Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is making his first trip to the West in 15 years; 'Paging Dr. Gupta'

Aired April 27, 2004 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: 8:30 here in New York. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Moammar Gadhafi returning to the world stage. The Libyan leader making his first trip to western countries in 15 years. In a moment, we'll look at Gadhafi's sudden re-emergence and talk to the father of a woman killed on the Pan Am flight 103, has some very strong feelings about all of this going forward, understandably so.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I was just going to say, one can obviously imagine.

Also this morning, Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to join us. He's talking today about a subject that many new mothers and mothers-to-be are very interested in, which is losing that pregnancy weight.

You know, you gain like 50 pounds, what I gain with each kid, then the baby comes out that weighs 7. You do the math. It's not good. Is the secret exercising with the baby? It never worked for me. We'll talk to Sanjay. And it didn't work out either, trust me.

HEMMER: Top stories at the bottom of the hour now. In Iraq, where U.S. forces have been engaged in some fierce fighting near the town of Najaf. A U.S. military spokesperson says U.S. troops have killed 43 insurgents in overnight fighting. Wanted Muslim cleric Muqtada Al Sadr said to be holed up inside the city of Najaf. Again, the Americans have not gone in that town. They are just on the outskirts.

A group that claims to be holding three Italians hostage in Iraq has issued some new demands. A videotape showing the hostages aired yesterday on the Arabic news channel Al Arabiya. In a statement, the group calling itself the Green Brigade says Italians have five days to protest the country's occupation of Iraq, or the men being held will be killed.

South Africa celebrates it first decade of freedom after the end of apartheid. As part of the proceedings, President Thabo Mbeki was sworn in for his second five-year term. Today's Freedom Day marks 10 years since the country's first all-race elections.

In this country in New Jersey, Jury deliberations expected to begin today in the trial of former NBA star Jayson Williams. He's 36 years old. He faces eight charges of aggravated manslaughter, included in some of those charges. If convicted on all, Williams could face up to 55 years in prison.

From Paris, one of the world's most famous faces may be in a bit of trouble. The Mona Lisa has officials concerned that the famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci may be warping. The image was painted on a thin panel of poplar wood. The backing may have slowly deteriorated over time, they say. And a team of French experts now trying to investigate that and looking into the possibility of restoration. They have inspections every year or every two years to check her out. So at this point, it's anybody's guess.

O'BRIEN: Interesting.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is making his first trip to the West in 15 years. Gadhafi arrived in Brussels this morning for a two-day visit aimed at improving relations with members of the European Union. The trip comes just days after the U.S. lifted economic sanctions and marks the latest step toward Libya's re- emergence on the world stage. In a moment, we're going to check in with the father of a Pan Am flight 103 victim, and talk about Gadhafi's new image.

But first, here's CNN's Sheila MacVicar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Very quickly, the former pariah state, Libya, and its leader, Moammar Gadhafi, are becoming very respectable. Tony Blair's trip to Tripoli last month and this handshake in the Colonel's tent confirming that Western nations are now willing to believe that Libya's days as a sponsor of terrorism are over, and even more astonishingly that Libya might now be an ally in the war against al Qaeda.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The world is changing. And we've got to do everything we possibly can to tackle the security threat that faces us.

MACVICAR: What has most impressed London and Washington is Libya's renunciation of weapons of mass destruction. In January, Libya turned over to the U.S. this equipment it says it was using to build a nuclear bomb. Last week, Washington eased sanctions imposed on Libya since the mid-1980s, a time when then President Ronald Reagan called Colonel Gadhafi a "mad dog" and U.S. jets bombed Tripoli in retaliation for terrorist acts. Mr. Gadhafi's trip to Brussels one more step along what seems to be an accelerating journey to normalization.

Sheila MacVicar, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Daniel Cohen's, Theodora, daughter was on board pan-am flight 103 when it went down over Lockerbie, Scotland in December of 1988. It took 15 years for Libya to admit responsibility for that tragedy.

Daniel Cohen joins us from Philadelphia to share his thoughts on this makeover.

Mr. Cohen, thank you for being with us. I appreciate your time.

DANIEL COHEN, LOST DAUGHTER ON PAN AM 103: Thank you for having me.

O'BRIEN: We just heard from Prime Minister Blair, saying that the world is change, meaning everyone has to sort of move forward. What do you make of Moammar Gadhafi's sudden legitimacy on the world stage.

COHEN: You know, there's one thing you can really make of it, and it's...

O'BRIEN: Sir, I am going to stop you there, because I'm having trouble hearing you. And that means we have audio problems. So let's try it again. Start your answer again, and we'll see if we got you.

COHEN: You asked what -- are we working now?

O'BRIEN: Yes. Thank you.

COHEN: What it really means is it's oil. That's really the basis of it. Gadhafi really hasn't changed, nor, despite what you said in your introduction, has Libya really admitted responsibility for the bombing of Pan Am 103. Just a couple of days ago, Gadhafi in a speech before the police academy in Libya said -- in Tripoli said, we were, essentially, framed in the Pan Am 103 bombing, and America still doesn't know who has done it.

Libya wants American technology. Libya -- America wants Libyan oil. None of this has anything to do with justice.

And how do I feel watching the murderer of my daughter out there hobnobbing with the governments of Russia and being praised, even by the president of the United States? I feel awful. I feel betrayed. The idea that he has suddenly changed and given up all these weapons of mass destruction, it's a fraud.

It's a good article in this morning's "USA Today," which shows you that Libya really did -- never did have a nuclear program. And a lot of the stuff they gave up is stuff they bought, junk they bought so they could give it up, so they could have this show.

O'BRIEN: So you, obviously, then, would completely disagree with the U.S. resuming diplomatic relations with Libya. Do you think there's a middle ground, a direction to be working toward? Some people have said whatever the questions about these weapons of mass destruction or the technology that's been turned over, they've been consistently making steps in the right direction.

COHEN: The steps in the direction that they have been making are the steps to what -- Gadhafi is often called, close the Lockerbie file, just forget about Lockerbie, forget about the people who were killed. One very good step that they could make is to have the only person in Libya whose voice actually counts, Colonel Gadhafi himself, come out and say, yes, we bombed Pan Am 103, I am sorry for it, or whatever. But make a clear and clean breath of it, and then, and only then, should the world begin to believe that this man has changed.

Right now all he wants -- he's getting what he want. He's getting American money. He's getting -- in the end he may even get American protection. He's against terrorists, because the Islamists want to kill him, of course. The Islamists also wanted to kill Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein is in jail now, and Gadhafi is becoming the toast of Europe. It's not -- it's a terrible, terrible situation.

O'BRIEN: Daniel Cohen lost his daughter, Theodara, on Pan Am flight 103. Sir, thanks for being with us. Sorry about the audio problems a little bit earlier -- Bill.

COHEN: Thank you.

HEMMER: Wow. Twenty minutes now before the hour. NASA's mission to Mars deemed a success. As of now, NASA officially considered the $835 million mission wrapped up. Both Opportunity and Spirit rovers completing all the tasks that NASA required. They were sent to find geological evidence that Mars was once a wetter place capable of sustaining life.

O'BRIEN: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, an intense battle between U.S. forces and insurgents in southern Iraq, with Iraqi rebels taking big causalities. We'll explain.

HEMMER: Also a money makeover. Ulysses S. Grant gets a patriotic facelift on the $50 bill. We'll have a look at it in a moment here, coming up.

And Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us with advice for new moms on how to lose the weight after your baby arrives. It's all part of our newborn series as AMERICAN MORNING continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: In the second part of our week-long series on newborns, Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at one of the biggest challenges a mother faces after her little bundle of joy arrives, losing all that way you gain during pregnancy. Sanjay joins us this morning with a little more on that.

Sure, Sanjay, tell me how you lost all that weight after pregnancy.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm an expert in this particular area.

I'll tell you, this is one of the most common questions we got asked when we said we're going to do this newborn series, is I really want to know about that post-pregnancy weight, how do you get it off? And you've had some success stories as well, gaining about 55 pounds, you told me, and then getting rid of it. We talked to a lot of experts about this. We're going to talk about all the various tips they gave us, but the No. 1 thing they told us was do it slow, and be sensible about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good job, moms.

GUPTA (voice-over): Losing weight. It's one of the hardest things to do after pregnancy. Most common question, how quickly can you get back to exercise?

Elaine Loyack runs a power strolling class in Raleigh, North Carolina. She won't accept women into her class without a note from their doctor, and not right away.

ELAINE LOYACK, PERINATAL FITNESS INSTRUCTOR: We like to see now moms after their six-week postpartum checkup.

GUPTA: Most moms gain an average of 30 pounds during pregnancy. Eighteen to 20 of that can usually be lost within a month of having the baby. It's those last 5 to 10 pounds that can be hard to get rid of.

Heidi Murkoff, author of what to expect in the first year, counsels new moms to not expect miracles.

HEIDI MURKOFF, AUTHOR, "WHAT TO EXPECT THE FIRST YEAR": It took you nine months to gain that weight. It might take you at least nine months to take it off, so cut yourself some slack. Maybe just don't cut yourself another piece of cake.

GUPTA: Easter Maynard gained 40 pounds during her pregnancy. Six months later, she's lost 35 pounds. She has another inspiration.

EASTER MAYNARD, MOTHER OF NEWBORN: I love being able to workout with my kid. I know that I wouldn't do it if didn't have the opportunity to bring her with me.

GUPTA: And that may be one of the best secrets of losing post- pregnancy weight: exercise with your baby. You're more likely to stick with it.

MURKOFF: Babies love being part of the action, and new moms definitely enjoy the camaraderie of being around other moms.

GUPTA: Other tips: Start slow. Only simple exercises the first week or two. A slow walk can get blood flowing to help heal C-section incisions or other damage.

LOYACK: It might also help mom deal with her baby blues. No ab crunches. They might hurt you. Instead, focus on pelvic tilts, abdominal compressions and slow belly breathing to strengthen and tone your middle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take a drink of that water, mom.

GUPTA: Stay hydrated, especially if you are nursing, and eat sensibly. Strenuous dieting should be avoided. MURKOFF: Because it can zap you of that energy you so desperately need during those early months of mothering.

GUPTA: More energy and more fit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: What do you think?

O'BRIEN: Well, you know, those women all gained on average 30 pounds. So now basically you are telling me I'm a big fatty in all my pregnancies.

GUPTA: Not at all.

O'BRIEN: How do doctors determine how much weight you're supposed to gain, because I know women who are perfectly healthy who gained 15 or 20 pounds, and then other women who gained 80 pounds, who also I would have said are perfectly healthy people.

GUPTA: Yes, and you know the first thing to point out is that there is a sort of statistical average, that there are women who go beyond these averages and are perfectly fine. For normal weight women, a woman who considers herself normal weight beforehand, about 25 to 35 pounds of weight gain, overweight women are going to gain less. Not surprising underweight women gain slightly more, 28 to 40 pounds. I don't know what kind of shape you're in before you're pregnancy.

O'BRIEN: I was in good shape.

GUPTA: Good shape. So maybe, you know, you are more likely to gain a little bit more if you're on the lower side of your weight.

O'BRIEN: Why are doctors so obsessed with keeping you to that range? My doctor was -- I love him dearly, truly, but he was so -- he would just absolutely hound me about every pound I would gain when I got to the 50 range.

GUPTA: People talk a lot about not gaining enough weight during pregnancy, but a lot of doctors said gaining too much weight can be a problem as well. And sort of, ironically, gaining too much weight can sometimes be a problem for low birth weight babies. People don't always understand that connection, but that can happen as well. So it's really important to keep in the sweet spot of ideal weight during a pregnancy.

O'BRIEN: Why does the doctor say, OK, you have to wait six weeks before you can get any exercise. It's so frustrating, especially if you're feeling pretty good. I mean, you have a relatively normal delivery, why would you -- what's going on that you have to wait six weeks.

GUPTA: Some doctors will let you go back quicker. Usually, it's just letting you heal from the delivery and letting you get back to sort of your normal self, not overdoing things, nothing more than that usually.

O'BRIEN: Can I ask one last quick question. Why does nursing burn so many calories?

GUPTA: It's interesting, because it actually requires a lot of energy to nurse. A couple of things happen. One is you are actually losing some of the weight from nursing, two is that you actually are increasing your metabolic rate to a certain extent, and that also is going to help you lose weight, sort of even when you are at rest or not nursing.

O'BRIEN: Can we repeat this conversation once I pop these kids out? Because now, I'm going the wrong direction, and it's not going to change anytime soon.

GUPTA: I think bill will agree with me, you look terrific.

O'BRIEN: Well, thank you. You just keep repeating that all day. I'm having a rough day today. What are we talking about tomorrow?

GUPTA: We're going to talk about postpartum depression, an important topic, something that a lot of women do suffer from, and we're going to talk about multiples later on in the week as well.

O'BRIEN: Well, then I'll pay attention for the rest of the week. Sanjay, thank you very much -- Bill.

HEMMER: Soledad, we're going to suck up all week.

O'BRIEN: Thank you. I appreciate that. That would be very nice. Until August would be fine with me.

HEMMER: In a moment here, all the office supplies you can need coming soon to a vending machine near you. It's happening, a new business venture. We'll get to it with Andy, right after this here, on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: All righty. Welcome back.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Got a new $50 bill and a preview of the markets. Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business."

Let me see that $50, will you?

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Going through your wallet to find some of those big boys. All right, let's talk about the market. The Dow was down 28 points. Other indices followed suit. Kind of tepid trading on Wall Street these days, Jack, as we wind down a successful earnings season. A couple of economic reports due out at 10:00 on consumer confidence and home sales, but everything is pretty much all systems go in the economy these days.

CAFFERTY: We got a little concerns about the geopolitical situation, keeping a lid on the markets. SERWER: We do that, and inflation as well.

Let's talk about that new $50 bill, though. You know what today is? April 27th. In 1822, Ulysses S. Grant was born.

CAFFERTY: Really?

SERWER: Yes, today is the anniversary of his birthday. So a good day to discuss the new $50 bill, which will be rolling out this fall. Treasury introducing it in Fort Worth, Texas, yesterday.

That's a lot of money.

The colors of this new bill are -- you'll be happy to hear this, Jack -- red, blue and yellow. Somehow I don't think old U.S. Grant will be too pleased with that.

CAFFERTY: Who decides this?

SERWER: I don't know, they're very colorful at the Treasury Department these days, and maybe a little too colorful for Jack it seems sometimes.

Ulysses S. Grant, he was born Hyrum Ulysses Grant, OK, and then he changed his name to Ulysses. His congressman, when he was appointed to West Point, made a mistake, put his mother's maiden name in there, Ulysses Simpson Grant. He said, that works, U.S. Grant, and then he sort of took the name and ran with it.

CAFFERTY: Ulysses used to have a taste occasionally.

SERWER: He did. And there's this big tomb here in Manhattan, where I think he's buried.

CAFFERTY: He is.

SERWER: You know how that works.

You want to do this thing here about quick signage?

Yes, Kinko and FedEx. FedEx bought Kinkos in February for $2.4 billion. Now they're going to be spending more money on signage. Get this, $25 million to change the name of Kinko's to FedEx Kinko's Office and Print Center -- $25 million.

CAFFERTY: That's too short, they need something longer.

SERWER: That rolls of the tongue, doesn't it. Why don't they just put up a sign that says "Official FedEx Shipping Center," you know, just get a manager to get a manage marker.

CAFFERTY: Just leave it Kinko's.

SERWER: I know, and it's a brand name that name people know.

CAFFERTY: Yes, it's got some brand name recognition. SERWER: Just like us, right?

CAFFERTY: They should call us for advice. We could do a little consulting on the side.

SERWER: Oh, we could. We sure could.

CAFFERTY: Time now for the Cafferty File. America cannot get seem to enough of the Hilton family. I can, but the rest of America can't. Kathy Hilton, the mother of Paris and Nicky, which qualifies her for combat ribbons of some kind, I would guess, is the latest Hilton to get her own reality show. "The Good Life" will air on NBC. It described as a real life "My Fair Lady," following the success of "The Simple Life," starring the daughters. Hilton will coach 10 women on how to mingle with the rich and famous. The winner gets a chance to live at the Waldorf Astoria here in New York for a year, and maybe get a job in fashion or in publishing. Looking forward to that.

All right, if you shell out $112,000, you can get your kid through Villanova University. And then on graduation day, the actor who plays Big Bird on "Sesame Street" will be the commencement speaker. That's coming up May 16th.

SERWER: Didn't one our producers, Eva, go there?

CAFFERTY: I think she did. Ask her about it. Now she's running a large part of this program. That speaks volumes.

No Villanova's a very fine school, but why the hell would you have Big Bird as the commencement speaker? Carol Spinney wrote "The Wisdom of Big Bird," will not be speaking in costume, we're told, but will get an honorary degree. A university spokeswoman said Spinney a role model for their mission to improve society, and the school's president called him -- quote -- "a world class educator." Students, however, not pleased with the choice. And I've got to tell you, If I had blown 115 grand to get a degree there, I don't want Big Bird as my...

SERWER: I'd want Elmo.

O'BRIEN: I'm a fan of big bird.

SERWER: No, I'd want Elmo.

CAFFERTY: There you go.

And finally, If you are concerned about spiraling rent costs, you may want to move to Moscow. The United States, this is an absolutely true story, is paying $3 a year rent for this place. This is the ambassador's residence, according to the Interfax News Agency. The rent for the house was set in 1985, and since then, the Soviet Union collapsed, the ruble lost 99.9 percent of its value, and an embassy spokesman said when the lease was negotiated, Soviet officials insisted there would be no provision for a change in the value of the currency.

O'BRIEN: I've been there.

HEMMER: Have you?

O'BRIEN: Yes.

HEMMER: It looks wonderful.

O'BRIEN: When I was traveling with the first lady. Yes, it's worth more than $3. It's incredible. I mean, it's not even a house. It's an estate.

SERWER: Mansion.

O'BRIEN: Giant thing, yes.

HEMMER: Pretty good business decision made by the Russians, huh?

CAFFERTY: Apparently.

SERWER: Backfired. Backfired is what you would say.

O'BRIEN: All right, Jack. Two thumbs up on the file today. Yes, I like it.

CAFFERTY: Well, thank you.

O'BRIEN: You're welcome. Any time.

CAFFERTY: I'm in enough trouble with Chicago. I love Chicago. It's the woman in the mayor's press office I don't like.

SERWER: Not her again.

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, fighting forces, another delay in coalition plans in restive Iraqi city of Fallujah. That and the rest of the details out of Iraq are just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: In a moment, the decision of service expected today from a pair of military sisters who know the risks in Iraq better than most. Back in a moment with their story and potential decision, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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 27, 2004 - 08:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: 8:30 here in New York. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Moammar Gadhafi returning to the world stage. The Libyan leader making his first trip to western countries in 15 years. In a moment, we'll look at Gadhafi's sudden re-emergence and talk to the father of a woman killed on the Pan Am flight 103, has some very strong feelings about all of this going forward, understandably so.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I was just going to say, one can obviously imagine.

Also this morning, Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to join us. He's talking today about a subject that many new mothers and mothers-to-be are very interested in, which is losing that pregnancy weight.

You know, you gain like 50 pounds, what I gain with each kid, then the baby comes out that weighs 7. You do the math. It's not good. Is the secret exercising with the baby? It never worked for me. We'll talk to Sanjay. And it didn't work out either, trust me.

HEMMER: Top stories at the bottom of the hour now. In Iraq, where U.S. forces have been engaged in some fierce fighting near the town of Najaf. A U.S. military spokesperson says U.S. troops have killed 43 insurgents in overnight fighting. Wanted Muslim cleric Muqtada Al Sadr said to be holed up inside the city of Najaf. Again, the Americans have not gone in that town. They are just on the outskirts.

A group that claims to be holding three Italians hostage in Iraq has issued some new demands. A videotape showing the hostages aired yesterday on the Arabic news channel Al Arabiya. In a statement, the group calling itself the Green Brigade says Italians have five days to protest the country's occupation of Iraq, or the men being held will be killed.

South Africa celebrates it first decade of freedom after the end of apartheid. As part of the proceedings, President Thabo Mbeki was sworn in for his second five-year term. Today's Freedom Day marks 10 years since the country's first all-race elections.

In this country in New Jersey, Jury deliberations expected to begin today in the trial of former NBA star Jayson Williams. He's 36 years old. He faces eight charges of aggravated manslaughter, included in some of those charges. If convicted on all, Williams could face up to 55 years in prison.

From Paris, one of the world's most famous faces may be in a bit of trouble. The Mona Lisa has officials concerned that the famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci may be warping. The image was painted on a thin panel of poplar wood. The backing may have slowly deteriorated over time, they say. And a team of French experts now trying to investigate that and looking into the possibility of restoration. They have inspections every year or every two years to check her out. So at this point, it's anybody's guess.

O'BRIEN: Interesting.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is making his first trip to the West in 15 years. Gadhafi arrived in Brussels this morning for a two-day visit aimed at improving relations with members of the European Union. The trip comes just days after the U.S. lifted economic sanctions and marks the latest step toward Libya's re- emergence on the world stage. In a moment, we're going to check in with the father of a Pan Am flight 103 victim, and talk about Gadhafi's new image.

But first, here's CNN's Sheila MacVicar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Very quickly, the former pariah state, Libya, and its leader, Moammar Gadhafi, are becoming very respectable. Tony Blair's trip to Tripoli last month and this handshake in the Colonel's tent confirming that Western nations are now willing to believe that Libya's days as a sponsor of terrorism are over, and even more astonishingly that Libya might now be an ally in the war against al Qaeda.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The world is changing. And we've got to do everything we possibly can to tackle the security threat that faces us.

MACVICAR: What has most impressed London and Washington is Libya's renunciation of weapons of mass destruction. In January, Libya turned over to the U.S. this equipment it says it was using to build a nuclear bomb. Last week, Washington eased sanctions imposed on Libya since the mid-1980s, a time when then President Ronald Reagan called Colonel Gadhafi a "mad dog" and U.S. jets bombed Tripoli in retaliation for terrorist acts. Mr. Gadhafi's trip to Brussels one more step along what seems to be an accelerating journey to normalization.

Sheila MacVicar, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Daniel Cohen's, Theodora, daughter was on board pan-am flight 103 when it went down over Lockerbie, Scotland in December of 1988. It took 15 years for Libya to admit responsibility for that tragedy.

Daniel Cohen joins us from Philadelphia to share his thoughts on this makeover.

Mr. Cohen, thank you for being with us. I appreciate your time.

DANIEL COHEN, LOST DAUGHTER ON PAN AM 103: Thank you for having me.

O'BRIEN: We just heard from Prime Minister Blair, saying that the world is change, meaning everyone has to sort of move forward. What do you make of Moammar Gadhafi's sudden legitimacy on the world stage.

COHEN: You know, there's one thing you can really make of it, and it's...

O'BRIEN: Sir, I am going to stop you there, because I'm having trouble hearing you. And that means we have audio problems. So let's try it again. Start your answer again, and we'll see if we got you.

COHEN: You asked what -- are we working now?

O'BRIEN: Yes. Thank you.

COHEN: What it really means is it's oil. That's really the basis of it. Gadhafi really hasn't changed, nor, despite what you said in your introduction, has Libya really admitted responsibility for the bombing of Pan Am 103. Just a couple of days ago, Gadhafi in a speech before the police academy in Libya said -- in Tripoli said, we were, essentially, framed in the Pan Am 103 bombing, and America still doesn't know who has done it.

Libya wants American technology. Libya -- America wants Libyan oil. None of this has anything to do with justice.

And how do I feel watching the murderer of my daughter out there hobnobbing with the governments of Russia and being praised, even by the president of the United States? I feel awful. I feel betrayed. The idea that he has suddenly changed and given up all these weapons of mass destruction, it's a fraud.

It's a good article in this morning's "USA Today," which shows you that Libya really did -- never did have a nuclear program. And a lot of the stuff they gave up is stuff they bought, junk they bought so they could give it up, so they could have this show.

O'BRIEN: So you, obviously, then, would completely disagree with the U.S. resuming diplomatic relations with Libya. Do you think there's a middle ground, a direction to be working toward? Some people have said whatever the questions about these weapons of mass destruction or the technology that's been turned over, they've been consistently making steps in the right direction.

COHEN: The steps in the direction that they have been making are the steps to what -- Gadhafi is often called, close the Lockerbie file, just forget about Lockerbie, forget about the people who were killed. One very good step that they could make is to have the only person in Libya whose voice actually counts, Colonel Gadhafi himself, come out and say, yes, we bombed Pan Am 103, I am sorry for it, or whatever. But make a clear and clean breath of it, and then, and only then, should the world begin to believe that this man has changed.

Right now all he wants -- he's getting what he want. He's getting American money. He's getting -- in the end he may even get American protection. He's against terrorists, because the Islamists want to kill him, of course. The Islamists also wanted to kill Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein is in jail now, and Gadhafi is becoming the toast of Europe. It's not -- it's a terrible, terrible situation.

O'BRIEN: Daniel Cohen lost his daughter, Theodara, on Pan Am flight 103. Sir, thanks for being with us. Sorry about the audio problems a little bit earlier -- Bill.

COHEN: Thank you.

HEMMER: Wow. Twenty minutes now before the hour. NASA's mission to Mars deemed a success. As of now, NASA officially considered the $835 million mission wrapped up. Both Opportunity and Spirit rovers completing all the tasks that NASA required. They were sent to find geological evidence that Mars was once a wetter place capable of sustaining life.

O'BRIEN: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, an intense battle between U.S. forces and insurgents in southern Iraq, with Iraqi rebels taking big causalities. We'll explain.

HEMMER: Also a money makeover. Ulysses S. Grant gets a patriotic facelift on the $50 bill. We'll have a look at it in a moment here, coming up.

And Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us with advice for new moms on how to lose the weight after your baby arrives. It's all part of our newborn series as AMERICAN MORNING continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: In the second part of our week-long series on newborns, Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at one of the biggest challenges a mother faces after her little bundle of joy arrives, losing all that way you gain during pregnancy. Sanjay joins us this morning with a little more on that.

Sure, Sanjay, tell me how you lost all that weight after pregnancy.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm an expert in this particular area.

I'll tell you, this is one of the most common questions we got asked when we said we're going to do this newborn series, is I really want to know about that post-pregnancy weight, how do you get it off? And you've had some success stories as well, gaining about 55 pounds, you told me, and then getting rid of it. We talked to a lot of experts about this. We're going to talk about all the various tips they gave us, but the No. 1 thing they told us was do it slow, and be sensible about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good job, moms.

GUPTA (voice-over): Losing weight. It's one of the hardest things to do after pregnancy. Most common question, how quickly can you get back to exercise?

Elaine Loyack runs a power strolling class in Raleigh, North Carolina. She won't accept women into her class without a note from their doctor, and not right away.

ELAINE LOYACK, PERINATAL FITNESS INSTRUCTOR: We like to see now moms after their six-week postpartum checkup.

GUPTA: Most moms gain an average of 30 pounds during pregnancy. Eighteen to 20 of that can usually be lost within a month of having the baby. It's those last 5 to 10 pounds that can be hard to get rid of.

Heidi Murkoff, author of what to expect in the first year, counsels new moms to not expect miracles.

HEIDI MURKOFF, AUTHOR, "WHAT TO EXPECT THE FIRST YEAR": It took you nine months to gain that weight. It might take you at least nine months to take it off, so cut yourself some slack. Maybe just don't cut yourself another piece of cake.

GUPTA: Easter Maynard gained 40 pounds during her pregnancy. Six months later, she's lost 35 pounds. She has another inspiration.

EASTER MAYNARD, MOTHER OF NEWBORN: I love being able to workout with my kid. I know that I wouldn't do it if didn't have the opportunity to bring her with me.

GUPTA: And that may be one of the best secrets of losing post- pregnancy weight: exercise with your baby. You're more likely to stick with it.

MURKOFF: Babies love being part of the action, and new moms definitely enjoy the camaraderie of being around other moms.

GUPTA: Other tips: Start slow. Only simple exercises the first week or two. A slow walk can get blood flowing to help heal C-section incisions or other damage.

LOYACK: It might also help mom deal with her baby blues. No ab crunches. They might hurt you. Instead, focus on pelvic tilts, abdominal compressions and slow belly breathing to strengthen and tone your middle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take a drink of that water, mom.

GUPTA: Stay hydrated, especially if you are nursing, and eat sensibly. Strenuous dieting should be avoided. MURKOFF: Because it can zap you of that energy you so desperately need during those early months of mothering.

GUPTA: More energy and more fit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: What do you think?

O'BRIEN: Well, you know, those women all gained on average 30 pounds. So now basically you are telling me I'm a big fatty in all my pregnancies.

GUPTA: Not at all.

O'BRIEN: How do doctors determine how much weight you're supposed to gain, because I know women who are perfectly healthy who gained 15 or 20 pounds, and then other women who gained 80 pounds, who also I would have said are perfectly healthy people.

GUPTA: Yes, and you know the first thing to point out is that there is a sort of statistical average, that there are women who go beyond these averages and are perfectly fine. For normal weight women, a woman who considers herself normal weight beforehand, about 25 to 35 pounds of weight gain, overweight women are going to gain less. Not surprising underweight women gain slightly more, 28 to 40 pounds. I don't know what kind of shape you're in before you're pregnancy.

O'BRIEN: I was in good shape.

GUPTA: Good shape. So maybe, you know, you are more likely to gain a little bit more if you're on the lower side of your weight.

O'BRIEN: Why are doctors so obsessed with keeping you to that range? My doctor was -- I love him dearly, truly, but he was so -- he would just absolutely hound me about every pound I would gain when I got to the 50 range.

GUPTA: People talk a lot about not gaining enough weight during pregnancy, but a lot of doctors said gaining too much weight can be a problem as well. And sort of, ironically, gaining too much weight can sometimes be a problem for low birth weight babies. People don't always understand that connection, but that can happen as well. So it's really important to keep in the sweet spot of ideal weight during a pregnancy.

O'BRIEN: Why does the doctor say, OK, you have to wait six weeks before you can get any exercise. It's so frustrating, especially if you're feeling pretty good. I mean, you have a relatively normal delivery, why would you -- what's going on that you have to wait six weeks.

GUPTA: Some doctors will let you go back quicker. Usually, it's just letting you heal from the delivery and letting you get back to sort of your normal self, not overdoing things, nothing more than that usually.

O'BRIEN: Can I ask one last quick question. Why does nursing burn so many calories?

GUPTA: It's interesting, because it actually requires a lot of energy to nurse. A couple of things happen. One is you are actually losing some of the weight from nursing, two is that you actually are increasing your metabolic rate to a certain extent, and that also is going to help you lose weight, sort of even when you are at rest or not nursing.

O'BRIEN: Can we repeat this conversation once I pop these kids out? Because now, I'm going the wrong direction, and it's not going to change anytime soon.

GUPTA: I think bill will agree with me, you look terrific.

O'BRIEN: Well, thank you. You just keep repeating that all day. I'm having a rough day today. What are we talking about tomorrow?

GUPTA: We're going to talk about postpartum depression, an important topic, something that a lot of women do suffer from, and we're going to talk about multiples later on in the week as well.

O'BRIEN: Well, then I'll pay attention for the rest of the week. Sanjay, thank you very much -- Bill.

HEMMER: Soledad, we're going to suck up all week.

O'BRIEN: Thank you. I appreciate that. That would be very nice. Until August would be fine with me.

HEMMER: In a moment here, all the office supplies you can need coming soon to a vending machine near you. It's happening, a new business venture. We'll get to it with Andy, right after this here, on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: All righty. Welcome back.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Got a new $50 bill and a preview of the markets. Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business."

Let me see that $50, will you?

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Going through your wallet to find some of those big boys. All right, let's talk about the market. The Dow was down 28 points. Other indices followed suit. Kind of tepid trading on Wall Street these days, Jack, as we wind down a successful earnings season. A couple of economic reports due out at 10:00 on consumer confidence and home sales, but everything is pretty much all systems go in the economy these days.

CAFFERTY: We got a little concerns about the geopolitical situation, keeping a lid on the markets. SERWER: We do that, and inflation as well.

Let's talk about that new $50 bill, though. You know what today is? April 27th. In 1822, Ulysses S. Grant was born.

CAFFERTY: Really?

SERWER: Yes, today is the anniversary of his birthday. So a good day to discuss the new $50 bill, which will be rolling out this fall. Treasury introducing it in Fort Worth, Texas, yesterday.

That's a lot of money.

The colors of this new bill are -- you'll be happy to hear this, Jack -- red, blue and yellow. Somehow I don't think old U.S. Grant will be too pleased with that.

CAFFERTY: Who decides this?

SERWER: I don't know, they're very colorful at the Treasury Department these days, and maybe a little too colorful for Jack it seems sometimes.

Ulysses S. Grant, he was born Hyrum Ulysses Grant, OK, and then he changed his name to Ulysses. His congressman, when he was appointed to West Point, made a mistake, put his mother's maiden name in there, Ulysses Simpson Grant. He said, that works, U.S. Grant, and then he sort of took the name and ran with it.

CAFFERTY: Ulysses used to have a taste occasionally.

SERWER: He did. And there's this big tomb here in Manhattan, where I think he's buried.

CAFFERTY: He is.

SERWER: You know how that works.

You want to do this thing here about quick signage?

Yes, Kinko and FedEx. FedEx bought Kinkos in February for $2.4 billion. Now they're going to be spending more money on signage. Get this, $25 million to change the name of Kinko's to FedEx Kinko's Office and Print Center -- $25 million.

CAFFERTY: That's too short, they need something longer.

SERWER: That rolls of the tongue, doesn't it. Why don't they just put up a sign that says "Official FedEx Shipping Center," you know, just get a manager to get a manage marker.

CAFFERTY: Just leave it Kinko's.

SERWER: I know, and it's a brand name that name people know.

CAFFERTY: Yes, it's got some brand name recognition. SERWER: Just like us, right?

CAFFERTY: They should call us for advice. We could do a little consulting on the side.

SERWER: Oh, we could. We sure could.

CAFFERTY: Time now for the Cafferty File. America cannot get seem to enough of the Hilton family. I can, but the rest of America can't. Kathy Hilton, the mother of Paris and Nicky, which qualifies her for combat ribbons of some kind, I would guess, is the latest Hilton to get her own reality show. "The Good Life" will air on NBC. It described as a real life "My Fair Lady," following the success of "The Simple Life," starring the daughters. Hilton will coach 10 women on how to mingle with the rich and famous. The winner gets a chance to live at the Waldorf Astoria here in New York for a year, and maybe get a job in fashion or in publishing. Looking forward to that.

All right, if you shell out $112,000, you can get your kid through Villanova University. And then on graduation day, the actor who plays Big Bird on "Sesame Street" will be the commencement speaker. That's coming up May 16th.

SERWER: Didn't one our producers, Eva, go there?

CAFFERTY: I think she did. Ask her about it. Now she's running a large part of this program. That speaks volumes.

No Villanova's a very fine school, but why the hell would you have Big Bird as the commencement speaker? Carol Spinney wrote "The Wisdom of Big Bird," will not be speaking in costume, we're told, but will get an honorary degree. A university spokeswoman said Spinney a role model for their mission to improve society, and the school's president called him -- quote -- "a world class educator." Students, however, not pleased with the choice. And I've got to tell you, If I had blown 115 grand to get a degree there, I don't want Big Bird as my...

SERWER: I'd want Elmo.

O'BRIEN: I'm a fan of big bird.

SERWER: No, I'd want Elmo.

CAFFERTY: There you go.

And finally, If you are concerned about spiraling rent costs, you may want to move to Moscow. The United States, this is an absolutely true story, is paying $3 a year rent for this place. This is the ambassador's residence, according to the Interfax News Agency. The rent for the house was set in 1985, and since then, the Soviet Union collapsed, the ruble lost 99.9 percent of its value, and an embassy spokesman said when the lease was negotiated, Soviet officials insisted there would be no provision for a change in the value of the currency.

O'BRIEN: I've been there.

HEMMER: Have you?

O'BRIEN: Yes.

HEMMER: It looks wonderful.

O'BRIEN: When I was traveling with the first lady. Yes, it's worth more than $3. It's incredible. I mean, it's not even a house. It's an estate.

SERWER: Mansion.

O'BRIEN: Giant thing, yes.

HEMMER: Pretty good business decision made by the Russians, huh?

CAFFERTY: Apparently.

SERWER: Backfired. Backfired is what you would say.

O'BRIEN: All right, Jack. Two thumbs up on the file today. Yes, I like it.

CAFFERTY: Well, thank you.

O'BRIEN: You're welcome. Any time.

CAFFERTY: I'm in enough trouble with Chicago. I love Chicago. It's the woman in the mayor's press office I don't like.

SERWER: Not her again.

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, fighting forces, another delay in coalition plans in restive Iraqi city of Fallujah. That and the rest of the details out of Iraq are just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: In a moment, the decision of service expected today from a pair of military sisters who know the risks in Iraq better than most. Back in a moment with their story and potential decision, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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