Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
Terror & Politics; Diagnosing Melanoma; A Guy's Wedding Guide; Mr. Bill Campaigns to Save Louisiana Wetlands
Aired May 27, 2004 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: She wakes up as the new "American Idol" this morning. Fantasia edged Diana DeGarmo by a slim margin out of 65 million votes cast. She gets a recording contract and instant fame.
And now to what you might call the ultimate reality show, the heated competition to choose an American president. Democrat John Kerry is launching an 11-day focus on national security against the backdrop of new terror warnings.
Judy Woodruff has the campaign headlines from Washington.
Judy, good morning.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.
Well Senator Kerry lays out his vision for a stronger and more secure America about an hour and a half from now in Seattle. Look for his speech to be punctuated by criticism of President Bush's foreign policy. The Bush camp is again accusing Kerry of playing politics with national security, after the senator questioned the administration's commitment to protecting potential terrorist targets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Why is it that our trains and other forms of transportation don't have the protection that we know would make us safer? Why is it that chemical plants and nuclear facilities still don't have the plans in place and the protections in place that are necessary? We deserve a president of the United States who doesn't make homeland security a photo opportunity and the rhetoric of a campaign. We deserve a president who makes America safer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: Meantime, Kerry has decided that he will formally accept the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in Boston. The campaign had floated the idea of delaying Kerry's acceptance to level the financial playing field until the president accepts his party's nomination five weeks later.
President Bush splits his day between official duties and campaigning today. After meeting in Washington this morning with El Salvador's president, the president travels to Nashville, Tennessee. He's expected to tour Vanderbilt's Children's Hospital this afternoon and then attend an evening fund raiser at a Nashville home before returning to Washington.
A new Quinnipiac University poll shows Bush and Kerry in a statistical dead heat. Bush, 43 percent, Kerry, 42. But throw in barbecue and it's a horse race of a different color. The same poll shows that by a 50 to 39 margin, voters would rather join the president for a backyard barbecue.
Well now that Senator Kerry has decided to accept his party's nomination at the July convention, how does he level the campaign cash playing field in August? We'll take a look at some options this afternoon.
Plus, what short-term steps can President Bush take to lower skyrocketing gas prices? I'll speak with Commerce Secretary Don Evans.
All this and much more when I go "INSIDE POLITICS" at 3:30 Eastern. I'll see you then.
All right, back to Daryn in Atlanta.
KAGAN: All right, Judy, more from you much later today.
John Kerry is getting some support for his national security strategy from a former secretary of state. Madeleine Albright says that Kerry is addressing key issues facing the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, I think he is doing a very smart thing, which is basically to explain an overall national security strategy and explain that in fact America is stronger with alliances because they are force multipliers. They don't weaken us, they strengthen us.
He is talking about the necessity of really having a military force that is properly equipped and trained. And he is discussing the importance of not being dependent on Middle East oil and talking about Iraq. So I think he is putting the Iraq mess into an overall context, and I think that is very important for the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Kerry's speech today begins an 11-day focus on national security issues.
Several Democrats are suggesting that the latest terror warnings from the Bush administration are a political scare tactic. Clearly, a new attack could change the dynamics of the presidential race.
Here now is our senior political correspondent Bill Schneider.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Terrorists may believe they can influence the U.S. presidential election by carrying out another attack. Isn't that what happened in Spain?
Experts say Spanish voters did not throw out their government because they were intimidated by the terrorist attack.
DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR: The conservative government after the bombings essentially was seen as lying or trying to cover up who was responsible.
SCHNEIDER: Another terrorist attack on the U.S. would almost certainly boost President Bush's reelection prospects. Americans always rally to their president's support at a time of crisis.
President Bush was at his best after 9/11.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people...
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: ... and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.
SCHNEIDER: For a year after that, President Bush was politically unassailable. His job rating at the end of September 2001 was 90 percent. Eighty-four percent of Democrats supported him. The whole country, the whole world supported President Bush in Afghanistan.
A year later, Bush was still at 67 percent approval, with a majority of Democrats behind him.
Then the Iraq rollout began, and the consensus unraveled. The president's current approval rating: 47 percent and among Democrats, 12.
Bush's advantage is his image as a protector, an avenger. Another terrorist attack would play to his strength.
Ask Americans which candidate, Bush or John Kerry, would better handle terrorism, and the answer is clear: Bush.
This campaign is becoming more and more about national security. Kerry has to establish credibility on that issue.
KERRY: We can make America safer and stronger and more secure than this administration and George Bush is today.
SCHNEIDER: He may be succeeding. Fifty-two percent of Americans say they think John Kerry is a strong leader, and President Bush? Sixty-two percent.
It's still Bush's issue. Another attack would very likely make it even more his issue.
(on camera): Another attack would also generate blame and recriminations. Could the attack have been prevented? Why wasn't the country better prepared? But that happens only after the shock and anger wear off, like now, nearly three years after 9/11.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Former Vice President Al Gore is offering a blistering assessment of the Bush administration policies in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: How dare they subject us to such dishonor and disgrace? How dare they drag the good name of the United States of America through the mud of Saddam Hussein's torture prison?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Yes, that was Al Gore, believe it or not. He spoke before the Political Action Committee Moveon.org, which hopes to raise $50 million to help defeat President Bush.
The Republican National Committee's response to that -- quote -- "Gore's attack demonstrates that he neither -- he either does not understand the threat of global terror, or he has amnesia."
You say that you just don't know what to do with all that hippo sweat? Yes, hippo sweat, sweat from a hippopotamus that you have laying around your house. Well believe it or not, researchers have come up with a use for hippo sweat. It might literally save your own skin. The surprising story coming up next in our 'Daily Dose.'
Part two of our look at one woman's heartbreaking fight against a disease that she thought she had beaten, skin cancer. That is coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Here's one you probably have not heard before. Hippo sweat as a sunscreen? It's not really as silly as it might sound. There's a study in the journal, "Nature," that found that the sweat and mucus that hippos secrete while in the sun might actually protect from harmful UV rays. The chemical structure is similar to compounds used in sunscreens. The red and orange pigment in hippo sweat also helps prevent the growth of bacteria. Sounds like some good stuff there.
Of course, there is always wearing sunscreen. It is one of the ways to protect yourself against melanoma and other forms of skin cancer. In our 'Daily Dose' of health news, medical correspondent Holly Firfer looks at the importance of finding and treating melanoma early before it spreads.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rob and Melissa Cathgart had just moved to Florida when their lives suddenly changed. MELISSA CATHGART: Rob came up out of the water, his hair parted, and I saw something that immediately, something in my mind said that's not right, get him to the doctor.
ROB CATHGART: A spot on the -- right at the part of your hair, far back of your head, and it looked black, black and red.
FIRFER: That spot was melanoma. Even though Rob had seen dermatologists on a regular basis, they didn't catch this. Luckily, Melissa saw that melanoma spot before it spread. After immediate surgery and months of treatment, Rob is cancer free.
Right now, skin cancer detection mainly relies on a patient or a doctor's visual exam, using the ABCDs, looking for asymmetry, border irregularity, color variation and diameter to determine whether a mole might be a melanoma spot.
That is why Dr. Halpern relies on new digital technology to compare a baseline photo to subsequent visits to help notice the subtlest of changes on the skin.
DR. ALLAN HALPERN, MEMORIAL SLOAN-KETTERING: What we're really looking for is a spot that is changing relative to the rest of the patient's moles without waiting for it to look like an obvious cancer.
DON SHAW, DASS SALONS: My daughter was 33 years old when we lost her. She had melanoma.
FIRFER: When Danielle (ph) Shaw discovered the melanoma spot on her back, it was too late. For three years she fought the disease, but lost her life to cancer last March, leaving behind a 10-month-old baby. Her father, Don, says he doesn't want another life wasted by this preventable disease so he started a grassroots program called "You Can Make a Difference." He trains other hairdressers, manicurists and massage therapists to check the body closely for unusual spots in places most clients can't see, like the scalp, behind ears and in between toes.
SHAW: You know as beauty professionals, we're not doctors. We're only the first line of defense of seeing it and getting you to do something about it.
FIRFER: Something that should include seeing a dermatologist. This past year he found spots on 24 clients, all were melanoma. Twenty-three are alive and well. Although his daughter could not be saved...
SHAW: She couldn't believe she didn't win. Melanoma is tough, you know. It's very tough.
FIRFER: She left him with the will to help others.
SHAW: I love you.
FIRFER: Holly Firfer, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: For your 'Daily Dose' of health news online, you can go to CNN.com/health. You'll find the latest medical headlines. There is also a health guide from CNN and the Mayo Clinic.
Guys, the days of just showing up for the wedding, those days are over. "GQ" magazine wants you to take back your wedding day. Up next, a guy who can show you how to do just that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: June is the big wedding month. And at the risk of sounding just a little bit sexist, most guys seem to let the bride handle the matrimonial logistics. Grooms, though, you can take back the wedding. And a new issue of "GQ" tells you you need to do just that.
John Gillies is a senior editor at "GQ" magazine. And he joins us from New York City this morning.
John, good morning.
JOHN GILLIES, SENIOR EDITOR, "GQ" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
KAGAN: Is there a personal hook to putting together all these tips?
GILLIES: Well, I mean, you know we had a lot of -- you know a lot of our readers are of the age that they're starting to get involved in weddings or going to weddings or planning their own.
KAGAN: No, but what about you?
GILLIES: Me? Yes.
KAGAN: Yes.
GILLIES: Well I am -- I am -- I am in the process of planning my own wedding.
KAGAN: OK, so this is hitting close to home.
GILLIES: So this is -- this is very helpful to me.
KAGAN: OK.
GILLIES: Yes.
KAGAN: So let's get right to the list. First, the engagement. You're saying don't get -- and first of all, I have got to tell you, looking over this list of 82, so clearly put together by a guy, definitely not a girl, because the No. 1 is when you go to pop the question, don't get elaborate. And explain why you say that.
GILLIES: I know. Well, you know, I think that a lot of guys feel that if they do it at a sporting event or parachute, you know, in somewhere with a ring or that it's going to have a great affect. But you know I think if you have to have a lot of, you know, high production values, you're going to kind of have to ask yourself if who you're trying to convince. So we think that something, you know, simple and meaningful is -- if it's meant to be that will do the trick.
KAGAN: All right. Now you say your best friend is your best friend, your brother is your best man.
GILLIES: Yes. Well I mean a lot of times guys get, you know, torn about who they are going to ask for their best man. And we feel like if you have a brother, that's the person you ask for your best man. And your best friend can still be involved in the wedding, be in the party, make a toast. But you know the choice -- it makes the choice a lot easier, and I think it's, you know, one of those traditions we think is pretty appropriate.
KAGAN: You know here in the South the big thing is you ask your dad to be your best man, it's a southern thing.
GILLIES: Really?
KAGAN: Yes, I mean it's almost a given. If a guy doesn't ask his dad, you kind of go, hmm, wonder what that's all about.
GILLIES: Well that's something to consider then. I guess that's another good idea, yes.
KAGAN: Getting right to the wedding, you say don't play "Brown Eyed Girl." You have something about -- against brown-eyed girls?
GILLIES: Mean, I don't know if anybody actually listens to that song outside of weddings. I mean I think that you know it's something you hear all the time, that, and like "Come On," -- you know, "Come On, Eileen," and it's just, you know...
KAGAN: Too corny.
GILLIES: We feel like there are -- we feel like there are other songs that are, you know, recognizable by people and things that you know people can dance to that are a little bit better than that.
KAGAN: OK, real quickly, because you do have some money-save tips. One is forget the band and make an iPod wedding. Invest in the equipment.
GILLIES: Absolutely.
KAGAN: That was a great tip.
GILLIES: Yes. Well I mean I think that you know the band is probably the most hit or miss thing you can have in a wedding. And you know you pay a lot of money for them and you really -- you don't know what you're going to get, really.
So you know we feel like you can take that money and get an iPod or receiver and some good speakers and maybe, you know if you need to, maybe some amps and it will be a lot less money. And you can have a program of music for the whole wedding that is, you know, music of your own choice. And it's a lot less hassle, really.
KAGAN: And I thought probably one of the most insightful tips was, at the end, you guys will remember nothing and she will remember everything.
GILLIES: Yes, I mean this package is about taking back the wedding. But you know in the sense, we -- you know it is about the two of you. And you know, guys will kind of show up and even if we're very involved, you know we're probably not going to remember much, but she will remember everything. So it's important to remember that when you're planning it.
KAGAN: Kind of sets the tone for the whole marriage, don't you think?
GILLIES: Absolutely.
KAGAN: We forget nothing. Hey, when is your big day?
GILLIES: Well I think it's going to be spring of next year.
KAGAN: Plenty of time.
GILLIES: We're still in the planning stages, so.
KAGAN: Yes, so that's why you need to get "GQ" to read the 82 tips.
GILLIES: I know, I know, I know, I'm working on it.
KAGAN: Very good. OK, well congratulations on the engagement and good luck next spring.
GILLIES: Thank you.
KAGAN: And thanks for the tips. John Gillies from "GQ."
GILLIES: Thank you.
KAGAN: More tips in the June issue of "GQ."
Mary Snow listening in on Wall Street. You have got to check out these tips, a wedding from a guy's perspective. I'm telling you it's a whole different event -- Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: It seemed liked it. And I liked the music tips, too.
KAGAN: Yes.
SNOW: Right?
KAGAN: Yes. SNOW: Very helpful.
KAGAN: Yes, absolutely.
(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)
SNOW: CNN's LIVE TODAY continues after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Ohhh nooo! That's right, the Play-Doh every man knows as Mr. Bill, he's back. His creator, Walter Williams of New Orleans, has brought Mr. Bill out of retirement. It's a campaign to save Louisiana's wetlands.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MR. BILL: Gee, kids, I'm not sure we can do our show today because it looks like Hurricane Sluggo is headed right for us here in America's wetlands.
WALTER WILLIAMS, MR. BILL CREATOR (?): That's right, Mr. Bill. And since New Orleans is below sea level, if a hurricane hit us directly, it could push the water over the levees and fill it to the top.
BILL: Well then we'd better leave.
WILLIAMS: Well it's too late to evacuate since all the roads are jammed and under water.
BILL: Then where can we go that's safe?
WILLIAMS: Here this should work.
BILL: Gee, I hope it doesn't get much higher.
WILLIAMS: Well, Read, the alligator, doesn't seem too worried.
BILL: Yes, that's because he can swim. You know I don't do that too well.
WILLIAMS: Well in that case, Read says he'll have one of his buddies come and give you a lift.
BILL: That's OK. Maybe you could mind the water wings (ph) or something. Oh, get me out of here! No, wait, no, no, ohhh!
WILLIAMS: Let's act now before it's too late.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: All right, well a little bit of laugh there, but the issue really is no joke. Louisiana is losing about 30 square miles of wetlands every year.
One last check of weather -- Orelon Sidney.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: All right, Orelon, thank you for that.
ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You're welcome.
KAGAN: That's going to do it for me, Daryn Kagan. I'll be right back here tomorrow morning.
Meanwhile, leaving you in very capable hands. Carol Lin is here.
(CROSSTALK)
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: That's very kind of you.
KAGAN: That's absolutely true.
LIN: All right. You have a great day.
KAGAN: I will.
LIN: Thanks so much.
In the meantime, we have a lot of news to cover today. I'm Carol Lin at the CNN Center. We are coming up with some interviews, as well as a lot unfolding this hour.
In the meantime, we've got a significant breakthrough in Najaf in Iraq. There's been an intense standoff with radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. This hour, late word of a possible deal with coalition forces. We are live in Iraq with details.
A terror suspect wanted in the U.S. on multiple charges is now in custody in London.
And the damage is catastrophic. Flooding in the Dominican Republic, hundreds dead. That may be just the beginning.
Up first, some headlines.
In south central New Mexico, a mountain wildfire has scorched nearly 25,000 acres. Fire fighters hope to contain the fire by steering down a slope.
The University of Colorado has called a news conference to announce the future of football Coach Gary Barnett. The "Rocky Mountain News" is reporting that he will be reinstated. He was suspended after allegations that his program lured recruits with alcohol and sex. An internal investigation concluded Barnett did not sanction the practice.
And an unmanned Russian cargo craft has delivered supplies today to the International Space Station. The shipment includes food and mail and a new space suit for the two-man crew, which includes American astronaut Mike Finke. Up first this hour, the delicate art of compromise emerging now in Iraq. After a lengthy and bloody standoff, the Shiite
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 May 27, 2004 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: She wakes up as the new "American Idol" this morning. Fantasia edged Diana DeGarmo by a slim margin out of 65 million votes cast. She gets a recording contract and instant fame.
And now to what you might call the ultimate reality show, the heated competition to choose an American president. Democrat John Kerry is launching an 11-day focus on national security against the backdrop of new terror warnings.
Judy Woodruff has the campaign headlines from Washington.
Judy, good morning.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.
Well Senator Kerry lays out his vision for a stronger and more secure America about an hour and a half from now in Seattle. Look for his speech to be punctuated by criticism of President Bush's foreign policy. The Bush camp is again accusing Kerry of playing politics with national security, after the senator questioned the administration's commitment to protecting potential terrorist targets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Why is it that our trains and other forms of transportation don't have the protection that we know would make us safer? Why is it that chemical plants and nuclear facilities still don't have the plans in place and the protections in place that are necessary? We deserve a president of the United States who doesn't make homeland security a photo opportunity and the rhetoric of a campaign. We deserve a president who makes America safer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: Meantime, Kerry has decided that he will formally accept the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in Boston. The campaign had floated the idea of delaying Kerry's acceptance to level the financial playing field until the president accepts his party's nomination five weeks later.
President Bush splits his day between official duties and campaigning today. After meeting in Washington this morning with El Salvador's president, the president travels to Nashville, Tennessee. He's expected to tour Vanderbilt's Children's Hospital this afternoon and then attend an evening fund raiser at a Nashville home before returning to Washington.
A new Quinnipiac University poll shows Bush and Kerry in a statistical dead heat. Bush, 43 percent, Kerry, 42. But throw in barbecue and it's a horse race of a different color. The same poll shows that by a 50 to 39 margin, voters would rather join the president for a backyard barbecue.
Well now that Senator Kerry has decided to accept his party's nomination at the July convention, how does he level the campaign cash playing field in August? We'll take a look at some options this afternoon.
Plus, what short-term steps can President Bush take to lower skyrocketing gas prices? I'll speak with Commerce Secretary Don Evans.
All this and much more when I go "INSIDE POLITICS" at 3:30 Eastern. I'll see you then.
All right, back to Daryn in Atlanta.
KAGAN: All right, Judy, more from you much later today.
John Kerry is getting some support for his national security strategy from a former secretary of state. Madeleine Albright says that Kerry is addressing key issues facing the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, I think he is doing a very smart thing, which is basically to explain an overall national security strategy and explain that in fact America is stronger with alliances because they are force multipliers. They don't weaken us, they strengthen us.
He is talking about the necessity of really having a military force that is properly equipped and trained. And he is discussing the importance of not being dependent on Middle East oil and talking about Iraq. So I think he is putting the Iraq mess into an overall context, and I think that is very important for the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Kerry's speech today begins an 11-day focus on national security issues.
Several Democrats are suggesting that the latest terror warnings from the Bush administration are a political scare tactic. Clearly, a new attack could change the dynamics of the presidential race.
Here now is our senior political correspondent Bill Schneider.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Terrorists may believe they can influence the U.S. presidential election by carrying out another attack. Isn't that what happened in Spain?
Experts say Spanish voters did not throw out their government because they were intimidated by the terrorist attack.
DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR: The conservative government after the bombings essentially was seen as lying or trying to cover up who was responsible.
SCHNEIDER: Another terrorist attack on the U.S. would almost certainly boost President Bush's reelection prospects. Americans always rally to their president's support at a time of crisis.
President Bush was at his best after 9/11.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people...
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: ... and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.
SCHNEIDER: For a year after that, President Bush was politically unassailable. His job rating at the end of September 2001 was 90 percent. Eighty-four percent of Democrats supported him. The whole country, the whole world supported President Bush in Afghanistan.
A year later, Bush was still at 67 percent approval, with a majority of Democrats behind him.
Then the Iraq rollout began, and the consensus unraveled. The president's current approval rating: 47 percent and among Democrats, 12.
Bush's advantage is his image as a protector, an avenger. Another terrorist attack would play to his strength.
Ask Americans which candidate, Bush or John Kerry, would better handle terrorism, and the answer is clear: Bush.
This campaign is becoming more and more about national security. Kerry has to establish credibility on that issue.
KERRY: We can make America safer and stronger and more secure than this administration and George Bush is today.
SCHNEIDER: He may be succeeding. Fifty-two percent of Americans say they think John Kerry is a strong leader, and President Bush? Sixty-two percent.
It's still Bush's issue. Another attack would very likely make it even more his issue.
(on camera): Another attack would also generate blame and recriminations. Could the attack have been prevented? Why wasn't the country better prepared? But that happens only after the shock and anger wear off, like now, nearly three years after 9/11.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Former Vice President Al Gore is offering a blistering assessment of the Bush administration policies in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: How dare they subject us to such dishonor and disgrace? How dare they drag the good name of the United States of America through the mud of Saddam Hussein's torture prison?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Yes, that was Al Gore, believe it or not. He spoke before the Political Action Committee Moveon.org, which hopes to raise $50 million to help defeat President Bush.
The Republican National Committee's response to that -- quote -- "Gore's attack demonstrates that he neither -- he either does not understand the threat of global terror, or he has amnesia."
You say that you just don't know what to do with all that hippo sweat? Yes, hippo sweat, sweat from a hippopotamus that you have laying around your house. Well believe it or not, researchers have come up with a use for hippo sweat. It might literally save your own skin. The surprising story coming up next in our 'Daily Dose.'
Part two of our look at one woman's heartbreaking fight against a disease that she thought she had beaten, skin cancer. That is coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Here's one you probably have not heard before. Hippo sweat as a sunscreen? It's not really as silly as it might sound. There's a study in the journal, "Nature," that found that the sweat and mucus that hippos secrete while in the sun might actually protect from harmful UV rays. The chemical structure is similar to compounds used in sunscreens. The red and orange pigment in hippo sweat also helps prevent the growth of bacteria. Sounds like some good stuff there.
Of course, there is always wearing sunscreen. It is one of the ways to protect yourself against melanoma and other forms of skin cancer. In our 'Daily Dose' of health news, medical correspondent Holly Firfer looks at the importance of finding and treating melanoma early before it spreads.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rob and Melissa Cathgart had just moved to Florida when their lives suddenly changed. MELISSA CATHGART: Rob came up out of the water, his hair parted, and I saw something that immediately, something in my mind said that's not right, get him to the doctor.
ROB CATHGART: A spot on the -- right at the part of your hair, far back of your head, and it looked black, black and red.
FIRFER: That spot was melanoma. Even though Rob had seen dermatologists on a regular basis, they didn't catch this. Luckily, Melissa saw that melanoma spot before it spread. After immediate surgery and months of treatment, Rob is cancer free.
Right now, skin cancer detection mainly relies on a patient or a doctor's visual exam, using the ABCDs, looking for asymmetry, border irregularity, color variation and diameter to determine whether a mole might be a melanoma spot.
That is why Dr. Halpern relies on new digital technology to compare a baseline photo to subsequent visits to help notice the subtlest of changes on the skin.
DR. ALLAN HALPERN, MEMORIAL SLOAN-KETTERING: What we're really looking for is a spot that is changing relative to the rest of the patient's moles without waiting for it to look like an obvious cancer.
DON SHAW, DASS SALONS: My daughter was 33 years old when we lost her. She had melanoma.
FIRFER: When Danielle (ph) Shaw discovered the melanoma spot on her back, it was too late. For three years she fought the disease, but lost her life to cancer last March, leaving behind a 10-month-old baby. Her father, Don, says he doesn't want another life wasted by this preventable disease so he started a grassroots program called "You Can Make a Difference." He trains other hairdressers, manicurists and massage therapists to check the body closely for unusual spots in places most clients can't see, like the scalp, behind ears and in between toes.
SHAW: You know as beauty professionals, we're not doctors. We're only the first line of defense of seeing it and getting you to do something about it.
FIRFER: Something that should include seeing a dermatologist. This past year he found spots on 24 clients, all were melanoma. Twenty-three are alive and well. Although his daughter could not be saved...
SHAW: She couldn't believe she didn't win. Melanoma is tough, you know. It's very tough.
FIRFER: She left him with the will to help others.
SHAW: I love you.
FIRFER: Holly Firfer, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: For your 'Daily Dose' of health news online, you can go to CNN.com/health. You'll find the latest medical headlines. There is also a health guide from CNN and the Mayo Clinic.
Guys, the days of just showing up for the wedding, those days are over. "GQ" magazine wants you to take back your wedding day. Up next, a guy who can show you how to do just that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: June is the big wedding month. And at the risk of sounding just a little bit sexist, most guys seem to let the bride handle the matrimonial logistics. Grooms, though, you can take back the wedding. And a new issue of "GQ" tells you you need to do just that.
John Gillies is a senior editor at "GQ" magazine. And he joins us from New York City this morning.
John, good morning.
JOHN GILLIES, SENIOR EDITOR, "GQ" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
KAGAN: Is there a personal hook to putting together all these tips?
GILLIES: Well, I mean, you know we had a lot of -- you know a lot of our readers are of the age that they're starting to get involved in weddings or going to weddings or planning their own.
KAGAN: No, but what about you?
GILLIES: Me? Yes.
KAGAN: Yes.
GILLIES: Well I am -- I am -- I am in the process of planning my own wedding.
KAGAN: OK, so this is hitting close to home.
GILLIES: So this is -- this is very helpful to me.
KAGAN: OK.
GILLIES: Yes.
KAGAN: So let's get right to the list. First, the engagement. You're saying don't get -- and first of all, I have got to tell you, looking over this list of 82, so clearly put together by a guy, definitely not a girl, because the No. 1 is when you go to pop the question, don't get elaborate. And explain why you say that.
GILLIES: I know. Well, you know, I think that a lot of guys feel that if they do it at a sporting event or parachute, you know, in somewhere with a ring or that it's going to have a great affect. But you know I think if you have to have a lot of, you know, high production values, you're going to kind of have to ask yourself if who you're trying to convince. So we think that something, you know, simple and meaningful is -- if it's meant to be that will do the trick.
KAGAN: All right. Now you say your best friend is your best friend, your brother is your best man.
GILLIES: Yes. Well I mean a lot of times guys get, you know, torn about who they are going to ask for their best man. And we feel like if you have a brother, that's the person you ask for your best man. And your best friend can still be involved in the wedding, be in the party, make a toast. But you know the choice -- it makes the choice a lot easier, and I think it's, you know, one of those traditions we think is pretty appropriate.
KAGAN: You know here in the South the big thing is you ask your dad to be your best man, it's a southern thing.
GILLIES: Really?
KAGAN: Yes, I mean it's almost a given. If a guy doesn't ask his dad, you kind of go, hmm, wonder what that's all about.
GILLIES: Well that's something to consider then. I guess that's another good idea, yes.
KAGAN: Getting right to the wedding, you say don't play "Brown Eyed Girl." You have something about -- against brown-eyed girls?
GILLIES: Mean, I don't know if anybody actually listens to that song outside of weddings. I mean I think that you know it's something you hear all the time, that, and like "Come On," -- you know, "Come On, Eileen," and it's just, you know...
KAGAN: Too corny.
GILLIES: We feel like there are -- we feel like there are other songs that are, you know, recognizable by people and things that you know people can dance to that are a little bit better than that.
KAGAN: OK, real quickly, because you do have some money-save tips. One is forget the band and make an iPod wedding. Invest in the equipment.
GILLIES: Absolutely.
KAGAN: That was a great tip.
GILLIES: Yes. Well I mean I think that you know the band is probably the most hit or miss thing you can have in a wedding. And you know you pay a lot of money for them and you really -- you don't know what you're going to get, really.
So you know we feel like you can take that money and get an iPod or receiver and some good speakers and maybe, you know if you need to, maybe some amps and it will be a lot less money. And you can have a program of music for the whole wedding that is, you know, music of your own choice. And it's a lot less hassle, really.
KAGAN: And I thought probably one of the most insightful tips was, at the end, you guys will remember nothing and she will remember everything.
GILLIES: Yes, I mean this package is about taking back the wedding. But you know in the sense, we -- you know it is about the two of you. And you know, guys will kind of show up and even if we're very involved, you know we're probably not going to remember much, but she will remember everything. So it's important to remember that when you're planning it.
KAGAN: Kind of sets the tone for the whole marriage, don't you think?
GILLIES: Absolutely.
KAGAN: We forget nothing. Hey, when is your big day?
GILLIES: Well I think it's going to be spring of next year.
KAGAN: Plenty of time.
GILLIES: We're still in the planning stages, so.
KAGAN: Yes, so that's why you need to get "GQ" to read the 82 tips.
GILLIES: I know, I know, I know, I'm working on it.
KAGAN: Very good. OK, well congratulations on the engagement and good luck next spring.
GILLIES: Thank you.
KAGAN: And thanks for the tips. John Gillies from "GQ."
GILLIES: Thank you.
KAGAN: More tips in the June issue of "GQ."
Mary Snow listening in on Wall Street. You have got to check out these tips, a wedding from a guy's perspective. I'm telling you it's a whole different event -- Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: It seemed liked it. And I liked the music tips, too.
KAGAN: Yes.
SNOW: Right?
KAGAN: Yes. SNOW: Very helpful.
KAGAN: Yes, absolutely.
(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)
SNOW: CNN's LIVE TODAY continues after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Ohhh nooo! That's right, the Play-Doh every man knows as Mr. Bill, he's back. His creator, Walter Williams of New Orleans, has brought Mr. Bill out of retirement. It's a campaign to save Louisiana's wetlands.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MR. BILL: Gee, kids, I'm not sure we can do our show today because it looks like Hurricane Sluggo is headed right for us here in America's wetlands.
WALTER WILLIAMS, MR. BILL CREATOR (?): That's right, Mr. Bill. And since New Orleans is below sea level, if a hurricane hit us directly, it could push the water over the levees and fill it to the top.
BILL: Well then we'd better leave.
WILLIAMS: Well it's too late to evacuate since all the roads are jammed and under water.
BILL: Then where can we go that's safe?
WILLIAMS: Here this should work.
BILL: Gee, I hope it doesn't get much higher.
WILLIAMS: Well, Read, the alligator, doesn't seem too worried.
BILL: Yes, that's because he can swim. You know I don't do that too well.
WILLIAMS: Well in that case, Read says he'll have one of his buddies come and give you a lift.
BILL: That's OK. Maybe you could mind the water wings (ph) or something. Oh, get me out of here! No, wait, no, no, ohhh!
WILLIAMS: Let's act now before it's too late.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: All right, well a little bit of laugh there, but the issue really is no joke. Louisiana is losing about 30 square miles of wetlands every year.
One last check of weather -- Orelon Sidney.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: All right, Orelon, thank you for that.
ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You're welcome.
KAGAN: That's going to do it for me, Daryn Kagan. I'll be right back here tomorrow morning.
Meanwhile, leaving you in very capable hands. Carol Lin is here.
(CROSSTALK)
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: That's very kind of you.
KAGAN: That's absolutely true.
LIN: All right. You have a great day.
KAGAN: I will.
LIN: Thanks so much.
In the meantime, we have a lot of news to cover today. I'm Carol Lin at the CNN Center. We are coming up with some interviews, as well as a lot unfolding this hour.
In the meantime, we've got a significant breakthrough in Najaf in Iraq. There's been an intense standoff with radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. This hour, late word of a possible deal with coalition forces. We are live in Iraq with details.
A terror suspect wanted in the U.S. on multiple charges is now in custody in London.
And the damage is catastrophic. Flooding in the Dominican Republic, hundreds dead. That may be just the beginning.
Up first, some headlines.
In south central New Mexico, a mountain wildfire has scorched nearly 25,000 acres. Fire fighters hope to contain the fire by steering down a slope.
The University of Colorado has called a news conference to announce the future of football Coach Gary Barnett. The "Rocky Mountain News" is reporting that he will be reinstated. He was suspended after allegations that his program lured recruits with alcohol and sex. An internal investigation concluded Barnett did not sanction the practice.
And an unmanned Russian cargo craft has delivered supplies today to the International Space Station. The shipment includes food and mail and a new space suit for the two-man crew, which includes American astronaut Mike Finke. Up first this hour, the delicate art of compromise emerging now in Iraq. After a lengthy and bloody standoff, the Shiite
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
