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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

FBI Releases Photos from Alabama Hostage Rescue Site; School Bus Driver Hailed as Hero; NJ Governor Christie on Weight Struggle

Aired February 05, 2013 - 20:00   ET

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

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Erin, thanks.

Good evening, everyone. Tonight a stunning statement about Governor Chris Christie, a man who could one day be president or at least run for president. Quote, "I'm worried about this man dying in office." Who says so? A former White House physician, no less, who admits his health luck -- may be running out. Chris Christie himself. He's got the lowdown.

We've got 360 MD Sanjay Gupta who's going to join us for that. Also Gary Tuchman investigating why people build bunkers. What drives them to prepare for everything from natural disasters to the end of the world as they see it.

We begin, though, with breaking news. Our first look at the bunker that Jimmy Lee Dykes turned into a prison cell for a 5-year-old boy and a kind of twisted Alamo where he made his final fatal stand. A bunker we're now learning that included two bombs. The FBI just released the photos. This is the bunker itself. The blue tent was added to preserve any evidence that may be underneath.

Now as you can see, official vehicles surround the property. The Sheriff's Department, a Humvee, and in the background a large armored vehicle. You can see the bunker in the far distance and crime scene tape roping off a perimeter.

This, surrounded by sandbags, as the PVC piping that leads into that bunker, negotiators used it to communicate at times with Dykes. Communications growing tenser and tenser, they say, until a decision was made to go in.

So now this man, Jimmy Lee Dykes is dead, killed by an FBI team after a brutally effective and apparently well-planned operation. His captive Ethan -- we're withholding his last name -- is out of the hospital and said to be doing well.

In a moment, what lies ahead for him. We'll talk with Ed Smart. He, of course, was lucky enough to be able to help his daughter Elizabeth heal after she was held captive for months.

John Walsh of "America's Most Wanted" -- is also going to join us. We'll also talk with the son of that heroic school bus driver who died trying to stop the kidnapper.

First, though, there's a lot more unfolding at this moment. Martin Savidge has the latest from the crime scene.

Marty, what are we learning?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, you know, you were talking about all those photos and now the word of these explosive devices. We have been told all day long by authorities that one of the reasons that the public was not being allowed in that area was the concern for these explosive devices.

Now we've learned there were two of them, one of them located inside the bunker, which would show you how dangerous it was the entire time for that young child, and also for the agents that made the entry. And then the other device now, we're being told, was found inside that PVC pipe, which was used for the communication.

Also on those photographs you might have noticed the roof of the bunker collapsed in, which would show you the force of the explosion we believe that was used to gain entry in there and bring about the rescue.

Meanwhile, Ethan, as you say, is out of the hospital. He's in good spirits, we're told. But his whereabouts right now are being kept secret. And that's exactly the way his family wanted it.

Meanwhile, we took a look at exactly the breakdown of how this raid took place. And here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE (voice-over): For days, as the command center at a nearby church continue to grow, authorities remain in constant communications with Jimmy Lee Dykes. Speaking to him over a telephone in his bunker. A law enforcement source characterized Dykes as contentious the entire time. Despite that, Dykes allowed authorities to deliver what were called comfort items through a hatch.

SHERIFF WALLY OLSON, DALE COUNTY, ALABAMA: He's also allowed us to provide coloring books, medication, toys.

SAVIDGE: Dykes was said to be caring for the boy, providing even an electric heater and blankets to keep him warm, leading authorities to take the unusual step of thanking the boy's kidnapper.

OLSON: I want to thank him for taking care of our child.

SAVIDGE: All seemed well until Sunday afternoon when negotiators noticed a change in Dykes' demeanor.

STEVE RICHARDSON, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, MOBILE DIVISION: Within the past 24 hours, negotiations deteriorated.

SAVIDGE: According to law enforcement sources on the scene, authorities used a camera to monitor what was going on inside the bunker while an FBI source tells CNN surveillance drones were used to observe the site from above around the clock. Meanwhile, highly trained FBI hostage rescue teams like this one in an FBI training video took turns on stand-by around the clock. Sources say those rescue teams practiced their assault on a mock-up of Dykes' bunker.

Monday authorities continued to monitor the change in Dykes' demeanor. Publicly officials gave no indication but for the first time hinted he had a motive.

OLSON: He has a story that's important to him, although it's very complex.

SAVIDGE: Meanwhile, a team from the Delton Fire Department trained in collapsed building rescues was quietly put on alert and brought in. Then came the critical moment.

RICHARDSON: Mr. Dykes was observed -- was observed holding a gun.

SAVIDGE: That's when the HRT team struck. Brian Martin is a neighbor.

BRIAN MARTIN, NEIGHBOR: I heard a big boom. And then I heard -- I believe I heard rifle shots.

RICHARDSON: FBI agents fearing the child was in imminent danger, entered the bunker and rescued the child.

SAVIDGE: Sources tell CNN federal agents detonated large explosions, then two or more agents dropped into the underground space shooting the gunman multiple times killing him. Five-year-old Ethan was unharmed. It was all over in seconds.

For a clearly exhausted Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson, it was a relief.

OLSON: We appreciate everybody in law enforcement pulling together to get this job done. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Talking about pulling together, do we know how many people were involved in this operation?

SAVIDGE: Anderson, authorities tell us tonight that there were literally hundreds of people that were involved. Not just here in the immediate area, boots on the ground, but we're talking about all the way to Washington, D.C., and beyond. There were just so many people.

By the way, one person that is also added to the list as far as heroes that have helped and that's Charles Poland. His name went up outside of the school this morning, which resumed -- that's the school where Ethan left from, that's the school that the bus driver drove out of. He's definitely a hero in many people's books here.

COOPER: Yes. Certainly sounds like it. And Martin, thanks very much.

As Marty has been reporting, so many people did so many things right for this to end the way it did. There are many heroes to this story.

I do want to focus a little bit more closely now on the original one that Marty was just talking about, the school bus driver, Charles Poland. He was laid to rest over the weekend. And as Marty said, he's being called a hero today in that community.

By now you know probably how he died. Standing up to the gunman, trying to save his kids. And he considered those kids on the bus his kids. And what made him a hero, though, what would have equipped him for that moment, what gave him the courage to stand up was already written in how he lived his life every day.

Earlier tonight, I talked about his life with his son Aaron.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Aaron, let me just start by saying, again, I'm so sorry for your loss. Your dad has been call a hero by so many people. People in the community say he was a god-fearing man, loved -- loved his community and loved in his community.

When your first reaction to hear that Ethan was safe, what went through your mind?

AARON POLAND, CHARLES POLAND'S SON: The thing that got me the most was knowing that my dad's last stop was final. Because Ethan was home with his mom. So he was -- he was safe. And that's my dad's key job was to make sure every child was delivered safely to their parents.

COOPER: There are reports that your dad stood up to the kidnapper, blocked him from coming on to the bus. You say that doesn't surprise you at all, that he'd be trying to protect those kids.

POLAND: No, sir. That's -- my dad was -- didn't have a selfish bone in his body. He did everything that he could to be right, to do the right thing for everybody around him or anybody that he cared for.

COOPER: Just about every photo I've seen of your dad, he had a smile on his face. Was that -- was that his -- was that all the time?

POLAND: Pretty much. I cannot remember a single time in my life of not seeing a smile on my dad, either a little smile or a little smirk. He always had that little -- you know, just to make you feel good smile. That's what -- he always had -- he always had a feel-good smile.

COOPER: What else do you want people to know about your dad, to remember about him?

POLAND: If you don't mind, I'll tell you a story. My dad -- me and my dad years ago when I was a teenager, we used to go to Dauphin which is a town close by where we lived. And we worked on diesel engines on Saturdays. And we went down to drive -- on our drive down to do a job. And there was a gentleman on this -- at a red light asking for some help. And my dad pulled off and said -- told the man, he said, listen, I won't give you any money, but if you're hungry I'll give you some food. And the man said, I would appreciate this.

My dad took this man up, put him in the car, drove to -- there was a Hardee's down the road. We pulled into this Hardee's and my dad bought all the food this man wanted to eat. Even though -- and I'll be honest with you, at the time it was -- it was hard times for our family. But my dad was just that kind of guy. He would rather make sure somebody else is taken care of, do without to make sure somebody else was taken care of.

And he bought this man all kind of food. And then when the man got through eating, he went and bought him another big bag of food and gave him to him, said, look, this is for -- you know, for a later time because I remember -- he told him, said, remember that somebody cares for you. I care for you. And that there's a god that cares for you also.

COOPER: That's an incredible story. And he cared for those kids. I mean, he loved driving that bus and wanted to protect those kids.

POLAND: Yes. I was home at Thanksgiving. And my mom had the -- well, we were sitting around, me and my dad, we always -- when I come home, we go in the backyard and there's a swing and my dad has a fire pit. And we had a fire going. And we just sit there, me and my dad sit there, and it was our time to talk and stuff. And he'd tell me some of the stories of his kids that, you know, one of them brought their first -- got their first A on their report card.

And he would tell me stories of how one -- he would travel some of the athletes, the wrestling team and stuff. And he'd talk about how this won their first event. And he was -- be so proud. He was glad that they were to do things, and he was encouraging to them all the time. And he would -- you know, any time they did something good, my dad was proud. It was like his own kids doing something good. And my dad was enjoying every bit of it.

COOPER: It sounds like he was a hero not just in that last day of his life but pretty much every day in his dealings with other people and his dealing with those children and the way he went about his work and his love for his family.

Again, I'm so sorry for your loss, Aaron. And please give my best to the rest of your family.

POLAND: Yes, sir. And I will.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Sounded like quite a man. Ethan's mom released a statement today saying, "For first time in almost a week, I woke up this morning to the most beautiful sight -- my sweet boy. I can't describe how incredible it is to hold him again. I'll never be able to repay those who helped bring Ethan home. My family and I ask that you respect our privacy and give us a little time, time to heal, time to put this nightmare behind us, time to move forward."

Out of respect for the family's privacy and Ethan's privacy, obviously we're not reporting his last time. He's 5 years old. He's going to turn 6 tomorrow. But we do want to understand what happens when a child like Ethan has been through a life altering trauma like this comes home to the family as well.

Ed Smart can speak to that, his daughter, as you know, Elizabeth, was kidnapped when she was 14, held by her captors for nine months. He joins me now, along with John Walsh. John's son Adam was abducted, murdered, he's a victim's advocate and host of "America's Most Wanted."

John, let me start with you. First of all, what's gone through your mind as you've been following the story of Ethan's kidnapping and his rescue in Alabama?

JOHN WALSH, HOST, "AMERICA'S MOST WANTED" ON LIFETIME: Well, first of all, I've got to say Charles Poland, Sr. is a real hero. He stood up to a man with a gun and saved -- we don't know how many countless kids because that low-life, whack-job Dykes wasn't going to come out of that bunker alive. So, again, as you said, my heart goes out to the -- to Charles Poland's family.

And those FBI agents that got into that bunker and risked their lives to bring this boy back alive. You know, I went through two weeks looking for Adam and praying that there'd be a happy result and have been involved in thousands of cases where there wasn't a happy result.

Thirty-one years ago the FBI refused to enter Adam's case. That's not something they did. But the cooperation between that sheriff, local, state and federal agency and those FBI agents, they saved that boy's life. And it's a wonderful, wonderful ending. And I know Ed is standing by, but I will never forget flying out to Salt Lake City to meet Elizabeth the day after she was recovered alive.

And every now and then we get a happy ending. So I was just thrilled to hear that that little boy's alive.

COOPER: And Ed, for you, and for a family to go through a trauma like Ethan's family, the days of not knowing, that fear, I can't imagine. As a parent, how do you -- how do you get through that?

ED SMART, DAUGHTER ELIZABETH ABDUCTED AND RESCUED: You know, I think the not knowing is the worst part of it. And John went through that, and so many parents do. And you know, it is really just by the prayers and the blessings of others that you make it through there. It's just wanting to know where your child is, how they're surviving and you want them home more than anything, but we are just so thrilled for Ethan and his family.

And you know, the law enforcement have done an outstanding job. It's so great to hear it works and they're, you know, working together. Everyone got on the same page and made it happen. And this hero, Charles Poland, it's just outstanding. You want to hear about more people that are doing the right thing, but for Ethan, we are so happy for him that he is home and, you know, as the mother's requested, there's no media around them.

It's a time to find that new normal and to basically re-establish that love, let that child know that there isn't any fault on his part for what happened and that he is loved unconditionally so and life is going to be good and he's going to be able to pick up and move forward.

COOPER: Ed, I'm wondering if this is something that Elizabeth follows, because I mean, I know she's -- you know, she's now grown and is living a life and, you know, is moving forward with her own life. When something like this happens, is that something you guys talk about?

SMART: Certainly. You know, we try to do whatever we can to be of help. You know, we've established the Elizabeth Smart Foundation so that we can reach out and try and help families and children, and help others have the same result that we've had because, you know, happy endings are wonderful. And we need more of them. And when we get the effort that law enforcement made in this situation, made the right decisions, the efforts were coordinated. I mean, it ends in happiness and joy.

COOPER: You know, John, you've spent decades, obviously, to help them hunt down countless -- those countless criminals on "America's Most Wanted." You have this case where a guy murders a school bus driver, abducts a 5-year-old, who tries to get another kid off that bus. I was amazed to hear that actually in that community school bus drivers have undergone training about what to do in the event somebody came on the bus with a gun, but I mean, this is the kind of thing you almost can't prepare for this, can you?

WALSH: You really can't. And it -- it begs a bigger question that you and I have talked about a lot, Anderson, is how can this guy, this whack-job Dykes, whose neighbors reported him carrying a gun up and down his property at night in the middle of the night, threatening neighbors, he was going to go to court for shooting a gun off in the air, and beat a neighbor's dog with a lead pipe.

How is it that somebody couldn't go to that house and say, you're not stable. We're not talking about big brother here. That somebody couldn't have gone to that house and taken that gun away from that guy before he got on a school bus, before he murdered a school bus driver and held a gun down in that bunker with that kid?

God bless that school district for teaching that bus driver, but it took his guts to stop that guy and four bullets to take Charles Poland Sr. down. But it begs a bigger question. When are we going to realize that certain people shouldn't have guns, can't have guns and that we have no mental health system in this country that would prevent this?

COOPER: Ed, in terms of the process for moving forward, what is the recovery process going to be like for Ethan, for -- for his family? I mean, it's different for everybody, but what advice would you give?

SMART: You know, I think that immediately helping to establish the routines that he's used to and putting him back into his old life is important. You know initially the first week or two, you know, we were just showing Elizabeth special attention, and then the kids were kind of at a point where, you know, it's time to get back to life. So you know, the first few days, I think, it's important that he knows he has love and support, and then following that, re-establishing those routines and creating that new normal and making sure that he can move forward.

Everyone handles things differently. Some of them need treatment and help, others are able to pick up and move forward, but it's so important to be aware of what their needs are. And I'm sure his parents, more than anyone, know what his needs are and will make sure that he gets that help.

COOPER: Yes. Well, Ed and John, I'm glad we -- we could be together on a story where there is a happy ending for this little boy and for this boy's family. Thank you so much for being with us. Really appreciate it.

SMART: Thank you.

WALSH: Glad --

COOPER: Let us know what you think, you can follow me on Twitter tonight @Andersoncooper. We're tweeting about this already.

Governor Chris Christie is facing some new questions about his weight and his health. And former White House doctor said she's worried his obesity could kill him. Our question tonight, can someone who is considered very overweight still also be considered very healthy? I'll talk to Dr. Sanjay Gupta about that.

And later if Beyonce's amazing performance did not cause the Super Bowl blackout then what was the real culprit? We've got possible new clues tonight in the mystery.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Welcome back. Former White House physician made a pretty stunning statement today about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie who's considered a potential 2016 presidential candidate. Here's what Dr. Connie Mariano told CNN's Jim Acosta.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. CONNIE MARIANO, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PHYSICIAN: I worry that he may have a heart attack, he may have a stroke. It's almost like a time bomb waiting to happen unless he addresses those issues before he runs for office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: She's talking about the governor's obesity. Now she's worried that he could die in office. Now this is not first time that Chris Christie's weight has been in the news. He's usually pretty good natured about the punchlines. Just last night on Dave Letterman's show he made light of his weight again, even eating a doughnut while Letterman apologized for the fat jokes he's made about Christie in more recent past. And then the governor said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: Dave, my cholesterol's normal, believe it or not.

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN: That's pretty good.

CHRISTIE: Yes.

LETTERMAN: And what about your blood sugar?

(LAUGHTER)

CHRISTIE: Blood sugar also normal.

LETTERMAN: Also normal.

CHRISTIE: Yes.

LETTERMAN: So you --

CHRISTIE: I'm like -- I'm basically the healthiest fat guy you've ever seen in your life.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, a fat guy, his words, who's also governor of New Jersey with possible higher political ambitions. Now today Christie kind of doubled down about his weight and his health. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIE: So far up to 50 years old I've been remarkably healthy. And, you know, my doctor continues to warn me that my luck is going to run out relatively soon. So believe me, it's something that I'm very conscious of. But in terms of people in the state being concerned about whether or not it prevents me from being able to do my job effectively, I think they've seen the results of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: So all this got us wondering is it possible to be as healthy as Governor Christie says he is while being overweight? Earlier I talked to chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Sanjay, Governor Christie says he's, quote -- and again I'm quoting here -- he says, "basically the healthiest fat guy you've ever seen in your life." What do you make of that? I mean, can you both be healthy and overweight?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the idea that being overweight is immediately associated with being unhealthy is probably a little bit of a myth. And you know, you and I have talked about this before. It cuts sort of both ways. There are people who are healthier than you think who are overweight and there are people who are not as healthy as you think just because they are lean or thin.

So you know, weight certainly does matter, but I think physical activity and lots of other thins that Governor Christie referred to a little bit in terms of, you know, cholesterol, blood sugar, things like that, probably make a bigger difference.

COOPER: But it's confusing to me. Because I remember hearing that every inch of, you know, fat you have on your stomach adds to the threat of heart disease. And then I also saw a study that said if you're a little overweight, people who are a little overweight may actually be healthier.

GUPTA: Right. That was a recent study that came out. And that was an interesting study about our definition of what is an ideal body weight may be a little bit off. And this whole notion of body mass index may not be the best measure. But you're right, you know, adding weight -- adding inches specifically is an indication of how much fat you might have, that's called abdominal fat, the fat that surrounds your intestines.

That you can't always see. Measuring your waist gives you an indication of that. But there are people, Anderson, who can be very thin but essentially have lots of abdominal fat, still. They don't exercise. And even though they look lean, they're probably wildly unhealthy. And again, the flip side of that is that there are people who have probably -- you know, they look unhealthy because of our standard definition of that, but they may not have as much abdominal fat.

I don't know what the case is with Governor Christie. I don't know how active he is. But I did hear his comments where he said that, you know, he's a healthy fat guy, I don't know that that means his cholesterol, his blood sugar, and all those other indicators are relatively normal.

COOPER: He did say that his blood sugar and that his cholesterol were normal. I also heard a former White House doctor said today that Christie is a time bomb waiting to happen and that she'd worry about him dying in office. That -- I mean, that's a tough assessment.

GUPTA: Yes, I heard those comments by Dr. Connie Mariano. Someone who I know pretty well. I've talked to her before. Those are strong statements. I think there's no question. And I think we're probably all dealing with somewhat limited information here. All we sort of know about him is -- besides his comments today is sort of what he looks like. And again, I think that's an indication, but in terms of the risk of heart disease and in terms of the risk of stroke, in terms of the risk of developing diabetes, weight is a factor, no question.

But there are other factors as well. Now those are the things that I think she was referring to with regard to a time bomb.

COOPER: Christie says he has a plan to lose weight. What advice would you give him?

GUPTA: Diet is probably going to be the most important thing for him initially but increasing physical activity, I think, is a better predictor. Someone who's physically active is a better predictor probably than his overall weight in the long run in terms those big things, again, heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

COOPER: All right. Sanjay Gupta -- Sanjay, thanks.

GUPTA: You got it, thank you.

COOPER: A little reminder for you, if you wanted to see more on this story, you can go to CNN.com right now.

Now up next, new information on electrical problems that Beyonce faced during rehearsals, but did that have anything to do with the lights going out in the Superdome during the -- the game? New information tonight.

Also why are some people building bunkers? We're going to take you inside the bunker of a man who is proud to be called a survivalist, who's preparing for the end times. He tells Gary Tuchman why he's ready to go underground.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: So what caused the Super Bowl blackout? New information and reports of problems during Beyonce's rehearsals. But did that have anything to do with the lights going out? Details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, it took four quarters for the Baltimore Ravens to turn out the lights on the San Francisco 49ers. It took just seconds for something or someone to turn out half the lights in the New Orleans Superdome.

The partial blackout lasted more than half an hour, as you know. The chatter about why it happened has been going on ever since. There were reports of electrical issues during Beyonce's rehearsals. But what happened during the actual the broadcast. Brian Todd is in New Orleans for us tonight. He's got the latest on where the investigation is going. So, Brian, we're finding out for the first time there actually were some issues with Beyonce's rehearsals in the weeks leading up to the Sunday game, right?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Anderson. Those had been rumored for several days. Now we do have some hard information from the NFL and from the Superdome's managers on that. There were, in fact, power issues during Beyonce's rehearsals in the week leading up to the Super Bowl here inside the Superdome.

Here's part of a statement from the NFL that we got just a short time ago. Quote, "There were some fluctuations in the frequency of the power supply, but not in the amount of the power supplied to the building." That from the NFL, and that, of course, referring to the time during Beyonce's rehearsals in the Superdome.

The NFL says there were no mass power outages during her rehearsals and they also say that because of those fluctuations, that's when they made the call to actually have her actual performance done on a different power system, on an independent power system from the Superdome's power grid.

That's why Superdome officials and others are saying that her actual half time performance had nothing to do with the power outage. We got a chance to speak to Doug Thornton, from the management group that runs the Superdome. Here's what he had to say about Beyonce's rehearsals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we had a couple of fuses blown, a couple of circuits that were overloaded, but it had nothing to do with this power outage. It's totally unrelated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Now, Doug Thornton says those are common occurrences when you have outside producers coming in who are not familiar with the circuitry of the building. Now we called Beyonce's representatives for comment on that. They would not comment at all on the rehearsals -- Anderson.

COOPER: We also know that officials were actually aware of potential problems months in advance, not with anything that Beyonce was doing, but with the actual stadium, right?

TODD: That's right, Anderson. We obtained memos today from October circulating among Superdome officials, among the engineers that they hired talking about their worries about the power supply. One memo from October 15th said that the power feeders had some decay and had a chance of failure.

Another memo from about that time said that the main electrical feeds were not sufficiently reliable to support the high profile event schedule. That memo warned that Superdome officials that they might face liability because of that.

After those memos circulated in October they did take steps and spent a lot of money, hundreds of thousands of dollars to upgrade the power feeding system. Those upgrades were done by mid-December. So we're now at the point where they are investigating what actually did cause the power outage.

COOPER: All right, Brian, appreciate the update. Thanks very much.

Up next, the hostage situation in Alabama has put a so-called survivalist in the headlines, the man who build the bunker, but other people build bunkers in the United States as well. We wanted to look tonight into why.

Gary Tuchman tonight takes us inside one man's bunker, one he built for his family in preparation for end of the world.

Also ahead tonight, a medieval king's makeover, what we can learn from the new reconstruction of King Richard III whose skeleton was found in England coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: A horrible crash involving Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn. We'll have the latest on her injuries ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Quick update on tonight's breaking news, two bombs found at the site of that hostage rescue in Alabama. According the FBI, one was found in that PVC pipe that you see there. Authorities located another in the bunker itself.

The discovery adding one final chilling note to an already terrifying tragic episode could have easily been worse. Officials and neighbors of the dead hostage taker Jimmy Lee Dykes described him as a survivalist with anti-government views.

Today, the concept of building an underground bunker is not as unusual as you would think. People build bunkers now for all sorts of reasons. Our Gary Tuchman tonight gets an up-close view of one bunker in Utah built by a survivalist who is preparing for the worst. Here's his report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He has a spectacular view of the mountains. A family man who lives in a beautiful neighborhood in Utah, but Peter Larson has a very dark view of what the world has in store for us.

We take a long ride with him into the mountains. Daylight turns to sundown, sundown to darkness. Then we arrive at the $65,000 structure where Peter Larson, his wife, his children and grandchildren plan to survive the attempted destruction of the world. (on camera): So this is the bunker?

PETER LARSON, SURVIVALIST: This is it.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Peter Larson is proud to be known as a survivalist, or as it's also known, a prepper.

LARSON: Right now we are about 20 feet underground and this unit is 50 feet long, 10-foot diameter, corrugated steel pipe.

TUCHMAN: Larson believes we are reaching the end of times. An economic collapse could cause civil disorder he theorizes, but he's most concerned about this.

LARSON: There will be a nuclear holocaust. Someone is going to pull the pin.

TUCHMAN (on camera): Your idea is that you will be down here with your family?

LARSON: Right.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): He has an elaborate air filtration system to be used when disaster happens.

LARSON: This is now pumping air in from the outside.

TUCHMAN: The bunker is packed with provisions, which seemed to get more dire the more you explore.

LARSON: Under each bunk is personal storage.

TUCHMAN (on camera): So those are your clothes.

LARSON: Clothes, cold weather gear then if we take a look at this one, this has some other items.

TUCHMAN: You have guns in here?

LARSON: We've got some guns in this one.

TUCHMAN: What is this?

LARSON: It's a Colt AR-15, an old Colt AR-15.

TUCHMAN: Got your ammo.

LARSON: Got some ammo, magazines.

TUCHMAN: You got enough bullets to start an army here.

LARSON: Yes.

TUCHMAN: And right here, the holy bible.

LARSON: You know, that's actually part of preparedness. You know, when you read the bible or along with that, in my case being Mormon, the Book of Mormon, it all indicates that in the last days -- and we feel like these are the last days -- there are some hard times.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Outside the bunker, he has barrels of water, 2,000 gallons and inside a food supply worthy of a small grocery.

(on camera): Cookies, Ritz, macaroni and cheese, corn, salt, Starkist and green giant green beans.

LARSON: This is beef jerky.

TUCHMAN: Why so much beef jerky?

LARSON: We love beef jerky.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): There is an obvious question about all of this, Larson lives far away from the bunker. How will he get there in time for what he believes is an imminent disaster?

LARSON: I'm a faith oriented person. I spend a certain amount of time with Heavenly Father reminding him that I need about 24 hours notice.

TUCHMAN (on camera): This bunker even comes with an escape hatch. This escape hatch is here in case the entrance to the bunker is blocked after a nuclear disaster, if something falls on top of it.

Peter Larson and his family can escape here. He says he has a philosophy he lives by. He's fearful of nothing because he's prepared for anything.

(voice-over): Guns, knives, some of his provisions, which he has with him at all times.

LARSON: I even keep barter material with me. One of the things that I keep is cash. Now, this, by the way, happens to be mostly one dollar bills, but if there was a breakdown in society.

TUCHMAN (on camera): How much cash is in here?

LARSON: In here right now I've got about $2,000.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): He also carries gold rings.

(on camera): This gold, how much is it worth?

LARSON: Between these two bags there's about $10,000 in gold.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Larson is not sheepish in the least about his outlook on life.

LARSON: So we have MREs stored down here.

TUCHMAN: Because he thinks it will extend his life and the lives of the people he loves. Just before he escapes out of the hatch and closes up the bunker, I ask him one more question.

(on camera): If the whole world would be destroyed or all of Utah would be destroyed, do you really want to live that kind of life?

LARSON: Sure.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Larson believes it is unlikely that all of humankind will be destroyed. He says he wants his family to be part of the rebuilding of society. Gary Tuchman, CNN, San Pete County, Utah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Interesting stuff.

Up next, more breaking news, a powerful earthquake off the Solomon Islands prompts a tsunami warning.

Plus champion skier Lindsey Vonn has to be airlifted from the Alpine Ski World Championships after a crash during opening day. We'll tell you how she's doing right now.

Also ahead tonight a new picture of King Richard III -- this is fascinating stuff -- after DNA testing showed that a skeleton found under a parking lot in England is in fact the long-lost king. Our Richard Quest has an update for us. He does a dramatic reading of Shakespeare you don't want to miss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Welcome back. There's a new reconstruction of King Richard III showing a whole new look for the monarch that's after DNA tests showed that a skeleton found under a parking lot in England is indeed the king.

Now there are a lot of people who are very excited about this. One of them is our own Richard Quest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: So Richard, is this a whole new kinder, gentler version of Richard III? What about the hunchback nephew murder that Shakespeare conjured?

RICHARD QUEST, HOST, CNNI'S "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Well, that's exactly the question that people are asking. This is the famous portrait bearing in mind that none were done during his lifetime, but this is the famous portrait.

And this is the look that they say he really was like taken from the scans of the digital enhancements added to a whole load of artistry around the head, the eyes, which gives a much more realistic view.

But note the tight lips, the high cheeks, the nose very prominent, incidentally much of that was destroyed in the battle of Bosworth that finally caused or led to his death. And you make your own mind up, Anderson.

Is this the sort of man that would have said, now is the winter of our discontent? Can you perhaps imagine him saying, a horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse even the other famous line from the Shakespearean play, off with his head!

COOPER: I can sort of see him saying all those things, frankly. I'm curious, though, they found him in a parking lot. How did a parking lot get to be placed over the place where he was buried?

QUEST: Well, yes, it wasn't always a parking lot. It was actually Greys Friar church where after the battle of Bosworth and the dead king had laid on the field, monks took pity. He'd been humiliated. He had been absolutely assaulted.

Ten -- ten wounds, any two of which would have polished him off including massive injuries to the skull. Then you get the monks taking the naked body of Richard and before anybody could do anything, they buried him in this church.

It's almost a pauper's grave for a king of England, and there he lay for 500-plus years. The church fell down, it went into disrepair. The city of Leicester grew up and now only 500 years later in this one stretch of that parking lot did you find the king.

COOPER: I read some quotes from members of the Richard III Society today. They seem very, very excited.

QUEST: That's an understatement. When they presented -- no, seriously, when they presented this -- this bust, this reconstruction of Richard, they announced it as his grace Richard, king of England, France and lord of Ireland.

And what you're now going to see in a significant -- I mean, this would put Washington spin doctors to shame because what you've now got is an entire spinning operation to try and turn, as you said, this man who supposedly locked up and murdered his nephews, did all sort of heinous things, now the rehabilitation of Richard III is well and truly under way.

There's one thing, Anderson, that they are saying. You know that famous line, act one, scene one, I'm sure you remember it, now is the winter of our discontent. People in London are saying, now is the winter of our dis-internment.

COOPER: Ba-bump-ba. Richard Quest, thank you very much, Richard.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Richard's going to be playing for two weeks at the Giggle Shack. Try the veal. Let's get caught up on some of the other stories we're following. Deb Feyerick joins us with the "360 News and Business Bulletin" -- Deb.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, breaking news, a powerful magnitude 8 earthquake has struck off the Solomon Islands in the Southwest Pacific. There was a magnitude 6.4 aftershock. A tsunami warning is in effect for the immediate area.

Mexican authorities say masked gunmen broke into a beach bungalow near Acapulco and raped six women, the victims, all tourists from Spain. Military checkpoints have been set up as police search for five suspects. Investigators have blocked off an area around the bungalow as they gather evidence.

Olympic gold medallist, Lindsey Vonn, crashed during the World Championship Super-G Race in Austria and was airlifted to the hospital with a season-ending knee injury and broken leg. The U.S. ski team expects her to be back on the slopes for the World Cup in next February's Winter Olympics in Russia.

If you're calorie counting, well, beware, a new study in the journal "alcoholism" suggests that cutting your cocktail with diet soda actually gets you drunk faster. Researchers say because sugar and mixed drinks slows the release of alcohol to your liver and brain -- Anderson.

COOPER: I did not know that.

FEYERICK: Yes. When you're drunk, you just eat more anyway. So you know, now it's worth worse. You can't even save on the calories in the drinks you drink.

COOPER: Deb, thanks very much. We'll be right back with tonight's "Ridiculist."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOEPR: Time now for the "Ridiculist." Tonight a story from California where they have a whole bunch of branches of restaurant called "Wienerschnitzel." We debated whether it's "Wienerschnitzel or Wienerschnitzel."

We don't have it here in New York because we prefer to get our hotdogs straight from a cart filled with tepid murky water, but I digress. This guy goes into Weinerschnitzel to get a kid's meal for his 3-year-old son and it came with a prize that happened to be a calendar featuring famous movies features with a canine component.

So there's dog-atar instead of "Avatar," for example, the Dog- father instead of the "Godfather," which is delightful. Because in my experience there is one thing kids like more than calendars, it is scintillating word play based on violent Mafia trilogies.

But it actually wasn't the "Dogfather" that was the problem, it was "Paws," that would be "Jaws" with a dog instead of a shark because as it turns out the Weinerschnitzel dog shark has a secret. The dad said when his 3-year-old son started playing with his fun new calendar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were a little surprised to find out when we got home that he had picked the sticker off one of the insert pictures and it showed what appeared to be a naked lady underneath.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: That's right. Nothing will ruin a kid-friendly calendar quite as fast as a naked lady. It seems the makers of the calendar glued a sticker on top of the naked swimmer showing her in a swimsuit.

But we all know how rough kids can be on their toys so when they start playing with the calendars a mere sticker doesn't stand a chance. Local residents are totally outraged. I may be exaggerating about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think it's appropriate for that kind of age.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By putting the sticker on there at least they tried to fix it because cost-wise, I mean, it's going to be a huge cost to the company just to go back in there and reprint it for one picture.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's a bunch of nothing. I think that's very harmless. Obviously, they tried to correct it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even with the sticker on, it's kind of weird seeing a dog trying to eat a lady. I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: I don't know either, ma'am. I just don't know either. The whole concept of this calendar for kids is a little confounding to me, but in general dogs replacing people in iconic movie images. That's just a stellar idea. It's a great idea now, and it was a great idea in "Best in Show."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have this idea, like, well, we loved old movies so much that we wanted to put it together in one project, which was going to, you know, set the world aflame basically. I don't know if it's going to do that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll see. We're not going to sell it. We're just going to give it out to friends.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we should try to sell it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shih tzus from the great love scenes.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: If you haven't seen "Best in Show," you should. The Weinerschnitzel people almost nailed it, but they should have gone with that theme instead of the woman being bitten by a rabid dog-shark theme. Anyway, kids, have fun playing you're your new calendars.

That does it for us. We'll be back one hour from now another edition of 360 at 10 p.m. Eastern. Thanks for watching. "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT" starts right now.