dr. richard s. i think a cut you off, and you were giving us a real perspective on the impact criminal history has on a person's life, and a one to give you back your time. >> i appreciate the legislation and the work that you do any work you are doing, but i think we have kind -- we do not realize how big a problem this has become. united states today, we are this global power. we are fighting wars that do not end. you all know this. and the war has come home. the war is in the streets. we have arrested millions of people for drugs. thank god i'm in california. show me some pot, you know? california is wonderful, but it is not that way in the rest of the country. they are still giving people felony convictions for possession of marijuana. you guys are really progressive. the rest of this country is not. the rest of this country is fighting a war that you cannot even protest. we are so far, even though barack is in the white house, isn't that great? the country is more right wing than you ever reali

dr. richard s. -- dr. richards. >> [inaudible] >> we love the excitement.his is all intentional. >> i'm happy to be in san francisco, and that kind of brings me to the point i want to say. this morning, we were in the courtroom, and we have lawyers, public defenders talking about legal cases, talking about the roles they play. what i think has been lost here, and maybe even this gentleman kind of raised it, is what happens to these defendants? what happens when they go back into the court, into the lock up after they have pled guilty? about 95% of them plead guilty. you know that they are being forced to plead guilty. you all know it. it is like there is a gun to their head. i call it the terror of arithmetic. they are being threatened with 100 years, 50 years, 20 years -- you know what that does to them. they go back to their jail cells. those numbers bounce around in there had. after a week or a month or six months or a year, a year-and-a- half, they plead guilty. and you know as public defenders, one of your main jobs is to make them plead guilty. and i

dr. richards, it is my understanding you have some personal experience in this area.ould ask you to share your experiences with us and tell us about the barriers that exist for people who have a criminal record. >> i'm a convicted felon. i'm an ex-con. and i'm a professor. i'm the leader of the convert criminology group. if you just go to google and google convict criminology, you will find our website. our group was actually started many years ago by professor

dr. richards, it is my understanding you have some personal experience in this area.ould ask you to share your experiences with us and tell us about the barriers that exist for people who have a criminal record. >> i'm a convicted n.

economic meltdown and what you do about it i'm pleased to welcome from our studios in new york city dr richard wolfe richard welcome. thank you very much. eek let's define some terms first of all i am continually astounded on the radio program that i do during the day by the number of people who call up who are obviously. you know just basic working people who identify themselves as capitalists what in your in your. business as as an economist what is the real definition of a capitalist and of capitalism. oh captain lism is a system in which we basically organize the production of all the goods and services that people depend on in the following way a small group of people who have a lot of money cut a deal with a lot of people who don't and the deal is i will pay you a wage and a salary if you come to work and produce for me and at the end of the day when you're done you go home and you leave behind what you've produced because it's mine and the name of the deal is simple i'm going to pay you twenty dollars an hour on one condition that during that hour you produce more for me in the way of g

dr. richard besser, abc news, new york. >>> and coming up, modern romance.you have to take a big risk to get a prom date these days. do you remember yours? finally, there's a choice for my patients with an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, or afib, that's not caused by a heart valve problem. today we have pradaxa to reduce the risk of a stroke caused by a clot. in a clinical trial, pradaxa 150 mg reduced stroke risk 35% more than warfarin. and with pradaxa, there's no need for those regular blood tests. pradaxa is progress. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding, and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have kidney problems or a bleeding condition, like stomach ulcers. or if you take aspirin products, nsaids, or blood thinners. tell your doctor about all medicines you take, any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctor's approv

dr. richard besser is here with the details. rich?r reason to hate bedbugs, you now have it. researchers in canada wanted to see if bedbugs could carry dangerous, drug-resistant bacteria. and they could. two although the bacteria can cause serious infections, there's been no infections to date, that's been linked to being bitten by a bedbug. i'm sure doctors will be looking and asking more closely about that connection. >> meanwhile, bedbugs just aren't a problem in big cities, such as new york. we've seen it explode around the country, suggesting they're nothing, if not ministowaways. so, what can people do? >> it is taking off. you don't want to mess around with this. they're very difficult to control. but the earlier you get professional help, the more likely you'll get this problem under control. josh? >> all right. dr. richard besser with the latest. >>> meanwhile, our diane sawyer with a preview of tonight's "world news." diane? >> happy thursday to you, josh. tonight on "world news," an incredible gift for a devoted, young spor

dr. richard besser, abc news, new york. >> wouldn't that be amazing?eople in that situation that would really just love >>> this morning on "world news now," under water. the huge disaster for farmers as the mighty mississippi overflows. >>> the farmers are suffering, though meanwhile critics are wondering why they continue to plant crops in harm's way. it's friday, may 20th. >> announcer: from abc news, this "world news now." >> good friday morning, i'm peggy bunker. >> and i'm rob nelson. parts of vicksburg, mississippi, are under water this morning and so are farm fields in louisiana. it's so bad you will see why wild pigs may be causing problems for the levee system along that still raging river. tough couple of days. several weeks actually. >> it really has been. >>> also this half hour coming up, it's been a mystery for years. who is responsible for the deadly tylenol tampering back in the 1980s? well the surprising new development about that that could point to a notorious unabomber. >>> and later on as we learn more details about maria shriver

dr. richard frisni received injuries after a patient attacked him. >> what would have stopped him from attacking me? more police presence. >> reporter: this is the sally port to the dorms for the more than 1,000 criminally committed where violent patients sleep alongside the violent often assaulted residents. former president wade jr. says he spent much of his life here. he is one of the people who complained about long police response time. >> the police are out there to my right and the sally part is all the way over here to my left. the hospital police take at least three to four minutes to get into the sally port. that needs to change like yesterday. >> reporter: there's a lot of debate over whether any changes the department of health have made in the past month have done any good or are even real. >> we have redirected hospital police officers from current positions such as the visiting center, the mail services and put them in the secure treatment area. >> no the police are not on the unit. the police are outside the fence. they're supposed to keep the violently criminal insane from escap

dr. richard besser tells us the cold hard facts about food dangers.st. >>> and sarah palin's bus tour is expected to roll into philadelphia today, after a stop at the historic gettysburg battlefield. palin and her aides have been deliberately vague about exactly where they're headed next. there's been reports that she's headed north to first presidential primary state, new hampshire. >>> there's a new problem in tornado-devastated joplin, missouri. there's not enough housing for the thousands displaced after losing their homes. fema is trying to find rentals or trailers. right now, there's a bidding war. one woman had to pay a year's rent as a deposit for an apartment. >>> and for hundreds of beachgoers in central florida, it was a painful holiday weekend. more than 800 people were stung by these purplish stinging jellyfish. wind conditions blew them on to the shore. get out of the water, people. >>> it happens twice a year in new york. it's like stonehenge in britain. but we call it manhattanhenge. at precisely 7:18 last night, that's what it looked

dr. richard besser, first reported on this crisis last december. >> emergency medicine drugs. >> reporter: the ever-expanding list of scarce medicines including everything from ritually, to treat hyperactive children, to immediate kagss used in chemotherapy for cancer patients. last year, cancer patient mark was being treated with a drug, and suddenly, there was none. >> the hospital called us on sunday night, and said don't come in. we might not have the drug. >> reporter: a recent survey found at least 1,000 medication errors due to the shortages. >> some of those were near-misses. but some were also deaths. >> reporter: why the shortages? some drugmakers have scaled back the production of less-profitable y less-profitable generics. there are bills in congress to make drug companies tell when they are starting to run out of medicine. >>> sarah palin's tour bus has rolled into gettysburg, pennsylvania, after a stop in washington, d.c. palin and her aides have refused to share basic details about the one nation tour that's going to end up in new england. the former alaska governor says sh

dr. richard besser first reported on this crisis last december. >> what type of drugs are you seeing in shortply? >> drugs that are needed for patients undergoing surgery. emergency medicine drugs. >> reporter: now includes everything from ritalin to treat hyperactive children to medications used in chemotherapy for cancer patients. last year cancer patient mark mckie was being treated with a drug called doxorutisin, then suddenly there was none. >> the hospital called sunday night and said, well, don't come in, we might not have the drug. >> reporter: a recent survey found at least 1,000 medication errors due to the shortages. >> some of those were near miss but some were also deaths. >> reporter: why the shortages? some drugmakers have scaled back production of less profitable generics. others had manufacturing problems that forced them to shut down. there are now bills in congress to require drugmakers to tell the government when they're about to cut back production to allow other companies to ramp up to fill the need so patients won't be left without the medicine they desperately need. ro

dr. richard besser is here tonight. we don't want to confuse anyone. the drugs for bad cholesterol, you say we keep. it's the drugs for good cholesterol in question tonight? >> reporter: that's right. you know, of course, millions of americans are taking statins to keep their bad cholesterol in check. and that's a good thing. tonight, we're talking about whether taking a drug to increase your good cholesterol will work. in this study, doctors used a drug called niaspan. they gave it to patients who are already on a stat tin. to see if there would be any added benefit. and unfortunately, this is not the first study to say there's no evidence that adding niacin will make your heart healthier. >> so the drug on bad cholesterol, keep, and ask the doctor about the one on good cholesterol. >> reporter: that's right. >> dr. besser, thank you so much. >>> and we do have a passing to note tonight. jeff conaway. he shot to fame in "grease" and later on "taxi." he died of complications from pneumonia. he was 60 years old. >>> still ahead here on "world news" this

dr. richard besser, abc news, new york. >> a nickname well earned. that is our broadcast for tonight.efore diane left on assignment today, she said, be sure to wish our friend the best and so take a look at this on the desk here. right here, we're able to keep a close eye on our competition. a huge part of that has been, of course, watching katie couric, right down the street here. as she signs off the evening news for the last time tonight, we wish her the very best in whatever she chooses next. good luck, katie. for diane and all of us here at abc news, we hope you have a for diane and all of us here at social networking makes a big splash on wall street. the stock market debut of a local company that clearly priced itsself to low. >> a peninsula lawmaker leaves a contingent from washington on a new tour of the san bruno explosion site. >>> an east bay child killed in a house of horrors. how she might fill be alive if the system hadn't failed her are. >> and $2 bills you can buy for $10. michael finney investigates this currency caper. >>> a silicon valley company lights a fire on t

dr. richard besser will bring us that story.s incredible. >> it is. >>> also, arnold schwarzenegger spoke out for the first time since he and maria shriver announced they are separating, after 25 years of marriage. we'll also hear from their kids this morning. and getting to the whole idea of a pattern, now. long-time couples, political couples, splitting up after the political career ends. >>> let's turn to the dramatic, new video playing out in a florida courtroom, in the alleged murder-for-hire case. police staged a fake murder scene, secretly taping valerie dippolito, as she told her her husband was dead. the jury got to see the whole, explosive video. andrea canning is here. andrea? >> reporter: dalia dippolito got one surprise after another, from police as they caught it all on tape. but she said the murder-for-hire was a plan to get o reality tv show. and the shocking video you're about to see is certainly worthy of reality tv. you're watching police interrogation video of dalia dippolito, in the hours after she had been

dr. richard besser. >> what you are witnessing is groundbreaking. rob somers making history bystanding up. to understand how incredible this moment is you have to go back to a summer night in 2006 when rob, a baseball player nicknamed superman met tragedy. >> i was playing the best i ever had and was hit by a car in a hit-and-run when i was standing in driveway. >> what do you remember? >> tried to move my arms and tried to yell and nothing would come out. >> they said we have signs of spinal cord injury and your world stops spinning. >> rob was paralyzed from the chest down. told he would never walk again. >> i turned to the doctor and said obviously you don't know me very well. i am going to walk again. >> he learned of ground breaking research. doctors implanted a tiny stimulater in his spinal cord below the area that was damaged. when it is turned on it energizes his damaged nerves, allowing him to move parts of his body that were paralyze. >> i turn and go look, my toe is moving and everyone's mouths hit the floor. >> reporter: so every day now

dr. richard newell, he's an economist specializing in energy economics and we're learning more about price at the pump and overall u.s. energy supply from him. next is a call from san antonio. this is mike, an independent. >> caller: yes. thank you for c-span. my question is if a barrel of oil is 32 gallons and a gallon of gasoline is $4, all of the oil in the barrel is $32 gallons is $4 a gallon, that's makes $128 a barrel. how much gasoline do you get out of a barrel of oil? >> right. so you are on the right path there. one thing is that there's 42 gallons per barrel. if you look at -- if you are trying to translit retail gasoline prices which are around $4 on national average and try to understand the role of oil in that, you are going about it the right way. but it's 42, not 32 gallons. if refineries are paying around $110. measured in gallon, divide by 42, you get $2.60 per gallon of oil cost. so then you've got to -- you know, you've got another $1.40 between that and $4 retail. the other components there, as we've talked about are -- 41, 42 cents per gallon per state and federal tax

dr. richard vesser first reported on this crisis last december. >> what type of drugs are you seeing in short> drugs that are needed for patients undergoing surgery. emergency medicine drugs. >>reporter: ever expanding list of medicine include everything from ritalin to treat hyperactive children to medication used in chemotherapy for cancer patients. last year cancer patient mark was being treated with a drug called this. suddenly there was none. >> the hospital actually called us on a sunday night and said well, don't come in. we mate not have the drugs. >>reporter: recent survey found at least 1,000 medication error due to the shortage. >> some of those near miss. but some were also death. >>reporter: why the shortage? some drug maker scaled back production of less profitable generic. others had manufacturing problem that force them to shut down. there are now bills in congress to require drug make investigators tell the government when they are about to cut back production. allow other companys to ramp up to fill the need. so patient is won't be left without the medicine they desperately

dr. richard besser is here.nation is conquering one of the world's deadliest epidemics. we're going to get to that in just a little bit as well. >>> and we're going to have dee elliott. dee wallace, i'm sorry. the mother from "e.t." >>> but right now, first, josh elliott with the news. >>> i'm also down here in times square. it's also fleet week in new york city. the centennial of navy aviation. to celebrate it all, i'm standing here with rusty croft. the host of "sand masters." i suddenly feel overdressed. 60 tons of sand bemind me to create. a monsoon rolled through this morning. this thing is still standing. >> number one question all over the world, what happens when it rains? this is what happens. not much. >> it's remarkable. we have remarkable video of this being built. what exactly goes into creating this out of 60 tons of sand? >> we had to bring in the marines to help us get the compaction done. we throw it in a box, mix sand and water, you hack it. >> how do you find out if you're good at something li

dr. richard besser, of course. and dr. logan levkoff.k "third base ain't what it used to be." the fda guidelines when it comes to botox. >> fda approves drugs. and botox is not approved for the use of cosmetic purposes in children. it is used for some other things. in children who are cross-eyed, it's a very effective treatment. children with painful twisting of muscles, it can be very useful. but not approved for cosmetic purposes. >> what about the side effects? >> this is a toxin. it works by paralyzing muscles. it gets rid of the wrinkles by paralyzing the muscles that cause your skin to wrinkle. if you inject it in the face and it drifts to your throat, it can prevent you from following. if it gets to your diaphragm, it can stop you from breathing. and young child, if you use it on the face, it can change the shape of your face. the muscles form with the phones to form what your face looks like. >> and lara reported more on "nightline" last night. and a lot of it had to do with people outraged saying, this sends a wrong message to a

dr. slaughter? >> thank you, senator lugar. i would say the first thing is that richard and on and i think maybe ambassador neumann, at least richard and i agree that fighting the taliban is not why we, are there. the reason we are there is exactly to prevent terrorist attacks on the united states. the question is with the successful means for that. when we try the counterterrorism strategy we couldn't get the intelligence that we needed to be able to actually actively effectively attack al qaeda. we got osama bin laden because we got intelligence. we couldn't get the intelligence because taliban were terrifying the villagers said they can't give us that intelligence so we move from the kind of strategy that richard advocates to the full counterinsurgency strategy where we will get the intelligence by clearing, holding and building and getting the confidence of the villagers. i do not think that can work over the long term. so the difference is i am advocating a political settlement that actually gets enough stability. this is not going to be some rosy vision of afghanis

dr. slaughter? >> thank you, senator lugar. i would say the first thing is that richard and on and i think maybe ambassador neumann, at least richard and i agree that fighting the taliban is not why we, are there. the reason we are there is exactly to prevent terrorist attacks on the united states. the question is with the successful means for that. when we try the counterterrorism strategy we couldn't get the intelligence that we needed to be able to actually actively effectively attack al qaeda. we got osama bin laden because we got intelligence. we couldn't get the intelligence because taliban were terrifying the villagers said they can't give us that intelligence so we move from the kind of strategy that richard advocates to the full counterinsurgency strategy where we will get the intelligence by clearing, holding and building and getting the confidence of the villagers. i do not think that can work over the long term. so the difference is i am advocating a political settlement that actually gets enough stability. this is not going to be some rosy vision of afghanis

dr. richard newell, the head of the u.s. energy information administration. he is an economist. we're learning more about price at the pump. next is a call from san antonio. mike, and independence -- an independent. caller: if a gallon of gasoline is $4, it makes $120 a barrel. how much gasoline do you get from a barrel of oil? guest: you are on the right path. there is 42 gallons per barrel. if you try to translate retail gasoline prices, which are around $4 a gallon, and you try to understand the role of loyoi, you are going about it the right way. if refiners are paying about $110 per barrel, you subtract that by 42. then you have another $1.40 of the retail cost. the other components are the 42 cents for state and federal taxes. you have the retail and distribution costs and profits, 25 to 30 cents per gallon. then the refinery margin. that amount is a typically high right now because of shutdowns and low inventory levels in gasoline. host: "the washington post" has a related story. i will point it out to you. lots of details there. the cost of making more fuel- efficient ca

dr. slaughter? >> thank you, senator lugar. i would say the first thing is that richard and on and i think maybe ambassador neumann, at least richard and i agree that fighting the taliban is not why we, are there. the reason we are there is exactly to prevent terrorist attacks on the united states. the question is with the successful means for that. when we try the counterterrorism strategy we couldn't get the intelligence that we needed to be able to actually actively effectively attack al qaeda. we got osama bin laden because we got intelligence. we couldn't get the intelligence because taliban were terrifying the villagers said they can't give us that intelligence so we move from the kind of strategy that richard advocates to the full counterinsurgency strategy where we will get the intelligence by clearing, holding and building and getting the confidence of the villagers. i do not think that can work over the long term. so the difference is i am advocating a political settlement that actually gets enough stability. this is not going to be some rosy vision of afghanis

dr. daniel j. richards, the senior fellow of the cato institute and former economist for the u.s. senate finance committee. we have the reverend brian, the director of the tea party founding fathers, a member of the red river tea party, in shreveport. he is a fellow at freedom works and how former member of the naacp. he is a documentary producer you can find out about that had his website. he is a baptist minister and founder of one nation back to god. finally we have bob come up the vice president of the tea party national convention. he was the 2010 candidate for governor in the state of iowa. what is the ceo and president of iowa-based organization called the family leader. before i turn it over to william temple come a war read statement that we were given by congresswoman bachmann in lieu of her absence. the tea party is everyday americans who want congress to stop frittering around the edge of our government spending crisis with small cuts. they do not want the debt ceiling raised and they are demanding that washington live within its means. i am not able to be with you tod

dr. zbigniew brzezinski then i'm joined by david and mort zuckerman and richard engel for furtheconversation about what the president laid out and what the reaction might be. >> since the president on the second issue of his speech, in my judgment, didn't go far enough, was too timid, didn't exercise a kind of leadership that is needed, i'm afraid the trend is going to be negative in terms of what we expect from the middle east. a kind of healthy democratic consolidation that is friendly to us and which is supported by us. >> the region right now there is a tremendous feeling of momentum and people have started to expect things to happen quickly. they're watching leaders like mubarak and bin ali fall. there are demonstrations out in the street and they were hoping to seehe same kind of urgency coming out of the white house and they didn't see it. >> rose: the president's speech on the middle east when we continue. we can all root for. who beats the odds and comes out on top. but this isn't just a hollywood storyline. it's happening every day, all across america. every time or the midnight oi

dr. slaughter? >> thank you, senator lugar. so i would say the first thing is that richard and i and i think ambassador neumann, at least richard and i agree fighting the taliban is not why we are there. the reason we are there is exactly to prevent terrorist attacks on the united states. the only question is, what is the successful means to that end? when we tried the counterterrorism strategy we couldn't get the intelligence that we needed to be able to actively effectively attack al qaeda. we got osama bin laden because we got intelligence. we couldn't get the intelligence because we -- the taliban were terrorfying villagers, they're still terrifying villagers. they have no incentive to give us that kind of intelligence. so we move from the kind of strategy that richard advocates to a full counterinsurgency strategy where we said we'll get that temmings by clearing, holding and building and getting the confidence of those villagers. i do not think that can work over the long term. the difference is i'm advocating a political settlement that gets enough stability. this is not going to be some rosey vision of -- rosie vision o

richard. the drug seemed to stimulate the follicle for his head hair. >> feels great. you have some of my hair back. i was worried about losing it. started coming back. >>reporter: dr.imilar results in 70% of his clients. there is an issue of cost. a month supply of this runs up to 150 dollars. that's for about 400 eyelashes. average male has 100,000 hair on his head. >> when you talk about hair growth l priceless. >>reporter: what is the promise here? we checked with perhaps the ultimate authority on hair restoration. i'm not only here for president but i'm always client. >>reporter: he says of this product. >> there's a real solution for baldness i'll be bang the door down. i'm ready for it. >>reporter: but he's not sure whether this can give you a thick full scalp. >> people shouldn't get too excited about it. i think that it's a lot better for the eyelashes and not quite as successful for hair loss. >>reporter: dr. bauman agrees there are limitations. >> this is not a miracle cure. this is mainly for patients who still have thin wispy hair left. >>reporter: for those menu might think they are scaring the threat of hairlessness right in the eye. >> john burman re

richard hoatson, i appreciate your perspective. thank you. >> thank you, anderson. >>> coming up, an update on congresswoman gabrielle giffords' recovery from being shot in the head. today she had surgery on her skull. dr is going to join us and show you the procedure of how they take off part of the skull. it's something that sanjay does. he's a neurosurgeon. he does this quite frequently. he's going to show you how it works in the operating room. it's actually really fascinating. you should stick around for that. >>> and later, new revelations about arnold schwarzenegger's -- well, the woman he had a child with. plus, maria shriver making an appearance in chicago. all of that ahead. ♪ [ male announcer ] in 2011, at&t is at work, building up our wireless network all across america. we're adding new cell sites... increasing network capacity, and investing billions of dollars to improve your wireless network experience. from a single phone call to the most advanced data download, we're covering more people in more places than ever before in an effort to give you the best network possible. at&t. rethink possible. pure... and also delicious. like nature valley. granola bars made with crunchy oats and pure

richard, i appreciate your perspective. >> thank you. >>> coming up, an update on congresswoman gabrielle giffords's recovery. she had surgery on her skull. dr. sanjay gupta is going to join us and show you the procedure of how they take off part of the skull. it's something that sanjay does. he is a neuro surgeon. he's going to show you how it works in the operating room. >>> and later, new revelations about arnold schwarzenegger's -- well, the woman he had a child with. and maria shriver making an appearance in chicago. all that ahead. ♪ [ male announcer ] every day thousands of people are switching from tylenol® to advil. here's one story. my name is tanya and i am from chicago. i'm a mom of 3 daughters. pan can really put a kink in my day and i turn into grouchy mommy. i used to take tylenol and now i take advil and i like it. it's fast and it's reliable. my family needs me and i need to be there for my family. [ male announcer ] make the switch. take action. take advil®. then...over time... become dull... and lose their luster. new tide plus bleach helps bring your whites back to bright in one wash. turning white-ish to...wow. tide plus