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American Morning
Final Journey for Ronald Reagan; Interview With Former Senator Phil Gramm; Leaders in G8 Summit Completing Talks
Aired June 10, 2004 - 9:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Nancy Reagan leading the nation in mourning for her husband. And by the tens of thousands, they follow her. Will the death of Ronald Reagan affect the presidential campaign? A nationwide poll conducted after the news last Saturday just ahead.
And did Scott Peterson tell more than one story about where he was on the day his wife disappeared? The serious accusations on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: This is a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
O'BRIEN: And welcome back, everybody. Some of the news making headlines this morning...
World leaders now down to their final day at the G8 summit on Sea Island, Georgia. Iraq, the Middle East, NATO, all of those serious topics, serious discussion, and bringing some disagreements as well. We're going to take a look at some of the snags in that process.
Also ahead this morning, more U.S. athletes may be staying home this summer because of doping charges that could disqualify them from the Olympics. Have the tests reached scandal proportions? And will the results of those tests hold up? We'll take a look at that as well this morning.
But first, Jack Cafferty with us.
Hello.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
The "Question of the Day" has to do with people who wait in line seven, eight hours for a chance to file past the casket and pay their respects to the late President Reagan. Is there someone else you can think of that you'd be willing to stand in line for hours to see? AM@CNN.com, drop us a note.
O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you, Jack.
Let's head it out to Bill Hemmer in Washington, D.C. this morning.
Bill, good morning again.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Soledad. Good morning again to you as well.
Every person here has a purpose for being here. And every person has their own story about what Ronald Reagan meant to them. The procession continues past the casket and the former president, being slowed, we're told, by a number of mourners carrying what they call inappropriate items. Those items include photo and video equipment, bags larger than a pocketbook.
Not allowed here. It slowed the line down a little bit. They say the line has shortened somewhat, but that many thousands are still waiting.
As for the culmination of funeral services tomorrow, this is the schedule as we know it now. The National Cathedral is where Mr. Reagan's funeral service will take place. About three dozen foreign dignitaries now expected to attend.
President Bush, his father, will be among those eulogizing Mr. Reagan. In addition to that, Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev, and so many others, including Prince Charles. At least 20 that we know of at this point, 20 heads of state, and possibly that list is longer as the day progresses here.
After the funeral, another brief ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base before the former president's body is placed back on a government plane for that final flight back West, to home in California. The Reagan family and invited guests will then attend a private funeral service at the Reagan Library. That's back in Simi Valley at sunset, Friday evening. It should be about 9:00 Eastern Time, 6:00 on the West Coast before the former president is finally laid to rest.
And the outpouring to honor Mr. Reagan here in Washington got under way yesterday afternoon when the former president's body arrived from California. It was solemn, it was respectful. And Ed Henry is there to watch it. Ed Henry is back with us today.
Good morning, Ed, on Capitol Hill with me as well.
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
I spoke just a few moments ago to Republican senator, Don Nickles, who was in the Rotunda with a lot of lawmakers last evening for that ceremony as they saw the casket come in. And Senator Nickles said it was just such a powerful image to see Nancy Reagan run her hand ever so gently across the casket. In fact, all across this city, there was one dramatic moment after another.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY (voice-over): Ronald Reagan's final trip to Washington was filled with eloquence and reminders about his time in the capital city. His casket arrived at a familiar spot, Andrews Air Force Base, to the strands of a familiar tune. The horse-drawn caisson journeyed from near the White House to the west front of the Capitol, the very spot where Mr. Reagan was sworn in as president in 1981. Then the 700-pound casket was lifted into the Rotunda of the Capitol, the site of Mr. Reagan's second swearing in because of bad weather, where he now lies in state.
DENNIS HASTERT, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: This Capitol building is the right place to honor a man who so faithfully defended our freedom and so successfully helped extend the blessings of liberty to millions of people around the world.
HENRY: The thousands of people who lined Constitution Avenue were also paying their respects to the president's first lady, who cared for her husband during his long battle with Alzheimer's.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God bless you, Nancy.
(APPLAUSE)
HENRY: Her influence was seen in the meticulous planning, everything from a 21-gun salute to a 21-jet fly-over with a missing man formation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was quiet. It was ceremonial. It was regal. It was beautiful.
HENRY: Before escorting Mrs. Reagan to the casket, Vice President Cheney wished her well.
RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When these days of ceremony are completed, the nation returns him to you for the final journey to the West. And when he is laid to rest under the pacific sky, we will be thinking of you as we commend to the almighty the soul of his faithful servant, Ronald Wilson Reagan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: And Bill, House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Senator Ted Stevens also saluted Nancy Reagan. They said not just for the way she has held up this week, but that quiet dignity and grace that she has shown over the last decade -- Bill.
HEMMER: Ed Henry, thanks, here on Capitol Hill.
I mentioned earlier that everyone here has a purpose and a story. I met a woman yesterday, one of the first people in line. Here name was Carmen. She's in her early 60s, from New Jersey. She said she named her own son after Ronald Reagan and she's come back to honor him, and she did yesterday. One of the first people to visit the Rotunda building yesterday.
Our next guest also has his own political story about Ronald Reagan. Former senator from Texas, Bill Graham, here with us now in Washington, D.C.
Nice to see you again, Senator. Good morning.
PHIL GRAMM, FMR. SENATOR: Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: I know you haven't done a whole lot of interviews since you left Congress, left the Senate. But you're coming out now to remember the man who influenced you. Was Ronald Reagan the reason why you changed parties?
GRAMM: Well, I think he was part of it. I had grown up in the South. Everybody I knew was a Democrat. The party didn't matter to me.
But when I got to Washington, while party didn't matter to me, it was about the only thing that mattered to many other people. And I remember the day Ronald Reagan took the oath, sitting right up there on the west front of the Capitol, thinking I never thought I'd live to see the day when someone would be president who thought exactly like I did. So when Reagan asked me to join him in being the author of the Reagan program with Del Latta in the House, I wasn't going to let party stand between me and change in America.
HEMMER: You know, to show and express your gratitude toward that man, we should let our viewers know you were just on a vacation in Europe, right? And you returned from that trip to come here to the U.S. and the funeral tomorrow. What were they saying in the newspapers in Europe about that?
GRAMM: Well, you know, it's interesting, because I was there through the whole Reagan revolution. And when Reagan deployed the Pershing II missile in Europe, there were great protests. When he called the Soviet Union the evil empire, many people in Europe thought that was provocative and dangerous.
But in the end, it's not what is said, it's not the debate. In the end, the Reagan program worked. We won the Cold War. And through Reagan's leadership, we tore down the Berlin Wall and liberated Eastern Europe and changed the world. And the outpouring in Europe is astonishing to me.
HEMMER: Yes. How do you reconcile -- he's known as a fiscal conservative, less government is the way he wants to go. Fewer taxes to the American people is the way he wanted to go. At the end of his eight years, the national debt had tripled. You're an economics guy yourself. How do you reconcile that?
GRAMM: Well, look -- yes -- well, I reconcile it in the following sense. Number one, it wasn't as easy to turn things around as Reagan thought or hoped. It took until 1995 and '96 for the strength of the economy to ultimately balance the budget. But the budget was balanced not because of anything that Clinton did or the Congress did, it was what Reagan did in the tax cuts, in the entitlement reform, in saying no to all the people who wanted to wreck the wall around America economically and go hide under a rock somewhere. That's what ultimately did it.
So the bad news is, it didn't do it in four years like Reagan had hoped. The good news is, it ultimately achieved the goal.
HEMMER: Good to see you. Hope you're doing well.
GRAMM: Thank you. I'm doing great, thank you.
HEMMER: Senator Phil Gramm. And you're going to the funeral tomorrow as well to pay your respects.
GRAMM: Thank you.
HEMMER: Appreciate your time today.
GRAMM: Thank you.
HEMMER: Speaking of that funeral, our special coverage tomorrow, on Friday morning, here on CNN, we'll be back here live on AMERICAN MORNING. After that, 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, our special coverage will begin. We expect that funeral to begin about 11:30 here in Washington. Then again, later on Friday evening, right around sunset, California time, the final service for Ronald Reagan will take place back in Simi Valley.
More in a moment -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Bill, thanks.
President Bush heads back to Washington later today to pay his respects to Ronald Reagan. But first, he is finishing up his meetings with world leaders at the G8 summit in Georgia. White House correspondent Dana Bash live for us this morning in Savannah, Georgia.
Dana, good morning again.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning again to you, Soledad.
And when the president arrives back in Washington later today, he is going to go straight to the Capitol, to the Rotunda, with Mrs. Bush, in order to pay tribute to President Reagan there. And then he and Mrs. Bush are going to pay condolence calls to Nancy Reagan.
That, of course, part of his personal reflection. Tomorrow morning, he will play the role, of course, of the president and he will give a eulogy on behalf of a grateful nation, according to aides. That is how they're describing this tenor of his speech at the National Cathedral, part of the memorial service for President Reagan. They say that although he did have a personal relationship, personal memories of President Reagan, he will keep his remarks limited to that of the president speaking on behalf of the nation -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Dana, question for you. You know, we have certainly heard that the president wants NATO to have a bigger role in all of this. The NATO members who are there on Sea Island, in Georgia, what's their reaction been to what the president is now saying about NATO's role?
BASH: Well, it depends on who you ask, Soledad. The president has been talking to world leaders here about how to beef up security in Iraq. And one thing he did float yesterday was the idea of beefing up NATO's role, which has been quite minimal in Iraq.
And just hours after that, the French president, Jacques Chirac, came out and really poured cold water on the idea. He said it's not NATO's role to intervene in Iraq, that it wasn't a good idea, essentially.
Now, just a little while later, Bush aides tried to explain that Mr. Bush was simply talking about perhaps bringing NATO in to train Iraqi security forces. However, this public dustup about Iraq was exactly what the White House was trying to avoid, because the unofficial theme, as we've been talking about over the last few days here, has been a new spirit of unity between countries that did not agree in the war over Iraq.
And Soledad, we'll be able to see if the two men can get back on the unity wagon, so to speak. They're going to have a one-on-one meeting in just a few minutes -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right. We'll see if that's able to happen. All right. Dana, thanks very much.
A parade of witnesses for the prosecution says that Scott Peterson's behavior raised suspicions after his wife disappeared. Peterson is accused of killing his wife, Laci, and their unborn child. Testimony resumes later this morning. Gloria Gomez, a reporter for KOVR in Sacramento, is covering the trial, and she joins us there from the courthouse in Redwood City, California.
Gloria, nice to see you. Thanks for being with us this morning.
GLORIA GOMEZ, KOVR: Great to be here, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Thank you. Let's start with the testimony of Harvey Kemple. He's a distant relative of Laci's, actually, and a neighbor as well. And he points out a lack of consistency that some other people concur with in the story that Scott Peterson was saying what he was doing the day his wife disappeared. Give me the impact of that testimony.
GOMEZ: Powerful, powerful testimony from Harvey yesterday. No one expected it, clearly.
He says that he was suspicious of Scott Peterson from the very beginning, simply because Scott lied to him about going golfing on Christmas Eve. Then Harvey talks to his wife later on that night, he finds out that he told Harvey's wife that he was fishing on Christmas Eve. So he told prosecutors right away, I had my eye on Scott Peterson.
O'BRIEN: In fact, he told as well on the stand, he talked about playing detective, essentially following Scott Peterson around in his car. What came out of that? I mean, what was he able to discover while he was trailing Scott Peterson?
GOMEZ: Very interesting stuff. In fact, he said that one day Scott told him when he was at the volunteer center at the Red Lion in Modesto, that, "I'm going to go put up fliers. I'll see you later." He said, "Well, where you heading?" He goes, "I'm heading down Paradise Road."
So Harvey says, "OK." So he saw him leaving, but he was heading the wrong way, not towards Paradise Road. So Harvey decided, well, I'm going to see where he's going.
So he ended up following him to a mall parking lot. The mall wasn't even open yet. Scott Peterson sat in his car for 45 minutes. Then the next time he followed Scott Peterson, he followed him to a golf course where Scott was going to go golfing. So he knew right away that Scott was not looking for Laci.
O'BRIEN: What's been the impact of this kind of testimony on the jury? I mean, all of this points to a guy -- all right, maybe he's not the most honest guy in the world. It doesn't mean he's necessarily a murderer.
GOMEZ: Well, I'll tell you, Harvey's testimony was really powerful for that jury. They were clinging on his every word. He had that jury laughing, he had that jury serious. But his testimony was great impact, because, I'll tell you, they were listening, taking notes on everything he was saying.
When he was cross-examined, he had his most powerful testimony then. That was when prosecutors -- or the defense attorney tried to show, well, wait a minute, aren't you still upset about a fourth of July barbecue? And Harvey turned around and said, "No, that's not why I'm angry. I'm angry because Scott Peterson looked more upset over burnt chicken at that barbecue than he does about his missing wife." That jury reacting to it, taking notes right away on that.
O'BRIEN: We don't have a ton of time, but I want to get this final question in. Apparently, Laci Peterson's sister-in-law, Rose Marie Rocha (ph), says that she was talking to Scott after Laci got pregnant and he said something about, he -- the quote was, "I was kind of hoping for infertility."
I mean, how did the jury take is that? Who knows what kind of tone he said it in.
GOMEZ: Well, as a matter of fact, when that testimony came out, the jury quickly started taking notes on it. And obviously, prosecutors contending that Scott Peterson did not want this child, did not want the responsibilities of it, and that's why he killed Laci. The jury very keen on that, taking notes.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. Gloria Gomez, we'll see exactly what the jury makes of all of this. Of course, not until the end. Expect this trial to go on for another five months or so.
GOMEZ: Right.
O'BRIEN: Gloria Gomez, from KOVR in Sacramento for us. Thanks, appreciate it.
GOMEZ: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Sixteen minutes past the hour. Time to get right to Heidi Collins with a look of some of the other stories making news today.
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad. And good morning to you, everybody.
The commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, wants someone higher up to review a report on the Iraqi prison abuses. The request comes as an investigation into mistreatment at the Abu Ghraib prison is on its way to be finished now. General Sanchez normally would review the finding, but he is recusing himself from that role. Pentagon officials say the request is under consideration.
Is a scrap yard in Jordan a hiding place for banned Iraqi missile engines? Well, U.N. weapons experts reportedly think so. They made the discovery and told the U.N. Security Council about it yesterday. The items came from unguarded sites in Iraq once monitored for materials that could produce weapons of mass destruction.
American officials are reportedly investigating a Libyan plot to destabilize Saudi Arabia. According to The New York Times, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi approved an operation to assassinate Saudi Crown -- Saudi Crown Prince, that is, Abdullah. A White House official says American policy toward Libya could be affected. Gadhafi's son called the accusations nonsense. David Ensor is live from D.C. with more on this story coming up in just a little bit.
A new trial for Martha Stewart? Well, that's what her lawyers are hoping, again. Yesterday, one of the witnesses who had testified against Stewart was charged with perjury. In light of the indictment, Martha Stewart's lawyers are expected to ask for another day in court. The team already asked once for a mistrial without success.
And in New York, the newest fashions aren't from Armani or Gucci. They're from Duct tape. One couple spent 60 hours creating their own sticky prom outfits, all part of a national scholarship condition sponsored by the maker of the Duct brand of Duct tape. The garb looks pretty good, but is reportedly hot and noisy when you walk.
You might expect it from Duct tape.
O'BRIEN: I was going to say, you know, I wasn't thinking about that, but that would be a real problem. It's got to be 150 degrees underneath all that Duct tape.
COLLINS: Sure. Worse than weather, I bet.
O'BRIEN: We'll see if they win. Heidi, thanks.
Weather now. Chad Myers at the CNN Center for us, with an update for us on what's going on across the country.
Hey, Chad. Good morning again.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: All right, Chad. Thanks a lot. Jack now and the "Question of the Day."
Hello.
CAFFERTY: Good morning.
Thousands of people in Washington and out in Simi Valley waiting in line for hours to get a glimpse of the casket of the late president and pay their respects. The national outpouring of grief and attention of the passing of this 93-year-old former chief executive is impressive, to say the least.
We thought it would be interesting to find out who else might command this kind of attention, so we asked this morning, who would you be willing to wait in line for hours to see? Here's some of what you've written us.
"I would wait in line for hours to pay respects to a person who through their sacrifice affected society in a positive way, such as Mother Theresa or Martin Luther King." That's from Joshua in College Park, Maryland.
Liz in Columbia, Maryland, "It's not so much who would you wait in line to see. Rather, it's a matter of history and ceremony. It's a happening. I don't particularly like Reagan, but I watched the funeral."
Mike in Palestine, Illinois, "I'd wait for hours upon end to see my parents just one more time so I could tell them how much I miss them and love them."
And Sandy writes this: "Your 'Question of the Day' during a time of national and international mourning, lacks integrity, common sense, and a lack of any character on your part."
O'BRIEN: Really? That's a pretty straightforward "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: Sorry, Sandy.
O'BRIEN: Wow. Ouch!. Interesting. I like this one about waiting to see your parents. That was...
CAFFERTY: Another fan. What? Yes, see...
O'BRIEN: Yes, you probably don't want to count her as a fan.
CAFFERTY: That's all right.
O'BRIEN: But I thought that the guy from Palestine, Illinois, that was interesting.
CAFFERTY: About his parents.
O'BRIEN: I think that's true. You know what? I would put that on my list, too. CAFFERTY: Not everybody has that kind of relationship with their parents, however.
O'BRIEN: That's true. All right, Jack. Thanks.
Still to come this morning, was Libya plotting to assassinate the leader of Saudi Arabia? We're going to bring you a live report on that from Washington just ahead.
And four Olympic athletes learn they may not be able to compete in Athens. We'll tell you why in just a moment.
Plus, the procession of thousands continues for Ronald Reagan. We'll take you back to Capitol Hill to take a look at that. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Four Olympic athletes have been warned that they may not be able to compete in Athens. U.S. officials yesterday notified the track stars that they are under investigation. Josie Burke has our report this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSIE BURKE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two years ago, Tim Montgomery set the world record in the 100 meters. This summer, he hopes to set another record at his third Olympics for the U.S. team.
Now, a potential drug violation stands between Montgomery and Athens. The United States anti-doping agency, known as USADA, has told Montgomery and three other U.S. sprinters it might ban them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This lets these athletes know that their careers are in jeopardy. It lets them know that they may not be in the Athens Olympics.
BURKE: But USADA's case comes with a catch. The agency might rely solely on evidence that does not include a positive drug test. USADA's drug test and protocol gives it the right to ban athletes "when USADA has other reason to believe that a potential doping violation has occurred." USADA recently received the documents that led to indictments of four other people on federal drug charges in connection with the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative steroids scandal in February.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Passing a drug test is no longer enough. We have never seen anything like this in the history of American Olympic sports.
BURKE: His lawyer contends that Montgomery has never failed a drug test. In a statement, she said, "The evidence is inconclusive and internally inconsistent." Olympian Marion Jones, Montgomery's girlfriend, has been questioned by USADA and indicated she would sue if banned. But it might not be that easy.
All Olympic athletes are required to sign an agreement they will go through arbitration to settle eligibility disputes. And in arbitration, a positive drug test is not required, nor is the kind of proof that's required in court. Published reports indicate USADA will use e-mails, canceled checks, and calendars with code words for banned substances to link athletes to doping.
Josie Burke, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Four other track athletes have been suspended for two years. All of them forfeited U.S. titles or medals.
Let's go back out to Bill Hemmer now. It's 9:30 here on the East Coast.
And I have to imagine, Bill, that the lines are growing and growing as the day continues on. Am I right?
HEMMER: Yes. We've been here about five hours now. It was larger when we first showed up, Soledad, believe it or not. It's constricted a little bit, then it grew a little bit more. So it kind of ebbs and flows as time goes by here.
A lot of people working today, certainly. Perhaps possibly at mid afternoon we'll see the lines get yet larger again.
As we go back inside, though, we have about a 22-hour period now for the lying in state period to continue. And as it does, the Honor Guard from the U.S. military stands duty there around that casket from the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines, the Coast Guard. Each shift of relief lasts about 30 minutes in length.
And that mahogany casket has a story of its own. Enormous in its own right, 450 pounds. Later tonight, the president will walk by this same casket.
Our coverage continues in a moment live in Washington, D.C.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome, everybody. The opening bell ringing on Wall Street this morning. The Dow fell 64 points yesterday. The industrial average starts trading at 10,368.
Over at the Nasdaq market site, the Composite Index opens at 1,990, down nearly 33 points today. Expect that the market will open a little bit stronger today.
It's just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. In just a few minutes, new accusations against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Was he plotting terrorism even in the days when he was trying to regain the trust of the United States? David Ensor has more on that for us in just a few moments.
Also this morning, a new study on sex and fertility that could force women to rethink what they know about their reproductive lives.
Before that, though, let's get right back to Bill Hemmer in Washington, D.C.
Bill, good morning again.
HEMMER: Hey, Soledad. Thank you.
The police chief here, the Capitol police chief, about an hour ago said that the line about midnight last night had been about five hours in length. And now that was constricted to about two hours today, with that line thinning just a little bit. However, it continues to snake, and snakes by the thousands, really.
It's going to be another hot day here today, too. A lot of bottled water. Plenty of supply for that today. And folks here are going to need it, too, especially with the temperatures yesterday. Not quite as hot as yesterday, but still, they will climb with the heat and the humidity here in our nation's capital.
I want to say hello to Fran O'Hara from New Rochelle, New York, our next guest here who has just come out of the Rotunda building and joins us now to share her experience.
Good morning to you.
FRAN O'HARA, PASSED THROUGH ROTUNDA: Good morning.
HEMMER: How are you doing today?
O'HARA: It feels like afternoon already.
HEMMER: Does it really?
O'HARA : Yes.
HEMMER: How long was your wait?
O'HARA: Not very long. About three hours.
HEMMER: You are married to a retired Marine officer.
O'HARA: I am married -- I was married to an active duty Marine who retired, yes.
HEMMER: Wow. In the early 1980s, when the Beirut bombing hit, you came quite close to Ronald Reagan in North Carolina.
O'HARA: Yes. Yes.
HEMMER: He came down there for what purpose? O'HARA: He came down after the Beirut bombing for a memorial service. Many of our Marines at the base were killed. Many were missing in action, still. And he came to console the many widows at that base. And to see him embrace, and to know that he cared to come there was just -- it made a great impression.
HEMMER: Had you been a supporter of him before that day?
O'HARA: Yes. Yes, I was. Because I felt that he cared about our military. I felt he was a president who truly cared about our military. Yes, I was a supporter of his.
HEMMER: What do you say to those who say those Marines should have had more protection? Or maybe the Marines should not even have been in Beirut at that time?
O'HARA: Well, because my husband was one of the Marines who had gone there twice, it was hard, but it was necessary. People needed our help, as so often they do. And so, no, I'm not happy that so many died. But yes, I feel we should have been there.
HEMMER: You passed through the Rotunda already.
O'HARA : Yes.
HEMMER: That feeling for you was what, Fran?
O'HARA: It was absolutely moving. It was -- I was so happy that I was getting up at 4:00 in the morning to make it up here, to stand in that line to farewell President Reagan and to have the opportunity, and that Nancy Reagan shared him with all of us. And I think it is just so beautiful a moment in history that we can be here to bid farewell.
HEMMER: You have a memento in your left hand.
O'HARA: Yes, I do. And I'm so glad.
HEMMER: You can show it to our audience. That's OK. Hold it up there.
O'HARA: OK.
HEMMER: That's the card that everyone's getting, right?
O'HARA: Yes.
HEMMER: Where will you put that?
O'HARA: I'm going to frame this. And I'm going to hang it or place it with other mementos that I have through my military time with my husband. It's very special to me. And I actually got two.
HEMMER: I won't tell anyone. Thanks, Fran O'Hara...
O'HARA: Thank you. Thank you. HEMMER: ... New Rochelle, New York. Thanks for talking with us today.
O'HARA: Thank you.
HEMMER: Much more in a moment. Back to Soledad now again in New York.
O'BRIEN: All right, Bill. Thanks.
Ronald Reagan swept Jimmy Carter out of office in 1980 on a wave of optimism. Four years later, his positive attitude led him to a landslide reelection. Kelly Wallace takes a look at how this year's candidates are trying to borrow from the former president's political style.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ronald Reagan's optimism about the country and its future one of the central themes of his two successful bids for the White House.
REAGAN: Four years ago, we raised a banner of bold colors, no pale pastels. We proclaimed a dream of a America that would be a shining city on a hill.
WALLACE: Listen to President Bush...
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm optimistic about America because I believe in the people of America.
WALLACE: ... and presumptive Democratic nominee, John Kerry.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're a country of optimists. We're the can-do people.
WALLACE: ... and you will hear two men, in their own way, trying to recapture Reagan's sunny outlook summed up in one of his most famous ads.
REAGAN: It's morning again in America.
WALLACE: The task, a major challenge, with fears of terrorism in a post-September 11 world. And here is where you see in campaign '04 another Reagan theme.
REAGAN: The American uniform is once again worn with pride.
WALLACE: Keeping the peace by strengthening the U.S. military. President Bush his in war on terror...
BUSH: September 11, 2001, taught a lesson I will never forget: America must confront threats before they fully materialize.
WALLACE: And Kerry, the Vietnam veteran, trying to counter Mr. Bush on national security. KERRY: Our soldiers are stretched too thin. The administration's answer has been to put a Band-Aid on the problem.
WALLACE: While the two men have borrowed themes from the 40th president, they have not often mentioned his name on the stump. When they do, you hear talk of the Reagan tax cuts...
BUSH: With the largest tax relief since Ronald Reagan was the president, we've left more money in the hands that earned it.
WALLACE: ... and Kerry's role in the Senate investigation of the Iran Contra affair.
KERRY: So I stood up to Richard Nixon and the war in Vietnam. Then I stood up as a senator to Ronald Reagan and his illegal war in Central America and to Oliver North and his private network.
WALLACE: But following President Reagan's death, Kerry joined President Bush in saluting Mr. Reagan's leadership and his optimism. The question now is how much both men might try to invoke the Reagan legacy in the months ahead.
Kelly Wallace, CNN New York
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: There has been no overt political campaigning since Ronald Reagan's death on Saturday.
Senator John Kerry would beat President Bush if the election were held today. A national poll, which was taken by the Los Angeles Times, shows that Senator Kerry would get 51 percent of the vote. President Bush, 44 percent of the vote. If Ralph Nader is included in that poll, the Democratic candidate still leads Mr. Bush.
But the paper says that its survey indicates more dissatisfaction with President Bush than it does approval of Senator Kerry. And in three of the most hotly contested states, it shows that George Bush has a solid lead in Missouri, tied in Ohio, and also in Wisconsin.
Overseas now, was Libya planning to assassinate the leader of Saudi Arabia last year? The New York Times is reporting this morning that such a plan may have been in the works. National security correspondent David Ensor live for us in Washington, D.C. this morning.
David, good morning.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
Sources are confirming that Saudi and U.S. authorities are investigating an apparent plot by the Libyan leader to assassinate the ruler of Saudi Arabia. Law enforcement authorities in both countries are following up on information from two prisoners, an American Muslim leader in jail in Virginia, and a Libyan intelligence officer held in Saudi Arabia.
Abdul Rahman Al-Almoudi (ph), the American prisoner, has told investigators he met with Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, according to sources, in June and August of last year to discuss details of a possible assassination plot. Gadhafi was apparently interested in having killed Crown Prince Abdullah, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia.
As a revolutionary who overthrew the Libyan monarchy, Gadhafi is said to regard the Saudi monarchy with contempt. The story was, as you mentioned, first reported in The New York Times this morning.
Now, sources warn that it's not clear how serious or consistent the erratic Libyan leader really was about trying to have the Crown Prince killed. But if the evidence bears out, this could have a major impact on the U.S.-Libyan relationship, which has been improving rapidly recently since Gadhafi pledged to rid himself of weapons of mass destruction and invited the U.S. and British experts in to supervise that process. So this one bears watching -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Is there any evidence at this point that Gadhafi was involved, and is there any -- do the investigators think that these claims that come from these two gentlemen now in jail actually are valid, or are they still looking into them?
ENSOR: There's evidence that Gadhafi was involved in the sense that Mr. Alamoudi (ph) has claimed that he met with Gadhafi, that Gadhafi talked about wanting to assassinate the Crown Prince. Now, this is still an investigation in relatively early stages. U.S. officials are taking it seriously, but they're not ready to say this is definitely what happened at this point -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: David Ensor for us this morning. David, thanks. Fascinating story. Of course we're going to continue to follow it.
Still to come this morning, the natural cycle that could increase the likelihood of an unwanted pregnancy. Dr. Sanjay Gupta ahead with that.
Also, suggestions come out of the G8 summit to solve some of the world's most difficult problems.
We're back in just a moment after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: A new study says that a woman is more likely to have sex at a certain time of the month and it could lead to some surprising results. Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us with details, plus a little biology 101.
Interesting study. What's different about this than what we already know about fertility and ovulation, and things like that?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's interesting, because what the study really looked at was one unprotected act of intercourse was much more likely for a couple to get pregnant than previously thought. Now, why is that?
Everyone knows that if you have unprotected sex, you might get pregnant. But they actually tried to delve into when are -- sex isn't random, the conclusion. When are you more likely to have sex? At what they found, as much as couples try and have sex when a woman is ovulating to get pregnant, if that's their intention, even if they're not trying to get pregnant, they're still more likely to have sex at that time because of these biological signals.
O'BRIEN: So your body sort of knows when you're ovulating, even if you don't necessarily know in your mind?
GUPTA: Your body certainly knows, and other things may happen as well. There's possible explanations as to why this might occur.
O'BRIEN: What are they?
GUPTA: For example, a woman's libido, her sex drive, might actually increase around that time, and therefore more likely to have sex at that time. Also, a woman's sexual attractiveness may actually increase during ovulation. They call this pheromones. They call it the hormone that sort of stimulates sexual desire in men towards that woman. And, in fact, the process may drive itself in the sense that sex sometimes may accelerate the ovulation as well.
O'BRIEN: Do doctors say that this sort of explains the number of unwanted pregnancies?
GUPTA: You know, they didn't...
O'BRIEN: I mean, or for people who don't want to get pregnant? Because it seems like it should just be a random number if you're having intercourse and you're getting pregnant. But it's not. I mean, it's a higher number.
GUPTA: It's a higher number. It's 24 percent higher. They actually gave it a number in this case and said that if you just take all the times that a couple who's not necessarily trying to get pregnant has sex during a woman's cycle, 24 percent of the time it's actually going to fall into a very small window of when a woman is particularly fertile.
O'BRIEN: So for couples who are trying to get pregnant, or maybe have fertility problems, I guess -- what's the take away? Just listen to your body and follow through? And not necessarily, you know, go by the calendar and try to time it, is that...
GUPTA: No. I think the message is that the timing still works. In fact, it may work better than we even thought.
There are specific days, six days in a cycle or so, that are the best days to try to have intercourse if you're trying to get pregnant. But I think the message in this study was actually more towards couples who were not necessarily trying to get pregnant.
Nature may ambush you in this sort of situation. It may sort of cause you to have sex at the time the woman is most fertile, and therefore you get pregnant even if you weren't trying to.
O'BRIEN: Oh, that's an interesting study.
GUPTA: It was.
O'BRIEN: All right, Sanjay. Thanks. Appreciate it.
GUPTA: All right. Thank you. You don't have a problem with that, by the way. Number four now? Three and four?
O'BRIEN: Thanks. I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not pregnant. I'm just getting fatter.
Let's go back out to Washington, D.C., where we find Bill Hemmer.
HEMMER: I don't need to be a doctor to tell you that, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Yes. Like thanks to the good doctor for that, obviously.
GUPTA: No charge, right?
HEMMER: Tell Sanjay to back off.
They are still coming here by the hundreds at this point. And still, several thousand people still snaking their way through the line of security, awaiting their turn to pay final respects to Ronald Reagan here in the nation's capital.
Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Forty-seven minutes past the hour now. Time to get a look at some of today's other news with Heidi Collins.
Hey, Heidi. Good morning.
COLLINS: Good morning, Soledad.
We are going to start with the G8 summit. Boosting trade in Africa, that tops today's agenda at the G8 summit on Georgia's Sea Island. African leaders arriving for today's meetings. Yesterday, leaders agreed to try to accelerate development of an AIDS vaccine. Parts of Africa ravaged by the disease, as you know. The summit officially ends later today.
Lawyers representing prisoners in Iraq who were allegedly abused are suing two U.S. companies hired to help the military in conducting interrogations. The lawsuit charges the firms with a conspiracy to engage in a wide range of heinous and illegal acts at the Abu Ghraib prison. Titan Corporation and KAC -- or, excuse me, CACI International are named in the suit. The companies say these allegations, though, are false.
At the Scott Peterson trial, a neighbor testified that she saw the Peterson's dog walking alone on the morning Laci vanished, but that there was no sign of Laci. Two relatives of Laci's told the jury Scott Peterson acted oddly in the days and weeks after he reported his wife missing. The trial continues today in Redwood City, California.
And this just in to CNN now. A small plane has crashed in (UNINTELLIGIBLE), New Jersey, landing in a sand trap at the Hayworth Country Golf Club course. Police say the pilot is the only person on the plane. He has sustained minor injuries.
Incredible pictures here. And at this point, the pilot has not yet been removed from the plane. We'll try to keep our eye on that for you and give the details as we get them.
Thousands of fans, meanwhile, turned out for the lunchtime Lightning parade in Tampa. An estimated 20,000 people lined the streets for the victory parade in honor of, yes, the Stanley Cup champs, Tampa Bay Lightning. It seemed like it was a parade for just about everybody. Office workers in button-down shirts and ties lined the route, right alongside teens who wore team championship jerseys.
This is pretty cool, because the team captain, Dave Andreychuk, 22 years of playing hockey and finally gets a Stanley Cup. They let him walk in the back and hold up the cup all by himself.
O'BRIEN: It's about time. Oh, that's nice. That's great. That's great to see. Thanks, Heidi.
Business news now. The world's largest pork processor is looking to get a little bit fatter off the low-carb craze. With that, plus a check of the market this morning, Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business."
What do you want to start with?
ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, FORTUNE MAGAZINE: Well, I'm still recovering from you calling me Snoop Andy earlier in the show. But that's OK.
O'BRIEN: You didn't like that?
SERWER: No, I did. I liked it.
O'BRIEN: No disrespect intended.
SERWER: No, I liked it a lot, actually. Let's keep it up.
Let's check out stocks, first of all, Soledad. The board here, we're up 15 on the Dow this morning. A lot of stocks kind of moving to the upside here.
Federal Express, CEO Fred Smith said demand is strong. That stock is up $1.40 to $77.
And the big story of the day on Wall Street is May department stores buy Marshall Fields from Target for $3.2 billion. May owns Lord and Taylor's and Marshall Fields all the way across the Midwest, obviously. They thought it was going to be Federated, which owns Macy's. But they did not pull the trigger and May did.
Let's talk about pork, shall we?
O'BRIEN: And really fallout more from the Atkins craze.
SERWER: Yes. And it's great news for pork producers high on the hog here. We can get some pork puns.
Souie pig, to everyone in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and all the rest of that. Smithfield Foods says pork earnings are up 70 percent. Demand is very strong.
It's not just Atkins, Soledad. You've got no mad cow with pork, no Asian bird flu. Just straight ahead demand for this product.
And listen to this. This is great. The company, Smithfield Foods, plans to increase bacon production by 100 million pounds this year, up 20 percent. They say bacon is very versatile. I think I'm partly responsible for that uptick in demand, because I'm a big bacon eater.
O'BRIEN: Yes. Good for you, too.
SERWER: Oh, yes.
O'BRIEN: Lots of bacon, deep fried.
SERWER: Oh, all the time. Yes. Every meal.
O'BRIEN: All right, Andy. Thanks.
Ahead on CNN this morning, the top American general in Iraq seeks to remove himself from the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. We've got full details coming up from the Pentagon in the next hour with Daryn Kagan on "CNN LIVE TODAY."
AMERICAN MORNING is back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: A little bit of improvement, all right, for some of us. Thanks, Chad. Appreciate it.
Jack's got the "Question of the Day" now.
CAFFERTY: Who would you wait in line hours to see, in light of all the waiting that's been going on in conjunction with the Reagan funeral? One serious, then we'll get silly.
Ron, serious, Plano, Texas. Ron is 13 (ph). "We waited outside St. Patrick's Cathedral to walk past the casket of Robert Kennedy. I remember we started waiting at 5:00 a.m., waited six to eight hours to walk past his casket. It is a memory that I cherish."
Buck in Vassar, Michigan, "I would wait days to see Roseanne Barr wrestle Haystack Calhoun naked in a tub full of fish heads."
Wayne in Fairfax...
O'BRIEN: But that so wasn't the "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: Sure, who would you wait hours in line to see? He would wait days to see Roseanne Barr and Haystack Calhoun.
Wayne in Fairfax, Virginia, "Nobody. I told my girlfriend that this morning, and she said, 'Excuse me? I think you should rephrase your answer.' OK, I would wait for her."
And Jean in Winnepeg, "I would wait in line to see Jack Cafferty. The line would be very short, so I wouldn't waste very much time."
(LAUGHTER)
CAFFERTY: Touche, darling.
O'BRIEN: Oh, that's funny. All right. Thanks, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Those were very funny today, I thought.
CAFFERTY: Cute today.
O'BRIEN: And some, I though, very poignant, too.
CAFFERTY: Yes. Well, a little of each.
O'BRIEN: A little of both.
CAFFERTY: You've got to lighten it up some. It's been a heavy week.
O'BRIEN: Absolutely. You know what? You're right.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Let's head it back out to Bill Hemmer in Washington, D.C. -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right.
Later tonight, the president will wait in line about 7:00 local time Eastern Time here in Washington, and he will pay his respects. Live coverage of the state funeral of Ronald Reagan continues throughout the day here on CNN. And we will, too, after a short break.
Back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: And that is it for us this morning. We are out of time. For Bill Hemmer and myself, we'll see you back here tomorrow morning.
Let's get right to Daryn Kagan in Atlanta.
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 - 9:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Nancy Reagan leading the nation in mourning for her husband. And by the tens of thousands, they follow her. Will the death of Ronald Reagan affect the presidential campaign? A nationwide poll conducted after the news last Saturday just ahead.
And did Scott Peterson tell more than one story about where he was on the day his wife disappeared? The serious accusations on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: This is a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
O'BRIEN: And welcome back, everybody. Some of the news making headlines this morning...
World leaders now down to their final day at the G8 summit on Sea Island, Georgia. Iraq, the Middle East, NATO, all of those serious topics, serious discussion, and bringing some disagreements as well. We're going to take a look at some of the snags in that process.
Also ahead this morning, more U.S. athletes may be staying home this summer because of doping charges that could disqualify them from the Olympics. Have the tests reached scandal proportions? And will the results of those tests hold up? We'll take a look at that as well this morning.
But first, Jack Cafferty with us.
Hello.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
The "Question of the Day" has to do with people who wait in line seven, eight hours for a chance to file past the casket and pay their respects to the late President Reagan. Is there someone else you can think of that you'd be willing to stand in line for hours to see? AM@CNN.com, drop us a note.
O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you, Jack.
Let's head it out to Bill Hemmer in Washington, D.C. this morning.
Bill, good morning again.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Soledad. Good morning again to you as well.
Every person here has a purpose for being here. And every person has their own story about what Ronald Reagan meant to them. The procession continues past the casket and the former president, being slowed, we're told, by a number of mourners carrying what they call inappropriate items. Those items include photo and video equipment, bags larger than a pocketbook.
Not allowed here. It slowed the line down a little bit. They say the line has shortened somewhat, but that many thousands are still waiting.
As for the culmination of funeral services tomorrow, this is the schedule as we know it now. The National Cathedral is where Mr. Reagan's funeral service will take place. About three dozen foreign dignitaries now expected to attend.
President Bush, his father, will be among those eulogizing Mr. Reagan. In addition to that, Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev, and so many others, including Prince Charles. At least 20 that we know of at this point, 20 heads of state, and possibly that list is longer as the day progresses here.
After the funeral, another brief ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base before the former president's body is placed back on a government plane for that final flight back West, to home in California. The Reagan family and invited guests will then attend a private funeral service at the Reagan Library. That's back in Simi Valley at sunset, Friday evening. It should be about 9:00 Eastern Time, 6:00 on the West Coast before the former president is finally laid to rest.
And the outpouring to honor Mr. Reagan here in Washington got under way yesterday afternoon when the former president's body arrived from California. It was solemn, it was respectful. And Ed Henry is there to watch it. Ed Henry is back with us today.
Good morning, Ed, on Capitol Hill with me as well.
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
I spoke just a few moments ago to Republican senator, Don Nickles, who was in the Rotunda with a lot of lawmakers last evening for that ceremony as they saw the casket come in. And Senator Nickles said it was just such a powerful image to see Nancy Reagan run her hand ever so gently across the casket. In fact, all across this city, there was one dramatic moment after another.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY (voice-over): Ronald Reagan's final trip to Washington was filled with eloquence and reminders about his time in the capital city. His casket arrived at a familiar spot, Andrews Air Force Base, to the strands of a familiar tune. The horse-drawn caisson journeyed from near the White House to the west front of the Capitol, the very spot where Mr. Reagan was sworn in as president in 1981. Then the 700-pound casket was lifted into the Rotunda of the Capitol, the site of Mr. Reagan's second swearing in because of bad weather, where he now lies in state.
DENNIS HASTERT, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: This Capitol building is the right place to honor a man who so faithfully defended our freedom and so successfully helped extend the blessings of liberty to millions of people around the world.
HENRY: The thousands of people who lined Constitution Avenue were also paying their respects to the president's first lady, who cared for her husband during his long battle with Alzheimer's.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God bless you, Nancy.
(APPLAUSE)
HENRY: Her influence was seen in the meticulous planning, everything from a 21-gun salute to a 21-jet fly-over with a missing man formation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was quiet. It was ceremonial. It was regal. It was beautiful.
HENRY: Before escorting Mrs. Reagan to the casket, Vice President Cheney wished her well.
RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When these days of ceremony are completed, the nation returns him to you for the final journey to the West. And when he is laid to rest under the pacific sky, we will be thinking of you as we commend to the almighty the soul of his faithful servant, Ronald Wilson Reagan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: And Bill, House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Senator Ted Stevens also saluted Nancy Reagan. They said not just for the way she has held up this week, but that quiet dignity and grace that she has shown over the last decade -- Bill.
HEMMER: Ed Henry, thanks, here on Capitol Hill.
I mentioned earlier that everyone here has a purpose and a story. I met a woman yesterday, one of the first people in line. Here name was Carmen. She's in her early 60s, from New Jersey. She said she named her own son after Ronald Reagan and she's come back to honor him, and she did yesterday. One of the first people to visit the Rotunda building yesterday.
Our next guest also has his own political story about Ronald Reagan. Former senator from Texas, Bill Graham, here with us now in Washington, D.C.
Nice to see you again, Senator. Good morning.
PHIL GRAMM, FMR. SENATOR: Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: I know you haven't done a whole lot of interviews since you left Congress, left the Senate. But you're coming out now to remember the man who influenced you. Was Ronald Reagan the reason why you changed parties?
GRAMM: Well, I think he was part of it. I had grown up in the South. Everybody I knew was a Democrat. The party didn't matter to me.
But when I got to Washington, while party didn't matter to me, it was about the only thing that mattered to many other people. And I remember the day Ronald Reagan took the oath, sitting right up there on the west front of the Capitol, thinking I never thought I'd live to see the day when someone would be president who thought exactly like I did. So when Reagan asked me to join him in being the author of the Reagan program with Del Latta in the House, I wasn't going to let party stand between me and change in America.
HEMMER: You know, to show and express your gratitude toward that man, we should let our viewers know you were just on a vacation in Europe, right? And you returned from that trip to come here to the U.S. and the funeral tomorrow. What were they saying in the newspapers in Europe about that?
GRAMM: Well, you know, it's interesting, because I was there through the whole Reagan revolution. And when Reagan deployed the Pershing II missile in Europe, there were great protests. When he called the Soviet Union the evil empire, many people in Europe thought that was provocative and dangerous.
But in the end, it's not what is said, it's not the debate. In the end, the Reagan program worked. We won the Cold War. And through Reagan's leadership, we tore down the Berlin Wall and liberated Eastern Europe and changed the world. And the outpouring in Europe is astonishing to me.
HEMMER: Yes. How do you reconcile -- he's known as a fiscal conservative, less government is the way he wants to go. Fewer taxes to the American people is the way he wanted to go. At the end of his eight years, the national debt had tripled. You're an economics guy yourself. How do you reconcile that?
GRAMM: Well, look -- yes -- well, I reconcile it in the following sense. Number one, it wasn't as easy to turn things around as Reagan thought or hoped. It took until 1995 and '96 for the strength of the economy to ultimately balance the budget. But the budget was balanced not because of anything that Clinton did or the Congress did, it was what Reagan did in the tax cuts, in the entitlement reform, in saying no to all the people who wanted to wreck the wall around America economically and go hide under a rock somewhere. That's what ultimately did it.
So the bad news is, it didn't do it in four years like Reagan had hoped. The good news is, it ultimately achieved the goal.
HEMMER: Good to see you. Hope you're doing well.
GRAMM: Thank you. I'm doing great, thank you.
HEMMER: Senator Phil Gramm. And you're going to the funeral tomorrow as well to pay your respects.
GRAMM: Thank you.
HEMMER: Appreciate your time today.
GRAMM: Thank you.
HEMMER: Speaking of that funeral, our special coverage tomorrow, on Friday morning, here on CNN, we'll be back here live on AMERICAN MORNING. After that, 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, our special coverage will begin. We expect that funeral to begin about 11:30 here in Washington. Then again, later on Friday evening, right around sunset, California time, the final service for Ronald Reagan will take place back in Simi Valley.
More in a moment -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Bill, thanks.
President Bush heads back to Washington later today to pay his respects to Ronald Reagan. But first, he is finishing up his meetings with world leaders at the G8 summit in Georgia. White House correspondent Dana Bash live for us this morning in Savannah, Georgia.
Dana, good morning again.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning again to you, Soledad.
And when the president arrives back in Washington later today, he is going to go straight to the Capitol, to the Rotunda, with Mrs. Bush, in order to pay tribute to President Reagan there. And then he and Mrs. Bush are going to pay condolence calls to Nancy Reagan.
That, of course, part of his personal reflection. Tomorrow morning, he will play the role, of course, of the president and he will give a eulogy on behalf of a grateful nation, according to aides. That is how they're describing this tenor of his speech at the National Cathedral, part of the memorial service for President Reagan. They say that although he did have a personal relationship, personal memories of President Reagan, he will keep his remarks limited to that of the president speaking on behalf of the nation -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Dana, question for you. You know, we have certainly heard that the president wants NATO to have a bigger role in all of this. The NATO members who are there on Sea Island, in Georgia, what's their reaction been to what the president is now saying about NATO's role?
BASH: Well, it depends on who you ask, Soledad. The president has been talking to world leaders here about how to beef up security in Iraq. And one thing he did float yesterday was the idea of beefing up NATO's role, which has been quite minimal in Iraq.
And just hours after that, the French president, Jacques Chirac, came out and really poured cold water on the idea. He said it's not NATO's role to intervene in Iraq, that it wasn't a good idea, essentially.
Now, just a little while later, Bush aides tried to explain that Mr. Bush was simply talking about perhaps bringing NATO in to train Iraqi security forces. However, this public dustup about Iraq was exactly what the White House was trying to avoid, because the unofficial theme, as we've been talking about over the last few days here, has been a new spirit of unity between countries that did not agree in the war over Iraq.
And Soledad, we'll be able to see if the two men can get back on the unity wagon, so to speak. They're going to have a one-on-one meeting in just a few minutes -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right. We'll see if that's able to happen. All right. Dana, thanks very much.
A parade of witnesses for the prosecution says that Scott Peterson's behavior raised suspicions after his wife disappeared. Peterson is accused of killing his wife, Laci, and their unborn child. Testimony resumes later this morning. Gloria Gomez, a reporter for KOVR in Sacramento, is covering the trial, and she joins us there from the courthouse in Redwood City, California.
Gloria, nice to see you. Thanks for being with us this morning.
GLORIA GOMEZ, KOVR: Great to be here, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Thank you. Let's start with the testimony of Harvey Kemple. He's a distant relative of Laci's, actually, and a neighbor as well. And he points out a lack of consistency that some other people concur with in the story that Scott Peterson was saying what he was doing the day his wife disappeared. Give me the impact of that testimony.
GOMEZ: Powerful, powerful testimony from Harvey yesterday. No one expected it, clearly.
He says that he was suspicious of Scott Peterson from the very beginning, simply because Scott lied to him about going golfing on Christmas Eve. Then Harvey talks to his wife later on that night, he finds out that he told Harvey's wife that he was fishing on Christmas Eve. So he told prosecutors right away, I had my eye on Scott Peterson.
O'BRIEN: In fact, he told as well on the stand, he talked about playing detective, essentially following Scott Peterson around in his car. What came out of that? I mean, what was he able to discover while he was trailing Scott Peterson?
GOMEZ: Very interesting stuff. In fact, he said that one day Scott told him when he was at the volunteer center at the Red Lion in Modesto, that, "I'm going to go put up fliers. I'll see you later." He said, "Well, where you heading?" He goes, "I'm heading down Paradise Road."
So Harvey says, "OK." So he saw him leaving, but he was heading the wrong way, not towards Paradise Road. So Harvey decided, well, I'm going to see where he's going.
So he ended up following him to a mall parking lot. The mall wasn't even open yet. Scott Peterson sat in his car for 45 minutes. Then the next time he followed Scott Peterson, he followed him to a golf course where Scott was going to go golfing. So he knew right away that Scott was not looking for Laci.
O'BRIEN: What's been the impact of this kind of testimony on the jury? I mean, all of this points to a guy -- all right, maybe he's not the most honest guy in the world. It doesn't mean he's necessarily a murderer.
GOMEZ: Well, I'll tell you, Harvey's testimony was really powerful for that jury. They were clinging on his every word. He had that jury laughing, he had that jury serious. But his testimony was great impact, because, I'll tell you, they were listening, taking notes on everything he was saying.
When he was cross-examined, he had his most powerful testimony then. That was when prosecutors -- or the defense attorney tried to show, well, wait a minute, aren't you still upset about a fourth of July barbecue? And Harvey turned around and said, "No, that's not why I'm angry. I'm angry because Scott Peterson looked more upset over burnt chicken at that barbecue than he does about his missing wife." That jury reacting to it, taking notes right away on that.
O'BRIEN: We don't have a ton of time, but I want to get this final question in. Apparently, Laci Peterson's sister-in-law, Rose Marie Rocha (ph), says that she was talking to Scott after Laci got pregnant and he said something about, he -- the quote was, "I was kind of hoping for infertility."
I mean, how did the jury take is that? Who knows what kind of tone he said it in.
GOMEZ: Well, as a matter of fact, when that testimony came out, the jury quickly started taking notes on it. And obviously, prosecutors contending that Scott Peterson did not want this child, did not want the responsibilities of it, and that's why he killed Laci. The jury very keen on that, taking notes.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. Gloria Gomez, we'll see exactly what the jury makes of all of this. Of course, not until the end. Expect this trial to go on for another five months or so.
GOMEZ: Right.
O'BRIEN: Gloria Gomez, from KOVR in Sacramento for us. Thanks, appreciate it.
GOMEZ: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Sixteen minutes past the hour. Time to get right to Heidi Collins with a look of some of the other stories making news today.
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad. And good morning to you, everybody.
The commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, wants someone higher up to review a report on the Iraqi prison abuses. The request comes as an investigation into mistreatment at the Abu Ghraib prison is on its way to be finished now. General Sanchez normally would review the finding, but he is recusing himself from that role. Pentagon officials say the request is under consideration.
Is a scrap yard in Jordan a hiding place for banned Iraqi missile engines? Well, U.N. weapons experts reportedly think so. They made the discovery and told the U.N. Security Council about it yesterday. The items came from unguarded sites in Iraq once monitored for materials that could produce weapons of mass destruction.
American officials are reportedly investigating a Libyan plot to destabilize Saudi Arabia. According to The New York Times, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi approved an operation to assassinate Saudi Crown -- Saudi Crown Prince, that is, Abdullah. A White House official says American policy toward Libya could be affected. Gadhafi's son called the accusations nonsense. David Ensor is live from D.C. with more on this story coming up in just a little bit.
A new trial for Martha Stewart? Well, that's what her lawyers are hoping, again. Yesterday, one of the witnesses who had testified against Stewart was charged with perjury. In light of the indictment, Martha Stewart's lawyers are expected to ask for another day in court. The team already asked once for a mistrial without success.
And in New York, the newest fashions aren't from Armani or Gucci. They're from Duct tape. One couple spent 60 hours creating their own sticky prom outfits, all part of a national scholarship condition sponsored by the maker of the Duct brand of Duct tape. The garb looks pretty good, but is reportedly hot and noisy when you walk.
You might expect it from Duct tape.
O'BRIEN: I was going to say, you know, I wasn't thinking about that, but that would be a real problem. It's got to be 150 degrees underneath all that Duct tape.
COLLINS: Sure. Worse than weather, I bet.
O'BRIEN: We'll see if they win. Heidi, thanks.
Weather now. Chad Myers at the CNN Center for us, with an update for us on what's going on across the country.
Hey, Chad. Good morning again.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: All right, Chad. Thanks a lot. Jack now and the "Question of the Day."
Hello.
CAFFERTY: Good morning.
Thousands of people in Washington and out in Simi Valley waiting in line for hours to get a glimpse of the casket of the late president and pay their respects. The national outpouring of grief and attention of the passing of this 93-year-old former chief executive is impressive, to say the least.
We thought it would be interesting to find out who else might command this kind of attention, so we asked this morning, who would you be willing to wait in line for hours to see? Here's some of what you've written us.
"I would wait in line for hours to pay respects to a person who through their sacrifice affected society in a positive way, such as Mother Theresa or Martin Luther King." That's from Joshua in College Park, Maryland.
Liz in Columbia, Maryland, "It's not so much who would you wait in line to see. Rather, it's a matter of history and ceremony. It's a happening. I don't particularly like Reagan, but I watched the funeral."
Mike in Palestine, Illinois, "I'd wait for hours upon end to see my parents just one more time so I could tell them how much I miss them and love them."
And Sandy writes this: "Your 'Question of the Day' during a time of national and international mourning, lacks integrity, common sense, and a lack of any character on your part."
O'BRIEN: Really? That's a pretty straightforward "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: Sorry, Sandy.
O'BRIEN: Wow. Ouch!. Interesting. I like this one about waiting to see your parents. That was...
CAFFERTY: Another fan. What? Yes, see...
O'BRIEN: Yes, you probably don't want to count her as a fan.
CAFFERTY: That's all right.
O'BRIEN: But I thought that the guy from Palestine, Illinois, that was interesting.
CAFFERTY: About his parents.
O'BRIEN: I think that's true. You know what? I would put that on my list, too. CAFFERTY: Not everybody has that kind of relationship with their parents, however.
O'BRIEN: That's true. All right, Jack. Thanks.
Still to come this morning, was Libya plotting to assassinate the leader of Saudi Arabia? We're going to bring you a live report on that from Washington just ahead.
And four Olympic athletes learn they may not be able to compete in Athens. We'll tell you why in just a moment.
Plus, the procession of thousands continues for Ronald Reagan. We'll take you back to Capitol Hill to take a look at that. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Four Olympic athletes have been warned that they may not be able to compete in Athens. U.S. officials yesterday notified the track stars that they are under investigation. Josie Burke has our report this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSIE BURKE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two years ago, Tim Montgomery set the world record in the 100 meters. This summer, he hopes to set another record at his third Olympics for the U.S. team.
Now, a potential drug violation stands between Montgomery and Athens. The United States anti-doping agency, known as USADA, has told Montgomery and three other U.S. sprinters it might ban them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This lets these athletes know that their careers are in jeopardy. It lets them know that they may not be in the Athens Olympics.
BURKE: But USADA's case comes with a catch. The agency might rely solely on evidence that does not include a positive drug test. USADA's drug test and protocol gives it the right to ban athletes "when USADA has other reason to believe that a potential doping violation has occurred." USADA recently received the documents that led to indictments of four other people on federal drug charges in connection with the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative steroids scandal in February.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Passing a drug test is no longer enough. We have never seen anything like this in the history of American Olympic sports.
BURKE: His lawyer contends that Montgomery has never failed a drug test. In a statement, she said, "The evidence is inconclusive and internally inconsistent." Olympian Marion Jones, Montgomery's girlfriend, has been questioned by USADA and indicated she would sue if banned. But it might not be that easy.
All Olympic athletes are required to sign an agreement they will go through arbitration to settle eligibility disputes. And in arbitration, a positive drug test is not required, nor is the kind of proof that's required in court. Published reports indicate USADA will use e-mails, canceled checks, and calendars with code words for banned substances to link athletes to doping.
Josie Burke, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Four other track athletes have been suspended for two years. All of them forfeited U.S. titles or medals.
Let's go back out to Bill Hemmer now. It's 9:30 here on the East Coast.
And I have to imagine, Bill, that the lines are growing and growing as the day continues on. Am I right?
HEMMER: Yes. We've been here about five hours now. It was larger when we first showed up, Soledad, believe it or not. It's constricted a little bit, then it grew a little bit more. So it kind of ebbs and flows as time goes by here.
A lot of people working today, certainly. Perhaps possibly at mid afternoon we'll see the lines get yet larger again.
As we go back inside, though, we have about a 22-hour period now for the lying in state period to continue. And as it does, the Honor Guard from the U.S. military stands duty there around that casket from the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines, the Coast Guard. Each shift of relief lasts about 30 minutes in length.
And that mahogany casket has a story of its own. Enormous in its own right, 450 pounds. Later tonight, the president will walk by this same casket.
Our coverage continues in a moment live in Washington, D.C.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome, everybody. The opening bell ringing on Wall Street this morning. The Dow fell 64 points yesterday. The industrial average starts trading at 10,368.
Over at the Nasdaq market site, the Composite Index opens at 1,990, down nearly 33 points today. Expect that the market will open a little bit stronger today.
It's just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. In just a few minutes, new accusations against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Was he plotting terrorism even in the days when he was trying to regain the trust of the United States? David Ensor has more on that for us in just a few moments.
Also this morning, a new study on sex and fertility that could force women to rethink what they know about their reproductive lives.
Before that, though, let's get right back to Bill Hemmer in Washington, D.C.
Bill, good morning again.
HEMMER: Hey, Soledad. Thank you.
The police chief here, the Capitol police chief, about an hour ago said that the line about midnight last night had been about five hours in length. And now that was constricted to about two hours today, with that line thinning just a little bit. However, it continues to snake, and snakes by the thousands, really.
It's going to be another hot day here today, too. A lot of bottled water. Plenty of supply for that today. And folks here are going to need it, too, especially with the temperatures yesterday. Not quite as hot as yesterday, but still, they will climb with the heat and the humidity here in our nation's capital.
I want to say hello to Fran O'Hara from New Rochelle, New York, our next guest here who has just come out of the Rotunda building and joins us now to share her experience.
Good morning to you.
FRAN O'HARA, PASSED THROUGH ROTUNDA: Good morning.
HEMMER: How are you doing today?
O'HARA: It feels like afternoon already.
HEMMER: Does it really?
O'HARA : Yes.
HEMMER: How long was your wait?
O'HARA: Not very long. About three hours.
HEMMER: You are married to a retired Marine officer.
O'HARA: I am married -- I was married to an active duty Marine who retired, yes.
HEMMER: Wow. In the early 1980s, when the Beirut bombing hit, you came quite close to Ronald Reagan in North Carolina.
O'HARA: Yes. Yes.
HEMMER: He came down there for what purpose? O'HARA: He came down after the Beirut bombing for a memorial service. Many of our Marines at the base were killed. Many were missing in action, still. And he came to console the many widows at that base. And to see him embrace, and to know that he cared to come there was just -- it made a great impression.
HEMMER: Had you been a supporter of him before that day?
O'HARA: Yes. Yes, I was. Because I felt that he cared about our military. I felt he was a president who truly cared about our military. Yes, I was a supporter of his.
HEMMER: What do you say to those who say those Marines should have had more protection? Or maybe the Marines should not even have been in Beirut at that time?
O'HARA: Well, because my husband was one of the Marines who had gone there twice, it was hard, but it was necessary. People needed our help, as so often they do. And so, no, I'm not happy that so many died. But yes, I feel we should have been there.
HEMMER: You passed through the Rotunda already.
O'HARA : Yes.
HEMMER: That feeling for you was what, Fran?
O'HARA: It was absolutely moving. It was -- I was so happy that I was getting up at 4:00 in the morning to make it up here, to stand in that line to farewell President Reagan and to have the opportunity, and that Nancy Reagan shared him with all of us. And I think it is just so beautiful a moment in history that we can be here to bid farewell.
HEMMER: You have a memento in your left hand.
O'HARA: Yes, I do. And I'm so glad.
HEMMER: You can show it to our audience. That's OK. Hold it up there.
O'HARA: OK.
HEMMER: That's the card that everyone's getting, right?
O'HARA: Yes.
HEMMER: Where will you put that?
O'HARA: I'm going to frame this. And I'm going to hang it or place it with other mementos that I have through my military time with my husband. It's very special to me. And I actually got two.
HEMMER: I won't tell anyone. Thanks, Fran O'Hara...
O'HARA: Thank you. Thank you. HEMMER: ... New Rochelle, New York. Thanks for talking with us today.
O'HARA: Thank you.
HEMMER: Much more in a moment. Back to Soledad now again in New York.
O'BRIEN: All right, Bill. Thanks.
Ronald Reagan swept Jimmy Carter out of office in 1980 on a wave of optimism. Four years later, his positive attitude led him to a landslide reelection. Kelly Wallace takes a look at how this year's candidates are trying to borrow from the former president's political style.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ronald Reagan's optimism about the country and its future one of the central themes of his two successful bids for the White House.
REAGAN: Four years ago, we raised a banner of bold colors, no pale pastels. We proclaimed a dream of a America that would be a shining city on a hill.
WALLACE: Listen to President Bush...
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm optimistic about America because I believe in the people of America.
WALLACE: ... and presumptive Democratic nominee, John Kerry.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're a country of optimists. We're the can-do people.
WALLACE: ... and you will hear two men, in their own way, trying to recapture Reagan's sunny outlook summed up in one of his most famous ads.
REAGAN: It's morning again in America.
WALLACE: The task, a major challenge, with fears of terrorism in a post-September 11 world. And here is where you see in campaign '04 another Reagan theme.
REAGAN: The American uniform is once again worn with pride.
WALLACE: Keeping the peace by strengthening the U.S. military. President Bush his in war on terror...
BUSH: September 11, 2001, taught a lesson I will never forget: America must confront threats before they fully materialize.
WALLACE: And Kerry, the Vietnam veteran, trying to counter Mr. Bush on national security. KERRY: Our soldiers are stretched too thin. The administration's answer has been to put a Band-Aid on the problem.
WALLACE: While the two men have borrowed themes from the 40th president, they have not often mentioned his name on the stump. When they do, you hear talk of the Reagan tax cuts...
BUSH: With the largest tax relief since Ronald Reagan was the president, we've left more money in the hands that earned it.
WALLACE: ... and Kerry's role in the Senate investigation of the Iran Contra affair.
KERRY: So I stood up to Richard Nixon and the war in Vietnam. Then I stood up as a senator to Ronald Reagan and his illegal war in Central America and to Oliver North and his private network.
WALLACE: But following President Reagan's death, Kerry joined President Bush in saluting Mr. Reagan's leadership and his optimism. The question now is how much both men might try to invoke the Reagan legacy in the months ahead.
Kelly Wallace, CNN New York
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: There has been no overt political campaigning since Ronald Reagan's death on Saturday.
Senator John Kerry would beat President Bush if the election were held today. A national poll, which was taken by the Los Angeles Times, shows that Senator Kerry would get 51 percent of the vote. President Bush, 44 percent of the vote. If Ralph Nader is included in that poll, the Democratic candidate still leads Mr. Bush.
But the paper says that its survey indicates more dissatisfaction with President Bush than it does approval of Senator Kerry. And in three of the most hotly contested states, it shows that George Bush has a solid lead in Missouri, tied in Ohio, and also in Wisconsin.
Overseas now, was Libya planning to assassinate the leader of Saudi Arabia last year? The New York Times is reporting this morning that such a plan may have been in the works. National security correspondent David Ensor live for us in Washington, D.C. this morning.
David, good morning.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
Sources are confirming that Saudi and U.S. authorities are investigating an apparent plot by the Libyan leader to assassinate the ruler of Saudi Arabia. Law enforcement authorities in both countries are following up on information from two prisoners, an American Muslim leader in jail in Virginia, and a Libyan intelligence officer held in Saudi Arabia.
Abdul Rahman Al-Almoudi (ph), the American prisoner, has told investigators he met with Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, according to sources, in June and August of last year to discuss details of a possible assassination plot. Gadhafi was apparently interested in having killed Crown Prince Abdullah, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia.
As a revolutionary who overthrew the Libyan monarchy, Gadhafi is said to regard the Saudi monarchy with contempt. The story was, as you mentioned, first reported in The New York Times this morning.
Now, sources warn that it's not clear how serious or consistent the erratic Libyan leader really was about trying to have the Crown Prince killed. But if the evidence bears out, this could have a major impact on the U.S.-Libyan relationship, which has been improving rapidly recently since Gadhafi pledged to rid himself of weapons of mass destruction and invited the U.S. and British experts in to supervise that process. So this one bears watching -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Is there any evidence at this point that Gadhafi was involved, and is there any -- do the investigators think that these claims that come from these two gentlemen now in jail actually are valid, or are they still looking into them?
ENSOR: There's evidence that Gadhafi was involved in the sense that Mr. Alamoudi (ph) has claimed that he met with Gadhafi, that Gadhafi talked about wanting to assassinate the Crown Prince. Now, this is still an investigation in relatively early stages. U.S. officials are taking it seriously, but they're not ready to say this is definitely what happened at this point -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: David Ensor for us this morning. David, thanks. Fascinating story. Of course we're going to continue to follow it.
Still to come this morning, the natural cycle that could increase the likelihood of an unwanted pregnancy. Dr. Sanjay Gupta ahead with that.
Also, suggestions come out of the G8 summit to solve some of the world's most difficult problems.
We're back in just a moment after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: A new study says that a woman is more likely to have sex at a certain time of the month and it could lead to some surprising results. Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us with details, plus a little biology 101.
Interesting study. What's different about this than what we already know about fertility and ovulation, and things like that?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's interesting, because what the study really looked at was one unprotected act of intercourse was much more likely for a couple to get pregnant than previously thought. Now, why is that?
Everyone knows that if you have unprotected sex, you might get pregnant. But they actually tried to delve into when are -- sex isn't random, the conclusion. When are you more likely to have sex? At what they found, as much as couples try and have sex when a woman is ovulating to get pregnant, if that's their intention, even if they're not trying to get pregnant, they're still more likely to have sex at that time because of these biological signals.
O'BRIEN: So your body sort of knows when you're ovulating, even if you don't necessarily know in your mind?
GUPTA: Your body certainly knows, and other things may happen as well. There's possible explanations as to why this might occur.
O'BRIEN: What are they?
GUPTA: For example, a woman's libido, her sex drive, might actually increase around that time, and therefore more likely to have sex at that time. Also, a woman's sexual attractiveness may actually increase during ovulation. They call this pheromones. They call it the hormone that sort of stimulates sexual desire in men towards that woman. And, in fact, the process may drive itself in the sense that sex sometimes may accelerate the ovulation as well.
O'BRIEN: Do doctors say that this sort of explains the number of unwanted pregnancies?
GUPTA: You know, they didn't...
O'BRIEN: I mean, or for people who don't want to get pregnant? Because it seems like it should just be a random number if you're having intercourse and you're getting pregnant. But it's not. I mean, it's a higher number.
GUPTA: It's a higher number. It's 24 percent higher. They actually gave it a number in this case and said that if you just take all the times that a couple who's not necessarily trying to get pregnant has sex during a woman's cycle, 24 percent of the time it's actually going to fall into a very small window of when a woman is particularly fertile.
O'BRIEN: So for couples who are trying to get pregnant, or maybe have fertility problems, I guess -- what's the take away? Just listen to your body and follow through? And not necessarily, you know, go by the calendar and try to time it, is that...
GUPTA: No. I think the message is that the timing still works. In fact, it may work better than we even thought.
There are specific days, six days in a cycle or so, that are the best days to try to have intercourse if you're trying to get pregnant. But I think the message in this study was actually more towards couples who were not necessarily trying to get pregnant.
Nature may ambush you in this sort of situation. It may sort of cause you to have sex at the time the woman is most fertile, and therefore you get pregnant even if you weren't trying to.
O'BRIEN: Oh, that's an interesting study.
GUPTA: It was.
O'BRIEN: All right, Sanjay. Thanks. Appreciate it.
GUPTA: All right. Thank you. You don't have a problem with that, by the way. Number four now? Three and four?
O'BRIEN: Thanks. I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not pregnant. I'm just getting fatter.
Let's go back out to Washington, D.C., where we find Bill Hemmer.
HEMMER: I don't need to be a doctor to tell you that, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Yes. Like thanks to the good doctor for that, obviously.
GUPTA: No charge, right?
HEMMER: Tell Sanjay to back off.
They are still coming here by the hundreds at this point. And still, several thousand people still snaking their way through the line of security, awaiting their turn to pay final respects to Ronald Reagan here in the nation's capital.
Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Forty-seven minutes past the hour now. Time to get a look at some of today's other news with Heidi Collins.
Hey, Heidi. Good morning.
COLLINS: Good morning, Soledad.
We are going to start with the G8 summit. Boosting trade in Africa, that tops today's agenda at the G8 summit on Georgia's Sea Island. African leaders arriving for today's meetings. Yesterday, leaders agreed to try to accelerate development of an AIDS vaccine. Parts of Africa ravaged by the disease, as you know. The summit officially ends later today.
Lawyers representing prisoners in Iraq who were allegedly abused are suing two U.S. companies hired to help the military in conducting interrogations. The lawsuit charges the firms with a conspiracy to engage in a wide range of heinous and illegal acts at the Abu Ghraib prison. Titan Corporation and KAC -- or, excuse me, CACI International are named in the suit. The companies say these allegations, though, are false.
At the Scott Peterson trial, a neighbor testified that she saw the Peterson's dog walking alone on the morning Laci vanished, but that there was no sign of Laci. Two relatives of Laci's told the jury Scott Peterson acted oddly in the days and weeks after he reported his wife missing. The trial continues today in Redwood City, California.
And this just in to CNN now. A small plane has crashed in (UNINTELLIGIBLE), New Jersey, landing in a sand trap at the Hayworth Country Golf Club course. Police say the pilot is the only person on the plane. He has sustained minor injuries.
Incredible pictures here. And at this point, the pilot has not yet been removed from the plane. We'll try to keep our eye on that for you and give the details as we get them.
Thousands of fans, meanwhile, turned out for the lunchtime Lightning parade in Tampa. An estimated 20,000 people lined the streets for the victory parade in honor of, yes, the Stanley Cup champs, Tampa Bay Lightning. It seemed like it was a parade for just about everybody. Office workers in button-down shirts and ties lined the route, right alongside teens who wore team championship jerseys.
This is pretty cool, because the team captain, Dave Andreychuk, 22 years of playing hockey and finally gets a Stanley Cup. They let him walk in the back and hold up the cup all by himself.
O'BRIEN: It's about time. Oh, that's nice. That's great. That's great to see. Thanks, Heidi.
Business news now. The world's largest pork processor is looking to get a little bit fatter off the low-carb craze. With that, plus a check of the market this morning, Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business."
What do you want to start with?
ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, FORTUNE MAGAZINE: Well, I'm still recovering from you calling me Snoop Andy earlier in the show. But that's OK.
O'BRIEN: You didn't like that?
SERWER: No, I did. I liked it.
O'BRIEN: No disrespect intended.
SERWER: No, I liked it a lot, actually. Let's keep it up.
Let's check out stocks, first of all, Soledad. The board here, we're up 15 on the Dow this morning. A lot of stocks kind of moving to the upside here.
Federal Express, CEO Fred Smith said demand is strong. That stock is up $1.40 to $77.
And the big story of the day on Wall Street is May department stores buy Marshall Fields from Target for $3.2 billion. May owns Lord and Taylor's and Marshall Fields all the way across the Midwest, obviously. They thought it was going to be Federated, which owns Macy's. But they did not pull the trigger and May did.
Let's talk about pork, shall we?
O'BRIEN: And really fallout more from the Atkins craze.
SERWER: Yes. And it's great news for pork producers high on the hog here. We can get some pork puns.
Souie pig, to everyone in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and all the rest of that. Smithfield Foods says pork earnings are up 70 percent. Demand is very strong.
It's not just Atkins, Soledad. You've got no mad cow with pork, no Asian bird flu. Just straight ahead demand for this product.
And listen to this. This is great. The company, Smithfield Foods, plans to increase bacon production by 100 million pounds this year, up 20 percent. They say bacon is very versatile. I think I'm partly responsible for that uptick in demand, because I'm a big bacon eater.
O'BRIEN: Yes. Good for you, too.
SERWER: Oh, yes.
O'BRIEN: Lots of bacon, deep fried.
SERWER: Oh, all the time. Yes. Every meal.
O'BRIEN: All right, Andy. Thanks.
Ahead on CNN this morning, the top American general in Iraq seeks to remove himself from the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. We've got full details coming up from the Pentagon in the next hour with Daryn Kagan on "CNN LIVE TODAY."
AMERICAN MORNING is back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: A little bit of improvement, all right, for some of us. Thanks, Chad. Appreciate it.
Jack's got the "Question of the Day" now.
CAFFERTY: Who would you wait in line hours to see, in light of all the waiting that's been going on in conjunction with the Reagan funeral? One serious, then we'll get silly.
Ron, serious, Plano, Texas. Ron is 13 (ph). "We waited outside St. Patrick's Cathedral to walk past the casket of Robert Kennedy. I remember we started waiting at 5:00 a.m., waited six to eight hours to walk past his casket. It is a memory that I cherish."
Buck in Vassar, Michigan, "I would wait days to see Roseanne Barr wrestle Haystack Calhoun naked in a tub full of fish heads."
Wayne in Fairfax...
O'BRIEN: But that so wasn't the "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: Sure, who would you wait hours in line to see? He would wait days to see Roseanne Barr and Haystack Calhoun.
Wayne in Fairfax, Virginia, "Nobody. I told my girlfriend that this morning, and she said, 'Excuse me? I think you should rephrase your answer.' OK, I would wait for her."
And Jean in Winnepeg, "I would wait in line to see Jack Cafferty. The line would be very short, so I wouldn't waste very much time."
(LAUGHTER)
CAFFERTY: Touche, darling.
O'BRIEN: Oh, that's funny. All right. Thanks, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Those were very funny today, I thought.
CAFFERTY: Cute today.
O'BRIEN: And some, I though, very poignant, too.
CAFFERTY: Yes. Well, a little of each.
O'BRIEN: A little of both.
CAFFERTY: You've got to lighten it up some. It's been a heavy week.
O'BRIEN: Absolutely. You know what? You're right.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Let's head it back out to Bill Hemmer in Washington, D.C. -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right.
Later tonight, the president will wait in line about 7:00 local time Eastern Time here in Washington, and he will pay his respects. Live coverage of the state funeral of Ronald Reagan continues throughout the day here on CNN. And we will, too, after a short break.
Back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: And that is it for us this morning. We are out of time. For Bill Hemmer and myself, we'll see you back here tomorrow morning.
Let's get right to Daryn Kagan in Atlanta.
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