army.

Pastor Tim Rolen, a family friend, says they wanted to honor their brother.

ROLEN: The word I get from the family, these two brothers wanted to -- wanted to finish what Jared had started.

GUTIERREZ: Then this week, 21-year-old Nathan Hubbard was killed when his Blackhawk helicopter, carrying 14 U.S. soldiers, crashed in northern Iraq. Jason was in another chopper when his brother went down.

ROLEN: They were on the same mission in two separate helicopters. Jason, the older brother, was in the helicopter that did not go down. And it was their responsibility, then, to land and attempt any kind of rescue that might be possible. But there was there were no survivors.

GUTIERREZ: In Clovis, California, flags lined the street where the brothers grew up.

ROLEN: It's happened once. That's hard. That doesn't help you for it happening again.

GUTIERREZ (on camera): The residents of Clovis mourned once again. Nathan Hubbard is now the seventh U.S. service member who was from this town who was killed in action, since the war in Iraq began. (voice-over): Five were from the same high school. Now, this memorial for Jared and his childhood friend, Jeremiah, has become a gathering place for people to grieve.

ROLEN: I want to remember them as heroes.

OK, I'm going to -- I'm going to remember them as young men with courage.

GUTIERREZ: Jason Hubbard, now the only surviving son, is on his way home from Iraq to be with his family as his younger brother, Nathan, makes his final journey home to be buried here, next to his beloved older brother, Jared.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Clovis, California.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LEMON: And we're learning names and faces of some of the other soldiers who died in that Blackhawk crash. This is not all of them, of course -- Specialist Josh Harman, Jeremy Buford, Ricky Bell and Corporal Phillip Broadnick (ph). This is Jesse Pollard and Michael Hook, both specialists, and Sergeant Garrett McLead.

A total of 14 U.S. soldiers died in a crash that the Army blames on a mechanical malfunction.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The movie character Forrest Gump once said life is a box of chocolates -- you never know what you're going to get.

And in this week's Life After Work, a former doctor finds that "describes his retirement in more ways than one."

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chocolate -- nectar of the gods to some. But to Robert Steinberg, it's more about the science than the taste.

ROBERT STEINBERG, CHOCOLATE COMPANY OWNER: This is a mied (ph). And this is what we make chocolate from.

VELSHI: Steinberg is cofounder of a gourmet chocolate company in Berkeley, California. Yet he's not always been a Willy Wonka wannabe.

STEINBERG: My career, my profession was as a family doctor, an M.D.

VELSHI: But in 1990, caring for others became too much when Steinberg was diagnosed with leukemia. He had to give up medicine and focus on himself.

STEINBERG: I decided to basically allow myself to be open to do whatever I wanted to do. Although I had had a strong interest in food, I wasn't particularly interested in chocolate. It was really when I started reading about it in a technical book, that I became fascinated by it.

VELSHI: Steinberg, along with John Scharfenberger, a friend and former patient, decided to take this fascination and turn it into a business.

STEINBERG: Scharffen Berger Chocolate is a company that was founded in 1996 to fill what we thought was a void in chocolate in the United States, which was chocolate that really reflected the flavor of the cacao beans.

VELSHI: And they found an audience for it, selling to gourmet food stores and their own retail outlets. The growth in business led to being acquired by Hershey in 2005.

And the ultimate irony -- Steinberg isn't what you'd call a chocoholic.

STEINBERG: If you put a piece of pickled herring in front of me and a piece of chocolate, I'd probably choose the pickled herring.

VELSHI: Ali Velshi, CNN.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: Oh, no, I'd choose the chocolate every time...

LEMON: Oh, that's so (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: ...over the pickled herring.

LEMON: Oh, from that to McDonald's.

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes. And then there's McDonald's. OK, well, 40- years-old, that big Whopper of a thing -- oh, I guess I shouldn't say Whopper. That's...

LEMON: You shouldn't say Whopper, no.

WHITFIELD: That's -- ooh, that's Burger King. OK. Big Mac.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Big Mac. OK. Big Mac, people. It's the big one -- 40, the big 4-0, a big old milestone.

I'm sorry, McDonald's, but I love your fries.

LEMON: You can see it right here.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: All right, well, we're going to be talking about how people are celebrating this big, old milestone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Let the daydreaming begin. I even dream about it at night. The lottery lines likely to be long today because of two giant jackpots. The Mega Millions and Powerball -- Fred is like, oh, man, the Powerball payoffs are each are more than $200 million.

WHITFIELD: That is crazy money.

LEMON: The grand prize for tonight's Mega Millions drawing is $200 -- a mere $206 million. The winner can take $120 million and, you know, change whatever. And change, I should say, in a lump sum.

WHITFIELD: Um-hmm.

LEMON: The jackpot for tomorrow's Powerball, guess what, Fred?

Oh, just a whopping $300 million.

WHITFIELD: Oh my god.

LEMON: Or about $140 million for the cash option, you know?

So the lotteries are played in 41 states. So, are you going to play this one?

WHITFIELD: Maybe, with those numbers. That's a lot of money.

LEMON: You'll be driving away, you can get one, I know.

WHITFIELD: Boy, that could bring a lot of problems, too.

LEMON: Oh, yes.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, the Big Mac, no problems there. We all love the Big Mac.

Well, it's getting a little gray around the buns. Ha-ha.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM MCDONALD'S COMMERCIAL, 1970)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two all beef patties special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickled, onions on a sesame seed bun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Two all beef patties, special sauce...

LEMON: Lettuce, cheese, pickles onions...

WHITFIELD AND LEMON: On a sesame seed bun.

WHITFIELD: Thank you very much.

McDonald's Triple-Decker Burger, 40-years-old.

Can you believe, it's 40 years? It spawned one of the more memorable commercials right there that you saw, at least the jingle of all time.

Two -- oh, come on. We already did that one, right?

LEMON: (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: Can we do it again?

(INAUDIBLE) and a sesame bun.

LEMON: Yes.

WHITFIELD: OK. You remember it.

All right, Big Mac was born in Pennsylvania to one of the company's early franchises. It cost just 45 cents back then.

LEMON: Oh, my gosh.

WHITFIELD: Now what is it, over $2? Maybe even $3 or something?

LEMON: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Seventeen Big Macs are sold every second in the U.S. So it's still very, very popular and very caloric, as well.

LEMON: Five hundred and forty calories, 29 grams of fat.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEMON: Speaking of the numbers...

WHITFIELD: That's why it's the Big Mac.

LEMON: Yes.

The closing bell and a wrap of all the action on Wall Street straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: This just in to CNN.

CNN has just learned former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega can be extradited to France to serve a 10-year prison sentence for money laundering charges. Now, a federal judge in Miami ruled that today. Noriega was due to have been released from prison in Florida on September 9th.

Details to come in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

WHITFIELD: And let's talk a little Wall Street, because the closing bell is about to ring.

Stephanie Elam is there, keeping a close check on everything. STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred and Don.

So how much do you think a baseball glove would have cost you?

WHITFIELD: Huh?

ELAM: How much do you think it would cost you, a baseball glove?

WHITFIELD: A glove?

ELAM: Yes.

WHITFIELD: A nice leather glove, you say?

ELAM: Yes.

WHITFIELD: I don't know, $50.

LEMON: I don't know, it depends on where you bought it. Maybe you're buying it at that store you said earlier, Wal-Mart for Christmas.

Who knows?

WHITFIELD: Four hundred dollars!

ELAM: Well, how about Rawlings' new Primo glove. It's the most expensive baseball glove ever. It's ten tone with Italian leather and it costs $400.

WHITFIELD: Wow, it's lovely looking.

ELAM: Yes.

WHITFIELD: I think maybe don't use, just have on it a pretty mantel or something.

ELAM: Right. Exactly.

LEMON: Yes. (LAUGHTER).

WHITFIELD: Four hundred dollars?

ELAM: Well, they've been trying to get the pros to go ahead and use it. But "Fortune" magazine says Rawlings has had a tough time convincing Major Leaguers to ditch their gamers for the luxury mitt, although it's probably more about superstition than anything else, you know, the bond between the player and his mitt is huge.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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