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American Morning

Remembering Ronald Reagan: Reagans' Relationship

Aired June 11, 2004 - 07:30   ET

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

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


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: But first, we want to get you right back to Washington, D.C. and Bill Hemmer.
Bill -- good morning again.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Soledad, good morning to you as well.

Weather-wise, we do expect rain today, and it could get heavy, based on the forecasts we're being told, anyway. It's starting to come down a little bit here. Keep your fingers crossed that hopefully it will stay off for the most part throughout the morning and into the afternoon.

Nearly a week of public pageantry, Soledad, private pain also, coming to a close here in Washington and then later tonight in California. The state funeral service takes place later this morning. The public viewing of Mr. Reagan's casket ends in about an hour and a half. It's been extended by about two hours to 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Untold thousands have made their way past since Wednesday evening. There was one number put out a short time that said well over 90,000 had visited. That was about 5:00 this morning.

No doubt later, as the focus moves to the National Cathedral, dozens of current and former world leaders will be on profile here. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who visited Mr. Reagan's casket yesterday, is among those offering eulogies today. In fact, there will be four of them. Her eulogy will be on videotape due to her ailing health. The other eulogies delivered by the first President Bush, No. 41, the current President Bush, No, 43, and former Canadian Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney.

The service is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time here in Washington.

After the service, Mr. Reagan's body will be flown back to California for one final time, one final trip across this great country. He'll be interned after a private sunset service at his presidential library in Simi Valley, California. And having been there earlier in this week, it is quite a sight to see, high on top the hill there north of Los Angeles.

Now, the bond between Nancy and Ronald Reagan is one of the great love stories of our time. Our next guest was able to see it up close and very personal. Gahl Hodges Burt was Nancy Reagan's social secretary in the White House from 1983 through 1985. They remain friends today. Gahl Hodges Burt is our guest here now on AMERICAN MORNING. Thank you for your time.

GAHL HODGES BURT, NANCY REAGAN'S SOCIAL SECRETARY: Thank you.

HEMMER: You've spoken to some people who have been with her. How is she doing?

BURT: She's doing OK. She's strong. She's a strong woman. She's shown the country how strong she could be over the last 10 years, and I think she'll probably be happy when the closure is finally over.

HEMMER: Over the past 10 years, she has been the caretaker-in- chief, and she has really never broken from that. That has been her primary duty, to take care of him.

BURT: She has not traveled in the last 10 year. She rarely even came East. And I know of many fabulous invitations and honors that people wanted to give her and also him, and she just wouldn't leave his side.

HEMMER: To whom does she turn now for comfort?

BURT: She has many close friends. I think women tend to have more friends than men do, and she was always the keeper of the friends. She nourished those friendships, and she has lots of friends, both in California and on the East Coast that she can fall back on.

HEMMER: There is one particular story you want to share with us today. Take us back 17 years to 1987, your son, Christopher, is born. You received a letter. And we know the Reagans like to write letters. Share that with us today.

BURT: The Reagans came to Berlin for the famous speech at the Berlin Wall, and my son was just six weeks old at the time. And Mrs. Reagan had been coaching me through my pregnancy and everything else, because he was born in Germany. And they gave me a letter on Air Force One when we were flying from Berlin to Bonn, in a beautiful silver frame. And it was a letter to Christopher, my son, signed Ronald and Nancy Reagan, about what the world held for him in the years ahead.

HEMMER: There was a paragraph you brought today, though...

BURT: Yes.

HEMMER: ... from part of that letter that touched you the most. And it reads?

BURT: It reads, "Life for your generation should be very exciting and joyous, because the world has never offered more opportunities for the young to learn, to dream, and to work for answers to the challenges that face mankind. Do these things, and you will return to this world a thousand-fold the gift of your wonderful birth." HEMMER: That's very nice. Gahl Hodges Burt, as much as you can today, good luck to you reflecting on the life and the relationship you had with the Reagans.

BURT: Thank you very much.

HEMMER: Thank you for sharing with us today.

1969 was the last time a funeral was held here for an American president. Dwight D. Eisenhower was front and center that day. Thirty-five years later, a man known as "the great communicator," Ronald Reagan, the 40th president, his funeral service takes place in a matter of hours. We'll be here for it.

Soledad -- back to you now in New York.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Bill.

Still to come on here AMERICAN MORNING, thousands of Americans have lost their jobs to workers overseas, but the government says it's really not that bad. We'll explain just ahead. We're "Minding Your Business."

Plus, looking back at a legend, the musical impact of Ray Charles, as "90-Second Pop" is ahead, too. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Outsourcing may not be so bad after all. Well, that's what the government would like us to think. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business."

Good morning to you.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning again.

O'BRIEN: This is very counterintuitive, I think, this report.

SERWER: Absolutely, and very important potentially. A new study by the government shows that outsourcing, something we've all been very, concerned about over the past couple of months and years, may not be as bad as previously thought. The Bureau of Labor Statistics issuing a report this morning, showing that of the jobs lost in the first quarter of 2004 -- that's 182,000-plus jobs -- only 4,633 of those jobs, or 2.5 percent, were sent overseas.

Now, obviously, this outsourcing issue, Soledad, has been very inflammatory. Lots of images of all of these people in India are stealing our jobs. But I've always been a little suspect of all of that, because you've never been able to really get statistics. How many people actually lost their jobs in the telecom sector or call centers and those jobs were sent overseas? I mean, clearly, it has happened, but maybe not to the extent that people thought.

O'BRIEN: So, where do think that comes from? Because if you sort of went on just the general feel of it, you get the sense that 96 percent of the jobs that have been lost have been sent to India or to Mexico?

SERWER: Right. Well, I think, first of all we had lost a lot of jobs over the past couple of years. So, people were naturally looking for something to blame. And, of course, the job growth in places like India has been huge. But, again, when you try to actually pin it down, it's very, very difficult, only one quarter, but it will be interesting to watch as this proceeds.

O'BRIEN: All right, Andy Serwer minding our business this morning. Andy, thank you. We appreciate that.

SERWER: Thank you.

(WEATHER BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, a high-profile 180 by the State Department. Why Colin Powell denies allegations that the department was trying to make the White House look good. That's ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: It's just about 44 minutes past the hour, and it's time to take a look at some of today's other news with Heidi Collins.

Hey, Heidi, good morning again.

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

The State Department is working on a new terrorist review now after announcing its latest report is inaccurate. The report claimed the number of international attacks fell in 2003 to its lowest point since 1969, but the number of attacks actually rose. Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday the errors happened because of a new data collection system. He denied any sort of political move during an election year.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the leadership of President Joseph Kabila has survived a second coup attempt this year. Soldiers loyal to the president are now patrolling the city. A minister says a rebel group briefly seized control of a government radio station in Kinshasa today, and proclaimed it had taken control of the country. Heavy gunfire also heard in the city.

A Chicago boy is on life support after jumping into a pool to save his friend. The accident happened at an unlocked pool on Monday. The boy jumped in and got stuck in muck and rain water. Officials later learned the boy didn't know how to swim. He remains in critical condition.

And finally, a rescue in Kansas. When seven ducklings fell down a sewer drain, the Water and Sewer Department sprang into action, using special cameras to guide the baby ducks out. You see those picture there. The entire rescue operation taking just a little more than half an hour. OK!

O'BRIEN: Have you noticed that you have done probably this week like five of these fill-in-the-blank animals stuck in drain pipes?

COLLINS: Yes. Yes, we've had some...

O'BRIEN: Is that like a spring phenomenon or what?

COLLINS: ... trauma for animals. I'm not sure. We're going to check into that, though, Soledad.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: And that's all that matters, right?

COLLINS: Right, right.

O'BRIEN: Heidi, thanks.

Hello, Mr. Cafferty. Good morning.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Let's see, rodent drain pipe syndrome.

O'BRIEN: Not rodents.

CAFFERTY: Yes, well, some of them are, aren't they?

O'BRIEN: Kitty cat.

CAFFERTY: Do you know what the problem is of getting to be my age? I'm 61 years old. And when you get to be my age, people that mattered in your life start dying. And it's a bummer. President Reagan, and then I get up this morning, Ray Charles is gone. It's a drag. You have things to look forward to, but it's no fun to get old. That's one of the reasons. You start losing people that had a little spot in your life, and it's like, what happened? You mean Ray Charles is gone, too?

Anyway, suggestions to memorialize Ronald Reagan have been coming in all week long, including a proposal to rename the Pentagon, call it the Reagan National Defense Building, putting his image on Mount Rushmore, putting his face on a $10 dollar bill. We asked you what you thought the best way to permanently remember the late president is.

And I'm not reading on purpose any derogatory comments. I mean, not everybody agreed with Reagan's politics, but this isn't the week to do that. So, the stuff I picked to use here is for the most part positive, and just out of respect for the man's memory and the fact that this week is his funeral.

Tony writes this: "Instead of politicizing his memory with the debate over putting his image on Mount Rushmore or the $10 bill, why not put Ronald Reagan's face on a determined battle to find a cure for the disease that stole him from Nancy, the country and himself years ago?" That, of course, would be Alzheimer's.

Matthew writes: "With no disrespect to the Reagan memory, half of Washington, D.C. is already named after him. If we keep going at this rate, there will be nothing left to name for the next great president. Let's be happy with the office building and the airport and leave it at that."

Kathleen in La Grange, Illinois: "I believe the state of Illinois should remove the state motto, "Land of Lincoln," to "Home of Ronald Reagan." Abe Lincoln was not born in Illinois. Ronald Reagan was."

And Adiel in Houston writes: "We should work on getting this country and the world back to the way he left it. That would be the biggest honor we can give him."

AM@CNN.com.

O'BRIEN: I like that first suggestion. I hadn't thought about that. That's brilliant. You know, the Ronald Reagan Alzheimer's Foundation. Would they actually get a cure?

CAFFERTY: There's an interesting political battle shaping up. Nancy Reagan thinks they should lift the restrictions on stem cell research.

O'BRIEN: Right.

CAFFERTY: Nancy Reagan is probably going to have some role at the Republican convention here in New York in August. President Bush doesn't want to change the stem research limits that he's imposed.

O'BRIEN: That might change.

CAFFERTY: It's going to be -- well, I don't know if it will or not, but it's going to be very interesting. How big a role do they give her? What's she going to say? Is he going to change his view? There's going to be a little subplot developing later.

O'BRIEN: Yes, no question. All right, Jack, thanks.

CAFFERTY: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: Mr. Hemmer is in Washington, D.C. for us this morning. Let's go back to him.

Hey, Bill, good morning again.

HEMMER: Hey, Ms. O'Brien, good morning to you as well.

Last night, Nancy Reagan spent the night at Blair House across the street from the White House, and countless dignitaries stopping by to greet her and say hello last evening, including the former Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. He made a solemn and quiet visit yesterday in the Capitol Rotunda building before he went to see the former first lady. In about three hours from now, the procession moves from the Rotunda about five miles to our location here at the National Cathedral. And this church really has so much history. 1981, the day Ronald Reagan took the oath of office at the beginning of his first term, the day the Iranian hostages were released from Tehran, this is the cathedral where America came together to give thanks.

Our coverage continues in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Well that's a fitting song, because that's what we're talking about: money. It's time for an all new edition of "90-Second Pop."

And joining us this morning, Zena Burns who is a music editor for "Teen People."

Nice to see you.

ZENA BURNS, MUSIC EDITOR, "TEEN PEOPLE": Good to be here.

O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.

Josh Elliott is a staff writer for "Sports Illustrated."

Hi, Josh. Good morning again.

JOSH ELLIOTT, STAFF WRITER, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Jessica Shaw from "Entertainment Weekly," the only person who is been on a zillion times and I mangle your name.

Good morning to all of you.

Let's see. Let's start with Jessica, because we're talking about "The OC".

JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": Yes.

O'BRIEN: This is the weirdest story of the day, Orange County Airport...

SHAW: They have decided that they are going to change the name from John Wayne Airport to "The OC."

O'BRIEN: They haven't -- it's not official.

SHAW: Well, they're really pushing for it. And it's not just, you know, Fox fans. Actually people within the county, they want it.

O'BRIEN: But "The OC" is a show about these little sex-crazed teenagers? I mean, am I right?

ELLIOTT: But it makes sense in that we're not renaming the Albert Schweitzer Airport "The OC" airport. O'BRIEN: It's John Wayne!

SHAW: Yes, but you know what?

ELLIOTT: We are, in fact, in Orange County.

SHAW: It is an international airport. Like, the only people that even know the show exists are in California. It's like you don't even need to make fun of L.A. anymore. They just do it for you. They just take care of the whole thing.

O'BRIEN: Plus, their viewership is like 18-year-olds. I mean, am I right about that?

SHAW: Exactly.

BURNS: I would just be afraid that my boyfriend would sleep with my mom while I was in the security line.

O'BRIEN: Exactly. It's not like an honorable show, where people...

SHAW: Right.

O'BRIEN: It is about teenagers all sleeping around!

SHAW: Yes.

ELLIOTT: I think -- go ahead.

SHAW: I think they should change JFK to like JFK "Sex and the City."

O'BRIEN: "Baywatch."

SHAW: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) they need more help.

BURNS: Yes, yes.

O'BRIEN: This is "Baywatch" international.

(CROSSTALK)

ELLIOTT: I think John's OK with it. I really -- I mean, you know, it kind of -- it makes sense for me. I'm all right. I'll be the contrarian. I'm going to be the contrarian.

O'BRIEN: Oh, man! I'll tell you, I am against that one, just because it's silly.

Let's move on and talk a little about -- this is a sad story, actually. Halle Berry, who has never had luck in love, the woman is just gorgeous. And I've interviewed her several times. Incredibly nice and down to earth, I always thought. Now her ex-husband, Eric Benet, who, by the way, has said he's a sex addict, was cheating on her throughout their whole entire marriage, basically. I don't know if I can call him a pig on TV. So, I won't call him a pig.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: You can do it, but I would never call him a pig on TV. But he certainly had a lot of issues. Now he wants to take her to the cleaners as well.

ELLIOTT: I'm not at all going to defend it, but I was with a group of about six people last night, and we were evenly split discussing this topic on what he actually does for a living.

O'BRIEN: He's a musician.

ELLIOTT: So, apparently yes, he is a musician.

SHAW: All the more reason he should be a hanger-on and stay married to her.

ELLIOTT: Absolutely.

SHAW: And like, you know, ka-ching, get some money...

O'BRIEN: But they had a prenup!

ELLIOTT: Absolutely. Again, I'm not...

SHAW: Which he's contesting.

ELLIOTT: It's absurd. It's absurd. He's an embarrassment. But, you know, he's clearly -- you know, he's bad at being a celebrity. He's clearly bad at being doing his job.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Clearly he's not a great husband.

ELLIOTT: And certainly it's not surprising. It's like this is a very unsurprising story.

SHAW: He needs to become like the poster child for sexaholics and then, you know, maybe he'll get some money out of that.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: A gold digger! Is there a job in that?

SHAW: He's a gold digger.

O'BRIEN: Is there money in that? I'm not sure those are official...

SHAW: Is there, Josh?

O'BRIEN: Oh!

ELLIOTT: Well...

(CROSSTALK) O'BRIEN: Ow! Exactly. We might have to end it right here that was that cold. All right. All right, Zena, by the way, who is a "90- Second Pop" virgin joining us this morning. Tina, let's talk a little bit about Ray Charles.

BURNS: Oh, what a cool guy.

O'BRIEN: Because you know what? Jack earlier, you know, really just moments ago, was saying, you know, one of the things about getting older is that people you really admire and sort of have a special place in your heart pass away.

BURNS: Yes.

O'BRIEN: And I think that he obviously had fans not only people of Jack's generation, but all of us are huge fans of Ray Charles. Give me a sense of his legacy. We've been talking about Reagan all this while. But what about Ray Charles?

BURNS: He's just as cool a guy as you could possibly, you know, ever want in the music industry. Jamie Foxx is starring in a movie of his life, which is coming out later this year. The man inspired everyone from the Who to the Rolling Stones to the Beatles and who inspired so many contemporary artists and...

O'BRIEN: He really crossed all boundaries. I mean, he did kind of...

BURNS: Yes, without a doubt.

O'BRIEN: He did soul. He did gospel. He did really everything.

BURNS: And inspired so many women to tell their men to "Hit the Road, Jack." Maybe Halle -- I don't know. Maybe she should have done that a little earlier before she walked down the aisle.

O'BRIEN: Really.

ELLIOTT: You know, usually this is an oasis for real news on this show, but it is sad. It is just absolutely and totally sad.

O'BRIEN: I know.

SHAW: I saw him in concert once in Anchorage, Alaska, of all places, and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I think he's really going to be missed.

SHAW: He was really amazing.

O'BRIEN: Some people, you know, you sort of think like you read that they've died, and it sort of makes you gasp, because you think, wow, that is really a tremendous loss.

Can we talk about "Sex and the City?" What a segue. Let's go from that. But let's talk about "Sex and the City." It's now going to go from HBO to TBS. They've been editing this thing frantically, right?

SHAW: Yes, they have. A lot of "F" words are out of there.

ELLIOTT: You know, I don't see it.

SHAW: What's the dialogue going to be?

O'BRIEN: Well, exactly. How do you edit those out?

SHAW: Well, they all have to re-edit it and use a word like bang instead of, you know...

O'BRIEN: The other word.

SHAW: Right.

ELLIOTT: Kim Cattrall is going to be -- you know, she shouldn't even get...

O'BRIEN: She's going to have a very small role.

SHAW: Right, right.

ELLIOTT: She's going to be -- we'll see her for 30 seconds a show.

SHAW: Right.

BURNS: Cameos.

ELLIOTT: Yes, it's going to be hard to translate. I mean, I think that's sort of the genius of HBO is they find these shows that work on their network. And I don't know if it's going to...

O'BRIEN: You know, and also shows that are all about the writing, I think that they're really hard, across whether you're talking about editing out, frankly, the "F" word from a show or whatever, whenever the show is really about great writing, it's hard to kind of edit it. It just doesn't work, I don't think.

SHAW: It's like "The OC."

O'BRIEN: That wonderfully written, brilliant show soon to be...

SHAW: Yes, I mean, what would happen if that landed on CBS?

O'BRIEN: Behind an airport one day soon. Oh, lordy! All right, I think we're done. I've run out of things to talk about. Zena, welcome. It was nice to have you this morning. And Josh and Jessica, as always, you guys, thanks so much.

And let's throw it right back to Bill in Washington, D.C. -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Soledad, thanks for that. In a moment here as our coverage continues live near the National Cathedral, we'll talk to a man who served for eight long years as secretary of the Navy during the Reagan years. We'll find out why he believes the Beirut bombing more than 20 years ago was one of the major causes behind the attacks of 9/11. Our coverage continues in a moment here in Washington.

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Aired June 11, 2004 - 07:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: But first, we want to get you right back to Washington, D.C. and Bill Hemmer.
Bill -- good morning again.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Soledad, good morning to you as well.

Weather-wise, we do expect rain today, and it could get heavy, based on the forecasts we're being told, anyway. It's starting to come down a little bit here. Keep your fingers crossed that hopefully it will stay off for the most part throughout the morning and into the afternoon.

Nearly a week of public pageantry, Soledad, private pain also, coming to a close here in Washington and then later tonight in California. The state funeral service takes place later this morning. The public viewing of Mr. Reagan's casket ends in about an hour and a half. It's been extended by about two hours to 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Untold thousands have made their way past since Wednesday evening. There was one number put out a short time that said well over 90,000 had visited. That was about 5:00 this morning.

No doubt later, as the focus moves to the National Cathedral, dozens of current and former world leaders will be on profile here. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who visited Mr. Reagan's casket yesterday, is among those offering eulogies today. In fact, there will be four of them. Her eulogy will be on videotape due to her ailing health. The other eulogies delivered by the first President Bush, No. 41, the current President Bush, No, 43, and former Canadian Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney.

The service is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time here in Washington.

After the service, Mr. Reagan's body will be flown back to California for one final time, one final trip across this great country. He'll be interned after a private sunset service at his presidential library in Simi Valley, California. And having been there earlier in this week, it is quite a sight to see, high on top the hill there north of Los Angeles.

Now, the bond between Nancy and Ronald Reagan is one of the great love stories of our time. Our next guest was able to see it up close and very personal. Gahl Hodges Burt was Nancy Reagan's social secretary in the White House from 1983 through 1985. They remain friends today. Gahl Hodges Burt is our guest here now on AMERICAN MORNING. Thank you for your time.

GAHL HODGES BURT, NANCY REAGAN'S SOCIAL SECRETARY: Thank you.

HEMMER: You've spoken to some people who have been with her. How is she doing?

BURT: She's doing OK. She's strong. She's a strong woman. She's shown the country how strong she could be over the last 10 years, and I think she'll probably be happy when the closure is finally over.

HEMMER: Over the past 10 years, she has been the caretaker-in- chief, and she has really never broken from that. That has been her primary duty, to take care of him.

BURT: She has not traveled in the last 10 year. She rarely even came East. And I know of many fabulous invitations and honors that people wanted to give her and also him, and she just wouldn't leave his side.

HEMMER: To whom does she turn now for comfort?

BURT: She has many close friends. I think women tend to have more friends than men do, and she was always the keeper of the friends. She nourished those friendships, and she has lots of friends, both in California and on the East Coast that she can fall back on.

HEMMER: There is one particular story you want to share with us today. Take us back 17 years to 1987, your son, Christopher, is born. You received a letter. And we know the Reagans like to write letters. Share that with us today.

BURT: The Reagans came to Berlin for the famous speech at the Berlin Wall, and my son was just six weeks old at the time. And Mrs. Reagan had been coaching me through my pregnancy and everything else, because he was born in Germany. And they gave me a letter on Air Force One when we were flying from Berlin to Bonn, in a beautiful silver frame. And it was a letter to Christopher, my son, signed Ronald and Nancy Reagan, about what the world held for him in the years ahead.

HEMMER: There was a paragraph you brought today, though...

BURT: Yes.

HEMMER: ... from part of that letter that touched you the most. And it reads?

BURT: It reads, "Life for your generation should be very exciting and joyous, because the world has never offered more opportunities for the young to learn, to dream, and to work for answers to the challenges that face mankind. Do these things, and you will return to this world a thousand-fold the gift of your wonderful birth." HEMMER: That's very nice. Gahl Hodges Burt, as much as you can today, good luck to you reflecting on the life and the relationship you had with the Reagans.

BURT: Thank you very much.

HEMMER: Thank you for sharing with us today.

1969 was the last time a funeral was held here for an American president. Dwight D. Eisenhower was front and center that day. Thirty-five years later, a man known as "the great communicator," Ronald Reagan, the 40th president, his funeral service takes place in a matter of hours. We'll be here for it.

Soledad -- back to you now in New York.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Bill.

Still to come on here AMERICAN MORNING, thousands of Americans have lost their jobs to workers overseas, but the government says it's really not that bad. We'll explain just ahead. We're "Minding Your Business."

Plus, looking back at a legend, the musical impact of Ray Charles, as "90-Second Pop" is ahead, too. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Outsourcing may not be so bad after all. Well, that's what the government would like us to think. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business."

Good morning to you.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning again.

O'BRIEN: This is very counterintuitive, I think, this report.

SERWER: Absolutely, and very important potentially. A new study by the government shows that outsourcing, something we've all been very, concerned about over the past couple of months and years, may not be as bad as previously thought. The Bureau of Labor Statistics issuing a report this morning, showing that of the jobs lost in the first quarter of 2004 -- that's 182,000-plus jobs -- only 4,633 of those jobs, or 2.5 percent, were sent overseas.

Now, obviously, this outsourcing issue, Soledad, has been very inflammatory. Lots of images of all of these people in India are stealing our jobs. But I've always been a little suspect of all of that, because you've never been able to really get statistics. How many people actually lost their jobs in the telecom sector or call centers and those jobs were sent overseas? I mean, clearly, it has happened, but maybe not to the extent that people thought.

O'BRIEN: So, where do think that comes from? Because if you sort of went on just the general feel of it, you get the sense that 96 percent of the jobs that have been lost have been sent to India or to Mexico?

SERWER: Right. Well, I think, first of all we had lost a lot of jobs over the past couple of years. So, people were naturally looking for something to blame. And, of course, the job growth in places like India has been huge. But, again, when you try to actually pin it down, it's very, very difficult, only one quarter, but it will be interesting to watch as this proceeds.

O'BRIEN: All right, Andy Serwer minding our business this morning. Andy, thank you. We appreciate that.

SERWER: Thank you.

(WEATHER BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, a high-profile 180 by the State Department. Why Colin Powell denies allegations that the department was trying to make the White House look good. That's ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: It's just about 44 minutes past the hour, and it's time to take a look at some of today's other news with Heidi Collins.

Hey, Heidi, good morning again.

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

The State Department is working on a new terrorist review now after announcing its latest report is inaccurate. The report claimed the number of international attacks fell in 2003 to its lowest point since 1969, but the number of attacks actually rose. Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday the errors happened because of a new data collection system. He denied any sort of political move during an election year.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the leadership of President Joseph Kabila has survived a second coup attempt this year. Soldiers loyal to the president are now patrolling the city. A minister says a rebel group briefly seized control of a government radio station in Kinshasa today, and proclaimed it had taken control of the country. Heavy gunfire also heard in the city.

A Chicago boy is on life support after jumping into a pool to save his friend. The accident happened at an unlocked pool on Monday. The boy jumped in and got stuck in muck and rain water. Officials later learned the boy didn't know how to swim. He remains in critical condition.

And finally, a rescue in Kansas. When seven ducklings fell down a sewer drain, the Water and Sewer Department sprang into action, using special cameras to guide the baby ducks out. You see those picture there. The entire rescue operation taking just a little more than half an hour. OK!

O'BRIEN: Have you noticed that you have done probably this week like five of these fill-in-the-blank animals stuck in drain pipes?

COLLINS: Yes. Yes, we've had some...

O'BRIEN: Is that like a spring phenomenon or what?

COLLINS: ... trauma for animals. I'm not sure. We're going to check into that, though, Soledad.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: And that's all that matters, right?

COLLINS: Right, right.

O'BRIEN: Heidi, thanks.

Hello, Mr. Cafferty. Good morning.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Let's see, rodent drain pipe syndrome.

O'BRIEN: Not rodents.

CAFFERTY: Yes, well, some of them are, aren't they?

O'BRIEN: Kitty cat.

CAFFERTY: Do you know what the problem is of getting to be my age? I'm 61 years old. And when you get to be my age, people that mattered in your life start dying. And it's a bummer. President Reagan, and then I get up this morning, Ray Charles is gone. It's a drag. You have things to look forward to, but it's no fun to get old. That's one of the reasons. You start losing people that had a little spot in your life, and it's like, what happened? You mean Ray Charles is gone, too?

Anyway, suggestions to memorialize Ronald Reagan have been coming in all week long, including a proposal to rename the Pentagon, call it the Reagan National Defense Building, putting his image on Mount Rushmore, putting his face on a $10 dollar bill. We asked you what you thought the best way to permanently remember the late president is.

And I'm not reading on purpose any derogatory comments. I mean, not everybody agreed with Reagan's politics, but this isn't the week to do that. So, the stuff I picked to use here is for the most part positive, and just out of respect for the man's memory and the fact that this week is his funeral.

Tony writes this: "Instead of politicizing his memory with the debate over putting his image on Mount Rushmore or the $10 bill, why not put Ronald Reagan's face on a determined battle to find a cure for the disease that stole him from Nancy, the country and himself years ago?" That, of course, would be Alzheimer's.

Matthew writes: "With no disrespect to the Reagan memory, half of Washington, D.C. is already named after him. If we keep going at this rate, there will be nothing left to name for the next great president. Let's be happy with the office building and the airport and leave it at that."

Kathleen in La Grange, Illinois: "I believe the state of Illinois should remove the state motto, "Land of Lincoln," to "Home of Ronald Reagan." Abe Lincoln was not born in Illinois. Ronald Reagan was."

And Adiel in Houston writes: "We should work on getting this country and the world back to the way he left it. That would be the biggest honor we can give him."

AM@CNN.com.

O'BRIEN: I like that first suggestion. I hadn't thought about that. That's brilliant. You know, the Ronald Reagan Alzheimer's Foundation. Would they actually get a cure?

CAFFERTY: There's an interesting political battle shaping up. Nancy Reagan thinks they should lift the restrictions on stem cell research.

O'BRIEN: Right.

CAFFERTY: Nancy Reagan is probably going to have some role at the Republican convention here in New York in August. President Bush doesn't want to change the stem research limits that he's imposed.

O'BRIEN: That might change.

CAFFERTY: It's going to be -- well, I don't know if it will or not, but it's going to be very interesting. How big a role do they give her? What's she going to say? Is he going to change his view? There's going to be a little subplot developing later.

O'BRIEN: Yes, no question. All right, Jack, thanks.

CAFFERTY: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: Mr. Hemmer is in Washington, D.C. for us this morning. Let's go back to him.

Hey, Bill, good morning again.

HEMMER: Hey, Ms. O'Brien, good morning to you as well.

Last night, Nancy Reagan spent the night at Blair House across the street from the White House, and countless dignitaries stopping by to greet her and say hello last evening, including the former Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. He made a solemn and quiet visit yesterday in the Capitol Rotunda building before he went to see the former first lady. In about three hours from now, the procession moves from the Rotunda about five miles to our location here at the National Cathedral. And this church really has so much history. 1981, the day Ronald Reagan took the oath of office at the beginning of his first term, the day the Iranian hostages were released from Tehran, this is the cathedral where America came together to give thanks.

Our coverage continues in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Well that's a fitting song, because that's what we're talking about: money. It's time for an all new edition of "90-Second Pop."

And joining us this morning, Zena Burns who is a music editor for "Teen People."

Nice to see you.

ZENA BURNS, MUSIC EDITOR, "TEEN PEOPLE": Good to be here.

O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.

Josh Elliott is a staff writer for "Sports Illustrated."

Hi, Josh. Good morning again.

JOSH ELLIOTT, STAFF WRITER, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Jessica Shaw from "Entertainment Weekly," the only person who is been on a zillion times and I mangle your name.

Good morning to all of you.

Let's see. Let's start with Jessica, because we're talking about "The OC".

JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": Yes.

O'BRIEN: This is the weirdest story of the day, Orange County Airport...

SHAW: They have decided that they are going to change the name from John Wayne Airport to "The OC."

O'BRIEN: They haven't -- it's not official.

SHAW: Well, they're really pushing for it. And it's not just, you know, Fox fans. Actually people within the county, they want it.

O'BRIEN: But "The OC" is a show about these little sex-crazed teenagers? I mean, am I right?

ELLIOTT: But it makes sense in that we're not renaming the Albert Schweitzer Airport "The OC" airport. O'BRIEN: It's John Wayne!

SHAW: Yes, but you know what?

ELLIOTT: We are, in fact, in Orange County.

SHAW: It is an international airport. Like, the only people that even know the show exists are in California. It's like you don't even need to make fun of L.A. anymore. They just do it for you. They just take care of the whole thing.

O'BRIEN: Plus, their viewership is like 18-year-olds. I mean, am I right about that?

SHAW: Exactly.

BURNS: I would just be afraid that my boyfriend would sleep with my mom while I was in the security line.

O'BRIEN: Exactly. It's not like an honorable show, where people...

SHAW: Right.

O'BRIEN: It is about teenagers all sleeping around!

SHAW: Yes.

ELLIOTT: I think -- go ahead.

SHAW: I think they should change JFK to like JFK "Sex and the City."

O'BRIEN: "Baywatch."

SHAW: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) they need more help.

BURNS: Yes, yes.

O'BRIEN: This is "Baywatch" international.

(CROSSTALK)

ELLIOTT: I think John's OK with it. I really -- I mean, you know, it kind of -- it makes sense for me. I'm all right. I'll be the contrarian. I'm going to be the contrarian.

O'BRIEN: Oh, man! I'll tell you, I am against that one, just because it's silly.

Let's move on and talk a little about -- this is a sad story, actually. Halle Berry, who has never had luck in love, the woman is just gorgeous. And I've interviewed her several times. Incredibly nice and down to earth, I always thought. Now her ex-husband, Eric Benet, who, by the way, has said he's a sex addict, was cheating on her throughout their whole entire marriage, basically. I don't know if I can call him a pig on TV. So, I won't call him a pig.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: You can do it, but I would never call him a pig on TV. But he certainly had a lot of issues. Now he wants to take her to the cleaners as well.

ELLIOTT: I'm not at all going to defend it, but I was with a group of about six people last night, and we were evenly split discussing this topic on what he actually does for a living.

O'BRIEN: He's a musician.

ELLIOTT: So, apparently yes, he is a musician.

SHAW: All the more reason he should be a hanger-on and stay married to her.

ELLIOTT: Absolutely.

SHAW: And like, you know, ka-ching, get some money...

O'BRIEN: But they had a prenup!

ELLIOTT: Absolutely. Again, I'm not...

SHAW: Which he's contesting.

ELLIOTT: It's absurd. It's absurd. He's an embarrassment. But, you know, he's clearly -- you know, he's bad at being a celebrity. He's clearly bad at being doing his job.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Clearly he's not a great husband.

ELLIOTT: And certainly it's not surprising. It's like this is a very unsurprising story.

SHAW: He needs to become like the poster child for sexaholics and then, you know, maybe he'll get some money out of that.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: A gold digger! Is there a job in that?

SHAW: He's a gold digger.

O'BRIEN: Is there money in that? I'm not sure those are official...

SHAW: Is there, Josh?

O'BRIEN: Oh!

ELLIOTT: Well...

(CROSSTALK) O'BRIEN: Ow! Exactly. We might have to end it right here that was that cold. All right. All right, Zena, by the way, who is a "90- Second Pop" virgin joining us this morning. Tina, let's talk a little bit about Ray Charles.

BURNS: Oh, what a cool guy.

O'BRIEN: Because you know what? Jack earlier, you know, really just moments ago, was saying, you know, one of the things about getting older is that people you really admire and sort of have a special place in your heart pass away.

BURNS: Yes.

O'BRIEN: And I think that he obviously had fans not only people of Jack's generation, but all of us are huge fans of Ray Charles. Give me a sense of his legacy. We've been talking about Reagan all this while. But what about Ray Charles?

BURNS: He's just as cool a guy as you could possibly, you know, ever want in the music industry. Jamie Foxx is starring in a movie of his life, which is coming out later this year. The man inspired everyone from the Who to the Rolling Stones to the Beatles and who inspired so many contemporary artists and...

O'BRIEN: He really crossed all boundaries. I mean, he did kind of...

BURNS: Yes, without a doubt.

O'BRIEN: He did soul. He did gospel. He did really everything.

BURNS: And inspired so many women to tell their men to "Hit the Road, Jack." Maybe Halle -- I don't know. Maybe she should have done that a little earlier before she walked down the aisle.

O'BRIEN: Really.

ELLIOTT: You know, usually this is an oasis for real news on this show, but it is sad. It is just absolutely and totally sad.

O'BRIEN: I know.

SHAW: I saw him in concert once in Anchorage, Alaska, of all places, and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I think he's really going to be missed.

SHAW: He was really amazing.

O'BRIEN: Some people, you know, you sort of think like you read that they've died, and it sort of makes you gasp, because you think, wow, that is really a tremendous loss.

Can we talk about "Sex and the City?" What a segue. Let's go from that. But let's talk about "Sex and the City." It's now going to go from HBO to TBS. They've been editing this thing frantically, right?

SHAW: Yes, they have. A lot of "F" words are out of there.

ELLIOTT: You know, I don't see it.

SHAW: What's the dialogue going to be?

O'BRIEN: Well, exactly. How do you edit those out?

SHAW: Well, they all have to re-edit it and use a word like bang instead of, you know...

O'BRIEN: The other word.

SHAW: Right.

ELLIOTT: Kim Cattrall is going to be -- you know, she shouldn't even get...

O'BRIEN: She's going to have a very small role.

SHAW: Right, right.

ELLIOTT: She's going to be -- we'll see her for 30 seconds a show.

SHAW: Right.

BURNS: Cameos.

ELLIOTT: Yes, it's going to be hard to translate. I mean, I think that's sort of the genius of HBO is they find these shows that work on their network. And I don't know if it's going to...

O'BRIEN: You know, and also shows that are all about the writing, I think that they're really hard, across whether you're talking about editing out, frankly, the "F" word from a show or whatever, whenever the show is really about great writing, it's hard to kind of edit it. It just doesn't work, I don't think.

SHAW: It's like "The OC."

O'BRIEN: That wonderfully written, brilliant show soon to be...

SHAW: Yes, I mean, what would happen if that landed on CBS?

O'BRIEN: Behind an airport one day soon. Oh, lordy! All right, I think we're done. I've run out of things to talk about. Zena, welcome. It was nice to have you this morning. And Josh and Jessica, as always, you guys, thanks so much.

And let's throw it right back to Bill in Washington, D.C. -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Soledad, thanks for that. In a moment here as our coverage continues live near the National Cathedral, we'll talk to a man who served for eight long years as secretary of the Navy during the Reagan years. We'll find out why he believes the Beirut bombing more than 20 years ago was one of the major causes behind the attacks of 9/11. Our coverage continues in a moment here in Washington.

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