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CNN Live Today

New Haitian PM to Arrive in Port-au-Prince

Aired March 10, 2004 - 10:30   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We check in on the latest on Haiti. The man selected as the country's new prime minister, Gerard Latortue, is expected to arrive there today.
Also today, U.S. Marines say they will begin assisting Haitian police in disarming the population. Our Harris Whitbeck is in Port- au-Prince with the latest -- Harris.

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. As you say, U.S. Marines are patrolling the streets of Port-au-Prince. They have been now for several days. Their mission has changed slightly. Officially as of today they'll be assisting Haitian police in disarming the population which is a huge task because there is a huge amount of weapons in the hands of civilians here. Nobody has any idea of how many weapons there might be.

And the U.S. Marine colonel in charge of the Marine contingent here said that he hopes the civilian population will come to them to turn in their weapons. This is what he had to say yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. MARK GURGANUS, MARINE CORPS SPOKESMAN: Yes, the multinational force will be assisting the Haitian national police in attempting to disarm people who are illegally armed.

Again, the lead (ph) will remain with them. The standards by which we will follow will be set by them as kind of their guidelines as they work towards law again.

It will be, I'm not sure exactly what they will -- what they will allow people to hold, but the weapons will not be allowed to be on the streets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITBECK: Now, while efforts are being made to disarm the civilian population, there is still a sense of insecurity, particularly in the streets of Port-au-Prince. We heard heavy gunfire last night in the vicinity of a hotel from where we are working.

And this morning a CNN crew was driving around to check things out this morning, found another body on the street. Bodies have been showing up almost daily here. Authorities say that there is a lot of revenge killing going on between different factions. Now the new interim prime minister, Gerard Latorture, is scheduled to arrive in Port-au-Prince this afternoon from his home in Miami. He will be charged with several things. One of the most pressing questions he'll face is the future of the Haitian army. He was asked whether he feels that the Haitian army, which was disbanded in 1994, should be reconstituted. And he said that he would create a commission to study that possibility -- Daryn.

KAGAN: This man, Gerard Latortue, seems like a very unlikely choice to lead the country at this point. This is a man who hasn't even really lived there since 1988.

WHITBECK: Well, he hasn't lived here since 1988 because, well, he was in exile for many years before that. But he was living outside the country because for many years he was a high-ranking official at the United Nations.

And he is considered -- the Council of Stages (ph) that chose him seems to have chosen him because he has good contacts both internationally and within Haiti's business community. He's seen as someone who might be able to be a good power broker and politician in terms of negotiating between all the different interest groups here in Haiti.

So he does have a difficult task, though. But again his diplomatic experience is seen as a plus.

KAGAN: Harris Whitbeck in Port-au-Prince, thank you, Harris.

In Iraq today, doctors will try to determine what caused the death of a feared and famous terrorist. An autopsy will be performed on the body of Abu Abbas, a Palestinian militant leader captured last year but recently died while in U.S. custody.

Officials say Abbas appears to have died of natural causes. He planned the 1995 hijacking of an Italian cruise ship. In it terrorists killed disabled American Leon Klinghoffer by dumping his body and wheelchair overboard.

Matters of health, both physical and financial will be bandied about in Congress today. House lawmakers will debate a bill that projects -- actually it protects fast food joints and restaurants from plaintiffs blaming them for obesity and health problems.

Republican backers of the bill say that trial lawyers are modeling their attacks on earlier tobacco liability lawsuits. They such suits disregard common sense and a personal responsibility.

Health officials do say that obesity is about to overshadow smoking as the nation's No. 1 cause of preventable death. Our next guest has published more than 200 articles and book chapters focus on obesity. Jim Hill is professor of pediatrics and medicine at the University of Colorado Health Science center in Denver, Colorado. He's also director of the Center for Human Nutrition.

Good morning. Thanks for being with us. JIM HILL, PROFESSOR OF PEDIATRICS AND MEDICINE, UNIV. OF COLORADO: You're welcome.

KAGAN: First of all, what about this idea of Congress looking at people and saying, You know what? You cannot sue the fast food restaurant down the street because you are fat. Just close your mouth and be responsible for your own self.

HILL: Yes, it's a tough issue. I think what we know is individual responsibility plays a role, but it's not just individual responsibility. The environment we live in plays a role too.

I think what you are seeing are the restaurants, the food companies actually beginning to make changes. The reason is because they think people want better choices. So I think probably incentives are a better way to go than litigation.

But we certainly need the food companies, the restaurants and the industries that promote inactivity -- television, computers -- to make some changes, too. To help us be more active and to eat better.

KAGAN: We've been hearing for a long time about how fat America is. But I think that the way that this latest statistic is coming out that obesity is about to surpass tobacco as the leading cause of preventable death in America. I think that's going to get a lot of people's attention.

HILL: I hope it does. This report is both alarming, but also not unexpected because what we've seen, as obesity becomes more and more rampant in the U.S., people are dying from obesity related causes.

So this new report suggests that obesity is just about to overtake smoking as the No. 1 cause of preventable deaths in the U.S. So we really have to get serious about doing something about our lifestyle, our eating habits and our lack of physical activity.

KAGAN: That's the business that you're in. So tell us, what is the secret pill that you know about from the Center for Human Nutrition. What's the secret, Jim?

HILL: I wish I could tell you there's a magic pill now or in the future. I don't think it is. I think it's a combination of people beginning to make small changes starting where they are right now, moving a little bit more, walking a little bit more, eating a little bit less.

And I think what you are seeing are food companies, restaurants, and hopefully other segments of society changing to help people make those kinds of small changes.

This is how we prevent weight gain. This is how we begin to reverse our epidemic of obesity.

KAGAN: All right. Well when you find that little magic pill, you come back and tell us about it, OK? HILL: Absolutely.

KAGAN: Because I know there's a lot of people who are literally dying to find out what that is without doing the hard work.

HILL: And in the meantime go out and walk.

KAGAN: You got it. Thank you. Will do. Jim Hill, appreciate it, from Denver.

An Alabama mother gets arrested, accused of abusing her kids. But wait until you hear who turned her in. Back with that story in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's take a look at some stories across America. First, Alabama. A father's fears are confirmed. Police say that Joel Hayes (ph) suspected that his wife was abusing their three-year-old daughter, so he set up a video surveillance. Authorities say the secret recordings caught the mother hitting and kicking the child, and shaking a 10-month-old brother.

The woman was arrested, the children are now with their father.

In Arizona, a 2-year-old girl has led police to a murder mystery. Police say they were checking out what appeared to be an abandoned vehicle when the little girl popped up and led them to the trunk. There they found her murdered father. An investigation is under way. It's not clear what role the little girl could play in that investigation.

How about some happier news here. We have some homecomings to share, beginning at Ft. Hood, Texas. More than 200 soldiers returning yesterday from Iraq, where they served almost a year. The soldiers were from the 4th Infantry Division, and others based the post. In San Diego, families greeted the return of loved ones aboard five ships. The strike group with its thousands of Marines and sailors spent more than six months supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and the war on terrorism.

To Toronto now. The national hockey league holds a hearing into a sucker punch. Check out this tape, By Todd Bertuzzi of the Vancouver Canucks. Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche suffered a broken neck, a concussion and severe cuts. The Vancouver police are also investigating the attack, which came during Monday night's game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONSTABLE SARAH BLOOR, VANCOUVER POLICE: Regardless of the fact this involves a player in the national hockey league, this will be a routine assault investigation. Crown Council will be responsible for making a decision as to whether or not anyone is charged.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KAGAN: Todd Bertuzzi has been suspend indefinitely. Moore will remain hospitalized for the foreseeable future. Incidentally, the Avalanche did win Monday night's game, 9-2.

Jayson Blair made quite a name for himself as a writer at the New York Times, even if it was for all the wrong reasons. We'll get an update on life and his times today, just a few minutes from now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: And we're looking at a live picture from Capitol Hill. That's Gene Upshaw, the head of the NFL Players Union, and to his right, Paul Tagliabue, the NFL commissioner. They are before the Senate Commerce Committee, talking about drugs use in sports, specifically steroids. To their left, where you can't see right now, some of the more well-known faces in baseball, Bud Selig, the baseball commissioner, Major League Baseball commissioner, and Donald Fehr, who represents the players union in that sport. More on that just ahead. We'll be dipping in and out of those hearings.

Meanwhile, other news, some forged love letters reported to be between John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe are making for a bizarre postscript in court. The various owners of the 350 bogus documents -- they are bogus -- they are fighting, though, a government bid to destroy them. Federal lawyers say destroying them is the only way to make sure that future lawyers, future buyers, are not duped. The victims of the scam, who paid a total of $7 million for the forgeries, say they want the papers back, regardless of whether or not they are authentic.

Well, speaking of deceit, he lied, and his tall tales shook the faith and foundations of none other than "The New York Times." Now he is airing his dirty laundry in a tell-all book.

Our Maria Hinojosa reports on Jayson Blair's story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Admitting to being a liar and a plagiarist has turned Jayson Blair into a media star.

LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: And how he says he's coming clean.

HINOJOSA: He's making the rounds on "LARRY KING LIVE."

JAYSON BLAIR, FORMER "NEW YORK TIMES" REPORTER: I made, you know, a lot of mistakes.

HINOJOSA: With Katie Couric on NBC, all to sell his tell-all memoir "Burning Down my Master's House."

BLAIR: Some people, you know, it seems to me would like me to crawl into a hole and disappear forever. That's just not in my nature. HINOJOSA: He writes about his addictions to cocaine, alcohol, pills, his 7:00 a.m. shots of liquor, which he told CNN only added to his troubles.

BLAIR: It was my own character flaws and my own bad choices. I can't really -- there are no excuses for it. There really are no explanations other than the fact that I made bad decisions.

HINOJOSA: Media critic Howard Kurtz also interviewed Blair as part of what he calls hold-your-nose coverage.

HOWARD KURTZ, "WASHINGTON POST" MEDIA CRITIC: It's a fascinating book in the sense that watching a train wreck is fascinating.

HINOJOSA: Blair showed CNN his former apartment where he fabricated stories.

BLAIR: It was my own prison. That's what it felt like.

HINOJOSA: And the public phone where he called the boss who was first to question his work.

BLAIR: I just remember being in a cold sweat, shaking, you know, still lying.

HINOJOSA: Detailing just how he did it.

BLAIR: I would use "Times" databases of photographs. I would use stringers. I would use people, you know, I talked to on the telephone and I would ask them for specific details, you know, what color are the flowers on your porch.

HINOJOSA: But for some Jayson Blair's personal account won't answer the central question why he did it.

KURTZ: I think Jayson Blair still hasn't completely convinced me or himself exactly why he did what he did.

HINOJOSA: The "Times," which changed some senior staff and did a self review, won't talk about the book. In a statement they wrote: "The author is an admitted fabricator. We don't intend to respond to Jayson or his book." But one "Times" employee said...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm certainly interested in it but I wouldn't buy it.

HINOJOSA: Jayson Blair is hoping others will.

Maria Hinojosa, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And you can follow the turmoil at "The Times" by visiting CNN.com/entertainment. There are timelines and charts of how this all unfolded. Again, that's CNN.com/entertainment, and we're back in a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: All right. If you had a million dollars to spend, would you take it to Wal-Mart? Well, one Georgia woman thought that was a good idea, or at least tried to. Thirty-five-year old Alice Pike is charged with forgery. She tried to pay for some $1,700 of Wal-Mart goods with a $1 million bill. Now, obviously, we have a problem here. There's no such thing as a $1 million bill. So two questions: Did the woman think her idea would work, and did she think the cashier would give her $98,000 in change? Or actually make that $998,000 in change? This is why I'm not working as a cashier, because I'm not counting my change correctly.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired March 10, 2004 - 10:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We check in on the latest on Haiti. The man selected as the country's new prime minister, Gerard Latortue, is expected to arrive there today.
Also today, U.S. Marines say they will begin assisting Haitian police in disarming the population. Our Harris Whitbeck is in Port- au-Prince with the latest -- Harris.

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. As you say, U.S. Marines are patrolling the streets of Port-au-Prince. They have been now for several days. Their mission has changed slightly. Officially as of today they'll be assisting Haitian police in disarming the population which is a huge task because there is a huge amount of weapons in the hands of civilians here. Nobody has any idea of how many weapons there might be.

And the U.S. Marine colonel in charge of the Marine contingent here said that he hopes the civilian population will come to them to turn in their weapons. This is what he had to say yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. MARK GURGANUS, MARINE CORPS SPOKESMAN: Yes, the multinational force will be assisting the Haitian national police in attempting to disarm people who are illegally armed.

Again, the lead (ph) will remain with them. The standards by which we will follow will be set by them as kind of their guidelines as they work towards law again.

It will be, I'm not sure exactly what they will -- what they will allow people to hold, but the weapons will not be allowed to be on the streets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITBECK: Now, while efforts are being made to disarm the civilian population, there is still a sense of insecurity, particularly in the streets of Port-au-Prince. We heard heavy gunfire last night in the vicinity of a hotel from where we are working.

And this morning a CNN crew was driving around to check things out this morning, found another body on the street. Bodies have been showing up almost daily here. Authorities say that there is a lot of revenge killing going on between different factions. Now the new interim prime minister, Gerard Latorture, is scheduled to arrive in Port-au-Prince this afternoon from his home in Miami. He will be charged with several things. One of the most pressing questions he'll face is the future of the Haitian army. He was asked whether he feels that the Haitian army, which was disbanded in 1994, should be reconstituted. And he said that he would create a commission to study that possibility -- Daryn.

KAGAN: This man, Gerard Latortue, seems like a very unlikely choice to lead the country at this point. This is a man who hasn't even really lived there since 1988.

WHITBECK: Well, he hasn't lived here since 1988 because, well, he was in exile for many years before that. But he was living outside the country because for many years he was a high-ranking official at the United Nations.

And he is considered -- the Council of Stages (ph) that chose him seems to have chosen him because he has good contacts both internationally and within Haiti's business community. He's seen as someone who might be able to be a good power broker and politician in terms of negotiating between all the different interest groups here in Haiti.

So he does have a difficult task, though. But again his diplomatic experience is seen as a plus.

KAGAN: Harris Whitbeck in Port-au-Prince, thank you, Harris.

In Iraq today, doctors will try to determine what caused the death of a feared and famous terrorist. An autopsy will be performed on the body of Abu Abbas, a Palestinian militant leader captured last year but recently died while in U.S. custody.

Officials say Abbas appears to have died of natural causes. He planned the 1995 hijacking of an Italian cruise ship. In it terrorists killed disabled American Leon Klinghoffer by dumping his body and wheelchair overboard.

Matters of health, both physical and financial will be bandied about in Congress today. House lawmakers will debate a bill that projects -- actually it protects fast food joints and restaurants from plaintiffs blaming them for obesity and health problems.

Republican backers of the bill say that trial lawyers are modeling their attacks on earlier tobacco liability lawsuits. They such suits disregard common sense and a personal responsibility.

Health officials do say that obesity is about to overshadow smoking as the nation's No. 1 cause of preventable death. Our next guest has published more than 200 articles and book chapters focus on obesity. Jim Hill is professor of pediatrics and medicine at the University of Colorado Health Science center in Denver, Colorado. He's also director of the Center for Human Nutrition.

Good morning. Thanks for being with us. JIM HILL, PROFESSOR OF PEDIATRICS AND MEDICINE, UNIV. OF COLORADO: You're welcome.

KAGAN: First of all, what about this idea of Congress looking at people and saying, You know what? You cannot sue the fast food restaurant down the street because you are fat. Just close your mouth and be responsible for your own self.

HILL: Yes, it's a tough issue. I think what we know is individual responsibility plays a role, but it's not just individual responsibility. The environment we live in plays a role too.

I think what you are seeing are the restaurants, the food companies actually beginning to make changes. The reason is because they think people want better choices. So I think probably incentives are a better way to go than litigation.

But we certainly need the food companies, the restaurants and the industries that promote inactivity -- television, computers -- to make some changes, too. To help us be more active and to eat better.

KAGAN: We've been hearing for a long time about how fat America is. But I think that the way that this latest statistic is coming out that obesity is about to surpass tobacco as the leading cause of preventable death in America. I think that's going to get a lot of people's attention.

HILL: I hope it does. This report is both alarming, but also not unexpected because what we've seen, as obesity becomes more and more rampant in the U.S., people are dying from obesity related causes.

So this new report suggests that obesity is just about to overtake smoking as the No. 1 cause of preventable deaths in the U.S. So we really have to get serious about doing something about our lifestyle, our eating habits and our lack of physical activity.

KAGAN: That's the business that you're in. So tell us, what is the secret pill that you know about from the Center for Human Nutrition. What's the secret, Jim?

HILL: I wish I could tell you there's a magic pill now or in the future. I don't think it is. I think it's a combination of people beginning to make small changes starting where they are right now, moving a little bit more, walking a little bit more, eating a little bit less.

And I think what you are seeing are food companies, restaurants, and hopefully other segments of society changing to help people make those kinds of small changes.

This is how we prevent weight gain. This is how we begin to reverse our epidemic of obesity.

KAGAN: All right. Well when you find that little magic pill, you come back and tell us about it, OK? HILL: Absolutely.

KAGAN: Because I know there's a lot of people who are literally dying to find out what that is without doing the hard work.

HILL: And in the meantime go out and walk.

KAGAN: You got it. Thank you. Will do. Jim Hill, appreciate it, from Denver.

An Alabama mother gets arrested, accused of abusing her kids. But wait until you hear who turned her in. Back with that story in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's take a look at some stories across America. First, Alabama. A father's fears are confirmed. Police say that Joel Hayes (ph) suspected that his wife was abusing their three-year-old daughter, so he set up a video surveillance. Authorities say the secret recordings caught the mother hitting and kicking the child, and shaking a 10-month-old brother.

The woman was arrested, the children are now with their father.

In Arizona, a 2-year-old girl has led police to a murder mystery. Police say they were checking out what appeared to be an abandoned vehicle when the little girl popped up and led them to the trunk. There they found her murdered father. An investigation is under way. It's not clear what role the little girl could play in that investigation.

How about some happier news here. We have some homecomings to share, beginning at Ft. Hood, Texas. More than 200 soldiers returning yesterday from Iraq, where they served almost a year. The soldiers were from the 4th Infantry Division, and others based the post. In San Diego, families greeted the return of loved ones aboard five ships. The strike group with its thousands of Marines and sailors spent more than six months supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and the war on terrorism.

To Toronto now. The national hockey league holds a hearing into a sucker punch. Check out this tape, By Todd Bertuzzi of the Vancouver Canucks. Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche suffered a broken neck, a concussion and severe cuts. The Vancouver police are also investigating the attack, which came during Monday night's game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONSTABLE SARAH BLOOR, VANCOUVER POLICE: Regardless of the fact this involves a player in the national hockey league, this will be a routine assault investigation. Crown Council will be responsible for making a decision as to whether or not anyone is charged.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KAGAN: Todd Bertuzzi has been suspend indefinitely. Moore will remain hospitalized for the foreseeable future. Incidentally, the Avalanche did win Monday night's game, 9-2.

Jayson Blair made quite a name for himself as a writer at the New York Times, even if it was for all the wrong reasons. We'll get an update on life and his times today, just a few minutes from now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: And we're looking at a live picture from Capitol Hill. That's Gene Upshaw, the head of the NFL Players Union, and to his right, Paul Tagliabue, the NFL commissioner. They are before the Senate Commerce Committee, talking about drugs use in sports, specifically steroids. To their left, where you can't see right now, some of the more well-known faces in baseball, Bud Selig, the baseball commissioner, Major League Baseball commissioner, and Donald Fehr, who represents the players union in that sport. More on that just ahead. We'll be dipping in and out of those hearings.

Meanwhile, other news, some forged love letters reported to be between John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe are making for a bizarre postscript in court. The various owners of the 350 bogus documents -- they are bogus -- they are fighting, though, a government bid to destroy them. Federal lawyers say destroying them is the only way to make sure that future lawyers, future buyers, are not duped. The victims of the scam, who paid a total of $7 million for the forgeries, say they want the papers back, regardless of whether or not they are authentic.

Well, speaking of deceit, he lied, and his tall tales shook the faith and foundations of none other than "The New York Times." Now he is airing his dirty laundry in a tell-all book.

Our Maria Hinojosa reports on Jayson Blair's story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Admitting to being a liar and a plagiarist has turned Jayson Blair into a media star.

LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: And how he says he's coming clean.

HINOJOSA: He's making the rounds on "LARRY KING LIVE."

JAYSON BLAIR, FORMER "NEW YORK TIMES" REPORTER: I made, you know, a lot of mistakes.

HINOJOSA: With Katie Couric on NBC, all to sell his tell-all memoir "Burning Down my Master's House."

BLAIR: Some people, you know, it seems to me would like me to crawl into a hole and disappear forever. That's just not in my nature. HINOJOSA: He writes about his addictions to cocaine, alcohol, pills, his 7:00 a.m. shots of liquor, which he told CNN only added to his troubles.

BLAIR: It was my own character flaws and my own bad choices. I can't really -- there are no excuses for it. There really are no explanations other than the fact that I made bad decisions.

HINOJOSA: Media critic Howard Kurtz also interviewed Blair as part of what he calls hold-your-nose coverage.

HOWARD KURTZ, "WASHINGTON POST" MEDIA CRITIC: It's a fascinating book in the sense that watching a train wreck is fascinating.

HINOJOSA: Blair showed CNN his former apartment where he fabricated stories.

BLAIR: It was my own prison. That's what it felt like.

HINOJOSA: And the public phone where he called the boss who was first to question his work.

BLAIR: I just remember being in a cold sweat, shaking, you know, still lying.

HINOJOSA: Detailing just how he did it.

BLAIR: I would use "Times" databases of photographs. I would use stringers. I would use people, you know, I talked to on the telephone and I would ask them for specific details, you know, what color are the flowers on your porch.

HINOJOSA: But for some Jayson Blair's personal account won't answer the central question why he did it.

KURTZ: I think Jayson Blair still hasn't completely convinced me or himself exactly why he did what he did.

HINOJOSA: The "Times," which changed some senior staff and did a self review, won't talk about the book. In a statement they wrote: "The author is an admitted fabricator. We don't intend to respond to Jayson or his book." But one "Times" employee said...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm certainly interested in it but I wouldn't buy it.

HINOJOSA: Jayson Blair is hoping others will.

Maria Hinojosa, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And you can follow the turmoil at "The Times" by visiting CNN.com/entertainment. There are timelines and charts of how this all unfolded. Again, that's CNN.com/entertainment, and we're back in a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: All right. If you had a million dollars to spend, would you take it to Wal-Mart? Well, one Georgia woman thought that was a good idea, or at least tried to. Thirty-five-year old Alice Pike is charged with forgery. She tried to pay for some $1,700 of Wal-Mart goods with a $1 million bill. Now, obviously, we have a problem here. There's no such thing as a $1 million bill. So two questions: Did the woman think her idea would work, and did she think the cashier would give her $98,000 in change? Or actually make that $998,000 in change? This is why I'm not working as a cashier, because I'm not counting my change correctly.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com