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American Morning
The Fight for Florida; Ken Lay Indictment; State Department Still Listing Hassoun as Captured
Aired July 08, 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. The former Enron chief, the CEO, Ken Lay, in handcuffs. We expect to know this morning what is in that indictment against him.
John Kerry and his new running mate fighting hard on the trail and giving the president a brand new target in his campaign.
Also this from New Mexico...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAM DONALDSON, ABC ANCHOR: Cody was a quiet one, but always polite. We would not have had a premonition or an inkling that this could happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: The newsman, Sam Donaldson, discovering a gruesome crime scene on his ranch. Police now investigating a triple murder there.
All those stories here on AMERICAN MORNING this hour.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: Good morning, everybody -- 9:00 here in New York. Soledad is out this week getting some much-deserved rest and sleep. And Heidi Collins is...
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Not getting any rest and sleep.
HEMMER: ... waking up early with the birds and the worms with the rested of us.
The Enron investigation reaches the top today. Former CEO Ken Lay expected to make a court appearance shortly. He turned himself over to authorities earlier today. We'll look more at what happens now in the case against him in a few minutes. So a lot to talk about there.
COLLINS: Also, we'll go to the Utah hometown of Marine Corporal Was Ali Hassoun, who disappeared in Iraq. We're getting more information this morning about where he is now, though many details of this case still remain uncertain and confusing, at that.
HEMMER: Confusing, and a bit of a mystery, too. COLLINS: Definitely.
HEMMER: Yes. Also this hour, an amazing story out of California. It all started with a small fire in an apartment. It turned out a firefighter called to the scene knew the woman inside from another emergency two decades earlier. The rest of the story in a moment here, and a nice one to tell. We'll get to it this hour.
COLLINS: Jack Cafferty, also very nice, joining us now.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, thank you, Heidi. It's a pleasure to be with you.
The contrast between the sitting vice president, Dick Cheney, and the vice president wannabe, John Edwards, is stark, to say the least, prompting some Republicans, including former Senator Al D'Amato, to suggest that maybe President Bush should think about putting somebody else on the ticket besides Cheney. Your thoughts on that. And if you think there ought to be a change, who do you think it ought to be?
Am@cnn.com. We'll read some of the mail later.
HEMMER: Good deal.
COLLINS: Great.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
Our campaign countdown now. As of today, there are 117 days left until November 2 and the presidential election. Democrats John Kerry and John Edwards on a four-day swing across the country. They begin the day today in Florida today. Kelly Wallace is in Fort Lauderdale. That's where we start this hour.
Kelly, good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Well, we cannot overstate the importance of Florida, the biggest electoral prize of all the battleground states. And Democrats are now hoping the addition of John Edwards will build excitement here and prevent a repeat of what happened in 2000, when Al Gore lost here by just 537 votes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE (voice-over): A raucous reception last night near Tampa for what John Kerry calls a "dream team." And it didn't take long for that team to bring up the subject that makes the blood of a Democrat boil.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, Florida, where this time not only does every vote count, but every vote's going to be counted.
WALLACE: A recent Florida poll taken before the announcement of John Edwards as Kerry's running mate showed the race here is a dead heat.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Is Florida going to make this man the next president of the United States?
WALLACE: Democrats are now hoping that Edwards, with his southern charm and his humble roots, could help win over conservative Democrats and Independents who voted for George W. Bush in 2000. Some on-the-fence voters hear say the Edwards choice could be decisive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was holding back until I saw who he was going to pick as a vice president. But I'm very excited about the ticket.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that with Edwards, at least the public is going to have a little bit of a kind of charismatic, young, interesting guy.
WALLACE: But the state's Republican governor, who happens to be the brother of the president, says he's not worried about John Edwards.
GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: He's very charismatic. He's a great talker. Made a good living off of his ability to speak in the courtroom. But I think it validates the fact that Senator Kerry is -- is a liberal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And the Republican argument here, John Edwards is too liberal and inexperienced. The Democratic argument, which we'll hear two hours from now, that Bush-Cheney is out of touch. The goal for each side now, trying to target and convince the 20 percent of the state voters here who are not aligned with either party -- Bill.
HEMMER: Kelly, thanks for that. Kelly Wallace in Fort Lauderdale. Again, that rally two hours away -- Heidi
COLLINS: President Bush is spending his day at the White House. In about two and a half hours from now, he'll be meeting with the king of Morocco. And this afternoon, he'll address a Latin American convention via satellite. Quite a change from yesterday, when Mr. Bush was on the political attack. Senior White House correspondent John King has that.
Hi, John.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Heidi.
And on the road yesterday, the president said he was absolutely confident that, despite the addition of Senator John Edwards to the Democratic ticket, that he would again carry the South in this presidential election. But Democrats say, if the president is so confident, then why is he all riled up?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING (voice-over): That the president was in North Carolina was coincidence, that he was on the attack, anything but. The race in John Edward's home state is too close for comfort from a Republican perspective. So Mr. Bush was ready when asked to compare Vice President Cheney to a Democratic VP nominee described as "charming," "engaging," even "sexy."
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Dick Cheney can be president. Next?
KING: Democrats say adding Edwards helps their chances in North Carolina and across the South. But the president says what matters most is the name at the top of the ticket.
BUSH: I did well in the South last time; I'll do well in the South this time, because the senator from Massachusetts doesn't share their values. And that's the difference in the campaign.
KING: In 1992, the Clinton-Gore ticket carried five southern border states. If you count Florida as part of the South, it was five states again for the Democrats in 1996. But four years ago, it was a clean sweep for the Bush-Cheney ticket, as even Al Gore's native Tennessee went Republican for president. The president calls his opponent "the senator from Massachusetts" and not by his name for a reason. In much of the South, Massachusetts means Dukakis, Kennedy, liberal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fact that it happens to be the state that has legalized gay marriage kind of solidifies the notion that the way things work in Massachusetts is not the way things work in, you know, in Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina. These are huge cultural differences.
KING: The Kerry campaign said Mr. Bush was on the attack in North Carolina because he has failed to address the job losses that have devastated the textile industry. And the Democratic National Committee suggested Mr. Bush is so worried by the new ticket he went from zero to negative in less than 24 hours.
The North Carolina trip was scheduled long before the White House knew Senator Edwards would be on the Democratic ticket. Mr. Bush came to chide Edwards and other Democrats for blocking his judicial nominees. And before heading home, he also managed to work in a stop designed to give the local economy a little extra juice.
BUSH: Really good.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: Now, behind the White House confidence, aides say is the fact that they believe they can make the case that southern voters might like Senator Edwards' accent, but that his record shows that on taxes and social issues, he is a liberal like Senator Kerry. Here's one interesting thing to watch, though. The president still has two months during which he can spend money out of his primary account. Watch to see if the White House airs more ads in the South -- some went up this week -- and whether the president and vice president spend a bit more time there between now and late August, when they have their convention -- Heidi.
COLLINS: And we will be watching. All right. John King, thanks so much.
HEMMER: So many uncertainties. We know this, though: it is all but certain that this election will be decided in the so-called battleground states, the swing states. There are 17 of them across the country.
The biggest prize, as Kelly Wallace mentioned a few moments ago, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, all considered key in this election. Earlier today on AMERICAN MORNING, I talked to the Michigan Democratic governor, Jennifer Granholm, asking her why the race in Michigan is so close, despite Al Gore's five-point victory in her home state four years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JENNIFER GRANHOLM (D), MICHIGAN: I think that this will all start really focusing in September, October. August maybe. Ralph Nader has an impact here, and that's unfortunate, in my opinion. But when it comes down to the end, and, you know, when we get the electorate focused in Michigan, because of the significance of our economy -- that's why I think the Democratic team, the new dream team will do very well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Jennifer Granholm from the state of Michigan.
From Miami, Florida, now, Tom Fiedler is the executive director of "The Miami Herald."
Tom, good morning to you.
TOM FIEDLER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, "MIAMI HERALD": Good morning.
HEMMER: I want to show our viewers quickly the latest poll we have from the Sunshine State. In a head-to-head match-up with Ralph Nader included, look at this: 43 to 43. Is your state that close still, Tom?
FIEDLER: Yes, I believe it is. And, in fact, I think we're just picking up where we left off in 2000, that famous six weeks after the 2000 presidential election. Of course, it shifted a little bit following 9/11. But it is really right back to what some people call -- we are now the purple state.
HEMMER: The purple state. Huh.
Go back over the past four years if you could, Tom. What has each party done to try and rally their base and change, on the Democratic side and the Republican side, change the outcome this time in terms of getting out the vote at the grassroots level? What's different?
FIEDLER: Well, there really isn't very much different in terms of what -- there's no new break-through in either party. There are obviously some demographic shifts that are going on that the parties are attempting to take advantage of.
I think a big one that the Democrats would hope will work in their favor is the continued growth of Hispanic voters around the Orlando area, central Florida. Primarily, Puerto Ricans, who are coming in either retiring from the northeast, as so many people do, and come down to Florida, and those who are coming over directly from Puerto Rico to work in Disney and places like that, they, in 2000, actually turned the central Florida vote around. It hadn't voted for a Democratic president since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. But Al Gore took those counties in central Florida, and the Democratic Party is trying very hard to make sure that it states in that column in 2004.
HEMMER: Talk to me about issues, quickly. Is it the economy in Florida also, or is it Iraq in addition?
FIEDLER: No -- well, I think Iraq continues to dominate people's conversations. But, you know, the -- the economy is an issue here. Not the big economic issues, which I think would benefit the president. But it's the pocketbook issues, it's the price of milk, the price of gas, and very, very much the price of prescription medicine -- medicine here, as you would imagine with the number of older voters.
HEMMER: Most certainly, too. What about the president's brother? How popular is he now?
FIEDLER: He -- he really is quite popular. What is interesting, and probably problematic for the Republicans, is that that popularity doesn't seem to extend directly to President Bush.
Voters here are able to separate Governor Jeb Bush and President George Bush in -- in their minds as to which way to go. I think Governor Bush continues to be, well, if not the most popular politician in the state, right up there with the Democratic senators, Bill -- Bill Nelson and Bob Graham.
So it's there. He can be a factor. But frankly, I -- I don't know that it's going to be one that will decide the outcome.
HEMMER: All right. Tom, thanks. Tom Fiedler, hope to see you in the fall as we move closer.
FIEDLER: Sure.
HEMMER: The purple state, no longer the Sunshine State.
FIEDLER: That's right.
HEMMER: You got it, Tom. Thanks.
FIEDLER: Thank you. HEMMER: Later tonight, John Kerry, Teresa Heinz Kerry, the guests for "LARRY KING LIVE," 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 on the West Coast. The first sit-down interview the two of them have done since the naming of John Edwards on that ticket. "LARRY KING LIVE" tonight, 9:00 Eastern -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Federal prosecutors now have the jewel in the crown of their Enron investigation. The company's former chairman, Ken Lay, surrendered to authorities earlier this morning in Houston. Criminal charges are likely to be made public a little bit later today.
Jen Rodgers is live in Houston now with more on this.
Good morning to you, Jen.
JEN ROGERS, CNNFN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
That's right, an early start to this Thursday morning for Ken Lay, the former chairman and CEO of Enron, turning himself in at FBI here in Houston about two hours ago. There, we are told, he was fingerprinted and photographed, then a short drive over to the federal courthouse here in Houston. Then in handcuffs, entering the back door of the courthouse.
At that time, he told the cameramen there assembled, people, saying, "I have done" -- basically, I'll have something to say later today. What he had said earlier, last night, was that "I have done nothing wrong, and the indictment is not justified." That in a statement that came out yesterday after news of this indictment came out. Now, we are expecting to hear more about this indictment when it is unsealed later today, when Ken Lay makes his initial appearance in court -- Heidi.
COLLINS: That we will. All right. Jen Rogers, thanks so much for that.
So what is next for Ken Lay? Senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin is here to look at the indictment and what's ahead.
You know, despite those images that we saw just a couple of hours ago in the handcuffs, this is not a slam dunk, you say. He could afford very tough, very expensive lawyers. Could still be a long process.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: And you have to remember his role in the company. He was the chairman. He was not the CEO for most of the time that Enron was under investigation.
The prosecution will have to prove that he made specific decisions that were criminal. In fact, based on my investigation, and others who have looked into it, by and large, Ken Lay tended to be kind of a big picture person. He was not involved in a lot of the decisions that have subsequently determined to be fraudulent. We'll see if the government can prove that he was involved at that level.
COLLINS: Yes. And so how do you do that as a prosecutor? TOOBIN: Well, I think the way you almost always prove that senior executives are guilty of crimes is by flipping people up the chain of command. And the crucial person in this investigation has been Andrew Fastow, the chief financial officer, who has -- who has since pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors. He is going to be the -- the central witness, both against Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, also under indictment, the former CEO.
COLLINS: Yes. In fact, you have said that Fastow is the key to fraud at Enron. But then what does that mean for Ken Lay, when you talk charges and sentencing and so forth?
TOOBIN: Well, the -- the amazing thing that I don't think a lot of people realize is that white collar sentences have increased enormously in the last few years. Your sentence is determined by the amount of fraud that the government proves.
COLLINS: Right.
TOOBIN: So Ken Lay is looking not at years at prison, decades in prison, because you're talking about at least $500 million in fraud. The stakes for him just couldn't be higher.
COLLINS: Huge, huge amount of time. Quickly now, the people of Enron, the former workers, those who lost so much money, how are they feeling today when they see those images of him in the handcuffs?
TOOBIN: I mean, it is an amazing sight to see the former chairman of the seventh -- the Fortune 500 number seven company in handcuffs. But in terms -- they better get psychic satisfaction, because they're not going to get any financial satisfaction.
COLLINS: It's amazing.
TOOBIN: The money is basically all gone. There are -- there are class action lawsuits in the works, but the shareholders, employees are likely only to get pennies on the dollar for any lawsuits that they still have. So...
COLLINS: And no cash.
TOOBIN: ... they better -- they better get their satisfaction in non-financial ways.
COLLINS: Some of them, I bet, will. All right. Jeffrey Toobin, thanks so much for that.
TOOBIN: OK.
COLLINS: Bill, back over to you.
HEMMER: Heidi, thanks for that.
Fifteen minutes past the hour. A grisly scene at the New Mexico ranch home of veteran ABC newsman Sam Donaldson. This morning, a 14- year-old boy now in custody suspected of murdering his father, his stepmother and step sister at that ranch. Donaldson and his wife away for the Fourth of July holiday. They came home and discovered the crime scene there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALDSON: We went over there and went on the porch, and there was a large stain there which I think is instantly recognizable, and glasses. I looked in the door, and you could see congealed reddish substance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: The victims, were told, are the ranch manager and his family. Sam Donaldson grew up in the state of New Mexico. He owns several thousand acres there as well.
Sixteen past the hour now. A check of the other news. Here's Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center.
Daryn, good morning again.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Bill.
CNN has learned just about the last 15 minutes that a missing marine is safe in Lebanon. According to the Lebanese government, U.S. Marine Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun is with family members in Lebanon. There have been several conflicting reports on his whereabouts. U.S. officials have not confirmed that information.
Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters have been clashing in northern Gaza. Palestinian sources saying that at least 10 Palestinians were killed overnight, including some militants. The firefight is part of an ongoing military operation in the area. More than a dozen people have been injured.
To California now. Michael Jackson's lawyers launching an all- out effort to get the grand jury indictment against the singer thrown out. The Santa Barbara court releasing a heavily-edited version of the 47-page motion yesterday. It argues that the prosecution sabotaged the grand jury's ability to perform its functions.
Attorneys head to court tomorrow to argue the matter. Jackson is not expected to attend that session.
On a health note, researchers say that tests to detect prostate cancer can also predict who is most likely to die from the disease. Prostate cancer tests look at the level of the Prostate-Specific Antigen, or PSA in the blood. A new study shows the PSA level may not be as important as how quickly it goes up. The study appears in this week's New England Journal of Medicine."
And in London, Sotheby's auction house saying that somebody spent a fortune to own the only Vermeer painting in private hands. It is a 10x8 inch picture entitled "Young Woman Seated at the Virginal." It was bought anonymously for more than $30 million. Sounds like a lot of money, but it is the first painting by the Dutch old master to be sold at auction since 1921. Very rare piece indeed.
Bill, back to you.
HEMMER: All right. Daryn, thanks for that.
COLLINS: We want to check in with Jack now and the "Question of the Day." Pretty creative answers we're getting here, huh?
CAFFERTY: We got some good mail, yes.
President Bush didn't hesitate yesterday when he said to reporters, "Dick Cheney can be president." They were asking him about Cheney versus John Edwards. But not everybody agrees on this point.
Former Republican senator, Al D'Amato from New York said on New York One (ph) yesterday that President Bush ought to consider replacing Cheney on the ticket. He suggested Colin Powell or perhaps John McCain.
Our question, then, this morning, should President Bush consider replacing Dick Cheney? Getting a lot of responses.
Gail in Connecticut, "The best thing to do for the 2004 Republican ticket is to have Dick Cheney move to senior adviser to the president, where he still remains in the White House. Then George Bush adds John McCain to the ticket as vice president. Then let the games begin."
Nick in St. Croix, "Bush replace Cheney? Not necessary. With Edwards on the ticket, Kerry's going to lose. Edwards so outshines Kerry it makes him look and sound like Herman Munster."
Ed in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, "Alfonse D'Amato is the consummate politician. One has to trust his instincts. While I'm no Bush supporter, I do believe that his comments are accurate. Cheney could easily replace Powell or Rumsfeld in the cabinet while Powell makes history with Bush."
And Dale in Holland, Michigan, "Dick Cheney is one of the most powerful forces of unity in America today. He's got Democrats joining solidly with Republicans and hoping for George Bush's safety and good health."
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: Firefighters in Arizona hoping cooler weather will aid their battle against wildfires in that state. Extreme heat and dryness now fueling the fires which have burned thousands of acres and still threaten about 90 homes and cabins. Fire crews have conducted a number of burnout operations to keep the fire from spreading. They're going to need some luck there, too, and some moisture. Chad Myers, good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Chad, thanks. Talk to you again about 30 minutes away.
COLLINS: Still to come this morning, it might be sunny now, but you never know when you'll have a rainy day. We'll have some tips on how to prepare for surprise money troubles.
HEMMER: Also in a moment here, once the domain of bodybuilder's, steroid use surging among teenagers. And boys are not the only ones turning to pills. We'll have that.
COLLINS: Plus, how a routine call to firefighters led to a reunion no one could have seen coming. A heart warming story. Stick around for it here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: More breaking news around the story with Ken Lay just in to us here at CNN. Reuters News Agency now reporting 11 criminal charges against the former CEO of Enron. Among those charges, securities fraud, wire fraud, false and misleading statements.
So 11 charges in all, as Ken Lay turned himself in to prosecutors and the FBI earlier today in Houston, Texas. A story we continue to watch here throughout the morning on AMERICAN MORNING -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Now to the story of an amazing reunion in California, one that came under fire, and with a little sparkle. Here's CNN's Frank Buckley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a routine call for the firefighters at Station 7, an apartment fire. No one was seriously hurt, but Sparkle Johnson, five months pregnant, had inhaled some smoke, and Captain Allen O'Neil sat her down to help.
CAPT. ALLEN O'NEIL, LONG BEACH FIRE DEPT.: I pulled out my report form for first aids, and I asked her her first name. That's where we start. And she told me her first name was Sparkle.
BUCKLEY (on camera): Sparkle was a name Captain O'Neil had heard before. In fact, it was the name of a girl he had talked about for 20 years.
(voice-over): Twenty years ago, O'Neil was a rookie in the Long Beach California Fire Department. He was riding in the back of an ambulance with a woman in labor who delivered before they could get to the hospital.
O'NEIL: The mom was so excited that we delivered her right there. She says, "I'm going to name this baby after you." And I said, "Well, it's a girl." BUCKLEY: So instead of Allen, the mom said she would name the baby Sparkle. So when O'Neil was writing that name down, as he showed us, on the first aid form 20 years later, O'Neil just knew.
O'NEIL: I said, "You're about 20, aren't you?" She goes, "Yeah." And I said, "Were you born in the back of an ambulance?" She goes, "Yeah." And I says, "Well, I'm the guy that delivered you 20 years ago."
BUCKLEY: Sparkle was speechless.
SPARKLE JOHNSON, FIRE VICTIM: Yeah, I started crying.
BUCKLEY: They snapped a photo together some 20 years after they had last met. And promised each other not to let 20 more years go by without knowing each other a little better.
JOHNSON: He said he wanted me to be a part of my life, and I said I wanted to be a part of his life.
O'NEIL: Sometimes we come full circle with things. And to be able to have even a small little impact on somebody's life means a lot to you.
BUCKLEY: For captain Allen O'Neil, and Sparkle Johnson, it happened twice.
Frank Buckley, CNN, Long Beach, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: That is a great story.
HEMMER: Yes. Are you kidding me?
COLLINS: She just started crying.
HEMMER: I think they should go buy a lotto ticket together.
COLLINS: I do, too.
HEMMER: My gosh. Keep the streak going.
In a moment here, some tips on how to handle the unexpected bumps in the road when it comes to your money. David Bach, personal finance coach, stopping by in a moment on that. We'll get to it.
COLLINS: We will. Also, new developments on the whereabouts of Marine Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun.
Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: A few seconds ago the opening bell on Wall Street. Open now for business. Starting today at 10,240, up about 21 points from trading yesterday for the Dow 30.
Nasdaq market site, Times Square, 1966. Your opening mark today. What a year that was, huh, Heidi? 1966 -- up two points yesterday.
COLLINS: Yes. I wasn't around yet. I just want to be clear on that.
HEMMER: I was, by two years. 9:30 here in New York. Welcome back, everybody. Heidi's working for Soledad this week here.
Also, in a few moments, we're going to go back to Utah for more on the mysterious disappearance of Corporal Wassef Hassoun. We hear now, CNN confirming, that he's in Lebanon. He has family there, also family back in Utah. A wide range of theories as to what happened. We'll look at a few of them in a moment.
COLLINS: Very, very confusing.
Also, though, our personal financial coach, David Bach, not confusing at all. He's back with us again this morning. He's going to be looking at saving for an emergency, where to put your money, and how much you should be socking away.
HEMMER: And good advice, too.
Also this half-hour, Sanjay's back looking at a dangerous friend for young people. Obsessed with their appearance, teenagers increasingly turning to pills, steroids in some cases, amphetamines and others, trying to reshape their bodies. Sanjay is back with that in a moment.
In the meantime, though, CNN learning and being told now a missing marine is safe and in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese government. U.S. Marine Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun now with family members in that country. Miguel Marquez is live in Hassoun's home town of West Jordan, Utah.
Good morning, Miguel. What do we know?
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
That information is something that a source close to the family told CNN yesterday. Now, the -- the foreign ministry for Lebanon confirming that he is, in fact, in Lebanon. The other thing that the source close to the family told us is that Corporal Hassoun intends to connect with State Department officials sometime presumably today.
And yet another twist in this entire story, the Navy, or the Marine Corps today, saying that the Naval Criminal Investigation Service has been in charge of an investigation into this matter since the 19th of July, since he went missing. They are conducting a missing persons investigation, not a criminal investigation at this point. And a public information officer with their office in Washington says that these investigations are fairly common when there is some question as to why the person disappeared. And they will investigate everything from a possible kidnapping by insurgents to a possible hoax of the capture of Corporal Hassoun.
Officially, the State Department is still listing him as captured. While all of that is going on in Washington, and in Lebanon, the search for him, FBI officials showed up here to the Hassoun home in West Jordan, Utah. Two agents seeking information helpful to the FBI, is the way an official put it here in Salt Lake City. And they are treating this as an American citizen who was captured overseas.
Now, Pentagon officials also say that if Hassoun is safely recovered, there are still some very important questions he's going to have to answer. The two biggest ones that came up was how he managed to escape his captors and how he managed to get to Lebanon -- Bill.
HEMMER: Questions persist, as you mentioned. Miguel, thanks -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Put something away for a rainy day. You've heard it before. Good advice, even in the best of economic times. But truth be told, most Americans don't seem to be saving for the proverbial downpour.
David Bach is our personal finance contributor and the author of best selling book "The Automatic Millionaire." He's here now to explain how living rich today can actually brighten your financial future.
So what's the deal? I mean, what exactly is a rainy day? What are we saving for?
DAVID BACH, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE CONTRIBUTOR: The question is, how many weeks wealthy are you? And what does that mean? That means if you lost your job today, how many weeks of savings do you have set aside to pay your expenses?
What we know in this country is the average American right now, let's say 69 percent of America, has less than six weeks of expenses set aside. So they're only six weeks wealthy. That's not enough money, because if you lose your job, it's taking many people 90 days, maybe as much as six months to find a new job.
COLLINS: It is, yes.
BACH: So the secret to living rich and being able to sleep well is that knowing that I've put enough money away so that if I did lose my job or I got sick, I could continue to pay not only for food, but my overhead.
COLLINS: Right. So how much should you be saving then? Isn't it all relative to how much you make and your lifestyle?
BACH: It's relative to what you make, and it's also relative to how much can you save. This is what I can tell you, you want to be taking at least 30 minutes a day of your income, whatever your income is, 30 minutes a day, automatically putting that in a forced savings account, separate -- this is the key -- separate from your checking account. Because most people are putting their emergency money where they write their checks out of, and the emergency money, guess what? It goes away every month, and they have no emergency money. So the key is to make it automatic and then choose the right place to put it.
COLLINS: All right. So the big question, how do you go about saving for this rainy day? I mean, where do you actually put your money?
BACH: All right. There's five places I like. And I'm going to start with the simplest one, a money market account. The good news on money market accounts, the rates are finally going back up again. You can actually get money market accounts today that are paying as much as 2.1 percent.
COLLINS: Pretty good.
BACH: Pretty good. Did some research before I came here. Highest yielding money market account right now nationwide is at ingdirect.com. You have to go online to get this money market account.
The good news, though, is that there's no minimum balance required. That's the highest yielding money market account. As rates push back up next year, we will probably see money markets back to about 2.5, 3 percent.
The second place people should look -- and they should look today -- this is really cool, I like this. Check out treasurydirect.gov. The government just put up a brand-new Web site. Look at I (ph) bonds.
The inflation bonds right now have a rate of 3.39 percent interest. It's at a much higher rate. They go up every six months. They adjust for inflation. Great place to put emergency money, and you can put it there automatically, every time you get paid, with as little as $50.
COLLINS: Hmm, nice.
BACH: A couple other places people can look at, one is called a low duration bond fund. These are bond funds that have very short- term bonds in it, less than three years. Those are paying right now about 3, 3.5 percent.
And another place that people can even consider if they're looking at longer term emergency money, they can look at REITS, Real Estate Equity Investment Trusts. These are paying about 5.5 to 6 percent right now in a dividend yield. But you need usually at least $200, $300 to be buying into REITS.
COLLINS: People know much about this?
BACH: Now, people don't know enough. You know, I wrote this book called "The Automatic Millionaire."
COLLINS: Right. BACH: And I go into "The Automatic Millionaire" in detail. This is -- this is where you go and buy these short-term investments. This is how you make it automatic.
The real key to having emergency money, it's got to be automatic. You need to be having money coming right out of your account automatically and putting it away.
COLLINS: All right. David Bach, thanks so much for that today. We appreciate it.
BACH: Heidi, thank you.
COLLINS: Bill, over to you. Some breaking news.
HEMMER: All right, Heidi. Quickly to Houston, Texas. Mike Ramsey is talking now. He's the attorney for the former CEO of Enron, Ken Lay.
MIKE RAMSEY, KEN LAY'S ATTORNEY: The court might resist that because the court only wants one trial. But here's a lot to be said for severance and a quick trial.
We are ready for trial. Let me say, but for the fact that we can -- it's going to be hard to get a jury, we don't even need to go through the discovery process. We don't need any of their documents. We've got them all.
Luckily, in this case, there are collateral civil cases going on, where there are smarter people than me that are plowing very deep in this matter. We're confident in the documents that we have, and they speak loudly so far as who did what at the time.
Now, you know, it may be that there are people who for reward are saying -- may say something different now to try to assist their own plight, or help their family, or something of that sort. But let me tell you something, the documents -- the documents in the case we are comfortable with.
The documents that were done at the time are the -- are what tells the tale. And we are on top of them. We are ready to use them. We're ready to go forward.
Now, with good will on both sides, and with the supervision of the court, we believe we can get a speedy trial. And we believe Ken should go first.
HEMMER: Mike Ramsey, the attorney for Ken Lay, talking now with reporters in Houston, Texas. Eleven charges against this former CEO, including securities fraud, wire fraud, false and misleading statements.
In a statement yesterday, Ken Lay said he's done nothing wrong and the indictment is not justified. Breaking news again this morning from Houston, Texas. We'll watch it throughout the day here. We mentioned this story a few moments ago. An alarming number of girls may be turning to pills as a way to improve their looks. What parents need to look out for. Sanjay has that in a moment here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: It's a disturbing new trend. Some two million teenagers, boys and girls, turning to steroids and diet pills in search of the perfect body. Dr. Sanjay Gupta in Los Angeles now this morning with more on this new study.
So boys and girls, huh? Before we just heard about the guys with the steroids.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Boys and girls. They want big muscles, they want curvaceous bods, six-pack abs. And they all want it pretty fast, and they're trying to get it in the form of pills. What's remarkable, though, is that the users are getting younger and younger.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The typical profile of a performance enhancing drug abuser: adult, athlete, male. But that profile may be evolving. Now add teenager, nonathletic. They want to look better, and they want it now.
A new report from Oregon Health and Science University studied about 4,000 Oregon high school students. It shows now more than one- third of teenage girls are turning to body-shaping pills, and more teen boys than ever are taking steroids. While they're intent on getting that athletic look, remarkably, many of them are not even necessarily involved in athletics.
DR. LINN GOLDBERG, OREGON HEALTH AND SCIENCE UNIVERSITY: These supplements and drugs and pills that you can purchase over the counter, and the illicit ones as well, are a problem among our high school students. And it's spread now from the athletes to the nonathletes.
GUPTA: For high school boys, the study finds, the drug of choice is steroids. For girls, it's diet pills, amphetamines, methamphetamines, and pseudoephedrine, better known by the brand name Sudafed.
DR. ROBERT MARX, SPORTS MEDICINE INSTITUTE: Well, I think for high school kids, they always want to look good and appeal to the opposite sex. And these drugs are a quicker, faster way to get there. And so it's very appealing for kids.
GUPTA: Signs to look for in a teenager using steroids, mood swings, change in performance in school, extensive acne, preoccupation with working out. For diet pill abuse, the signs are a little different.
GOLDBERG: Not wanting to eat at the dinner table or lunch table with their family, often excusing themselves and going to the bathroom.
GUPTA: Parents are encouraged to recognize the signs, talk with their kids and the family doctor if you're concerned. Remember, it's no longer just a problem for athletes or adults.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: A really interesting story coming out there. A side story on that, Heidi, as well, is those kids with higher grade point averages less likely to use either the steroids or the diet pills. So another reason to focus on success in school. But those numbers, the age of those children, younger and younger using these substances, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, very scary. And I would imagine the scariest part is, what sort of physical and emotional harm can be done to these kids during their developmental years?
GUPTA: You know, steroids are really, truly just a quick sort of thing. They can long term stunt your development, stunt your height, stunt your growth. They can cause other sort of psychological problems.
People using steroids, especially kids, tend to be a bit more aggressive. Then when they stop taking the steroids, they become depressed, things like that.
The diet pills can affect bone development. So the young women, the young girls that are using this can actually set themselves up for osteoporosis long term. Unfortunately, a lot of children, a lot of teenagers don't think about the long term. They just want the quick fix, and that's why this is a problem -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks for that.
GUPTA: Thank you.
COLLINS: Still to come this morning, President Bush says Dick Cheney is ready to be president. But one prominent Republican thinks he shouldn't even be vice president.
Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. Back to Jack, "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: You know the greatest benefit of having a commercial break come to an end? It stops Andy from singing. Andy sings during the break. And when the commercial ends, he has to quit. And we're all eternally grateful.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, FORTUNE MAGAZINE: Glass shatters throughout the studio.
CAFFERTY: "The Question of the Day" is, should President Bush consider replacing Dick Cheney? And here be the answers.
Mark in Pensacola, Florida, "Bush won't need to. Wait until November and we'll do it ourselves."
Andrew in Traverse City, Michigan, "My first inclination is to say dump him since he's a symbol of the crony capitalism embraced by this administration. But on the other hand, leave him on the ticket because he's fertile ground for the Democrats to attack since he embodies many of the characteristics they are against."
And Dan writes from Tokyo, Japan -- Dan and Dave are over there in Tokyo watching this program in prime time.
SERWER: Faithfully.
CAFFERTY: We should be on in prime time here. You know that?
SERWER: Yes.
HEMMER: We ought to be thinking about that.
CAFFERTY: I've watched some of the stuff in prime time. This is a better show.
"Dick Cheney could be president. Dick Cheney could be president. It should be on every Democratic poster: Cheney-Edwards, Darth Vader- Luke Skywalker."
HEMMER: What's the date on that debate for Edwards-Cheney?
CAFFERTY: Oh, I don't know.
HEMMER: That's going to be some must-see TV.
CAFFERTY: That ought to be -- that will be pretty good theater, though, definitely.
SERWER: I'm going to watch that.
CAFFERTY: Don't you think we should be on in prime time?
COLLINS: Prime time 7:00 tonight going to be really good, by the way.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: What's that?
COLLINS: Prime time 7:00 tonight and the rest of the week, really, really good.
Anyway, the markets are now open. Andy Serwer is here now, "Minding Your Business." Yahoo!, yeah?
SERWER: Yes, not so Yahooie (ph) this morning. Let's check in on the Big Board.
Stocks slipping and sliding, hustling and hiding. Down 33 points on the Dow. Nasdaq down as well.
What happened? Yahoo! posted some pretty good results, but they weren't good enough. And the stock's down $3 to $29, 10 percent. Alcoa, the world's largest aluminum company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, also reporting numbers a little bit lighter than expected.
Jobless claims for the past week very, very nice, though, at almost a four-year low. That should be a positive. Still, just not a lot of optimism right now on the short term in terms of the stock market.
We do want to, of course, get back to the big business story of the day, Heidi. And, of course, that is Ken Lay surrendering to federal authorities in Houston. The FBI down there.
The indictment has just been unsealed. Eleven criminal counts. Very interesting side bar story I want to get to here, though, this morning in a little bit. And that entails Ken Lay's wife, Linda Lay, and a little shoppy she had down there in Houston, where she was selling -- this is just remarkable...
COLLINS: Stuff.
SERWER: She was selling stuff, the Lays' stuff. It's called Just Stuff. And she was selling their furniture and housewares and stuff. Opened this back up in May 2002.
Included there was a life-size Eve statue going for $13,000. Might look good in Jack Cafferty's foyer. Anyway, not doing so well apparently, because the store is shutting down.
CAFFERTY: Just don't sing...
SERWER: ... for the summer. I'm not going to sing. I'm going to keep going.
CAFFERTY: OK.
SERWER: And no word on whether it's coincidence that he was surrendering to authorities and the store closing down. But it's happening right at the same time, so bad news for the Lay family.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: What a shame, yes.
COLLINS: Andy, thanks so much.
SERWER: You're welcome.
HEMMER: Let's get a break here. A check of the weather in a moment here with Chad Myers. Back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Well, of course, we'll be watching out for that. Chad Myers, thanks so much. Have a great morning.
Coming up on CNN now today, the Tour de Lance. Five-time defending Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong seems to be sitting pretty for a record sixth title. Next hour, you're going to hear from a cycling expert about Armstrong's chances to seal the deal. It's all coming up with Daryn Kagan on "CNN LIVE TODAY."
For now, AMERICAN MORNING will be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: All right. We've got to run. Thanks for being with us today. See you again tomorrow on a Friday.
COLLINS: Oh, Friday.
SERWER: Do that again. Do that "Friday" sound. That's good.
COLLINS: It was better the first time.
SERWER: That's good.
HEMMER: Here's Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center.
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 July 8, 2004 - 9:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. The former Enron chief, the CEO, Ken Lay, in handcuffs. We expect to know this morning what is in that indictment against him.
John Kerry and his new running mate fighting hard on the trail and giving the president a brand new target in his campaign.
Also this from New Mexico...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAM DONALDSON, ABC ANCHOR: Cody was a quiet one, but always polite. We would not have had a premonition or an inkling that this could happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: The newsman, Sam Donaldson, discovering a gruesome crime scene on his ranch. Police now investigating a triple murder there.
All those stories here on AMERICAN MORNING this hour.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: Good morning, everybody -- 9:00 here in New York. Soledad is out this week getting some much-deserved rest and sleep. And Heidi Collins is...
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Not getting any rest and sleep.
HEMMER: ... waking up early with the birds and the worms with the rested of us.
The Enron investigation reaches the top today. Former CEO Ken Lay expected to make a court appearance shortly. He turned himself over to authorities earlier today. We'll look more at what happens now in the case against him in a few minutes. So a lot to talk about there.
COLLINS: Also, we'll go to the Utah hometown of Marine Corporal Was Ali Hassoun, who disappeared in Iraq. We're getting more information this morning about where he is now, though many details of this case still remain uncertain and confusing, at that.
HEMMER: Confusing, and a bit of a mystery, too. COLLINS: Definitely.
HEMMER: Yes. Also this hour, an amazing story out of California. It all started with a small fire in an apartment. It turned out a firefighter called to the scene knew the woman inside from another emergency two decades earlier. The rest of the story in a moment here, and a nice one to tell. We'll get to it this hour.
COLLINS: Jack Cafferty, also very nice, joining us now.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, thank you, Heidi. It's a pleasure to be with you.
The contrast between the sitting vice president, Dick Cheney, and the vice president wannabe, John Edwards, is stark, to say the least, prompting some Republicans, including former Senator Al D'Amato, to suggest that maybe President Bush should think about putting somebody else on the ticket besides Cheney. Your thoughts on that. And if you think there ought to be a change, who do you think it ought to be?
Am@cnn.com. We'll read some of the mail later.
HEMMER: Good deal.
COLLINS: Great.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
Our campaign countdown now. As of today, there are 117 days left until November 2 and the presidential election. Democrats John Kerry and John Edwards on a four-day swing across the country. They begin the day today in Florida today. Kelly Wallace is in Fort Lauderdale. That's where we start this hour.
Kelly, good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Well, we cannot overstate the importance of Florida, the biggest electoral prize of all the battleground states. And Democrats are now hoping the addition of John Edwards will build excitement here and prevent a repeat of what happened in 2000, when Al Gore lost here by just 537 votes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE (voice-over): A raucous reception last night near Tampa for what John Kerry calls a "dream team." And it didn't take long for that team to bring up the subject that makes the blood of a Democrat boil.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, Florida, where this time not only does every vote count, but every vote's going to be counted.
WALLACE: A recent Florida poll taken before the announcement of John Edwards as Kerry's running mate showed the race here is a dead heat.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Is Florida going to make this man the next president of the United States?
WALLACE: Democrats are now hoping that Edwards, with his southern charm and his humble roots, could help win over conservative Democrats and Independents who voted for George W. Bush in 2000. Some on-the-fence voters hear say the Edwards choice could be decisive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was holding back until I saw who he was going to pick as a vice president. But I'm very excited about the ticket.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that with Edwards, at least the public is going to have a little bit of a kind of charismatic, young, interesting guy.
WALLACE: But the state's Republican governor, who happens to be the brother of the president, says he's not worried about John Edwards.
GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: He's very charismatic. He's a great talker. Made a good living off of his ability to speak in the courtroom. But I think it validates the fact that Senator Kerry is -- is a liberal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And the Republican argument here, John Edwards is too liberal and inexperienced. The Democratic argument, which we'll hear two hours from now, that Bush-Cheney is out of touch. The goal for each side now, trying to target and convince the 20 percent of the state voters here who are not aligned with either party -- Bill.
HEMMER: Kelly, thanks for that. Kelly Wallace in Fort Lauderdale. Again, that rally two hours away -- Heidi
COLLINS: President Bush is spending his day at the White House. In about two and a half hours from now, he'll be meeting with the king of Morocco. And this afternoon, he'll address a Latin American convention via satellite. Quite a change from yesterday, when Mr. Bush was on the political attack. Senior White House correspondent John King has that.
Hi, John.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Heidi.
And on the road yesterday, the president said he was absolutely confident that, despite the addition of Senator John Edwards to the Democratic ticket, that he would again carry the South in this presidential election. But Democrats say, if the president is so confident, then why is he all riled up?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING (voice-over): That the president was in North Carolina was coincidence, that he was on the attack, anything but. The race in John Edward's home state is too close for comfort from a Republican perspective. So Mr. Bush was ready when asked to compare Vice President Cheney to a Democratic VP nominee described as "charming," "engaging," even "sexy."
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Dick Cheney can be president. Next?
KING: Democrats say adding Edwards helps their chances in North Carolina and across the South. But the president says what matters most is the name at the top of the ticket.
BUSH: I did well in the South last time; I'll do well in the South this time, because the senator from Massachusetts doesn't share their values. And that's the difference in the campaign.
KING: In 1992, the Clinton-Gore ticket carried five southern border states. If you count Florida as part of the South, it was five states again for the Democrats in 1996. But four years ago, it was a clean sweep for the Bush-Cheney ticket, as even Al Gore's native Tennessee went Republican for president. The president calls his opponent "the senator from Massachusetts" and not by his name for a reason. In much of the South, Massachusetts means Dukakis, Kennedy, liberal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fact that it happens to be the state that has legalized gay marriage kind of solidifies the notion that the way things work in Massachusetts is not the way things work in, you know, in Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina. These are huge cultural differences.
KING: The Kerry campaign said Mr. Bush was on the attack in North Carolina because he has failed to address the job losses that have devastated the textile industry. And the Democratic National Committee suggested Mr. Bush is so worried by the new ticket he went from zero to negative in less than 24 hours.
The North Carolina trip was scheduled long before the White House knew Senator Edwards would be on the Democratic ticket. Mr. Bush came to chide Edwards and other Democrats for blocking his judicial nominees. And before heading home, he also managed to work in a stop designed to give the local economy a little extra juice.
BUSH: Really good.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: Now, behind the White House confidence, aides say is the fact that they believe they can make the case that southern voters might like Senator Edwards' accent, but that his record shows that on taxes and social issues, he is a liberal like Senator Kerry. Here's one interesting thing to watch, though. The president still has two months during which he can spend money out of his primary account. Watch to see if the White House airs more ads in the South -- some went up this week -- and whether the president and vice president spend a bit more time there between now and late August, when they have their convention -- Heidi.
COLLINS: And we will be watching. All right. John King, thanks so much.
HEMMER: So many uncertainties. We know this, though: it is all but certain that this election will be decided in the so-called battleground states, the swing states. There are 17 of them across the country.
The biggest prize, as Kelly Wallace mentioned a few moments ago, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, all considered key in this election. Earlier today on AMERICAN MORNING, I talked to the Michigan Democratic governor, Jennifer Granholm, asking her why the race in Michigan is so close, despite Al Gore's five-point victory in her home state four years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JENNIFER GRANHOLM (D), MICHIGAN: I think that this will all start really focusing in September, October. August maybe. Ralph Nader has an impact here, and that's unfortunate, in my opinion. But when it comes down to the end, and, you know, when we get the electorate focused in Michigan, because of the significance of our economy -- that's why I think the Democratic team, the new dream team will do very well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Jennifer Granholm from the state of Michigan.
From Miami, Florida, now, Tom Fiedler is the executive director of "The Miami Herald."
Tom, good morning to you.
TOM FIEDLER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, "MIAMI HERALD": Good morning.
HEMMER: I want to show our viewers quickly the latest poll we have from the Sunshine State. In a head-to-head match-up with Ralph Nader included, look at this: 43 to 43. Is your state that close still, Tom?
FIEDLER: Yes, I believe it is. And, in fact, I think we're just picking up where we left off in 2000, that famous six weeks after the 2000 presidential election. Of course, it shifted a little bit following 9/11. But it is really right back to what some people call -- we are now the purple state.
HEMMER: The purple state. Huh.
Go back over the past four years if you could, Tom. What has each party done to try and rally their base and change, on the Democratic side and the Republican side, change the outcome this time in terms of getting out the vote at the grassroots level? What's different?
FIEDLER: Well, there really isn't very much different in terms of what -- there's no new break-through in either party. There are obviously some demographic shifts that are going on that the parties are attempting to take advantage of.
I think a big one that the Democrats would hope will work in their favor is the continued growth of Hispanic voters around the Orlando area, central Florida. Primarily, Puerto Ricans, who are coming in either retiring from the northeast, as so many people do, and come down to Florida, and those who are coming over directly from Puerto Rico to work in Disney and places like that, they, in 2000, actually turned the central Florida vote around. It hadn't voted for a Democratic president since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. But Al Gore took those counties in central Florida, and the Democratic Party is trying very hard to make sure that it states in that column in 2004.
HEMMER: Talk to me about issues, quickly. Is it the economy in Florida also, or is it Iraq in addition?
FIEDLER: No -- well, I think Iraq continues to dominate people's conversations. But, you know, the -- the economy is an issue here. Not the big economic issues, which I think would benefit the president. But it's the pocketbook issues, it's the price of milk, the price of gas, and very, very much the price of prescription medicine -- medicine here, as you would imagine with the number of older voters.
HEMMER: Most certainly, too. What about the president's brother? How popular is he now?
FIEDLER: He -- he really is quite popular. What is interesting, and probably problematic for the Republicans, is that that popularity doesn't seem to extend directly to President Bush.
Voters here are able to separate Governor Jeb Bush and President George Bush in -- in their minds as to which way to go. I think Governor Bush continues to be, well, if not the most popular politician in the state, right up there with the Democratic senators, Bill -- Bill Nelson and Bob Graham.
So it's there. He can be a factor. But frankly, I -- I don't know that it's going to be one that will decide the outcome.
HEMMER: All right. Tom, thanks. Tom Fiedler, hope to see you in the fall as we move closer.
FIEDLER: Sure.
HEMMER: The purple state, no longer the Sunshine State.
FIEDLER: That's right.
HEMMER: You got it, Tom. Thanks.
FIEDLER: Thank you. HEMMER: Later tonight, John Kerry, Teresa Heinz Kerry, the guests for "LARRY KING LIVE," 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 on the West Coast. The first sit-down interview the two of them have done since the naming of John Edwards on that ticket. "LARRY KING LIVE" tonight, 9:00 Eastern -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Federal prosecutors now have the jewel in the crown of their Enron investigation. The company's former chairman, Ken Lay, surrendered to authorities earlier this morning in Houston. Criminal charges are likely to be made public a little bit later today.
Jen Rodgers is live in Houston now with more on this.
Good morning to you, Jen.
JEN ROGERS, CNNFN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
That's right, an early start to this Thursday morning for Ken Lay, the former chairman and CEO of Enron, turning himself in at FBI here in Houston about two hours ago. There, we are told, he was fingerprinted and photographed, then a short drive over to the federal courthouse here in Houston. Then in handcuffs, entering the back door of the courthouse.
At that time, he told the cameramen there assembled, people, saying, "I have done" -- basically, I'll have something to say later today. What he had said earlier, last night, was that "I have done nothing wrong, and the indictment is not justified." That in a statement that came out yesterday after news of this indictment came out. Now, we are expecting to hear more about this indictment when it is unsealed later today, when Ken Lay makes his initial appearance in court -- Heidi.
COLLINS: That we will. All right. Jen Rogers, thanks so much for that.
So what is next for Ken Lay? Senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin is here to look at the indictment and what's ahead.
You know, despite those images that we saw just a couple of hours ago in the handcuffs, this is not a slam dunk, you say. He could afford very tough, very expensive lawyers. Could still be a long process.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: And you have to remember his role in the company. He was the chairman. He was not the CEO for most of the time that Enron was under investigation.
The prosecution will have to prove that he made specific decisions that were criminal. In fact, based on my investigation, and others who have looked into it, by and large, Ken Lay tended to be kind of a big picture person. He was not involved in a lot of the decisions that have subsequently determined to be fraudulent. We'll see if the government can prove that he was involved at that level.
COLLINS: Yes. And so how do you do that as a prosecutor? TOOBIN: Well, I think the way you almost always prove that senior executives are guilty of crimes is by flipping people up the chain of command. And the crucial person in this investigation has been Andrew Fastow, the chief financial officer, who has -- who has since pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors. He is going to be the -- the central witness, both against Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, also under indictment, the former CEO.
COLLINS: Yes. In fact, you have said that Fastow is the key to fraud at Enron. But then what does that mean for Ken Lay, when you talk charges and sentencing and so forth?
TOOBIN: Well, the -- the amazing thing that I don't think a lot of people realize is that white collar sentences have increased enormously in the last few years. Your sentence is determined by the amount of fraud that the government proves.
COLLINS: Right.
TOOBIN: So Ken Lay is looking not at years at prison, decades in prison, because you're talking about at least $500 million in fraud. The stakes for him just couldn't be higher.
COLLINS: Huge, huge amount of time. Quickly now, the people of Enron, the former workers, those who lost so much money, how are they feeling today when they see those images of him in the handcuffs?
TOOBIN: I mean, it is an amazing sight to see the former chairman of the seventh -- the Fortune 500 number seven company in handcuffs. But in terms -- they better get psychic satisfaction, because they're not going to get any financial satisfaction.
COLLINS: It's amazing.
TOOBIN: The money is basically all gone. There are -- there are class action lawsuits in the works, but the shareholders, employees are likely only to get pennies on the dollar for any lawsuits that they still have. So...
COLLINS: And no cash.
TOOBIN: ... they better -- they better get their satisfaction in non-financial ways.
COLLINS: Some of them, I bet, will. All right. Jeffrey Toobin, thanks so much for that.
TOOBIN: OK.
COLLINS: Bill, back over to you.
HEMMER: Heidi, thanks for that.
Fifteen minutes past the hour. A grisly scene at the New Mexico ranch home of veteran ABC newsman Sam Donaldson. This morning, a 14- year-old boy now in custody suspected of murdering his father, his stepmother and step sister at that ranch. Donaldson and his wife away for the Fourth of July holiday. They came home and discovered the crime scene there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALDSON: We went over there and went on the porch, and there was a large stain there which I think is instantly recognizable, and glasses. I looked in the door, and you could see congealed reddish substance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: The victims, were told, are the ranch manager and his family. Sam Donaldson grew up in the state of New Mexico. He owns several thousand acres there as well.
Sixteen past the hour now. A check of the other news. Here's Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center.
Daryn, good morning again.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Bill.
CNN has learned just about the last 15 minutes that a missing marine is safe in Lebanon. According to the Lebanese government, U.S. Marine Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun is with family members in Lebanon. There have been several conflicting reports on his whereabouts. U.S. officials have not confirmed that information.
Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters have been clashing in northern Gaza. Palestinian sources saying that at least 10 Palestinians were killed overnight, including some militants. The firefight is part of an ongoing military operation in the area. More than a dozen people have been injured.
To California now. Michael Jackson's lawyers launching an all- out effort to get the grand jury indictment against the singer thrown out. The Santa Barbara court releasing a heavily-edited version of the 47-page motion yesterday. It argues that the prosecution sabotaged the grand jury's ability to perform its functions.
Attorneys head to court tomorrow to argue the matter. Jackson is not expected to attend that session.
On a health note, researchers say that tests to detect prostate cancer can also predict who is most likely to die from the disease. Prostate cancer tests look at the level of the Prostate-Specific Antigen, or PSA in the blood. A new study shows the PSA level may not be as important as how quickly it goes up. The study appears in this week's New England Journal of Medicine."
And in London, Sotheby's auction house saying that somebody spent a fortune to own the only Vermeer painting in private hands. It is a 10x8 inch picture entitled "Young Woman Seated at the Virginal." It was bought anonymously for more than $30 million. Sounds like a lot of money, but it is the first painting by the Dutch old master to be sold at auction since 1921. Very rare piece indeed.
Bill, back to you.
HEMMER: All right. Daryn, thanks for that.
COLLINS: We want to check in with Jack now and the "Question of the Day." Pretty creative answers we're getting here, huh?
CAFFERTY: We got some good mail, yes.
President Bush didn't hesitate yesterday when he said to reporters, "Dick Cheney can be president." They were asking him about Cheney versus John Edwards. But not everybody agrees on this point.
Former Republican senator, Al D'Amato from New York said on New York One (ph) yesterday that President Bush ought to consider replacing Cheney on the ticket. He suggested Colin Powell or perhaps John McCain.
Our question, then, this morning, should President Bush consider replacing Dick Cheney? Getting a lot of responses.
Gail in Connecticut, "The best thing to do for the 2004 Republican ticket is to have Dick Cheney move to senior adviser to the president, where he still remains in the White House. Then George Bush adds John McCain to the ticket as vice president. Then let the games begin."
Nick in St. Croix, "Bush replace Cheney? Not necessary. With Edwards on the ticket, Kerry's going to lose. Edwards so outshines Kerry it makes him look and sound like Herman Munster."
Ed in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, "Alfonse D'Amato is the consummate politician. One has to trust his instincts. While I'm no Bush supporter, I do believe that his comments are accurate. Cheney could easily replace Powell or Rumsfeld in the cabinet while Powell makes history with Bush."
And Dale in Holland, Michigan, "Dick Cheney is one of the most powerful forces of unity in America today. He's got Democrats joining solidly with Republicans and hoping for George Bush's safety and good health."
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: Firefighters in Arizona hoping cooler weather will aid their battle against wildfires in that state. Extreme heat and dryness now fueling the fires which have burned thousands of acres and still threaten about 90 homes and cabins. Fire crews have conducted a number of burnout operations to keep the fire from spreading. They're going to need some luck there, too, and some moisture. Chad Myers, good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Chad, thanks. Talk to you again about 30 minutes away.
COLLINS: Still to come this morning, it might be sunny now, but you never know when you'll have a rainy day. We'll have some tips on how to prepare for surprise money troubles.
HEMMER: Also in a moment here, once the domain of bodybuilder's, steroid use surging among teenagers. And boys are not the only ones turning to pills. We'll have that.
COLLINS: Plus, how a routine call to firefighters led to a reunion no one could have seen coming. A heart warming story. Stick around for it here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: More breaking news around the story with Ken Lay just in to us here at CNN. Reuters News Agency now reporting 11 criminal charges against the former CEO of Enron. Among those charges, securities fraud, wire fraud, false and misleading statements.
So 11 charges in all, as Ken Lay turned himself in to prosecutors and the FBI earlier today in Houston, Texas. A story we continue to watch here throughout the morning on AMERICAN MORNING -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Now to the story of an amazing reunion in California, one that came under fire, and with a little sparkle. Here's CNN's Frank Buckley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a routine call for the firefighters at Station 7, an apartment fire. No one was seriously hurt, but Sparkle Johnson, five months pregnant, had inhaled some smoke, and Captain Allen O'Neil sat her down to help.
CAPT. ALLEN O'NEIL, LONG BEACH FIRE DEPT.: I pulled out my report form for first aids, and I asked her her first name. That's where we start. And she told me her first name was Sparkle.
BUCKLEY (on camera): Sparkle was a name Captain O'Neil had heard before. In fact, it was the name of a girl he had talked about for 20 years.
(voice-over): Twenty years ago, O'Neil was a rookie in the Long Beach California Fire Department. He was riding in the back of an ambulance with a woman in labor who delivered before they could get to the hospital.
O'NEIL: The mom was so excited that we delivered her right there. She says, "I'm going to name this baby after you." And I said, "Well, it's a girl." BUCKLEY: So instead of Allen, the mom said she would name the baby Sparkle. So when O'Neil was writing that name down, as he showed us, on the first aid form 20 years later, O'Neil just knew.
O'NEIL: I said, "You're about 20, aren't you?" She goes, "Yeah." And I said, "Were you born in the back of an ambulance?" She goes, "Yeah." And I says, "Well, I'm the guy that delivered you 20 years ago."
BUCKLEY: Sparkle was speechless.
SPARKLE JOHNSON, FIRE VICTIM: Yeah, I started crying.
BUCKLEY: They snapped a photo together some 20 years after they had last met. And promised each other not to let 20 more years go by without knowing each other a little better.
JOHNSON: He said he wanted me to be a part of my life, and I said I wanted to be a part of his life.
O'NEIL: Sometimes we come full circle with things. And to be able to have even a small little impact on somebody's life means a lot to you.
BUCKLEY: For captain Allen O'Neil, and Sparkle Johnson, it happened twice.
Frank Buckley, CNN, Long Beach, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: That is a great story.
HEMMER: Yes. Are you kidding me?
COLLINS: She just started crying.
HEMMER: I think they should go buy a lotto ticket together.
COLLINS: I do, too.
HEMMER: My gosh. Keep the streak going.
In a moment here, some tips on how to handle the unexpected bumps in the road when it comes to your money. David Bach, personal finance coach, stopping by in a moment on that. We'll get to it.
COLLINS: We will. Also, new developments on the whereabouts of Marine Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun.
Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: A few seconds ago the opening bell on Wall Street. Open now for business. Starting today at 10,240, up about 21 points from trading yesterday for the Dow 30.
Nasdaq market site, Times Square, 1966. Your opening mark today. What a year that was, huh, Heidi? 1966 -- up two points yesterday.
COLLINS: Yes. I wasn't around yet. I just want to be clear on that.
HEMMER: I was, by two years. 9:30 here in New York. Welcome back, everybody. Heidi's working for Soledad this week here.
Also, in a few moments, we're going to go back to Utah for more on the mysterious disappearance of Corporal Wassef Hassoun. We hear now, CNN confirming, that he's in Lebanon. He has family there, also family back in Utah. A wide range of theories as to what happened. We'll look at a few of them in a moment.
COLLINS: Very, very confusing.
Also, though, our personal financial coach, David Bach, not confusing at all. He's back with us again this morning. He's going to be looking at saving for an emergency, where to put your money, and how much you should be socking away.
HEMMER: And good advice, too.
Also this half-hour, Sanjay's back looking at a dangerous friend for young people. Obsessed with their appearance, teenagers increasingly turning to pills, steroids in some cases, amphetamines and others, trying to reshape their bodies. Sanjay is back with that in a moment.
In the meantime, though, CNN learning and being told now a missing marine is safe and in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese government. U.S. Marine Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun now with family members in that country. Miguel Marquez is live in Hassoun's home town of West Jordan, Utah.
Good morning, Miguel. What do we know?
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
That information is something that a source close to the family told CNN yesterday. Now, the -- the foreign ministry for Lebanon confirming that he is, in fact, in Lebanon. The other thing that the source close to the family told us is that Corporal Hassoun intends to connect with State Department officials sometime presumably today.
And yet another twist in this entire story, the Navy, or the Marine Corps today, saying that the Naval Criminal Investigation Service has been in charge of an investigation into this matter since the 19th of July, since he went missing. They are conducting a missing persons investigation, not a criminal investigation at this point. And a public information officer with their office in Washington says that these investigations are fairly common when there is some question as to why the person disappeared. And they will investigate everything from a possible kidnapping by insurgents to a possible hoax of the capture of Corporal Hassoun.
Officially, the State Department is still listing him as captured. While all of that is going on in Washington, and in Lebanon, the search for him, FBI officials showed up here to the Hassoun home in West Jordan, Utah. Two agents seeking information helpful to the FBI, is the way an official put it here in Salt Lake City. And they are treating this as an American citizen who was captured overseas.
Now, Pentagon officials also say that if Hassoun is safely recovered, there are still some very important questions he's going to have to answer. The two biggest ones that came up was how he managed to escape his captors and how he managed to get to Lebanon -- Bill.
HEMMER: Questions persist, as you mentioned. Miguel, thanks -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Put something away for a rainy day. You've heard it before. Good advice, even in the best of economic times. But truth be told, most Americans don't seem to be saving for the proverbial downpour.
David Bach is our personal finance contributor and the author of best selling book "The Automatic Millionaire." He's here now to explain how living rich today can actually brighten your financial future.
So what's the deal? I mean, what exactly is a rainy day? What are we saving for?
DAVID BACH, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE CONTRIBUTOR: The question is, how many weeks wealthy are you? And what does that mean? That means if you lost your job today, how many weeks of savings do you have set aside to pay your expenses?
What we know in this country is the average American right now, let's say 69 percent of America, has less than six weeks of expenses set aside. So they're only six weeks wealthy. That's not enough money, because if you lose your job, it's taking many people 90 days, maybe as much as six months to find a new job.
COLLINS: It is, yes.
BACH: So the secret to living rich and being able to sleep well is that knowing that I've put enough money away so that if I did lose my job or I got sick, I could continue to pay not only for food, but my overhead.
COLLINS: Right. So how much should you be saving then? Isn't it all relative to how much you make and your lifestyle?
BACH: It's relative to what you make, and it's also relative to how much can you save. This is what I can tell you, you want to be taking at least 30 minutes a day of your income, whatever your income is, 30 minutes a day, automatically putting that in a forced savings account, separate -- this is the key -- separate from your checking account. Because most people are putting their emergency money where they write their checks out of, and the emergency money, guess what? It goes away every month, and they have no emergency money. So the key is to make it automatic and then choose the right place to put it.
COLLINS: All right. So the big question, how do you go about saving for this rainy day? I mean, where do you actually put your money?
BACH: All right. There's five places I like. And I'm going to start with the simplest one, a money market account. The good news on money market accounts, the rates are finally going back up again. You can actually get money market accounts today that are paying as much as 2.1 percent.
COLLINS: Pretty good.
BACH: Pretty good. Did some research before I came here. Highest yielding money market account right now nationwide is at ingdirect.com. You have to go online to get this money market account.
The good news, though, is that there's no minimum balance required. That's the highest yielding money market account. As rates push back up next year, we will probably see money markets back to about 2.5, 3 percent.
The second place people should look -- and they should look today -- this is really cool, I like this. Check out treasurydirect.gov. The government just put up a brand-new Web site. Look at I (ph) bonds.
The inflation bonds right now have a rate of 3.39 percent interest. It's at a much higher rate. They go up every six months. They adjust for inflation. Great place to put emergency money, and you can put it there automatically, every time you get paid, with as little as $50.
COLLINS: Hmm, nice.
BACH: A couple other places people can look at, one is called a low duration bond fund. These are bond funds that have very short- term bonds in it, less than three years. Those are paying right now about 3, 3.5 percent.
And another place that people can even consider if they're looking at longer term emergency money, they can look at REITS, Real Estate Equity Investment Trusts. These are paying about 5.5 to 6 percent right now in a dividend yield. But you need usually at least $200, $300 to be buying into REITS.
COLLINS: People know much about this?
BACH: Now, people don't know enough. You know, I wrote this book called "The Automatic Millionaire."
COLLINS: Right. BACH: And I go into "The Automatic Millionaire" in detail. This is -- this is where you go and buy these short-term investments. This is how you make it automatic.
The real key to having emergency money, it's got to be automatic. You need to be having money coming right out of your account automatically and putting it away.
COLLINS: All right. David Bach, thanks so much for that today. We appreciate it.
BACH: Heidi, thank you.
COLLINS: Bill, over to you. Some breaking news.
HEMMER: All right, Heidi. Quickly to Houston, Texas. Mike Ramsey is talking now. He's the attorney for the former CEO of Enron, Ken Lay.
MIKE RAMSEY, KEN LAY'S ATTORNEY: The court might resist that because the court only wants one trial. But here's a lot to be said for severance and a quick trial.
We are ready for trial. Let me say, but for the fact that we can -- it's going to be hard to get a jury, we don't even need to go through the discovery process. We don't need any of their documents. We've got them all.
Luckily, in this case, there are collateral civil cases going on, where there are smarter people than me that are plowing very deep in this matter. We're confident in the documents that we have, and they speak loudly so far as who did what at the time.
Now, you know, it may be that there are people who for reward are saying -- may say something different now to try to assist their own plight, or help their family, or something of that sort. But let me tell you something, the documents -- the documents in the case we are comfortable with.
The documents that were done at the time are the -- are what tells the tale. And we are on top of them. We are ready to use them. We're ready to go forward.
Now, with good will on both sides, and with the supervision of the court, we believe we can get a speedy trial. And we believe Ken should go first.
HEMMER: Mike Ramsey, the attorney for Ken Lay, talking now with reporters in Houston, Texas. Eleven charges against this former CEO, including securities fraud, wire fraud, false and misleading statements.
In a statement yesterday, Ken Lay said he's done nothing wrong and the indictment is not justified. Breaking news again this morning from Houston, Texas. We'll watch it throughout the day here. We mentioned this story a few moments ago. An alarming number of girls may be turning to pills as a way to improve their looks. What parents need to look out for. Sanjay has that in a moment here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: It's a disturbing new trend. Some two million teenagers, boys and girls, turning to steroids and diet pills in search of the perfect body. Dr. Sanjay Gupta in Los Angeles now this morning with more on this new study.
So boys and girls, huh? Before we just heard about the guys with the steroids.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Boys and girls. They want big muscles, they want curvaceous bods, six-pack abs. And they all want it pretty fast, and they're trying to get it in the form of pills. What's remarkable, though, is that the users are getting younger and younger.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The typical profile of a performance enhancing drug abuser: adult, athlete, male. But that profile may be evolving. Now add teenager, nonathletic. They want to look better, and they want it now.
A new report from Oregon Health and Science University studied about 4,000 Oregon high school students. It shows now more than one- third of teenage girls are turning to body-shaping pills, and more teen boys than ever are taking steroids. While they're intent on getting that athletic look, remarkably, many of them are not even necessarily involved in athletics.
DR. LINN GOLDBERG, OREGON HEALTH AND SCIENCE UNIVERSITY: These supplements and drugs and pills that you can purchase over the counter, and the illicit ones as well, are a problem among our high school students. And it's spread now from the athletes to the nonathletes.
GUPTA: For high school boys, the study finds, the drug of choice is steroids. For girls, it's diet pills, amphetamines, methamphetamines, and pseudoephedrine, better known by the brand name Sudafed.
DR. ROBERT MARX, SPORTS MEDICINE INSTITUTE: Well, I think for high school kids, they always want to look good and appeal to the opposite sex. And these drugs are a quicker, faster way to get there. And so it's very appealing for kids.
GUPTA: Signs to look for in a teenager using steroids, mood swings, change in performance in school, extensive acne, preoccupation with working out. For diet pill abuse, the signs are a little different.
GOLDBERG: Not wanting to eat at the dinner table or lunch table with their family, often excusing themselves and going to the bathroom.
GUPTA: Parents are encouraged to recognize the signs, talk with their kids and the family doctor if you're concerned. Remember, it's no longer just a problem for athletes or adults.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: A really interesting story coming out there. A side story on that, Heidi, as well, is those kids with higher grade point averages less likely to use either the steroids or the diet pills. So another reason to focus on success in school. But those numbers, the age of those children, younger and younger using these substances, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, very scary. And I would imagine the scariest part is, what sort of physical and emotional harm can be done to these kids during their developmental years?
GUPTA: You know, steroids are really, truly just a quick sort of thing. They can long term stunt your development, stunt your height, stunt your growth. They can cause other sort of psychological problems.
People using steroids, especially kids, tend to be a bit more aggressive. Then when they stop taking the steroids, they become depressed, things like that.
The diet pills can affect bone development. So the young women, the young girls that are using this can actually set themselves up for osteoporosis long term. Unfortunately, a lot of children, a lot of teenagers don't think about the long term. They just want the quick fix, and that's why this is a problem -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks for that.
GUPTA: Thank you.
COLLINS: Still to come this morning, President Bush says Dick Cheney is ready to be president. But one prominent Republican thinks he shouldn't even be vice president.
Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. Back to Jack, "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: You know the greatest benefit of having a commercial break come to an end? It stops Andy from singing. Andy sings during the break. And when the commercial ends, he has to quit. And we're all eternally grateful.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, FORTUNE MAGAZINE: Glass shatters throughout the studio.
CAFFERTY: "The Question of the Day" is, should President Bush consider replacing Dick Cheney? And here be the answers.
Mark in Pensacola, Florida, "Bush won't need to. Wait until November and we'll do it ourselves."
Andrew in Traverse City, Michigan, "My first inclination is to say dump him since he's a symbol of the crony capitalism embraced by this administration. But on the other hand, leave him on the ticket because he's fertile ground for the Democrats to attack since he embodies many of the characteristics they are against."
And Dan writes from Tokyo, Japan -- Dan and Dave are over there in Tokyo watching this program in prime time.
SERWER: Faithfully.
CAFFERTY: We should be on in prime time here. You know that?
SERWER: Yes.
HEMMER: We ought to be thinking about that.
CAFFERTY: I've watched some of the stuff in prime time. This is a better show.
"Dick Cheney could be president. Dick Cheney could be president. It should be on every Democratic poster: Cheney-Edwards, Darth Vader- Luke Skywalker."
HEMMER: What's the date on that debate for Edwards-Cheney?
CAFFERTY: Oh, I don't know.
HEMMER: That's going to be some must-see TV.
CAFFERTY: That ought to be -- that will be pretty good theater, though, definitely.
SERWER: I'm going to watch that.
CAFFERTY: Don't you think we should be on in prime time?
COLLINS: Prime time 7:00 tonight going to be really good, by the way.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: What's that?
COLLINS: Prime time 7:00 tonight and the rest of the week, really, really good.
Anyway, the markets are now open. Andy Serwer is here now, "Minding Your Business." Yahoo!, yeah?
SERWER: Yes, not so Yahooie (ph) this morning. Let's check in on the Big Board.
Stocks slipping and sliding, hustling and hiding. Down 33 points on the Dow. Nasdaq down as well.
What happened? Yahoo! posted some pretty good results, but they weren't good enough. And the stock's down $3 to $29, 10 percent. Alcoa, the world's largest aluminum company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, also reporting numbers a little bit lighter than expected.
Jobless claims for the past week very, very nice, though, at almost a four-year low. That should be a positive. Still, just not a lot of optimism right now on the short term in terms of the stock market.
We do want to, of course, get back to the big business story of the day, Heidi. And, of course, that is Ken Lay surrendering to federal authorities in Houston. The FBI down there.
The indictment has just been unsealed. Eleven criminal counts. Very interesting side bar story I want to get to here, though, this morning in a little bit. And that entails Ken Lay's wife, Linda Lay, and a little shoppy she had down there in Houston, where she was selling -- this is just remarkable...
COLLINS: Stuff.
SERWER: She was selling stuff, the Lays' stuff. It's called Just Stuff. And she was selling their furniture and housewares and stuff. Opened this back up in May 2002.
Included there was a life-size Eve statue going for $13,000. Might look good in Jack Cafferty's foyer. Anyway, not doing so well apparently, because the store is shutting down.
CAFFERTY: Just don't sing...
SERWER: ... for the summer. I'm not going to sing. I'm going to keep going.
CAFFERTY: OK.
SERWER: And no word on whether it's coincidence that he was surrendering to authorities and the store closing down. But it's happening right at the same time, so bad news for the Lay family.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: What a shame, yes.
COLLINS: Andy, thanks so much.
SERWER: You're welcome.
HEMMER: Let's get a break here. A check of the weather in a moment here with Chad Myers. Back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Well, of course, we'll be watching out for that. Chad Myers, thanks so much. Have a great morning.
Coming up on CNN now today, the Tour de Lance. Five-time defending Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong seems to be sitting pretty for a record sixth title. Next hour, you're going to hear from a cycling expert about Armstrong's chances to seal the deal. It's all coming up with Daryn Kagan on "CNN LIVE TODAY."
For now, AMERICAN MORNING will be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: All right. We've got to run. Thanks for being with us today. See you again tomorrow on a Friday.
COLLINS: Oh, Friday.
SERWER: Do that again. Do that "Friday" sound. That's good.
COLLINS: It was better the first time.
SERWER: That's good.
HEMMER: Here's Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center.
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