Reporter after being in a halfway home and under house arrest for five months 50yearold Michael Higgins became a free man. The former Public School teacher served ten years in federal prison for dealing meth and ecstasy. I was released two years early, and i am so grateful for that. Reporter hes one of some 6,000 federal inmates mates to be granted Early Release under a u. S. Sentencing commission program. In 2014 the Commission Voted to cut jail time for some nonviolent drug offenders. The average 10 1 2year prison sentence is being reduced by two years. This program is part of a bipartisan effort to reduce the federal prison population, which has grown to more than 200,000 inmates. Alsosoeing adadessed, evening out sentences for thoho cauaut with cracks as opposed to powder cocaine, and loosening socalled mandatory minimum sentences. Critics say both practicic have led to high incarceration rates and unfairly targeted blacks and the poor. Kevin ring represents families against mandatory mims. Congress has decided over the last 30 years to spend billions of dollars locking up nonviolence lowlevel offenders. So weve shifted our resources to locking up drug dealers and offenders who can be treated in other ways and with shorter sentences. Reporter but some sheriffs and Police Chiefs disagree, arguing that the mass release comes without a proper safety net for the former inmates. This is all going to be dropped into the lap of the new York City Police. Reporter new York City Police commissioner bill bratton. Were letting them out of jail. The treatments be there. Job trainings not there. Housing for many of thems not there. Do you feel like your concerns have been heard at the federal level . No. Reporter the sentence reductions are not automatic. Federal judges are required to carefully consider whether there is a threat to public safety. So far judges have denied about 26 of the total petitions that they have received. Jeff pegues, cbs news, new york. In San Francisco bay some umni of the infamamslcatraz prison held a reunion. Bill geist took the boat over for cbs sunday morning. Good morning, everyone. Welcome aboard the reporter alumni of a renowned San Francisco institution recently cruised to a rather remarkable reunion. You guys never bumped into each other at other facilities . No. We met here. Reporter on the isle of alcatraz. Most of us were hardheaded criminals. We were convicts. We came here hardheaded, and we left the same way. Reporter former guards, inmates, and their families were invited to return to the fabled prison. Welcome to the rock. Reporter celebrated in a dozen or more films and once home to crime superstars al capone, george machine gun stroud, the bird man of alcatraz. Solitary again, huh . Did you ever meet him . Well, nobody met him. He was in solitary confinement. Reporter returning inmate robert luke, class of 59. I robbed a bank with a machine gun. So i got two tenyear sentences. Tell me what it was like to be a guaua in alcatraz. It t snt very good. Reporter guaua george de de vincenzi. Class of 58. My first day, my first assignment, the first hour, monday morning i was in a murder in the barber shop. A customer getting his hair cut jumps out of the chair and the barber goes after him with a pair of seveninch barber shears. Gets him in the throat and the heart and the lungs. And me like a damn fool blowing the whistle trying to separate them. Reporter Debbie Townsend is the daughter of a former inmate. My dad was here for 12 1 2 years from 47 to 59. And im not so much proud of the line is he was my dad. Reporter excon bill baker, class of 59. Everybody who came here came here for breaking rules in other prisons. Wasnt your original charge auto theft or something . Yeah. When i was 18 years old i stole a car in portland, oregon, went to prison, started escaping. Reporter just like all reunions they renewed old acquaintances and recalled old times. Only here in a more steely setting. They also told us if you ever went up to bird mans cell make sure you dont get closer than three feet from the bars because if he comes up to the bars and youre closer than that he might grgr you. Its hail and farewell to alcatraz. Weweing handcuffs and leg irons the last 27 o o its 1,500 prisoners leave the crumbling unsalvageable fortress for more modern federal penitentiaries. Reporter alcatraz closed in 1963, and aging alums are a vanishing breed. Former reunions used to draw big crowds. But at this one there were but three guards and only two excons. Another alum, the infamous mobster whitey bulger, had to send his regrets. Hes doing two life terms in florida. Whitey bulger was here while i was here. Reporter guard jim albright, dressed in his old uniform for the occasion. His only fault was if you did something he didnt like he wanted to kill you. Reporter the honored returnees mingled with the thousands of tourists that swarmed the island. They listened to audio tours and robert luke. Now, when that door slammed shut behind me the first time, you really know that youre in maybe the last prison because id never heard that sound before. I got out when i was 30 years old. Just short of how old are you now . 88. Reporter former inmate bill ker took a different path. For him alcatrazas a trade school. I learned how t t counterfeit payroll checks. Everybody just about that i know here, thats what they live for, to get out and rob banks, cash hot checks or whatever. This is yours . This is mine. Sixfoot by ninefoot. Six by nine. Thats not even the size of a decentsized rug. Smaller than most peoples bathrooms today. I can put my hand on both walls like that. Flatten my hand on both walls. Reporter at age 82 baker says lately hes been thinking about retiring from his career in the crime sector. The last prison system i served i got out 4 1 2 years ago. Just got married a couple days ago. And now i have a house, a car, a wife, and a dog. I got it honestly and legitimately, and im proud of it. Took you a long time. Took me a long time. And in that time returning to alcatraz has become a bit easier for some. Oh, its not bad. You know, im getting used to being here. And i can leave when i want to. Thats the main thing. I took mucinex dm m r my phlegmy cougug yeah. But w wt about mike . He has that dry scratchy thing going on. Guess what . It works on his cougugtoo. Cougug guess what . It works on his cough h o. What . Stop dont pull me spoiler alert she doesnt make it only mucinex dm relieves bothwet and dry coughs for 12 hours with two medicines in one pill. Start the relief. Ditch the misery. Were all familiar with this, axe daily fragrances. But what you wouldnt have seen is this, axe dry spray antiperspirant. Why are you touching your armpit . I was just checking to see if its dry. Dont, thats weird. The first ever dry spray antiperspirant from axe. Ive got two reasons to take care of my heart. Thats why i take meta. Meta is clinically proven to help lower cholesterol. Try meta today. And for a tasty heart healthy snack, if you s snt any time in the military you know those little packets of processss food they hand out are jusus about the last thing you want to eat. Well, pentagon scientists are trying to change all of that. Mark albert explains. Reporter good morning. These mres keep troops alive but theyve also given life to some not too kind nicknames. Meals rejected by everyone. Meals rarely edible. And meals rejected by the enemy. Now the militarys top chefs hope that troops will soon be giving them a new nickname delicious. From tactical maneuvering let them have it. Reporter to taking down targets pick it up, pick it up. All right, lets move. Reporter and emergency rescues. Lift, lift. Reporter this company from the armys old guard is burning 3,000 to 4,000 calories a day during their training at fort a. P. Hill, living the maxim an army marches on its stomach. Anyone up for a banana ranger bar . Staple. Its allaround terrible. It sounds good, though. Its not good. On a scale of 1 to 10 how is it . Bad rapap no,o, dont know that. Reporter whihiing up rations is the job of the defense departments jeremy whitsett. Bubuhes not just looking foror a tasty recipe. Fighter performance. Youre not just trying to keep them alive. Alive, no. We want to help them fight and we want to help them win. Reporter in the armys test kitchen at native outside boston winters team combines culinary and Scientific Minds with hightech equipment to create the next generation of mres stuffed with added nutrients. Lets try them. Like this chocolate protein bar. Thats fortified with vitamin d and calcium which are two components that help to improve bone health and reduce the amount of stress fractures. Reporter or this new lemon pound cake. Wow. Its fluffy. Right. And its fluffy like a cake. Reporter which is designed to improve muscle performance. Its full of omega 3 fatty acids which studies show also may deter the effects of traumatic brain injuries. These cooks can increase the levels of vitamins and nutrients because they are changing the way the food is preserved. Theyve eliminated the need for sustained high heat, which kills vitamins and flavor. Its in the lap. Reporter the test kitchen also makes sure the 36 million mres the military buys a year make i i to the troops, survivingng air drops and rough handling. This new plastic developed by Army Engineers is not only lighter, which reduces a soldiers load, but it helps the food last langer and taste better. But perhaps the biggest culinary coup is the dish troops have craved for decades pizza. The problem how to keep together in one package for three years without it spoiling. We have a saying around here that chemistry happens. You cant just stop the chemical reactions that are taking place. Reporter but through science they think theyve perfected the pie. Were able to control the water and stop it from going from the sauce into the bread by binding the molecules. Reporter back at Army Training what would be the number one food youd like to see in an mre . Probably have to say get some pizza in there. Pizza . We brought this down from the army test kitchen. Lets give this a whirl. Reporter private first class bryce keller got his wish. Thats actually really good. It is. Is it what you hoped for . It actually tastes like a cold pizza you had from thee night before. What would you say for the scientists who have worked for about 20 years in the test kitchen to come up w whpizza . I would say thank you becauau this is delicious. This is amazing. Reporter t t pizza delivery is scheduled for 2017. And the militarys also working on tailoring mres to different climates. So troops in the arctic, for example, would eat Something Different than troops in the desert. The cbs overnight news will be right back. Embarrassed by a prostate exam . Imagine how your doctor feels. As a urologist, i have performed 9,421 and a half prostate exams. So why do i do it . Because i get paid. Und. On this side of the glove i know prostate exams can save lives. So, if you are a man over 50, talk to you doctor to see if a prostate exam is right for you. If we can do it, so can you. An uber driver from orange county, california says hes had enough of the service afterern parently drunken passenger apped him around from the back seat. Police arresesd the man, and the local d. A. Will get the case later this ek. Mireya villarreal l s that story. Reporter edward caban says he picked up that passenger at around 8 00 p. M. On friday night. He says the passenger was intoxicated, he wouldnt wear his seat belt, and he also couldnt give him clear directions, and thats when the ride got rough. Youve got to give me directions. Why do i have to give you directions . Because my my address was in the no, you didnt. You refused to. Reporter the uber passenger becomes belligerent. Then the video seems to show him falling over in the back seat. Youre too drunk to give me directions, man. No. Im kicking you out. Im giving you the directions right now. No, thats it. The next thing i know ive just got fists flying at my face and i just i reached for the pepper spray. Reporter the man swears and pummels caban, yanking his hair. A Law Enforcement official tolls our los angeles station kcbs that the passenger, 32yearold benjamin golden, is a Senior Marketing manager for taco bell. The only way that i felt i was going to get him to stop beating me was to incapacitate him, was to use some kind of selfdefense. I dont believe he would have stopped. Reporter caban has a camera in his car becausese he says hes faced unruly passengers before and uses the footage as evidence. Safety is a bigoncern in the driver community. Drivers what happens. Reporter unlike some taxis, theres no partition between the driver and the passenger. When riders sign up for the service they agree to a code of conduct. Theres also a Rating System for riders. But thats not enough to make some drivers feel safe. Caban says hes done with uber for now. No, i dont feel safe driving for uber anymore. Reporter in a statement to cbs news uber says, weve been in contact with mr. Caban and are thankful he is doing okay. The rider involved in this incident has been permanently banned from the platform. Benjamin golden is out of jail, and he is now facing charges of assault on a cab driver as well as public intoxication. And thats the overnight news for this tuesday. For some of you the news continues. For others check back with us a little later for the morning news and cbs this morning. York city, im jericka drunkn. Russia in mourning. Can these flight recorders solve the mystery of the air disaster that killed more than 200 . Also tonight, a condemned killer tells the Supreme Court hes the victim of prosecutors who kept blacks off the jury. Obamacare year three. Some are saying no to signing up. Cost of an extra bill. And grand larceny on a football field. Its a legal play. No, it wasnt. Announcer this is the cbs weve learned that a u. S. Spy satellite detected a flash of heat over egypts Sinai Peninsula at the moment on saturday that a russian jetliner vanished from radar. David martin at the pentagon reports the infrared satellite recorded the flash, but it is not known whether the flash was caused by Something Like a failure in a fuel tank, for example, or perhaps a bobo. Ththmetrojet wreckage isispread over miles, indicating that it came apartrtt high altitude. All aboardrdmore than 200 peoplelewere killed. They were mostly vacationing russian families en route from a seaside resort in egypt to st. Petersburg. Today u. S. Intelligence director James Clapper said its unlikely terrorism brought down the airbus a321. Investigators hope the flight recorders will tell them what did. Allen pizzey is in egypt. Reporter search teams have finished combing an sinai desert where the airbus went down and will now widen the search. Most of the bodies have been found along with the planes two flight data recorders. Decoding them to discover what caused the plane to suddenly break apart in midair is expected to begin tomorrow after the arrival of experts from ireland where the a321 was registered and had its last safety check. The airbus and other experts examine the twisted metal of the fuselage for clues today. A neat arrangement of luggage waiting in the desert rather than on an airport carousel was a poignant reminder of how much those clues matter. An isis affiliate based in the sinai has claimed it brought down the plane. And while theres no evidence of any direct terrorist involvement,t,he possibility the sinai militants wewe responsible cant be dismissed, accocoing to u. S. Dirececr of National IntelligenceJames Clapper. I is unlikely but i wouldnt rule it out. Reporter metrojet, the Russian Company that owned the aircraft, denied the crash was caused by equipment failure and said the pilot did not send a distress call. The only possible explanation, Deputy DirectorAlexander Smirnoff said, could be an external impact on the airplane. For relatives, who must now provide dna and other means of identification for bodies brought back to st. Petersburg, concern about who is responsible is buried under grief. At least two dozen of the victims were children. Everyone involved in the investigation is urging patients and warning against jumping to conclusions. But the possibility of terrorist action has already prompted a number of airlines to avoid flying over the sinai. Scott . Allen pizzey reporting for us from cairo tonight. Allen, thank you. Now moving to the republican president ial race, a new poll shows Donald Trump Holding on to his lead in New Hampshire. But the fastestrising candidate there is marco rubio. Hes now at 13 . A ninepoint improvement since september. Trump is at 26 , followed by ben carson at 16 . Heres major garrett. Thank you very much. Eporter marco rubioio rise has come at jeb bushs expense. Once an understudy, rubio is now running ahead of bush and attracting his donors, leaving bush to scramble for support today in the two candidates home state of florida. No, im not frustrated. Hes a great guy. Hes a good friend. Hes a gifted politician. I just have the leadership skills to solve these problems. We have a little disagreement on that. But im going to tell you the heres the truth. Reporter rubios surge began with his Strong Performance at last weeks cnbc debate. The same poll that shows rubio jumping to third place in New Hampshire also shows a spike in his favorable rating, up from 50 to 62 . Hes now just two points behind ben carson, the republican with the highest rating. Republican donors, paul singer, a Billionaire Hedge Fund manager who has thrown millions behind gop candidates and causes. Today rubio picked up his first Senate Endorsement from colorado freshman cory gardner. All this drew the ire of donald trump, who tweeted marco only won the debate in the minds of desperate peopop. It was reminiscent o owhat trump told us aftetethat debate. I think we won ththdebate tonight according to e erybody. Mean, everybody says that. That seems