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Kerry Campaign Tries to Put Controversy Over Democratic Party's Nomination Behind It; New Study Mixed Blessing for Women Who Eat Fish During Pregnancy

Aired May 27, 2004 - 09:30   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: Senator John Kerry is beginning an 11-day focus on national security issues with a speech today in Seattle. That new effort comes as the Kerry campaign tries put a controversy over the Democratic Party's nomination behind it.
Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley reports from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Never mind. Six days after his campaign said he might not officially accept his party's nomination at his party's convention, John Kerry backed off.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I represented the state of Massachusetts now for 20 years. It's been a privilege, and I felt the journey to the nomination ought to be properly completed in Boston.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The next president of the United States!

CROWLEY: Kerry thought about changing convention rules to allow a delay in becoming the official nominee. The idea was to wait until the president accepted his nomination five weeks later, thus ensuring that both campaigns have the same amount of time to spend the public funding given to official party nominees. Ingenious, perhaps, but a lead balloon fell over Boston and beyond. Some of Kerry's big bucks business support, people chipping in sizable chunks of cash for the Boston convention, were, said a source, beside themselves. Nuts, said another leading Democrat, a nominating convention without a nominee. It's not just that it looks stupid, said another, it looks manipulative. The Democratic mayor of Boston was similarly disposed.

MAY. THOMAS MENINO (D), BOSTON: We really want to get beyond all the nonsense we're going through. You know, it's political chicanery.

CROWLEY: Originally, his campaign said it would be weeks before Kerry made any decision, but six days was enough. Still, the campaign and the candidate deny they were pressured into it.

KERRY: I don't want the election to the presidency to hinge, as George Bush's did, on outside influences, on rules changes, courts and other things.

CROWLEY (on camera): Delighted to bury this one, one prominent Democrat said there is a bright side. Kerry was able to think about delaying an infusion of federal cash, because he's raising so darn much on his own.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Kerry will accept the Democratic nomination on Thursday, July 29th.

COOPER: Well, we could learn today when Kobe Bryant will go on trial in his sexual assault case. The Los Angeles Lakers star will attend a pretrial hearing this morning in Colorado. Defense attorneys are expected to seek testimony from a veteran detective, who could criticize the investigation of the alleged crime scene. The same detective testified in the O.J. Simpson case. Bryant is expected to be back in L.A. tonight for playoff game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Jury selection may finally be coming to an end in the Scott Peterson case. It has been nine weeks since the process began. The murder trial is supposed to begin on Tuesday.

Ted Rowlands is live, from Redwood City, California.

Good morning, Ted.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Anderson.

Yes, it's been 2 1/2 months, but the jury selection process will end today. Seventy-six potential jurors will be whittled down to 18. It is a very crucial phase of this trial, for which both sides have employed some expert help.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All rise. Come to order.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Both sides in the Peterson case are counting on hired guns to pick a jury.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do nothing but look at jurors week in and week out, day in and day out for years.

ROWLANDS: Prosecutors have Howard Barenski (ph). His experience in high-profile cases dates back to 1985 and Bernard Getts. Barenski helped the defense pick a jury that found the New York subway vigilante not guilty of attempted murder. Barenski, who refers to his jurors as "his children," says he's recently proud of his work for the prosecution on the Martha Stewart case, where the jury came back with four guilty verdicts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It felt great. It felt like justice was done. And it felt like my children came through.

ROWLANDS: Jo Ellen Demetrius is working for the defense. She, too, has extensive high-profile case experience, starting with the O.J. Simpson trial.

JO ELLEN DEMETRIUS, JURY CONSULTANT: If I were to look at any one case that I felt good walking out of the courtroom about the jury, certainly O.J. would be that jury.

ROWLANDS: Both consultants have spent the last 2 1/2 months in court, scrutinizing every member of the Peterson jury pool.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were joys in their facial expressions, how they dress, how they walk, everything.

DEMETRIUS: How they react to the attorneys, too, is a big component of how we're evaluating these people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: And both Barenski and Demetrius will be in court today, using their 20 preemptory challenges strategically to try to form a jury that will decide the fate of Scott Peterson. Opening statements in the case are set at this point, Anderson, for next Tuesday.

COOPER: All right, Ted Rowlands, thanks very much.

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, news for pregnant women: One kind of fish may protect your child from asthma, but another kind might actually increase the risk. We'll tell you which.

COOPER: And Wal-Mart pushed hard against the city of big shoulders. Andy Serwer explains that.

Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: A new study is a mixed blessing for women who eat certain kinds of fish during their pregnancy.

Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has details of this study.

It's really interesting, and not necessarily intuitive.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: No, not intuitive at all. I mean, who would have thought that different kinds of fish might have a different reaction in the baby for asthma. It's a very interesting study. It was done out of California. An what they did, was they studied a bunch of different children in a community, and they looked at what kinds of fish the mothers ate while they were pregnant, and what they found was that women -- these are asthmatic women -- who ate oily fish -- and oily fish are things like salmon, and trout, and mackerel and cod -- were 29 percent less likely to pass asthma onto their baby. And the more they ate, the greatest benefit. Go figure. And reason why they think this might be true is that those oily fishes tend to have anti-inflammatory properties. That oil can be anti-inflammatory. So that when the baby was born, and then grew up, and they followed those kids for five years, they were that much less likely to develop asthma.

O'BRIEN: Then you have the other side of it, which was sort of the bad news for passing along asthma, and this involves fish sticks?

COHEN: Yes, exactly.

O'BRIEN: Explain that.

COHEN: Very strange. What they found was that women who ate a lot of fish sticks while they were pregnant, and these weren't just asthmatic women, these were women, that those women were more likely to have babies who developed asthma as children. In fact, eating fish sticks at least twice a month made them two times more likely to have a baby who later developed asthma. And they are not sure the reason for this. There's all sorts of hypothesis out there. One of them is that frying of the fish sticks develops certain kinds of fats that are bad for the baby, that actually have the opposite effect that the oil has.

There are other thoughts that perhaps what it is, is that these -- is that people who eat a lot of fish sticks just have a generally bad diet, that perhaps eating all those fried foods...

O'BRIEN: That would be the real correlation?

COHEN: Right, and that's the real reason, and not so much the fish sticks themselves. But I asked the author of the report, if your wife was pregnant, would you let her eat fish sticks, and he said, yes, I would.

O'BRIEN: Most men are like, she can eat anything she wants.

COHEN: That's right, as long as she doesn't complain.

O'BRIEN: So at the end of the day, not only because I'm pregnant I'd like to know, there seems to be so much conflicting advice about, do you eat fish, do you not eat fish, how much fish can you eat when you're pregnant? Give me the bottom line on, what kind of fish should you eat, and how much of it can you eat?

COHEN: That's right, because there's this information about asthma, and then there's also this information about mercury, that's in fish, and you want to avoid the mercury in fish. So the bottom line advice to pregnant women, is about two to three servings of various cooked fish per week is OK, but they say try not -- this is the FDA now. Says try not to go over that three servings.

O'BRIEN: What is various?

COHEN: Any fish, except there are some big fish that are not good. For example, shark and swordfish. They say that pregnant women, nursing women and children should avoid those fish altogether, but other fish are OK, as long as it's not more than two to three times per week.

O'BRIEN: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, thanks a lot. It's nice to see you as always.

COHEN: Thanks.

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Wal-mart is moving into another big city, but not everybody says this one is its kind of town. Stay with us. We'll explain, right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: And welcome back.

Wal-mart hopes to be No. 1 in the Windy City. With that, and a check of the markets, Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business."

O'BRIEN: Hey, Andy. Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Indeed. Good morning again to you guys.

Let's check the market, first of all. Nice rally this morning. The price of oil seems to be dropping, and the price of stock seems to be going up. The Dow is up 63 points here, as we speak.

A couple of interesting stocks to talk about this morning. Costco on the move, up $1.41. What's on the thing going there? Spring sales of lawn equipment, etc. etc, very brisk. Why? Because CostCo sells gasoline. Very, very cheap gas prices. A lot of people going to CostCo, filling up their cars, and then doing some shopping as well. A very good strategy there for them.

Lone Star Steakhouse moving southward this morning. The price of beef hurting them, and that stock is down sharply. U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham says more oil is going to be on the way from Mexico, Russia, Nigeria. That's what's moving the price of oil down.

Meanwhile, want to talk about Wal-mart? Wal-mart is moving into Chicago. Chicago gets its first Wal-mart, on the west side of the city. However, they didn't get everything they wanted, because they wanted to put a store on the south side. City council voted that one down. That leaves only New York and Detroit as major metropolitan areas without Wal-mart. So what do you think, guys? Is Manhattan ready for a Wal-mart?

COOPER: I think it would do well there.

SERWER: I think it would.

O'BRIEN: Target tried to be in. They're finally putting a Home Depot in, in town.

SERWER: Right, well, obviously the big problem in a city like this is the cost of having a space like that.

O'BRIEN: And people are very aggressive about keeping out, I think, those big stores, too.

COOPER: New Yorkers aggressive? What are you talking about?

O'BRIEN: Friendly and sweet, but a little aggressive.

All right, Andy, thanks.

SERWER: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: It is just about 44 minutes past the hour. Time to take a look at some of the other stories making news this morning with Heidi Collins.

Good morning again, Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning again, Soledad, and good morning to you, everybody.

The Justice Department warns Americans to be vigilant and aware this summer, and to brace for possible terror attacks. U.S. officials say credible intelligence point to an attack on American soil. At a news conference yesterday, Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI director Robert Mueller showed pictures of seven terror suspects. They say they have alleged ties to al Qaeda, and being sought in connection with possible terror threats.

Convicted Oklahoma bombing conspirator Terry Nichols could now face the death penalty, after a jury found him guilty on state murder charges in the 1995 attack. The decision was handed down yesterday. Nichols is already serving life in prison after an earlier conviction on federal charges. The terror bombing left 168 people dead.

The family of the alleged victim in the Michael Jackson child molestation is filing a claim against the county of Los Angeles and its Department of Children and Family Services. Apparently, the leak of a confidential report questions the validity of statements made by the alleged victim. This has prompted an attorney to file the claim in order to preserve the family's right to seek damages. Jackson pleaded not guilty to all charges relating to the case.

After clearing away land mines and Soviet tanks, golf is back in Afghanistan. The nine-hole course outside Kabul recently opened back up after being vacant for decades. There are no fairways, no water hazards and no greens. This is my kind of course. Instead, players putt across a smooth surface of sand and oil.

And in matters of the heart now. A new study shows women over age 40 are more likely than older men to ask for a divorce. The AARP study found that older women seem more aware of problems in their marriages while 26 percent of men say, yes, they never saw it coming. The study also shows most older divorces move on to other serious relationships and stay sexually active.

I'm not going to say anything this time, because we got in trouble last time, Soledad and me.

O'BRIEN: We have nothing to say. Heidi, thank you very much.

COLLINS: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Well, you know, earlier on the show, we found out another little hidden talent of our own Anderson Cooper who's filling in for Billy this morning.

Let's, first, watch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: We have a "Jeopardy" champion with us.

COOPER: Oh, I don't want to brag, but I appreciate you bringing it up.

O'BRIEN: Congratulations on that.

COOPER: Have you seen my new business card? Anderson, "Jeopardy Champion."

O'BRIEN: We like it. So -- guess what? I'm going to put you on the spot and do the national Geography Bee as well. OK, so, here.

COOPER: OK.

O'BRIEN: Answer cards. It's sort of an envelope, really. But -- right on the other side there. Here. Right there. Your magic marker. This is a story.

Geography champ was crowned yesterday in Washington. We're going to play the winning question and we're going to give you an opportunity to see if you can beat the young teenager who got it right.

COOPER: If it's obscure countries I know it -- all right.

O'BRIEN: Here we go. Hang on, here we go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX TREBEK, HOST, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY BEE: Peshawar, a city in the northwest frontier province of Pakistan. Has had strategic importance for centuries because of its location near what historic pass? Peshawar, in the northwest part of Pakistan. Important strategically because its close to what historic pass?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Come on! Come on -- the Khyber Pass.

O'BRIEN: You're going to get all snitty. Let's see. You've got to hold it like this.

COOPER: Khyber Pass. That was my answer. If I'm wrong, I'm dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP) O'BRIEN: And yes, in fact, Anderson, you got that right. Congratulations. But then you went on to say something about how you didn't know how about the actual states in the U.S.

COOPER: That is true.

O'BRIEN: And that got us thinking. So here is your paper. Here is your magic marker again. Could you be a little neater this time? It was hard to read the last answer.

Name five state capitals that begin with the letter "A," Mr. Cooper.

COOPER: Five state capitals that begin with the letter -- how long do I have?

SERWER: He's stalling. He's stalling.

COOPER: That's hard.

O'BRIEN: You know what, you could take as much time as you want, Anderson, because you're never going to get it.

COOPER: Albany, Albuquerque, Atlanta.

O'BRIEN: Oh, hey, he's cheating.

COOPER: Heidi Collins, I like that Heidi Collins.

SERWER: I don't think Albuquerque is right, by the way. Sorry.

COOPER: I don't know.

O'BRIEN: I lost control of my game show. Oh, Anderson, weren't so cocky this time around, are we? Weren't so confident this time around.

COOPER: I told you, I don't know American geography. African geography...

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Augusta, Maine, Albany, New York, Annapolis Maryland, Atlanta, Georgia, and Austin, Texas.

SERWER: That's tough. How many did you get, Anderson, like two?

COOPER: I got one.

SERWER: One. I was being generous.

O'BRIEN: And that was here in New York.

SERWER: He got Albany.

O'BRIEN: Less bragging coming from this side of the room suddenly. You know, we love you still. And you are the celebrity "Jeopardy" champion, so we'll never be able to take that away from you.

COOPER: Well, that's right, I'm clinging to that one.

O'BRIEN: Well, I want you to know...

SERWER: He's an international man of mystery.

O'BRIEN: ... that the 14-year-old who won the bee, he probably could answer that.

COOPER: I'm sure the 14-year-old who did win the spelling bee could get that.

O'BRIEN: He's going to be chatting with Daryn actually. He's Daryn's guest coming up in the next hour.

That's so much fun to do that to you. I'm sorry. It's such a joy. I get such a joy out of that.

COOPER: I'll remember that.

O'BRIEN: I know you will, unfortunately.

SERWER: Do it to her sometime.

O'BRIEN: You know what, I can't answer anything.

Still to come this morning, a man who's a beef with the Atkins Diet. He's taking it to court. We'll explain just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: So just moments ago, we quizzed Anderson Cooper on the five-state capitals that began with the letter 'A.' And we all had a hearty laugh when he couldn't get anywhere close to figuring out where they were. And then...

COOPER: But who's laughing now?

O'BRIEN: The laugh on us, because look where we put Atlanta, Georgia. I believe that is the state of Alabama. So a big thank you to the graphic folks today, because without their fine help, I would not be making that apology on the air.

COOPER: Some very perceptive viewer e-mailed us in. I got an e- mail from Guy. He wrote in saying, we made the mistake, a lot of them.

O'BRIEN: So that was perceptive. It's like in the middle of the state; it's not even close.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: It's amazing how quick they are to pounce, isn't it? COOPER: As they should be.

O'BRIEN: As they should be, and we appreciate it, right, Jack?

CAFFERTY: Well, speak for yourself.

The question of the day is, should you be able to sue your diet? A story in "The Times" about a guy didn't like the result when he went on Atkins, and now he's suing Atkins, and so that's the question.

LaTonya, Richmond, Virginia, "If a person chooses to adhere to a specific diet, they are automatically taking complete responsibility for that diet. Anyone trying to lose weight should know that doing personal research and" -- I don't like that letter.

Tatiana in Florida writes, "Suing a diet is ridiculous. People should know saturated fats, obviously, not good for you. Maybe they should make smart choice in exercise" --- I don't like that letter either.

Jim in Framingham (ph), Massachusetts,, I think it's disgraceful that those women are baring their breast in Canada when their hockey team wins. Why don't they act like Americans and burn cars, break store windows and throw bricks at police and firemen?" I like that letter.

O'BRIEN: Not the question of the day, but you still like it.

CAFFERTY: Yes, this weekend on "IN THE MONEY," we'll look at a Pentagon report on what could happen if the greenhouse turns much of the world into a vast wasteland. That's "IN THE MONEY," Saturday at 1:00, Sunday at 3:00. Tidy little program. Invite you to watch it.

COOPER: Thank you, Jack.

Yes, I'll be watching.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Coming up on CNN this morning, he said he wasn't nervous the whole time, and that is why he won the national geography bee yesterday in Washington. The 14-year-old winner from Kansas is coming up in the next hour with Daryn Kagan on "CNN LIVE TODAY." AMERICAN MORNING will be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Here is Aaron Brown with a preview of what's coming up tonight on "NEWSNIGHT."

AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Mrs. O'Brien.

Tonight on "NEWSNIGHT," tracking down those who torture others. We'll meet a man whose job it is to find people now living in the U.S. who are suspected of committing human rights abuses in their own countries. Could they be living next door? They're living next door to someone. That, plus all of today's top stories, morning papers and the rest. That's NEWSNIGHT, CNN tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right, Aaron, thanks a lot. And that is it for us here on AMERICAN MORNING.

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


Aired May 27, 2004 - 09:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Senator John Kerry is beginning an 11-day focus on national security issues with a speech today in Seattle. That new effort comes as the Kerry campaign tries put a controversy over the Democratic Party's nomination behind it.
Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley reports from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Never mind. Six days after his campaign said he might not officially accept his party's nomination at his party's convention, John Kerry backed off.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I represented the state of Massachusetts now for 20 years. It's been a privilege, and I felt the journey to the nomination ought to be properly completed in Boston.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The next president of the United States!

CROWLEY: Kerry thought about changing convention rules to allow a delay in becoming the official nominee. The idea was to wait until the president accepted his nomination five weeks later, thus ensuring that both campaigns have the same amount of time to spend the public funding given to official party nominees. Ingenious, perhaps, but a lead balloon fell over Boston and beyond. Some of Kerry's big bucks business support, people chipping in sizable chunks of cash for the Boston convention, were, said a source, beside themselves. Nuts, said another leading Democrat, a nominating convention without a nominee. It's not just that it looks stupid, said another, it looks manipulative. The Democratic mayor of Boston was similarly disposed.

MAY. THOMAS MENINO (D), BOSTON: We really want to get beyond all the nonsense we're going through. You know, it's political chicanery.

CROWLEY: Originally, his campaign said it would be weeks before Kerry made any decision, but six days was enough. Still, the campaign and the candidate deny they were pressured into it.

KERRY: I don't want the election to the presidency to hinge, as George Bush's did, on outside influences, on rules changes, courts and other things.

CROWLEY (on camera): Delighted to bury this one, one prominent Democrat said there is a bright side. Kerry was able to think about delaying an infusion of federal cash, because he's raising so darn much on his own.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Kerry will accept the Democratic nomination on Thursday, July 29th.

COOPER: Well, we could learn today when Kobe Bryant will go on trial in his sexual assault case. The Los Angeles Lakers star will attend a pretrial hearing this morning in Colorado. Defense attorneys are expected to seek testimony from a veteran detective, who could criticize the investigation of the alleged crime scene. The same detective testified in the O.J. Simpson case. Bryant is expected to be back in L.A. tonight for playoff game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Jury selection may finally be coming to an end in the Scott Peterson case. It has been nine weeks since the process began. The murder trial is supposed to begin on Tuesday.

Ted Rowlands is live, from Redwood City, California.

Good morning, Ted.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Anderson.

Yes, it's been 2 1/2 months, but the jury selection process will end today. Seventy-six potential jurors will be whittled down to 18. It is a very crucial phase of this trial, for which both sides have employed some expert help.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All rise. Come to order.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Both sides in the Peterson case are counting on hired guns to pick a jury.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do nothing but look at jurors week in and week out, day in and day out for years.

ROWLANDS: Prosecutors have Howard Barenski (ph). His experience in high-profile cases dates back to 1985 and Bernard Getts. Barenski helped the defense pick a jury that found the New York subway vigilante not guilty of attempted murder. Barenski, who refers to his jurors as "his children," says he's recently proud of his work for the prosecution on the Martha Stewart case, where the jury came back with four guilty verdicts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It felt great. It felt like justice was done. And it felt like my children came through.

ROWLANDS: Jo Ellen Demetrius is working for the defense. She, too, has extensive high-profile case experience, starting with the O.J. Simpson trial.

JO ELLEN DEMETRIUS, JURY CONSULTANT: If I were to look at any one case that I felt good walking out of the courtroom about the jury, certainly O.J. would be that jury.

ROWLANDS: Both consultants have spent the last 2 1/2 months in court, scrutinizing every member of the Peterson jury pool.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were joys in their facial expressions, how they dress, how they walk, everything.

DEMETRIUS: How they react to the attorneys, too, is a big component of how we're evaluating these people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: And both Barenski and Demetrius will be in court today, using their 20 preemptory challenges strategically to try to form a jury that will decide the fate of Scott Peterson. Opening statements in the case are set at this point, Anderson, for next Tuesday.

COOPER: All right, Ted Rowlands, thanks very much.

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, news for pregnant women: One kind of fish may protect your child from asthma, but another kind might actually increase the risk. We'll tell you which.

COOPER: And Wal-Mart pushed hard against the city of big shoulders. Andy Serwer explains that.

Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: A new study is a mixed blessing for women who eat certain kinds of fish during their pregnancy.

Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has details of this study.

It's really interesting, and not necessarily intuitive.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: No, not intuitive at all. I mean, who would have thought that different kinds of fish might have a different reaction in the baby for asthma. It's a very interesting study. It was done out of California. An what they did, was they studied a bunch of different children in a community, and they looked at what kinds of fish the mothers ate while they were pregnant, and what they found was that women -- these are asthmatic women -- who ate oily fish -- and oily fish are things like salmon, and trout, and mackerel and cod -- were 29 percent less likely to pass asthma onto their baby. And the more they ate, the greatest benefit. Go figure. And reason why they think this might be true is that those oily fishes tend to have anti-inflammatory properties. That oil can be anti-inflammatory. So that when the baby was born, and then grew up, and they followed those kids for five years, they were that much less likely to develop asthma.

O'BRIEN: Then you have the other side of it, which was sort of the bad news for passing along asthma, and this involves fish sticks?

COHEN: Yes, exactly.

O'BRIEN: Explain that.

COHEN: Very strange. What they found was that women who ate a lot of fish sticks while they were pregnant, and these weren't just asthmatic women, these were women, that those women were more likely to have babies who developed asthma as children. In fact, eating fish sticks at least twice a month made them two times more likely to have a baby who later developed asthma. And they are not sure the reason for this. There's all sorts of hypothesis out there. One of them is that frying of the fish sticks develops certain kinds of fats that are bad for the baby, that actually have the opposite effect that the oil has.

There are other thoughts that perhaps what it is, is that these -- is that people who eat a lot of fish sticks just have a generally bad diet, that perhaps eating all those fried foods...

O'BRIEN: That would be the real correlation?

COHEN: Right, and that's the real reason, and not so much the fish sticks themselves. But I asked the author of the report, if your wife was pregnant, would you let her eat fish sticks, and he said, yes, I would.

O'BRIEN: Most men are like, she can eat anything she wants.

COHEN: That's right, as long as she doesn't complain.

O'BRIEN: So at the end of the day, not only because I'm pregnant I'd like to know, there seems to be so much conflicting advice about, do you eat fish, do you not eat fish, how much fish can you eat when you're pregnant? Give me the bottom line on, what kind of fish should you eat, and how much of it can you eat?

COHEN: That's right, because there's this information about asthma, and then there's also this information about mercury, that's in fish, and you want to avoid the mercury in fish. So the bottom line advice to pregnant women, is about two to three servings of various cooked fish per week is OK, but they say try not -- this is the FDA now. Says try not to go over that three servings.

O'BRIEN: What is various?

COHEN: Any fish, except there are some big fish that are not good. For example, shark and swordfish. They say that pregnant women, nursing women and children should avoid those fish altogether, but other fish are OK, as long as it's not more than two to three times per week.

O'BRIEN: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, thanks a lot. It's nice to see you as always.

COHEN: Thanks.

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Wal-mart is moving into another big city, but not everybody says this one is its kind of town. Stay with us. We'll explain, right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: And welcome back.

Wal-mart hopes to be No. 1 in the Windy City. With that, and a check of the markets, Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business."

O'BRIEN: Hey, Andy. Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Indeed. Good morning again to you guys.

Let's check the market, first of all. Nice rally this morning. The price of oil seems to be dropping, and the price of stock seems to be going up. The Dow is up 63 points here, as we speak.

A couple of interesting stocks to talk about this morning. Costco on the move, up $1.41. What's on the thing going there? Spring sales of lawn equipment, etc. etc, very brisk. Why? Because CostCo sells gasoline. Very, very cheap gas prices. A lot of people going to CostCo, filling up their cars, and then doing some shopping as well. A very good strategy there for them.

Lone Star Steakhouse moving southward this morning. The price of beef hurting them, and that stock is down sharply. U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham says more oil is going to be on the way from Mexico, Russia, Nigeria. That's what's moving the price of oil down.

Meanwhile, want to talk about Wal-mart? Wal-mart is moving into Chicago. Chicago gets its first Wal-mart, on the west side of the city. However, they didn't get everything they wanted, because they wanted to put a store on the south side. City council voted that one down. That leaves only New York and Detroit as major metropolitan areas without Wal-mart. So what do you think, guys? Is Manhattan ready for a Wal-mart?

COOPER: I think it would do well there.

SERWER: I think it would.

O'BRIEN: Target tried to be in. They're finally putting a Home Depot in, in town.

SERWER: Right, well, obviously the big problem in a city like this is the cost of having a space like that.

O'BRIEN: And people are very aggressive about keeping out, I think, those big stores, too.

COOPER: New Yorkers aggressive? What are you talking about?

O'BRIEN: Friendly and sweet, but a little aggressive.

All right, Andy, thanks.

SERWER: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: It is just about 44 minutes past the hour. Time to take a look at some of the other stories making news this morning with Heidi Collins.

Good morning again, Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning again, Soledad, and good morning to you, everybody.

The Justice Department warns Americans to be vigilant and aware this summer, and to brace for possible terror attacks. U.S. officials say credible intelligence point to an attack on American soil. At a news conference yesterday, Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI director Robert Mueller showed pictures of seven terror suspects. They say they have alleged ties to al Qaeda, and being sought in connection with possible terror threats.

Convicted Oklahoma bombing conspirator Terry Nichols could now face the death penalty, after a jury found him guilty on state murder charges in the 1995 attack. The decision was handed down yesterday. Nichols is already serving life in prison after an earlier conviction on federal charges. The terror bombing left 168 people dead.

The family of the alleged victim in the Michael Jackson child molestation is filing a claim against the county of Los Angeles and its Department of Children and Family Services. Apparently, the leak of a confidential report questions the validity of statements made by the alleged victim. This has prompted an attorney to file the claim in order to preserve the family's right to seek damages. Jackson pleaded not guilty to all charges relating to the case.

After clearing away land mines and Soviet tanks, golf is back in Afghanistan. The nine-hole course outside Kabul recently opened back up after being vacant for decades. There are no fairways, no water hazards and no greens. This is my kind of course. Instead, players putt across a smooth surface of sand and oil.

And in matters of the heart now. A new study shows women over age 40 are more likely than older men to ask for a divorce. The AARP study found that older women seem more aware of problems in their marriages while 26 percent of men say, yes, they never saw it coming. The study also shows most older divorces move on to other serious relationships and stay sexually active.

I'm not going to say anything this time, because we got in trouble last time, Soledad and me.

O'BRIEN: We have nothing to say. Heidi, thank you very much.

COLLINS: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Well, you know, earlier on the show, we found out another little hidden talent of our own Anderson Cooper who's filling in for Billy this morning.

Let's, first, watch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: We have a "Jeopardy" champion with us.

COOPER: Oh, I don't want to brag, but I appreciate you bringing it up.

O'BRIEN: Congratulations on that.

COOPER: Have you seen my new business card? Anderson, "Jeopardy Champion."

O'BRIEN: We like it. So -- guess what? I'm going to put you on the spot and do the national Geography Bee as well. OK, so, here.

COOPER: OK.

O'BRIEN: Answer cards. It's sort of an envelope, really. But -- right on the other side there. Here. Right there. Your magic marker. This is a story.

Geography champ was crowned yesterday in Washington. We're going to play the winning question and we're going to give you an opportunity to see if you can beat the young teenager who got it right.

COOPER: If it's obscure countries I know it -- all right.

O'BRIEN: Here we go. Hang on, here we go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX TREBEK, HOST, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY BEE: Peshawar, a city in the northwest frontier province of Pakistan. Has had strategic importance for centuries because of its location near what historic pass? Peshawar, in the northwest part of Pakistan. Important strategically because its close to what historic pass?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Come on! Come on -- the Khyber Pass.

O'BRIEN: You're going to get all snitty. Let's see. You've got to hold it like this.

COOPER: Khyber Pass. That was my answer. If I'm wrong, I'm dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP) O'BRIEN: And yes, in fact, Anderson, you got that right. Congratulations. But then you went on to say something about how you didn't know how about the actual states in the U.S.

COOPER: That is true.

O'BRIEN: And that got us thinking. So here is your paper. Here is your magic marker again. Could you be a little neater this time? It was hard to read the last answer.

Name five state capitals that begin with the letter "A," Mr. Cooper.

COOPER: Five state capitals that begin with the letter -- how long do I have?

SERWER: He's stalling. He's stalling.

COOPER: That's hard.

O'BRIEN: You know what, you could take as much time as you want, Anderson, because you're never going to get it.

COOPER: Albany, Albuquerque, Atlanta.

O'BRIEN: Oh, hey, he's cheating.

COOPER: Heidi Collins, I like that Heidi Collins.

SERWER: I don't think Albuquerque is right, by the way. Sorry.

COOPER: I don't know.

O'BRIEN: I lost control of my game show. Oh, Anderson, weren't so cocky this time around, are we? Weren't so confident this time around.

COOPER: I told you, I don't know American geography. African geography...

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Augusta, Maine, Albany, New York, Annapolis Maryland, Atlanta, Georgia, and Austin, Texas.

SERWER: That's tough. How many did you get, Anderson, like two?

COOPER: I got one.

SERWER: One. I was being generous.

O'BRIEN: And that was here in New York.

SERWER: He got Albany.

O'BRIEN: Less bragging coming from this side of the room suddenly. You know, we love you still. And you are the celebrity "Jeopardy" champion, so we'll never be able to take that away from you.

COOPER: Well, that's right, I'm clinging to that one.

O'BRIEN: Well, I want you to know...

SERWER: He's an international man of mystery.

O'BRIEN: ... that the 14-year-old who won the bee, he probably could answer that.

COOPER: I'm sure the 14-year-old who did win the spelling bee could get that.

O'BRIEN: He's going to be chatting with Daryn actually. He's Daryn's guest coming up in the next hour.

That's so much fun to do that to you. I'm sorry. It's such a joy. I get such a joy out of that.

COOPER: I'll remember that.

O'BRIEN: I know you will, unfortunately.

SERWER: Do it to her sometime.

O'BRIEN: You know what, I can't answer anything.

Still to come this morning, a man who's a beef with the Atkins Diet. He's taking it to court. We'll explain just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: So just moments ago, we quizzed Anderson Cooper on the five-state capitals that began with the letter 'A.' And we all had a hearty laugh when he couldn't get anywhere close to figuring out where they were. And then...

COOPER: But who's laughing now?

O'BRIEN: The laugh on us, because look where we put Atlanta, Georgia. I believe that is the state of Alabama. So a big thank you to the graphic folks today, because without their fine help, I would not be making that apology on the air.

COOPER: Some very perceptive viewer e-mailed us in. I got an e- mail from Guy. He wrote in saying, we made the mistake, a lot of them.

O'BRIEN: So that was perceptive. It's like in the middle of the state; it's not even close.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: It's amazing how quick they are to pounce, isn't it? COOPER: As they should be.

O'BRIEN: As they should be, and we appreciate it, right, Jack?

CAFFERTY: Well, speak for yourself.

The question of the day is, should you be able to sue your diet? A story in "The Times" about a guy didn't like the result when he went on Atkins, and now he's suing Atkins, and so that's the question.

LaTonya, Richmond, Virginia, "If a person chooses to adhere to a specific diet, they are automatically taking complete responsibility for that diet. Anyone trying to lose weight should know that doing personal research and" -- I don't like that letter.

Tatiana in Florida writes, "Suing a diet is ridiculous. People should know saturated fats, obviously, not good for you. Maybe they should make smart choice in exercise" --- I don't like that letter either.

Jim in Framingham (ph), Massachusetts,, I think it's disgraceful that those women are baring their breast in Canada when their hockey team wins. Why don't they act like Americans and burn cars, break store windows and throw bricks at police and firemen?" I like that letter.

O'BRIEN: Not the question of the day, but you still like it.

CAFFERTY: Yes, this weekend on "IN THE MONEY," we'll look at a Pentagon report on what could happen if the greenhouse turns much of the world into a vast wasteland. That's "IN THE MONEY," Saturday at 1:00, Sunday at 3:00. Tidy little program. Invite you to watch it.

COOPER: Thank you, Jack.

Yes, I'll be watching.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Coming up on CNN this morning, he said he wasn't nervous the whole time, and that is why he won the national geography bee yesterday in Washington. The 14-year-old winner from Kansas is coming up in the next hour with Daryn Kagan on "CNN LIVE TODAY." AMERICAN MORNING will be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Here is Aaron Brown with a preview of what's coming up tonight on "NEWSNIGHT."

AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Mrs. O'Brien.

Tonight on "NEWSNIGHT," tracking down those who torture others. We'll meet a man whose job it is to find people now living in the U.S. who are suspected of committing human rights abuses in their own countries. Could they be living next door? They're living next door to someone. That, plus all of today's top stories, morning papers and the rest. That's NEWSNIGHT, CNN tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right, Aaron, thanks a lot. And that is it for us here on AMERICAN MORNING.

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