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American Morning

'Gimme a Minute'; 'Paging Dr. Gupta'

Aired May 14, 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. In just a few minutes, we're going to look into questions going around about Senator John Kerry's campaign strategy. Why does he seem to have so much trouble making gains in the polls, while at the same time, the president's approval ratings are falling?
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also this hour, bravery in a childproof bottle. Sanjay reports on an interesting pill that psychiatrists are using to battle their deepest fears. Interesting. We'll get to that in a moment.

O'BRIEN: Also this morning, new numbers on the economy out. Andy Serwer with the latest figures on the CPI.

Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Indeed. Inflation for the month of April up .2 percent in April. That's less than expected. Good news on the economic front. Inflation up .5 percent in March. So the rate of inflation actually declined a bit in April. So that's good news. We'll probably be watching the markets respond to that, but I would imagine it would be a positive one on Wall Street this morning.

O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thanks a lot. Appreciate that.

Let's get right to our top stories this morning as well. Top U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer has reportedly said the U.S. would not stay in Iraq if it was not welcomed there. The Associated Press reports that Bremer said Americans would pull out from Iraq if the new government asked the U.S. to leave. However, he added that he thinks such a move would be unlikely. The provisional government is set to take control on June 30th.

A U.S. soldier has detailed his account about alleged abuses at Abu Ghraib Prison. The new claims come from specialist Jeremy Sivits, the first soldier schedule for court martial this Wednesday. According to published reports, Sivits told investigators that guards appeared to be enjoying abusing the inmates. Attorneys for some of the other accused soldiers say that Sivits' account is just part of a plea agreement with the government.

There may be a bizarre link between Nicholas Berg, the American who was beheaded in Iraq, and Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person who has been charged in the U.S. in connection with the September 11th terrorist attacks. The FBI apparently questioned Nick Berg two years ago after finding his e-mail address was used by an acquaintance of Moussaoui, but the two apparently never met. Meantime, the CIA now says there was a high probability that Berg's murder was, in fact, carried out by terrorist Abu Musab Al Zarqawi.

In health news, a new study suggests that breast feeding may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease for infants later in life. According to British scientists, a greater proportion of human milk intake was linked with lower ratios of LBL to HDL cholesterol. That ratio, good to bad cholesterol, is said to be an indicator for those who are at high risk of a heart attack.

And at the Cannes Film Festival, Brad Pitt and his new film "Troy" making a big splash out there. Pitt and his wife, Jennifer Aniston, were on hand to promote the nearly 200 million dollar epic. Brad Pitt reportedly received $17.5 million for his role as Achilles.

HEMMER: How much do you think for Achilles got for that so many years ago? It's going to do well, I think, this weekend.

O'BRIEN: You do? How well? What's your prediction?

HEMMER: More than $50 million, I'd say. I think so. People are really hyped for this thing. It's on every newspaper, every time you open it. So the publicity machine is out there. We'll see what happens after that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: If you are keeping the score at home, you know it's Friday. That means time for our "Gimme a Minute," our panel yet again. In D.C., Jonah Goldberg, with the National Review Online.

Jonah, happy Friday to you, and good morning.

JONAH GOLDBERG, NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE: Thanks, Bill.

HEMMER: And good morning, Donna Brazile, Democratic strategist, CNN political contributor. Happy Friday to you.

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POL. CONTRIBUTOR: Happy Friday to you also.

HEMMER: Thank you much for that.

And Andy Borowitz from "The New Yorker" here in New York City.

Jonah, let's start with you. The additional photos of Iraqi prison abuse, the debate is out there. Should more be released or not, Jonah?

GOLDBERG: I think absolutely not. It's the definition of gratuitous. God himself could order Congress to investigate this story more, and there's nothing any more Congress could do. The photos will only inflame and shed heat, not light.

HEMMER: Republican John Warner agrees with a Democrat, Chuck Schumer, on this issue, don't put them out there. Donna, how do you feel?

BRAZILE: Well, normally, I'm for full disclosure, but after seeing the first round of pictures, no more. I think we should hold them, make sure that we're not violating the Geneva Convention, and just continue to investigate this until we find out who's in charge.

HEMMER: Tough to tread on this one, Andy. Give it a shot.

ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": There's apparently some really bad footage coming out this weekend. I think it's called "Troy."

HEMMER: We'll see how many people see that this weekend.

On the campaign trail -- Donna, I want to start with you on this topic -- yesterday, John Kerry was talking about health care. Some say he should be talking about Iraq. But the bottom line is, the suggestion is that the Democratic candidate cannot even buy a headline. Does that concern you in May?

BRAZILE: Well, you know, John Kerry is making headlines where it matters most in local newspapers and on local TV stations. So yes, he should continue to talk about bread and butter issues, especially since 44 millions of Americans are without health insurance.

HEMMER: I thought you were going to say it's a right wing conspiracy. Almost got you -- Jonah.

GOLDBERG: Actually, I think Kerry is kind of doing the smart thing. The funny irony of this campaign right now is that Iraq is turning out to be a bad issue for Bush, but it's not becoming a good issue for Kerry. Whenever he talks about it, he sounds bad. He should stick to health care and bread and butter issues for Democrats for a while.

HEMMER: What's your polling telling you, Andy?

BOROWITZ: I don't know what he's doing. I just saw one of his ads, where he says, I am John Kerry and I may or may not approve of this message.

HEMMER: Cute.

To the skies and beyond, going to go off the charts a little bit here. Earlier in the week, the Mexican air force reports that 11 lights caught by the Mexican air force could be an unidentified flying object, UFO.

Jonah, where your on this? Are you dubious, or are you a believer?

GOLDBERG: Well, if they can't identify them and they're flying, then they are unidentified flying objects.

HEMMER: Correct, that fits the definition, you are right. GOLDBERG: Look, we all knew Ross Perot and Dennis Kucinich were against NAFTA. My guess is that the Martian generals are calling in airstrikes.

HEMMER: That's nice -- Donna.

BRAZILE: I think it's Dick Cheney trying to find another secure location to vacation this summer. I also believe that it may be a right wing conspiracy that we're now getting these photos.

HEMMER: We're two for two -- Andy.

BOROWITZ: Bill, that was the cast of "Friends." Their work here is done.

HEMMER: Under the radar, Donna, what did we miss this past week?

BRAZILE: Well, some of the Capitol Hill newspapers reported that although George Bush supports the renewal of the assault weapons ban, he can't get his friends on Capitol Hill to support him, so they're running out the clock again.

HEMMER: Jonah, what about you?

GOLDBERG: The U.N., which has been promising a full investigation and open doors on the oil-for-food scandal has been sending out letters to its contractors, telling them that if anybody talks about the oil-for-food program, they'll get sued.

HEMMER: Not going away just yet -- Andy.

BOROWITZ: Bill, President Bush asked Congress for $25 billion for Iraq, and a books-on-tape version of the Geneva Conventions.

HEMMER: True story.

For my money, we talked about it a little bit yesterday. The Iraqi soccer team making the summer games in Athens. One soldier told General Meyers yesterday, he has yet to see the Iraqi people happier than after when that news broke. So we'll leave it there.

Thanks to all three. Donna, Jonah, Andy, have a great weekend. So long -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Certainly there is something to be said for winning the lottery and living your dream, but according to an Emory University study, the key to real happiness, believe it or not, is working for that money. Researchers say the brain is more stimulated in its pleasure center by earning the money, versus getting it for nothing.

Dr. Gregory Berns is an associate professor of psychiatry at Emory University, conductors of the study. He joins us from the CNN Center to talk a little bit about these somewhat surprising conclusions, I think it's fair to say.

Nice to see you, doctor. Thanks for being with us. DR. GREGORY BERNS, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Any theories on why this is the case from your study? I mean, I got to tell you if you were to poll most people here, they'd tell you they'd be perfectly happy in their pleasure center to win Powerball.

BERNS: Well, they'd be mistaken. The data and the psychological literature has shown that people who win lotteries are not really that much happier a year after they win the lottery.

Now what we did was we used brain imaging, a technique based on magnetic resonance imaging, a standard MRI scanner, and we looked at what happens in the brain when people play a simple computer game, and we give them rewards in terms of dollar bills, and we looked at it when they played the game and they had to work for the money.

So in one case, they actually were playing a game and getting dollar bills regardless of what they did. And in the other case, they actually had to take the money, kind of dangling in front of them, and bank it, if you will.

O'BRIEN: What did those brain scans show in those two different groups of brains, the people who were working for the money and those who got the money no matter what they did?

BERNS: Well, there's a particular part of the brain right in the center of the brain known as the nucleus accumbents (ph), and this is an area that is heavily fed by dopamine, a so-called pleasure neurotransmitter. Now for decades, people have thought of this area as a pleasure center. Now if it was just about pleasure, then it wouldn't matter whether they were working for the money or not. But in fact, this part of the brain was really only active after they had to do something to get that little dollar bill, even if it was a pretend dollar bill or whether it was a real dollar bill. I mean, it was a very small task, but it makes a big difference when you have to work for it.

O'BRIEN: Were you surprised by these findings?

BERNS: Well, a little bit. But to tell you the truth, the brain is not really designed to sit around and wait for fortunes to fall in its lap. I mean, every other animal out in the world has to go and get its rewards, and people are no different.

O'BRIEN: Did you find a correlation between the type of work people had to do? For example, if you're doing, like, thinking work like solving puzzles, where there might be a bigger reward because you figured it out versus drudge work, having to accomplish task a, task b, task c?

BERNS: Well, that's an excellent question. And I don't think anyone knows the answer to that yet. The type of work could make a big difference, but maybe not. This was a very simple task.

O'BRIEN: Is the goal down the road to really see the impact that drugs might have on the brain's pleasure center. Is that part of your research here, and how does it tie in?

BERNS: Well, that's one application. Part of the research is just to understand how the brain is rewarded, what motivates us. Now it turns out this part of the brain is also the part of the brain that all drugs of abuse act on. So things from heroin to cocaine act directly on this part of the brain. So we figure by trying to understand it, we'll understand drug abuse and how to help people with that problem.

O'BRIEN: It's a fascinating study. Dr. Gregory Berns joining us this morning from Emory University.

Nice to see you, sir. Thanks for being with us -- Bill.

BERNS: Thank you.

HEMMER: About 18 minutes before the hour, Soledad. In a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING, what are you afraid of, and could a pill help ease your fear?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE; As long as I remember being an adult, I remember being afraid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: In a moment, Sanjay on a little pill that's helping some people battle big phobias. Back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Can a small pill help people overcome some of their biggest fears?

As Dr. Sanjay Gupta tell us, a drug normally used to treat tuberculosis appears to be doing just that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Fears. Television shows prey on them, and according to the surgeon general, 16 million Americans suffer from some kind of phobia. Most people learn their fear. But what if a little pill could help unlearn them?

For 30 years, Beth Cox has been terrified of heights.

BETH COX, HAS FEAR OF HEIGHTS: As long as I remember being an adult, I remember being afraid.

GUPTA: Tall bridges, mountains and elevators, anything high, they all stopped her cold.

COX: I am hyperventilating, I am crying, my hands are shaking, my legs are shaking -- I was scared to death.

GUPTA: Tired of it, Beth joined a medical trial in Atlanta.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go on up to the ninth floor.

GUPTA: Beth was part of a small story that focused on the fear of heights. It involved a virtual reality elevator, combined with a little pill called depyschoslarin (ph). The drug, already approved to combat tuberculosis, seemed to also affect the brain's fear center.

Dr. Michael Davis, a psychiatry professor at Emory University conducted the study and found patients who took the drug before therapy, actually unlearned their fears faster.

MICHAEL DAVIS, EMORY UNIV.: What this medication seems to do is to speed up or improve your ability to get over your fear.

COX: I feel great.

GUPTA: Beth took one pill a few hours before her therapy, and after only two sessions, instead of the normal seven or eight, was able to unlearn her fear of heights, going all the way to the top floor on the simulated elevator.

And once you are done with therapy, you are also done with the pill.

Not everyone is sold on the idea of the medication, however. Some experts believe therapy alone is still the most effective. Researchers caution depyschoslarin (ph) only works when combined with exposure therapy.

For Beth Cox, it gave her the courage to go to great heights.

COX: OK, I don't love it, but I can do it. I don't have to like it, but I know I'm safe.

I can probably even stay on one of these floors.

GUPTA: Thanks to therapy, she is able to take long looks down.

(on camera): A commonly prescribed fear factor probably won't be prescribed for two to five years, but based on this small study, it does appear safe and holds promising for those with phobias, and for the psychiatrists trying to treat them.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: And don't forget Sanjay's "WEEKEND HOUSE CALL." He'll be talking more about fighting phobias. That's on Saturday morning, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, 5:30 Pacific -- Bill.

HEMMER: I think he's going to do that by way of videotape this weekend.

In a moment here, is Sears moving into Wal-Mart territory? Andy explains that in a moment, on AMERICAN MORNING.

Back with Andy and Jack, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody -- to Jack.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: New inflation numbers out today, plus Sears breaking out and moving into new territory. Only it's not really new territory. They did this once before.

Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business."

Good morning.

SERWER: Good morning to you.

Years ago, Sears did this, Jack.

Let's talk about this inflation stuff. I want to get a little wonky here for one second, so bear with me. Inflation for the month of April is up .3 percent, three-tents of one percent. The core was up .2 percent, less than the .3 percent, right? That excludes energy and food prices. How is that lower? We all know gas prices have been going up like crazy. Well, let's remember, in April, actually, gas prices went down a little bit, plateaued. So in other words, they went up a lot in March, plateaued in April, and now they are going up like crazy in May. So it's a little bit of an aberration. That's why the market's not really responding to this, because as we all know, Jack, gas prices have been soaring as of late.

CAFFERTY: And no sign of slowing down. So the CPI will be higher next month.

SERWER: That's probably right.

CAFFERTY: Now what's this thing with Sears? There's nothing new under the sun, I suppose, but they have come up with this idea.

SERWER: That seems rather novel to them, maybe, or to some people. I don't know. We all know that Sears has been in malls for many years now. But what Jack is alluding to, is before they were malls, Sears was a stand-alone entity, and the world's largest store out of Chicago, over 100 years old.

But now, how do you compete with Wal-Mart? Which of course is a stand-alone operation. Well, Sears is going back the stand-alone store, calling it Sears Grand. They have a couple of them open, and they're rolling out a few more in Las Vegas, also in Austin, and also one of my favorite places in the United States, Rancho Cucamonga, California. Yes, indeed.

Now these stores are going to be bigger, and they're going to have a lot of things that Wal-Marts have, like food operations, pantry banks, a cafe, CDs, DVDs, because now Sears, you know, they kind of reduced it so they've only got appliances, clothes and that sort of thing. So...

(AUDIO GAP)

SERWER: ... moving itself into the 21st century, as they've hired a Hollywood agent. That's right, Sears has hired a Hollywood agent to do a little product placement, get themselves in movies. And a like to say, the new "Austin Powers" movie, Austin Powers is going to go, hey, I think I'm going to go to Sears. Remember how we did that with the Heineken? The Heineken and don't touch my Heiny, remember we had talked about that?

CAFFERTY: I remember that.

SERWER: Good, I'm glad you remember that.

It's time now for the Cafferty File.

So there's two guys working in a warehouse in Ukraine, and they decide to take a break, have a smoke. And while they're smoking their cigarette, they start a tiny little fire, which is no big thing, except the warehouse had 92,000 tons of artillery shells in it. Well, the fire eventually touched off this little explosion, which destroyed buildings for two miles around, including a railroad station. Seven thousand people had to be evacuated from their homes. Total damage, $725 million. Flying debris was found all over the place, all from a cigarette break. Reasons to quit.

Video of the day belongs to another teenage girl who should never have been allowed near a car. This 15-year-old stole her parent's car, runs away from home. Of course she takes her cell phone with her, which is how the police track her down. This is the police video here -- 105 miles an hour before all the four tires blow, and eventually she and her two friends run the car off the road and into whatever that is, a lake, river.

SERWER: Into the drink.

CAFFERTY: Nobody was hurt in this, until she got home presumably. And then we don't know, but it could have gotten ugly.

O'BRIEN: One-hundred and five miles an hour?

CAFFERTY: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Wow.

CAFFERTY: Got to be pretty fast.

You are on a transoceanic flight. The plane is absolutely full, not an empty seat anyplace, and suddenly, the person next to you drops dead, and it's hours to go before you land. What happens then? Singapore airlines has figured out how to deal with what could be described as an awkward problem, an in-flight death. It's call the corpse cover. The airline staff say the first option is always to clear a passenger row for the corpse, but if there's no room, no seats available, the stiff will then be put into the overhead compartment, right along with those fresh bagels you're taking to your friend in London. The corpse cover.

SERWER: How often does that happen?

CAFFERTY: Well, what are you going to do? I mean, you can't just let them sit there and bloat up.

O'BRIEN: I know, but why would you have a policy on this? I mean...

CAFFERTY: The thing to do, though, is to steal that person's in- flight meal before they discover that he's dead.

SERWER: Are you going to finish that?

CAFFERTY: Yes, I'm going to finish that.

O'BRIEN: They do that on cruises, too, and I guess because a lot of elderly people take cruises.

CAFFERTY: Well, on cruises, you can just throw them over the side.

O'BRIEN: No, they put them in the freezer.

CAFFERTY: Oh, they put them in the freezer, along with...

SERWER: That's like anchorage.

CAFFERTY: Along with the steak.

O'BRIEN: They put them in the overhead compartment?

CAFFERTY: Corpse cupboard.

HEMMER: Get one today at your local Sears.

SERWER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Wow, I'm quite shocked. Thank you, Jack. Very interesting.

CAFFERTY: That's the purpose of the file, is to enlighten.

O'BRIEN: And shock.

SERWER: Entertain, too.

O'BRIEN: I hear you. It worked today.

Still to come this morning, a day after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visits the Abu Ghraib Prison, a change in the population there. We'll explain ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired May 14, 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. In just a few minutes, we're going to look into questions going around about Senator John Kerry's campaign strategy. Why does he seem to have so much trouble making gains in the polls, while at the same time, the president's approval ratings are falling?
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also this hour, bravery in a childproof bottle. Sanjay reports on an interesting pill that psychiatrists are using to battle their deepest fears. Interesting. We'll get to that in a moment.

O'BRIEN: Also this morning, new numbers on the economy out. Andy Serwer with the latest figures on the CPI.

Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Indeed. Inflation for the month of April up .2 percent in April. That's less than expected. Good news on the economic front. Inflation up .5 percent in March. So the rate of inflation actually declined a bit in April. So that's good news. We'll probably be watching the markets respond to that, but I would imagine it would be a positive one on Wall Street this morning.

O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thanks a lot. Appreciate that.

Let's get right to our top stories this morning as well. Top U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer has reportedly said the U.S. would not stay in Iraq if it was not welcomed there. The Associated Press reports that Bremer said Americans would pull out from Iraq if the new government asked the U.S. to leave. However, he added that he thinks such a move would be unlikely. The provisional government is set to take control on June 30th.

A U.S. soldier has detailed his account about alleged abuses at Abu Ghraib Prison. The new claims come from specialist Jeremy Sivits, the first soldier schedule for court martial this Wednesday. According to published reports, Sivits told investigators that guards appeared to be enjoying abusing the inmates. Attorneys for some of the other accused soldiers say that Sivits' account is just part of a plea agreement with the government.

There may be a bizarre link between Nicholas Berg, the American who was beheaded in Iraq, and Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person who has been charged in the U.S. in connection with the September 11th terrorist attacks. The FBI apparently questioned Nick Berg two years ago after finding his e-mail address was used by an acquaintance of Moussaoui, but the two apparently never met. Meantime, the CIA now says there was a high probability that Berg's murder was, in fact, carried out by terrorist Abu Musab Al Zarqawi.

In health news, a new study suggests that breast feeding may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease for infants later in life. According to British scientists, a greater proportion of human milk intake was linked with lower ratios of LBL to HDL cholesterol. That ratio, good to bad cholesterol, is said to be an indicator for those who are at high risk of a heart attack.

And at the Cannes Film Festival, Brad Pitt and his new film "Troy" making a big splash out there. Pitt and his wife, Jennifer Aniston, were on hand to promote the nearly 200 million dollar epic. Brad Pitt reportedly received $17.5 million for his role as Achilles.

HEMMER: How much do you think for Achilles got for that so many years ago? It's going to do well, I think, this weekend.

O'BRIEN: You do? How well? What's your prediction?

HEMMER: More than $50 million, I'd say. I think so. People are really hyped for this thing. It's on every newspaper, every time you open it. So the publicity machine is out there. We'll see what happens after that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: If you are keeping the score at home, you know it's Friday. That means time for our "Gimme a Minute," our panel yet again. In D.C., Jonah Goldberg, with the National Review Online.

Jonah, happy Friday to you, and good morning.

JONAH GOLDBERG, NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE: Thanks, Bill.

HEMMER: And good morning, Donna Brazile, Democratic strategist, CNN political contributor. Happy Friday to you.

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POL. CONTRIBUTOR: Happy Friday to you also.

HEMMER: Thank you much for that.

And Andy Borowitz from "The New Yorker" here in New York City.

Jonah, let's start with you. The additional photos of Iraqi prison abuse, the debate is out there. Should more be released or not, Jonah?

GOLDBERG: I think absolutely not. It's the definition of gratuitous. God himself could order Congress to investigate this story more, and there's nothing any more Congress could do. The photos will only inflame and shed heat, not light.

HEMMER: Republican John Warner agrees with a Democrat, Chuck Schumer, on this issue, don't put them out there. Donna, how do you feel?

BRAZILE: Well, normally, I'm for full disclosure, but after seeing the first round of pictures, no more. I think we should hold them, make sure that we're not violating the Geneva Convention, and just continue to investigate this until we find out who's in charge.

HEMMER: Tough to tread on this one, Andy. Give it a shot.

ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": There's apparently some really bad footage coming out this weekend. I think it's called "Troy."

HEMMER: We'll see how many people see that this weekend.

On the campaign trail -- Donna, I want to start with you on this topic -- yesterday, John Kerry was talking about health care. Some say he should be talking about Iraq. But the bottom line is, the suggestion is that the Democratic candidate cannot even buy a headline. Does that concern you in May?

BRAZILE: Well, you know, John Kerry is making headlines where it matters most in local newspapers and on local TV stations. So yes, he should continue to talk about bread and butter issues, especially since 44 millions of Americans are without health insurance.

HEMMER: I thought you were going to say it's a right wing conspiracy. Almost got you -- Jonah.

GOLDBERG: Actually, I think Kerry is kind of doing the smart thing. The funny irony of this campaign right now is that Iraq is turning out to be a bad issue for Bush, but it's not becoming a good issue for Kerry. Whenever he talks about it, he sounds bad. He should stick to health care and bread and butter issues for Democrats for a while.

HEMMER: What's your polling telling you, Andy?

BOROWITZ: I don't know what he's doing. I just saw one of his ads, where he says, I am John Kerry and I may or may not approve of this message.

HEMMER: Cute.

To the skies and beyond, going to go off the charts a little bit here. Earlier in the week, the Mexican air force reports that 11 lights caught by the Mexican air force could be an unidentified flying object, UFO.

Jonah, where your on this? Are you dubious, or are you a believer?

GOLDBERG: Well, if they can't identify them and they're flying, then they are unidentified flying objects.

HEMMER: Correct, that fits the definition, you are right. GOLDBERG: Look, we all knew Ross Perot and Dennis Kucinich were against NAFTA. My guess is that the Martian generals are calling in airstrikes.

HEMMER: That's nice -- Donna.

BRAZILE: I think it's Dick Cheney trying to find another secure location to vacation this summer. I also believe that it may be a right wing conspiracy that we're now getting these photos.

HEMMER: We're two for two -- Andy.

BOROWITZ: Bill, that was the cast of "Friends." Their work here is done.

HEMMER: Under the radar, Donna, what did we miss this past week?

BRAZILE: Well, some of the Capitol Hill newspapers reported that although George Bush supports the renewal of the assault weapons ban, he can't get his friends on Capitol Hill to support him, so they're running out the clock again.

HEMMER: Jonah, what about you?

GOLDBERG: The U.N., which has been promising a full investigation and open doors on the oil-for-food scandal has been sending out letters to its contractors, telling them that if anybody talks about the oil-for-food program, they'll get sued.

HEMMER: Not going away just yet -- Andy.

BOROWITZ: Bill, President Bush asked Congress for $25 billion for Iraq, and a books-on-tape version of the Geneva Conventions.

HEMMER: True story.

For my money, we talked about it a little bit yesterday. The Iraqi soccer team making the summer games in Athens. One soldier told General Meyers yesterday, he has yet to see the Iraqi people happier than after when that news broke. So we'll leave it there.

Thanks to all three. Donna, Jonah, Andy, have a great weekend. So long -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Certainly there is something to be said for winning the lottery and living your dream, but according to an Emory University study, the key to real happiness, believe it or not, is working for that money. Researchers say the brain is more stimulated in its pleasure center by earning the money, versus getting it for nothing.

Dr. Gregory Berns is an associate professor of psychiatry at Emory University, conductors of the study. He joins us from the CNN Center to talk a little bit about these somewhat surprising conclusions, I think it's fair to say.

Nice to see you, doctor. Thanks for being with us. DR. GREGORY BERNS, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Any theories on why this is the case from your study? I mean, I got to tell you if you were to poll most people here, they'd tell you they'd be perfectly happy in their pleasure center to win Powerball.

BERNS: Well, they'd be mistaken. The data and the psychological literature has shown that people who win lotteries are not really that much happier a year after they win the lottery.

Now what we did was we used brain imaging, a technique based on magnetic resonance imaging, a standard MRI scanner, and we looked at what happens in the brain when people play a simple computer game, and we give them rewards in terms of dollar bills, and we looked at it when they played the game and they had to work for the money.

So in one case, they actually were playing a game and getting dollar bills regardless of what they did. And in the other case, they actually had to take the money, kind of dangling in front of them, and bank it, if you will.

O'BRIEN: What did those brain scans show in those two different groups of brains, the people who were working for the money and those who got the money no matter what they did?

BERNS: Well, there's a particular part of the brain right in the center of the brain known as the nucleus accumbents (ph), and this is an area that is heavily fed by dopamine, a so-called pleasure neurotransmitter. Now for decades, people have thought of this area as a pleasure center. Now if it was just about pleasure, then it wouldn't matter whether they were working for the money or not. But in fact, this part of the brain was really only active after they had to do something to get that little dollar bill, even if it was a pretend dollar bill or whether it was a real dollar bill. I mean, it was a very small task, but it makes a big difference when you have to work for it.

O'BRIEN: Were you surprised by these findings?

BERNS: Well, a little bit. But to tell you the truth, the brain is not really designed to sit around and wait for fortunes to fall in its lap. I mean, every other animal out in the world has to go and get its rewards, and people are no different.

O'BRIEN: Did you find a correlation between the type of work people had to do? For example, if you're doing, like, thinking work like solving puzzles, where there might be a bigger reward because you figured it out versus drudge work, having to accomplish task a, task b, task c?

BERNS: Well, that's an excellent question. And I don't think anyone knows the answer to that yet. The type of work could make a big difference, but maybe not. This was a very simple task.

O'BRIEN: Is the goal down the road to really see the impact that drugs might have on the brain's pleasure center. Is that part of your research here, and how does it tie in?

BERNS: Well, that's one application. Part of the research is just to understand how the brain is rewarded, what motivates us. Now it turns out this part of the brain is also the part of the brain that all drugs of abuse act on. So things from heroin to cocaine act directly on this part of the brain. So we figure by trying to understand it, we'll understand drug abuse and how to help people with that problem.

O'BRIEN: It's a fascinating study. Dr. Gregory Berns joining us this morning from Emory University.

Nice to see you, sir. Thanks for being with us -- Bill.

BERNS: Thank you.

HEMMER: About 18 minutes before the hour, Soledad. In a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING, what are you afraid of, and could a pill help ease your fear?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE; As long as I remember being an adult, I remember being afraid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: In a moment, Sanjay on a little pill that's helping some people battle big phobias. Back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Can a small pill help people overcome some of their biggest fears?

As Dr. Sanjay Gupta tell us, a drug normally used to treat tuberculosis appears to be doing just that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Fears. Television shows prey on them, and according to the surgeon general, 16 million Americans suffer from some kind of phobia. Most people learn their fear. But what if a little pill could help unlearn them?

For 30 years, Beth Cox has been terrified of heights.

BETH COX, HAS FEAR OF HEIGHTS: As long as I remember being an adult, I remember being afraid.

GUPTA: Tall bridges, mountains and elevators, anything high, they all stopped her cold.

COX: I am hyperventilating, I am crying, my hands are shaking, my legs are shaking -- I was scared to death.

GUPTA: Tired of it, Beth joined a medical trial in Atlanta.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go on up to the ninth floor.

GUPTA: Beth was part of a small story that focused on the fear of heights. It involved a virtual reality elevator, combined with a little pill called depyschoslarin (ph). The drug, already approved to combat tuberculosis, seemed to also affect the brain's fear center.

Dr. Michael Davis, a psychiatry professor at Emory University conducted the study and found patients who took the drug before therapy, actually unlearned their fears faster.

MICHAEL DAVIS, EMORY UNIV.: What this medication seems to do is to speed up or improve your ability to get over your fear.

COX: I feel great.

GUPTA: Beth took one pill a few hours before her therapy, and after only two sessions, instead of the normal seven or eight, was able to unlearn her fear of heights, going all the way to the top floor on the simulated elevator.

And once you are done with therapy, you are also done with the pill.

Not everyone is sold on the idea of the medication, however. Some experts believe therapy alone is still the most effective. Researchers caution depyschoslarin (ph) only works when combined with exposure therapy.

For Beth Cox, it gave her the courage to go to great heights.

COX: OK, I don't love it, but I can do it. I don't have to like it, but I know I'm safe.

I can probably even stay on one of these floors.

GUPTA: Thanks to therapy, she is able to take long looks down.

(on camera): A commonly prescribed fear factor probably won't be prescribed for two to five years, but based on this small study, it does appear safe and holds promising for those with phobias, and for the psychiatrists trying to treat them.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: And don't forget Sanjay's "WEEKEND HOUSE CALL." He'll be talking more about fighting phobias. That's on Saturday morning, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, 5:30 Pacific -- Bill.

HEMMER: I think he's going to do that by way of videotape this weekend.

In a moment here, is Sears moving into Wal-Mart territory? Andy explains that in a moment, on AMERICAN MORNING.

Back with Andy and Jack, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody -- to Jack.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: New inflation numbers out today, plus Sears breaking out and moving into new territory. Only it's not really new territory. They did this once before.

Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business."

Good morning.

SERWER: Good morning to you.

Years ago, Sears did this, Jack.

Let's talk about this inflation stuff. I want to get a little wonky here for one second, so bear with me. Inflation for the month of April is up .3 percent, three-tents of one percent. The core was up .2 percent, less than the .3 percent, right? That excludes energy and food prices. How is that lower? We all know gas prices have been going up like crazy. Well, let's remember, in April, actually, gas prices went down a little bit, plateaued. So in other words, they went up a lot in March, plateaued in April, and now they are going up like crazy in May. So it's a little bit of an aberration. That's why the market's not really responding to this, because as we all know, Jack, gas prices have been soaring as of late.

CAFFERTY: And no sign of slowing down. So the CPI will be higher next month.

SERWER: That's probably right.

CAFFERTY: Now what's this thing with Sears? There's nothing new under the sun, I suppose, but they have come up with this idea.

SERWER: That seems rather novel to them, maybe, or to some people. I don't know. We all know that Sears has been in malls for many years now. But what Jack is alluding to, is before they were malls, Sears was a stand-alone entity, and the world's largest store out of Chicago, over 100 years old.

But now, how do you compete with Wal-Mart? Which of course is a stand-alone operation. Well, Sears is going back the stand-alone store, calling it Sears Grand. They have a couple of them open, and they're rolling out a few more in Las Vegas, also in Austin, and also one of my favorite places in the United States, Rancho Cucamonga, California. Yes, indeed.

Now these stores are going to be bigger, and they're going to have a lot of things that Wal-Marts have, like food operations, pantry banks, a cafe, CDs, DVDs, because now Sears, you know, they kind of reduced it so they've only got appliances, clothes and that sort of thing. So...

(AUDIO GAP)

SERWER: ... moving itself into the 21st century, as they've hired a Hollywood agent. That's right, Sears has hired a Hollywood agent to do a little product placement, get themselves in movies. And a like to say, the new "Austin Powers" movie, Austin Powers is going to go, hey, I think I'm going to go to Sears. Remember how we did that with the Heineken? The Heineken and don't touch my Heiny, remember we had talked about that?

CAFFERTY: I remember that.

SERWER: Good, I'm glad you remember that.

It's time now for the Cafferty File.

So there's two guys working in a warehouse in Ukraine, and they decide to take a break, have a smoke. And while they're smoking their cigarette, they start a tiny little fire, which is no big thing, except the warehouse had 92,000 tons of artillery shells in it. Well, the fire eventually touched off this little explosion, which destroyed buildings for two miles around, including a railroad station. Seven thousand people had to be evacuated from their homes. Total damage, $725 million. Flying debris was found all over the place, all from a cigarette break. Reasons to quit.

Video of the day belongs to another teenage girl who should never have been allowed near a car. This 15-year-old stole her parent's car, runs away from home. Of course she takes her cell phone with her, which is how the police track her down. This is the police video here -- 105 miles an hour before all the four tires blow, and eventually she and her two friends run the car off the road and into whatever that is, a lake, river.

SERWER: Into the drink.

CAFFERTY: Nobody was hurt in this, until she got home presumably. And then we don't know, but it could have gotten ugly.

O'BRIEN: One-hundred and five miles an hour?

CAFFERTY: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Wow.

CAFFERTY: Got to be pretty fast.

You are on a transoceanic flight. The plane is absolutely full, not an empty seat anyplace, and suddenly, the person next to you drops dead, and it's hours to go before you land. What happens then? Singapore airlines has figured out how to deal with what could be described as an awkward problem, an in-flight death. It's call the corpse cover. The airline staff say the first option is always to clear a passenger row for the corpse, but if there's no room, no seats available, the stiff will then be put into the overhead compartment, right along with those fresh bagels you're taking to your friend in London. The corpse cover.

SERWER: How often does that happen?

CAFFERTY: Well, what are you going to do? I mean, you can't just let them sit there and bloat up.

O'BRIEN: I know, but why would you have a policy on this? I mean...

CAFFERTY: The thing to do, though, is to steal that person's in- flight meal before they discover that he's dead.

SERWER: Are you going to finish that?

CAFFERTY: Yes, I'm going to finish that.

O'BRIEN: They do that on cruises, too, and I guess because a lot of elderly people take cruises.

CAFFERTY: Well, on cruises, you can just throw them over the side.

O'BRIEN: No, they put them in the freezer.

CAFFERTY: Oh, they put them in the freezer, along with...

SERWER: That's like anchorage.

CAFFERTY: Along with the steak.

O'BRIEN: They put them in the overhead compartment?

CAFFERTY: Corpse cupboard.

HEMMER: Get one today at your local Sears.

SERWER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Wow, I'm quite shocked. Thank you, Jack. Very interesting.

CAFFERTY: That's the purpose of the file, is to enlighten.

O'BRIEN: And shock.

SERWER: Entertain, too.

O'BRIEN: I hear you. It worked today.

Still to come this morning, a day after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visits the Abu Ghraib Prison, a change in the population there. We'll explain ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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