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American Morning

Weak Numbers in Jobs Report; 'Gimme a Minute'

Aired March 05, 2004 - 08:30   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, right across the street from Radio City Music Hall, not a bad location. You've got to be somewhere at 5:00 a.m.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Not that they're open at 5:00 a.m.

HEMMER: But we are.

In a few moments here, crackdown in the school cafeteria. Texas schools, believe it or not, cutting down on sugars, and fatty foods, even whole milk off the menu. Sanjay joins us in a moment to talk about what kind of difference this can make for young kids school age, so we'll get to that.

O'BRIEN: A real indication of how much of a problem childhood obesity has become across the nation, not only in Texas, obviously, but everywhere.

Also in this morning, Bill, don't forget, we have got Big Red. He can dance. He can do tricks. I think he can stand up to cross examination by a high-priced Italian lawyer? That's the big question now. We're going to what this strange lawsuit involving Big Red is all about.

HEMMER: In the meantime, though, the biggest story of the hour is what's happening in Baghdad, an historic event about to take place. We are waiting at the convention center in downtown Baghdad, members of the Iraqi Governing Council gathering now for the signing of the country's interim constitution. The document a huge milestone in U.S. and coalition plans to handover power by the end of June. The signing ceremony has been delayed by a series of attacks in Baghdad and Karbala earlier in the week, about 180 dead as a result of that bombing, more than 500 wounded, as the ceremony continues. That's convention center in Baghdad, we will not leave it for long.

Elsewhere, U.S. Marines fanning out patrols across Haiti's capital. About 500 Marines have taken up key positions throughout Port-au-Prince, and more than 500 more expected this weekend.

Meanwhile, food and supplies arriving yesterday at the airport for the first time since the uprising began early last month. This country now, two teens accused of killing a playmate will be tried as an adults in the state of Washington. A judge wrote in 42-page decision that it was unlikely that the juvenile court system could rehabilitate two 13-year-old boys. They're accused of beating and stabbing a mentally and physically disabled boy last year when they were both age 12. That from Washington State. The first American astronaut to orbit the Earth, John Glenn, blasting President Bush's space program. John Glenn said yesterday the proposal and plan might waste too much money to ever put astronauts on Mars. The retired Democratic senator also said it would be a mistake to cut funding to the International Space Station.

Also from Florida, shoppers and works got quite a surprise, a car came crashing through a mile. A 73-year-old driver said in her car as firefigthers surveyed the scene. The elderly woman said her accelerator got stuck, causing her to crash through that store window. Luckily, though, no one injured. That mall in Florida.

You're up to date now. 8:30 here in New York.

O'BRIEN: Wow, luckily no one -- you know obviously, in the same situation, people have been killed in the past. Wow, good luck there.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

O'BRIEN: The jobs report we've been mentioning is out. Unfortunately, it's got weaker numbers than many people had hoped for.

Andy Serwer's "Minding Your Business" this morning.

Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Soledad.

Yes, it's not a good picture on the jobs front. That just crossed the tap at 8:30. We are expecting to add 125,000 jobs to the economy. We only added 21,000 jobs. That, obviously, is much, much lower than expected. and there's more bad news, too, unfortunately. Revised downward from January from 112,000 jobs to 97,000 jobs, factory jobs down 43 months in it a row. We lost jobs in construction. We lost jobs in manufacturing. The only good news I can find, Soledad, is the unemployment rate stays at 5.6 percent. So it is not climbing. Obviously, this is not great news for the country, and it's not good news for President Bush, either.

O'BRIEN: Yes, certainly the administration had been talking about creating jobs, and sort of promised certain numbers as they head to the November elections.

How are analysts so off? I mean, when they 125,000 we're talking literally minutes ago before the report comes out, and then they're off by so many? How is that possible?

SERWER: Yes, well, it's part science and part art, Soledad. You have all these different sectors of the economy, and they fluctuate a lot with the weather, with variability around the country. We are expecting to gain jobs in construction and manufacturing. We lost some jobs there, so it's very difficult, but you're right, being off by over 100,000 jobs is not very precise.

O'BRIEN: Yes, that's off by a lot. Andy Serwer, thank you always, appreciate it. SERWER: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: And it's time now to turn, as we always do every Friday around this time, to our "Gimme a Minute" crew for their slant on some of the week's big stories.

Joining us this morning from Washington is Jonah Goldberg. He's the editor of the National Review Online.

Hey, Jonah, good morning to you.

JONAH GOLDBERG, NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE: Good morning, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Also joining us from New York is first-time panel list, Karen Finney. She's a former Clinton White House aid.

Nice to see you, Karen, and welcome to your first time.

KAREN FINNEY, FMR. CLINTON WHITE HOUSE AID: Thank you so much.

O'BRIEN: And in Aspen, Colorado, ooh, are you on vacation? Good for you.

ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Aspen Comedy Festival.

O'BRIEN: Oh, yes, working. We really feel sorry for you.

Andy Borowitz is with "The New Yorker."

Good morning to all of you. Let's get right to it.

And, Jonah, we are going start with you this morning.

As we have been reporting all morning, family members of some of those who died in 9/11 say they are very unhappy with some of these ads that President Bush is running, recently just started running in his re-election campaign. Give me a sense of do you think that's fair game, or if you think that as some have said, the ads are in poor taste.

GOLDBERG: Well, frankly, I think This is one of the most overcovered stories of the week. Everyone has sympathy for these families, but I, frankly, think the complaint is almost outrageous, the idea that somehow you can't talk about the most significant event in the last 30 years in a political campaign is silly.

John Kerry has wrapped himself in Vietnam. Over 50,000 people died then. Is it wrong from him to exploit Vietnam. And I think it's such a silly, unbelievably sill complaint for the media to be carrying it as much as it has.

O'BRIEN: Well, the family members didn't say you couldn't talk about it. They did object to some of the visuals.

Karen, I'm curious to know if you think it's outrageous as well.

FINNEY: Well, of course it is, but I think it's another sign that John Kerry has George Bush on the run.

O'BRIEN: And clearly, with these ads, they couldn't wrap themselves in any kind of record, so they're having to wrap themselves in the American flag and these very graphic images.

Andy Borowitz, weigh in for us on this?

BOROWITZ: Well, they wanted to use footage from the president's National Guard days, but they couldn't find any.

O'BRIEN: Oh, Andy, touche.

All right, let's turn to our next story, sports and steroids. Barry Bonds this week denied a report in "The San Francisco Chronicle" that he used an illegal steroid. Of course, if he did, penalties actually not that harsh from the get-go, but they get harsher as the time continues. What do you think the consequences, Karen, should be for an athlete who is found to use steroids?

FINNEY: Well, I absolutely think if this turns out to be true, then he should be punished. But at the same time, I think if we're going to say we have zero tolerance, then it should be zero tolerance, and we shouldn't say that five percent is acceptable. And I also think it's inappropriate for the attorney general of the United States of American to be so involved in this case, because I have to believe he's got better things to worry about.

O'BRIEN: Do you think, Jonah, the attorney general has got better things to worry about, or should he be weighing in on this?

GOLDBERG: I think he should be -- I mean, I think if it's a Justice Department matter, it's a Justice Department matter, but I do think he's got better things to worry about. I think Bonds should be treated like any other baseball player, but I also like to look at the issue of performance-enhancing drugs among pundits. What is that guy Anderson Cooper on? People want to know.

O'BRIEN: You know, he's going to be here on Monday morning, I am going to tell him you said that.

Andy Borowitz, weigh in on this for us.

BOROWITZ: You know, Barry Bonds got so mad about these allegations yesterday, he threw a car at a reporter.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's talk about a new decision by the government, decided on Thursday, to exempt Mexicans from a program that would have required many foreigners to be photographed and fingerprinted. There was much concern for the Mexican president, Vincente Fox, and this was something that he sort of worked out with President Bush on a visit to his ranch.

What do you think, Karen, is the impact of this?

FINNEY: Well, I think it's very interesting that here we are in the throes of this political campaign, and when the president is trying to garner support from the Hispanic community, it feels like maybe political concerns are taking the place of security concerns.

O'BRIEN: Jonah, do you feel it political and actually maybe even outweighing some security concerns, or do you think it unfair to the Mexicans in the first place.

GOLDBERG: Well, actually, I think it is largely political. I think it's also principled in the sense that George Bush's compassionate conservatism has always given wide latitude for Mexicans and Mexican immigration, I think contrary to good public policy. But also he's going for -- after Hispanic votes, and I think it's probably going to be a problem.

O'BRIEN: Andy, do you think Mexicans should be fingerprinted before they come into this country, even just for a couple of days?

BOROWITZ: No, I think the White House realized that Mexico doesn't pose the same national security threat that gay marriage does.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's talk about the undercovered stories of the week.

Jonah, why don't you start it for us.

GOLDBERG: Well, in all this hullabaloo about outsourcing of jobs across America, no one has sort of pointed out that by a factor of two to one, the Heinz company, which John Kerry's wife has made her fortune from, has most of its factories overseas.

O'BRIEN: Interesting.

OK, how about you Karen? What do you think we missed this week?

FINNEY: Well, in what I think has to be considered the boldest initiative yet out of the Bush administration in a sign that they really understand the concerns of Americans, we are going to have a new nickel. The U.S. mint announced it this week. I can tell you that they are at the Federal Reserve, and they will be in circulation within the two weeks. So this is really great relief for us.

O'BRIEN: Yes, we had a little bit of a preview from Andy Serwer on that this morning.

Andy, what do you think is the big story that we just missed this week?

BOROWITZ: Well just moments after the Academy Awards on Sunday, a 7-11 in Studio City, California was robbed by four unemployed hobbits.

O'BRIEN: But they won all those Oscars.

You guys, as always, nice to see you. Thanks for being with us. Have a great weekend.

We will check in with you next week -- Bill.

HEMMER: Time to get a break here.

In a moment, on AMERICAN MORNING, the woman sentences for stabbing her husband 193 times, reaction from her attorney next hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.

O'BRIEN: And coming up next, Texas schools are taking a dramatic step to fight obesity. First up is to trim the portion sizes. That's ahead.

Also, our favorite story of the day, Western Kentucky University seeing red, as in Big Red. The school is taking on no less than the prime minister of Italy in a battle over its mascot. We'll to him in a moment here, on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: We've got this just in to CNN. As we've reporting all morning, The Iraqi Governing Council was set to sign an interim constitution. That signing, of course, delayed in the wake of the bombings of Karbala and Baghdad as well. Now delayed once again. It was supposed to take place 8:00 Eastern Time. Obviously running about 45 minutes late. We're being told now that that delay is being blamed on internal matters.

Let's take it to Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf for some explanation of this delay.

Jane, good morning to you.

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Soledad.

Not far from here in the Governing Council building, we are told Governing Council members are still trying to sort out with the chief civilian administrator some last-minute hitches.

Now we're told that several of the members, several Shia members of the Governing Council, are having last-minute reservations, and they are refusing to sign until those reservations are worked out.

Now behind me is a relatively empty hall in which the signing was to have taken place half an hour ago. The pens are poised on the historic table waiting, but all the members who are going to sign still have not worked out, they say, the final language, and we are told that the delay could, in fact, be substantial. It will be signed, it's just that there might be a substantial delay -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: It will be interesting to see what exactly substantial means in that case. Jane Arraf for us this morning.

Jane, thanks -- Bill.

HEMMER: Clearly, the struggle continues there.

Back now with news in medicine. In an effort to fight childhood obesity, one state is now making major changes in the school menus of its public schools.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta here to talk more about this.

Good morning, Sanjay. Nice to see you.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

We talk about childhood obesity a lot. We talked about the role of the schools in this. Well, Texas has an astonishingly high childhood obesity rate. Thirty-eight percent of fourth-graders now considered obese in that say. Really high numbers. About 15 percent around the nation 6 to 19-year-olds. So the schools are starting to weigh in, in terms of trying to tackle this problem.

Here's what the plan specifically calls for in Texas, talking about vending machines, first of all. Vending will be turned off at lunch, and they will no longer stock candy or potato chips. You can't get those, very different then when you and I were in school, Bill. If you're going to get foods like french fries, you can only get those once a week, and you only get one serving at a time, and portion sizes are going to be limited to certain snacks and sweets.

Also whole milk is going to be phased out of schools Now you're not going to be able to get the whole milk anymore, just the low-fat milk. We went down to Texas, talked to a lot of the folks down there, including the school district administrators, as well as students. This is what they had to say:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRACY DIGGS, HEALTH COORDINATOR, AUSTIN IND. SCHOOL DISTRICT: The biggest change is they are going to see even more healthier options, because we're encouraging students to try to the food service department. There will be an increase in fruits and vegetable, and things that students will like.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's good. I mean, my daughter eats well to begin with, but I think it's really traumatic for some of the kids that aren't going to have those choices anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody has to be responsible for themselves. I mean, if you take it away, they might want more.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Eventually, everyone will bring their lunch and, you know, the vending machines will just not be used anymore, and everyone will still have Cokes they brought from home, so I guess it doesn't really improve much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: So there you have the student's perspective on that as well. Maybe not going to improve much, but this is what will change, no more deep fryers, no more than 28 grams of fat in those school meals anymore.

HEMMER: This is Texas. GUPTA: This is Texas.

HEMMER: Anywhere else?

GUPTA: Well, you know, we've talked about this in some of the other states as well. There's 20 states around the country now that have pretty strong school lunch programs. About a couple of dozen are getting rid of their vending and some of their soda machines as well. So starting to see some of those changes.

HEMMER: Thank you, Sanjay. Have a good weekend. Nice to see you here -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Jack, and the question of the day?

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Do you know anything about wisdom teeth?

O'BRIEN: You can consult later.

HEMMER: This is why I'm here.

CAFFERTY: I have to go to the dentist later. I'm kind of wimping out here.

All right, question of the day, the Methodist Church in England is asking their followers to come up with an 11th Commandment. We figured, hey, if they can do it, so can we. If there were an 11th Commandment, what would it be? Actually, one of the most fun things we've done around here in a while.

Mike writes in Houston, Texas: "Though shalt not whine."

Theresa in Cottekill, New York: Though shalt not covet thy neighbor's natural resources."

Tom in San Jose, Costa Rica is a longtime minister: "There certainly is an 11th Commandment. I would recommend if for the world's newscasters: 'Unless though has something new to add, keepeth thy mouth shut."

Anita in Naperville, Illinois: "Though shalt not make any additional comments. You haven't got first 10 down yet."

Troy in Tampa, Florida: "Though shalt get up thy duff and do things for thyself, rather than wait for thine government to do it for thee."

Jennifer writes from Montgomery, Alabama: "I discovered this during my divorce: Though shalt not paint the bathroom Pepto Bismol pink. The 12th is, Though shalt not buy crap of eBay with the children's savings account. According to my ex-husband, this sin is far worse than the adultery he committed."

And Patrick writes from Washington: "No complaining. Did you hear that, Jack. This is God talking." No complaining. O'BRIEN: Finally God's e-mailed us. That was great.

CAFFERTY: This may be an evergreen. From time to time we may resurrect this one.

O'BRIEN: Thou shalt not e-mail us unless it's cute and pithy and funny.

CAFFERTY: Yes, I like that. And thou shall not take these questions seriously. We're looking for yuks here.

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, why is the University of Kentucky suing the prime minister of Italy over the mascot? A look at that ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Apparently the Attorney General John Ashcroft has been hospitalized for gall stone pancreatitis, complaining earlier today of stomach pains. Right now, in intensive care in a hospital in the Washington D.C. area. We will get you more when we get it. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is back with us in about eight minutes time to talk more about this. Again, Attorney General John Ashcroft now being treated in the hospital for gallstone pancreatitis. We'll get to that more in a moment.

Now, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: And of course gallstones, we should mention, they're actually a common problem for many American men especially, but only a small number develop some kind of gallstone disease, and an even smaller percentage get pancreatitis out of that, so we'll talk to Sanjay about just how serious this problem is.

Turning now to a much lighter tote. You might want to think of this one as the latest addition of David versus Goliath. We're talking about the international legal battle involving Big Red, the mascot of Western Kentucky University and the media empire of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The schools says that a satirical news show produced by one of Berlusconi's companies copied, ripped off essentially, Big Red, by creating a character named Gabibo. The Italian company is taking legal action as well. We are joined this morning by Western Kentucky University president Gary Ransdell, and also replacement Big Red.

Good morning to you both of you. Thanks for being with us.

GARY RANSDELL, PRESIDENT, WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIV.: Good morning, Soledad. Good to be with you.

O'BRIEN: The actual Big Red is actually in Italy, testifying this week. You have put the number at a quarter of a billion dollars in this lawsuit. Where do you get that figure from?

RANSDELL: Well, that's the estimated volume of income that Gabibo has earned since 1991, and since we created Big Red and have a copyright and are receiving royalties, we are simply letting our licensing agent earn our share of that revenue.

O'BRIEN: As you mentioned, Gabibo around since 1991. So when did you first figure out, or just think that there were some kind of similarity between Gabibo and Big Red?

RANSDELL: Well, actually our licensing agent, Crossland Enterprises, discovered that in 1991 when Gabibo was created, and followed it, and 18 months ago, decided to pursue litigation when it was found out that they had actually acknowledged copying Big Red when they created Big Red in 1991. Big Red has been around for 25 years, since 1979.

O'BRIEN: Who acknowledged copying Big Red?

RANSDELL: The officials with the Italian television station when they actually came up with the concept. They saw Big Red after his performance presumably at an NCAA basketball tournament and decided that they might take a run at a similar image.

O'BRIEN: The same TV program officials said this. This is "Striscia La Notizia." They say that the two characters, they believe, are actually very different. "Big Red is a mute mascot that acts as a cheerleader on the edge of the field. Gabibo is a walking, talking character that's part of the daily satirical TV show 'Striscia La Notizia.' Big Red is an amorphous blob. Gabibo was created as a puppet, with the head of Besugo, a wide-mouthed goldfish with large eyes.

"We find it difficult how a university can allow its name to be associated with an action that is so clearly malicious and commercially inspired. Perhaps because it's simply not aware of the full facts."

They say, in fact, they go on to say, that in their mind, "Gabibo, Big Red and Elmo all sort of look kind of similar."

RANSDELL: Well, I think a lot of differences with Elmo, and Elmo has been around a very long time, and we went through the patent licensing process, and if you look at the images, they do look very were much alike, and given their documented acknowledgement, we think that Crossland Enterprises has a good case. And their job is to place and protect our brand, logos, images, and so they are simply doing their job, and we are looking to have either a settlement or a judgment, and it will probably take 18 months or so to run through the Italian court system, which is slow, but we are content to let it run its course.

O'BRIEN: Not only is it very slow, it's also taking place, the court case, in the hometown of Silvio Berlusconi, and we mentioned it, he owns this media company. How concerned are you that the Italian courts are just going to go with the home team, so to speak, and leave you guys out in the cold?

RANSDELL: Well, there may be a little home cooking involved before all is said it some, but we have nothing to lose, and this is not costing the university any money. The licensing agency is doing their job to cover the costs, and they have a lot of things at stake. And if you let one licensed images be stolen or copies, then what becomes of other thousands of other licensed images across higher education, and across the corporate sector and this nation, and across the glob.e.

O'BRIEN: Gary Ransdell is the president of Western Kentucky University.

Big Red is not much of a talker, is he? Thanks for being with us, guys.

RANSDELL: He took a little offense with the obesity report you had a few moments ago, by the way.

O'BRIEN: Big Red, you know what, you might want to think about slimming down a little, but your good looking, what can I say. Thank you guys for being with us. We appreciate.

RANSDELL: You bet. Thank you.

HEMMER: In a moment here, more of that breaking news, our attorney general, John Ashcroft, hospitalized today, now in intensive care. We'll get to it in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired March 5, 2004 - 08:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, right across the street from Radio City Music Hall, not a bad location. You've got to be somewhere at 5:00 a.m.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Not that they're open at 5:00 a.m.

HEMMER: But we are.

In a few moments here, crackdown in the school cafeteria. Texas schools, believe it or not, cutting down on sugars, and fatty foods, even whole milk off the menu. Sanjay joins us in a moment to talk about what kind of difference this can make for young kids school age, so we'll get to that.

O'BRIEN: A real indication of how much of a problem childhood obesity has become across the nation, not only in Texas, obviously, but everywhere.

Also in this morning, Bill, don't forget, we have got Big Red. He can dance. He can do tricks. I think he can stand up to cross examination by a high-priced Italian lawyer? That's the big question now. We're going to what this strange lawsuit involving Big Red is all about.

HEMMER: In the meantime, though, the biggest story of the hour is what's happening in Baghdad, an historic event about to take place. We are waiting at the convention center in downtown Baghdad, members of the Iraqi Governing Council gathering now for the signing of the country's interim constitution. The document a huge milestone in U.S. and coalition plans to handover power by the end of June. The signing ceremony has been delayed by a series of attacks in Baghdad and Karbala earlier in the week, about 180 dead as a result of that bombing, more than 500 wounded, as the ceremony continues. That's convention center in Baghdad, we will not leave it for long.

Elsewhere, U.S. Marines fanning out patrols across Haiti's capital. About 500 Marines have taken up key positions throughout Port-au-Prince, and more than 500 more expected this weekend.

Meanwhile, food and supplies arriving yesterday at the airport for the first time since the uprising began early last month. This country now, two teens accused of killing a playmate will be tried as an adults in the state of Washington. A judge wrote in 42-page decision that it was unlikely that the juvenile court system could rehabilitate two 13-year-old boys. They're accused of beating and stabbing a mentally and physically disabled boy last year when they were both age 12. That from Washington State. The first American astronaut to orbit the Earth, John Glenn, blasting President Bush's space program. John Glenn said yesterday the proposal and plan might waste too much money to ever put astronauts on Mars. The retired Democratic senator also said it would be a mistake to cut funding to the International Space Station.

Also from Florida, shoppers and works got quite a surprise, a car came crashing through a mile. A 73-year-old driver said in her car as firefigthers surveyed the scene. The elderly woman said her accelerator got stuck, causing her to crash through that store window. Luckily, though, no one injured. That mall in Florida.

You're up to date now. 8:30 here in New York.

O'BRIEN: Wow, luckily no one -- you know obviously, in the same situation, people have been killed in the past. Wow, good luck there.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

O'BRIEN: The jobs report we've been mentioning is out. Unfortunately, it's got weaker numbers than many people had hoped for.

Andy Serwer's "Minding Your Business" this morning.

Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Soledad.

Yes, it's not a good picture on the jobs front. That just crossed the tap at 8:30. We are expecting to add 125,000 jobs to the economy. We only added 21,000 jobs. That, obviously, is much, much lower than expected. and there's more bad news, too, unfortunately. Revised downward from January from 112,000 jobs to 97,000 jobs, factory jobs down 43 months in it a row. We lost jobs in construction. We lost jobs in manufacturing. The only good news I can find, Soledad, is the unemployment rate stays at 5.6 percent. So it is not climbing. Obviously, this is not great news for the country, and it's not good news for President Bush, either.

O'BRIEN: Yes, certainly the administration had been talking about creating jobs, and sort of promised certain numbers as they head to the November elections.

How are analysts so off? I mean, when they 125,000 we're talking literally minutes ago before the report comes out, and then they're off by so many? How is that possible?

SERWER: Yes, well, it's part science and part art, Soledad. You have all these different sectors of the economy, and they fluctuate a lot with the weather, with variability around the country. We are expecting to gain jobs in construction and manufacturing. We lost some jobs there, so it's very difficult, but you're right, being off by over 100,000 jobs is not very precise.

O'BRIEN: Yes, that's off by a lot. Andy Serwer, thank you always, appreciate it. SERWER: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: And it's time now to turn, as we always do every Friday around this time, to our "Gimme a Minute" crew for their slant on some of the week's big stories.

Joining us this morning from Washington is Jonah Goldberg. He's the editor of the National Review Online.

Hey, Jonah, good morning to you.

JONAH GOLDBERG, NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE: Good morning, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Also joining us from New York is first-time panel list, Karen Finney. She's a former Clinton White House aid.

Nice to see you, Karen, and welcome to your first time.

KAREN FINNEY, FMR. CLINTON WHITE HOUSE AID: Thank you so much.

O'BRIEN: And in Aspen, Colorado, ooh, are you on vacation? Good for you.

ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Aspen Comedy Festival.

O'BRIEN: Oh, yes, working. We really feel sorry for you.

Andy Borowitz is with "The New Yorker."

Good morning to all of you. Let's get right to it.

And, Jonah, we are going start with you this morning.

As we have been reporting all morning, family members of some of those who died in 9/11 say they are very unhappy with some of these ads that President Bush is running, recently just started running in his re-election campaign. Give me a sense of do you think that's fair game, or if you think that as some have said, the ads are in poor taste.

GOLDBERG: Well, frankly, I think This is one of the most overcovered stories of the week. Everyone has sympathy for these families, but I, frankly, think the complaint is almost outrageous, the idea that somehow you can't talk about the most significant event in the last 30 years in a political campaign is silly.

John Kerry has wrapped himself in Vietnam. Over 50,000 people died then. Is it wrong from him to exploit Vietnam. And I think it's such a silly, unbelievably sill complaint for the media to be carrying it as much as it has.

O'BRIEN: Well, the family members didn't say you couldn't talk about it. They did object to some of the visuals.

Karen, I'm curious to know if you think it's outrageous as well.

FINNEY: Well, of course it is, but I think it's another sign that John Kerry has George Bush on the run.

O'BRIEN: And clearly, with these ads, they couldn't wrap themselves in any kind of record, so they're having to wrap themselves in the American flag and these very graphic images.

Andy Borowitz, weigh in for us on this?

BOROWITZ: Well, they wanted to use footage from the president's National Guard days, but they couldn't find any.

O'BRIEN: Oh, Andy, touche.

All right, let's turn to our next story, sports and steroids. Barry Bonds this week denied a report in "The San Francisco Chronicle" that he used an illegal steroid. Of course, if he did, penalties actually not that harsh from the get-go, but they get harsher as the time continues. What do you think the consequences, Karen, should be for an athlete who is found to use steroids?

FINNEY: Well, I absolutely think if this turns out to be true, then he should be punished. But at the same time, I think if we're going to say we have zero tolerance, then it should be zero tolerance, and we shouldn't say that five percent is acceptable. And I also think it's inappropriate for the attorney general of the United States of American to be so involved in this case, because I have to believe he's got better things to worry about.

O'BRIEN: Do you think, Jonah, the attorney general has got better things to worry about, or should he be weighing in on this?

GOLDBERG: I think he should be -- I mean, I think if it's a Justice Department matter, it's a Justice Department matter, but I do think he's got better things to worry about. I think Bonds should be treated like any other baseball player, but I also like to look at the issue of performance-enhancing drugs among pundits. What is that guy Anderson Cooper on? People want to know.

O'BRIEN: You know, he's going to be here on Monday morning, I am going to tell him you said that.

Andy Borowitz, weigh in on this for us.

BOROWITZ: You know, Barry Bonds got so mad about these allegations yesterday, he threw a car at a reporter.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's talk about a new decision by the government, decided on Thursday, to exempt Mexicans from a program that would have required many foreigners to be photographed and fingerprinted. There was much concern for the Mexican president, Vincente Fox, and this was something that he sort of worked out with President Bush on a visit to his ranch.

What do you think, Karen, is the impact of this?

FINNEY: Well, I think it's very interesting that here we are in the throes of this political campaign, and when the president is trying to garner support from the Hispanic community, it feels like maybe political concerns are taking the place of security concerns.

O'BRIEN: Jonah, do you feel it political and actually maybe even outweighing some security concerns, or do you think it unfair to the Mexicans in the first place.

GOLDBERG: Well, actually, I think it is largely political. I think it's also principled in the sense that George Bush's compassionate conservatism has always given wide latitude for Mexicans and Mexican immigration, I think contrary to good public policy. But also he's going for -- after Hispanic votes, and I think it's probably going to be a problem.

O'BRIEN: Andy, do you think Mexicans should be fingerprinted before they come into this country, even just for a couple of days?

BOROWITZ: No, I think the White House realized that Mexico doesn't pose the same national security threat that gay marriage does.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's talk about the undercovered stories of the week.

Jonah, why don't you start it for us.

GOLDBERG: Well, in all this hullabaloo about outsourcing of jobs across America, no one has sort of pointed out that by a factor of two to one, the Heinz company, which John Kerry's wife has made her fortune from, has most of its factories overseas.

O'BRIEN: Interesting.

OK, how about you Karen? What do you think we missed this week?

FINNEY: Well, in what I think has to be considered the boldest initiative yet out of the Bush administration in a sign that they really understand the concerns of Americans, we are going to have a new nickel. The U.S. mint announced it this week. I can tell you that they are at the Federal Reserve, and they will be in circulation within the two weeks. So this is really great relief for us.

O'BRIEN: Yes, we had a little bit of a preview from Andy Serwer on that this morning.

Andy, what do you think is the big story that we just missed this week?

BOROWITZ: Well just moments after the Academy Awards on Sunday, a 7-11 in Studio City, California was robbed by four unemployed hobbits.

O'BRIEN: But they won all those Oscars.

You guys, as always, nice to see you. Thanks for being with us. Have a great weekend.

We will check in with you next week -- Bill.

HEMMER: Time to get a break here.

In a moment, on AMERICAN MORNING, the woman sentences for stabbing her husband 193 times, reaction from her attorney next hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.

O'BRIEN: And coming up next, Texas schools are taking a dramatic step to fight obesity. First up is to trim the portion sizes. That's ahead.

Also, our favorite story of the day, Western Kentucky University seeing red, as in Big Red. The school is taking on no less than the prime minister of Italy in a battle over its mascot. We'll to him in a moment here, on AMERICAN MORNING.

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O'BRIEN: We've got this just in to CNN. As we've reporting all morning, The Iraqi Governing Council was set to sign an interim constitution. That signing, of course, delayed in the wake of the bombings of Karbala and Baghdad as well. Now delayed once again. It was supposed to take place 8:00 Eastern Time. Obviously running about 45 minutes late. We're being told now that that delay is being blamed on internal matters.

Let's take it to Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf for some explanation of this delay.

Jane, good morning to you.

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Soledad.

Not far from here in the Governing Council building, we are told Governing Council members are still trying to sort out with the chief civilian administrator some last-minute hitches.

Now we're told that several of the members, several Shia members of the Governing Council, are having last-minute reservations, and they are refusing to sign until those reservations are worked out.

Now behind me is a relatively empty hall in which the signing was to have taken place half an hour ago. The pens are poised on the historic table waiting, but all the members who are going to sign still have not worked out, they say, the final language, and we are told that the delay could, in fact, be substantial. It will be signed, it's just that there might be a substantial delay -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: It will be interesting to see what exactly substantial means in that case. Jane Arraf for us this morning.

Jane, thanks -- Bill.

HEMMER: Clearly, the struggle continues there.

Back now with news in medicine. In an effort to fight childhood obesity, one state is now making major changes in the school menus of its public schools.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta here to talk more about this.

Good morning, Sanjay. Nice to see you.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

We talk about childhood obesity a lot. We talked about the role of the schools in this. Well, Texas has an astonishingly high childhood obesity rate. Thirty-eight percent of fourth-graders now considered obese in that say. Really high numbers. About 15 percent around the nation 6 to 19-year-olds. So the schools are starting to weigh in, in terms of trying to tackle this problem.

Here's what the plan specifically calls for in Texas, talking about vending machines, first of all. Vending will be turned off at lunch, and they will no longer stock candy or potato chips. You can't get those, very different then when you and I were in school, Bill. If you're going to get foods like french fries, you can only get those once a week, and you only get one serving at a time, and portion sizes are going to be limited to certain snacks and sweets.

Also whole milk is going to be phased out of schools Now you're not going to be able to get the whole milk anymore, just the low-fat milk. We went down to Texas, talked to a lot of the folks down there, including the school district administrators, as well as students. This is what they had to say:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRACY DIGGS, HEALTH COORDINATOR, AUSTIN IND. SCHOOL DISTRICT: The biggest change is they are going to see even more healthier options, because we're encouraging students to try to the food service department. There will be an increase in fruits and vegetable, and things that students will like.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's good. I mean, my daughter eats well to begin with, but I think it's really traumatic for some of the kids that aren't going to have those choices anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody has to be responsible for themselves. I mean, if you take it away, they might want more.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Eventually, everyone will bring their lunch and, you know, the vending machines will just not be used anymore, and everyone will still have Cokes they brought from home, so I guess it doesn't really improve much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: So there you have the student's perspective on that as well. Maybe not going to improve much, but this is what will change, no more deep fryers, no more than 28 grams of fat in those school meals anymore.

HEMMER: This is Texas. GUPTA: This is Texas.

HEMMER: Anywhere else?

GUPTA: Well, you know, we've talked about this in some of the other states as well. There's 20 states around the country now that have pretty strong school lunch programs. About a couple of dozen are getting rid of their vending and some of their soda machines as well. So starting to see some of those changes.

HEMMER: Thank you, Sanjay. Have a good weekend. Nice to see you here -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Jack, and the question of the day?

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Do you know anything about wisdom teeth?

O'BRIEN: You can consult later.

HEMMER: This is why I'm here.

CAFFERTY: I have to go to the dentist later. I'm kind of wimping out here.

All right, question of the day, the Methodist Church in England is asking their followers to come up with an 11th Commandment. We figured, hey, if they can do it, so can we. If there were an 11th Commandment, what would it be? Actually, one of the most fun things we've done around here in a while.

Mike writes in Houston, Texas: "Though shalt not whine."

Theresa in Cottekill, New York: Though shalt not covet thy neighbor's natural resources."

Tom in San Jose, Costa Rica is a longtime minister: "There certainly is an 11th Commandment. I would recommend if for the world's newscasters: 'Unless though has something new to add, keepeth thy mouth shut."

Anita in Naperville, Illinois: "Though shalt not make any additional comments. You haven't got first 10 down yet."

Troy in Tampa, Florida: "Though shalt get up thy duff and do things for thyself, rather than wait for thine government to do it for thee."

Jennifer writes from Montgomery, Alabama: "I discovered this during my divorce: Though shalt not paint the bathroom Pepto Bismol pink. The 12th is, Though shalt not buy crap of eBay with the children's savings account. According to my ex-husband, this sin is far worse than the adultery he committed."

And Patrick writes from Washington: "No complaining. Did you hear that, Jack. This is God talking." No complaining. O'BRIEN: Finally God's e-mailed us. That was great.

CAFFERTY: This may be an evergreen. From time to time we may resurrect this one.

O'BRIEN: Thou shalt not e-mail us unless it's cute and pithy and funny.

CAFFERTY: Yes, I like that. And thou shall not take these questions seriously. We're looking for yuks here.

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, why is the University of Kentucky suing the prime minister of Italy over the mascot? A look at that ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Apparently the Attorney General John Ashcroft has been hospitalized for gall stone pancreatitis, complaining earlier today of stomach pains. Right now, in intensive care in a hospital in the Washington D.C. area. We will get you more when we get it. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is back with us in about eight minutes time to talk more about this. Again, Attorney General John Ashcroft now being treated in the hospital for gallstone pancreatitis. We'll get to that more in a moment.

Now, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: And of course gallstones, we should mention, they're actually a common problem for many American men especially, but only a small number develop some kind of gallstone disease, and an even smaller percentage get pancreatitis out of that, so we'll talk to Sanjay about just how serious this problem is.

Turning now to a much lighter tote. You might want to think of this one as the latest addition of David versus Goliath. We're talking about the international legal battle involving Big Red, the mascot of Western Kentucky University and the media empire of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The schools says that a satirical news show produced by one of Berlusconi's companies copied, ripped off essentially, Big Red, by creating a character named Gabibo. The Italian company is taking legal action as well. We are joined this morning by Western Kentucky University president Gary Ransdell, and also replacement Big Red.

Good morning to you both of you. Thanks for being with us.

GARY RANSDELL, PRESIDENT, WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIV.: Good morning, Soledad. Good to be with you.

O'BRIEN: The actual Big Red is actually in Italy, testifying this week. You have put the number at a quarter of a billion dollars in this lawsuit. Where do you get that figure from?

RANSDELL: Well, that's the estimated volume of income that Gabibo has earned since 1991, and since we created Big Red and have a copyright and are receiving royalties, we are simply letting our licensing agent earn our share of that revenue.

O'BRIEN: As you mentioned, Gabibo around since 1991. So when did you first figure out, or just think that there were some kind of similarity between Gabibo and Big Red?

RANSDELL: Well, actually our licensing agent, Crossland Enterprises, discovered that in 1991 when Gabibo was created, and followed it, and 18 months ago, decided to pursue litigation when it was found out that they had actually acknowledged copying Big Red when they created Big Red in 1991. Big Red has been around for 25 years, since 1979.

O'BRIEN: Who acknowledged copying Big Red?

RANSDELL: The officials with the Italian television station when they actually came up with the concept. They saw Big Red after his performance presumably at an NCAA basketball tournament and decided that they might take a run at a similar image.

O'BRIEN: The same TV program officials said this. This is "Striscia La Notizia." They say that the two characters, they believe, are actually very different. "Big Red is a mute mascot that acts as a cheerleader on the edge of the field. Gabibo is a walking, talking character that's part of the daily satirical TV show 'Striscia La Notizia.' Big Red is an amorphous blob. Gabibo was created as a puppet, with the head of Besugo, a wide-mouthed goldfish with large eyes.

"We find it difficult how a university can allow its name to be associated with an action that is so clearly malicious and commercially inspired. Perhaps because it's simply not aware of the full facts."

They say, in fact, they go on to say, that in their mind, "Gabibo, Big Red and Elmo all sort of look kind of similar."

RANSDELL: Well, I think a lot of differences with Elmo, and Elmo has been around a very long time, and we went through the patent licensing process, and if you look at the images, they do look very were much alike, and given their documented acknowledgement, we think that Crossland Enterprises has a good case. And their job is to place and protect our brand, logos, images, and so they are simply doing their job, and we are looking to have either a settlement or a judgment, and it will probably take 18 months or so to run through the Italian court system, which is slow, but we are content to let it run its course.

O'BRIEN: Not only is it very slow, it's also taking place, the court case, in the hometown of Silvio Berlusconi, and we mentioned it, he owns this media company. How concerned are you that the Italian courts are just going to go with the home team, so to speak, and leave you guys out in the cold?

RANSDELL: Well, there may be a little home cooking involved before all is said it some, but we have nothing to lose, and this is not costing the university any money. The licensing agency is doing their job to cover the costs, and they have a lot of things at stake. And if you let one licensed images be stolen or copies, then what becomes of other thousands of other licensed images across higher education, and across the corporate sector and this nation, and across the glob.e.

O'BRIEN: Gary Ransdell is the president of Western Kentucky University.

Big Red is not much of a talker, is he? Thanks for being with us, guys.

RANSDELL: He took a little offense with the obesity report you had a few moments ago, by the way.

O'BRIEN: Big Red, you know what, you might want to think about slimming down a little, but your good looking, what can I say. Thank you guys for being with us. We appreciate.

RANSDELL: You bet. Thank you.

HEMMER: In a moment here, more of that breaking news, our attorney general, John Ashcroft, hospitalized today, now in intensive care. We'll get to it in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.

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