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Gunman Carjacks Department of Corrections Van; Man in Custody in Missing Girl Case; Parents Testify to Congress on Steroid Dangers

Aired March 17, 2005 - 13:00 ET

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

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Breaking news right now as we begin LIVE FROM at the top of the hour. These pictures coming to us via our affiliate WPVI. This is Egg Harbor, New Jersey. And we're not quite sure if there is still a gunman inside that van or not. But I'll sort of tell you a little bit of what we know here as we look at sort of an aerial view of how this has backed up traffic.
New York -- Jersey State Police on the Garden State Parkway here have either surrounded a gunman or apprehended a gunman that hijacked a Department of Corrections van.

Let's get right to Elisha Cooper with the New Jersey Department of Corrections. She joins us on the phone right now.

Elisha, do we know if the gunman is still in there with inmates, or has he been apprehended?

ELISHA COOPER, NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS: No. He's been apprehended.

PHILLIPS: He has been apprehended. Tell us what happened.

COOPER: Apparently, one of our officers were out on one of his details and he was carjacked by a civilian, and he tried to stop him. And he has minor bruises and, you know, cuts. And he's fine now. He's been checked at the hospital. The inmates are all still accounted for. And thank God it was just a van, you know...

PHILLIPS: And so...

COOPER: ...that was messed up.

PHILLIPS: Do we know if this civilian gunman knew the inmates in this van?

COOPER: No...

PHILLIPS: No. It was totally unrelated?

COOPER: Yes.

PHILLIPS: And how did you get the gunman out of -- out of the van? Who was called in? Is it a SWAT Team? Is it a corrections team?

COOPER: I believe Eatontown Police Department. PHILLIPS: Eatontown Police Department. So they surrounded the van. They were able to get him out, hands up, no confrontation?

COOPER: I believe so.

PHILLIPS: Now, when he took off in the van, when he carjacked the corrections van, were the inmates still in there?

COOPER: Hold on.

PHILLIPS: We're talking with Elisha Cooper with the New Jersey Department of Corrections. As you can imagine, her phones are ringing off the hook. But this is what we can tell you at this moment, as we get information. Apparently, a civilian gunman carjacked that white van you're seeing right there...

COOPER: Hello?

PHILLIPS: You're still with me, Elisha?

COOPER: Yes, I'm sorry, I'm working.

PHILLIPS: That's OK. I understand. I understand. We've got live coverage here as we're looking at these pictures. So the civilian gunman carjacked this corrections van with the inmates inside. Did he take off with inmates in the van? Or did the inmates...?

COOPER: No, I believe they were out cleaning.

PHILLIPS: They were already out?

COOPER: Right.

PHILLIPS: And obviously, we're seeing, my gosh, dozens of police cars here responding. I'm sure because of the nature of the inmates. What type of inmates were these? Were they coming to do work on the highway?

COOPER: Yes. They work on the detail. They're usually minimum -- minimum security inmates. And that's basically it.

PHILLIPS: All right. So all inmates have been accounted for, the gunman slightly bruised, in the hospital, getting checked out right now.

COOPER: No, the officer...

PHILLIPS: The officer, driving the car?

COOPER: I know nothing else about the gunman.

PHILLIPS: Don't know anything about the gunman?

COOPER: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Or his condition?

COOPER: No.

PHILLIPS: OK. Elisha Cooper, New Jersey Department of Corrections, thank you so much. We'll continue to update you on this story, on the condition of that gunman that carjacked this Department of Corrections van in New Jersey -- five inmates on board, an officer driving that van. The officer now being treated, inmates accounted for. We'll continue to follow.

Now on to the other big story today. A man is in custody in the missing girl case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUTH LUNSFORD, JESSICA LUNSFORD'S GRANDMOTHER: It makes me feel bad that we still don't know where Jessie is. But at least they've got somebody. Maybe he can tell us something. Maybe he did do it. Actually, I hope he did so that we can get this -- get this settled.

Maybe nobody else feels that way. Maybe that's the wrong thing to say. But -- I don't want nobody innocent punished for anything, but if he did do something, he needs to be punished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Hopes and fears collide for the Florida woman who put her 9-year-old granddaughter to bed 22 days ago and hasn't seen her since. Both emotions stem from today's arrest in Augusta, Georgia, of John Evander Couey, a career criminal and convicted sex offender, a so-called person of interest now in the search for Jessica Lunsford.

Couey is being held on a probation violation warrant, and one source tells CNN he wants to talk.

Citrus County, Florida, remains the center of that investigation. And CNN's Sara Dorsey is there.

Sara, bring us up to date.

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, the Citrus County Sheriff is saying investigators from this organization, as well as FBI agents, are heading to Augusta, where John Couey is being held, as you said.

Now, apparently he was picked up at a Salvation Army. Someone there reportedly recognized him on a poster and called police.

Now, in a news conference just a short time ago, the sheriff came out saying they were happy that Couey was in custody, but to keep in mind he is still just a person of interest, not a suspect. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JEFF DAWSY, CITRUS COUNTRY, FLORIDA: Well, you gut always leads you in certain directions, but I can tell you I'm very happy that we have him. You know, if you look at the building blocks alone, it does elevate the concerns of this individual.

But I don't want to become tunnel vision. One of the basic issues of losing a case is if you become too tunnel vision and do not look at every possible avenue and possibly every issue that comes in -- and your case becomes stymied.

We are not stymied now. We're still following leads. We are aggressively -- like I said, we're probably following about 40 really quality leads today. And you know, one of those leads may be the answer, and then Couey's not even in the game. Right now, Couey is one of the hottest leads, and we need, as I said, we need to take him out of the mix.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORSEY: Now, the sheriff says investigators will start talking and interviewing Couey today. And they believe that after just a few hours they should have a sense of whether this will need to move forward more or if they can rule him out altogether.

At 2 p.m., the sheriff in Augusta will hold a news conference. So possibly we can get more information out of that.

The sheriff here says the reason why Couey was named a person of interest is because he was a registered sex offender, not living in the home he was registered under -- rather, staying in a house with a family member, very near to where Jessica Lunsford disappeared from.

That, also coupled with some other things that investigators found out through the course of this investigation, made him a person of interest. Once they interview him, Kyra, they will know whether or not they may move him up to a suspect or take him out of the mix on this investigation altogether.

PHILLIPS: All right. Sara Dorsey, thank you so much.

CNN's John Zarrella spent time today with Jessica's family. We've got him on the phone now from Homosassa Springs.

John.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, just a few minutes ago we had an opportunity to talk with Mark Lunsford, Jessica's father. He came out and spoke with us.

And he said, and I'm quoting here, "I'm not biting into that. Let's not get our hopes up." And that, of course, in reference to the arrest of John Couey, being held in Georgia.

He says that police -- that we actually, the media, know more than he does, that police have not told him any more than they want to talk to Couey and he is a person of interest and that that's all he knows. And that he's not bothering the police with questions because, he says, they have a lot of work to do. He also told us, Mark Lunsford, that the search for his daughter in this area is going to continue this weekend.

PHILLIPS: OK.

ZARRELLA: He said there will be another search Saturday and Sunday, and he's hoping to get volunteers to come out for that.

And he reiterated to us that he did not know the people living in that house. He did not know that Couey was staying at that house. And when asked what his gut feeling about all this was, he said he really didn't want to say one way or the other because it wouldn't do any...

PHILLIPS: All right, John Zarrella, thank you so much. We'll continue to follow that story as it develops today.

Another big story that we're following today, bats have been corked, games have been thrown, strikes have been called -- the labor kind -- but the latest "say it ain't so" moment in Major League Baseball is all about steroids.

Mighty Congress is at bat. Live pictures right now. The House -- House Government Reform Committee, to be specific, hearing today from baseball officials, medical experts and some of the sport's most powerful sluggers, past and present.

CNN's Ed Henry has the play-by-play.

Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Kyra.

That's right. Right now the committee is hearing testimony from parents who have lost children, teenagers, to the ravages of steroids. They are testifying right now, along with health and medical experts, talking about the danger to steroids, to kids around the country.

Lawmakers on this panel say they do not want to just bring Major League ballplayers in. They also want parents across the country to know about the dangers of steroids. These lawmakers feel it's a public health crisis right now, and they're bringing in the Major Leaguers because they believe they're role models.

Even before the players testify -- which should be later this afternoon -- we're starting to get some news about what they will say. And in fact, the first statement we've now gotten today is from Sammy Sosa.

His opening statement will say, very directly, quote, "I have never injected myself or had anyone inject me with anything." So there, from Sammy Sosa. He will testify under oath to Congress that he has never used steroids, despite the allegations, despite the accusations that have been out there over the years.

Also, a little bit of news about Curt Schilling, the pitcher from the Boston Red Sox. We understand now from committee aides that he will be sworn in first before a lot of the other players.

And then after he's sworn in, the committee will stop and announce that they're creating a new task force to deal with steroids, and Curt Schilling will serve on it. They're not explaining exactly why this happened, but it's worth noting that Curt Schilling has never been accused of using steroids and in fact has spoken out against the dangers of steroids unlike someone like Jose Canseco, who will be testifying and has already written an entire book saying he used steroid.

And again, already we're hearing testimony right now from parents, including Dr. Denise Garibaldi, who lost her son, Rob, to steroids. And Don Hooton, who lost his son, Taylor, to the dangers of steroids. Here's their emotional testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DENISE GARIBALDI, LOST SON TO STEROIDS: Our children are reading "Juiced" right now, watching Barry Bonds lie right down -- right now, getting permission from their role models right now to use.

Canseco states and his counterparts imply that as long as you trust your instincts, control carefully the amounts, administer them at a proper time and be smart, careful and know what you're doing, full potential can be reached. I'd like to know where Dr. Canseco got his research, because what we know is that without steroid use, Rob's suffering and ultimately his death would have been averted.

DON HOOTON, LOST SON TO STEROIDS: Players that are guilty of taking steroids are not only cheaters; you are cowards. You're afraid to step on the field to compete for your positions and play the game without the aid of substances that are a felony to possess, without a legitimate prescription, substances that have been banned from competition at all levels of athletics.

Not only that, you are cowards when it comes to facing your fans and our children. Why don't you behave like we try to teach our kids to behave? Show our kids that you're man enough to face authority. Tell the truth and face the consequences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Dramatic testimony there from two parents. We also heard tough talk from Senator Jim Bunning, the Hall of Fame pitcher who said that he believes if baseball does not clean up its act on its own dealing with steroids, Congress will step in and do it for them -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Real quickly, Ed Henry, there's been talk that some of these baseball players wouldn't show up. Have you actually seen some of these big-name ballplayers there on the Hill?

HENRY: I've not seen them come through yet, but we are expecting them all to show up. The only one who's been excused is Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees, because the committee was concerned that his testimony here could interfere with the BALCO investigation in California -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Ed Henry. We'll check in with you all hour. Thank you so much.

And the final panel of witnesses due up today includes Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig and Players Union Chief Don Fehr. They're the architects of the drug testing policy that was nonexistent for years, allegedly toothless at first, then toughened but not enough for many in Congress, or many outside of Congress, for that matter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN ROSENTHAL, "THE SPORTING NEWS": I think Selig and Fehr -- the head of the sport, Bud Selig and Donald Fehr, the head of the union, should be held accountable for what has happened.

To me, the point of this hearing today should be to keep these guys under pressure. Baseball had a situation where they had no testing until 2003. Then they adopted testing. Congress brought these guys in. The testing was not sufficient. They adopted tougher testing.

To me, that should be the goal here. Get the toughest testing available, and then you'd have some real progress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, Scott Peterson on death row. Ahead on LIVE FROM, we're going to talk with the San Quentin Prison official who was there when Scott Peterson was admitted to his new home where some of the nation's most notorious killers will be his neighbors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And attack her.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So I'm going to come behind her and put her in a chokehold?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: A deputy takes CNN's Rick Sanchez to the mat. In the wake of the Atlanta courthouse shootings, we take you inside training for officers dealing with potentially violent defendants.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT BLAKE, ACTOR: I'm going to go out and do a little cowboying. You know what that is? No, you don't know what that is. (END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: I don't think we know what cowboying is, either. We've been trying to figure it out. But he did eventually explain what that is. Robert Blake, no longer murder trial defendant Robert Blake, says he's off to do some traveling, to experience the country and its people without the hanging cloud of a murder rap.

Blake says that he also needs a job, since he's now broke.

The attorney representing the victim in the case does not share Blake's gusto and says Bonny Lee Bakley's family will see justice served in time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC DUBIN, BAKLEY FAMILY ATTORNEY: Everybody in the family knows who committed this crime. We feel that Bonny was murdered twice, once in the car and once in the public's eye for Mr. Blake to beat a murder rap. So we're looking forward to July. I'm going to put him on the stand and it's going to be a different game. And hopefully, I can wipe that smile off his face.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right. We're going to continue our news from the courtroom. A number of cases to talk to you about since yesterday. But now we want to take you back to that story in New Jersey.

We actually received some incorrect information from someone at one of the prisons there in New Jersey. Now we have someone actually with the New Jersey Department of Corrections on the phone with us as we can -- Deirdre -- Deirdre Fedkenheuer with the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

Deirdre, I sure hope I said your name right.

DEIRDRE FEDKENHEUER, NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS: It's a tough one, but you did. You did very well.

PHILLIPS: All right. And we're going to get that video back up. I apologize that we got the wrong information before. But why don't you bring our viewers up to date on this carjacking that took place on this Corrections van. I understand the gunman is still inside?

FEDKENHEUER: That's what I understand, yes.

PHILLIPS: All right, take us back, Deirdre. Tell us what happened from the beginning and how we got to this point.

FEDKENHEUER: At approximately 10 or 10:30 this morning, there was a work detail out of Northern State Prison in Newark that consisted of a Corrections officer and five inmates. There at the corner of Grant and Wykoff Avenues, that's in Eatontown in Monmouth County, they were approached by an armed gunman who ordered the officer and the inmates out of the van, and he took the van at that juncture.

It appears that he went directly to the Parkway. That would be approximately exit 105. And from that point forward, of course, the state police were on it, and they could probably supply more information about what happened after that.

PHILLIPS: Well, right now, we're looking at the picture of the van there. I see the New Jersey State Police tactical team, also an armored peacekeeper vehicle.

FEDKENHEUER: Their teams unit. Correct.

PHILLIPS: OK. And so are they -- have they established communications with the gunman?

FEDKENHEUER: I don't know that. I would suggest that you call them and get that information.

PHILLIPS: All right. Do you know if this gunman had any relationship with the inmates that were in that van, or was this just one of these freak incidents where this civilian had a gun and hijacked this van?

FEDKENHEUER: It doesn't -- it doesn't appear at this juncture that he had any relationship with anyone there. But of course, it will be investigated thoroughly in the days and hours to come.

PHILLIPS: Have all the inmates been accounted for?

FEDKENHEUER: Yes, they have.

PHILLIPS: And the deputy driving the van...

FEDKENHEUER: The Correction officer driving the van.

PHILLIPS: Is he OK or she OK?

FEDKENHEUER: Yes, apparently he is fine.

PHILLIPS: All right, Deirdre. We appreciate you bringing us up to date. We're going to continue to follow this developing story.

Right now, what you're seeing is a Corrections van. We'll take you back, about -- oh, a couple hours or so, when a civilian gunman -- to this point that we know -- came across this corrections van. Five inmates inside, a Corrections officer driving it.

He carjacked the van. The inmates got out. The Corrections officer that was driving this van, so far, we know, is OK.

The inmates have been accounted for. But this gunman took off in this van, down the highway there in New Jersey, from Eatontown, it's the Garden State Parkway, actually. The van flipped over, the gunman still inside.

And right now, you're seeing dozens of officers, the New Jersey State Police tactical team, also an armored peacekeeper vehicle, a number of other law enforcement officials surrounding this van, trying to -- don't know if they've established communication with the gunman yet or not. Don't even know if the gunman is conscious, but we do know he is inside that van.

And we're going to keep you updated on what happens here and if, indeed, they're able to find out if he's breathing and if they can establish communications. We're following that for you.

Now some developments from Atlanta. Nearly a week since those courthouse shootings and bizarre fugitive flight and a partial answer to the question who was in charge?

Well, according to the mayor's office statement, Atlanta Police didn't take over the hunt for Brian Nichols until about an hour after the first shooting. Neither state, county, nor city law enforcement officials have clarified exactly who was running that search for Nichols.

While the investigation continues, families are mourning the victims of last week's deadly rampage. Salisbury, North Carolina, hometown of David Wilhelm, the 40-year-old federal agent shot to death during Nichols' 24 hours on the run. Well, relatives and friends gathered for Wilhelm's funeral and burial today.

A suburb just south of Atlanta, a funeral also today for Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes. He was shot dead in his courtroom, the first of four fatalities authorities attribute to Brian Nichols.

Now, it seems everyone you talk to has some opinion as to how the Atlanta shootings happened. Who could have done this? Who should have done that? One of the most discussed points involved the officer who was charged with watching Brian Nichols beforehand.

Deputy Cynthia Hall, 51 years old, 5'1". The much younger, much bigger, much stronger Nichols allegedly beat her up, took her keys, got her gun and began the killing spree.

As expected, security in Atlanta and in courtrooms nationwide is much more robust today and will likely remain so, as Atlanta's mayhem resounds with law enforcement officers of tomorrow.

CNN's Rick Sanchez reports now from South Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The live lines are always open in toll free South Florida.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): It's the talk on the radio.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want it. It should not be a female job. Shouldn't.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Makes no sense what you're saying.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, it makes perfect sense.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It does not.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes it does.

SANCHEZ: And on the streets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She shouldn't have been trying to guard the guy that she was guarding.

SANCHEZ: Here, though, at one of the nation's largest training facilities for police and jail guards, it's more than talk. In this building, it's a question of life or death.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand up straight. I need you to walk this way.

SANCHEZ: These recruits, just two weeks from graduation, are being trained and retrained on how to handle a prisoner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. We're going into handcuffing. Remember, we need to give clear commands to the subject at all times.

SANCHEZ: How to handcuff.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, sir.

SANCHEZ: How to disarm a suspect.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Move.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, why are you going to do this, sir?

Put your hands up! Get your hands up, get your hands up.

SANCHEZ: And perhaps, most importantly, what to do if that suspect turns on you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get your hands behind your back. Do it now.

ED DEL TORO, INSTRUCTOR: What we do also to mitigate the circumstance in which only the largest officer would win, we teach them to work with technique as opposed to working with strength.

SANCHEZ (on camera): Every correctional officer, you believe, needs to know this technique?

DEL TORO: Oh, absolutely.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): In this class, recruits are taught to overcome what some might see as odds, including size and, yes, gender.

(on camera) To those who say you're a woman, you're not capable of doing this, you say what?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Meet me on the mat. SANCHEZ (voice-over): OK. So we did.

DEL TORO: You're going to come up behind her and wrap your arm around her throat as though you intended to pull her off balance and attack her.

SANCHEZ: So I'm going to come behind her and put her in a choke hold?

DEL TORO: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On your stomach. Do it now.

SANCHEZ: Oh! Notice the control she's maintaining over here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You all right?

SANCHEZ: Yes. Thank you.

(voice-over) There's something that's also getting applause from law enforcement officials these days. All over the country, courthouses are experimenting and wrestling with new technology like the shock belt.

DEL TORO: They're growing in popularity, and they've worked out very well for us.

SANCHEZ (on camera): Let me tell you what judges tell me when I bring this subject up. They say, "I don't want a guy wearing a shock belt in my courtroom because the jury's going to see it. And it's going to prejudice the jury and they're going to be more apt to find him guilty. And then they're going to come back on an appeal and say, 'You know what? We've got to have this trial all over again."

DEL TORO: Rick...

SANCHEZ: That's what they're saying.

DEL TORO: You know what, Rick? That's not a valid argument anymore. Because technology has made these devices small enough that we can conceal them under your clothing.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): Holsters with double or triple latches are also a hot item with police and guards. The idea is to make it more difficult to grab the officer's gun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He doesn't understand the mechanism to take the gun out.

SANCHEZ (on camera): Now when it comes to technology, many in law enforcement recommend stun guns over real weapons. To show you how it works, I'm about to receive 50,000 volts of electricity.

Do it.

Ow! It hurts. It's painful. But no one's dead. (voice-over) And that is how law enforcement would like these scenarios to end up. In fact, they call it the wave of the future, the future that didn't arrive soon enough for countless officers, including the four who lost their lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Wave of the future.

SANCHEZ: Something that can really work. These guys are convinced that the only way that they can really protect themselves in the courthouse is to eliminate the guns and go to these stun guns and some of these shock belts. They think it's foolproof if it's done properly and now technology makes them smaller.

PHILLIPS: Is anyone using these shock belts at all, anywhere in the country?

SANCHEZ: A lot of sheriffs that I talked to yesterday, including sheriff's in the area of Georgia where we are, are saying that they really would like to know more about them. They're willing to experiment with them. But I think they're all -- after the incident that happened here in Atlanta, Georgia, they tend to be moving in that direction.

PHILLIPS: I don't think I want to be arrested by Kelly.

SANCHEZ: She's tough, isn't she? She's got a criminology degree from the University of Miami. She's extremely dedicated to what she's doing, and what she showed was that it's really all about technique. I mean, that's the most important thing.

Give me your hand for a minute. I'm not electric anymore. Once I take your hand and I start bending it like that, what do you do with your shoulder? See, you're going down. You tend to want to comply.

PHILLIPS: Sure.

SANCHEZ: So it's really all about technique and certain points. And I don't know this, but they do, and they showed me by demonstrating on several occasions that if you just move the hand a certain way, the body goes with it. And that's the way they're able to take -- a small person is able to handle a large person.

Of course, you know, you can't take this to the absurd. I mean, if someone's really, really big, it doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman. He's going to have a tough time with that person.

PHILLIPS: I'm going to remember that, and I always remember straight to the neck, too.

SANCHEZ: You've got that right. And no more shocking, by the way.

PHILLIPS: That's right. No tasers in this newsroom.

SANCHEZ: Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Rick Sanchez, thanks so much.

Well, in one medical note this hour, some researchers looking into the future are predicting something not seen in 1,000 years, a reversal in the average human life expectancy. What's to blame? Obesity.

A report in "The New England Journal of Medicine" foresees a leveling off or actually decline in life-span within the next 50 years, due to obesity, related heart trouble, diabetes and cancer. Skeptics say the report is one-sided and incomplete.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM....

LT. VERNELL CRITTONDEN, SAN QUENTIN: That is the exhaust for the gas chamber. And right underneath it, behind that door, is where the execution chamber itself is at.

PHILLIPS: Inside San Quentin Prison. Our cameras take you where Scott Peterson sits on death row.

Ahead on LIVE FROM, the family of Laci Peterson expected live at the top of the hour. We'll bring you that when it happens.

And later on LIVE FROM, NASCAR driver Jeff Burton on diversity, liquor ads, and his need for speed. The LIVE FROM interview.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired March 17, 2005 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Breaking news right now as we begin LIVE FROM at the top of the hour. These pictures coming to us via our affiliate WPVI. This is Egg Harbor, New Jersey. And we're not quite sure if there is still a gunman inside that van or not. But I'll sort of tell you a little bit of what we know here as we look at sort of an aerial view of how this has backed up traffic.
New York -- Jersey State Police on the Garden State Parkway here have either surrounded a gunman or apprehended a gunman that hijacked a Department of Corrections van.

Let's get right to Elisha Cooper with the New Jersey Department of Corrections. She joins us on the phone right now.

Elisha, do we know if the gunman is still in there with inmates, or has he been apprehended?

ELISHA COOPER, NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS: No. He's been apprehended.

PHILLIPS: He has been apprehended. Tell us what happened.

COOPER: Apparently, one of our officers were out on one of his details and he was carjacked by a civilian, and he tried to stop him. And he has minor bruises and, you know, cuts. And he's fine now. He's been checked at the hospital. The inmates are all still accounted for. And thank God it was just a van, you know...

PHILLIPS: And so...

COOPER: ...that was messed up.

PHILLIPS: Do we know if this civilian gunman knew the inmates in this van?

COOPER: No...

PHILLIPS: No. It was totally unrelated?

COOPER: Yes.

PHILLIPS: And how did you get the gunman out of -- out of the van? Who was called in? Is it a SWAT Team? Is it a corrections team?

COOPER: I believe Eatontown Police Department. PHILLIPS: Eatontown Police Department. So they surrounded the van. They were able to get him out, hands up, no confrontation?

COOPER: I believe so.

PHILLIPS: Now, when he took off in the van, when he carjacked the corrections van, were the inmates still in there?

COOPER: Hold on.

PHILLIPS: We're talking with Elisha Cooper with the New Jersey Department of Corrections. As you can imagine, her phones are ringing off the hook. But this is what we can tell you at this moment, as we get information. Apparently, a civilian gunman carjacked that white van you're seeing right there...

COOPER: Hello?

PHILLIPS: You're still with me, Elisha?

COOPER: Yes, I'm sorry, I'm working.

PHILLIPS: That's OK. I understand. I understand. We've got live coverage here as we're looking at these pictures. So the civilian gunman carjacked this corrections van with the inmates inside. Did he take off with inmates in the van? Or did the inmates...?

COOPER: No, I believe they were out cleaning.

PHILLIPS: They were already out?

COOPER: Right.

PHILLIPS: And obviously, we're seeing, my gosh, dozens of police cars here responding. I'm sure because of the nature of the inmates. What type of inmates were these? Were they coming to do work on the highway?

COOPER: Yes. They work on the detail. They're usually minimum -- minimum security inmates. And that's basically it.

PHILLIPS: All right. So all inmates have been accounted for, the gunman slightly bruised, in the hospital, getting checked out right now.

COOPER: No, the officer...

PHILLIPS: The officer, driving the car?

COOPER: I know nothing else about the gunman.

PHILLIPS: Don't know anything about the gunman?

COOPER: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Or his condition?

COOPER: No.

PHILLIPS: OK. Elisha Cooper, New Jersey Department of Corrections, thank you so much. We'll continue to update you on this story, on the condition of that gunman that carjacked this Department of Corrections van in New Jersey -- five inmates on board, an officer driving that van. The officer now being treated, inmates accounted for. We'll continue to follow.

Now on to the other big story today. A man is in custody in the missing girl case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUTH LUNSFORD, JESSICA LUNSFORD'S GRANDMOTHER: It makes me feel bad that we still don't know where Jessie is. But at least they've got somebody. Maybe he can tell us something. Maybe he did do it. Actually, I hope he did so that we can get this -- get this settled.

Maybe nobody else feels that way. Maybe that's the wrong thing to say. But -- I don't want nobody innocent punished for anything, but if he did do something, he needs to be punished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Hopes and fears collide for the Florida woman who put her 9-year-old granddaughter to bed 22 days ago and hasn't seen her since. Both emotions stem from today's arrest in Augusta, Georgia, of John Evander Couey, a career criminal and convicted sex offender, a so-called person of interest now in the search for Jessica Lunsford.

Couey is being held on a probation violation warrant, and one source tells CNN he wants to talk.

Citrus County, Florida, remains the center of that investigation. And CNN's Sara Dorsey is there.

Sara, bring us up to date.

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, the Citrus County Sheriff is saying investigators from this organization, as well as FBI agents, are heading to Augusta, where John Couey is being held, as you said.

Now, apparently he was picked up at a Salvation Army. Someone there reportedly recognized him on a poster and called police.

Now, in a news conference just a short time ago, the sheriff came out saying they were happy that Couey was in custody, but to keep in mind he is still just a person of interest, not a suspect. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JEFF DAWSY, CITRUS COUNTRY, FLORIDA: Well, you gut always leads you in certain directions, but I can tell you I'm very happy that we have him. You know, if you look at the building blocks alone, it does elevate the concerns of this individual.

But I don't want to become tunnel vision. One of the basic issues of losing a case is if you become too tunnel vision and do not look at every possible avenue and possibly every issue that comes in -- and your case becomes stymied.

We are not stymied now. We're still following leads. We are aggressively -- like I said, we're probably following about 40 really quality leads today. And you know, one of those leads may be the answer, and then Couey's not even in the game. Right now, Couey is one of the hottest leads, and we need, as I said, we need to take him out of the mix.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORSEY: Now, the sheriff says investigators will start talking and interviewing Couey today. And they believe that after just a few hours they should have a sense of whether this will need to move forward more or if they can rule him out altogether.

At 2 p.m., the sheriff in Augusta will hold a news conference. So possibly we can get more information out of that.

The sheriff here says the reason why Couey was named a person of interest is because he was a registered sex offender, not living in the home he was registered under -- rather, staying in a house with a family member, very near to where Jessica Lunsford disappeared from.

That, also coupled with some other things that investigators found out through the course of this investigation, made him a person of interest. Once they interview him, Kyra, they will know whether or not they may move him up to a suspect or take him out of the mix on this investigation altogether.

PHILLIPS: All right. Sara Dorsey, thank you so much.

CNN's John Zarrella spent time today with Jessica's family. We've got him on the phone now from Homosassa Springs.

John.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, just a few minutes ago we had an opportunity to talk with Mark Lunsford, Jessica's father. He came out and spoke with us.

And he said, and I'm quoting here, "I'm not biting into that. Let's not get our hopes up." And that, of course, in reference to the arrest of John Couey, being held in Georgia.

He says that police -- that we actually, the media, know more than he does, that police have not told him any more than they want to talk to Couey and he is a person of interest and that that's all he knows. And that he's not bothering the police with questions because, he says, they have a lot of work to do. He also told us, Mark Lunsford, that the search for his daughter in this area is going to continue this weekend.

PHILLIPS: OK.

ZARRELLA: He said there will be another search Saturday and Sunday, and he's hoping to get volunteers to come out for that.

And he reiterated to us that he did not know the people living in that house. He did not know that Couey was staying at that house. And when asked what his gut feeling about all this was, he said he really didn't want to say one way or the other because it wouldn't do any...

PHILLIPS: All right, John Zarrella, thank you so much. We'll continue to follow that story as it develops today.

Another big story that we're following today, bats have been corked, games have been thrown, strikes have been called -- the labor kind -- but the latest "say it ain't so" moment in Major League Baseball is all about steroids.

Mighty Congress is at bat. Live pictures right now. The House -- House Government Reform Committee, to be specific, hearing today from baseball officials, medical experts and some of the sport's most powerful sluggers, past and present.

CNN's Ed Henry has the play-by-play.

Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Kyra.

That's right. Right now the committee is hearing testimony from parents who have lost children, teenagers, to the ravages of steroids. They are testifying right now, along with health and medical experts, talking about the danger to steroids, to kids around the country.

Lawmakers on this panel say they do not want to just bring Major League ballplayers in. They also want parents across the country to know about the dangers of steroids. These lawmakers feel it's a public health crisis right now, and they're bringing in the Major Leaguers because they believe they're role models.

Even before the players testify -- which should be later this afternoon -- we're starting to get some news about what they will say. And in fact, the first statement we've now gotten today is from Sammy Sosa.

His opening statement will say, very directly, quote, "I have never injected myself or had anyone inject me with anything." So there, from Sammy Sosa. He will testify under oath to Congress that he has never used steroids, despite the allegations, despite the accusations that have been out there over the years.

Also, a little bit of news about Curt Schilling, the pitcher from the Boston Red Sox. We understand now from committee aides that he will be sworn in first before a lot of the other players.

And then after he's sworn in, the committee will stop and announce that they're creating a new task force to deal with steroids, and Curt Schilling will serve on it. They're not explaining exactly why this happened, but it's worth noting that Curt Schilling has never been accused of using steroids and in fact has spoken out against the dangers of steroids unlike someone like Jose Canseco, who will be testifying and has already written an entire book saying he used steroid.

And again, already we're hearing testimony right now from parents, including Dr. Denise Garibaldi, who lost her son, Rob, to steroids. And Don Hooton, who lost his son, Taylor, to the dangers of steroids. Here's their emotional testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DENISE GARIBALDI, LOST SON TO STEROIDS: Our children are reading "Juiced" right now, watching Barry Bonds lie right down -- right now, getting permission from their role models right now to use.

Canseco states and his counterparts imply that as long as you trust your instincts, control carefully the amounts, administer them at a proper time and be smart, careful and know what you're doing, full potential can be reached. I'd like to know where Dr. Canseco got his research, because what we know is that without steroid use, Rob's suffering and ultimately his death would have been averted.

DON HOOTON, LOST SON TO STEROIDS: Players that are guilty of taking steroids are not only cheaters; you are cowards. You're afraid to step on the field to compete for your positions and play the game without the aid of substances that are a felony to possess, without a legitimate prescription, substances that have been banned from competition at all levels of athletics.

Not only that, you are cowards when it comes to facing your fans and our children. Why don't you behave like we try to teach our kids to behave? Show our kids that you're man enough to face authority. Tell the truth and face the consequences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Dramatic testimony there from two parents. We also heard tough talk from Senator Jim Bunning, the Hall of Fame pitcher who said that he believes if baseball does not clean up its act on its own dealing with steroids, Congress will step in and do it for them -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Real quickly, Ed Henry, there's been talk that some of these baseball players wouldn't show up. Have you actually seen some of these big-name ballplayers there on the Hill?

HENRY: I've not seen them come through yet, but we are expecting them all to show up. The only one who's been excused is Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees, because the committee was concerned that his testimony here could interfere with the BALCO investigation in California -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Ed Henry. We'll check in with you all hour. Thank you so much.

And the final panel of witnesses due up today includes Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig and Players Union Chief Don Fehr. They're the architects of the drug testing policy that was nonexistent for years, allegedly toothless at first, then toughened but not enough for many in Congress, or many outside of Congress, for that matter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN ROSENTHAL, "THE SPORTING NEWS": I think Selig and Fehr -- the head of the sport, Bud Selig and Donald Fehr, the head of the union, should be held accountable for what has happened.

To me, the point of this hearing today should be to keep these guys under pressure. Baseball had a situation where they had no testing until 2003. Then they adopted testing. Congress brought these guys in. The testing was not sufficient. They adopted tougher testing.

To me, that should be the goal here. Get the toughest testing available, and then you'd have some real progress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, Scott Peterson on death row. Ahead on LIVE FROM, we're going to talk with the San Quentin Prison official who was there when Scott Peterson was admitted to his new home where some of the nation's most notorious killers will be his neighbors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And attack her.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So I'm going to come behind her and put her in a chokehold?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: A deputy takes CNN's Rick Sanchez to the mat. In the wake of the Atlanta courthouse shootings, we take you inside training for officers dealing with potentially violent defendants.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT BLAKE, ACTOR: I'm going to go out and do a little cowboying. You know what that is? No, you don't know what that is. (END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: I don't think we know what cowboying is, either. We've been trying to figure it out. But he did eventually explain what that is. Robert Blake, no longer murder trial defendant Robert Blake, says he's off to do some traveling, to experience the country and its people without the hanging cloud of a murder rap.

Blake says that he also needs a job, since he's now broke.

The attorney representing the victim in the case does not share Blake's gusto and says Bonny Lee Bakley's family will see justice served in time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC DUBIN, BAKLEY FAMILY ATTORNEY: Everybody in the family knows who committed this crime. We feel that Bonny was murdered twice, once in the car and once in the public's eye for Mr. Blake to beat a murder rap. So we're looking forward to July. I'm going to put him on the stand and it's going to be a different game. And hopefully, I can wipe that smile off his face.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right. We're going to continue our news from the courtroom. A number of cases to talk to you about since yesterday. But now we want to take you back to that story in New Jersey.

We actually received some incorrect information from someone at one of the prisons there in New Jersey. Now we have someone actually with the New Jersey Department of Corrections on the phone with us as we can -- Deirdre -- Deirdre Fedkenheuer with the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

Deirdre, I sure hope I said your name right.

DEIRDRE FEDKENHEUER, NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS: It's a tough one, but you did. You did very well.

PHILLIPS: All right. And we're going to get that video back up. I apologize that we got the wrong information before. But why don't you bring our viewers up to date on this carjacking that took place on this Corrections van. I understand the gunman is still inside?

FEDKENHEUER: That's what I understand, yes.

PHILLIPS: All right, take us back, Deirdre. Tell us what happened from the beginning and how we got to this point.

FEDKENHEUER: At approximately 10 or 10:30 this morning, there was a work detail out of Northern State Prison in Newark that consisted of a Corrections officer and five inmates. There at the corner of Grant and Wykoff Avenues, that's in Eatontown in Monmouth County, they were approached by an armed gunman who ordered the officer and the inmates out of the van, and he took the van at that juncture.

It appears that he went directly to the Parkway. That would be approximately exit 105. And from that point forward, of course, the state police were on it, and they could probably supply more information about what happened after that.

PHILLIPS: Well, right now, we're looking at the picture of the van there. I see the New Jersey State Police tactical team, also an armored peacekeeper vehicle.

FEDKENHEUER: Their teams unit. Correct.

PHILLIPS: OK. And so are they -- have they established communications with the gunman?

FEDKENHEUER: I don't know that. I would suggest that you call them and get that information.

PHILLIPS: All right. Do you know if this gunman had any relationship with the inmates that were in that van, or was this just one of these freak incidents where this civilian had a gun and hijacked this van?

FEDKENHEUER: It doesn't -- it doesn't appear at this juncture that he had any relationship with anyone there. But of course, it will be investigated thoroughly in the days and hours to come.

PHILLIPS: Have all the inmates been accounted for?

FEDKENHEUER: Yes, they have.

PHILLIPS: And the deputy driving the van...

FEDKENHEUER: The Correction officer driving the van.

PHILLIPS: Is he OK or she OK?

FEDKENHEUER: Yes, apparently he is fine.

PHILLIPS: All right, Deirdre. We appreciate you bringing us up to date. We're going to continue to follow this developing story.

Right now, what you're seeing is a Corrections van. We'll take you back, about -- oh, a couple hours or so, when a civilian gunman -- to this point that we know -- came across this corrections van. Five inmates inside, a Corrections officer driving it.

He carjacked the van. The inmates got out. The Corrections officer that was driving this van, so far, we know, is OK.

The inmates have been accounted for. But this gunman took off in this van, down the highway there in New Jersey, from Eatontown, it's the Garden State Parkway, actually. The van flipped over, the gunman still inside.

And right now, you're seeing dozens of officers, the New Jersey State Police tactical team, also an armored peacekeeper vehicle, a number of other law enforcement officials surrounding this van, trying to -- don't know if they've established communication with the gunman yet or not. Don't even know if the gunman is conscious, but we do know he is inside that van.

And we're going to keep you updated on what happens here and if, indeed, they're able to find out if he's breathing and if they can establish communications. We're following that for you.

Now some developments from Atlanta. Nearly a week since those courthouse shootings and bizarre fugitive flight and a partial answer to the question who was in charge?

Well, according to the mayor's office statement, Atlanta Police didn't take over the hunt for Brian Nichols until about an hour after the first shooting. Neither state, county, nor city law enforcement officials have clarified exactly who was running that search for Nichols.

While the investigation continues, families are mourning the victims of last week's deadly rampage. Salisbury, North Carolina, hometown of David Wilhelm, the 40-year-old federal agent shot to death during Nichols' 24 hours on the run. Well, relatives and friends gathered for Wilhelm's funeral and burial today.

A suburb just south of Atlanta, a funeral also today for Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes. He was shot dead in his courtroom, the first of four fatalities authorities attribute to Brian Nichols.

Now, it seems everyone you talk to has some opinion as to how the Atlanta shootings happened. Who could have done this? Who should have done that? One of the most discussed points involved the officer who was charged with watching Brian Nichols beforehand.

Deputy Cynthia Hall, 51 years old, 5'1". The much younger, much bigger, much stronger Nichols allegedly beat her up, took her keys, got her gun and began the killing spree.

As expected, security in Atlanta and in courtrooms nationwide is much more robust today and will likely remain so, as Atlanta's mayhem resounds with law enforcement officers of tomorrow.

CNN's Rick Sanchez reports now from South Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The live lines are always open in toll free South Florida.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): It's the talk on the radio.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want it. It should not be a female job. Shouldn't.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Makes no sense what you're saying.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, it makes perfect sense.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It does not.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes it does.

SANCHEZ: And on the streets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She shouldn't have been trying to guard the guy that she was guarding.

SANCHEZ: Here, though, at one of the nation's largest training facilities for police and jail guards, it's more than talk. In this building, it's a question of life or death.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand up straight. I need you to walk this way.

SANCHEZ: These recruits, just two weeks from graduation, are being trained and retrained on how to handle a prisoner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. We're going into handcuffing. Remember, we need to give clear commands to the subject at all times.

SANCHEZ: How to handcuff.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, sir.

SANCHEZ: How to disarm a suspect.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Move.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, why are you going to do this, sir?

Put your hands up! Get your hands up, get your hands up.

SANCHEZ: And perhaps, most importantly, what to do if that suspect turns on you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get your hands behind your back. Do it now.

ED DEL TORO, INSTRUCTOR: What we do also to mitigate the circumstance in which only the largest officer would win, we teach them to work with technique as opposed to working with strength.

SANCHEZ (on camera): Every correctional officer, you believe, needs to know this technique?

DEL TORO: Oh, absolutely.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): In this class, recruits are taught to overcome what some might see as odds, including size and, yes, gender.

(on camera) To those who say you're a woman, you're not capable of doing this, you say what?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Meet me on the mat. SANCHEZ (voice-over): OK. So we did.

DEL TORO: You're going to come up behind her and wrap your arm around her throat as though you intended to pull her off balance and attack her.

SANCHEZ: So I'm going to come behind her and put her in a choke hold?

DEL TORO: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On your stomach. Do it now.

SANCHEZ: Oh! Notice the control she's maintaining over here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You all right?

SANCHEZ: Yes. Thank you.

(voice-over) There's something that's also getting applause from law enforcement officials these days. All over the country, courthouses are experimenting and wrestling with new technology like the shock belt.

DEL TORO: They're growing in popularity, and they've worked out very well for us.

SANCHEZ (on camera): Let me tell you what judges tell me when I bring this subject up. They say, "I don't want a guy wearing a shock belt in my courtroom because the jury's going to see it. And it's going to prejudice the jury and they're going to be more apt to find him guilty. And then they're going to come back on an appeal and say, 'You know what? We've got to have this trial all over again."

DEL TORO: Rick...

SANCHEZ: That's what they're saying.

DEL TORO: You know what, Rick? That's not a valid argument anymore. Because technology has made these devices small enough that we can conceal them under your clothing.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): Holsters with double or triple latches are also a hot item with police and guards. The idea is to make it more difficult to grab the officer's gun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He doesn't understand the mechanism to take the gun out.

SANCHEZ (on camera): Now when it comes to technology, many in law enforcement recommend stun guns over real weapons. To show you how it works, I'm about to receive 50,000 volts of electricity.

Do it.

Ow! It hurts. It's painful. But no one's dead. (voice-over) And that is how law enforcement would like these scenarios to end up. In fact, they call it the wave of the future, the future that didn't arrive soon enough for countless officers, including the four who lost their lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Wave of the future.

SANCHEZ: Something that can really work. These guys are convinced that the only way that they can really protect themselves in the courthouse is to eliminate the guns and go to these stun guns and some of these shock belts. They think it's foolproof if it's done properly and now technology makes them smaller.

PHILLIPS: Is anyone using these shock belts at all, anywhere in the country?

SANCHEZ: A lot of sheriffs that I talked to yesterday, including sheriff's in the area of Georgia where we are, are saying that they really would like to know more about them. They're willing to experiment with them. But I think they're all -- after the incident that happened here in Atlanta, Georgia, they tend to be moving in that direction.

PHILLIPS: I don't think I want to be arrested by Kelly.

SANCHEZ: She's tough, isn't she? She's got a criminology degree from the University of Miami. She's extremely dedicated to what she's doing, and what she showed was that it's really all about technique. I mean, that's the most important thing.

Give me your hand for a minute. I'm not electric anymore. Once I take your hand and I start bending it like that, what do you do with your shoulder? See, you're going down. You tend to want to comply.

PHILLIPS: Sure.

SANCHEZ: So it's really all about technique and certain points. And I don't know this, but they do, and they showed me by demonstrating on several occasions that if you just move the hand a certain way, the body goes with it. And that's the way they're able to take -- a small person is able to handle a large person.

Of course, you know, you can't take this to the absurd. I mean, if someone's really, really big, it doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman. He's going to have a tough time with that person.

PHILLIPS: I'm going to remember that, and I always remember straight to the neck, too.

SANCHEZ: You've got that right. And no more shocking, by the way.

PHILLIPS: That's right. No tasers in this newsroom.

SANCHEZ: Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Rick Sanchez, thanks so much.

Well, in one medical note this hour, some researchers looking into the future are predicting something not seen in 1,000 years, a reversal in the average human life expectancy. What's to blame? Obesity.

A report in "The New England Journal of Medicine" foresees a leveling off or actually decline in life-span within the next 50 years, due to obesity, related heart trouble, diabetes and cancer. Skeptics say the report is one-sided and incomplete.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM....

LT. VERNELL CRITTONDEN, SAN QUENTIN: That is the exhaust for the gas chamber. And right underneath it, behind that door, is where the execution chamber itself is at.

PHILLIPS: Inside San Quentin Prison. Our cameras take you where Scott Peterson sits on death row.

Ahead on LIVE FROM, the family of Laci Peterson expected live at the top of the hour. We'll bring you that when it happens.

And later on LIVE FROM, NASCAR driver Jeff Burton on diversity, liquor ads, and his need for speed. The LIVE FROM interview.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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