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American Morning

President Consults Attorney in CIA Leak Investigation; Surviving Summer: Amusement Park Safety; 90-Second Tips: Life Insurance

Aired June 03, 2004 - 07:30   ET

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

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


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back everybody. Almost 7:30 here in New York. Back with Soledad O'Brien on a Thursday morning after a long weekend.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

HEMMER: A lot of rest and relaxation. Making us all very ambiguous.

O'BRIEN: I moved. That's not relaxation. I was nodding but lying.

HEMMER: Welcome back.

O'BRIEN: Thank you.

HEMMER: The president has his work cut out for him in the next week trying to rally American allies to support his plan for Iraq's sovereignty. We'll look at that; also look at the president's decision to consult a private attorney regarding that CIA leak matter. We'll get to that in a moment.

O'BRIEN: Also this morning, our summer safety series continues looking at amusement park rides.

There's lots of competition out there to produce the biggest thrills with very little in the way of safety regulations so this morning we're going to take a look at what you can do to protect yourself.

HEMMER: Also, our personal money coach back to day, David Bach, clearing up the confusion about life insurance.

Do you have enough, how many years can you wait to get it, what type is right for you, all the sticky questions that maybe some of us put off for a while. David Bach is going to get to them in a while here.

O'BRIEN: All right, we begin though this morning with President Bush having discussions with a private attorney in connection with that federal probe into who leaked the identity of a covert CIA operative.

Mr. Bush could seek advice from the attorney if he is called before a grand jury.

Suzanne Malveaux live for us this morning at the White House.

Hey, Suzanne, good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Well, President Bush has had discussions with a private attorney, and he may retain him when it comes to this leak investigation. But what officials are telling us is that the president is not the focus of this investigation, but rather they anticipate that he may be questioned.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice over): The White House confirms President Bush has consulted a private attorney to possibly represent him in the criminal investigation into who leaked the name of a covert CIA operative last year.

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said the president has had discussions with a private attorney recently in the event he is sought by the grand jury. But there is no indication that President Bush is the target of the leak investigation.

McClellan noted that while Mr. President has recently spoken to Washington attorney Jim Sharp, he has not yet retained him.

The leak first appeared in print last July that anonymous senior administration officials had exposed the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame. Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson, has publicly accused the president of using bogus intelligence to make the case for invading Iraq, and Wilson suspected the White House was seeking revenge.

Wilson had been hired by the CIA to investigate reports that Iraq had sought uranium from Africa. Mr. Bush used that information in his 2003 State of the Union speech as part of his case to go to war.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.

MALVEAUX: Since January, a federal grand jury has been hearing testimony from administration and government officials to try to find who leaked Plame's identity, a federal crime. It has combed through thousands of pages of documents turned over by the White House and called witnesses, but returned to indictments.

McClellan said the president has always encouraged everyone in the White House to cooperate with the investigation, and that would mean him, too.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Now, clearly this leak investigation has become a political football during this election season. The Democratic National Committee immediately released a statement calling for the president to give everything that he knows and to come clean with the American people -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House for us. Suzanne, thanks -- Bill.

HEMMER: Soledad, if you're a fan of rollercoasters, then you know every year they seem to get bigger and faster and more thrilling. But are these mechanical marvels as safe as they should be? Already this year we've seen three ride-related deaths.

And this morning, as part of our "Surviving Summer" series, some advice today to keep a trip to the park from turning tragic.

I talked this week with safety advocate Kathy Fackler, asking her what led her to develop this group known as Safer Parks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHY FACKLER, SAFER PARKS: In 1998, when my younger son was 5 years old, he was in a bad accident on a rollercoaster, and his foot was torn in half. And what concerned me almost as much as the accident was the lack of any kind of safety oversight or public reporting. The accident was just, you know, kind of covered up. And it seemed to me that if something that serious could happen on a modern rollercoaster for my own child that the public wasn't getting the kind of information that they need in order to protect their own families.

HEMMER: So intimately, you were involved in this issue. I want to talk about some of the tips you have provided for us. No. 1, dress for safety. I'm not quite sure what you mean by that with the summertime and t shirts, a lot of flip-flops out there. Explain, if you could.

FACKLER: Well, if you think about it, you're really going down to spend the day with industrial machinery, so you need to dress appropriately, which means have closed-toed shoes without, you know, high heels. You don't want to be tripping around machinery like that. You don't want to have any dangling necklaces or earrings or drawstrings that might get caught up in the machinery.

HEMMER: Find the ride that fits, that's advice No. 2. What do you mean by that that, Kathy?

FACKLER: That's very important, especially with modern day machines. They're meant to fit people who are 170 pounds, adults for the most part. So, anyone who's on either end of that spectrum is going to be more likely to be hurt. Younger children are at highest risk for ejection and falling out of amusement rides because the restraints are made to fit adults. So, you need to pick and choose and find the ride that fits your child and safely contains him or her.

HEMMER: You mentioned children twice in your answer. This goes into the next issue here. No. 3, learn before you board. Learn before you get on.

FACKLER: It's very important that you understand how the machine works, where the load and unload points are, what kind of ride action it's going to have. And particularly if you're trying to figure out what ride is right for your child, take a look at his or her face. See what they think about it. Some children who are very timid shouldn't be on rides that might scare them. You never want to put your child on a ride that scares them, because if he happens to be scared and do something to get himself hurt, you know, you're going to regret it later.

HEMMER: Get off safely. Are you suggesting people don't wait until the ride's over?

FACKLER: Well, oftentimes they're just too excited and they want to go off, you know, on another ride. Oftentimes for young children especially it can be quite confusing. Some rides will stop temporarily before the unloading point, and a 5-year-old has no idea what the difference is between a permanent stop and a temporary stop. So, you need to be able to teach them where the unloading point is and make sure that they stay safely inside.

HEMMER: Overall, Kathy, do you think the amusement parks are getting safer year by year, or not?

FACKLER: I think that amusement parks are paying an awful lot of attention to safety, and I think that patrons now, it's our job to kind of meet them halfway and learn how to use the equipment safely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Kathy Fackler, a very interesting woman, too. For more safety tips and information, log on to her Web site, SaferParks.org, online for you right now, in fact. Also, tomorrow, the final part of our series. We'll tell you about barbecuing safely, good tips to know.

Now -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Experts will tell you that life insurance is an important part of any financial plan. But how do you know exactly what's right for you? That's ahead in "90-Second Tips."

Plus, the Mars rovers go into bonus time. Some amazing pictures just ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues right after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: It's been called the foundation of your financial plan, but it often causes confusion and anxiety. We're talking about life insurance. And this week's edition of "90-Second Tips" tackles a significant part of your financial life.

I recently asked our personal finance contributor, David Bach, for some important advice on the matter, like just who needs it and what kind and how much. David Bach, of course, is the author of the best-selling book, "The Automatic Millionaire." And I asked him who is it that actually needs to buy into the life insurance plan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID BACH, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE CONTRIBUTOR: If you are single, no kids, no family, nobody that needs money if you die, then you don't need life insurance. But basically, everybody else does. Again, if you have a family, if you have children, if you have a spouse, if you have a mortgage payment, you probably want to have a protection plan.

O'BRIEN: Let's walk through some of the options, because I actually -- we just did our life insurance, and it's so -- I find it so confusing.

BACH: It's overwhelming and people are scared by it.

O'BRIEN: OK. So, there is term and there is whole, to start with. Let's start with those two. What's term?

BACH: The key thing with term is that what you're buying is a death benefit. So, you pay a specific dollar amount a month. And usually people will get what's called a level policy. They'll get a 10-year policy or a 15 or a 20-year policy. The monthly cost is fixed.

O'BRIEN: Now, why would you go for that? I mean, after 15 years done and you have no insurance suddenly.

BACH: The reason people choose term is because it's significantly less expensive than whole life insurance. So, what they're saying is, look, over the next 20 years I know I want to have a million dollars in life insurance in case I die before my kids get to college.

O'BRIEN: Then let's talk about whole life insurance. Whole covers your whole life, I assume.

BACH: Whole life insurance is what we call cash value life insurance. It's where you're putting money into an insurance policy, and part of the premium is actually building a little nest egg for you. And that money is going into an investment, which is like a CD or a money market account. It's very secure. A lot of people recommend whole life insurance as an investment in addition to the death policy.

How much death benefit do you need? That's the most important thing. What's your income and what are you covering?

O'BRIEN: Right. So, how much do you need?

BACH: You know, people say there's all kinds of formulas. You need to take four times your salary. You need to take eight times your salary. You need to take 12 times your salary. It depends. Tell me how big your mortgage is. Tell me how much money you want to provide your family. Usually somewhere between 8 to 12 times your annual income is a large enough death benefit to totally protect your family. The key thing with whole life insurance is that you can borrow out the money, and you can borrow that money out tax-free. So, again, as you have greater wealth, a lot of people will say for sophisticated investors, look at life insurance both as a death benefit, but also as an investment vehicle and possibly an estate-planning vehicle.

The key thing to understand with insurance is that it comes to your beneficiaries tax-free. So, there are a lot of ways to use insurance. It's not simple. And then, you also have to make decisions on who do you buy it from? You know, do you buy it...

O'BRIEN: Who do you buy it from? Because there are even ads in the paper about who you can it from or you can have a broker call you up on the phone, or you can go to you guy.

BACH: Right.

O'BRIEN: You know somebody who sells it. Who do you buy from?

BACH: I think it depends on how much you're buying and how sophisticated you are. If you're looking for a term policy today, let's face it, the bottom line, you can go get a very cheap term policy by going online and doing a Google search and running a bunch of different Internet company searches and finding the best price. If you're looking at a whole life insurance policy, then realistically you're going to want some advice, and you're going to need to pay a commission for that to the person who is giving you the advice. Then I recommend talking to a professional insurance expert.

What I recommend you do when you work with a financial expert is you say, I want to understand what you're getting paid. So, if I'm buying a $3 million variable life insurance policy and I'm putting $5,000 into this policy every year, explain to me, how much do you make? That way you understand, OK, great, this person is making this much money in commissions. Then you're clear at least on what the cost is.

Another thing that's real important: What is the cost to get out of the insurance policy? Make sure you know what the termination fee is if you cancel the policy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: David Bach has his own nationally-syndicated radio show. It airs Saturday afternoons on Sirius Satellite Radio. And every Thursday you can catch David right here on AMERICAN MORNING with tips to improve your own financial life -- Bill.

HEMMER: More finances now. In a moment, increased oil production may mean less pump -- less pain at that pump, anyway. Will that happen? Find out in a moment when we continue after this on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: About 15 minutes before the hour. A check of the other headlines now. Heidi Collins yet again with news out of Afghanistan, and not of the good kind here.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, tragic there. I want to tell everybody about it. The organization, Doctors Without Borders, will no longer provide their services in Afghanistan, at least for now. Five of its aide workers were killed yesterday in an attack in the northwestern region of the country. An official says the group was traveling without security. The Associated Press quotes a Taliban spokesman who says his group is responsible for the attack.

President Bush is getting some legal advice now on the investigation into who leaked the name of an undercover CIA agent to the press. The White House says the president had discussions with a private attorney about it. A federal grand jury has already questioned numerous White House workers.

To California now. A joyride in a stolen diesel tanker ends in a crash for its 17-year-old driver. Police say the teen appeared to be intoxicated while driving. He bumped into at least eight other vehicles before crashing the tanker into concrete pillars. The accident is under investigation. Charges against the teen are pending.

And NASA says a brand new phase in the Mars mission is starting right now. Scientists say one of the rovers is about to explore an area that has much older rock formations than previously seen during the mission. We've got new some pictures here. The rovers have been exploring the red planet's landscape for evidence of water, as you know. NASA says the mission is in extra innings now. Pretty cool, isn't it?

HEMMER: You know...

O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) extended it. They're thrilled they're going longer than thought. Then they extended it. Then it was bonus.

HEMMER: You know what Jack would say? It still rocks.

O'BRIEN: It looks like Vegas. What's the difference?

COLLINS: I'm glad you attributed that to Jack.

HEMMER: Thank you, Heidi.

OPEC is apparently trying to boost its oil output. But will it be enough to ease the high prices at the pump?

Andy Serwer is off on assignment. We like to call it Lisovicz. Susan Lisovicz in today "Minding Your Business."

You know, somewhere along the family tree is Lisovicz.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS Well, yes, I think at Ellis Island. I think a lot of people said that exactly.

HEMMER: Well, what's going on with OPEC?

LISOVICZ: Well...

HEMMER: Can they increase or not at this point?

LISOVICZ: Oh, yes. In fact, some of the biggest members of OPEC, like for instance, Saudi Arabia, is calling for an immediate increase in production up to two and a half million barrels per day.

Ah! But Iran has a different idea. It says, well, why don't we do a two-step process in this whole thing?

And so how does that play out? It plays out in the oil markets. Oil, which yesterday light sweet crude which closed below $40 per barrel is back again above that level, up about 2 percent so far. Don't know how it will play out.

It's interesting, though, because two members of OPEC, both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, say that they're going to increase production regardless. But OPEC is still uncertain exactly...

HEMMER: The UAE said yesterday 400,000 barrel a day starting immediately. So...

LISOVICZ: And that was one of the reasons why oil prices were lower on the day. But just to put it in perspective, say two and a half million barrels per day, do you know how much the United States uses on a daily basis?

HEMMER: Twenty?

LISOVICZ: Twenty.

HEMMER: Twenty million.

LISOVICZ: Very good answer.

HEMMER: You know, we hear all of the complaints about these oil prices. Are Americans changing their behavior in any way?

LISOVICZ: Not if you look at auto sales for the month of May. Just amazing. You know, sizzling sales really. Auto sales in general are up 3 percent. But trucks, which include those gas-guzzling SUVs, are up nearly 5 percent. It's really all about incentives, cash rebates. The Hummer, down. The mother of all gas-guzzlers is down about 31 percent. But the F Series, a very popular Ford pickup truck, is up 4 percent on the month.

HEMMER: Interesting.

O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) preview of the market?

LISOVICZ: Lower on the day. Everybody is focused on the jobs report for tomorrow and, of course, the price of oil.

O'BRIEN: All right, Susan, thank you. Nice to have you filling in today. LISOVICZ: Lisovicz.

LISOVICZ: Lisovicz.

HEMMER: Lisovicz.

O'BRIEN: I don't ever call you...

LISOVICZ: Either way. Just call me.

O'BRIEN: That's how I am too.

Still to come this morning, Scott Peterson's defense team goes on the offensive. His lawyer says he has evidence that proves that his client is innocent. It involves Laci Peterson's pregnancy. We'll explain coming up in the next hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. Jack's got the question of the day.

Hello.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: How are you doing?

President Bush is drawing parallels between World War II and the war on terror as he prepares to leave for Europe to mark the 60th anniversary of D-Day. In his speech at the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony yesterday, the president compared the September 11 attacks to those at Pearl Harbor. And he said this is not the time for impatience or pessimism. Americans must show the same courage of past generations.

The question this morning is: Is the global war on terror this generation's World War II?

Sue in Waterville, Vermont, writes: "I can see the similarity to World War II, the identified target. However, the target is scattered. Terrorism can come in any form from any direction, and I hope we can keep this from becoming world war III."

Michael in Heron, South Dakota: "Yes it is. Of course, we now face an enemy much harder to find and motivation based on religion and racial bigotry instead of territorial acquisition. But the analogy is close enough. And the cost, if we lose, is the same."

And Jackie in New Mexico said: "I would think the remaining veterans of World War II would be offended by the president's comparison. It seems to me that he made that remark for political reasons only. Shame on him for denigrating my father's war."

AM@CNN.com

HEMMER: It does appear we're in a period of world history. I don't know what you're going to compare it to ultimately. We don't know how much longer it's going to go on. But we are in that era now.

CAFFERTY: Do you know somebody wrote? He said the parallel would be much closer if after Pearl Harbor we would have attacked Norway.

HEMMER: A viewer said that?

CAFFERTY: A viewer said that. It's actually an e-mail I'm going to read later...

O'BRIEN: I was going to say (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

CAFFERTY: ... because I liked it so much.

HEMMER: You liked it so much.

CAFFERTY: Well, I am, too. But we're going to read it later, because I liked it so much. He said it would have been a perfect parallel if after Pearl Harbor we would have attacked Norway.

(WEATHER BREAK)

HEMMER: Ahmed Chalabi accused of sharing U.S. secrets with Tehran. What was compromised? Were lives lost because of it? We'll talk to a former CIA officer about all of those matters in a moment here as AMERICAN MORNING continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, a staggering number of children could be on their way to early heart disease. Dr. Sanjay Gupta stops by to tell us what you can do to make sure it doesn't happen to your kids. That's ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues.

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 June 3, 2004 - 07:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back everybody. Almost 7:30 here in New York. Back with Soledad O'Brien on a Thursday morning after a long weekend.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

HEMMER: A lot of rest and relaxation. Making us all very ambiguous.

O'BRIEN: I moved. That's not relaxation. I was nodding but lying.

HEMMER: Welcome back.

O'BRIEN: Thank you.

HEMMER: The president has his work cut out for him in the next week trying to rally American allies to support his plan for Iraq's sovereignty. We'll look at that; also look at the president's decision to consult a private attorney regarding that CIA leak matter. We'll get to that in a moment.

O'BRIEN: Also this morning, our summer safety series continues looking at amusement park rides.

There's lots of competition out there to produce the biggest thrills with very little in the way of safety regulations so this morning we're going to take a look at what you can do to protect yourself.

HEMMER: Also, our personal money coach back to day, David Bach, clearing up the confusion about life insurance.

Do you have enough, how many years can you wait to get it, what type is right for you, all the sticky questions that maybe some of us put off for a while. David Bach is going to get to them in a while here.

O'BRIEN: All right, we begin though this morning with President Bush having discussions with a private attorney in connection with that federal probe into who leaked the identity of a covert CIA operative.

Mr. Bush could seek advice from the attorney if he is called before a grand jury.

Suzanne Malveaux live for us this morning at the White House.

Hey, Suzanne, good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Well, President Bush has had discussions with a private attorney, and he may retain him when it comes to this leak investigation. But what officials are telling us is that the president is not the focus of this investigation, but rather they anticipate that he may be questioned.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice over): The White House confirms President Bush has consulted a private attorney to possibly represent him in the criminal investigation into who leaked the name of a covert CIA operative last year.

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said the president has had discussions with a private attorney recently in the event he is sought by the grand jury. But there is no indication that President Bush is the target of the leak investigation.

McClellan noted that while Mr. President has recently spoken to Washington attorney Jim Sharp, he has not yet retained him.

The leak first appeared in print last July that anonymous senior administration officials had exposed the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame. Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson, has publicly accused the president of using bogus intelligence to make the case for invading Iraq, and Wilson suspected the White House was seeking revenge.

Wilson had been hired by the CIA to investigate reports that Iraq had sought uranium from Africa. Mr. Bush used that information in his 2003 State of the Union speech as part of his case to go to war.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.

MALVEAUX: Since January, a federal grand jury has been hearing testimony from administration and government officials to try to find who leaked Plame's identity, a federal crime. It has combed through thousands of pages of documents turned over by the White House and called witnesses, but returned to indictments.

McClellan said the president has always encouraged everyone in the White House to cooperate with the investigation, and that would mean him, too.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Now, clearly this leak investigation has become a political football during this election season. The Democratic National Committee immediately released a statement calling for the president to give everything that he knows and to come clean with the American people -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House for us. Suzanne, thanks -- Bill.

HEMMER: Soledad, if you're a fan of rollercoasters, then you know every year they seem to get bigger and faster and more thrilling. But are these mechanical marvels as safe as they should be? Already this year we've seen three ride-related deaths.

And this morning, as part of our "Surviving Summer" series, some advice today to keep a trip to the park from turning tragic.

I talked this week with safety advocate Kathy Fackler, asking her what led her to develop this group known as Safer Parks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHY FACKLER, SAFER PARKS: In 1998, when my younger son was 5 years old, he was in a bad accident on a rollercoaster, and his foot was torn in half. And what concerned me almost as much as the accident was the lack of any kind of safety oversight or public reporting. The accident was just, you know, kind of covered up. And it seemed to me that if something that serious could happen on a modern rollercoaster for my own child that the public wasn't getting the kind of information that they need in order to protect their own families.

HEMMER: So intimately, you were involved in this issue. I want to talk about some of the tips you have provided for us. No. 1, dress for safety. I'm not quite sure what you mean by that with the summertime and t shirts, a lot of flip-flops out there. Explain, if you could.

FACKLER: Well, if you think about it, you're really going down to spend the day with industrial machinery, so you need to dress appropriately, which means have closed-toed shoes without, you know, high heels. You don't want to be tripping around machinery like that. You don't want to have any dangling necklaces or earrings or drawstrings that might get caught up in the machinery.

HEMMER: Find the ride that fits, that's advice No. 2. What do you mean by that that, Kathy?

FACKLER: That's very important, especially with modern day machines. They're meant to fit people who are 170 pounds, adults for the most part. So, anyone who's on either end of that spectrum is going to be more likely to be hurt. Younger children are at highest risk for ejection and falling out of amusement rides because the restraints are made to fit adults. So, you need to pick and choose and find the ride that fits your child and safely contains him or her.

HEMMER: You mentioned children twice in your answer. This goes into the next issue here. No. 3, learn before you board. Learn before you get on.

FACKLER: It's very important that you understand how the machine works, where the load and unload points are, what kind of ride action it's going to have. And particularly if you're trying to figure out what ride is right for your child, take a look at his or her face. See what they think about it. Some children who are very timid shouldn't be on rides that might scare them. You never want to put your child on a ride that scares them, because if he happens to be scared and do something to get himself hurt, you know, you're going to regret it later.

HEMMER: Get off safely. Are you suggesting people don't wait until the ride's over?

FACKLER: Well, oftentimes they're just too excited and they want to go off, you know, on another ride. Oftentimes for young children especially it can be quite confusing. Some rides will stop temporarily before the unloading point, and a 5-year-old has no idea what the difference is between a permanent stop and a temporary stop. So, you need to be able to teach them where the unloading point is and make sure that they stay safely inside.

HEMMER: Overall, Kathy, do you think the amusement parks are getting safer year by year, or not?

FACKLER: I think that amusement parks are paying an awful lot of attention to safety, and I think that patrons now, it's our job to kind of meet them halfway and learn how to use the equipment safely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Kathy Fackler, a very interesting woman, too. For more safety tips and information, log on to her Web site, SaferParks.org, online for you right now, in fact. Also, tomorrow, the final part of our series. We'll tell you about barbecuing safely, good tips to know.

Now -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Experts will tell you that life insurance is an important part of any financial plan. But how do you know exactly what's right for you? That's ahead in "90-Second Tips."

Plus, the Mars rovers go into bonus time. Some amazing pictures just ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues right after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: It's been called the foundation of your financial plan, but it often causes confusion and anxiety. We're talking about life insurance. And this week's edition of "90-Second Tips" tackles a significant part of your financial life.

I recently asked our personal finance contributor, David Bach, for some important advice on the matter, like just who needs it and what kind and how much. David Bach, of course, is the author of the best-selling book, "The Automatic Millionaire." And I asked him who is it that actually needs to buy into the life insurance plan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID BACH, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE CONTRIBUTOR: If you are single, no kids, no family, nobody that needs money if you die, then you don't need life insurance. But basically, everybody else does. Again, if you have a family, if you have children, if you have a spouse, if you have a mortgage payment, you probably want to have a protection plan.

O'BRIEN: Let's walk through some of the options, because I actually -- we just did our life insurance, and it's so -- I find it so confusing.

BACH: It's overwhelming and people are scared by it.

O'BRIEN: OK. So, there is term and there is whole, to start with. Let's start with those two. What's term?

BACH: The key thing with term is that what you're buying is a death benefit. So, you pay a specific dollar amount a month. And usually people will get what's called a level policy. They'll get a 10-year policy or a 15 or a 20-year policy. The monthly cost is fixed.

O'BRIEN: Now, why would you go for that? I mean, after 15 years done and you have no insurance suddenly.

BACH: The reason people choose term is because it's significantly less expensive than whole life insurance. So, what they're saying is, look, over the next 20 years I know I want to have a million dollars in life insurance in case I die before my kids get to college.

O'BRIEN: Then let's talk about whole life insurance. Whole covers your whole life, I assume.

BACH: Whole life insurance is what we call cash value life insurance. It's where you're putting money into an insurance policy, and part of the premium is actually building a little nest egg for you. And that money is going into an investment, which is like a CD or a money market account. It's very secure. A lot of people recommend whole life insurance as an investment in addition to the death policy.

How much death benefit do you need? That's the most important thing. What's your income and what are you covering?

O'BRIEN: Right. So, how much do you need?

BACH: You know, people say there's all kinds of formulas. You need to take four times your salary. You need to take eight times your salary. You need to take 12 times your salary. It depends. Tell me how big your mortgage is. Tell me how much money you want to provide your family. Usually somewhere between 8 to 12 times your annual income is a large enough death benefit to totally protect your family. The key thing with whole life insurance is that you can borrow out the money, and you can borrow that money out tax-free. So, again, as you have greater wealth, a lot of people will say for sophisticated investors, look at life insurance both as a death benefit, but also as an investment vehicle and possibly an estate-planning vehicle.

The key thing to understand with insurance is that it comes to your beneficiaries tax-free. So, there are a lot of ways to use insurance. It's not simple. And then, you also have to make decisions on who do you buy it from? You know, do you buy it...

O'BRIEN: Who do you buy it from? Because there are even ads in the paper about who you can it from or you can have a broker call you up on the phone, or you can go to you guy.

BACH: Right.

O'BRIEN: You know somebody who sells it. Who do you buy from?

BACH: I think it depends on how much you're buying and how sophisticated you are. If you're looking for a term policy today, let's face it, the bottom line, you can go get a very cheap term policy by going online and doing a Google search and running a bunch of different Internet company searches and finding the best price. If you're looking at a whole life insurance policy, then realistically you're going to want some advice, and you're going to need to pay a commission for that to the person who is giving you the advice. Then I recommend talking to a professional insurance expert.

What I recommend you do when you work with a financial expert is you say, I want to understand what you're getting paid. So, if I'm buying a $3 million variable life insurance policy and I'm putting $5,000 into this policy every year, explain to me, how much do you make? That way you understand, OK, great, this person is making this much money in commissions. Then you're clear at least on what the cost is.

Another thing that's real important: What is the cost to get out of the insurance policy? Make sure you know what the termination fee is if you cancel the policy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: David Bach has his own nationally-syndicated radio show. It airs Saturday afternoons on Sirius Satellite Radio. And every Thursday you can catch David right here on AMERICAN MORNING with tips to improve your own financial life -- Bill.

HEMMER: More finances now. In a moment, increased oil production may mean less pump -- less pain at that pump, anyway. Will that happen? Find out in a moment when we continue after this on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: About 15 minutes before the hour. A check of the other headlines now. Heidi Collins yet again with news out of Afghanistan, and not of the good kind here.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, tragic there. I want to tell everybody about it. The organization, Doctors Without Borders, will no longer provide their services in Afghanistan, at least for now. Five of its aide workers were killed yesterday in an attack in the northwestern region of the country. An official says the group was traveling without security. The Associated Press quotes a Taliban spokesman who says his group is responsible for the attack.

President Bush is getting some legal advice now on the investigation into who leaked the name of an undercover CIA agent to the press. The White House says the president had discussions with a private attorney about it. A federal grand jury has already questioned numerous White House workers.

To California now. A joyride in a stolen diesel tanker ends in a crash for its 17-year-old driver. Police say the teen appeared to be intoxicated while driving. He bumped into at least eight other vehicles before crashing the tanker into concrete pillars. The accident is under investigation. Charges against the teen are pending.

And NASA says a brand new phase in the Mars mission is starting right now. Scientists say one of the rovers is about to explore an area that has much older rock formations than previously seen during the mission. We've got new some pictures here. The rovers have been exploring the red planet's landscape for evidence of water, as you know. NASA says the mission is in extra innings now. Pretty cool, isn't it?

HEMMER: You know...

O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) extended it. They're thrilled they're going longer than thought. Then they extended it. Then it was bonus.

HEMMER: You know what Jack would say? It still rocks.

O'BRIEN: It looks like Vegas. What's the difference?

COLLINS: I'm glad you attributed that to Jack.

HEMMER: Thank you, Heidi.

OPEC is apparently trying to boost its oil output. But will it be enough to ease the high prices at the pump?

Andy Serwer is off on assignment. We like to call it Lisovicz. Susan Lisovicz in today "Minding Your Business."

You know, somewhere along the family tree is Lisovicz.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS Well, yes, I think at Ellis Island. I think a lot of people said that exactly.

HEMMER: Well, what's going on with OPEC?

LISOVICZ: Well...

HEMMER: Can they increase or not at this point?

LISOVICZ: Oh, yes. In fact, some of the biggest members of OPEC, like for instance, Saudi Arabia, is calling for an immediate increase in production up to two and a half million barrels per day.

Ah! But Iran has a different idea. It says, well, why don't we do a two-step process in this whole thing?

And so how does that play out? It plays out in the oil markets. Oil, which yesterday light sweet crude which closed below $40 per barrel is back again above that level, up about 2 percent so far. Don't know how it will play out.

It's interesting, though, because two members of OPEC, both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, say that they're going to increase production regardless. But OPEC is still uncertain exactly...

HEMMER: The UAE said yesterday 400,000 barrel a day starting immediately. So...

LISOVICZ: And that was one of the reasons why oil prices were lower on the day. But just to put it in perspective, say two and a half million barrels per day, do you know how much the United States uses on a daily basis?

HEMMER: Twenty?

LISOVICZ: Twenty.

HEMMER: Twenty million.

LISOVICZ: Very good answer.

HEMMER: You know, we hear all of the complaints about these oil prices. Are Americans changing their behavior in any way?

LISOVICZ: Not if you look at auto sales for the month of May. Just amazing. You know, sizzling sales really. Auto sales in general are up 3 percent. But trucks, which include those gas-guzzling SUVs, are up nearly 5 percent. It's really all about incentives, cash rebates. The Hummer, down. The mother of all gas-guzzlers is down about 31 percent. But the F Series, a very popular Ford pickup truck, is up 4 percent on the month.

HEMMER: Interesting.

O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) preview of the market?

LISOVICZ: Lower on the day. Everybody is focused on the jobs report for tomorrow and, of course, the price of oil.

O'BRIEN: All right, Susan, thank you. Nice to have you filling in today. LISOVICZ: Lisovicz.

LISOVICZ: Lisovicz.

HEMMER: Lisovicz.

O'BRIEN: I don't ever call you...

LISOVICZ: Either way. Just call me.

O'BRIEN: That's how I am too.

Still to come this morning, Scott Peterson's defense team goes on the offensive. His lawyer says he has evidence that proves that his client is innocent. It involves Laci Peterson's pregnancy. We'll explain coming up in the next hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. Jack's got the question of the day.

Hello.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: How are you doing?

President Bush is drawing parallels between World War II and the war on terror as he prepares to leave for Europe to mark the 60th anniversary of D-Day. In his speech at the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony yesterday, the president compared the September 11 attacks to those at Pearl Harbor. And he said this is not the time for impatience or pessimism. Americans must show the same courage of past generations.

The question this morning is: Is the global war on terror this generation's World War II?

Sue in Waterville, Vermont, writes: "I can see the similarity to World War II, the identified target. However, the target is scattered. Terrorism can come in any form from any direction, and I hope we can keep this from becoming world war III."

Michael in Heron, South Dakota: "Yes it is. Of course, we now face an enemy much harder to find and motivation based on religion and racial bigotry instead of territorial acquisition. But the analogy is close enough. And the cost, if we lose, is the same."

And Jackie in New Mexico said: "I would think the remaining veterans of World War II would be offended by the president's comparison. It seems to me that he made that remark for political reasons only. Shame on him for denigrating my father's war."

AM@CNN.com

HEMMER: It does appear we're in a period of world history. I don't know what you're going to compare it to ultimately. We don't know how much longer it's going to go on. But we are in that era now.

CAFFERTY: Do you know somebody wrote? He said the parallel would be much closer if after Pearl Harbor we would have attacked Norway.

HEMMER: A viewer said that?

CAFFERTY: A viewer said that. It's actually an e-mail I'm going to read later...

O'BRIEN: I was going to say (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

CAFFERTY: ... because I liked it so much.

HEMMER: You liked it so much.

CAFFERTY: Well, I am, too. But we're going to read it later, because I liked it so much. He said it would have been a perfect parallel if after Pearl Harbor we would have attacked Norway.

(WEATHER BREAK)

HEMMER: Ahmed Chalabi accused of sharing U.S. secrets with Tehran. What was compromised? Were lives lost because of it? We'll talk to a former CIA officer about all of those matters in a moment here as AMERICAN MORNING continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, a staggering number of children could be on their way to early heart disease. Dr. Sanjay Gupta stops by to tell us what you can do to make sure it doesn't happen to your kids. That's ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues.

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