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American Morning

Remembering Ronald Reagan; Paging Dr. Gupta: Training the Brain

Aired June 10, 2004 - 08:30   ET

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

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


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: A bit of decent news coming from the Capitol Police chief, Terry Gainer, telling Elaine Quijano here at CNN that the line that had waited about five hours last night has dropped down considerably -- now saying the wait is only about two hours in time. And we have seen the line behind us kind of ebb and flow throughout the morning here. Sometimes it grows larger. But at this point, it has dropped down quite a bit. Still, though, several thousand in line as that line snakes its way towards the Capitol.
They're saying the line is slow, because people are bringing things that simply aren't allowed. There are no flowers, no audio equipment, no video equipment, no cameras, nothing like that is allowed inside. In fact, they're saying nothing larger than a handbag is allowed into the Rotunda building helping to slow the line.

As we watch things inside, let's come back outside and say good morning to Carson Gibson from Lexington, Virginia, here with his two sons, who has just came out of the Capitol Rotunda building to share his experience with us. Good morning to all three of you.

CARSON GIBSON, PASSED BY REAGAN CASKET: Good morning.

HEMMER: You first met Ronald Reagan back in 1976.

GIBSON: In 1976 in Roanoke, Virginia, at the Virginia Republican Convention. I ran into him by accident. I was walking up the steps, and a large crowd was coming toward me down the steps, and emerging from the center of that group was Ronald Reagan, much to my surprise. He reached out his hand. He shook my hand and asked me how I was doing as a young man. And I told him I was doing very well.

HEMMER: Did you know who he was at that point?

GIBSON: I certainly did. I was 15 at the time.

HEMMER: Did you know much about him and his politics?

GIBSON: I did. I have enjoyed politics probably since about second and third grade and followed it since then.

HEMMER: What did Ronald Reagan mean to you, Carson?

GIBSON: Ronald Reagan was like, I think, the nation's grandfather. He cared about the people. He was sincere. He had convictions about what he believed in, and he followed through on those convictions. And that's why I admire him.

HEMMER: A simple question. How long was your wait?

GIBSON: Well, we left around 10:00 last night and arrived here at 1:30. We got in line at 2:00, and we were viewing the casket around 6:00 this morning.

HEMMER: So that period in line was about?

GIBSON: Four hours.

HEMMER: Four hours. OK.

GIBSON: Four hours.

HEMMER: Worth it, I'm assuming.

GIBSON: Oh, most definitely. Most definitely.

HEMMER: Thank you. Carson Gibson from Lexington, Virginia, thanks. And thanks to your two sons as well. Nice to see you this morning.

GIBSON: Thank you.

HEMMER: Tomorrow about this time, 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, we'll have our live coverage leading up to the funeral about 11:30 local time here in Washington. That will take place at the National Cathedral.

In a moment, Senator Phil Gramm out of Texas, why he converted from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party as a result of Ronald Reagan. We'll get to that connection as well in a moment here.

We're talking to a number of Vietnam veterans, too, Soledad, who will come by. At least two of them telling me that during the 1970s, they felt this period of America being down and depressed. And Ronald Reagan, they say, gave them a sense of optimism. Much more on their story, again, as our coverage continues.

Back to you now in New York.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Bill, thanks. We look forward to that.

Well, while Ronald Reagan is being remembered this week as one of America's great presidents, our next guest reminds us that Nancy Reagan also made a memorable mark during the White House years. Kati Marton is an expert on the subject of America's first ladies. And her new book is called "Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages That Shaped our History."

Nice to see you again. Thanks for being with us.

KATI MARTON, AUTHOR, "HIDDEN POWER": Nice to be with you, Soledad. O'BRIEN: Nancy Reagan very much in charge, I think, over the last decade of her husband's legacy. But let's talk about her legacy instead.

MARTON: Yes.

O'BRIEN: What will people take from her?

MARTON: First of all, Soledad, I think yesterday was almost as much about Nancy as about Ronald Reagan, because the two of them really were such a close couple. There hasn't been a closer couple in the White House in recent memory. And she was really important in shaping his legacy, even while they were in the White House. She was, I think, his unofficial chief of personnel. She is the one who selected the people who she knew worked best with Ronnie, as she called him.

O'BRIEN: She sometimes would say that, you know, he's so trusting of the people around him that she had to be the bad guy in order to protect him.

MARTON: Yes, may I say, she played that role very skillfully.

O'BRIEN: Pretty well.

MARTON: He was chemically incapable of dismissing people. She was good at that. And she wanted him to be remembered as a peacemaker, not as a warmonger. And so, she picked the right people for that and worked behind the scenes. You know, she was as integrated into the policy aspects of the Reagan White House as any -- well, there hasn't been a first lady, and I include Hillary Clinton in that list, there hasn't been a first lady who was as indispensable to her husband's presidency as Nancy.

O'BRIEN: So, why do you put Nancy above of Hillary Clinton in that? Some people, I think, would have said, oh, Hillary Clinton would be sort of the role model for that.

MARTON: Well, Hillary did have an office in the West Wing, but what Nancy had a telephone, which she used like a weapon. She knew -- she was on top of every detail in the White House.. And Mike Deaver once told me that if I didn't hear from Nancy for 24 hours, I'd pick up the phone and say, "Nancy, do we have a problem?"

O'BRIEN: He'd call her first, just in case.

MARTON: Yes. She has said that she will be buried with her telephone. So, she knew everything that was going on. And when she was sidelined from the White House under Don Regan's term as chief of staff, because Don Regan didn't really get this marriage, how interdependent these two people were, that's when they got in trouble. That's when Iran-Contra happened. That's when Oliver North slipped under the radar.

O'BRIEN: So, you give her really credit for having a huge, huge role. MARTON: I do. Substantial.

O'BRIEN: You write about them sort of fusing, the president and the first lady fusing into one person to the exclusion of their children, which is strange.

MARTON: Sadly that was the case. You know, when Ron Reagan was asked how his father's Alzheimer's had affected the family, he said, well, we never really had him, so we can't feel a loss now. They really -- Nancy and Ronnie were a universe unto themselves. They really were complete. They completed each other. And unfortunately, that had a rather negative impact on the children, who felt neglected and excluded. It was a great, great love story.

O'BRIEN: Stem cell research seems to be the next frontier for her. Describe for me -- she looks very frail.

MARTON: Yes.

O'BRIEN: But describe for me what you think the next years will be for Nancy Reagan.

MARTON: Well, first of all, she has now so skillfully transformed her image from this extravagant royalty and high-fashion obsessed creature to an extraordinarily devoted, serious, caring person in the last decade that now she's positioned to be very much like Lady Bird Johnson, sort of a...

O'BRIEN: Respected, revered.

MARTON: Respected, an iconic first lady, who no doubt will make inroads in the stem cell research arena, because, of course, she has lived with Alzheimer's. And so are so many of us now exposed to Alzheimer's. So, she speaks with great conviction and great authority on that subject. And I think we're going to be -- once she recovers from the trauma of these days, I think we will be seeing more of her, hearing more from her, and she will emerge from her self-imposed exile.

O'BRIEN: Interesting. Kati Marton, of course, you would know. You're the expert on the first ladies. Thanks for coming in to talk to us about it. We appreciate it.

MARTON: Thank, Soledad. Pleasure.

O'BRIEN: And still to come this morning, former President Reagan was slowly, as we all know, overwhelmed by Alzheimer's disease. But now there's a new treatment for Alzheimer's that's being called "boot camp for your brain." Dr. Sanjay Gupta will explain that, just ahead.

We'll also tell you about the security breach that caused an immediate evacuation of the Capitol just before the arrival of Ronald Reagan's casket.

And witnesses talk about why Scott Peterson raised their suspicions. We'll take you live to the courthouse coming up in our next hour. Those stories all ahead as we continue right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The death of Ronald Reagan has focused new attention on the fight against Alzheimer's disease. Well, now a training program designed to keep you mentally fit and perhaps reduce the risk of Alzheimer's is showing some promise.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us with more on this so-called "boot camp for the brain."

This is all based on a book, isn't it?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is a book by Gary Small actually looking at the daily things that may drive you to distraction or perhaps true memory loss in the form of Alzheimer's is unclear. Obviously, a lot of attention is being focused on Alzheimer's.

The numbers are remarkable and worth paying attention to. After the age of 65, about 1 in 5 people develop Alzheimer's. If you live to 85 or older, about half will develop Alzheimer's. So, a very significant disease.

Are there things you can do to try and prevent it earlier, besides taking medication, of which there are a few now out there? That's what Gary Small sort of writes about, and some is sort of common sense.

I'll go through the list here of various things, but mental aerobics, and really doing mental aerobics during the day. Word puzzles. Just trying to remember what your spouse wore before he or she left the house today. Interesting. Just constantly challenging your mind. A healthy diet. People have known for a long that a healthy diet does play a role in overall mental health. Antioxidants, omega 3 fatty acids, foods like that. Regular exercise. People who are physically active tend to be sharper mentally. Why? The answer to that is unclear but there is a correlation. So, why not incorporate that as well. Stress reduction. That is an overused term for sure, but people who are less stressed, people who have less distractions, tend to remember things better as well.

And that's really what this book is about.

O'BRIEN: And the book really focused on boot camp. I mean, literally they put people through boot camp. What did a day in boot camp look like? And what were the results that they found so impressive at the end?

GUPTA: OK, so a day in boot camp really incorporates all of those various things. First, in the morning, you may start off with some light exercise, things like that. Diet's going to be really important, you know, again, the various diet forms. The omega 3 fatty acids, antioxidants are going to important, low fatty foods, and low glycemic-index carbs. And what that means, one thing...

O'BRIEN: Yes, what is that?

GUPTA: Well, one thing I sort of found interesting is it really advocates five small meals throughout the day. The notion is this: Much in the same way, if your body sort of yaws back and forth between exercise and no exercise, your brain and the rest of your body can do the same thing by eating foods that are high in sugar and then crashing. High in sugar and then crashing. So, try and keep it sort of stable throughout the day. Again, the mental aerobics we were talking about earlier, those constantly word puzzles and things like that.

O'BRIEN: So, everybody in boot camp didn't actually have a job. They were doing crossword puzzles and running around and getting exercise all day.

GUPTA: Well, it isn't -- yes. I mean, it might take a couple of minutes to try and remember certain things, you know, recollect. I don't know how your memory is. My memory isn't the best.

O'BRIEN: Mine is horrible.

GUPTA: And that's a point that the book makes as well, you know, not all bad memory is Alzheimer's disease. A lot of times it's just the distractions of daily life, but the outcome might be the same. You might have improvements in both of those things by going through something like this.

O'BRIEN: They didn't mention sleep. And I would -- I mean, I think my memory is bad because I'm so sleep-deprived all the time. Is there a link with that?

GUPTA: Absolutely. They didn't mention it in the book, but there have been a lot of other studies that have talked about that. And, in fact, they have numbers, you know, saying if you're sleeping less than X number of hours, you're bound to make more mistakes just in terms of your judgment and your memory.

O'BRIEN: Interesting. It's an interesting concept. I like the idea.

GUPTA: It's common sense, but it's worth sort of jump-starting things.

O'BRIEN: I need another three hours in my day to start doing crossword puzzles. Sanjay, thanks, as always.

Still to come this morning, Ronald Reagan led a dramatic change in American politics. In our next hour, former Senator Phil Gramm on his political re-birth in the shadow of Reagan. That's ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Forty-six minutes past the hour now. Time to take a look at some of today's other news with Heidi Collins.

Good morning again.

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

At the U.S. Capitol, quite a moment of panic before the casket of former President Reagan arrived. Lawmakers and mourners actually ran from the area after a small plane flew into restricted airspace. It did turn out to be a false alarm. The plane carrying Kentucky's governor had lost its radio transmission -- problems with its transponder. Two F-15 fighters intercepted the aircraft.

Two U.S. defense contractors are being sued in connection with abuse of prisoners in Iraq prisons. The suit was filed in San Diego, California, on behalf of eight Iraqis and the estate of an Iraqi man, who lawyers say was tortured to death. The lawsuit accuses Titan Corporation and CACI International of conspiring to torture, rape and execute prisoners. The companies deny those allegations.

A student at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington is accused of shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend and then himself just days after a newspaper exposed his criminal record. The school suspended John Peck for lying about his past. The executive editor of the "Wilmington Star News" says his paper is not responsible for the deaths.

A study of high school exams finds they are not that demanding and don't really test for skills students need for college. Researchers looked at graduation tests in six states. The tests measured only a small part of the skills considered essential by colleges and employers. The study was done by Achieve, Incorporated, a nonprofit group that promotes higher academic standards. I always loved taking those tests back in school. Didn't you?

O'BRIEN: Well, absolutely. Heidi, thanks very much.

Are you interested in a hybrid car? It might cost you. Plus, SUVs may soon be banned in one European capital. We'll look at that plus a preview of the market. Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business" this morning.

Hello.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: I'm still -- there is something wrong with you guys. You say you liked taking those standardized tests?

O'BRIEN: That was sarcasm.

SERWER: OK, all right, good. No sarcasm in the morning, I'm sorry. I'm a little slow.

O'BRIEN: Heidi, I got that you were sarcastic.

SERWER: Yes. No, you were both...

O'BRIEN: Did you get that? (CROSSTALK)

SERWER: They were both kidding. They were both kidding. I'm sorry. Am I bad?

All right, let's talk about hybrid cars here this morning. Demand is so brisk for the Toyota Prius that they are starting to mark up. Dealers are starting to mark up the price of these cars; this, in stark contrast to other car companies, which are having to discount their cars. Truly, truly amazing. The Toyota Prius goes for about $20,000 to $26,000. Dealers are marking it up by $5,000. Six-month waiting list, Soledad, for these cars now.

And get this. This is the best thing. They're auctioning off the waiting list spots on eBay. So, you can go to eBay. It costs like $500 to get a spot on the waiting list to buy a Prius now. Basically, a lot of dealers not even taking orders anymore, and about 47,000 of these cars are supposed to be sold in the U.S. this year.

O'BRIEN: What kind of mileage does it get? I mean, what...

SERWER: Well, it gets better mileage in the city than on the highway, because the motor goes off. It's very interesting. It gets about 50 miles a gallon basically between the two.

Let's move over to Paris and talk about cars some more.

O'BRIEN: No SUVs in Paris?

SERWER: Meno, zutela (ph). You're going to hear from bad French here.

O'BRIEN: I don't know any French to answer back. Oui, oui, messeure (ph)!

SERWER: OK, good. Yes, listen, SUVs are actually getting more popular in Paris right now, but they're going to be banning them; this, if the Socialist Council of Paris has its way. It just voted. It needs a bigger mandate to do this, but they're saying that they want to get rid of all SUVs. And, I think, in retaliation, we're going to ban all Peugeots and Citroen and other cars that people don't really buy here in the United States that are made in France.

O'BRIEN: I used to have a Citroen car. I loved it. It was good car.

SERWER: You did?

O'BRIEN: A lot of fun.

O'BRIEN: It was lavender.

SERWER: Wow! That was back in the day.

O'BRIEN: That was so back in the day it's not even funny. I don't want to talk about it anymore. SERWER: OK.

O'BRIEN: The market, we've got about 40 minutes until it opens.

SERWER: Yes, yesterday a down day. This morning we're looking up because oil futures have stabilized plus a big merger in the retail area. We'll talk about that later.

O'BRIEN: OK, we'll see how it does.

SERWER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Andy.

SERWER: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: Appreciate it.

Well, let's head back out to Bill Hemmer in Washington, D.C. -- Bill.

HEMMER: Hey, Soledad, thank you.

Our coverage continues here, the live procession here through the Capitol building in the Rotunda. Tens of thousands of mourners are already viewing the casket, many more are waiting. The mood is respectful, but also a bit tense under tight security. We saw that yesterday, and we'll watch it again today.

Back in a moment as our coverage continues in Washington.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Time to check in with Jack and a look at "The Cafferty File" this morning.

Hello.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

Anna Nicole Smith, she lost all that weight on the TrimSpa diet, but before she got svelte, she says she used to have a ghostly time in the love department. Smith tells "FHM" magazine -- quote: "A ghost would crawl up my leg and have sex with me. I used to think it was my boyfriend. One day I woke up, and it wasn't." There's a rumor it was the Michelin man. She says she was freaked out by the experience at first, but once Anna Nicole realized the ghost wasn't hurting her, she said she was OK with it.

O'BRIEN: That's just freaky.

CAFFERTY: There you go. Yes, well, that's why it gets in the file. It's the kind of stories we work for.

The Bat mobile is back and better than before, better than ever before, better than before. It's back, the Bat mobile. There it is. Better. Two and a half tons this thing weighs. Put it up there again, Ellie (ph). It cost millions to design and produce. It was unveiled this week at New York's City's Javat (ph) Center. Warner Brother's creator say that the Bat mobile can jump up -- there it is -- can jump vertically six feet, can jump 40 feet horizontally, and has front-mounted machine guns. Making it great for New York rush hour traffic. The 2005 Batmobile is featured in the upcoming movie "Batman Begins."

And there's a new sport that has taken off among some college students in this grand land of ours. It's called squirrel fishing. The fishers tie nuts to a fishing line. Then they cast and wait for the squirrels to take the nut and run away. Students at Harvard University, ladies and gentlemen, began doing this. Where'd you go to school, Soledad? Yes.

O'BRIEN: Stony Brook.

CAFFERTY: Yes. As an experiment to evaluate rodent performance, that's what they're doing at Harvard. Their Web site says the highest level of performance in squirrel fishing comes when a squirrel holds onto the nut or the string, and then is lifted off the ground, as you can see in this picture here. Some clubs have gotten student organization status on campus, squirrel fishing clubs, and that means they get university funding, which means, mom and dad, that somewhere your tuition money is going to fund...

O'BRIEN: For $40,000 a year.

CAFFERTY: Yes. A little squirrel fishing.

O'BRIEN: Oh, man. Well, you know, I'm sure...

CAFFERTY: Did they do that when you were at Harvard?

O'BRIEN: No, they didn't.

CAFFERTY: No.

O'BRIEN: But, you know, I'm sure it's all for very good reasons. It's very academic and very thoughtful.

CAFFERTY: Evaluating rodent performance, they say.

O'BRIEN: I'm sure it's an important thing.

CAFFERTY: Of course.

O'BRIEN: Jack, thank you.

CAFFERTY: Sure.

O'BRIEN: That was a very funny file today.

CAFFERTY: Do you like those?

O'BRIEN: Yes. CAFFERTY: You just giggle easily because of the condition you're in.

O'BRIEN: No, I mean -- No, I don't. It's not hormonal.

CAFFERTY: It's not? OK.

O'BRIEN: I think it was funny today.

CAFFERTY: All right.

O'BRIEN: Some days I'm just faking it, but today...

CAFFERTY: So am I. It may come as news to you, but that's a two-way street we're on there.

(WEATHER BREAK)

HEMMER: Everything here down to the most minute detail has been dictated by tradition and custom and also by the wishes of Nancy Reagan. The president's body lying in state in the Capitol building now in the Rotunda, only the 10th time we have seen this for a U.S. president. Tradition dictates the president's feet lie toward the west, his head towards the east, and the stars on the flag fly over his heart.

Our coverage continues in a moment.

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 10, 2004 - 08:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: A bit of decent news coming from the Capitol Police chief, Terry Gainer, telling Elaine Quijano here at CNN that the line that had waited about five hours last night has dropped down considerably -- now saying the wait is only about two hours in time. And we have seen the line behind us kind of ebb and flow throughout the morning here. Sometimes it grows larger. But at this point, it has dropped down quite a bit. Still, though, several thousand in line as that line snakes its way towards the Capitol.
They're saying the line is slow, because people are bringing things that simply aren't allowed. There are no flowers, no audio equipment, no video equipment, no cameras, nothing like that is allowed inside. In fact, they're saying nothing larger than a handbag is allowed into the Rotunda building helping to slow the line.

As we watch things inside, let's come back outside and say good morning to Carson Gibson from Lexington, Virginia, here with his two sons, who has just came out of the Capitol Rotunda building to share his experience with us. Good morning to all three of you.

CARSON GIBSON, PASSED BY REAGAN CASKET: Good morning.

HEMMER: You first met Ronald Reagan back in 1976.

GIBSON: In 1976 in Roanoke, Virginia, at the Virginia Republican Convention. I ran into him by accident. I was walking up the steps, and a large crowd was coming toward me down the steps, and emerging from the center of that group was Ronald Reagan, much to my surprise. He reached out his hand. He shook my hand and asked me how I was doing as a young man. And I told him I was doing very well.

HEMMER: Did you know who he was at that point?

GIBSON: I certainly did. I was 15 at the time.

HEMMER: Did you know much about him and his politics?

GIBSON: I did. I have enjoyed politics probably since about second and third grade and followed it since then.

HEMMER: What did Ronald Reagan mean to you, Carson?

GIBSON: Ronald Reagan was like, I think, the nation's grandfather. He cared about the people. He was sincere. He had convictions about what he believed in, and he followed through on those convictions. And that's why I admire him.

HEMMER: A simple question. How long was your wait?

GIBSON: Well, we left around 10:00 last night and arrived here at 1:30. We got in line at 2:00, and we were viewing the casket around 6:00 this morning.

HEMMER: So that period in line was about?

GIBSON: Four hours.

HEMMER: Four hours. OK.

GIBSON: Four hours.

HEMMER: Worth it, I'm assuming.

GIBSON: Oh, most definitely. Most definitely.

HEMMER: Thank you. Carson Gibson from Lexington, Virginia, thanks. And thanks to your two sons as well. Nice to see you this morning.

GIBSON: Thank you.

HEMMER: Tomorrow about this time, 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, we'll have our live coverage leading up to the funeral about 11:30 local time here in Washington. That will take place at the National Cathedral.

In a moment, Senator Phil Gramm out of Texas, why he converted from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party as a result of Ronald Reagan. We'll get to that connection as well in a moment here.

We're talking to a number of Vietnam veterans, too, Soledad, who will come by. At least two of them telling me that during the 1970s, they felt this period of America being down and depressed. And Ronald Reagan, they say, gave them a sense of optimism. Much more on their story, again, as our coverage continues.

Back to you now in New York.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Bill, thanks. We look forward to that.

Well, while Ronald Reagan is being remembered this week as one of America's great presidents, our next guest reminds us that Nancy Reagan also made a memorable mark during the White House years. Kati Marton is an expert on the subject of America's first ladies. And her new book is called "Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages That Shaped our History."

Nice to see you again. Thanks for being with us.

KATI MARTON, AUTHOR, "HIDDEN POWER": Nice to be with you, Soledad. O'BRIEN: Nancy Reagan very much in charge, I think, over the last decade of her husband's legacy. But let's talk about her legacy instead.

MARTON: Yes.

O'BRIEN: What will people take from her?

MARTON: First of all, Soledad, I think yesterday was almost as much about Nancy as about Ronald Reagan, because the two of them really were such a close couple. There hasn't been a closer couple in the White House in recent memory. And she was really important in shaping his legacy, even while they were in the White House. She was, I think, his unofficial chief of personnel. She is the one who selected the people who she knew worked best with Ronnie, as she called him.

O'BRIEN: She sometimes would say that, you know, he's so trusting of the people around him that she had to be the bad guy in order to protect him.

MARTON: Yes, may I say, she played that role very skillfully.

O'BRIEN: Pretty well.

MARTON: He was chemically incapable of dismissing people. She was good at that. And she wanted him to be remembered as a peacemaker, not as a warmonger. And so, she picked the right people for that and worked behind the scenes. You know, she was as integrated into the policy aspects of the Reagan White House as any -- well, there hasn't been a first lady, and I include Hillary Clinton in that list, there hasn't been a first lady who was as indispensable to her husband's presidency as Nancy.

O'BRIEN: So, why do you put Nancy above of Hillary Clinton in that? Some people, I think, would have said, oh, Hillary Clinton would be sort of the role model for that.

MARTON: Well, Hillary did have an office in the West Wing, but what Nancy had a telephone, which she used like a weapon. She knew -- she was on top of every detail in the White House.. And Mike Deaver once told me that if I didn't hear from Nancy for 24 hours, I'd pick up the phone and say, "Nancy, do we have a problem?"

O'BRIEN: He'd call her first, just in case.

MARTON: Yes. She has said that she will be buried with her telephone. So, she knew everything that was going on. And when she was sidelined from the White House under Don Regan's term as chief of staff, because Don Regan didn't really get this marriage, how interdependent these two people were, that's when they got in trouble. That's when Iran-Contra happened. That's when Oliver North slipped under the radar.

O'BRIEN: So, you give her really credit for having a huge, huge role. MARTON: I do. Substantial.

O'BRIEN: You write about them sort of fusing, the president and the first lady fusing into one person to the exclusion of their children, which is strange.

MARTON: Sadly that was the case. You know, when Ron Reagan was asked how his father's Alzheimer's had affected the family, he said, well, we never really had him, so we can't feel a loss now. They really -- Nancy and Ronnie were a universe unto themselves. They really were complete. They completed each other. And unfortunately, that had a rather negative impact on the children, who felt neglected and excluded. It was a great, great love story.

O'BRIEN: Stem cell research seems to be the next frontier for her. Describe for me -- she looks very frail.

MARTON: Yes.

O'BRIEN: But describe for me what you think the next years will be for Nancy Reagan.

MARTON: Well, first of all, she has now so skillfully transformed her image from this extravagant royalty and high-fashion obsessed creature to an extraordinarily devoted, serious, caring person in the last decade that now she's positioned to be very much like Lady Bird Johnson, sort of a...

O'BRIEN: Respected, revered.

MARTON: Respected, an iconic first lady, who no doubt will make inroads in the stem cell research arena, because, of course, she has lived with Alzheimer's. And so are so many of us now exposed to Alzheimer's. So, she speaks with great conviction and great authority on that subject. And I think we're going to be -- once she recovers from the trauma of these days, I think we will be seeing more of her, hearing more from her, and she will emerge from her self-imposed exile.

O'BRIEN: Interesting. Kati Marton, of course, you would know. You're the expert on the first ladies. Thanks for coming in to talk to us about it. We appreciate it.

MARTON: Thank, Soledad. Pleasure.

O'BRIEN: And still to come this morning, former President Reagan was slowly, as we all know, overwhelmed by Alzheimer's disease. But now there's a new treatment for Alzheimer's that's being called "boot camp for your brain." Dr. Sanjay Gupta will explain that, just ahead.

We'll also tell you about the security breach that caused an immediate evacuation of the Capitol just before the arrival of Ronald Reagan's casket.

And witnesses talk about why Scott Peterson raised their suspicions. We'll take you live to the courthouse coming up in our next hour. Those stories all ahead as we continue right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The death of Ronald Reagan has focused new attention on the fight against Alzheimer's disease. Well, now a training program designed to keep you mentally fit and perhaps reduce the risk of Alzheimer's is showing some promise.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us with more on this so-called "boot camp for the brain."

This is all based on a book, isn't it?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is a book by Gary Small actually looking at the daily things that may drive you to distraction or perhaps true memory loss in the form of Alzheimer's is unclear. Obviously, a lot of attention is being focused on Alzheimer's.

The numbers are remarkable and worth paying attention to. After the age of 65, about 1 in 5 people develop Alzheimer's. If you live to 85 or older, about half will develop Alzheimer's. So, a very significant disease.

Are there things you can do to try and prevent it earlier, besides taking medication, of which there are a few now out there? That's what Gary Small sort of writes about, and some is sort of common sense.

I'll go through the list here of various things, but mental aerobics, and really doing mental aerobics during the day. Word puzzles. Just trying to remember what your spouse wore before he or she left the house today. Interesting. Just constantly challenging your mind. A healthy diet. People have known for a long that a healthy diet does play a role in overall mental health. Antioxidants, omega 3 fatty acids, foods like that. Regular exercise. People who are physically active tend to be sharper mentally. Why? The answer to that is unclear but there is a correlation. So, why not incorporate that as well. Stress reduction. That is an overused term for sure, but people who are less stressed, people who have less distractions, tend to remember things better as well.

And that's really what this book is about.

O'BRIEN: And the book really focused on boot camp. I mean, literally they put people through boot camp. What did a day in boot camp look like? And what were the results that they found so impressive at the end?

GUPTA: OK, so a day in boot camp really incorporates all of those various things. First, in the morning, you may start off with some light exercise, things like that. Diet's going to be really important, you know, again, the various diet forms. The omega 3 fatty acids, antioxidants are going to important, low fatty foods, and low glycemic-index carbs. And what that means, one thing...

O'BRIEN: Yes, what is that?

GUPTA: Well, one thing I sort of found interesting is it really advocates five small meals throughout the day. The notion is this: Much in the same way, if your body sort of yaws back and forth between exercise and no exercise, your brain and the rest of your body can do the same thing by eating foods that are high in sugar and then crashing. High in sugar and then crashing. So, try and keep it sort of stable throughout the day. Again, the mental aerobics we were talking about earlier, those constantly word puzzles and things like that.

O'BRIEN: So, everybody in boot camp didn't actually have a job. They were doing crossword puzzles and running around and getting exercise all day.

GUPTA: Well, it isn't -- yes. I mean, it might take a couple of minutes to try and remember certain things, you know, recollect. I don't know how your memory is. My memory isn't the best.

O'BRIEN: Mine is horrible.

GUPTA: And that's a point that the book makes as well, you know, not all bad memory is Alzheimer's disease. A lot of times it's just the distractions of daily life, but the outcome might be the same. You might have improvements in both of those things by going through something like this.

O'BRIEN: They didn't mention sleep. And I would -- I mean, I think my memory is bad because I'm so sleep-deprived all the time. Is there a link with that?

GUPTA: Absolutely. They didn't mention it in the book, but there have been a lot of other studies that have talked about that. And, in fact, they have numbers, you know, saying if you're sleeping less than X number of hours, you're bound to make more mistakes just in terms of your judgment and your memory.

O'BRIEN: Interesting. It's an interesting concept. I like the idea.

GUPTA: It's common sense, but it's worth sort of jump-starting things.

O'BRIEN: I need another three hours in my day to start doing crossword puzzles. Sanjay, thanks, as always.

Still to come this morning, Ronald Reagan led a dramatic change in American politics. In our next hour, former Senator Phil Gramm on his political re-birth in the shadow of Reagan. That's ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Forty-six minutes past the hour now. Time to take a look at some of today's other news with Heidi Collins.

Good morning again.

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

At the U.S. Capitol, quite a moment of panic before the casket of former President Reagan arrived. Lawmakers and mourners actually ran from the area after a small plane flew into restricted airspace. It did turn out to be a false alarm. The plane carrying Kentucky's governor had lost its radio transmission -- problems with its transponder. Two F-15 fighters intercepted the aircraft.

Two U.S. defense contractors are being sued in connection with abuse of prisoners in Iraq prisons. The suit was filed in San Diego, California, on behalf of eight Iraqis and the estate of an Iraqi man, who lawyers say was tortured to death. The lawsuit accuses Titan Corporation and CACI International of conspiring to torture, rape and execute prisoners. The companies deny those allegations.

A student at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington is accused of shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend and then himself just days after a newspaper exposed his criminal record. The school suspended John Peck for lying about his past. The executive editor of the "Wilmington Star News" says his paper is not responsible for the deaths.

A study of high school exams finds they are not that demanding and don't really test for skills students need for college. Researchers looked at graduation tests in six states. The tests measured only a small part of the skills considered essential by colleges and employers. The study was done by Achieve, Incorporated, a nonprofit group that promotes higher academic standards. I always loved taking those tests back in school. Didn't you?

O'BRIEN: Well, absolutely. Heidi, thanks very much.

Are you interested in a hybrid car? It might cost you. Plus, SUVs may soon be banned in one European capital. We'll look at that plus a preview of the market. Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business" this morning.

Hello.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: I'm still -- there is something wrong with you guys. You say you liked taking those standardized tests?

O'BRIEN: That was sarcasm.

SERWER: OK, all right, good. No sarcasm in the morning, I'm sorry. I'm a little slow.

O'BRIEN: Heidi, I got that you were sarcastic.

SERWER: Yes. No, you were both...

O'BRIEN: Did you get that? (CROSSTALK)

SERWER: They were both kidding. They were both kidding. I'm sorry. Am I bad?

All right, let's talk about hybrid cars here this morning. Demand is so brisk for the Toyota Prius that they are starting to mark up. Dealers are starting to mark up the price of these cars; this, in stark contrast to other car companies, which are having to discount their cars. Truly, truly amazing. The Toyota Prius goes for about $20,000 to $26,000. Dealers are marking it up by $5,000. Six-month waiting list, Soledad, for these cars now.

And get this. This is the best thing. They're auctioning off the waiting list spots on eBay. So, you can go to eBay. It costs like $500 to get a spot on the waiting list to buy a Prius now. Basically, a lot of dealers not even taking orders anymore, and about 47,000 of these cars are supposed to be sold in the U.S. this year.

O'BRIEN: What kind of mileage does it get? I mean, what...

SERWER: Well, it gets better mileage in the city than on the highway, because the motor goes off. It's very interesting. It gets about 50 miles a gallon basically between the two.

Let's move over to Paris and talk about cars some more.

O'BRIEN: No SUVs in Paris?

SERWER: Meno, zutela (ph). You're going to hear from bad French here.

O'BRIEN: I don't know any French to answer back. Oui, oui, messeure (ph)!

SERWER: OK, good. Yes, listen, SUVs are actually getting more popular in Paris right now, but they're going to be banning them; this, if the Socialist Council of Paris has its way. It just voted. It needs a bigger mandate to do this, but they're saying that they want to get rid of all SUVs. And, I think, in retaliation, we're going to ban all Peugeots and Citroen and other cars that people don't really buy here in the United States that are made in France.

O'BRIEN: I used to have a Citroen car. I loved it. It was good car.

SERWER: You did?

O'BRIEN: A lot of fun.

O'BRIEN: It was lavender.

SERWER: Wow! That was back in the day.

O'BRIEN: That was so back in the day it's not even funny. I don't want to talk about it anymore. SERWER: OK.

O'BRIEN: The market, we've got about 40 minutes until it opens.

SERWER: Yes, yesterday a down day. This morning we're looking up because oil futures have stabilized plus a big merger in the retail area. We'll talk about that later.

O'BRIEN: OK, we'll see how it does.

SERWER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Andy.

SERWER: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: Appreciate it.

Well, let's head back out to Bill Hemmer in Washington, D.C. -- Bill.

HEMMER: Hey, Soledad, thank you.

Our coverage continues here, the live procession here through the Capitol building in the Rotunda. Tens of thousands of mourners are already viewing the casket, many more are waiting. The mood is respectful, but also a bit tense under tight security. We saw that yesterday, and we'll watch it again today.

Back in a moment as our coverage continues in Washington.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Time to check in with Jack and a look at "The Cafferty File" this morning.

Hello.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

Anna Nicole Smith, she lost all that weight on the TrimSpa diet, but before she got svelte, she says she used to have a ghostly time in the love department. Smith tells "FHM" magazine -- quote: "A ghost would crawl up my leg and have sex with me. I used to think it was my boyfriend. One day I woke up, and it wasn't." There's a rumor it was the Michelin man. She says she was freaked out by the experience at first, but once Anna Nicole realized the ghost wasn't hurting her, she said she was OK with it.

O'BRIEN: That's just freaky.

CAFFERTY: There you go. Yes, well, that's why it gets in the file. It's the kind of stories we work for.

The Bat mobile is back and better than before, better than ever before, better than before. It's back, the Bat mobile. There it is. Better. Two and a half tons this thing weighs. Put it up there again, Ellie (ph). It cost millions to design and produce. It was unveiled this week at New York's City's Javat (ph) Center. Warner Brother's creator say that the Bat mobile can jump up -- there it is -- can jump vertically six feet, can jump 40 feet horizontally, and has front-mounted machine guns. Making it great for New York rush hour traffic. The 2005 Batmobile is featured in the upcoming movie "Batman Begins."

And there's a new sport that has taken off among some college students in this grand land of ours. It's called squirrel fishing. The fishers tie nuts to a fishing line. Then they cast and wait for the squirrels to take the nut and run away. Students at Harvard University, ladies and gentlemen, began doing this. Where'd you go to school, Soledad? Yes.

O'BRIEN: Stony Brook.

CAFFERTY: Yes. As an experiment to evaluate rodent performance, that's what they're doing at Harvard. Their Web site says the highest level of performance in squirrel fishing comes when a squirrel holds onto the nut or the string, and then is lifted off the ground, as you can see in this picture here. Some clubs have gotten student organization status on campus, squirrel fishing clubs, and that means they get university funding, which means, mom and dad, that somewhere your tuition money is going to fund...

O'BRIEN: For $40,000 a year.

CAFFERTY: Yes. A little squirrel fishing.

O'BRIEN: Oh, man. Well, you know, I'm sure...

CAFFERTY: Did they do that when you were at Harvard?

O'BRIEN: No, they didn't.

CAFFERTY: No.

O'BRIEN: But, you know, I'm sure it's all for very good reasons. It's very academic and very thoughtful.

CAFFERTY: Evaluating rodent performance, they say.

O'BRIEN: I'm sure it's an important thing.

CAFFERTY: Of course.

O'BRIEN: Jack, thank you.

CAFFERTY: Sure.

O'BRIEN: That was a very funny file today.

CAFFERTY: Do you like those?

O'BRIEN: Yes. CAFFERTY: You just giggle easily because of the condition you're in.

O'BRIEN: No, I mean -- No, I don't. It's not hormonal.

CAFFERTY: It's not? OK.

O'BRIEN: I think it was funny today.

CAFFERTY: All right.

O'BRIEN: Some days I'm just faking it, but today...

CAFFERTY: So am I. It may come as news to you, but that's a two-way street we're on there.

(WEATHER BREAK)

HEMMER: Everything here down to the most minute detail has been dictated by tradition and custom and also by the wishes of Nancy Reagan. The president's body lying in state in the Capitol building now in the Rotunda, only the 10th time we have seen this for a U.S. president. Tradition dictates the president's feet lie toward the west, his head towards the east, and the stars on the flag fly over his heart.

Our coverage continues in a moment.

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