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CNN Live At Daybreak
Coffey Talk: Opening Statements Today in Scott Peterson Trial; America's Voice; Stem Cell Debate
Aired June 01, 2004 - 06:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The Iraqi Governing Council picks their new leaders and then explosions outside of coalition headquarters.
This is DAYBREAK for Tuesday, June 1.
And good morning to you from the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Carol Costello. Let me bring you up-to-date now.
Iraqi's new government is taking shape this morning. Ghazi Yawar will serve as president of the New Iraqi Governing Council when the transfer of power takes place in just 30 days.
Former Iraqi Foreign Minister Adnan Pachachi was originally offered the job, but he didn't waste any time saying no thank you.
According to wire reports, 10 to 25 people are dead after a series of explosions go off near Baghdad's Green Zone. It happened near the headquarters of the U.S. administration just a couple of hours ago.
In money news, 55 miles a gallon is just too attractive to pass up. Analysts say sales of hybrid vehicles, which run on a combination of gasoline and electricity, are up 36 percent so far this year.
In sports, the Lightning stamped out the Flames and games four of the Stanley Cup finals. That locked the series up with two wins apiece. Brad Richards scored the only goal of the night, and one was all Tampa Bay needed.
In culture, two of Britain's best are joining forces for one hot tour. Sting and Annie Lennox are going on the road together. They'll be performing individually, but they will sing a duet.
(WEATHER BREAK)
COSTELLO: It will not be dignified, at least outside of the courtroom. Hundreds of reporters are awaiting the opening statements in the Scott Peterson trial. Yes, the Scott Peterson trial is going to start today, a little over a year after the bodies of his wife and unborn child were recovered from the San Francisco Bay.
Peterson faces two counts of murder with special circumstances, and that means he could face the death penalty in California if he is convicted.
An intriguing topic to discuss over coffee this morning, so let's head live to Miami and our legal analyst, Kendall Coffey.
Good morning -- Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: So, the prosecutor will start with opening statements. How will he paint Scott Peterson?
COFFEY: He's going to have to paint him as somebody who was almost an unknown secretive person, so different from what everybody thought he was -- a loving everyday husband. Because the crime that he's accused of is absolutely horrible -- murdering his pregnant wife, his unborn son. And nothing that's obvious about the past of Scott Peterson tells you that he could be somebody who could do something so heinous.
So, the prosecution needs to emphasize that this is not the man that people thought he was.
COSTELLO: Kendall, this case is circumstantial, which in essence means no witness, no confession. How difficult will that be for the prosecution?
COFFEY: Well, I think it's going to be a challenging case for the prosecution, Carol. We haven't seen perhaps some of the cards they may be holding, because there's a gag order. But based on what they know, they're going to be relying heavily on the Amber Frey factor, the fact that the bodies were found in San Francisco Bay, where Scott Peterson had allegedly been fishing.
And Scott Peterson himself, just statements he made that aren't directly guilt-confessing but make him seem guilty-sounding after the time of the events, comments to Amber Frey and, of course, strange thing he said that made his gone-fishing alibi seem very, very fishy.
COSTELLO: So, that seems like it'll be at least a little easier for the prosecution over the defense. But when the defense attorneys get up, they're going to have to kind of do an O.J. Simpson kind of thing. They're going to have to prove that there was a rush to judgment, aren't they? Isn't that the only recourse?
COFFEY: There's going to be some of that strategy -- attack the prosecution, try to expose their criminal investigation's stumbling and bumbling. But at the same time, Carol, I think we're going to see several other things. Some witnesses that the defense will present indicating that there might have been people who saw Laci Peterson walking her dog on December 24 in the morning. If so, that's very inconsistent with the prosecution theme.
We're also going to see a big dueling expert scenario, including the horrific autopsy scenario, where I think that the pathologist that the defense is going to call may have a very strong and different opinion over time of death, which could be critical in this case because, according to the prosecution theory, it took place on December 23 or December 24. The defense may say it took place much later. And given the condition of the evidence, it's going to be a huge question mark that many of the jurors are going to have perhaps a difficulty unraveling.
COSTELLO: We'll be watching, as I'm sure will you. Kendall Coffey live in Miami for us this morning. Thank you.
COFFEY: Thanks.
COSTELLO: On the campaign trail today, Democrat John Kerry begins a two-day swing through the crucial state of Florida. In his speeches, he's expected to say that nuclear terrorism is the greatest threat to the United States. He's also expected to announce how he plans to prevent a terrorist attack using nuclear weapons.
President Bush will put his plan for so-called faith-based initiatives back in the spotlight. He'll talk about it at the National White House Conference of Community Leaders today in Washington. The plan allows religious-based groups to compete for government money to help out the needy.
It's time now to see what you're thinking about politics and things.
Joining us is Gallup Poll editor-in-chief Frank Newport live in Princeton, New Jersey.
What are you going to talk about today, Frank? I believe it's the military, right?
FRANK NEWPORT, GALLUP POLL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Indeed. The Memorial Day weekend and, of course, D-Day anniversary, the 60th anniversary that's up and coming. A lot of focus on the military.
Gallup has been asking Americans about the various service branches, believe it or not, Carol, going all the way back to World War II. What's most important? It used to be the Air Force. This year, it's the Army, Marines and Air Force all tied.
Another question we've asked: What's the most prestigious of the branches of the armed forces? We thought you would be interested. It is the Marine Corps, fairly overwhelmingly. If you ask somebody which branch of the service has the most status -- it's kind of an interesting question -- 44 percent of Americans choose the Marine Corps. You can see the other branches of the service come down quite below that.
Now, speaking of the military, we track each year confidence in American institutions. And, again, this year -- we just finished our annual update -- it is the military. Americans have more confidence in the military still than they do any other institution. It's down a little from last year, maybe as a result of the prison abuse scandal. There are some other things, but still very high -- 75 percent of Americans, high confidence in the military.
Here's the other top five: the police coming in below that, churches, banking and the institution of the presidency -- the top five institutions in which Americans have more confidence than others -- Carol. COSTELLO: OK. So, I fear what's at the bottom of that list. So go ahead, hit me.
NEWPORT: All right. Unfortunately, I have to say that of the ones we gave them, television news is down there. However, you're just there with Congress, whether that's some solace or not. I'll let you decide, Carol. Only 30 percent of Americans have a great deal or quite a bit of confidence in Congress. It's the same thing for newspapers and television news, quite low there. Big business is even lower. And at the bottom is HMOs. We've always had very, very low respect for HMOs on the part of the American public.
COSTELLO: Well, thank goodness that the HMOs are lower than broadcasters. That's all I have to say. That's sad, though. I think we have to do some work in the media, don't you?
NEWPORT: Indeed.
COSTELLO: Yes. Frank Newport live in Princeton, New Jersey. Thanks very much.
The political and ethically-charged topic of cloning will hit the United Nations today. Scientists will be pushing nations to allow cloning for therapeutic research in the possible cures for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease. But will the specter of designer babies derail any chance for progress?
Joining me here is Neil Lamb, assistant professor for human genetics at Emory University.
Thank you for coming in early.
NEIL LAMB, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HUMAN GENETICS, EMORY UNIVERSITY: You're welcome. Good morning.
COSTELLO: OK, let's talk first about what's going to go on in the United Nations today.
LAMB: There will be a discussion about the potential or presentation about upcoming discussions for, should we allow therapeutic cloning, reproductive cloning? What are the official positions going to be?
COSTELLO: And not so long ago, there was a partial vote within the United Nations, and they were going to vote to ban cloning altogether. But there's a difference between out-and-out cloning and what scientists call stem cell research.
LAMB: That's right. There's a difference between reproductive cloning, which is creating a new life that's genetically identical to a life that already exists -- much like Dolly the sheep, which most people may remember -- versus therapeutic cloning, which is cloning with the intent of extracting stem cells, which can be used for medicinal therapy -- replacements for brain cells for individuals with Parkinson's or replacement of insulin-producing cells for individuals with diabetes. So, there is not a new life created, although an embryo was produced and stem cells are extracted.
COSTELLO: And there's the pickle.
LAMB: And there's the problem. That's exactly right.
COSTELLO: Because many people feel if the embryo is being used, that is a life that you're going to destroy, for whatever purpose.
LAMB: That's right. You're weighing two potentials: the potential for life of the embryo and the potential for the medicinal therapy to save or to treat individuals down the road.
COSTELLO: So, the United Nations, the nations within the United Nations, will be discussing this and then coming up with some possible vote a month from now. But throwing a wrench into things possibly, remember the Raelians?
LAMB: Yes.
COSTELLO: Yes, the Raelians, who supposedly cloned, what, six babies?
LAMB: The Raelians believed that individuals came from -- that life came from outer space through a cloning process. And that ultimately cloning is the secret for us to achieving mortality.
COSTELLO: Yes. And the reason we bring this up is because this is sort of complicating the issue, because scientists certainly don't want those kinds of people involved in any kind of cloning process or debate.
LAMB: That's right. And that's the image that most of the public has about cloning -- either Dolly the sheep or the Raelians and like from outer space.
COSTELLO: So, a lot of scientists will be at the United Nations pushing for therapeutic cloning or stem cell research. Will they be successful?
LAMB: I think it depends on who happens to be listening at that specific point in time.
COSTELLO: And the United States is against, right now, cloning altogether, it doesn't matter.
LAMB: Correct. Therapeutic and reproductive, none of it. And stem cell research with federal funding is only limited to the stem cells that were available as of August, 2002.
COSTELLO: OK. Well, we'll see what happens in the United Nations today.
LAMB: It should be interesting.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Neil.
LAMB: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: Neil Lamb from Emory University, thank you for joining DAYBREAK.
We're going to take a short break. We'll be back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:45 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
The Iraqi Governing Council in a decision within the last couple of hours picks civil engineer Ghazi al-Yawar to lead the government. The announcement came after council member Adnan Pachachi said he did not want the job.
Opening statements get under way later this morning in the Scott Peterson trial. He's accused of killing his wife, Laci, and unborn son, Conner, back in 2002. If convicted, Peterson could face the death penalty.
In money news, U.S. oil prices surged back above $40 a barrel in early trading today. I think the price is now $41 a barrel. The increase comes after suspected al Qaeda militants killed 22 people in the Saudi oil city of Khobar over the weekend.
In sports, the L.A. Lakers moved to the NBA finals with a 96-90 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers will face either Detroit or Indiana for the championship.
In culture, Britney is welcome in Beijing, but she's got to watch what she wears. China's culture ministry has approved Britney Spears first concert over there, but they don't want her to show too much skin.
(WEATHER BREAK)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
Vice President Dick Cheney travels to Kansas City, Missouri, today. He'll talk about the Patriot Act at a campaign event for President Bush's re-election campaign. The antiterrorism law gives intelligence and law enforcement sweeping new surveillance powers.
So, Vice President Cheney is touting the Patriot Act, and you can bet the act will make its way into Bush campaign ads. And those ads in general are our hot talker of the morning.
According to "The Washington Post," it is official. This presidential race is the earliest, nastiest campaign ever. But will the candidate who has the nastiest ads win? Or will they backfire?
It's time to debate this issue with talk master and syndicated Libertarian conservative talker Neal Boortz and our liberal talk master, Mike Malloy.
Welcome, gentlemen.
MIKE MALLOY, LIBERAL TALK HOST: Hey, Carol.
COSTELLO: So, "The Washington Post" says three-quarters of the ads aired by Bush's campaign have been attacks on Kerry. That's 75 percent compared to 27 percent for Kerry.
So, is that a sign of desperation? Let's start with you, Mike.
MALLOY: Well, it speaks volumes in that the majority of these negative ads, the vast majority, is coming from the Bush administration. But I think we have to stipulate something, Carol, and I think my Libertarian friend, Neal Boortz, here would go along with this. And that is the Bush administration has no agenda that they can sell for re-election. They have to use negative ads.
That article by Dana Milbank (ph) in "The Washington Post" also explained how much of these ads were -- to use Milbank's (ph) term -- "untruths." Why don't we call a lie a lie? That's what our mommies and daddies taught us to say that a lie is a lie.
So, anything the Bush administration says can be challenged legitimately and fairly, and that's why they're going negative. They have nothing to sell for re-election.
COSTELLO: But couldn't you say the same about Kerry's ads...
MALLOY: No.
COSTELLO: ... Neal?
NEAL BOORTZ, CONSERVATIVE TALK HOST: Thanks, Mike, for answering for Neil.
MALLOY: No, I'm sorry, Neal. I lost my head there for a minute.
BOORTZ: No, I'm used to it. First of all, I'm amazed to learn this morning that "The Washington Post" is now our official arbiter here, Carol. But this whole thing about negative ads kind of amuses me on both sides.
Look, you're hiring somebody. And if I was hiring somebody for my office, I wouldn't send out an investigator to bring me all of the positive news about this person. Oh, yes, they can add, they can read, they feed their dog cheese. I want to know the negative. I want to know why I should not hire that person. That is where you can get into trouble.
Also, about the truthfulness of the ads, the survey is absolutely right: Both sides are a bunch of prevaricators. And they are fudging and hedging the truth.
Now, the amazing thing that Mike said that I find very amusing, perplexing, whatever, is that the Bush administration has no agenda to sell to the American people. They have an agenda on several fronts: the liberation of Iraq, spending this country into bankruptcy, fighting the war on terror.
MALLOY: That's right.
BOORTZ: Now, some of those elements of the agenda I think are positive. Some of them, like the big government spend-us-into- bankruptcy part of the agenda is not so positive.
COSTELLO: Mike, go for it.
MALLOY: Well, again, using Neal's example, if you were going to hire somebody, he would want to know the negatives about this person before he brought him into his office. OK. Let's go along with that. But the negatives should be somewhere within the same county as the truth, which is what the Bush administration is incapable of doing.
Read "The Washington Post" article, Neal. All of these charges made are that the Bush administration is lying in what they're saying. And Dana Milbank (ph) uses facts to back up his charge. The problem I have, he says, "untruths" rather than calling them what they are: lies.
BOORTZ: OK, let's look at the article. For instance, George Bush is saying that John Kerry would put a 50-cent-a-gallon tax on gasoline.
MALLOY: Not true. Not true.
BOORTZ: Now, John Kerry is now saying he would not do that. In the past, he has said that he would do that. So now, we have to figure out which one of these John Kerrys do we want in the White House.
COSTELLO: But, Neal, that was 10 years ago that John Kerry said that.
MALLOY: Yes.
BOORTZ: Hey, I said things 10 years ago, Carol, that I still stand behind.
COSTELLO: And you haven't changed your mind?
BOORTZ: I assume the same is true for you.
COSTELLO: You haven't changed your mind on anything in 10 years?
BOORTZ: I have on some things. But it's quite obvious John Kerry ran far, far to the left to get the Democratic nomination. You have to. That's the makeup of the delegates to the convention. Now, he's moving back towards the center. Are we supposed to just sit back and believe that everything he says, as he lurches back to the center, is the truth? Or was he saying the truth during the campaign?
COSTELLO: Mike? MALLOY: Hey, nice try...
COSTELLO: Mike?
MALLOY: Nice try, Neal. John Kerry as a leftist is like you as a communist. There's no way -- if you take a look at the rhetoric during the campaign, where, in what instance, name one, was John Kerry a leftist? No, he wasn't. He is a Clinton Democrat. And as I've said on this program before, Bill Clinton was the best Republican this country has ever had, the best Republican president this country has ever had.
BOORTZ: I will go with the "National Journal." They're nonpartisan. They say he's the most liberal member of the United States Senate, and I'm going to tend to go with that.
COSTELLO: All right, we're going to have to stop the debate there, because I know you guys will go on and on.
BOORTZ: Well, you all go do what you want to do and Mike and I are going to sit here and carry forth, Carol.
MALLOY: Yes, right, right.
COSTELLO: Well, don't (UNINTELLIGIBLE), that's all I ask.
MALLOY: Oh, no. Oh, no.
COSTELLO: Neal Boortz, Mike Malloy, thank you for joining DAYBREAK.
MALLOY: You bet.
COSTELLO: DAYBREAK will be right back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: We had such a spirited debate we only have time for a few things at the end of our program. And one would be the high pitch sound of the cicadas.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's the peak of the cicada season this week, and it starts going down from here. This is it. I promise you, it starts getting better, then they go back and they hatch and they live down there for 17 more years.
COSTELLO: Well, don't the males sing loudest in June because their timbales are really working to call, you know, for women cicadas?
MYERS: I don't know what a timbale is.
COSTELLO: It's the muscles in their abdominals that they rub together to produce that beautiful sound.
MYERS: Like I said, I don't know what a timbale is. COSTELLO: You don't use your timbale to attract females?
MYERS: I don't have muscles in my stomach. Anyway...
COSTELLO: Oh.
MYERS: OK, there you go. It's betting better from here.
The mug winner from yesterday, two quick questions. U.S. soldiers from the 45th Infantry are commemorating Memorial Day in what country? That's they are in Afghanistan. And, how much money has the movie, "Shrek 2," made so far? $237.8 million.
COSTELLO: Wow!
MYERS: And the winner, Mohan Gokhale from Orlando, Florida.
COSTELLO: And the greatest thing about Mohan is he was watching on Memorial Day.
MYERS: Yes, and probably very few of you were.
And the mug questions for today: The Miss Universe pageant, what state -- or what country...
COSTELLO: What country?
MYERS: What country and what city? And, some other question you can just answer. What is the controversial topic of the stem cell research thing they're doing in the United Nations today?
COSTELLO: You just told the answer!
MYERS: That's OK, because I can't concentrate when everybody's talking in my ear.
COSTELLO: Poor Chad.
MYERS: Golly!
COSTELLO: We're going to take a break. We'll be back with more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: That's all the time we have. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now. I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers. Have a great day.
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Aired June 1, 2004 - 06:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The Iraqi Governing Council picks their new leaders and then explosions outside of coalition headquarters.
This is DAYBREAK for Tuesday, June 1.
And good morning to you from the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Carol Costello. Let me bring you up-to-date now.
Iraqi's new government is taking shape this morning. Ghazi Yawar will serve as president of the New Iraqi Governing Council when the transfer of power takes place in just 30 days.
Former Iraqi Foreign Minister Adnan Pachachi was originally offered the job, but he didn't waste any time saying no thank you.
According to wire reports, 10 to 25 people are dead after a series of explosions go off near Baghdad's Green Zone. It happened near the headquarters of the U.S. administration just a couple of hours ago.
In money news, 55 miles a gallon is just too attractive to pass up. Analysts say sales of hybrid vehicles, which run on a combination of gasoline and electricity, are up 36 percent so far this year.
In sports, the Lightning stamped out the Flames and games four of the Stanley Cup finals. That locked the series up with two wins apiece. Brad Richards scored the only goal of the night, and one was all Tampa Bay needed.
In culture, two of Britain's best are joining forces for one hot tour. Sting and Annie Lennox are going on the road together. They'll be performing individually, but they will sing a duet.
(WEATHER BREAK)
COSTELLO: It will not be dignified, at least outside of the courtroom. Hundreds of reporters are awaiting the opening statements in the Scott Peterson trial. Yes, the Scott Peterson trial is going to start today, a little over a year after the bodies of his wife and unborn child were recovered from the San Francisco Bay.
Peterson faces two counts of murder with special circumstances, and that means he could face the death penalty in California if he is convicted.
An intriguing topic to discuss over coffee this morning, so let's head live to Miami and our legal analyst, Kendall Coffey.
Good morning -- Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: So, the prosecutor will start with opening statements. How will he paint Scott Peterson?
COFFEY: He's going to have to paint him as somebody who was almost an unknown secretive person, so different from what everybody thought he was -- a loving everyday husband. Because the crime that he's accused of is absolutely horrible -- murdering his pregnant wife, his unborn son. And nothing that's obvious about the past of Scott Peterson tells you that he could be somebody who could do something so heinous.
So, the prosecution needs to emphasize that this is not the man that people thought he was.
COSTELLO: Kendall, this case is circumstantial, which in essence means no witness, no confession. How difficult will that be for the prosecution?
COFFEY: Well, I think it's going to be a challenging case for the prosecution, Carol. We haven't seen perhaps some of the cards they may be holding, because there's a gag order. But based on what they know, they're going to be relying heavily on the Amber Frey factor, the fact that the bodies were found in San Francisco Bay, where Scott Peterson had allegedly been fishing.
And Scott Peterson himself, just statements he made that aren't directly guilt-confessing but make him seem guilty-sounding after the time of the events, comments to Amber Frey and, of course, strange thing he said that made his gone-fishing alibi seem very, very fishy.
COSTELLO: So, that seems like it'll be at least a little easier for the prosecution over the defense. But when the defense attorneys get up, they're going to have to kind of do an O.J. Simpson kind of thing. They're going to have to prove that there was a rush to judgment, aren't they? Isn't that the only recourse?
COFFEY: There's going to be some of that strategy -- attack the prosecution, try to expose their criminal investigation's stumbling and bumbling. But at the same time, Carol, I think we're going to see several other things. Some witnesses that the defense will present indicating that there might have been people who saw Laci Peterson walking her dog on December 24 in the morning. If so, that's very inconsistent with the prosecution theme.
We're also going to see a big dueling expert scenario, including the horrific autopsy scenario, where I think that the pathologist that the defense is going to call may have a very strong and different opinion over time of death, which could be critical in this case because, according to the prosecution theory, it took place on December 23 or December 24. The defense may say it took place much later. And given the condition of the evidence, it's going to be a huge question mark that many of the jurors are going to have perhaps a difficulty unraveling.
COSTELLO: We'll be watching, as I'm sure will you. Kendall Coffey live in Miami for us this morning. Thank you.
COFFEY: Thanks.
COSTELLO: On the campaign trail today, Democrat John Kerry begins a two-day swing through the crucial state of Florida. In his speeches, he's expected to say that nuclear terrorism is the greatest threat to the United States. He's also expected to announce how he plans to prevent a terrorist attack using nuclear weapons.
President Bush will put his plan for so-called faith-based initiatives back in the spotlight. He'll talk about it at the National White House Conference of Community Leaders today in Washington. The plan allows religious-based groups to compete for government money to help out the needy.
It's time now to see what you're thinking about politics and things.
Joining us is Gallup Poll editor-in-chief Frank Newport live in Princeton, New Jersey.
What are you going to talk about today, Frank? I believe it's the military, right?
FRANK NEWPORT, GALLUP POLL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Indeed. The Memorial Day weekend and, of course, D-Day anniversary, the 60th anniversary that's up and coming. A lot of focus on the military.
Gallup has been asking Americans about the various service branches, believe it or not, Carol, going all the way back to World War II. What's most important? It used to be the Air Force. This year, it's the Army, Marines and Air Force all tied.
Another question we've asked: What's the most prestigious of the branches of the armed forces? We thought you would be interested. It is the Marine Corps, fairly overwhelmingly. If you ask somebody which branch of the service has the most status -- it's kind of an interesting question -- 44 percent of Americans choose the Marine Corps. You can see the other branches of the service come down quite below that.
Now, speaking of the military, we track each year confidence in American institutions. And, again, this year -- we just finished our annual update -- it is the military. Americans have more confidence in the military still than they do any other institution. It's down a little from last year, maybe as a result of the prison abuse scandal. There are some other things, but still very high -- 75 percent of Americans, high confidence in the military.
Here's the other top five: the police coming in below that, churches, banking and the institution of the presidency -- the top five institutions in which Americans have more confidence than others -- Carol. COSTELLO: OK. So, I fear what's at the bottom of that list. So go ahead, hit me.
NEWPORT: All right. Unfortunately, I have to say that of the ones we gave them, television news is down there. However, you're just there with Congress, whether that's some solace or not. I'll let you decide, Carol. Only 30 percent of Americans have a great deal or quite a bit of confidence in Congress. It's the same thing for newspapers and television news, quite low there. Big business is even lower. And at the bottom is HMOs. We've always had very, very low respect for HMOs on the part of the American public.
COSTELLO: Well, thank goodness that the HMOs are lower than broadcasters. That's all I have to say. That's sad, though. I think we have to do some work in the media, don't you?
NEWPORT: Indeed.
COSTELLO: Yes. Frank Newport live in Princeton, New Jersey. Thanks very much.
The political and ethically-charged topic of cloning will hit the United Nations today. Scientists will be pushing nations to allow cloning for therapeutic research in the possible cures for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease. But will the specter of designer babies derail any chance for progress?
Joining me here is Neil Lamb, assistant professor for human genetics at Emory University.
Thank you for coming in early.
NEIL LAMB, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HUMAN GENETICS, EMORY UNIVERSITY: You're welcome. Good morning.
COSTELLO: OK, let's talk first about what's going to go on in the United Nations today.
LAMB: There will be a discussion about the potential or presentation about upcoming discussions for, should we allow therapeutic cloning, reproductive cloning? What are the official positions going to be?
COSTELLO: And not so long ago, there was a partial vote within the United Nations, and they were going to vote to ban cloning altogether. But there's a difference between out-and-out cloning and what scientists call stem cell research.
LAMB: That's right. There's a difference between reproductive cloning, which is creating a new life that's genetically identical to a life that already exists -- much like Dolly the sheep, which most people may remember -- versus therapeutic cloning, which is cloning with the intent of extracting stem cells, which can be used for medicinal therapy -- replacements for brain cells for individuals with Parkinson's or replacement of insulin-producing cells for individuals with diabetes. So, there is not a new life created, although an embryo was produced and stem cells are extracted.
COSTELLO: And there's the pickle.
LAMB: And there's the problem. That's exactly right.
COSTELLO: Because many people feel if the embryo is being used, that is a life that you're going to destroy, for whatever purpose.
LAMB: That's right. You're weighing two potentials: the potential for life of the embryo and the potential for the medicinal therapy to save or to treat individuals down the road.
COSTELLO: So, the United Nations, the nations within the United Nations, will be discussing this and then coming up with some possible vote a month from now. But throwing a wrench into things possibly, remember the Raelians?
LAMB: Yes.
COSTELLO: Yes, the Raelians, who supposedly cloned, what, six babies?
LAMB: The Raelians believed that individuals came from -- that life came from outer space through a cloning process. And that ultimately cloning is the secret for us to achieving mortality.
COSTELLO: Yes. And the reason we bring this up is because this is sort of complicating the issue, because scientists certainly don't want those kinds of people involved in any kind of cloning process or debate.
LAMB: That's right. And that's the image that most of the public has about cloning -- either Dolly the sheep or the Raelians and like from outer space.
COSTELLO: So, a lot of scientists will be at the United Nations pushing for therapeutic cloning or stem cell research. Will they be successful?
LAMB: I think it depends on who happens to be listening at that specific point in time.
COSTELLO: And the United States is against, right now, cloning altogether, it doesn't matter.
LAMB: Correct. Therapeutic and reproductive, none of it. And stem cell research with federal funding is only limited to the stem cells that were available as of August, 2002.
COSTELLO: OK. Well, we'll see what happens in the United Nations today.
LAMB: It should be interesting.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Neil.
LAMB: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: Neil Lamb from Emory University, thank you for joining DAYBREAK.
We're going to take a short break. We'll be back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:45 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
The Iraqi Governing Council in a decision within the last couple of hours picks civil engineer Ghazi al-Yawar to lead the government. The announcement came after council member Adnan Pachachi said he did not want the job.
Opening statements get under way later this morning in the Scott Peterson trial. He's accused of killing his wife, Laci, and unborn son, Conner, back in 2002. If convicted, Peterson could face the death penalty.
In money news, U.S. oil prices surged back above $40 a barrel in early trading today. I think the price is now $41 a barrel. The increase comes after suspected al Qaeda militants killed 22 people in the Saudi oil city of Khobar over the weekend.
In sports, the L.A. Lakers moved to the NBA finals with a 96-90 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers will face either Detroit or Indiana for the championship.
In culture, Britney is welcome in Beijing, but she's got to watch what she wears. China's culture ministry has approved Britney Spears first concert over there, but they don't want her to show too much skin.
(WEATHER BREAK)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
Vice President Dick Cheney travels to Kansas City, Missouri, today. He'll talk about the Patriot Act at a campaign event for President Bush's re-election campaign. The antiterrorism law gives intelligence and law enforcement sweeping new surveillance powers.
So, Vice President Cheney is touting the Patriot Act, and you can bet the act will make its way into Bush campaign ads. And those ads in general are our hot talker of the morning.
According to "The Washington Post," it is official. This presidential race is the earliest, nastiest campaign ever. But will the candidate who has the nastiest ads win? Or will they backfire?
It's time to debate this issue with talk master and syndicated Libertarian conservative talker Neal Boortz and our liberal talk master, Mike Malloy.
Welcome, gentlemen.
MIKE MALLOY, LIBERAL TALK HOST: Hey, Carol.
COSTELLO: So, "The Washington Post" says three-quarters of the ads aired by Bush's campaign have been attacks on Kerry. That's 75 percent compared to 27 percent for Kerry.
So, is that a sign of desperation? Let's start with you, Mike.
MALLOY: Well, it speaks volumes in that the majority of these negative ads, the vast majority, is coming from the Bush administration. But I think we have to stipulate something, Carol, and I think my Libertarian friend, Neal Boortz, here would go along with this. And that is the Bush administration has no agenda that they can sell for re-election. They have to use negative ads.
That article by Dana Milbank (ph) in "The Washington Post" also explained how much of these ads were -- to use Milbank's (ph) term -- "untruths." Why don't we call a lie a lie? That's what our mommies and daddies taught us to say that a lie is a lie.
So, anything the Bush administration says can be challenged legitimately and fairly, and that's why they're going negative. They have nothing to sell for re-election.
COSTELLO: But couldn't you say the same about Kerry's ads...
MALLOY: No.
COSTELLO: ... Neal?
NEAL BOORTZ, CONSERVATIVE TALK HOST: Thanks, Mike, for answering for Neil.
MALLOY: No, I'm sorry, Neal. I lost my head there for a minute.
BOORTZ: No, I'm used to it. First of all, I'm amazed to learn this morning that "The Washington Post" is now our official arbiter here, Carol. But this whole thing about negative ads kind of amuses me on both sides.
Look, you're hiring somebody. And if I was hiring somebody for my office, I wouldn't send out an investigator to bring me all of the positive news about this person. Oh, yes, they can add, they can read, they feed their dog cheese. I want to know the negative. I want to know why I should not hire that person. That is where you can get into trouble.
Also, about the truthfulness of the ads, the survey is absolutely right: Both sides are a bunch of prevaricators. And they are fudging and hedging the truth.
Now, the amazing thing that Mike said that I find very amusing, perplexing, whatever, is that the Bush administration has no agenda to sell to the American people. They have an agenda on several fronts: the liberation of Iraq, spending this country into bankruptcy, fighting the war on terror.
MALLOY: That's right.
BOORTZ: Now, some of those elements of the agenda I think are positive. Some of them, like the big government spend-us-into- bankruptcy part of the agenda is not so positive.
COSTELLO: Mike, go for it.
MALLOY: Well, again, using Neal's example, if you were going to hire somebody, he would want to know the negatives about this person before he brought him into his office. OK. Let's go along with that. But the negatives should be somewhere within the same county as the truth, which is what the Bush administration is incapable of doing.
Read "The Washington Post" article, Neal. All of these charges made are that the Bush administration is lying in what they're saying. And Dana Milbank (ph) uses facts to back up his charge. The problem I have, he says, "untruths" rather than calling them what they are: lies.
BOORTZ: OK, let's look at the article. For instance, George Bush is saying that John Kerry would put a 50-cent-a-gallon tax on gasoline.
MALLOY: Not true. Not true.
BOORTZ: Now, John Kerry is now saying he would not do that. In the past, he has said that he would do that. So now, we have to figure out which one of these John Kerrys do we want in the White House.
COSTELLO: But, Neal, that was 10 years ago that John Kerry said that.
MALLOY: Yes.
BOORTZ: Hey, I said things 10 years ago, Carol, that I still stand behind.
COSTELLO: And you haven't changed your mind?
BOORTZ: I assume the same is true for you.
COSTELLO: You haven't changed your mind on anything in 10 years?
BOORTZ: I have on some things. But it's quite obvious John Kerry ran far, far to the left to get the Democratic nomination. You have to. That's the makeup of the delegates to the convention. Now, he's moving back towards the center. Are we supposed to just sit back and believe that everything he says, as he lurches back to the center, is the truth? Or was he saying the truth during the campaign?
COSTELLO: Mike? MALLOY: Hey, nice try...
COSTELLO: Mike?
MALLOY: Nice try, Neal. John Kerry as a leftist is like you as a communist. There's no way -- if you take a look at the rhetoric during the campaign, where, in what instance, name one, was John Kerry a leftist? No, he wasn't. He is a Clinton Democrat. And as I've said on this program before, Bill Clinton was the best Republican this country has ever had, the best Republican president this country has ever had.
BOORTZ: I will go with the "National Journal." They're nonpartisan. They say he's the most liberal member of the United States Senate, and I'm going to tend to go with that.
COSTELLO: All right, we're going to have to stop the debate there, because I know you guys will go on and on.
BOORTZ: Well, you all go do what you want to do and Mike and I are going to sit here and carry forth, Carol.
MALLOY: Yes, right, right.
COSTELLO: Well, don't (UNINTELLIGIBLE), that's all I ask.
MALLOY: Oh, no. Oh, no.
COSTELLO: Neal Boortz, Mike Malloy, thank you for joining DAYBREAK.
MALLOY: You bet.
COSTELLO: DAYBREAK will be right back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: We had such a spirited debate we only have time for a few things at the end of our program. And one would be the high pitch sound of the cicadas.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's the peak of the cicada season this week, and it starts going down from here. This is it. I promise you, it starts getting better, then they go back and they hatch and they live down there for 17 more years.
COSTELLO: Well, don't the males sing loudest in June because their timbales are really working to call, you know, for women cicadas?
MYERS: I don't know what a timbale is.
COSTELLO: It's the muscles in their abdominals that they rub together to produce that beautiful sound.
MYERS: Like I said, I don't know what a timbale is. COSTELLO: You don't use your timbale to attract females?
MYERS: I don't have muscles in my stomach. Anyway...
COSTELLO: Oh.
MYERS: OK, there you go. It's betting better from here.
The mug winner from yesterday, two quick questions. U.S. soldiers from the 45th Infantry are commemorating Memorial Day in what country? That's they are in Afghanistan. And, how much money has the movie, "Shrek 2," made so far? $237.8 million.
COSTELLO: Wow!
MYERS: And the winner, Mohan Gokhale from Orlando, Florida.
COSTELLO: And the greatest thing about Mohan is he was watching on Memorial Day.
MYERS: Yes, and probably very few of you were.
And the mug questions for today: The Miss Universe pageant, what state -- or what country...
COSTELLO: What country?
MYERS: What country and what city? And, some other question you can just answer. What is the controversial topic of the stem cell research thing they're doing in the United Nations today?
COSTELLO: You just told the answer!
MYERS: That's OK, because I can't concentrate when everybody's talking in my ear.
COSTELLO: Poor Chad.
MYERS: Golly!
COSTELLO: We're going to take a break. We'll be back with more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: That's all the time we have. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now. I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers. Have a great day.
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