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CNN Live At Daybreak
"The Passion" Madkes Back Entire Budget on Opening Day; Six- Nation Talks Over North Korea's Nuclear Program extended an Extra Day
Aired February 27, 2004 - 05:40 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Mel Gibson's controversial film "The Passion of the Christ" made back its entire budget just on opening day. Opinions about the film's graphic depiction of Christ's torture and death are, well, passionate.
CNN's Jason Bellini collected some personal reviews at Atlanta's Emory University.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This religious group watched the movie with very different sets of eyes. Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and other faiths...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The word blood doesn't even show up.
BELLINI: ... took their dissecting scalpels to Mel Gibson's work.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The image of Satan was female, which is a serious issue, as far as I am concerned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think his feet being black would reflect differently than how the rest of his body looked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know if that's not in scripture, then Mel Gibson has inserted something which is blatantly anti-Semitic.
BELLINI: In a small group discussion we assembled, the perspectives were powerful, personal and painful.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It definitely reminds me of the history of African-Americans here in America of the torture, the hangings, the lynchings and the sufferings and having to bear it.
BELLINI: A Christian student of religion.
BETHANY THERRIAULT, FRESHMAN, EMORY UNIVERSITY: There are so many different emotional levels on which I could identify.
BELLINI: A professor of ethics.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are a very, very violent society. In some ways, before I criticize the movie, I have to look at what it may disclose about our situation as an empire in the present world. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The film shows more of the viciousness of humanity. Many times we're almost we're seeing -- we're seeing like vicious animals.
BELLINI (on camera): What it seems to me all of you are saying is that there is both power and there is danger in this film. Which do you think is stronger?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When September the 11th happened, there were people who immediately targeted the Muslim community, but a positive came from that in that people also started asking questions about the Islamic faith. So what we have is more people learning in detail that we are basically the same.
BELLINI (voice-over): With the eyes of millions of moviegoers on the film this weekend, the people are finally seeing and interpreting "The Passion" for themselves.
Jason Bellini, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And you can check out our profile of Mel Gibson this weekend, just tune your TV to "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS" Sunday at 7:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
We're back after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Welcome back. It's 5:45 Eastern. Time to take a quick look at the top stories now.
In Haiti, rebel leaders say they are closing in on the capital and it's just a matter of time before they attack if President Aristide does not step down.
The issue of gay marriage came up in last night's Democratic debate. John Kerry and John Edwards both say they are opposed to it, but they are also opposed to a constitutional ban.
And German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder meets with President Bush at the White House today. The weak American dollar is one item on the agenda.
We update our top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 6:00 Eastern.
In Beijing, those six-nation talks over North Korea's nuclear program have been extended an extra day, so is that good or bad?
For the latest on the talks, we take you live to the Chinese capital. Mike Chinoy our senior Asia correspondent on the phone with us this morning.
Hello, Mike, is it good or bad? MIKE CHINOY, CNN SENIOR ASIA CORRESPONDENT: Well at the moment, Carol, it looks bad. The Chinese negotiator says that there have been what he called differences, difficulties and contradictions. The North Korean spokesman here also complaining about America's attitude. He says North Korea is willing to give up its nuclear program but only if it gets economic and diplomatic concessions from the U.S.
But a U.S. spokeswoman here telling me a short while ago that the U.S. is sticking to its demand that China agree -- that North Korea agree first to completely verifiably and irreversibly dismantle all of its nuclear weapons programs before anything else can be discussed. The U.S. spokeswoman saying that the U.S. is not prepared to provide any rewards or inducements to North Korea until it does decide to give up its nuclear ambition.
So at this point with Washington and Pyongyang at loggerheads, the talks are stalemated -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Mike Chinoy reporting live by phone from Beijing, China this morning.
Coming up in the next hour of DAYBREAK, the verdict is in, nine years after a deadly sarin gas attack, a sect leader is sentenced. We'll have a live report for you.
Critical acclaim for the glamorous Charlize Theron but vigorous criticism for her "Monster" movie role, the real story ahead.
And time now for a little DAYBREAK trivia. The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, was released from prison on this day. So what year was it? Was it 1989, 1990 or c) 1991? We'll have the answer to that burning question when we return. And don't even think about Goggling the answer during the break. That would be cheating.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES BROWN, ENTERTAINER: I'm back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Before the break, we asked you about James Brown. The godfather of soul was released from prison on this date, 1989, 1990, or C, 1991? If you said all of the above, you're wrong. The answer would be C, 1991.
The Oscar buzz is high for Charlize Theron. The stunning South African actress has already been critically accumulated for her transformation into a Florida serial killer. But a real life tragedy may have helped Theron prepare for her role in "Monster."
Here's CNN's Daryn Kagan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): She plays a character that's partly hopeful...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "MONSTER")
CHARLIZE THERON, BEST LEAD ACTRESS NOMINEE: You look good. Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: And horrendous.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "MONSTER")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't kill people.
THERON: Says who?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: For Charlize Theron, the part of the real life prostitute turned serial killer could be the role of a lifetime.
THERON: It was a very intense experience because this is somebody's life and you can't judge them just for this one act that they have done and you -- I had to come from a place where I needed to understand why.
KAGAN: Theron admits she wasn't sure she was right for the role of Eileen Wuornos.
(on camera): Is this the kind of role that you go looking for or you just have to hope lands in your lap?
THERON: Well, it's definitely the kind of role that I would have gone looking for. And if I knew that it was out there and, you know, and that it wasn't offered for me, it's definitely something that I would go fighting for. It's kind of been what I've had to do in my entire career.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "MONSTER")
THERON: I'm not a bad person. I'm a real good person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: A life changed by circumstance and choice. Theron knows something about that. She says one night in 1991 her father threatened to kill Theron and her mother. In self-defense, Gerda Theron shot her husband to death and to protect Charlize from the fallout, she insisted that her 15-year-old daughter continue her life away from home.
Now she's taking mom's advice to simply enjoy these moments.
THERON: And I thought that was really nice, because the mother who cares, you know, it was like take a break and then really enjoy this. KAGAN: And why not? With last weekend's Screen Actor Guild win and a Golden Globe Award in January, to many she's the actress to beat on Oscar night. And even if she doesn't...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM SCREEN ACTOR GUILD AWARDS)
THERON: My mom will still love me and my boyfriend will still love me and that's all that matters, you know? This is great, but I'm just enjoying it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Daryn Kagan, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Nice.
Mother Nature bears down as parts of the South become a winter wonderland.
MYERS: And we're live in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It is a snowy day. The kids are off school and they're having a good time.
We'll be back in just a few minutes.
COSTELLO:
COMMERCIAL
COSTELLO: Chad is live in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
You know, I'm wondering, Chad, why don't they have the roads cleared by now?
MYERS: Because they only have about 40 snow plows, Carol. I mean you can't clear every road, right? I mean they're really worried about...
COSTELLO: Yes, but you're right in the downtown major area, aren't you?
MYERS: Well, yes, but, you know, most of, most things here in downtown are going to be shut down today. Obviously, schools aren't going to open, most of them, at least. And they're worried about the interstates. You have a lot of interstate travel right through here. I-85 and I-26 just come right through Spartanburg. So, you've got east-west and you've got north-south and all the crews have really been worried about that more than they've been worried about this. And obviously many of the other highways that are through town are in good shape.
Well, we're basically in a downtown square area. Like we have, like we have a Marietta Square there in Atlanta, and, you know, sometimes the trucks don't get through here. But I'm sure they will. Plus, it's early. I mean we haven't even seen more than about two or three people up anyway.
Let me show you what we have for you on the screen now. Most of the maps show pretty good weather across the country today, except for this one storm here, then another one moving through the Rockies and then finally into the Plains.
Snow for Raleigh. It's still coming down there. And then that pink stuff that you see, you're actually going to see a little bit of ice, as well.
Most of the forecasts for the rest of the country are pretty mild. In fact, a little bit of snow across parts of the Southeast, but Orlando, you're only 63. And if we fly you up a little bit farther, on up toward the Northeast, New York, 41; Cincinnati, 50; and then Detroit even 41. So mild weather across all of the Plains. Memphis, look at this, how do you argue with 55? Not bad even in Denver, 59.
Now, if you get back into the benches, into Salt Lake City, you are going to see some snow. Also still some rain and some mountain snow, obviously, for the San Francisco-L.A. area. You get up about 5,000 feet and it turns into snow.
Carol, not bad here, actually. Thirty-two degrees. It'll be 42 this afternoon. All this will be a bad memory. So, you know what? Why shovel it or why plow it if it's going to melt anyway?
COSTELLO: You're right. They're just waiting.
MYERS: Exactly.
COSTELLO: Just waiting till later -- ooh, I hear a train in the background. That sounds nice.
MYERS: Yes, a lot of trains through here. A lot of, a lot of interstate commerce through this town. It's a, you know, you think of it as a sleepy little place in the middle of South Carolina, but a lot of things going on in this town. Not right now, but later on today.
COSTELLO: Yes, it looks really busy.
Thank you, Chad.
We appreciate it.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: The next hour of CNN DAYBREAK starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What's happening here is this president is talking about, first, amending the United States constitution for a problem that does not exist.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He is doing this because he's in trouble. He's trying to reach out to his base. He's playing politics with the constitution of the United States in an election year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Like it or not, the gay marriage issue enters the Democratic debate.
Good morning to you.
Happy Friday.
It's February 27th.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Let me bring you up to date now.
Up to 10 women killed in six states during the past two years. Most were last seen at truck stops. Investigators meet today to see if they have a serial killer on their hands.
A report on sexual abuse commissioned by the nation's Catholic bishops comes out today. It shows that over the last 50 years, nearly 11,000 children have said they were sexually molested by priests.
They failed to see eye to eye on Iraq, but today President Bush and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder sit down to talk about post- war plans.
Search crews find the wreckage of a plane carrying Macedonia's president. All nine people aboard died in yesterday's crash in Bosnia.
And workers may end a four and a half month long California supermarket strike by this weekend. Union leaders have reached a tentative agreement with three supermarket chains.
We update our top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 6:15 Eastern.
Oh, it was lively, but did the Democratic debate give John Edwards the boost he needed? Did John Kerry trip up Dukakis-style? And Al Sharpton, was he the one-liner king of the night?
CNN's Candy Crowley had a front-row seat.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is their least favorite subject, but Rosie O'Donnell got married in San Francisco today, and here they were in California at a debate. Of course, they discussed gay marriage.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president is talking about, first, amending the United States Constitution for a problem that does not exist.
AL SHARPTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The issue of 2004 is not if gays marry. The issue is not who you go to bed with. The issue is whether either of you have a job when you get up in the morning.
CROWLEY: And they hated every minute of it.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This discussion we've just had is exactly where the Republicans want us to spend our time.
CROWLEY: And the oldie but goodie category, the war on Iraq, still a difficult subject for the two leading contenders who voted for the Iraq resolution.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a blank check. Why?
EDWARDS: But those -- what we did is we voted on a resolution. The answer is what we did is we voted on a resolution.
KERRY: And I have a slightly different take from John on this. Let me make it very clear. We did not give the president any authority that the president of the United States didn't have. Did we ratify what he was doing? Yes. But Clinton went to Haiti without the Congress. Clinton went to Kosovo without the Congress. And the fact is the president was determined to go, evidently, but we changed the dynamics.
LARRY KING, CNN HOST: Do you regret your vote?
EDWARDS: I did what I believe was right at the time.
KING: Do you regret it?
EDWARDS: I believe I did what was right at the time.
KING: Do you regret it?
KERRY: I do not regret my vote. I regret that we have a president of the United States who misled America and broke every promise he made to the United States Congress.
CROWLEY: Save for the usual piffy (ph) comments from Al Sharpton and Dennis Kucinich, this was a relatively mild debate. John Kerry, the front-runner, has nothing to win by being aggressive. He stayed above the fray. As for John Edwards, he is tied down by his own campaign rhetoric that he would not attack a fellow Democrat.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And we will go in-depth on the debate when CNN political analyst Carlos Watson joins us live later this hour. The new battle front today in the gay marriage issue: Upstate New York has entered in the fray. The mayor of New Paltz -- it's a small town there -- says he will marry at least four same-sex couples today, while in California the attorney general will ask the State Supreme Court whether San Francisco is violating state law by issuing gay marriage licenses.
And I'm sure you have heard by now Rosie O'Donnell has stepped into the fight, too, by marrying her long-time girlfriend, Kelli Carpenter. They tied the knot in San Francisco. O'Donnell says President Bush's call for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage inspired their wedding. She called the president's words "vile, vicious and hateful."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSIE O'DONNELL, ENTERTAINER: One thought ran through my mind over and over on the plane as we were flying out here: with liberty and justice for all. Peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The newlyweds were the 3,326th couple to say "I do" in San Francisco.
Now to the escalating crisis in Haiti. The capital city looks like a war zone. This is the start of week three of the unrest.
A rebel leader says his forces are converging on Port-au-Prince and will attack if President Jean-Bertrand Aristide does not resign. Mr. Aristide, though, is not budging.
In the meantime, Secretary of State Colin Powell is calling on the Haitian leader to do the right thing for his people.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: We want President Aristide to do what he thinks is best for his country. What we are looking for is a political solution to end the violence. We've been pressing a CARICOM approach, which would require both sides to enter into negotiations to form a new kind of government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And they're talking Haiti in Paris. We're going to go live to Paris in just a bit and check in with Jim Bittermann. He's there, and he's listening in -- well, he's trying to listen in. He'll tell you what the latest is live from Paris, France, in just a bit.
Winter storm warnings are still in effect from western South Carolina to southern Virginia, as snow moves through Dixie. It'll be a very tough morning commute around Charlotte, which got several more inches of snow. President Bush actually had to cancel a trip to Charlotte because of the weather. And Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where many southerners head for summer vacation, well, look at that. It looks more like a ski resort, doesn't it? Oh, man.
And it may never rain in southern California, but when it pours, man, does it ever pour. Look at that. The storms were formed in the Pacific, hit the northern California coast, and then soaked the Los Angeles area. You can see the reporter there, and the people watching got soaked.
And it was a chained melody across the High Sierra. No traveling without tire chains. Heavy, wet snow stalled traffic, 45-mile-an-hour winds with gusts to 100 miles an hour over the mountain ridges. Donner Summit reported 42 inches of snow. Wow!
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
COSTELLO: Hey, do we have...
MYERS: Three and a half feet, Carol.
COSTELLO: You're in South Carolina.
MYERS: I am.
COSTELLO: And it got nine inches, right?
MYERS: Exactly. It doesn't feel like it right now, because obviously the ground is warm and it melted from down below. But officially nine inches in Spartanburg and about eight inches out in Greenville. And if you get up to about, oh, South Park on up into Charlotte, a part of Charlotte in fact, 17 inches of snow, Carol.
Thirty-two degrees right now here in Spartanburg, so things are pretty good. All the way up to 42 this afternoon. Things are actually going to melt pretty nicely, and so what you see is what you get.
The snow is done. Literally, the snow is done for all of North Carolina, except for areas north of Charlotte into the triangle and the triad.
Here's a look at the radar right now. We do see more of this snow now right over Raleigh, and as you move into the I-85 and the I- 95 there between Raleigh and the coast, at Elizabeth City, that's where that heavy snow is still coming down right now.
Here are some snow totals, though. South Park, this is the area -- South Park. This is not what we're talking about. This is not the TV show. South Park, North Carolina, right near Charlotte, 17 inches. Roan Mountain, Tennessee, at 14. And even Buffalo, South Carolina, not too far from where we are, 10.5 inches of snow.
So, the snow continues for today.
Most of the central part of the country, mild but windy, and cool across the Northeast. Sunshine, though, for New York City. Hey, you can't argue with temperatures in the 40s this time of year. This storm does pull away from the coast here. Across North Carolina and South Carolina it moves away. And temperatures by the weekend, in fact, Carol: 58. Although we're standing in a 32-degree snowstorm here, obviously the storm is over. By the weekend, another 20-25 degrees warmer than we are right now.
Back to you...
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: That sounds awfully nice. And 22 days till spring.
MYERS: Is that it?
COSTELLO: Only 22 days.
MYERS: It feels it was just 23 yesterday.
COSTELLO: You're crazy. Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: See you soon.
COSTELLO: All right, France is trying to help find a political solution to the Haitian crisis. That is the topic of talks today in Paris, as I told you just a few minutes ago.
We do have Jim Bittermann live now. He joins us by phone.
Who's meeting in Paris today -- Jim?
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it's kind of one-sided actually. In fact, the opposition is not here, but there is a government delegation here led by Foreign Minister Joseph Philippe Antonio from Haiti. And the cultural minister is also here, and probably as important as the foreign minister, Jean-Claude Desgranges, who is the director of President Aristide's cabinet and probably someone who has some insight into the Haitian president's mindset right now.
They're meeting with Dominique de Villepin, the French foreign minister, and they came in just about an hour ago. They came in a motorcade, and they've been keeping the press a fair distance away from where these talks are taking place at the French Foreign Ministry. And it's very easy for them to meet behind closed doors, and that's, in fact, what they are doing.
And we're not clear at all exactly what they're going to tell us afterwards, although the Haitian foreign minister is scheduled, at least at this moment, to hold a news conference later on this afternoon at about 4:00 local time. So, there may be some indication from that exactly where things are going.
But the opposition members not being here, they apparently had some logistical problems, as I think we see an image in reporting out of Port-au-Prince. There have been problems at the airport there, and the people have trouble -- some number of flights have been cancelled, so they weren't able to get out of Haiti and come to Paris for these talks.
So, it's unclear what kind of political solution you could come to with just one side represented here.
COSTELLO: Jim Bittermann live from Paris this morning.
Of course, we're keeping an eye on many international stories. Our Atika Shubert is live out of Japan with a verdict in the deadly sarin gas attack case.
Our Chris Burns has tracked John Kerry's Jewish roots all the way to Austria. Chris will be with us live.
And from CNN's Moscow bureau, our bureau chief there, Jill Dougherty, something in Siberia, the latest on Russia's presidential campaign.
But first, let's head to Tokyo. The Japanese have been waiting a long time for today's verdict in that deadly nerve gas attack.
Atika Shubert joins us now with the verdict.
Good morning.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Shoko Asahara was actually convicted on 13 separate criminal charges, everything ranging from mass murder to illegally compiling chemical weapons. But the most devastating, of course, was the 1995 sarin gas attack, where his cult followers unleashed deadly nerve gas into rush-hour subways here in Tokyo.
Now, as you listened to the verdict in silence, family members and victims say they were happy with the verdict, that they say it was inevitable. However, they were unhappy with how long this trial took -- almost eight years.
Now Asahara's lawyers say he will appeal and that process could take another 10 years. So although many welcomed the guilty verdict here today, certainly not speedy justice here in Japan -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Atika Shubert, thanks.
Now to Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry's Jewish roots.
Our Chris Burns joins us live by phone from Frankfurt, Germany with more on that.
Hello -- Chris.
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well hello, Carol.
It's quite an amazing trip we made to the Czech Republic and inside Austria. First in a tiny little snowy mountain town, former mining town, very depressed town, that, with a lot of hope, they hope to see an eventual President Kerry coming back to the birthplace of his grandfather Frederick Kohn.
Frederick Kohn then moved with his mother and the rest of the family over to Austria when he was around 20 years old and changed his religion and his name, along with his brother, to Catholicism, and his name, as we know, to Kerry.
And we talked to a relative of John Kerry who told us the legend of how they actually decided on the name. They stretched out the map of Britain and of Ireland and stuck their finger on the town Kerry and said OK that's it. That's what -- that's what we're going to call ourselves. Of course John Kerry's father, Richard, was born in the United States to his, of course, his grandfather Frederick then Kerry. So he brought along the family name with him.
Now John Kerry's Great Uncle Otto (ph) survived the Holocaust, along with his family, because he changed his name. So quite a remarkable story there that we followed along -- Carol.
COSTELLO: We'll be excited to hear more, too. Chris Burns reporting live from Germany this morning.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is running for reelection in a race that hardly resembles the one going on over here.
Our Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty joins us live by telephone to talk more about that.
Hello -- Jill.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Gee, Carol, how are you?
COSTELLO: Good.
DOUGHERTY: Yes, it's a little different, I have to tell you, Carol, having covered numerous campaigns back in the States, it's quite different. In fact, you know no bands, no balloons, no cheering crowds. In fact, they -- this trip that we are on with Vladimir Putin officially isn't even a campaign trip, they are calling it a working trip for the president.
And some of his other candidates, there are six candidates all together, are saying well this is pretty much a farce and maybe we should even pull out of the race. But President Putin says look, I have a job to do and I am going to be president and I don't need to campaign. You'd have to say if you had ratings like his, 70 to 80 percent, you probably wouldn't want to campaign anyway.
It's basically, Carol, like what we'd call a Rose Garden campaign strategy. So he would -- today, for example, he was meeting with students at the university here in Caniyars (ph). It's down in Siberia. And yes, it's cold. He fielded some questions for them -- from them for about an hour and a half. And now we're watching TV monitors in a room next door to where the president is. No chance to ask any questions.
COSTELLO: That is so -- what is his opponent doing -- Jill?
DOUGHERTY: Well his opponents basically kind of throwing up their hands in despair and saying well what are we even trying to do here. They had a debate a couple of weeks ago and the moderator said OK you guys, the president is not going to be debating, so debate among yourselves. And they started saying why are we even debating among ourselves if the main person isn't here.
But you know you have to be fair, his ratings are high, and talking to a lot of people here in Caniyars, they do support him. But it's more the feeling, Carol, that like there's nobody else out there. He's doing a decent job, let's not take the train off the tracks at this point. Let's just go along with Mr. Putin and maybe things will get better.
COSTELLO: Interesting. A quick note, and I know this is off the subject, but how cold is it in Siberia -- Jill?
DOUGHERTY: Well you know here it was actually not that bad. It was a little, I would say, probably about in the twenties. But then it plunged this morning and it was, let's see, Celsius is about minus 20. So I don't know, it's below zero. It's cold.
COSTELLO: Way below.
Jill Dougherty reporting live from Siberia this morning.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, a tire recall you'll want to know about before you roll off to work. Here's our Julie Vallese.
JULIE VALLESE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Firestone, Ford and tires all in the same sentence again. Coming up in a live report, I'll tell you the tires and the popular SUV.
COSTELLO: Also, making taxes less taxing. New rules in effect this year. Do you know what they are?
Man, and later, the Village People, not. We'll tell you who these macho men are in our 'Lightning Round.'
This is DAYBREAK for Friday, February 27.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: 6:17 Eastern Time.
Time for a little 'Business Buzz' now. A new drug is hope for cancer patients.
Carrie Lee has more for you live from the Nasdaq market site.
Good morning -- Carrie.
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Good news for these folks, Genentech, the biotech company, has won Food and Drug Administration approval to sell its colon cancer drug Avastin here in the United States. Now this drug works a little bit differently than some others out there. It basically chokes off the blood supply that tumors need to grow and it can extend the lives of patients who have advanced colon cancer by about five months.
This drug, some analysts say, could be a blockbuster with annual sales between $1.6 billion and $1.8 billion by 2008. It's quite expensive, about $4,400 per patient per month. Remember ImClone's Erbitux was also approved earlier this month by the FDA for sale here in the United States. Erbitux works a little bit differently, can also shrink tumors. Does not, though, extend patient's lives. Yesterday this news came out.
In terms of the stock price, Genentech shares rose about $7 to $103, its highest price that we have seen in quite some time. And early this morning, Carol, looks like we're seeing some follow-through today as well. So Genentech could continue to be a stock to watch. It was certainly a great development for colon cancer patients.
COSTELLO: Definitely so, and we'll keep our eyes peeled.
Thank you. Carrie Lee live from the Nasdaq market site.
Another big recall for the Bridgestone Firestone Tire Company, the firm is calling back 490,000 Steeltex tires made in Canada for use on Ford Excursions.
CNN's Julie Vallese live in Washington with more on this story.
Good morning -- Julie.
VALLESE: Good morning, Carol.
It is more tire troubles for the world's largest tire manufacturers. Some of those tires involved in the recall are no longer on the market, but hundreds of thousands are being pulled out of service for a possible defect they have seen before.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALLESE (voice-over): This time it's voluntary. Bridgestone Firestone has initiated a safety campaign to replace almost 300,000 Steeltex tires in the United States, another 20,000 abroad.
The tires were used as standard equipment on 2000 to 2002 and some 2003 models of the Ford Excursion SUV. The tire maker said it was aware of 14 crashes involving SUVs with the tires. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it is aware the tires were on six vehicles involved in crashes, killing five and injuring 20.
The Department of Transportation has commended Firestone for taking action, saying, "Everyone learned a lesson the last time around." That refers to the recall of close to 17 million Firestone tires three and a half years ago. Tread separation on those tires has been blamed for more than 200 deaths and hundreds of injuries. A majority of those were standard equipment on Ford's Explorer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Now, the bad blood that was between Ford and Firestone in that recall involving the tires on Ford Explorers is being put aside on this. Ford Motor Company is working closely with Firestone on this safety program and VALLESE: consumers will be able to get free replacement tires at Ford dealerships and certified Firestone retailers -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Thank you.
Julie Vallese live in D.C. this morning.
Well, the cleanup begins after the big chill along the Eastern Seaboard. These are live pictures from Raleigh, North Carolina.
Chad, however, is in South Carolina this morning. He's live in all of that snow in the downtown area there in Spartanburg. We'll get to him in just a bit.
But now it's time to take a guess on DAYBREAK. Can you tell what this is? What is it? We'll have the answer, up next.
COMMERCIAL
COSTELLO: So did you figure it out, Chad?
What is this?
Chad? Are you out there?
He's somewhere in South Carolina.
Can you hear me?
He can't hear me.
Anyway, did you guess what it was out there? It is the remains of the cursed baseball that is widely blamed for the Chicago Cubs' flameout in last year's playoffs. The ball was zapped into a pile of string live on TV.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: A deadline is looming in Iraq. It could give the Iraqi people an advanced look at their new constitution.
Also, Germany's chancellor is in Washington this morning for talks. Things might not be all that cordial, though.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL SHARPTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The issue's not who you go to bed with. The issue is whether either of you have a job when you get up in the morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: He wouldn't be talking about the issue of gay marriage. It was front and center at the Democratic debate. Wouldn't you know it?
Good morning. Welcome back to DAYBREAK. I'm Carol Costello. Happy Friday to you. It's February 27. Let me bring you up-to-date.
Hashing out the Haitian crisis, government officials from Haiti and France are meeting in Paris now, looking for ways to restore order in the former French colony. France wants President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to resign, and it wants an international peace force sent to Haiti.
A death sentence handed down today in the 1995 sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway. A cult leader was sentenced for that attack. It killed 12 people.
In San Francisco, with all of its same-sex marriages -- I should say, is allowing same-sex marriages in San Francisco violating California law? Well, the state's attorney general will ask the state supreme court that question today.
The FBI is banning agents from taking mementos from crime scenes. The Justice Department says agents took chunks of concrete, pieces of metal, flags and a Tiffany globe paperweight from the World Trade Center rubble.
We update our top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 6:45 Eastern.
Deadline in Iraq. A draft copy of a constitution is to be released to the public.
Live to Baghdad now and our correspondent, Brent Sadler.
Hello -- Brent.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello. Good morning, Carol.
Well, not just yet as far as that fundamental law draft is concerned. A deadline was in place for tomorrow, but according to insiders within the Iraqi Governing Council, it's going to be several more days before that draft law is agreed upon.
There are many differences, not least the issue of the Kurds in the north of Iraq wanting to ensure that their autonomy that they've enjoyed in the more than a decade of Saddam-free rule is maintained in the new constitutional setup here. Also, other blanks still on the political stage, not least who the United States should hand over sovereignty to at the end of June -- June 30. The mechanism of the transitional government, who should be part of that, still not in place; yet, at the same time, the Shia majority here and the spiritual leader of that group, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, pressing for elections to take place early -- I'm sorry -- by the end of the year rather than early next year, as the United States would prefer.
And Sistani calling for credible guarantees, meaning he'd like to see a United Nations Security Council resolution to make sure elections to happen at that time. But still, many, many difficulties on the political front.
Now, on the military front, encouraging news for the U.S.-led coalition. More Japanese troops have been pouring into Kuwait -- sorry -- into Iraq from neighboring Kuwait. They've been working out with U.S. forces in the north of Kuwait. More than 130 Japanese troops are joining about 100 already on the ground here.
Now, as far the Japanese are concerned, Carol, this is a big deal. Last July, the ruling coalition in Tokyo had to get special clearance. A special law had to be passed to allow this deployment to take place. It's the first time since the end of the Second World War that Japanese troops have been deployed in a combat-hostile zone like this, and they're going to be concentrating mostly on reconstruction and humanitarian efforts -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Brent Sadler bringing us up-to-date live from Baghdad this morning.
You know, Germany didn't think much of the war on Iraq. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is in Washington today, and he will be talking with President Bush. Today, they're supposed to be focusing on the weak dollar and not Iraq.
We've placed a "Wake-Up Call" to our CNN White House correspondent, Dana Bash.
Good morning -- Dana. Tell us more about this meeting.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, you know, this is the first time that Gerhard Schroeder will be in Washington at the White House in more than two years. It's really been a long time. Both Gerhard Schroeder and President Bush did meet on the sidelines of a couple of summits in France and then again in New York over the past year.
But this is really an important meeting to watch, because both sides are very likely to talk about the need to move forward, to move on past the very rocky times they had over the major differences on the war in Iraq.
And you've already heard over the past couple of months Gerhard Schroeder talking about the fact that he does want to help financially with the reconstruction in Iraq to make sure that democracy flourishes there. But he's not going to send any troops. Of course, he's made that very clear.
But he's also said that he is willing to forgive, or at least restructure, some of the $5 billion that Iraq owes that country. So, expect a lot of conciliatory talk on the issue of Iraq today.
COSTELLO: It should be interesting. Dana Bash reporting live for us by phone on DAYBREAK.
Chad is a traveling man, and he has the travel forecast for you. He's in South Carolina this morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I am.
COSTELLO: Good morning -- Chad.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
And it's really not even very cold. Usually, you see reporters out here trying to stay warm, but, in fact, 32...
COSTELLO: Chad, it's 32 degrees there! That's cold for those people.
MYERS: But you know what, Carol? But the wind isn't blowing. Well, maybe I guess it's cold to some. It would be cold in Miami, but, you know, I mean, later on today, 42. All of this is going to melt, and by the weekend, in fact, Atlanta is going to be 58. Raleigh, melting all of this snow around 55.
Now, it's going to take some time. That also could cause some flooding problems, Carol, if you try to melt all of this snow that quickly. So, we'll have to keep watching that.
Here's our radar picture now for you. Most of the snow is tapering off in North Carolina, kind of moving out to sea. You can see. And this is a map now from six hours ago to now. So, the snow was obviously right there, a lot bigger earlier, six hours ago, than it is now. Tapering off, moving out, that's good news.
We still have some airport delays, though; in fact, even a couple of airport closures. So, you have to keep this in mind. Very few airports across North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina are going to be on time this morning.
In fact, Fayetteville, North Carolina, is closed until noon. They're going to get all of the snow out of the way. Then they're going to get the planes going, and then they're not really going to worry about trying to get all of these planes cancelled or slowed down this morning. They're just closing the place down and fixing it, and then they'll get it fixed for you later on today.
Atlanta, low clouds; also Charlotte obviously. Raleigh, some snow. Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco, all rain, even a little bit of wind, depending on if it's a cross wind it could slow you down. Especially San Francisco always with this type of weather, at least 25 minutes right off the bat and sometimes about an hour. But other than that, Carol, unless you're going overseas to the west, San Francisco should probably not affect your travel plans too much.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Chad.
MYERS: Thank you.
COSTELLO: It was lively, but did it change anything? We're talking about the Democratic debate in Los Angeles. Edwards was civil. Kerry didn't trip up. Sharpton was funny. And Kucinich was scrappy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What's happening here is this president is talking about, first, amending the United States Constitution for a problem that does not exist.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He is doing this because he's in trouble. He's trying to reach out to his base. He's playing politics with the Constitution of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Of course, they were talking about issue of gay marriage there.
Our political analyst, Carlos Watson, joins us live from New York to provide some analysis for us this morning.
So, are we wrong? I mean, did a new front-runner emerge last night?
CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: No, same front-runner still John Kerry, not Al Sharpton, not Dennis Kucinich.
Kerry talked about a number of different issues. He looked comfortable for the most part, although in the general election there actually were two issues which he may have exposed himself to some weakness. One was immigration. He didn't answer that question as well as he could. And two was on the death penalty. I bet you you'll hear a lot more about that in the weeks to come.
COSTELLO: Well, inform us of what Kerry said about the death penalty. He said he didn't believe in it, because many times DNA tests show that these people were wrongly convicted, and he's trying to avoid putting them to death. Because of that reason that's why he really doesnt believe strongly in the death penalty, right?
WATSON: Right. And he kind of stumbled around it more than anything. Sometimes it's not just the substance, but it's the style of the answer. He stumbled around the question a number of times on the death penalty. And again, the same thing was true on immigration when people asked how in a place like California, where there are major issues in terms of both legal and illegal immigration, how he would handle it.
Again, he seemed a bit unsure in his answer, which, again, is OK in California, where polls show him up by 40 points. But as you turn toward the general election, where those can be hot-button issues in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) states like Arizona and New Mexico, you've got to answer the question with a little bit more comfort.
COSTELLO: OK. Let's talk more about hot-button issues. We just heard some sound a bit earlier about the issue of gay marriage. How did the candidates do on that issue? And will it be a hot-button issue really in the days to come?
WATSON: You know, it's unclear. You know, I call the gay marriage issue a clash of the three C's. President Bush would have us look at the issue as a cultural one in many ways, and not, if you will, as a constitutional one, but rather as a cultural and a character one, whereas John Kerry and John Edwards and others would say, no, this is a constitutional issue, don't mess with the Constitution.
I think John Kerry did a strategic thing during the debate, where he said, listen, this is what the president wants us to be discussing. We need to focus on the economy, on health care and on other issues, instead of focusing on gay marriage. And ultimately, he moved the conversation along, because it's not a long-term winning issue probably for the Democrats, at least at this point in the debate.
COSTELLO: Something else that was kind of interesting. Afterwards, Kerry went to some campaign rally and Gray Davis endorsed him.
WATSON: Ooh, that's...
COSTELLO: Probably not...
WATSON: That's not exactly the strongest endorsement that you want, right? A guy who left office with approval numbers kind of like in the 23-24 percent, kind of Richard Nixon post-Watergate range. That's not exactly the guy you want endorsing you.
COSTELLO: No.
WATSON: But maybe more significant, Kerry did win the endorsement of "The New York Times," which was good in the state he already won. But maybe more significantly, he won a major endorsement in Dayton, Ohio. That was a place where I thought for a long time that John Edwards had a chance to of breaking through.
And I said a couple of days ago that I thought there were three big endorsements -- one in Cleveland, one in Dayton, one in Akron -- and that if Edwards won all three, he had a chance of winning Ohio. The fact that Kerry won a major one in Dayton means that he may be able to ultimately put Ohio in the win column.
COSTELLO: We'll see. Carlos Watson joining us live from New York with some analysis this morning. We appreciate it. Tax time is closer than you think. We'll have some tips on how you can save money this year when you file your return.
And speaking of money, the race for Oscar gold is on and it is worth big money, really big money. We'll tell you more about that.
And later, flower power at the end of the hour. We'll explain in our 'Lightning Round.'
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, what's that gold statue really worth, a million, $10 million, you would be surprised.
What? Would this get you to enlist? I don't even know what to say about that, so let's talk about this right now.
Forty-seven days and counting to get your tax return filed and the IRS says filling it out could take longer this year. Some expert advice on tax law changes now from attorney and CPA Suzanne Plybon. She's also a frequent commentator on CNN's "IN THE MONEY."
Thank you for joining us this morning.
SUZANNE PLYBON, ATTORNEY, CPA: Good morning.
COSTELLO: So it's going to be even harder this year?
PLYBON: Well it will for our tax return preparers. But actually it will be good, because last year Congress passed tax relief which lowers the tax bill for most individuals this year.
COSTELLO: Well let's jump right into the changes this year and the first one is tax rates for one.
PLYBON: That's right, the individual tax rates were lowered. The top tax rate is now 35 percent instead of 38.6 percent. And all the rates beneath that were lowered until you get to the bottom two rates. Those remain the same. But even in the bottom rate, we have a tax bracket expansion, which means you can have higher income and still be in that lower rate.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about capital gains, because they are lower this year.
PLYBON: Yes, the long-term capital gains rate declined effective for sales on or after May 6 of 2003. And the top rate declined from 20 percent to 15 percent. And if you are in the lower -- if you are a lower income tax payer, then it can be even 5 percent, which is quite less.
COSTELLO: But you don't have as many capital gains if you are in that bracket.
PLYBON: Well that's true. That's true.
COSTELLO: Let's be honest about that -- Suzanne.
PLYBON: That's true.
COSTELLO: Child tax credit, that has changed, too.
PLYBON: Yes, it increased from $600 to $1,000 per child.
COSTELLO: That's a good thing.
PLYBON: Yes.
COSTELLO: That is a good thing for...
PLYBON: And let me just comment on all of these changes we just talked about, certainly they are effective for last year, this year. But depending upon which tax change you are talking about, ultimately they phase out unless Congress does something to make it permanent.
COSTELLO: We'll see. Survivor benefits.
PLYBON: Last year, in addition to the other changes we talked about, military tax relief was granted. And one of the big things that you probably heard a lot about was that there was a tax death benefit increase for families of members of the Armed Services who were killed in action in places like Afghanistan or Iraq. And that death benefit increased to $12,000. It is tax free. And it...
COSTELLO: And you should take advantage of it and tell your tax preparer. And make sure your tax preparer, who should be aware of all these things, but you never know really.
PLYBON: That's right.
COSTELLO: You have to be your own watchdog.
PLYBON: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: All right. Suzanne Plybon, many thanks for joining us on DAYBREAK with some important tax tips this morning.
Let's head live to New York and check in with Bill and Soledad for a look at what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."
And the Democratic president debate, I bet that's on the top of your agenda.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: No, we're not even going to say a word.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: No, not even going to discuss it today, actually.
HEMMER: I have no idea what you're talking about.
O'BRIEN: They had a debate last night?
HEMMER: Really? COSTELLO: You know the one in Los Angeles with Larry King?
HEMMER: No.
O'BRIEN: Larry King, what?
HEMMER: No, tell us more. Who's Larry King?
Hey, it's Friday, can you tell?
COSTELLO: Yes.
HEMMER: Ron Brownstein is here, Jeff Greenfield is here, we'll talk about the highlights and the lowlights from last night on that Democratic debate, Carol, so stay tuned for that.
O'BRIEN: And the debate over gay marriages continues. Now a mayor in New Paltz, Jason West, he is 26-year-old -- 26 years old. He says he is going to start solemnizing marriages. He actually is not allowed to give out any licenses. But he says he is going to do what he can. We're going to talk with him this morning as well.
HEMMER: Also, check this out, Carol. Here, give me that there, Wendy. That's not for you to read. That's for -- that's a prop. Say hello to the woman whose life was literally saved within seconds on the subway...
O'BRIEN: By this guy.
HEMMER: ... here in New York City. She was pushed into the subway trail of an oncoming train by a homeless man and as she was screaming to get out. They say about 20 other people did almost nothing, except for him.
O'BRIEN: Jumped in, pulled her out.
HEMMER: Pulled her out seconds before the train comes by. Wendy, you can read that now.
COSTELLO: I want it next, Wendy.
HEMMER: So we're going to talk to both of them this morning on -- yes, it's a wonderful story about survival. And boy, she is so thankful. Searched the city for the guy and finally found him, so.
O'BRIEN: Yes, a really good story.
COSTELLO: That's good. We can't wait to hear about it.
HEMMER: That's right.
COSTELLO: Thanks to both of you we'll...
HEMMER: Debate.
COSTELLO: Debate, we'll have more -- we'll have more on that thing, that debate...
HEMMER: See you later.
COSTELLO: ... in about 10 minutes.
HEMMER: Have a great weekend.
COSTELLO: You too.
Your news, money, weather and sports. It is now 6:47 Eastern time. Here are the headlines for you.
Rebel forces seeking to overthrow Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide say they are closing in on the capital. And they say they are poised to attack if the president does not step down.
In Japan, former doomsday cult guru was convicted and sentenced to hang for masterminding the deadly 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway, as well as other crimes. Altogether he is linked to 27 deaths.
The hot button issue of same-sex marriage emerged in last night's Democratic debate. Both John Kerry and John Edwards say they oppose them, but they also think President Bush's proposal to change the Constitution to outlaw gay marriage is a bad idea.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates is still rolling in the dough and a lot of it. For the 10th straight year, he is at the top of the "Forbes" magazine's annual list of billionaires. His net worth is estimated at $46.6 billion. We'd love to see his tax return, huh?
June 4 the Chicago Cubs will win the World Series this year. OK, maybe we're exaggerating a bit. But the foul ball that some fans blame for last year's bad luck was destroyed on live TV last night amidst much fanfare. So the curse is officially over. Yes right. And the Cubs will win. Trust me. You heard it here first.
In culture, Mel Gibson tells Jay Leno that his film "The Passion of the Christ" was unfairly prejudged for a year before its release. But Gibson says he forgives his critics.
And in weather, the west will see more wet weather with snow at higher elevations. The southeast could see up to eight more inches of snow along with gusty winds.
Those are the headlines. Your next update on "AMERICAN MORNING" at the top of the hour. And we are back after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Hey, get the TiVo ready. Those gold statues will be handed out Sunday night in Hollywood. And when it comes to ticket sales, the Oscars are worth their weight in gold.
Our Jen Rogers explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEN ROGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At auction, an Oscar can fetch over a million dollars. But at the box office, an Oscar can be worth considerably more.
GREGG KILDAY, FILM EDITOR, "HOLLYWOOD REPORTER": An Oscar and certainly nominations can boost revenues by $20 million or more.
ROGERS: In fact, over the last 11 years, the average increase in ticket sales for a best picture winner from the day it was nominated until winning was 18 percent, roughly $26 million. The average increase after the film won best picture was 13 percent, another $18 plus million. Of course, that's just the average. Conventional wisdom in Hollywood holds the smaller the film, the bigger the boost from Oscar's buzz.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES)
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Trick or treat!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go away!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL ELLENBOGEN, FILM ANALYST, "THE DAILY GROSS": It's crucial to an independent distributor to get these nominations and to strategize to the best of your abilities to manipulate that nomination into the bottom line.
ROGERS: A prime example of what Oscar means to a small film? This year's "Monster." Ticket sales are up 200 percent since Charlize Theron was nominated for her starring role. But that box office bounce isn't being felt by all nominees.
KILDAY: The shortened schedule this year has meant that the studios have had less time to capitalize on the Oscars. And that potentially has cost them some money.
ROGERS: The campaign crunch is expected to have a smaller impact on actors, directors and writers, all of whom can see their price tags rise on an Oscar nod, as well.
Jen Rogers, CNN Financial News, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: The Lightning Round is coming up.
But first the headlines for you.
COMMERCIAL
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: You say it's your birthday. It's my birthday, too. You say it's your birthday. We're gonna have a good time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Oh, look at that. Chad provided that for us even though he's in South Carolina. It is time for our Lightning Round. And let's start with flower power, as in F-L-O-U-R. For more than 200 years, people in this Greek town have celebrated carnival by throwing bags of colored flour at one another. Doesn't that look fun?
A word of warning -- spectators are fair game. I mean how could you help but being covered by flour? It's floating in the air.
The bird flu has caused many people in Asia to avoid eating chicken. So what are they turning to instead? Well, in Cambodia, it's rats. I am not kidding. Rat meat vendors say sales have doubled since the bird flu hit.
Oh, please get that picture off. Oh, please. Thank you.
And if you want a nice big egg with that meat, here's one. It weighs about nine pounds and might be 65 million years old. It came from a dinosaur and was found by construction workers in India. Wow!
And this is not your typical recruiting ad. Let's pause and listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM JAPANESE NAVY RECRUITING AD)
UNIDENTIFIED MEN: Seamanship, seamanship, oh, yes, we have seamanship, seamanship for peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: You might think that this is a joke, but it's not. This is how the Japanese Navy is trying to attract recruits. Actors dressed as sailors strut across the deck of a ship singing about love and peace. No word on if The Village People will sue for copyright infringement. Oh my lord.
AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Six-Nation Talks Over North Korea's Nuclear Program extended an Extra Day>
Aired February 27, 2004 - 05:40 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Mel Gibson's controversial film "The Passion of the Christ" made back its entire budget just on opening day. Opinions about the film's graphic depiction of Christ's torture and death are, well, passionate.
CNN's Jason Bellini collected some personal reviews at Atlanta's Emory University.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This religious group watched the movie with very different sets of eyes. Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and other faiths...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The word blood doesn't even show up.
BELLINI: ... took their dissecting scalpels to Mel Gibson's work.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The image of Satan was female, which is a serious issue, as far as I am concerned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think his feet being black would reflect differently than how the rest of his body looked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know if that's not in scripture, then Mel Gibson has inserted something which is blatantly anti-Semitic.
BELLINI: In a small group discussion we assembled, the perspectives were powerful, personal and painful.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It definitely reminds me of the history of African-Americans here in America of the torture, the hangings, the lynchings and the sufferings and having to bear it.
BELLINI: A Christian student of religion.
BETHANY THERRIAULT, FRESHMAN, EMORY UNIVERSITY: There are so many different emotional levels on which I could identify.
BELLINI: A professor of ethics.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are a very, very violent society. In some ways, before I criticize the movie, I have to look at what it may disclose about our situation as an empire in the present world. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The film shows more of the viciousness of humanity. Many times we're almost we're seeing -- we're seeing like vicious animals.
BELLINI (on camera): What it seems to me all of you are saying is that there is both power and there is danger in this film. Which do you think is stronger?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When September the 11th happened, there were people who immediately targeted the Muslim community, but a positive came from that in that people also started asking questions about the Islamic faith. So what we have is more people learning in detail that we are basically the same.
BELLINI (voice-over): With the eyes of millions of moviegoers on the film this weekend, the people are finally seeing and interpreting "The Passion" for themselves.
Jason Bellini, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And you can check out our profile of Mel Gibson this weekend, just tune your TV to "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS" Sunday at 7:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
We're back after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Welcome back. It's 5:45 Eastern. Time to take a quick look at the top stories now.
In Haiti, rebel leaders say they are closing in on the capital and it's just a matter of time before they attack if President Aristide does not step down.
The issue of gay marriage came up in last night's Democratic debate. John Kerry and John Edwards both say they are opposed to it, but they are also opposed to a constitutional ban.
And German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder meets with President Bush at the White House today. The weak American dollar is one item on the agenda.
We update our top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 6:00 Eastern.
In Beijing, those six-nation talks over North Korea's nuclear program have been extended an extra day, so is that good or bad?
For the latest on the talks, we take you live to the Chinese capital. Mike Chinoy our senior Asia correspondent on the phone with us this morning.
Hello, Mike, is it good or bad? MIKE CHINOY, CNN SENIOR ASIA CORRESPONDENT: Well at the moment, Carol, it looks bad. The Chinese negotiator says that there have been what he called differences, difficulties and contradictions. The North Korean spokesman here also complaining about America's attitude. He says North Korea is willing to give up its nuclear program but only if it gets economic and diplomatic concessions from the U.S.
But a U.S. spokeswoman here telling me a short while ago that the U.S. is sticking to its demand that China agree -- that North Korea agree first to completely verifiably and irreversibly dismantle all of its nuclear weapons programs before anything else can be discussed. The U.S. spokeswoman saying that the U.S. is not prepared to provide any rewards or inducements to North Korea until it does decide to give up its nuclear ambition.
So at this point with Washington and Pyongyang at loggerheads, the talks are stalemated -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Mike Chinoy reporting live by phone from Beijing, China this morning.
Coming up in the next hour of DAYBREAK, the verdict is in, nine years after a deadly sarin gas attack, a sect leader is sentenced. We'll have a live report for you.
Critical acclaim for the glamorous Charlize Theron but vigorous criticism for her "Monster" movie role, the real story ahead.
And time now for a little DAYBREAK trivia. The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, was released from prison on this day. So what year was it? Was it 1989, 1990 or c) 1991? We'll have the answer to that burning question when we return. And don't even think about Goggling the answer during the break. That would be cheating.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES BROWN, ENTERTAINER: I'm back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Before the break, we asked you about James Brown. The godfather of soul was released from prison on this date, 1989, 1990, or C, 1991? If you said all of the above, you're wrong. The answer would be C, 1991.
The Oscar buzz is high for Charlize Theron. The stunning South African actress has already been critically accumulated for her transformation into a Florida serial killer. But a real life tragedy may have helped Theron prepare for her role in "Monster."
Here's CNN's Daryn Kagan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): She plays a character that's partly hopeful...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "MONSTER")
CHARLIZE THERON, BEST LEAD ACTRESS NOMINEE: You look good. Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: And horrendous.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "MONSTER")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't kill people.
THERON: Says who?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: For Charlize Theron, the part of the real life prostitute turned serial killer could be the role of a lifetime.
THERON: It was a very intense experience because this is somebody's life and you can't judge them just for this one act that they have done and you -- I had to come from a place where I needed to understand why.
KAGAN: Theron admits she wasn't sure she was right for the role of Eileen Wuornos.
(on camera): Is this the kind of role that you go looking for or you just have to hope lands in your lap?
THERON: Well, it's definitely the kind of role that I would have gone looking for. And if I knew that it was out there and, you know, and that it wasn't offered for me, it's definitely something that I would go fighting for. It's kind of been what I've had to do in my entire career.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "MONSTER")
THERON: I'm not a bad person. I'm a real good person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: A life changed by circumstance and choice. Theron knows something about that. She says one night in 1991 her father threatened to kill Theron and her mother. In self-defense, Gerda Theron shot her husband to death and to protect Charlize from the fallout, she insisted that her 15-year-old daughter continue her life away from home.
Now she's taking mom's advice to simply enjoy these moments.
THERON: And I thought that was really nice, because the mother who cares, you know, it was like take a break and then really enjoy this. KAGAN: And why not? With last weekend's Screen Actor Guild win and a Golden Globe Award in January, to many she's the actress to beat on Oscar night. And even if she doesn't...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM SCREEN ACTOR GUILD AWARDS)
THERON: My mom will still love me and my boyfriend will still love me and that's all that matters, you know? This is great, but I'm just enjoying it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Daryn Kagan, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Nice.
Mother Nature bears down as parts of the South become a winter wonderland.
MYERS: And we're live in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It is a snowy day. The kids are off school and they're having a good time.
We'll be back in just a few minutes.
COSTELLO:
COMMERCIAL
COSTELLO: Chad is live in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
You know, I'm wondering, Chad, why don't they have the roads cleared by now?
MYERS: Because they only have about 40 snow plows, Carol. I mean you can't clear every road, right? I mean they're really worried about...
COSTELLO: Yes, but you're right in the downtown major area, aren't you?
MYERS: Well, yes, but, you know, most of, most things here in downtown are going to be shut down today. Obviously, schools aren't going to open, most of them, at least. And they're worried about the interstates. You have a lot of interstate travel right through here. I-85 and I-26 just come right through Spartanburg. So, you've got east-west and you've got north-south and all the crews have really been worried about that more than they've been worried about this. And obviously many of the other highways that are through town are in good shape.
Well, we're basically in a downtown square area. Like we have, like we have a Marietta Square there in Atlanta, and, you know, sometimes the trucks don't get through here. But I'm sure they will. Plus, it's early. I mean we haven't even seen more than about two or three people up anyway.
Let me show you what we have for you on the screen now. Most of the maps show pretty good weather across the country today, except for this one storm here, then another one moving through the Rockies and then finally into the Plains.
Snow for Raleigh. It's still coming down there. And then that pink stuff that you see, you're actually going to see a little bit of ice, as well.
Most of the forecasts for the rest of the country are pretty mild. In fact, a little bit of snow across parts of the Southeast, but Orlando, you're only 63. And if we fly you up a little bit farther, on up toward the Northeast, New York, 41; Cincinnati, 50; and then Detroit even 41. So mild weather across all of the Plains. Memphis, look at this, how do you argue with 55? Not bad even in Denver, 59.
Now, if you get back into the benches, into Salt Lake City, you are going to see some snow. Also still some rain and some mountain snow, obviously, for the San Francisco-L.A. area. You get up about 5,000 feet and it turns into snow.
Carol, not bad here, actually. Thirty-two degrees. It'll be 42 this afternoon. All this will be a bad memory. So, you know what? Why shovel it or why plow it if it's going to melt anyway?
COSTELLO: You're right. They're just waiting.
MYERS: Exactly.
COSTELLO: Just waiting till later -- ooh, I hear a train in the background. That sounds nice.
MYERS: Yes, a lot of trains through here. A lot of, a lot of interstate commerce through this town. It's a, you know, you think of it as a sleepy little place in the middle of South Carolina, but a lot of things going on in this town. Not right now, but later on today.
COSTELLO: Yes, it looks really busy.
Thank you, Chad.
We appreciate it.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: The next hour of CNN DAYBREAK starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What's happening here is this president is talking about, first, amending the United States constitution for a problem that does not exist.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He is doing this because he's in trouble. He's trying to reach out to his base. He's playing politics with the constitution of the United States in an election year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Like it or not, the gay marriage issue enters the Democratic debate.
Good morning to you.
Happy Friday.
It's February 27th.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Let me bring you up to date now.
Up to 10 women killed in six states during the past two years. Most were last seen at truck stops. Investigators meet today to see if they have a serial killer on their hands.
A report on sexual abuse commissioned by the nation's Catholic bishops comes out today. It shows that over the last 50 years, nearly 11,000 children have said they were sexually molested by priests.
They failed to see eye to eye on Iraq, but today President Bush and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder sit down to talk about post- war plans.
Search crews find the wreckage of a plane carrying Macedonia's president. All nine people aboard died in yesterday's crash in Bosnia.
And workers may end a four and a half month long California supermarket strike by this weekend. Union leaders have reached a tentative agreement with three supermarket chains.
We update our top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 6:15 Eastern.
Oh, it was lively, but did the Democratic debate give John Edwards the boost he needed? Did John Kerry trip up Dukakis-style? And Al Sharpton, was he the one-liner king of the night?
CNN's Candy Crowley had a front-row seat.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is their least favorite subject, but Rosie O'Donnell got married in San Francisco today, and here they were in California at a debate. Of course, they discussed gay marriage.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president is talking about, first, amending the United States Constitution for a problem that does not exist.
AL SHARPTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The issue of 2004 is not if gays marry. The issue is not who you go to bed with. The issue is whether either of you have a job when you get up in the morning.
CROWLEY: And they hated every minute of it.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This discussion we've just had is exactly where the Republicans want us to spend our time.
CROWLEY: And the oldie but goodie category, the war on Iraq, still a difficult subject for the two leading contenders who voted for the Iraq resolution.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a blank check. Why?
EDWARDS: But those -- what we did is we voted on a resolution. The answer is what we did is we voted on a resolution.
KERRY: And I have a slightly different take from John on this. Let me make it very clear. We did not give the president any authority that the president of the United States didn't have. Did we ratify what he was doing? Yes. But Clinton went to Haiti without the Congress. Clinton went to Kosovo without the Congress. And the fact is the president was determined to go, evidently, but we changed the dynamics.
LARRY KING, CNN HOST: Do you regret your vote?
EDWARDS: I did what I believe was right at the time.
KING: Do you regret it?
EDWARDS: I believe I did what was right at the time.
KING: Do you regret it?
KERRY: I do not regret my vote. I regret that we have a president of the United States who misled America and broke every promise he made to the United States Congress.
CROWLEY: Save for the usual piffy (ph) comments from Al Sharpton and Dennis Kucinich, this was a relatively mild debate. John Kerry, the front-runner, has nothing to win by being aggressive. He stayed above the fray. As for John Edwards, he is tied down by his own campaign rhetoric that he would not attack a fellow Democrat.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And we will go in-depth on the debate when CNN political analyst Carlos Watson joins us live later this hour. The new battle front today in the gay marriage issue: Upstate New York has entered in the fray. The mayor of New Paltz -- it's a small town there -- says he will marry at least four same-sex couples today, while in California the attorney general will ask the State Supreme Court whether San Francisco is violating state law by issuing gay marriage licenses.
And I'm sure you have heard by now Rosie O'Donnell has stepped into the fight, too, by marrying her long-time girlfriend, Kelli Carpenter. They tied the knot in San Francisco. O'Donnell says President Bush's call for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage inspired their wedding. She called the president's words "vile, vicious and hateful."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSIE O'DONNELL, ENTERTAINER: One thought ran through my mind over and over on the plane as we were flying out here: with liberty and justice for all. Peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The newlyweds were the 3,326th couple to say "I do" in San Francisco.
Now to the escalating crisis in Haiti. The capital city looks like a war zone. This is the start of week three of the unrest.
A rebel leader says his forces are converging on Port-au-Prince and will attack if President Jean-Bertrand Aristide does not resign. Mr. Aristide, though, is not budging.
In the meantime, Secretary of State Colin Powell is calling on the Haitian leader to do the right thing for his people.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: We want President Aristide to do what he thinks is best for his country. What we are looking for is a political solution to end the violence. We've been pressing a CARICOM approach, which would require both sides to enter into negotiations to form a new kind of government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And they're talking Haiti in Paris. We're going to go live to Paris in just a bit and check in with Jim Bittermann. He's there, and he's listening in -- well, he's trying to listen in. He'll tell you what the latest is live from Paris, France, in just a bit.
Winter storm warnings are still in effect from western South Carolina to southern Virginia, as snow moves through Dixie. It'll be a very tough morning commute around Charlotte, which got several more inches of snow. President Bush actually had to cancel a trip to Charlotte because of the weather. And Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where many southerners head for summer vacation, well, look at that. It looks more like a ski resort, doesn't it? Oh, man.
And it may never rain in southern California, but when it pours, man, does it ever pour. Look at that. The storms were formed in the Pacific, hit the northern California coast, and then soaked the Los Angeles area. You can see the reporter there, and the people watching got soaked.
And it was a chained melody across the High Sierra. No traveling without tire chains. Heavy, wet snow stalled traffic, 45-mile-an-hour winds with gusts to 100 miles an hour over the mountain ridges. Donner Summit reported 42 inches of snow. Wow!
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
COSTELLO: Hey, do we have...
MYERS: Three and a half feet, Carol.
COSTELLO: You're in South Carolina.
MYERS: I am.
COSTELLO: And it got nine inches, right?
MYERS: Exactly. It doesn't feel like it right now, because obviously the ground is warm and it melted from down below. But officially nine inches in Spartanburg and about eight inches out in Greenville. And if you get up to about, oh, South Park on up into Charlotte, a part of Charlotte in fact, 17 inches of snow, Carol.
Thirty-two degrees right now here in Spartanburg, so things are pretty good. All the way up to 42 this afternoon. Things are actually going to melt pretty nicely, and so what you see is what you get.
The snow is done. Literally, the snow is done for all of North Carolina, except for areas north of Charlotte into the triangle and the triad.
Here's a look at the radar right now. We do see more of this snow now right over Raleigh, and as you move into the I-85 and the I- 95 there between Raleigh and the coast, at Elizabeth City, that's where that heavy snow is still coming down right now.
Here are some snow totals, though. South Park, this is the area -- South Park. This is not what we're talking about. This is not the TV show. South Park, North Carolina, right near Charlotte, 17 inches. Roan Mountain, Tennessee, at 14. And even Buffalo, South Carolina, not too far from where we are, 10.5 inches of snow.
So, the snow continues for today.
Most of the central part of the country, mild but windy, and cool across the Northeast. Sunshine, though, for New York City. Hey, you can't argue with temperatures in the 40s this time of year. This storm does pull away from the coast here. Across North Carolina and South Carolina it moves away. And temperatures by the weekend, in fact, Carol: 58. Although we're standing in a 32-degree snowstorm here, obviously the storm is over. By the weekend, another 20-25 degrees warmer than we are right now.
Back to you...
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: That sounds awfully nice. And 22 days till spring.
MYERS: Is that it?
COSTELLO: Only 22 days.
MYERS: It feels it was just 23 yesterday.
COSTELLO: You're crazy. Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: See you soon.
COSTELLO: All right, France is trying to help find a political solution to the Haitian crisis. That is the topic of talks today in Paris, as I told you just a few minutes ago.
We do have Jim Bittermann live now. He joins us by phone.
Who's meeting in Paris today -- Jim?
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it's kind of one-sided actually. In fact, the opposition is not here, but there is a government delegation here led by Foreign Minister Joseph Philippe Antonio from Haiti. And the cultural minister is also here, and probably as important as the foreign minister, Jean-Claude Desgranges, who is the director of President Aristide's cabinet and probably someone who has some insight into the Haitian president's mindset right now.
They're meeting with Dominique de Villepin, the French foreign minister, and they came in just about an hour ago. They came in a motorcade, and they've been keeping the press a fair distance away from where these talks are taking place at the French Foreign Ministry. And it's very easy for them to meet behind closed doors, and that's, in fact, what they are doing.
And we're not clear at all exactly what they're going to tell us afterwards, although the Haitian foreign minister is scheduled, at least at this moment, to hold a news conference later on this afternoon at about 4:00 local time. So, there may be some indication from that exactly where things are going.
But the opposition members not being here, they apparently had some logistical problems, as I think we see an image in reporting out of Port-au-Prince. There have been problems at the airport there, and the people have trouble -- some number of flights have been cancelled, so they weren't able to get out of Haiti and come to Paris for these talks.
So, it's unclear what kind of political solution you could come to with just one side represented here.
COSTELLO: Jim Bittermann live from Paris this morning.
Of course, we're keeping an eye on many international stories. Our Atika Shubert is live out of Japan with a verdict in the deadly sarin gas attack case.
Our Chris Burns has tracked John Kerry's Jewish roots all the way to Austria. Chris will be with us live.
And from CNN's Moscow bureau, our bureau chief there, Jill Dougherty, something in Siberia, the latest on Russia's presidential campaign.
But first, let's head to Tokyo. The Japanese have been waiting a long time for today's verdict in that deadly nerve gas attack.
Atika Shubert joins us now with the verdict.
Good morning.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Shoko Asahara was actually convicted on 13 separate criminal charges, everything ranging from mass murder to illegally compiling chemical weapons. But the most devastating, of course, was the 1995 sarin gas attack, where his cult followers unleashed deadly nerve gas into rush-hour subways here in Tokyo.
Now, as you listened to the verdict in silence, family members and victims say they were happy with the verdict, that they say it was inevitable. However, they were unhappy with how long this trial took -- almost eight years.
Now Asahara's lawyers say he will appeal and that process could take another 10 years. So although many welcomed the guilty verdict here today, certainly not speedy justice here in Japan -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Atika Shubert, thanks.
Now to Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry's Jewish roots.
Our Chris Burns joins us live by phone from Frankfurt, Germany with more on that.
Hello -- Chris.
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well hello, Carol.
It's quite an amazing trip we made to the Czech Republic and inside Austria. First in a tiny little snowy mountain town, former mining town, very depressed town, that, with a lot of hope, they hope to see an eventual President Kerry coming back to the birthplace of his grandfather Frederick Kohn.
Frederick Kohn then moved with his mother and the rest of the family over to Austria when he was around 20 years old and changed his religion and his name, along with his brother, to Catholicism, and his name, as we know, to Kerry.
And we talked to a relative of John Kerry who told us the legend of how they actually decided on the name. They stretched out the map of Britain and of Ireland and stuck their finger on the town Kerry and said OK that's it. That's what -- that's what we're going to call ourselves. Of course John Kerry's father, Richard, was born in the United States to his, of course, his grandfather Frederick then Kerry. So he brought along the family name with him.
Now John Kerry's Great Uncle Otto (ph) survived the Holocaust, along with his family, because he changed his name. So quite a remarkable story there that we followed along -- Carol.
COSTELLO: We'll be excited to hear more, too. Chris Burns reporting live from Germany this morning.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is running for reelection in a race that hardly resembles the one going on over here.
Our Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty joins us live by telephone to talk more about that.
Hello -- Jill.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Gee, Carol, how are you?
COSTELLO: Good.
DOUGHERTY: Yes, it's a little different, I have to tell you, Carol, having covered numerous campaigns back in the States, it's quite different. In fact, you know no bands, no balloons, no cheering crowds. In fact, they -- this trip that we are on with Vladimir Putin officially isn't even a campaign trip, they are calling it a working trip for the president.
And some of his other candidates, there are six candidates all together, are saying well this is pretty much a farce and maybe we should even pull out of the race. But President Putin says look, I have a job to do and I am going to be president and I don't need to campaign. You'd have to say if you had ratings like his, 70 to 80 percent, you probably wouldn't want to campaign anyway.
It's basically, Carol, like what we'd call a Rose Garden campaign strategy. So he would -- today, for example, he was meeting with students at the university here in Caniyars (ph). It's down in Siberia. And yes, it's cold. He fielded some questions for them -- from them for about an hour and a half. And now we're watching TV monitors in a room next door to where the president is. No chance to ask any questions.
COSTELLO: That is so -- what is his opponent doing -- Jill?
DOUGHERTY: Well his opponents basically kind of throwing up their hands in despair and saying well what are we even trying to do here. They had a debate a couple of weeks ago and the moderator said OK you guys, the president is not going to be debating, so debate among yourselves. And they started saying why are we even debating among ourselves if the main person isn't here.
But you know you have to be fair, his ratings are high, and talking to a lot of people here in Caniyars, they do support him. But it's more the feeling, Carol, that like there's nobody else out there. He's doing a decent job, let's not take the train off the tracks at this point. Let's just go along with Mr. Putin and maybe things will get better.
COSTELLO: Interesting. A quick note, and I know this is off the subject, but how cold is it in Siberia -- Jill?
DOUGHERTY: Well you know here it was actually not that bad. It was a little, I would say, probably about in the twenties. But then it plunged this morning and it was, let's see, Celsius is about minus 20. So I don't know, it's below zero. It's cold.
COSTELLO: Way below.
Jill Dougherty reporting live from Siberia this morning.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, a tire recall you'll want to know about before you roll off to work. Here's our Julie Vallese.
JULIE VALLESE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Firestone, Ford and tires all in the same sentence again. Coming up in a live report, I'll tell you the tires and the popular SUV.
COSTELLO: Also, making taxes less taxing. New rules in effect this year. Do you know what they are?
Man, and later, the Village People, not. We'll tell you who these macho men are in our 'Lightning Round.'
This is DAYBREAK for Friday, February 27.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: 6:17 Eastern Time.
Time for a little 'Business Buzz' now. A new drug is hope for cancer patients.
Carrie Lee has more for you live from the Nasdaq market site.
Good morning -- Carrie.
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Good news for these folks, Genentech, the biotech company, has won Food and Drug Administration approval to sell its colon cancer drug Avastin here in the United States. Now this drug works a little bit differently than some others out there. It basically chokes off the blood supply that tumors need to grow and it can extend the lives of patients who have advanced colon cancer by about five months.
This drug, some analysts say, could be a blockbuster with annual sales between $1.6 billion and $1.8 billion by 2008. It's quite expensive, about $4,400 per patient per month. Remember ImClone's Erbitux was also approved earlier this month by the FDA for sale here in the United States. Erbitux works a little bit differently, can also shrink tumors. Does not, though, extend patient's lives. Yesterday this news came out.
In terms of the stock price, Genentech shares rose about $7 to $103, its highest price that we have seen in quite some time. And early this morning, Carol, looks like we're seeing some follow-through today as well. So Genentech could continue to be a stock to watch. It was certainly a great development for colon cancer patients.
COSTELLO: Definitely so, and we'll keep our eyes peeled.
Thank you. Carrie Lee live from the Nasdaq market site.
Another big recall for the Bridgestone Firestone Tire Company, the firm is calling back 490,000 Steeltex tires made in Canada for use on Ford Excursions.
CNN's Julie Vallese live in Washington with more on this story.
Good morning -- Julie.
VALLESE: Good morning, Carol.
It is more tire troubles for the world's largest tire manufacturers. Some of those tires involved in the recall are no longer on the market, but hundreds of thousands are being pulled out of service for a possible defect they have seen before.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALLESE (voice-over): This time it's voluntary. Bridgestone Firestone has initiated a safety campaign to replace almost 300,000 Steeltex tires in the United States, another 20,000 abroad.
The tires were used as standard equipment on 2000 to 2002 and some 2003 models of the Ford Excursion SUV. The tire maker said it was aware of 14 crashes involving SUVs with the tires. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it is aware the tires were on six vehicles involved in crashes, killing five and injuring 20.
The Department of Transportation has commended Firestone for taking action, saying, "Everyone learned a lesson the last time around." That refers to the recall of close to 17 million Firestone tires three and a half years ago. Tread separation on those tires has been blamed for more than 200 deaths and hundreds of injuries. A majority of those were standard equipment on Ford's Explorer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Now, the bad blood that was between Ford and Firestone in that recall involving the tires on Ford Explorers is being put aside on this. Ford Motor Company is working closely with Firestone on this safety program and VALLESE: consumers will be able to get free replacement tires at Ford dealerships and certified Firestone retailers -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Thank you.
Julie Vallese live in D.C. this morning.
Well, the cleanup begins after the big chill along the Eastern Seaboard. These are live pictures from Raleigh, North Carolina.
Chad, however, is in South Carolina this morning. He's live in all of that snow in the downtown area there in Spartanburg. We'll get to him in just a bit.
But now it's time to take a guess on DAYBREAK. Can you tell what this is? What is it? We'll have the answer, up next.
COMMERCIAL
COSTELLO: So did you figure it out, Chad?
What is this?
Chad? Are you out there?
He's somewhere in South Carolina.
Can you hear me?
He can't hear me.
Anyway, did you guess what it was out there? It is the remains of the cursed baseball that is widely blamed for the Chicago Cubs' flameout in last year's playoffs. The ball was zapped into a pile of string live on TV.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: A deadline is looming in Iraq. It could give the Iraqi people an advanced look at their new constitution.
Also, Germany's chancellor is in Washington this morning for talks. Things might not be all that cordial, though.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL SHARPTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The issue's not who you go to bed with. The issue is whether either of you have a job when you get up in the morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: He wouldn't be talking about the issue of gay marriage. It was front and center at the Democratic debate. Wouldn't you know it?
Good morning. Welcome back to DAYBREAK. I'm Carol Costello. Happy Friday to you. It's February 27. Let me bring you up-to-date.
Hashing out the Haitian crisis, government officials from Haiti and France are meeting in Paris now, looking for ways to restore order in the former French colony. France wants President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to resign, and it wants an international peace force sent to Haiti.
A death sentence handed down today in the 1995 sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway. A cult leader was sentenced for that attack. It killed 12 people.
In San Francisco, with all of its same-sex marriages -- I should say, is allowing same-sex marriages in San Francisco violating California law? Well, the state's attorney general will ask the state supreme court that question today.
The FBI is banning agents from taking mementos from crime scenes. The Justice Department says agents took chunks of concrete, pieces of metal, flags and a Tiffany globe paperweight from the World Trade Center rubble.
We update our top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 6:45 Eastern.
Deadline in Iraq. A draft copy of a constitution is to be released to the public.
Live to Baghdad now and our correspondent, Brent Sadler.
Hello -- Brent.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello. Good morning, Carol.
Well, not just yet as far as that fundamental law draft is concerned. A deadline was in place for tomorrow, but according to insiders within the Iraqi Governing Council, it's going to be several more days before that draft law is agreed upon.
There are many differences, not least the issue of the Kurds in the north of Iraq wanting to ensure that their autonomy that they've enjoyed in the more than a decade of Saddam-free rule is maintained in the new constitutional setup here. Also, other blanks still on the political stage, not least who the United States should hand over sovereignty to at the end of June -- June 30. The mechanism of the transitional government, who should be part of that, still not in place; yet, at the same time, the Shia majority here and the spiritual leader of that group, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, pressing for elections to take place early -- I'm sorry -- by the end of the year rather than early next year, as the United States would prefer.
And Sistani calling for credible guarantees, meaning he'd like to see a United Nations Security Council resolution to make sure elections to happen at that time. But still, many, many difficulties on the political front.
Now, on the military front, encouraging news for the U.S.-led coalition. More Japanese troops have been pouring into Kuwait -- sorry -- into Iraq from neighboring Kuwait. They've been working out with U.S. forces in the north of Kuwait. More than 130 Japanese troops are joining about 100 already on the ground here.
Now, as far the Japanese are concerned, Carol, this is a big deal. Last July, the ruling coalition in Tokyo had to get special clearance. A special law had to be passed to allow this deployment to take place. It's the first time since the end of the Second World War that Japanese troops have been deployed in a combat-hostile zone like this, and they're going to be concentrating mostly on reconstruction and humanitarian efforts -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Brent Sadler bringing us up-to-date live from Baghdad this morning.
You know, Germany didn't think much of the war on Iraq. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is in Washington today, and he will be talking with President Bush. Today, they're supposed to be focusing on the weak dollar and not Iraq.
We've placed a "Wake-Up Call" to our CNN White House correspondent, Dana Bash.
Good morning -- Dana. Tell us more about this meeting.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, you know, this is the first time that Gerhard Schroeder will be in Washington at the White House in more than two years. It's really been a long time. Both Gerhard Schroeder and President Bush did meet on the sidelines of a couple of summits in France and then again in New York over the past year.
But this is really an important meeting to watch, because both sides are very likely to talk about the need to move forward, to move on past the very rocky times they had over the major differences on the war in Iraq.
And you've already heard over the past couple of months Gerhard Schroeder talking about the fact that he does want to help financially with the reconstruction in Iraq to make sure that democracy flourishes there. But he's not going to send any troops. Of course, he's made that very clear.
But he's also said that he is willing to forgive, or at least restructure, some of the $5 billion that Iraq owes that country. So, expect a lot of conciliatory talk on the issue of Iraq today.
COSTELLO: It should be interesting. Dana Bash reporting live for us by phone on DAYBREAK.
Chad is a traveling man, and he has the travel forecast for you. He's in South Carolina this morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I am.
COSTELLO: Good morning -- Chad.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
And it's really not even very cold. Usually, you see reporters out here trying to stay warm, but, in fact, 32...
COSTELLO: Chad, it's 32 degrees there! That's cold for those people.
MYERS: But you know what, Carol? But the wind isn't blowing. Well, maybe I guess it's cold to some. It would be cold in Miami, but, you know, I mean, later on today, 42. All of this is going to melt, and by the weekend, in fact, Atlanta is going to be 58. Raleigh, melting all of this snow around 55.
Now, it's going to take some time. That also could cause some flooding problems, Carol, if you try to melt all of this snow that quickly. So, we'll have to keep watching that.
Here's our radar picture now for you. Most of the snow is tapering off in North Carolina, kind of moving out to sea. You can see. And this is a map now from six hours ago to now. So, the snow was obviously right there, a lot bigger earlier, six hours ago, than it is now. Tapering off, moving out, that's good news.
We still have some airport delays, though; in fact, even a couple of airport closures. So, you have to keep this in mind. Very few airports across North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina are going to be on time this morning.
In fact, Fayetteville, North Carolina, is closed until noon. They're going to get all of the snow out of the way. Then they're going to get the planes going, and then they're not really going to worry about trying to get all of these planes cancelled or slowed down this morning. They're just closing the place down and fixing it, and then they'll get it fixed for you later on today.
Atlanta, low clouds; also Charlotte obviously. Raleigh, some snow. Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco, all rain, even a little bit of wind, depending on if it's a cross wind it could slow you down. Especially San Francisco always with this type of weather, at least 25 minutes right off the bat and sometimes about an hour. But other than that, Carol, unless you're going overseas to the west, San Francisco should probably not affect your travel plans too much.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Chad.
MYERS: Thank you.
COSTELLO: It was lively, but did it change anything? We're talking about the Democratic debate in Los Angeles. Edwards was civil. Kerry didn't trip up. Sharpton was funny. And Kucinich was scrappy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What's happening here is this president is talking about, first, amending the United States Constitution for a problem that does not exist.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He is doing this because he's in trouble. He's trying to reach out to his base. He's playing politics with the Constitution of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Of course, they were talking about issue of gay marriage there.
Our political analyst, Carlos Watson, joins us live from New York to provide some analysis for us this morning.
So, are we wrong? I mean, did a new front-runner emerge last night?
CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: No, same front-runner still John Kerry, not Al Sharpton, not Dennis Kucinich.
Kerry talked about a number of different issues. He looked comfortable for the most part, although in the general election there actually were two issues which he may have exposed himself to some weakness. One was immigration. He didn't answer that question as well as he could. And two was on the death penalty. I bet you you'll hear a lot more about that in the weeks to come.
COSTELLO: Well, inform us of what Kerry said about the death penalty. He said he didn't believe in it, because many times DNA tests show that these people were wrongly convicted, and he's trying to avoid putting them to death. Because of that reason that's why he really doesnt believe strongly in the death penalty, right?
WATSON: Right. And he kind of stumbled around it more than anything. Sometimes it's not just the substance, but it's the style of the answer. He stumbled around the question a number of times on the death penalty. And again, the same thing was true on immigration when people asked how in a place like California, where there are major issues in terms of both legal and illegal immigration, how he would handle it.
Again, he seemed a bit unsure in his answer, which, again, is OK in California, where polls show him up by 40 points. But as you turn toward the general election, where those can be hot-button issues in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) states like Arizona and New Mexico, you've got to answer the question with a little bit more comfort.
COSTELLO: OK. Let's talk more about hot-button issues. We just heard some sound a bit earlier about the issue of gay marriage. How did the candidates do on that issue? And will it be a hot-button issue really in the days to come?
WATSON: You know, it's unclear. You know, I call the gay marriage issue a clash of the three C's. President Bush would have us look at the issue as a cultural one in many ways, and not, if you will, as a constitutional one, but rather as a cultural and a character one, whereas John Kerry and John Edwards and others would say, no, this is a constitutional issue, don't mess with the Constitution.
I think John Kerry did a strategic thing during the debate, where he said, listen, this is what the president wants us to be discussing. We need to focus on the economy, on health care and on other issues, instead of focusing on gay marriage. And ultimately, he moved the conversation along, because it's not a long-term winning issue probably for the Democrats, at least at this point in the debate.
COSTELLO: Something else that was kind of interesting. Afterwards, Kerry went to some campaign rally and Gray Davis endorsed him.
WATSON: Ooh, that's...
COSTELLO: Probably not...
WATSON: That's not exactly the strongest endorsement that you want, right? A guy who left office with approval numbers kind of like in the 23-24 percent, kind of Richard Nixon post-Watergate range. That's not exactly the guy you want endorsing you.
COSTELLO: No.
WATSON: But maybe more significant, Kerry did win the endorsement of "The New York Times," which was good in the state he already won. But maybe more significantly, he won a major endorsement in Dayton, Ohio. That was a place where I thought for a long time that John Edwards had a chance to of breaking through.
And I said a couple of days ago that I thought there were three big endorsements -- one in Cleveland, one in Dayton, one in Akron -- and that if Edwards won all three, he had a chance of winning Ohio. The fact that Kerry won a major one in Dayton means that he may be able to ultimately put Ohio in the win column.
COSTELLO: We'll see. Carlos Watson joining us live from New York with some analysis this morning. We appreciate it. Tax time is closer than you think. We'll have some tips on how you can save money this year when you file your return.
And speaking of money, the race for Oscar gold is on and it is worth big money, really big money. We'll tell you more about that.
And later, flower power at the end of the hour. We'll explain in our 'Lightning Round.'
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, what's that gold statue really worth, a million, $10 million, you would be surprised.
What? Would this get you to enlist? I don't even know what to say about that, so let's talk about this right now.
Forty-seven days and counting to get your tax return filed and the IRS says filling it out could take longer this year. Some expert advice on tax law changes now from attorney and CPA Suzanne Plybon. She's also a frequent commentator on CNN's "IN THE MONEY."
Thank you for joining us this morning.
SUZANNE PLYBON, ATTORNEY, CPA: Good morning.
COSTELLO: So it's going to be even harder this year?
PLYBON: Well it will for our tax return preparers. But actually it will be good, because last year Congress passed tax relief which lowers the tax bill for most individuals this year.
COSTELLO: Well let's jump right into the changes this year and the first one is tax rates for one.
PLYBON: That's right, the individual tax rates were lowered. The top tax rate is now 35 percent instead of 38.6 percent. And all the rates beneath that were lowered until you get to the bottom two rates. Those remain the same. But even in the bottom rate, we have a tax bracket expansion, which means you can have higher income and still be in that lower rate.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about capital gains, because they are lower this year.
PLYBON: Yes, the long-term capital gains rate declined effective for sales on or after May 6 of 2003. And the top rate declined from 20 percent to 15 percent. And if you are in the lower -- if you are a lower income tax payer, then it can be even 5 percent, which is quite less.
COSTELLO: But you don't have as many capital gains if you are in that bracket.
PLYBON: Well that's true. That's true.
COSTELLO: Let's be honest about that -- Suzanne.
PLYBON: That's true.
COSTELLO: Child tax credit, that has changed, too.
PLYBON: Yes, it increased from $600 to $1,000 per child.
COSTELLO: That's a good thing.
PLYBON: Yes.
COSTELLO: That is a good thing for...
PLYBON: And let me just comment on all of these changes we just talked about, certainly they are effective for last year, this year. But depending upon which tax change you are talking about, ultimately they phase out unless Congress does something to make it permanent.
COSTELLO: We'll see. Survivor benefits.
PLYBON: Last year, in addition to the other changes we talked about, military tax relief was granted. And one of the big things that you probably heard a lot about was that there was a tax death benefit increase for families of members of the Armed Services who were killed in action in places like Afghanistan or Iraq. And that death benefit increased to $12,000. It is tax free. And it...
COSTELLO: And you should take advantage of it and tell your tax preparer. And make sure your tax preparer, who should be aware of all these things, but you never know really.
PLYBON: That's right.
COSTELLO: You have to be your own watchdog.
PLYBON: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: All right. Suzanne Plybon, many thanks for joining us on DAYBREAK with some important tax tips this morning.
Let's head live to New York and check in with Bill and Soledad for a look at what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."
And the Democratic president debate, I bet that's on the top of your agenda.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: No, we're not even going to say a word.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: No, not even going to discuss it today, actually.
HEMMER: I have no idea what you're talking about.
O'BRIEN: They had a debate last night?
HEMMER: Really? COSTELLO: You know the one in Los Angeles with Larry King?
HEMMER: No.
O'BRIEN: Larry King, what?
HEMMER: No, tell us more. Who's Larry King?
Hey, it's Friday, can you tell?
COSTELLO: Yes.
HEMMER: Ron Brownstein is here, Jeff Greenfield is here, we'll talk about the highlights and the lowlights from last night on that Democratic debate, Carol, so stay tuned for that.
O'BRIEN: And the debate over gay marriages continues. Now a mayor in New Paltz, Jason West, he is 26-year-old -- 26 years old. He says he is going to start solemnizing marriages. He actually is not allowed to give out any licenses. But he says he is going to do what he can. We're going to talk with him this morning as well.
HEMMER: Also, check this out, Carol. Here, give me that there, Wendy. That's not for you to read. That's for -- that's a prop. Say hello to the woman whose life was literally saved within seconds on the subway...
O'BRIEN: By this guy.
HEMMER: ... here in New York City. She was pushed into the subway trail of an oncoming train by a homeless man and as she was screaming to get out. They say about 20 other people did almost nothing, except for him.
O'BRIEN: Jumped in, pulled her out.
HEMMER: Pulled her out seconds before the train comes by. Wendy, you can read that now.
COSTELLO: I want it next, Wendy.
HEMMER: So we're going to talk to both of them this morning on -- yes, it's a wonderful story about survival. And boy, she is so thankful. Searched the city for the guy and finally found him, so.
O'BRIEN: Yes, a really good story.
COSTELLO: That's good. We can't wait to hear about it.
HEMMER: That's right.
COSTELLO: Thanks to both of you we'll...
HEMMER: Debate.
COSTELLO: Debate, we'll have more -- we'll have more on that thing, that debate...
HEMMER: See you later.
COSTELLO: ... in about 10 minutes.
HEMMER: Have a great weekend.
COSTELLO: You too.
Your news, money, weather and sports. It is now 6:47 Eastern time. Here are the headlines for you.
Rebel forces seeking to overthrow Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide say they are closing in on the capital. And they say they are poised to attack if the president does not step down.
In Japan, former doomsday cult guru was convicted and sentenced to hang for masterminding the deadly 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway, as well as other crimes. Altogether he is linked to 27 deaths.
The hot button issue of same-sex marriage emerged in last night's Democratic debate. Both John Kerry and John Edwards say they oppose them, but they also think President Bush's proposal to change the Constitution to outlaw gay marriage is a bad idea.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates is still rolling in the dough and a lot of it. For the 10th straight year, he is at the top of the "Forbes" magazine's annual list of billionaires. His net worth is estimated at $46.6 billion. We'd love to see his tax return, huh?
June 4 the Chicago Cubs will win the World Series this year. OK, maybe we're exaggerating a bit. But the foul ball that some fans blame for last year's bad luck was destroyed on live TV last night amidst much fanfare. So the curse is officially over. Yes right. And the Cubs will win. Trust me. You heard it here first.
In culture, Mel Gibson tells Jay Leno that his film "The Passion of the Christ" was unfairly prejudged for a year before its release. But Gibson says he forgives his critics.
And in weather, the west will see more wet weather with snow at higher elevations. The southeast could see up to eight more inches of snow along with gusty winds.
Those are the headlines. Your next update on "AMERICAN MORNING" at the top of the hour. And we are back after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Hey, get the TiVo ready. Those gold statues will be handed out Sunday night in Hollywood. And when it comes to ticket sales, the Oscars are worth their weight in gold.
Our Jen Rogers explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEN ROGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At auction, an Oscar can fetch over a million dollars. But at the box office, an Oscar can be worth considerably more.
GREGG KILDAY, FILM EDITOR, "HOLLYWOOD REPORTER": An Oscar and certainly nominations can boost revenues by $20 million or more.
ROGERS: In fact, over the last 11 years, the average increase in ticket sales for a best picture winner from the day it was nominated until winning was 18 percent, roughly $26 million. The average increase after the film won best picture was 13 percent, another $18 plus million. Of course, that's just the average. Conventional wisdom in Hollywood holds the smaller the film, the bigger the boost from Oscar's buzz.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES)
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Trick or treat!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go away!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL ELLENBOGEN, FILM ANALYST, "THE DAILY GROSS": It's crucial to an independent distributor to get these nominations and to strategize to the best of your abilities to manipulate that nomination into the bottom line.
ROGERS: A prime example of what Oscar means to a small film? This year's "Monster." Ticket sales are up 200 percent since Charlize Theron was nominated for her starring role. But that box office bounce isn't being felt by all nominees.
KILDAY: The shortened schedule this year has meant that the studios have had less time to capitalize on the Oscars. And that potentially has cost them some money.
ROGERS: The campaign crunch is expected to have a smaller impact on actors, directors and writers, all of whom can see their price tags rise on an Oscar nod, as well.
Jen Rogers, CNN Financial News, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: The Lightning Round is coming up.
But first the headlines for you.
COMMERCIAL
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: You say it's your birthday. It's my birthday, too. You say it's your birthday. We're gonna have a good time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Oh, look at that. Chad provided that for us even though he's in South Carolina. It is time for our Lightning Round. And let's start with flower power, as in F-L-O-U-R. For more than 200 years, people in this Greek town have celebrated carnival by throwing bags of colored flour at one another. Doesn't that look fun?
A word of warning -- spectators are fair game. I mean how could you help but being covered by flour? It's floating in the air.
The bird flu has caused many people in Asia to avoid eating chicken. So what are they turning to instead? Well, in Cambodia, it's rats. I am not kidding. Rat meat vendors say sales have doubled since the bird flu hit.
Oh, please get that picture off. Oh, please. Thank you.
And if you want a nice big egg with that meat, here's one. It weighs about nine pounds and might be 65 million years old. It came from a dinosaur and was found by construction workers in India. Wow!
And this is not your typical recruiting ad. Let's pause and listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM JAPANESE NAVY RECRUITING AD)
UNIDENTIFIED MEN: Seamanship, seamanship, oh, yes, we have seamanship, seamanship for peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: You might think that this is a joke, but it's not. This is how the Japanese Navy is trying to attract recruits. Actors dressed as sailors strut across the deck of a ship singing about love and peace. No word on if The Village People will sue for copyright infringement. Oh my lord.
AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
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Six-Nation Talks Over North Korea's Nuclear Program extended an Extra Day>
