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Volatile Situation in Iraq; America Votes: Political Posturing

Aired April 07, 2004 - 06:30   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.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Some of the fiercest fighting in Iraq has taken place right here over the past couple of days.
And good morning to you from the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta. This is DAYBREAK for April 7. I'm Carol Costello. Let me bring you up-to-date now.

Fallujah is a war zone. Marines there are fighting an intense battle with Iraqi insurgents right now. This comes after 12 U.S. troops were killed in nearby Ramadi.

The only person convicted in connection with the September 11 terrorist attacks is about to be freed in Germany. His conviction was overturned, and a lawyer for him says he will be released today while he awaits a retrial.

A solemn anniversary in Rwanda. It is the 10th anniversary of the start of a genocide in which 800,000 people were slaughtered in that central African country.

In Japan, a court rules that the prime minister has violated the constitution by visiting a religious shrine honoring the nation's war dead. Japanese executed for war crimes are among those buried there.

A major highway in southeastern Kentucky remains closed this morning. The closure is the result of a fiery two-fatality collision between a car and a truck laden with potentially toxic chemicals.

(WEATHER BREAK)

COSTELLO: In Iraq, there is fierce fighting on different fronts, deadly unrest spurred by a firebrand Shiite cleric and a growing Sunni insurgency. It is a volatile situation.

Joining us for more on what's going on right now in Iraq, M.J. Gohel. He's chief executive of the Asia-Pacific Foundation.

Welcome.

M.J. GOHEL, ASIA-PACIFIC FOUNDATION: Good to be with you, Carol.

COSTELLO: First of all, I want to talk about Al-Sadr. U.S. forces want him to turn himself in. How likely is that?

GOHEL: Well, the best solution would be for Al-Sadr to turn himself in, because this is a very tense, a very dangerous situation. If Al-Sadr turns himself in, he would be indicating that he is interested in the future of Iraq. The suspicion, however, is that he has his own agenda at work, that his own agenda is to try to establish a fundamentalist Shiite state in Iraq. And this, of course, cannot be acceptable to the Sunni minority or to the Kurdish people in the north of Iraq, and nor to the majority of Shiite Muslims who are quite moderate.

COSTELLO: You know what makes this perhaps more frightening, Jim Clancy earlier reported that the coalition believes that Al-Sadr is unstable, almost psychotic. What are you hearing about that?

GOHEL: Well, I'm afraid he has had a long history of extremism. He is a fiery cleric. For someone of his young age to be a cleric is unusual in and of itself. But, of course, his father was a grand ayatollah at the Imam Ali mosque, and I think he's sort of cashing in on the popularity of his late father, who was assassinated by Saddam Hussein.

And Al-Sadr also was very quick in providing relief assistance after the Saddam Hussein regime collapsed, and he has built up quite a large armed militia. And he's in a position to start a kind of sectarian conflict in Iraq, which would, of course, be very bad news for the coalition forces.

COSTELLO: OK. You talk about a sectarian fight, and there is a fear here. He is holed up now in Najaf, where Sheikh al-Sistani is. And there is also some fear that the Sunnis and the Shias will merge to fight an Islamist war. Can you react to both parts of that question for us?

GOHEL: Well, I think the challenges that the coalition troops have faced have been multidimensional. There have been Saddam Hussein loyalists, the Fedayeen. There have been extremists within the Sunni triangle north and west of Baghdad. And then, of course, there have been the foreign Islamist terrorists linked to al Qaeda and to the global jihad movement, who have been slipping into the country from neighboring countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Syria.

And, of course, very recently a letter, a document was found on an individual linked to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who is a close aide of Osama bin Laden. And the document stated strategy off of the Islamists, which is to promote sectarian conflict in Iraq; in fact, turn Iraq into another Afghanistan, a kind of cesspool that terrorism can breed.

And the last thing we need now is any kind of power struggle within the Shiite community, because overall the Shiite community has been very supportive of the coalition forces for the simple reason that Saddam Hussein had not allowed the Shias any kind of power in his administration. But the situation...

COSTELLO: Well, let's a bit more about that, because I want to talk about Sheikh al-Sistani. He's very powerful as well. Is there any chance that he will join forces with Al-Sadr? I know that they're not friends, but is there a chance?

And on another front, will al-Sistani do something to calm the violence there?

GOHEL: Well, Ayatollah Sistani is a moderate in comparison to Al-Sadr. And Sistani is a much more powerful figure in some ways. He's a much more respected person.

However, what we're dealing with here is not only a kind of military solution, and what I mean by that is it's not just a question of imposing security. It's also a question of winning hearts and minds. And it's a very fine balance.

It's very important that Sistani is kept on-side, that Sistani's cooperation is obtained, and that somehow Sistani can be utilized to make sure that more Shiite Muslims do not support Al-Sadr. At the moment, Sistani is cooperating. He does want (UNINTELLIGIBLE) power to a democratic Iraq on June 30. He has cooperated fully. But one doesn't what tomorrow may bring.

COSTELLO: Yes. Well, we'll see if he steps up. Thank you very much for joining us this morning.

GOHEL: Thank you.

COSTELLO: M.J. Gohel reporting live for us this morning -- or actually providing some insight for us on DAYBREAK.

We're going to take a short break. We'll be back with some U.S. politics right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: On to politics now. John Kerry, the man hoping to give President Bush the boot, is taking another jab at the White House. He's accusing the Bush administration of mishandling the situation in Iraq.

So, let's talk some politics now. Joining us by phone from Washington is Judlyne Lilly of news radio station WTOP.

Good morning, Judlyne.

JUDLYNE LILLY, WTOP ANCHOR: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Isn't John Kerry supposed to come forward with some big announcement to save the economy today?

LILLY: Yes, he is making what is billed as a major economic policy speech today. It'll be this afternoon at Georgetown University right here in Washington, D.C. He'll be talking about his plan to create 10 million jobs, restore fiscal discipline and provide relief to taxpayers.

Now, the specifics of how he's planning to achieve that will come in the afternoon speech. He's, once again, making that bold pronouncement. He says -- he's expected to say that he'll fight to restore the jobs lost under the Bush administration in his first 500 days of his administration. If elected, it could become the signature line of Kerry's presidency, like no new taxes, and I did not have sex with that woman.

COSTELLO: Oh, my goodness. Oh, that made my laugh this morning, Judlyne.

You know, creating 10 million jobs, that's a pretty tall order. And the Kerry camp must have been kind of dismayed, because there was a pretty good jobs report out recently.

LILLY: Well, which the Bush administration is certainly jumping on that one. The smile on President Bush's face the day that those job numbers came out was very wide; very happy, of course, that the economy does seem to be coming back up for the president right in the middle of it.

And as we were talking about former presidents and their signature lines, W's father, No. 41, says John Kerry's campaign is using the same rhetoric about the state of the economy that former President Bill Clinton used against him in 1992. The elder Bush says President Bush has a stronger case because of the economy and has begun to show signs of recovery.

Now, it's interesting that Kerry's speech is coming out at this -- on this particular day, because there are several economic reports. It could not have been an accident. The Labor Department is issuing its import and export prices.

COSTELLO: Oh.

LILLY: These are not huge numbers -- huge labor reports or economic reports indicators, but they are certainly going to give some indication of where the economy is going.

COSTELLO: And perhaps provide ammunition. You know, the other interesting thing, Condoleezza Rice, of course, takes the stand, so to speak, on Thursday. And depending on how she does, this will play a large part in the political campaign, too.

LILLY: Yes, it will -- what will happen is that the economy will certainly continue to be a subject that both President Bush and Senator Kerry will speak about, but it will take a rest for the day after the national security director, Condoleezza Rice, makes her statements. She is expected to speak for about three hours. And there is not concern, but people are wondering what exactly is she going to say that might be new, that she hasn't said on all of the TV networks that she's been on recently?

COSTELLO: Judlyne Lilly from WTOP in Washington, D.C., thanks for joining us on DAYBREAK this morning.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:44 Eastern Time. Here's what's all new this morning.

At least two Marines have been wounded in fighting this morning in Fallujah. Witnesses in the city say as many as 60 Iraqis have been killed in firefights. FBI agents are investigating the crash of a northbound Amtrak train that derailed near Jackson, Mississippi. One person was killed, dozens more were injured in that crash.

In money news, voters in Inglewood, California, say no to Wal- Mart. They rejected a ballot issue that would have allowed Wal-Mart to build a superstore center in the Los Angeles suburb.

In sports, the University of Connecticut women's basketball team rolled over Tennessee 70-61 for the NCAAP championship. The win gives the women their third straight title. They are awesome.

In culture, a major honor today for the founder of CNN. Ted Turner is being honored with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: When do you get your star?

COSTELLO: You know, I'm sure that's coming soon.

MYERS: Congrats, Ted. Great job.

(WEATHER BREAK)

COSTELLO: And those are the latest headlines right now.

We want to take you live to New York now to check in with Bill and Heidi, who is in for Soledad. They're live in New York.

And I hear you have Anita Hill on the program today.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, we do, as a matter of fact.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We do.

HEMMER: Heidi is going to talk to her a bit later this morning. She knows a thing or two about being in the spotlight, doesn't she?

COLLINS: Yes. We're going to ask her a little bit about how that feels. That's for sure.

HEMMER: Yes. With Condoleezza Rice testifying tomorrow in D.C.

Also, the issue about Iraq today. Jim Clancy is back live in Baghdad. An "L.A. Times" report in bed with the U.S. Marines -- embedded with the Marines in Fallujah. He's reporting today, Carol, the Marines are having enormous success when going toe-to-toe with these Iraqi soldiers, and David Grange has more on the insurgency operating in that part of the country as well.

COLLINS: Some more of those same questions we'll be asking of Democratic Senator Carl Levin and Republican Senator Chuck Hagle. Bill is going to talk with them and get some more answers as well with the 9/11 Commission coming up on Condoleezza Rice.

HEMMER: And, you know, yesterday we were talking about June 30...

COLLINS: Yes.

HEMMER: ... the handover date, within 90 days right now. Jack has got a really enticing e-mail question about that today, too. So, we'll get to it.

COSTELLO: Oh.

HEMMER: A lot of Iraq to talk about and for good reason, based on (UNINTELLIGIBLE) yesterday.

COSTELLO: Is his question, why June 30? Is that his question?

HEMMER: Pretty close. I'm not going to give away too much, yes.

COLLINS: It's a surprise.

COSTELLO: OK. We look forward to it all. Thanks Bill and Heidi.

HEMMER: At the top of the hour. Thanks.

COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, what's making Americans gain weight? I think that would be food. Anyway, what can we do to prevent that? We'll tell you about one theory behind the trend when our nutrition expert joins us next.

And the story we wanted to bring you yesterday. Yes, Chad, I know you love this story. The golf tournament with no greens to be seen.

MYERS: It doesn't look fun.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's 6:51 Eastern Time. Welcome back.

An inexpensive corn product -- yes, corn product -- that's been used to sweeten food and drinks in the U.S. for three decades is now being blamed for contributing to the nation's growing obesity problem. It's always something, isn't it?

Registered dietician Lisa Drayer joins us now with the low-down on high-fructose corn syrup. Ooh, it even sounds fattening.

LISA DRAYER, REGISTERED DIETICIAN: It does, Carol. That's right.

And a recent report has revealed that increased use of high- fructose corn syrup -- that is a sweetener found on soft drinks, cookies and even condiments like ketchup, Carol -- is linked to rising obesity rates in this country.

So, researchers looked at consumption data records from the U.S. Department of Agriculture between the years of 1967 and 2000, and they found that increase of the sugar increased by over 1,000 percent during the years of 1970 to 1990. That was a greater change than has been seen for any food or food group during that time.

And if we look at what this means in terms of calories, Carol, we're talking about an average intake of 132 calories in the diet for all Americans over the age of 2. But among those in the top 20 percent of sugar consumption, we're talking about an average intake of 316 calories, which would represent 16 percent of total calories on a 2,000 calorie diet.

COSTELLO: Wow! You know, that's interesting you say that, because when you look at non-fat yogurt in the store and you turn it over to the back...

DRAYER: Right.

COSTELLO: ... it has an amazing amount of sugar in it.

DRAYER: Exactly. But what's tricky, Carol, is that you don't necessarily see the added sugars on the labels; that is, food labels don't distinguish between sugars naturally present in foods like yogurt, for example, the lactose, and those that are added during processing. In the case of yogurt, generally speaking, the more fruit added on the bottom, that represents sugars are added in the product.

Now, what's really interesting...

COSTELLO: Of course, that tastes better.

DRAYER: That's true.

COSTELLO: A question for you, though. How much sugar should we limit ourselves to?

DRAYER: Well, unfortunately, there is no recommended daily allowance or limit for sugars in the diet. And as I mentioned, it does make it a little tricky that we're not seeing the sugars added, which don't add nutrients to our diet. But a report issued last year by the World Health Organization recommended that no more than 10 percent of our daily calories should come from added sugars.

Now, just to give you some clues as to whether or not added sugar is in your food, you do want to look for the word, "sugar," of course. But you also want to look for other terms, such as high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, sucrose -- this is white table sugar -- dextrose, malt syrup and also honey. So, those would indicate the presence of added sugars in your food.

COSTELLO: Oh. OK. You know, Easter is coming, and you know those big Easter baskets come full of candy.

DRAYER: That's right.

COSTELLO: And those little marshmallow things that are really all sugar.

DRAYER: Exactly.

COSTELLO: You know, those little yellow dots, the little pink things, the little peeps?

DRAYER: The peeps. I love those peeps.

COSTELLO: So, should you give your kids sugar-free candy? Is it as good?

DRAYER: Careful with sugar-free candy, especially those sugar- free jelly beans. I have some here. The reason is, Carol, they do contain ingredients known as sugar alcohol. They're used in place of sugar. Now, the good news is they do contribute fewer calories than regular sugar, but because they're absorbed more slowly in the body, they may have a laxative effect. So, you do want to be careful.

You will see on the labels words like "maltitol" and "lactitol" -- any of the OLs -- that is, words ending in OL -- will indicate that sugar alcohols are added to a product. They're also found in some of these low-carb or sugar-free chocolates. So, just be careful there.

COSTELLO: Interesting. OK, Lisa Dayer live from New York this morning.

You're nodding your head there.

MYERS: I'm nodding my head, because I am a huge -- I love Splenda. But you have to be very careful of how much you eat, because...

COSTELLO: Yes.

MYERS: ... it could be not pretty.

COSTELLO: It will keep you busy.

MYERS: It sure will.

Hey, time to give away a coffee mug this morning. Get on there and get your typewriter going and send us an e-mail here.

COSTELLO: Typewriter?

MYERS: Oh, whatever, you know...

COSTELLO: What are you? Living in 1960?

MYERS: Still. I still have the same suit.

Hey, good morning, everybody. Name four countries besides the United States that have a significant troop presence in Iraq right now.

An easy one of the day. Another star will be put on Hollywood's Walk of Fame today. Who gets the star?

COSTELLO: Oh, on the Hollywood...

MYERS: You have to answer both.

COSTELLO: Yes, you do. Daybreak@cnn.com. Daybreak@cnn.com. If you're right and you're picked, you will win a beautiful CNN mug.

We've got an update from Fallujah, actually, after the break. But first, here are the latest headlines for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK.

These pictures are just in to CNN from outside of Fallujah. This is outside the city lines.

David Clinch is here to explain more of what we're seeing.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes, Carol, good morning.

This is pool material we've been expecting -- a U.S. pool traveling with the Marines into Fallujah. This is primarily during the day yesterday. We've been seeing some quite dramatic pictures of the Marines moving into Fallujah.

Now, remember, last week they promised they would go in and find and eliminate those that killed the four Americans last week. They told us last week they wouldn't go in with guns blazing, and they haven't until now. We're seeing video today of -- as we can see right there -- Marines hitting hard these Sunni insurgents that they say they're trying to isolate and eliminate in the middle of Fallujah.

One of the interesting shots I saw while we were watching the first elements of this material feed in was a shot of a U.S. Marine bunkered down, looking into the city with a mosque behind him.

One of the things we're hearing today from the Arab networks, and from our own people in Fallujah, is that some of these mullahs and clerics inside Fallujah are calling right now for a jihad against the Marines as they move into the city.

Now, we're monitoring very closely what's happening today. We're hearing that they have succeeded in isolating certain areas of the city, where they believe the hard-line group of these people they're looking for. But obviously as they go into these cities, very heavily-populated as we said earlier, there is also the question of the population itself.

COSTELLO: Well, very quickly, because they're looking for specific people in Fallujah as well. Have there been arrests?

CLINCH: We don't know that yet. That's a very good question. We do know -- there is the shot, the mosque in the background. We do know that they were using our video and other video of the incident last week to try and identify faces and people who they could go in and get. The question of arrests, we don't know yet.

COSTELLO: All right, David Clinch, many thanks.

CLINCH: OK.

COSTELLO: "AMERICAN MORNING" will take it from here. I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers. Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

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 April 7, 2004 - 06:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Some of the fiercest fighting in Iraq has taken place right here over the past couple of days.
And good morning to you from the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta. This is DAYBREAK for April 7. I'm Carol Costello. Let me bring you up-to-date now.

Fallujah is a war zone. Marines there are fighting an intense battle with Iraqi insurgents right now. This comes after 12 U.S. troops were killed in nearby Ramadi.

The only person convicted in connection with the September 11 terrorist attacks is about to be freed in Germany. His conviction was overturned, and a lawyer for him says he will be released today while he awaits a retrial.

A solemn anniversary in Rwanda. It is the 10th anniversary of the start of a genocide in which 800,000 people were slaughtered in that central African country.

In Japan, a court rules that the prime minister has violated the constitution by visiting a religious shrine honoring the nation's war dead. Japanese executed for war crimes are among those buried there.

A major highway in southeastern Kentucky remains closed this morning. The closure is the result of a fiery two-fatality collision between a car and a truck laden with potentially toxic chemicals.

(WEATHER BREAK)

COSTELLO: In Iraq, there is fierce fighting on different fronts, deadly unrest spurred by a firebrand Shiite cleric and a growing Sunni insurgency. It is a volatile situation.

Joining us for more on what's going on right now in Iraq, M.J. Gohel. He's chief executive of the Asia-Pacific Foundation.

Welcome.

M.J. GOHEL, ASIA-PACIFIC FOUNDATION: Good to be with you, Carol.

COSTELLO: First of all, I want to talk about Al-Sadr. U.S. forces want him to turn himself in. How likely is that?

GOHEL: Well, the best solution would be for Al-Sadr to turn himself in, because this is a very tense, a very dangerous situation. If Al-Sadr turns himself in, he would be indicating that he is interested in the future of Iraq. The suspicion, however, is that he has his own agenda at work, that his own agenda is to try to establish a fundamentalist Shiite state in Iraq. And this, of course, cannot be acceptable to the Sunni minority or to the Kurdish people in the north of Iraq, and nor to the majority of Shiite Muslims who are quite moderate.

COSTELLO: You know what makes this perhaps more frightening, Jim Clancy earlier reported that the coalition believes that Al-Sadr is unstable, almost psychotic. What are you hearing about that?

GOHEL: Well, I'm afraid he has had a long history of extremism. He is a fiery cleric. For someone of his young age to be a cleric is unusual in and of itself. But, of course, his father was a grand ayatollah at the Imam Ali mosque, and I think he's sort of cashing in on the popularity of his late father, who was assassinated by Saddam Hussein.

And Al-Sadr also was very quick in providing relief assistance after the Saddam Hussein regime collapsed, and he has built up quite a large armed militia. And he's in a position to start a kind of sectarian conflict in Iraq, which would, of course, be very bad news for the coalition forces.

COSTELLO: OK. You talk about a sectarian fight, and there is a fear here. He is holed up now in Najaf, where Sheikh al-Sistani is. And there is also some fear that the Sunnis and the Shias will merge to fight an Islamist war. Can you react to both parts of that question for us?

GOHEL: Well, I think the challenges that the coalition troops have faced have been multidimensional. There have been Saddam Hussein loyalists, the Fedayeen. There have been extremists within the Sunni triangle north and west of Baghdad. And then, of course, there have been the foreign Islamist terrorists linked to al Qaeda and to the global jihad movement, who have been slipping into the country from neighboring countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Syria.

And, of course, very recently a letter, a document was found on an individual linked to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who is a close aide of Osama bin Laden. And the document stated strategy off of the Islamists, which is to promote sectarian conflict in Iraq; in fact, turn Iraq into another Afghanistan, a kind of cesspool that terrorism can breed.

And the last thing we need now is any kind of power struggle within the Shiite community, because overall the Shiite community has been very supportive of the coalition forces for the simple reason that Saddam Hussein had not allowed the Shias any kind of power in his administration. But the situation...

COSTELLO: Well, let's a bit more about that, because I want to talk about Sheikh al-Sistani. He's very powerful as well. Is there any chance that he will join forces with Al-Sadr? I know that they're not friends, but is there a chance?

And on another front, will al-Sistani do something to calm the violence there?

GOHEL: Well, Ayatollah Sistani is a moderate in comparison to Al-Sadr. And Sistani is a much more powerful figure in some ways. He's a much more respected person.

However, what we're dealing with here is not only a kind of military solution, and what I mean by that is it's not just a question of imposing security. It's also a question of winning hearts and minds. And it's a very fine balance.

It's very important that Sistani is kept on-side, that Sistani's cooperation is obtained, and that somehow Sistani can be utilized to make sure that more Shiite Muslims do not support Al-Sadr. At the moment, Sistani is cooperating. He does want (UNINTELLIGIBLE) power to a democratic Iraq on June 30. He has cooperated fully. But one doesn't what tomorrow may bring.

COSTELLO: Yes. Well, we'll see if he steps up. Thank you very much for joining us this morning.

GOHEL: Thank you.

COSTELLO: M.J. Gohel reporting live for us this morning -- or actually providing some insight for us on DAYBREAK.

We're going to take a short break. We'll be back with some U.S. politics right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: On to politics now. John Kerry, the man hoping to give President Bush the boot, is taking another jab at the White House. He's accusing the Bush administration of mishandling the situation in Iraq.

So, let's talk some politics now. Joining us by phone from Washington is Judlyne Lilly of news radio station WTOP.

Good morning, Judlyne.

JUDLYNE LILLY, WTOP ANCHOR: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Isn't John Kerry supposed to come forward with some big announcement to save the economy today?

LILLY: Yes, he is making what is billed as a major economic policy speech today. It'll be this afternoon at Georgetown University right here in Washington, D.C. He'll be talking about his plan to create 10 million jobs, restore fiscal discipline and provide relief to taxpayers.

Now, the specifics of how he's planning to achieve that will come in the afternoon speech. He's, once again, making that bold pronouncement. He says -- he's expected to say that he'll fight to restore the jobs lost under the Bush administration in his first 500 days of his administration. If elected, it could become the signature line of Kerry's presidency, like no new taxes, and I did not have sex with that woman.

COSTELLO: Oh, my goodness. Oh, that made my laugh this morning, Judlyne.

You know, creating 10 million jobs, that's a pretty tall order. And the Kerry camp must have been kind of dismayed, because there was a pretty good jobs report out recently.

LILLY: Well, which the Bush administration is certainly jumping on that one. The smile on President Bush's face the day that those job numbers came out was very wide; very happy, of course, that the economy does seem to be coming back up for the president right in the middle of it.

And as we were talking about former presidents and their signature lines, W's father, No. 41, says John Kerry's campaign is using the same rhetoric about the state of the economy that former President Bill Clinton used against him in 1992. The elder Bush says President Bush has a stronger case because of the economy and has begun to show signs of recovery.

Now, it's interesting that Kerry's speech is coming out at this -- on this particular day, because there are several economic reports. It could not have been an accident. The Labor Department is issuing its import and export prices.

COSTELLO: Oh.

LILLY: These are not huge numbers -- huge labor reports or economic reports indicators, but they are certainly going to give some indication of where the economy is going.

COSTELLO: And perhaps provide ammunition. You know, the other interesting thing, Condoleezza Rice, of course, takes the stand, so to speak, on Thursday. And depending on how she does, this will play a large part in the political campaign, too.

LILLY: Yes, it will -- what will happen is that the economy will certainly continue to be a subject that both President Bush and Senator Kerry will speak about, but it will take a rest for the day after the national security director, Condoleezza Rice, makes her statements. She is expected to speak for about three hours. And there is not concern, but people are wondering what exactly is she going to say that might be new, that she hasn't said on all of the TV networks that she's been on recently?

COSTELLO: Judlyne Lilly from WTOP in Washington, D.C., thanks for joining us on DAYBREAK this morning.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:44 Eastern Time. Here's what's all new this morning.

At least two Marines have been wounded in fighting this morning in Fallujah. Witnesses in the city say as many as 60 Iraqis have been killed in firefights. FBI agents are investigating the crash of a northbound Amtrak train that derailed near Jackson, Mississippi. One person was killed, dozens more were injured in that crash.

In money news, voters in Inglewood, California, say no to Wal- Mart. They rejected a ballot issue that would have allowed Wal-Mart to build a superstore center in the Los Angeles suburb.

In sports, the University of Connecticut women's basketball team rolled over Tennessee 70-61 for the NCAAP championship. The win gives the women their third straight title. They are awesome.

In culture, a major honor today for the founder of CNN. Ted Turner is being honored with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: When do you get your star?

COSTELLO: You know, I'm sure that's coming soon.

MYERS: Congrats, Ted. Great job.

(WEATHER BREAK)

COSTELLO: And those are the latest headlines right now.

We want to take you live to New York now to check in with Bill and Heidi, who is in for Soledad. They're live in New York.

And I hear you have Anita Hill on the program today.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, we do, as a matter of fact.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We do.

HEMMER: Heidi is going to talk to her a bit later this morning. She knows a thing or two about being in the spotlight, doesn't she?

COLLINS: Yes. We're going to ask her a little bit about how that feels. That's for sure.

HEMMER: Yes. With Condoleezza Rice testifying tomorrow in D.C.

Also, the issue about Iraq today. Jim Clancy is back live in Baghdad. An "L.A. Times" report in bed with the U.S. Marines -- embedded with the Marines in Fallujah. He's reporting today, Carol, the Marines are having enormous success when going toe-to-toe with these Iraqi soldiers, and David Grange has more on the insurgency operating in that part of the country as well.

COLLINS: Some more of those same questions we'll be asking of Democratic Senator Carl Levin and Republican Senator Chuck Hagle. Bill is going to talk with them and get some more answers as well with the 9/11 Commission coming up on Condoleezza Rice.

HEMMER: And, you know, yesterday we were talking about June 30...

COLLINS: Yes.

HEMMER: ... the handover date, within 90 days right now. Jack has got a really enticing e-mail question about that today, too. So, we'll get to it.

COSTELLO: Oh.

HEMMER: A lot of Iraq to talk about and for good reason, based on (UNINTELLIGIBLE) yesterday.

COSTELLO: Is his question, why June 30? Is that his question?

HEMMER: Pretty close. I'm not going to give away too much, yes.

COLLINS: It's a surprise.

COSTELLO: OK. We look forward to it all. Thanks Bill and Heidi.

HEMMER: At the top of the hour. Thanks.

COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, what's making Americans gain weight? I think that would be food. Anyway, what can we do to prevent that? We'll tell you about one theory behind the trend when our nutrition expert joins us next.

And the story we wanted to bring you yesterday. Yes, Chad, I know you love this story. The golf tournament with no greens to be seen.

MYERS: It doesn't look fun.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's 6:51 Eastern Time. Welcome back.

An inexpensive corn product -- yes, corn product -- that's been used to sweeten food and drinks in the U.S. for three decades is now being blamed for contributing to the nation's growing obesity problem. It's always something, isn't it?

Registered dietician Lisa Drayer joins us now with the low-down on high-fructose corn syrup. Ooh, it even sounds fattening.

LISA DRAYER, REGISTERED DIETICIAN: It does, Carol. That's right.

And a recent report has revealed that increased use of high- fructose corn syrup -- that is a sweetener found on soft drinks, cookies and even condiments like ketchup, Carol -- is linked to rising obesity rates in this country.

So, researchers looked at consumption data records from the U.S. Department of Agriculture between the years of 1967 and 2000, and they found that increase of the sugar increased by over 1,000 percent during the years of 1970 to 1990. That was a greater change than has been seen for any food or food group during that time.

And if we look at what this means in terms of calories, Carol, we're talking about an average intake of 132 calories in the diet for all Americans over the age of 2. But among those in the top 20 percent of sugar consumption, we're talking about an average intake of 316 calories, which would represent 16 percent of total calories on a 2,000 calorie diet.

COSTELLO: Wow! You know, that's interesting you say that, because when you look at non-fat yogurt in the store and you turn it over to the back...

DRAYER: Right.

COSTELLO: ... it has an amazing amount of sugar in it.

DRAYER: Exactly. But what's tricky, Carol, is that you don't necessarily see the added sugars on the labels; that is, food labels don't distinguish between sugars naturally present in foods like yogurt, for example, the lactose, and those that are added during processing. In the case of yogurt, generally speaking, the more fruit added on the bottom, that represents sugars are added in the product.

Now, what's really interesting...

COSTELLO: Of course, that tastes better.

DRAYER: That's true.

COSTELLO: A question for you, though. How much sugar should we limit ourselves to?

DRAYER: Well, unfortunately, there is no recommended daily allowance or limit for sugars in the diet. And as I mentioned, it does make it a little tricky that we're not seeing the sugars added, which don't add nutrients to our diet. But a report issued last year by the World Health Organization recommended that no more than 10 percent of our daily calories should come from added sugars.

Now, just to give you some clues as to whether or not added sugar is in your food, you do want to look for the word, "sugar," of course. But you also want to look for other terms, such as high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, sucrose -- this is white table sugar -- dextrose, malt syrup and also honey. So, those would indicate the presence of added sugars in your food.

COSTELLO: Oh. OK. You know, Easter is coming, and you know those big Easter baskets come full of candy.

DRAYER: That's right.

COSTELLO: And those little marshmallow things that are really all sugar.

DRAYER: Exactly.

COSTELLO: You know, those little yellow dots, the little pink things, the little peeps?

DRAYER: The peeps. I love those peeps.

COSTELLO: So, should you give your kids sugar-free candy? Is it as good?

DRAYER: Careful with sugar-free candy, especially those sugar- free jelly beans. I have some here. The reason is, Carol, they do contain ingredients known as sugar alcohol. They're used in place of sugar. Now, the good news is they do contribute fewer calories than regular sugar, but because they're absorbed more slowly in the body, they may have a laxative effect. So, you do want to be careful.

You will see on the labels words like "maltitol" and "lactitol" -- any of the OLs -- that is, words ending in OL -- will indicate that sugar alcohols are added to a product. They're also found in some of these low-carb or sugar-free chocolates. So, just be careful there.

COSTELLO: Interesting. OK, Lisa Dayer live from New York this morning.

You're nodding your head there.

MYERS: I'm nodding my head, because I am a huge -- I love Splenda. But you have to be very careful of how much you eat, because...

COSTELLO: Yes.

MYERS: ... it could be not pretty.

COSTELLO: It will keep you busy.

MYERS: It sure will.

Hey, time to give away a coffee mug this morning. Get on there and get your typewriter going and send us an e-mail here.

COSTELLO: Typewriter?

MYERS: Oh, whatever, you know...

COSTELLO: What are you? Living in 1960?

MYERS: Still. I still have the same suit.

Hey, good morning, everybody. Name four countries besides the United States that have a significant troop presence in Iraq right now.

An easy one of the day. Another star will be put on Hollywood's Walk of Fame today. Who gets the star?

COSTELLO: Oh, on the Hollywood...

MYERS: You have to answer both.

COSTELLO: Yes, you do. Daybreak@cnn.com. Daybreak@cnn.com. If you're right and you're picked, you will win a beautiful CNN mug.

We've got an update from Fallujah, actually, after the break. But first, here are the latest headlines for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK.

These pictures are just in to CNN from outside of Fallujah. This is outside the city lines.

David Clinch is here to explain more of what we're seeing.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes, Carol, good morning.

This is pool material we've been expecting -- a U.S. pool traveling with the Marines into Fallujah. This is primarily during the day yesterday. We've been seeing some quite dramatic pictures of the Marines moving into Fallujah.

Now, remember, last week they promised they would go in and find and eliminate those that killed the four Americans last week. They told us last week they wouldn't go in with guns blazing, and they haven't until now. We're seeing video today of -- as we can see right there -- Marines hitting hard these Sunni insurgents that they say they're trying to isolate and eliminate in the middle of Fallujah.

One of the interesting shots I saw while we were watching the first elements of this material feed in was a shot of a U.S. Marine bunkered down, looking into the city with a mosque behind him.

One of the things we're hearing today from the Arab networks, and from our own people in Fallujah, is that some of these mullahs and clerics inside Fallujah are calling right now for a jihad against the Marines as they move into the city.

Now, we're monitoring very closely what's happening today. We're hearing that they have succeeded in isolating certain areas of the city, where they believe the hard-line group of these people they're looking for. But obviously as they go into these cities, very heavily-populated as we said earlier, there is also the question of the population itself.

COSTELLO: Well, very quickly, because they're looking for specific people in Fallujah as well. Have there been arrests?

CLINCH: We don't know that yet. That's a very good question. We do know -- there is the shot, the mosque in the background. We do know that they were using our video and other video of the incident last week to try and identify faces and people who they could go in and get. The question of arrests, we don't know yet.

COSTELLO: All right, David Clinch, many thanks.

CLINCH: OK.

COSTELLO: "AMERICAN MORNING" will take it from here. I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers. Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

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