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Murder Suspect Marcus Wesson in California Jail Waiting Arraignment; New Research Suggests Certain Personal Factors Could Determine Best Way to Quit Smoking
Aired March 16, 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back everybody. It is exactly half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. A somber scene in Fresno last night. A dozen coffins were removed from a home where police say a 57-year-old man killed nine of his family members. We are going to get an update on that investigation in just a few minutes, a really gruesome story there.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It's gets no better.
Also Kamber and May back with us on a Tuesday morning. Question in D.C. here, we know the vice president will be on the ticket, because the president has already said that publicly. Some are suggesting, though, that Dick Cheney could be a liability. Is that the case or not? One of the topics we'll tackle with Kamber and May on a Tuesday morning in a little bit here.
O'BRIEN: but before that let's get to the weather. No, let's do the top stories this morning. Ohio police looking for a man who is suspected in a series of highway shootings. Authorities issued an arrest warrant for yesterday for 28-year-old Charles McCoy Jr. He's been linked to 24 shootings since May on and near Interstate 270. A woman was killed in one of those incidents. Investigators say McCoy is armed and he is dangerous.
Turning overseas now, Basque police say they arrested an Algerian man with connection to Madrid train bombing. Spanish police say they have the names of as many as eight Moroccans who they believe may have participated in that attack. Two hundred people were killed in the explosions.
Secretary of State Colin Powell is in New Delhi today for talks with India's prime minister. Secretary Powell arrived there last night. He is expected to discuss increasing U.S. military assistance to India, and also a request that India open up more of its markets to American exports. Secretary Powell heads to Pakistan tomorrow.
The U.S. Agriculture Department Plans to test nearly 10 times as many animals for mad cow disease as it did last year. Officials announced yesterday plans to test more than 200,000 animals over a 12 to 18 month period, beginning in June. They're also going to test 20,000 additional healthy cows. Department officials hope that this will help to ease some of those bans on American beef exports.
And Prince among a diverse group of artists who were inducted into the rock 'n' roll hall of fame. Last night, the 45-year-old musician got the crowd on its feet at a ceremony here in New York. His hits including "Let's Go Crazy." Prince was inducted along with eight others. Among them, the late George Harrison, also Bob Seger and ZZ Top.
HEMMER: Heck of a stage, I'm telling you.
O'BRIEN: Could you imagine, a jam session at the end? Sounds pretty cool doesn't it?
HEMMER: Where were we last night? We should have been at the Waldorf.
O'BRIEN: I was sleeping. I was in bed. We weren't invited.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Murder suspect Marcus Wesson in a California jail waiting arraignment tomorrow on charges of murder. Wesson accused of nine slaying inside a Fresno home on Friday of last week. Autopsies on the bodies show all the victims were shot to death. Investigators back on the scene yesterday removing a dozen empty coffins. They also removed a school bus and other assorted items.
Rusty Dornin at the scene back in Fresno, California, or near the scene anyway.
Rusty, good morning.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, I think you'd agree that watching those coffins come out of the house is very eerie, four days after the murders. Apparently, the suspect has said he was going to use the wood to build a boat, and he'd had them for some time.
Still, lots of unanswered questions. What exactly happened in that house, when and of course why? We may get clues when toxicology results do come back later this week. We'll find out whether the victims were drugged.
But otherwise, police remaining tight-lipped.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DORNIN (voice-over): Police say Marcus Wesson is cooperative, calm and articulate. But they still don't know what transpired in that house or why, not to mention the tangled web of relationships.
JERRY DEYER, FRESNO POLICE CHIEF: We are not certain of what the family structure was. Based on information we have, it is our belief that the suspect, Wesson, fathered most, if not all of the children that were in that house. We are still trying to determine who the mothers are.
DORNIN: The coroner says there were several mothers.
LORI CERVANTES, FRESNO COUNTY CORONER: With the records we have now, we believe we've identified six mothers. DORNIN: She believes only one of the six was a victim herself. Three women claiming to be mothers have contacted her office. But police investigators say as far as there's concerned, DNA tests may be necessary to prove parentage.
As for cults and ritualistic murders, police say all the victims were shot, but nothing has been ruled out.
In front of the house, flowers, teddy bear tributes and birthday balloons to tug at the heart strings. One of the victims would have been 8 years old this past Sunday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DORNIN: The house continues to draw the curious as people try to grapple with the horror in this community, and Marcus Wesson, the suspect, will be arraigned tomorrow at 1:30 Pacific -- Bill.
HEMMER: Rusty, thanks for that. Rusty Dornin in Fresno -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, the leaders of France and Germany this morning pledged to fight terrorism and cooperate with other nations. Presidential candidate John Kerry has said that some world leaders have told him that they oppose the current administration and would like to see him in the White House. Senator Kerry has not said who the world leaders are, and the White House is pressing him on it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's not your business; it's mine.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But it is our business when a candidate for president claims the political endorsement of foreign leaders. At the very least, we have a right to know what he is saying to foreign leaders that makes them so supportive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Time to hear from both sides on that issue, and from Washington, we're joined by Democratic consultant Victor Kamber.
Hey, Victor, good morning to you. Nice to see you as always.
VICTOR KAMBER, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Good morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Cliff May is a former communications director for the Republican National Committee, joining us, as well.
Good morning to you, Cliff. How are you? Nice to see you.
CLIFF MAY, FMR. RNC COMM. DIR: Good, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, Cliff, you were listening to the vice president, Dick Cheney, calling on Senator Kerry to name some names, give us the names of those foreign leaders. Why do you think the senator should actually do that?
MAY: Well, I think the truth is that there's a suspicion that he never spoke to any foreign leaders, and no foreign leaders have endorsed him, and this was, shall we say, a flight of fantasy on the part of Senator Kerry.
But if he did, I think it would be fine for him to say, yes, you know, Jacques Chirac and I the other night were sharing a crisp chardonnay and eating some runny cammanbart (ph), and he said to me, you know, you would be a lot better than that Bush to be president, Mr. Kerry. Why not? I think it's important for us to know which foreign leaders. Again, Jacques Chirac will not influence my voting behavior very much, but if it was Tony Flair, I would take it very seriously.
O'BRIEN: As much as I think you did an excellent French accent there, I have to say I see Victor laughing through virtually every single thing...
MAY: If I can make victor laugh.
O'BRIEN: You know, if you can make Victor laugh, then it's a good day, isn't it? Because, to some degree, many people have come to the defense of Senator Kerry, Victor has said. Well, why would he name names? It would only put those world leaders in a very awkward position.
KAMBER: No question. First of all, he never said they endorsed. He said that there were several world leaders that thought -- whatever the term was that he should replace Bush, or be a better president, whatever the terms where. We know this administration retaliates against people that disagree with them. World leaders do not affect world opinion in the United States in terms of voting.
You know, and when this administration is prepared to share information that it is keeping secret, like who at the CIA gave the information to the president about the weapons of mass destruction, who at the CIA gave information about the Taliban and Iraq, I mean, who Dick Cheney met with in secret energy meetings. When they're prepared to share a lot of information they've determined to keep secret, then I think John Kerry can share who he talked on the phone with about changing the presidency in 2004.
O'BRIEN: At the same time. And he said met, he didn't say talk on the phone, he said met. It was I think Dan Bartlett from the White House who said, well, you know what, if the senator can't name the names, then maybe everybody should conclude that, as Cliff sort of indicated, it was a flight of fantasy, he was out and out lying, he made it up.
KAMBER: Well, why should we, unless, again, we have an administration that only wants people to believe anybody who doesn't agree with them is lying. I mean, we have an administration that's known to be retaliatory. If you disagree with them, whether you're an American, or a foreign leader, or a foreign power or foreigner, you're going to be retaliated against. We have seen it time and time again in this country. Why should he share the names? What's the big deal?
O'BRIEN: Things got more complicated, Cliff, when the reporter who actually was taking notes and transcribed this comment said, you know what, he never said foreign leaders, I went back and listened to it again, he actually said more leaders. Does that change things?
MAY: Well, all he needs to do is explain here's what I meant and here's what I was talking about. By the way, I don't know what Vic is talking about in terms of retaliation. Do they think John Kerry is going to be knee-capped? Victor, when we leave this building, I am going to be with you and I will protect you from retaliation.
KAMBER: Thank you. Thank you.
MAY: Don't you worry about it. I'm not going to let it happen.
KAMBER: You know, the love, you guys, between you two, it's choking me up. All right, I want to turn hear. We have just a little bit of time left, to talk about the No. 2 spot. Some people have said with Vice President Dick Cheney's approval rating, that 45 percent is pretty darn low. He should be ditched from the ticket. It should not be Bush-Cheney, that he should -- it should be Bush/fill-in-the-blank- with-somebody-else. What do you think, Cliff. Do you think that's a possibility at all?
MAY: I don't think it's a possibility at all. You know, there was some vice president, Victor may remember, who said the job isn't worth a bucket of warm spit. Spit is not the precise word he used. Usually vice presidents get up in the morning, find out if the president is alive. If the president is alive, they go back to bed, unless they have a funeral to attend for a foreign leader, maybe one of the ones John Kerry knows.
This vice president, Dick Cheney, has been the most consequential vice president in American history. He was the most prepared for the job based upon his previous experience in government and the private sector. American taxpayers get their money worth with Dick Cheney. Whether you agree with him or not, that's true. I happen to think he's a wonderful public servant.
O'BRIEN: What do you think, Victor, with just a few seconds left?
KAMBER: I don't want him off the ticket either, for all the reasons that Cliff just said. I want his record to be the one that we vote on. I want the American public to remember that it's a Cheney- Bush ticket, and I think it's in that order probably. But a Cheney- Bush, or Bush-Cheney ticket. But the economy in this country, the problems of this country, the problems overseas, that he's as much a part of them as George Bush is. I want the country to remember that and vote that ticket down.
O'BRIEN: Victor Kamber, Cliff May, nice to see you guys, as always. You two are all over it today. Wow. Thanks, guys.
HEMMER: Next week, Kamber and May from Paris.
O'BRIEN: Did you like his accent?
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: In a moment mere, Starbucks adding something new to the menu. You can't eat it, you can't sip it, but you can hear it, in a moment.
HEMMER: Also the best method for quitting smoking might depend on your weight or even your race.
A look at that is just ahead, as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: We're back.
Sanjay Gupta is out today.
Medical headlines today, the new research suggests that certain personal factors like gender and race could determine the best way to quit smoking. Interesting stuff here, too.
Dr. Thomas Glynn, American Cancer Society, our guest now from D.C.
Nice to have you, doctor. Good morning to you.
DR. THOMAS GLYNN, AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: Thank you for having me.
HEMMER: So let's see here. We took the nicotine patch and the nicotine nasal spray, you compared it with smokers, trying to help them quit, and you found varying rates of success, depending on the individual. Explain that for us.
GLYNN: Well, the primary thing is it's great news for the 30 million Americans who want to stop smoking, because what they found was in this research, people who use the nicotine patch tended to be able to, if they were white, if they were not obese, or if they were low or moderate dependent on smoking, be more successful. If they used the nicotine nasal spray, they were more successful if they were highly dependent, if they were African-American, or other minority, and if they were obese.
HEMMER: Well, it takes us to an obvious question: Why does one work for some better than others?
GLYNN: And that's what the researchers wanted to find out. And it's still intriguing. It's not final research, but does give us the opportunity here to be able to individualize treatment. We have had these medications for tobacco control for a while, but we haven't been able to zero in on who should use what. What we've been able to see from this research is, at least suggest is, that now we can individualize, for instance, that the nasal spray has more immediate reward. It's more active. It enables you to use your hands. It provides people who are more highly dependent with a better way of stopping. The nicotine patch is a little more passive. It delivers the nicotine more slowly, and seems to be better for those who are not as highly dependent.
HEMMER: So as a doctor then, how would you use this information to treat individuals more specifically?
GLYNN: Well, when you have a smoker who is in and says, I want to stop, and at least 70 percent of them do, what you can be able to do is at least from what we can see from this research early on, be able to zero on, for instance, if a smoker is very heavy, if there's obese, you may suggest that the nasal spray is better for them than the patch. If they are a less dependent smoker, then the patch may be better. We really have not been able, before this, to be able to say, OK, for you, this works better, for you, this works better.
HEMMER: You are saying this is revolutionary, aren't you?
GLYNN: It really -- it does look like it enables us to be able to finally be able to say, for you, this will work, for you, this won't work as well. It's still preliminary research. That's something that we always say, and we need to remember that. It was done on about 300 smokers, but it's very solid research, and really gives us a road map to the future and how we can use the medications we have.
HEMMER: Revolutionary with a small 'r,' then.
GLYNN: Yes, that's a good description.
HEMMER: Quickly here, about 15 seconds left here, the quitting methods most successful, we can show the viewers on our screen, 2-4 percent quit without any help. That is extremely low. You get into medications, you double your chances. Medications, plus counseling, you triple your chances.
GLYNN: That's right, and that's the best way to do it. Get medication, get some counseling. You can get counseling from your physician, you can call a quit line, you can call the American Cancer Society. but you can get it done, and if you do you will be a lot healthier.
HEMMER: Dr. Thomas Glynn, thanks for sharing. Good stuff.
GLYNN: Thank you.
HEMMER: Appreciate it -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, I know snow is in the forecast, but believe it or not, spring is in the air, and in some city, that's not all that's in the air. The Asthma and Allergy foundation of America has released its list of allergy capitals. The top five, Louisville, Kentucky; Austin, Texas; St. Louis, Atlanta and Charlotte. They are the American cities where allergies are most severe.
See, New York didn't make the list, because unless you visit you Central Park, you are nowhere near a tree.
HEMMER: I used to live in Atlanta. Let me tell you, I never knew I had allergies until I moved to Atlanta.
O'BRIEN: Really? Aren't you glad live in New York now.
HEMMER: Amen.
O'BRIEN: Less greenery.
HEMMER: Put that in the money in an e-mail, too.
In a moment here, putting your music where your mouth is. A Java giant selling CDs, and serving them up, along with that cappucino.
We will tell you where to get them in a moment. Andy's back with that, Jack as well, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Time now for a market preview and some March Madness online, plus a little something extra with your $9 cup of Starbucks coffee. Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business."
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes, let's talk about March Madness, kicks off tonight, Lehigh, the Mountain Hawks playing Florida A&M, the only team in the tournament with a losing record.
CAFFERTY: There's a game you don't want to miss.
SERWER: Hard to catch some of these games on TV, and so Sportsline.com has a new program, whereby you pay $9.95, and you get to watch these games online. Talk about a productivity enhancer. The boss is going to love this, when you are sitting around watching. Here's what you got, $9.95, you have got to have high speed. You get three games at once. Think about the windows open on your desk top. Local games might be blacked out. Actually, It's kind of cool for people who live overseas, because you can't watch any of these games over there.
So anyway, you have got some Lehigh in your blood, right?
CAFFERTY: Well, I have a daughter that graduated from Lehigh.
O'BRIEN: Spent a lot of money at Lehigh.
CAFFERTY: Yes, I sent a few checks that way, so I guess I hope they win. Now, the greatest marketers of all time, the people at Starbucks. They can sell a 10 cent cup of coffee to you for $4, and you can't wait to line up to buy it, and now they've got value-added going on there. SERWER: Yes, they're going to be rolling out a system today, Jack, in Santa Monica, and then later in Seattle, whereby you can download songs off the Web, burn them onto CDs. They have kiosks that look like that, $6.99 for five songs, 99 cents a song. And what I like is some guy in Seattle wrote in the newspaper, very clever, have a little "Cream," as in Eric Clapton, with your coffee, very clever little -- I like that. That was good, good stuff.
Also, Apple today announcing they've been selling up to -- they hit the 50 million mark on downloading songs for the Itunes and I-Pod. That business really rolling along.
CAFFERTY: Doing better than with their computers.
SERWER: Yes, and those I-Pods, are really carrying the country. And at $250 a pop, why not?
CAFFERTY: What about the markets?
HEMMER: Bringing outside customers to Apple who weren't users of Apple in the past.
SERWER: That's right, absolutely.
CAFFERTY: Market preview.
SERWER: Market yesterday, another down day for the Dow, for the Nasdaq, for the S&P, right across the board. This morning, though, Jack, futures are snapping back, so we might have a little bit of a higher open.
CAFFERTY: A little dead cat bounce.
SERWER: Well, that's politically incorrect.
CAFFERTY: That is politically incorrect.
SERWER: Yes, it is.
CAFFERTY: Cafferty File now: instead of going to Cancun -- it is politically incorrect.
SERWER: Well, the ASPCA didn't like that. It's actually a story. I'll tell you sometime. They called in and complained about someone saying "dead cat bounce."
CAFFERTY: Yes, it's very unusual for me to ever say anything that someone would complain about.
SERWER: When a cat falls off a building, it will bounce a little bit. It's graphic; you don't want to get into it. But it means the stock will go up a little bit, even if it's way down.
HEMMER: A little bit, but not a lot.
SERWER: The phones are ringing. CAFFERTY: The producers are tearing their hair out in the control room at this moment.
SERWER: Go for it.
CAFFERTY: Some students at a Texas college going to do an alternative spring break. They are going to learn what it's like to be homeless. Serious story. It's the second year that campus ministry at St. Edwards University down there in Austin has organized something called the Urban Plunge. The kids spend five days on the street, from five in the morning until 7:00 at night. They sleep in churches. The goal is to learn to have more compassion for the homeless and to raise money for the community. Which in this old cowboy's opinion beats the hell out of going to Cancun and getting wasted on tequila and whatever. Anyway, good for them.
Move over -- well, no. A Connecticut company says that its frozen lobsters sometimes come back to life when they're thawed out. Trufresh (ph) is looking for partners to mass market its lobsters. The company says about six out of every 100 lobsters that they freeze come right back to life when you open up the crate. They say the goal is not to provide customers with live lobsters, it just turns out that way. Just to be safe, they put little rubber bands on their claws.
These are not great today, are they?
SERWER: What about the other 95?
HEMMER: You got one more shot.
CAFFERTY: Well this one ain't great, either. The Batmobile is the greatest car ever to appear on the movie screen, according to a survey by UCI Cinemas. Batman's high-tech car beat out James Bond's Aston Martin. In third place were the Minis from "The Italian Job." Fourth place went to the VW Beetle Herbie, and the Delorean driven by Michael J. Fox in the "Back to the Future" trilogy rounded out the top future. As I said, these are...
O'BRIEN: Started off strong.
CAFFERTY: Some day's chickens, some day is feathers.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, Jack.
Still to come this morning, the string of Ohio highway shootings now have a name attached to them. That's according to police. We're going to take you live to Columbus for details on that just ahead, as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Arraignment; New Research Suggests Certain Personal Factors Could Determine Best Way to Quit Smoking>
Aired March 16, 2004 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back everybody. It is exactly half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. A somber scene in Fresno last night. A dozen coffins were removed from a home where police say a 57-year-old man killed nine of his family members. We are going to get an update on that investigation in just a few minutes, a really gruesome story there.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It's gets no better.
Also Kamber and May back with us on a Tuesday morning. Question in D.C. here, we know the vice president will be on the ticket, because the president has already said that publicly. Some are suggesting, though, that Dick Cheney could be a liability. Is that the case or not? One of the topics we'll tackle with Kamber and May on a Tuesday morning in a little bit here.
O'BRIEN: but before that let's get to the weather. No, let's do the top stories this morning. Ohio police looking for a man who is suspected in a series of highway shootings. Authorities issued an arrest warrant for yesterday for 28-year-old Charles McCoy Jr. He's been linked to 24 shootings since May on and near Interstate 270. A woman was killed in one of those incidents. Investigators say McCoy is armed and he is dangerous.
Turning overseas now, Basque police say they arrested an Algerian man with connection to Madrid train bombing. Spanish police say they have the names of as many as eight Moroccans who they believe may have participated in that attack. Two hundred people were killed in the explosions.
Secretary of State Colin Powell is in New Delhi today for talks with India's prime minister. Secretary Powell arrived there last night. He is expected to discuss increasing U.S. military assistance to India, and also a request that India open up more of its markets to American exports. Secretary Powell heads to Pakistan tomorrow.
The U.S. Agriculture Department Plans to test nearly 10 times as many animals for mad cow disease as it did last year. Officials announced yesterday plans to test more than 200,000 animals over a 12 to 18 month period, beginning in June. They're also going to test 20,000 additional healthy cows. Department officials hope that this will help to ease some of those bans on American beef exports.
And Prince among a diverse group of artists who were inducted into the rock 'n' roll hall of fame. Last night, the 45-year-old musician got the crowd on its feet at a ceremony here in New York. His hits including "Let's Go Crazy." Prince was inducted along with eight others. Among them, the late George Harrison, also Bob Seger and ZZ Top.
HEMMER: Heck of a stage, I'm telling you.
O'BRIEN: Could you imagine, a jam session at the end? Sounds pretty cool doesn't it?
HEMMER: Where were we last night? We should have been at the Waldorf.
O'BRIEN: I was sleeping. I was in bed. We weren't invited.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Murder suspect Marcus Wesson in a California jail waiting arraignment tomorrow on charges of murder. Wesson accused of nine slaying inside a Fresno home on Friday of last week. Autopsies on the bodies show all the victims were shot to death. Investigators back on the scene yesterday removing a dozen empty coffins. They also removed a school bus and other assorted items.
Rusty Dornin at the scene back in Fresno, California, or near the scene anyway.
Rusty, good morning.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, I think you'd agree that watching those coffins come out of the house is very eerie, four days after the murders. Apparently, the suspect has said he was going to use the wood to build a boat, and he'd had them for some time.
Still, lots of unanswered questions. What exactly happened in that house, when and of course why? We may get clues when toxicology results do come back later this week. We'll find out whether the victims were drugged.
But otherwise, police remaining tight-lipped.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DORNIN (voice-over): Police say Marcus Wesson is cooperative, calm and articulate. But they still don't know what transpired in that house or why, not to mention the tangled web of relationships.
JERRY DEYER, FRESNO POLICE CHIEF: We are not certain of what the family structure was. Based on information we have, it is our belief that the suspect, Wesson, fathered most, if not all of the children that were in that house. We are still trying to determine who the mothers are.
DORNIN: The coroner says there were several mothers.
LORI CERVANTES, FRESNO COUNTY CORONER: With the records we have now, we believe we've identified six mothers. DORNIN: She believes only one of the six was a victim herself. Three women claiming to be mothers have contacted her office. But police investigators say as far as there's concerned, DNA tests may be necessary to prove parentage.
As for cults and ritualistic murders, police say all the victims were shot, but nothing has been ruled out.
In front of the house, flowers, teddy bear tributes and birthday balloons to tug at the heart strings. One of the victims would have been 8 years old this past Sunday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DORNIN: The house continues to draw the curious as people try to grapple with the horror in this community, and Marcus Wesson, the suspect, will be arraigned tomorrow at 1:30 Pacific -- Bill.
HEMMER: Rusty, thanks for that. Rusty Dornin in Fresno -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, the leaders of France and Germany this morning pledged to fight terrorism and cooperate with other nations. Presidential candidate John Kerry has said that some world leaders have told him that they oppose the current administration and would like to see him in the White House. Senator Kerry has not said who the world leaders are, and the White House is pressing him on it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's not your business; it's mine.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But it is our business when a candidate for president claims the political endorsement of foreign leaders. At the very least, we have a right to know what he is saying to foreign leaders that makes them so supportive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Time to hear from both sides on that issue, and from Washington, we're joined by Democratic consultant Victor Kamber.
Hey, Victor, good morning to you. Nice to see you as always.
VICTOR KAMBER, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Good morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Cliff May is a former communications director for the Republican National Committee, joining us, as well.
Good morning to you, Cliff. How are you? Nice to see you.
CLIFF MAY, FMR. RNC COMM. DIR: Good, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, Cliff, you were listening to the vice president, Dick Cheney, calling on Senator Kerry to name some names, give us the names of those foreign leaders. Why do you think the senator should actually do that?
MAY: Well, I think the truth is that there's a suspicion that he never spoke to any foreign leaders, and no foreign leaders have endorsed him, and this was, shall we say, a flight of fantasy on the part of Senator Kerry.
But if he did, I think it would be fine for him to say, yes, you know, Jacques Chirac and I the other night were sharing a crisp chardonnay and eating some runny cammanbart (ph), and he said to me, you know, you would be a lot better than that Bush to be president, Mr. Kerry. Why not? I think it's important for us to know which foreign leaders. Again, Jacques Chirac will not influence my voting behavior very much, but if it was Tony Flair, I would take it very seriously.
O'BRIEN: As much as I think you did an excellent French accent there, I have to say I see Victor laughing through virtually every single thing...
MAY: If I can make victor laugh.
O'BRIEN: You know, if you can make Victor laugh, then it's a good day, isn't it? Because, to some degree, many people have come to the defense of Senator Kerry, Victor has said. Well, why would he name names? It would only put those world leaders in a very awkward position.
KAMBER: No question. First of all, he never said they endorsed. He said that there were several world leaders that thought -- whatever the term was that he should replace Bush, or be a better president, whatever the terms where. We know this administration retaliates against people that disagree with them. World leaders do not affect world opinion in the United States in terms of voting.
You know, and when this administration is prepared to share information that it is keeping secret, like who at the CIA gave the information to the president about the weapons of mass destruction, who at the CIA gave information about the Taliban and Iraq, I mean, who Dick Cheney met with in secret energy meetings. When they're prepared to share a lot of information they've determined to keep secret, then I think John Kerry can share who he talked on the phone with about changing the presidency in 2004.
O'BRIEN: At the same time. And he said met, he didn't say talk on the phone, he said met. It was I think Dan Bartlett from the White House who said, well, you know what, if the senator can't name the names, then maybe everybody should conclude that, as Cliff sort of indicated, it was a flight of fantasy, he was out and out lying, he made it up.
KAMBER: Well, why should we, unless, again, we have an administration that only wants people to believe anybody who doesn't agree with them is lying. I mean, we have an administration that's known to be retaliatory. If you disagree with them, whether you're an American, or a foreign leader, or a foreign power or foreigner, you're going to be retaliated against. We have seen it time and time again in this country. Why should he share the names? What's the big deal?
O'BRIEN: Things got more complicated, Cliff, when the reporter who actually was taking notes and transcribed this comment said, you know what, he never said foreign leaders, I went back and listened to it again, he actually said more leaders. Does that change things?
MAY: Well, all he needs to do is explain here's what I meant and here's what I was talking about. By the way, I don't know what Vic is talking about in terms of retaliation. Do they think John Kerry is going to be knee-capped? Victor, when we leave this building, I am going to be with you and I will protect you from retaliation.
KAMBER: Thank you. Thank you.
MAY: Don't you worry about it. I'm not going to let it happen.
KAMBER: You know, the love, you guys, between you two, it's choking me up. All right, I want to turn hear. We have just a little bit of time left, to talk about the No. 2 spot. Some people have said with Vice President Dick Cheney's approval rating, that 45 percent is pretty darn low. He should be ditched from the ticket. It should not be Bush-Cheney, that he should -- it should be Bush/fill-in-the-blank- with-somebody-else. What do you think, Cliff. Do you think that's a possibility at all?
MAY: I don't think it's a possibility at all. You know, there was some vice president, Victor may remember, who said the job isn't worth a bucket of warm spit. Spit is not the precise word he used. Usually vice presidents get up in the morning, find out if the president is alive. If the president is alive, they go back to bed, unless they have a funeral to attend for a foreign leader, maybe one of the ones John Kerry knows.
This vice president, Dick Cheney, has been the most consequential vice president in American history. He was the most prepared for the job based upon his previous experience in government and the private sector. American taxpayers get their money worth with Dick Cheney. Whether you agree with him or not, that's true. I happen to think he's a wonderful public servant.
O'BRIEN: What do you think, Victor, with just a few seconds left?
KAMBER: I don't want him off the ticket either, for all the reasons that Cliff just said. I want his record to be the one that we vote on. I want the American public to remember that it's a Cheney- Bush ticket, and I think it's in that order probably. But a Cheney- Bush, or Bush-Cheney ticket. But the economy in this country, the problems of this country, the problems overseas, that he's as much a part of them as George Bush is. I want the country to remember that and vote that ticket down.
O'BRIEN: Victor Kamber, Cliff May, nice to see you guys, as always. You two are all over it today. Wow. Thanks, guys.
HEMMER: Next week, Kamber and May from Paris.
O'BRIEN: Did you like his accent?
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: In a moment mere, Starbucks adding something new to the menu. You can't eat it, you can't sip it, but you can hear it, in a moment.
HEMMER: Also the best method for quitting smoking might depend on your weight or even your race.
A look at that is just ahead, as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
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HEMMER: We're back.
Sanjay Gupta is out today.
Medical headlines today, the new research suggests that certain personal factors like gender and race could determine the best way to quit smoking. Interesting stuff here, too.
Dr. Thomas Glynn, American Cancer Society, our guest now from D.C.
Nice to have you, doctor. Good morning to you.
DR. THOMAS GLYNN, AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: Thank you for having me.
HEMMER: So let's see here. We took the nicotine patch and the nicotine nasal spray, you compared it with smokers, trying to help them quit, and you found varying rates of success, depending on the individual. Explain that for us.
GLYNN: Well, the primary thing is it's great news for the 30 million Americans who want to stop smoking, because what they found was in this research, people who use the nicotine patch tended to be able to, if they were white, if they were not obese, or if they were low or moderate dependent on smoking, be more successful. If they used the nicotine nasal spray, they were more successful if they were highly dependent, if they were African-American, or other minority, and if they were obese.
HEMMER: Well, it takes us to an obvious question: Why does one work for some better than others?
GLYNN: And that's what the researchers wanted to find out. And it's still intriguing. It's not final research, but does give us the opportunity here to be able to individualize treatment. We have had these medications for tobacco control for a while, but we haven't been able to zero in on who should use what. What we've been able to see from this research is, at least suggest is, that now we can individualize, for instance, that the nasal spray has more immediate reward. It's more active. It enables you to use your hands. It provides people who are more highly dependent with a better way of stopping. The nicotine patch is a little more passive. It delivers the nicotine more slowly, and seems to be better for those who are not as highly dependent.
HEMMER: So as a doctor then, how would you use this information to treat individuals more specifically?
GLYNN: Well, when you have a smoker who is in and says, I want to stop, and at least 70 percent of them do, what you can be able to do is at least from what we can see from this research early on, be able to zero on, for instance, if a smoker is very heavy, if there's obese, you may suggest that the nasal spray is better for them than the patch. If they are a less dependent smoker, then the patch may be better. We really have not been able, before this, to be able to say, OK, for you, this works better, for you, this works better.
HEMMER: You are saying this is revolutionary, aren't you?
GLYNN: It really -- it does look like it enables us to be able to finally be able to say, for you, this will work, for you, this won't work as well. It's still preliminary research. That's something that we always say, and we need to remember that. It was done on about 300 smokers, but it's very solid research, and really gives us a road map to the future and how we can use the medications we have.
HEMMER: Revolutionary with a small 'r,' then.
GLYNN: Yes, that's a good description.
HEMMER: Quickly here, about 15 seconds left here, the quitting methods most successful, we can show the viewers on our screen, 2-4 percent quit without any help. That is extremely low. You get into medications, you double your chances. Medications, plus counseling, you triple your chances.
GLYNN: That's right, and that's the best way to do it. Get medication, get some counseling. You can get counseling from your physician, you can call a quit line, you can call the American Cancer Society. but you can get it done, and if you do you will be a lot healthier.
HEMMER: Dr. Thomas Glynn, thanks for sharing. Good stuff.
GLYNN: Thank you.
HEMMER: Appreciate it -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, I know snow is in the forecast, but believe it or not, spring is in the air, and in some city, that's not all that's in the air. The Asthma and Allergy foundation of America has released its list of allergy capitals. The top five, Louisville, Kentucky; Austin, Texas; St. Louis, Atlanta and Charlotte. They are the American cities where allergies are most severe.
See, New York didn't make the list, because unless you visit you Central Park, you are nowhere near a tree.
HEMMER: I used to live in Atlanta. Let me tell you, I never knew I had allergies until I moved to Atlanta.
O'BRIEN: Really? Aren't you glad live in New York now.
HEMMER: Amen.
O'BRIEN: Less greenery.
HEMMER: Put that in the money in an e-mail, too.
In a moment here, putting your music where your mouth is. A Java giant selling CDs, and serving them up, along with that cappucino.
We will tell you where to get them in a moment. Andy's back with that, Jack as well, right after this.
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HEMMER: Welcome back.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Time now for a market preview and some March Madness online, plus a little something extra with your $9 cup of Starbucks coffee. Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business."
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes, let's talk about March Madness, kicks off tonight, Lehigh, the Mountain Hawks playing Florida A&M, the only team in the tournament with a losing record.
CAFFERTY: There's a game you don't want to miss.
SERWER: Hard to catch some of these games on TV, and so Sportsline.com has a new program, whereby you pay $9.95, and you get to watch these games online. Talk about a productivity enhancer. The boss is going to love this, when you are sitting around watching. Here's what you got, $9.95, you have got to have high speed. You get three games at once. Think about the windows open on your desk top. Local games might be blacked out. Actually, It's kind of cool for people who live overseas, because you can't watch any of these games over there.
So anyway, you have got some Lehigh in your blood, right?
CAFFERTY: Well, I have a daughter that graduated from Lehigh.
O'BRIEN: Spent a lot of money at Lehigh.
CAFFERTY: Yes, I sent a few checks that way, so I guess I hope they win. Now, the greatest marketers of all time, the people at Starbucks. They can sell a 10 cent cup of coffee to you for $4, and you can't wait to line up to buy it, and now they've got value-added going on there. SERWER: Yes, they're going to be rolling out a system today, Jack, in Santa Monica, and then later in Seattle, whereby you can download songs off the Web, burn them onto CDs. They have kiosks that look like that, $6.99 for five songs, 99 cents a song. And what I like is some guy in Seattle wrote in the newspaper, very clever, have a little "Cream," as in Eric Clapton, with your coffee, very clever little -- I like that. That was good, good stuff.
Also, Apple today announcing they've been selling up to -- they hit the 50 million mark on downloading songs for the Itunes and I-Pod. That business really rolling along.
CAFFERTY: Doing better than with their computers.
SERWER: Yes, and those I-Pods, are really carrying the country. And at $250 a pop, why not?
CAFFERTY: What about the markets?
HEMMER: Bringing outside customers to Apple who weren't users of Apple in the past.
SERWER: That's right, absolutely.
CAFFERTY: Market preview.
SERWER: Market yesterday, another down day for the Dow, for the Nasdaq, for the S&P, right across the board. This morning, though, Jack, futures are snapping back, so we might have a little bit of a higher open.
CAFFERTY: A little dead cat bounce.
SERWER: Well, that's politically incorrect.
CAFFERTY: That is politically incorrect.
SERWER: Yes, it is.
CAFFERTY: Cafferty File now: instead of going to Cancun -- it is politically incorrect.
SERWER: Well, the ASPCA didn't like that. It's actually a story. I'll tell you sometime. They called in and complained about someone saying "dead cat bounce."
CAFFERTY: Yes, it's very unusual for me to ever say anything that someone would complain about.
SERWER: When a cat falls off a building, it will bounce a little bit. It's graphic; you don't want to get into it. But it means the stock will go up a little bit, even if it's way down.
HEMMER: A little bit, but not a lot.
SERWER: The phones are ringing. CAFFERTY: The producers are tearing their hair out in the control room at this moment.
SERWER: Go for it.
CAFFERTY: Some students at a Texas college going to do an alternative spring break. They are going to learn what it's like to be homeless. Serious story. It's the second year that campus ministry at St. Edwards University down there in Austin has organized something called the Urban Plunge. The kids spend five days on the street, from five in the morning until 7:00 at night. They sleep in churches. The goal is to learn to have more compassion for the homeless and to raise money for the community. Which in this old cowboy's opinion beats the hell out of going to Cancun and getting wasted on tequila and whatever. Anyway, good for them.
Move over -- well, no. A Connecticut company says that its frozen lobsters sometimes come back to life when they're thawed out. Trufresh (ph) is looking for partners to mass market its lobsters. The company says about six out of every 100 lobsters that they freeze come right back to life when you open up the crate. They say the goal is not to provide customers with live lobsters, it just turns out that way. Just to be safe, they put little rubber bands on their claws.
These are not great today, are they?
SERWER: What about the other 95?
HEMMER: You got one more shot.
CAFFERTY: Well this one ain't great, either. The Batmobile is the greatest car ever to appear on the movie screen, according to a survey by UCI Cinemas. Batman's high-tech car beat out James Bond's Aston Martin. In third place were the Minis from "The Italian Job." Fourth place went to the VW Beetle Herbie, and the Delorean driven by Michael J. Fox in the "Back to the Future" trilogy rounded out the top future. As I said, these are...
O'BRIEN: Started off strong.
CAFFERTY: Some day's chickens, some day is feathers.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, Jack.
Still to come this morning, the string of Ohio highway shootings now have a name attached to them. That's according to police. We're going to take you live to Columbus for details on that just ahead, as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
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Arraignment; New Research Suggests Certain Personal Factors Could Determine Best Way to Quit Smoking>
