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American Morning
Demonstrations of Several Kinds Today in Iraq; 'Political Pop'; Nominations for This Year's Emmy Awards
Aired July 15, 2004 - 08:29 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: There were demonstrations of several kinds today in Iraq. Hundreds of Iraqis marched in Baghdad calling for death to Saddam Hussein. The former dictator is due to appear before a criminal court, and many of those who attacked his effigies today lost family members to the regime. But it is the demonstrations by insurgents attacking police stations, pipelines and going after government officials that brought a new initiative from Interim Prime Minister Allawi this morning.
Michael Holmes is in Baghdad, following all of the developments from there.
Michael, hello.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you.
That's right, this news conference was interesting. The main part of it being this creation of a security directorate, a general security directorate.
Basically, it's going to be like the FBI. It's on the ground intelligence gathering. Trying to attack the insurgency from the inside, as it were.
Members of it will be told that they have to get in there and infiltrate these groups. Also, they'll be working with local people. That's something that I've seen with my own eyes that's had great success with, especially, Iraqi military units that go on patrol without any Americans and not only doesn't get shot at, but they get a lot of information given to them that even the Americans say they don't get.
Now, of course, you talk intelligence agency in Iraq and people think back to days of Saddam Hussein and so it's going to be interesting public relations sell to try to convince people that this one is a good idea.
But we heard the interior minister saying those who would be hired to do the job would be well-trained and, in his words, have clean hands.
This is -- I think we have a sound -- some sound now of the interim prime minister and what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (though interpreter): We are determined to eliminate the -- by establishment -- internal intelligence units, called general security directorate -- GSD -- that will annihilate those terrorist groups that will -- we surpassed the idea of establishing a core of civil defense to form a strong army that will be part of the National Guard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Also, we heard the interim prime minister saying that the security situation in Iraq is much improved. That despite a real uptake in violence over the last few days, in particular, of course, a Green Zone explosion here in Baghdad yesterday, Wednesday and then today, Thursday, what we've seen is another car bomb.
In fact, two of them -- one taking place north of Baghdad, Habita (ph), and what happened there was a car bomb going off killing ten Iraqis, wounding 30. Four of the dead were Iraqi policemen.
There was another bizarre attempt in Karbala where Iraqi police got wind of a car bomb. They took off after the vehicle, it drove into an open field and detonated, killing the two suicide bombers, but injuring no one else.
Some more violence also that happened in Kirkuk in the north, a terrible tragedy, mortars were being apparently fired by insurgents at a police station. They missed their mark, 200 meters short and hit a house, killing five people, all members of the same family. Two others were wounded.
So despite what the prime minister says, certainly plenty of violence ongoing in Iraq.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Michael Holmes, certainly sounds like it. Thanks so much for the update from Baghdad this morning -- Anderson.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: We turn now to our "Political Pop" segment, where it is all about positioning.
On the left, political analyst Serena Torrey.
Holding the middle, John Devore, political satirist for "Maxim" magazine.
And on the right, Mark Simone, talk show host at WABC-Radio here in New York.
Good to see you all.
JOHN DEVORE, MAXIM MAGAZINE: Good morning.
COOPER: Let's start off with talking about Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton. Hillary Clinton not given a speaking role at the Democratic Convention, and Bill Clinton, his book signings are about to be turned more into Kerry campaign events. John, what do you make of this?
DEVORE: Little known fact: John Edwards is actually Hillary Clinton in drag.
COOPER: Oh, really?
DEVORE: That's why you won't see the two of them together. It's a huge conspiracy. I broke it here.
COOPER: I see.
DEVORE: But really -- either she's being groomed for 2008, or she's a liability. I think that's why she's been pulled back.
COOPER: Serena, you're shaking your head.
SERENA TORREY, POLITICAL ANALYST: She's going to be at the convention. She's there with her fellow female senators. Remember, she's not the First Lady any more...
COOPER: Well, I'm going to be at the convention, too, -- it doesn't mean I have to -- you know -- play a role.
TORREY: But she's going to be at the podium, Anderson -- not that you shouldn't be. But she's going to be up there with her fellow senators. She's part of team now; she's worked on cultivating...
COOPER: You're saying it's kind of a slap in the face?
TORREY: Absolutely not; she didn't ask to speak.
MARK SIMONE, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: It's a huge slap in the face. Dean is speaking. When someone tells you Dean is less shrill than you are, you know you're a liability.
COOPER: Why do you think they're doing it? Why not let her speak?
SIMONE: She's -- she's a...
COOPER: They say she didn't ask to speak.
SIMONE: She hurts them in the swing states, she's polarizing, and I'm telling you right now she will speak, because the one thing about Kerry -- if you don't like his position, wait a week -- it'll change. She'll end up making a speech.
COOPER: All right, let's talk about Whoopi Goldberg. Now Slim Fast has told Whoopi Goldberg they no longer need her services, they are not -- no longer going to be running her commercials.
This, of course, after her controversial comments at a private fund-raising event for John Kerry. Serena, does this make sense?
TORREY: I can't believe that we're going to start censoring stand up comics now. I mean, Slim Fast hired Whoopi Goldberg, who is known for making dirty jokes. She's been making jokes about presidents for 20 years, and suddenly her political beliefs are keeping her from business ventures? It's outrageous.
SIMONE: It's not her political beliefs. Thousands of people can endorse Kerry and not lose anything. It's the vulgarity, it's being dirty, it's being filthy. I don't know why she was the spokesman anyway...
TORREY: That's what she does.
DEVORE: That doesn't make it right, and you know, the tragic thing here is that I am personally giving up my Slim Fast diet.
SIMONE: Do you know a lot of women...
DEVORE: I'm going back to...
SIMONE: Are there a lot of women who said to themselves, you know, I'd like to look more like Whoopi Goldberg? I mean, why would she be the spokesman anyway?
COOPER: You think she was the wrong choice? But does it make sense? I mean, do you think it's a sensible move from -- by Slim Fast?
SIMONE: If someone can shoot off their mouth in that formal a setting, I mean, why would you want your brand attached to them?
DEVORE: It's really knee jerk of Slim Fast, you got to admit. I mean, really.
COOPER: So, should John Kerry have distanced himself at that event?
TORREY: John Kerry, I think, feels the same way -- that we're not going to censor stand up comics. They -- they're known for -- for talking like this, and John Kerry believes that people should be able to say what they want.
But he did distance himself; he said we don't approve of all of the things that were said. But it's not for us to approve. The government doesn't get to decide how people feel about the president.
COOPER: Doesn't seem like this issue is going away, though. It's still being mentioned on the campaign trail with President Bush speaking about it.
DEVORE: Over and over again and poll (ph) Radio City.
COOPER: All right, let's talk about something really important now in the last 90 seconds here. Music. At John Edwards and John Kerry events, a lot of Van Halen being played.
President Bush's appearances, a lot of "Hail to the Chief," understandably. Serena, are these good music choices? TORREY: Well, you know, candidates and campaigns spend tons of time vetting the lyrics, vetting the tunes, making sure that everything works for a campaign song. You don't want to be embarrassed like Hillary Clinton was in 1999 when she came out with "Captain Jack," which is a Billy Joel song with some questionable lyrics.
You know I was at a John Kerry event the other day and they came out with "This Will Be an Everlasting Love." All about hugging and kissing and loving and teasing -- it was a perfect song for those guys.
DEVORE: The important thing here, though, with John Kerry playing Van Halen tunes, is David Lee Roth Van Halen versus Sammy Hagar...
COOPER: That of course is the dividing line.
DEVORE: That's the very important -- I'm a purist -- so if it was Hagar -- then.
COOPER: I'd say Kerry is probably more David Lee Roth and maybe Edwards is more the Sammy Hagar.
All right.
SIMONE: Kerry ought to use that old Judy Collins song "From Both Sides Now," or, you know actually he's a guy with no message. Maybe just an instrumental would be perfect.
COOPER: Ouch.
DEVORE: I think Bush should use "Danger Zone" from "Top Gun," actually. That should be his.
COOPER: You guys are a tough crowd. But so you think -- you think Bush should go beyond "Hail to the Chief" -- something a little spicier?
TORREY: He's going to have to start getting the crowd riled up. "Hail to the Chief" is a lovely tune, but he's on the campaign trail.
SIMONE: I guarantee right now Cheney is talking with the Ray Conniff singers. They'll do something.
COOPER: We're going to have to leave it there. Serena Torrey and John Devore and Mark Simone, thanks very much.
TORREY: Thanks, Anderson.
DEVORE: Thank you.
COOPER: Heidi.
COLLINS: Just about 36 minutes past the hour now and time for a look at some of the other news with Daryn Kagan sticking with that political theme this morning.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I think we'll do our best to get to the entertainment scene. If the Emmy nominations begin, we will be going to those live, but meanwhile, let's get some more political headlines in right now.
From the campaign trail, that is where President Bush yesterday defended his decision to attack Iraq. The president also said that he thinks that suspected terrorist Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi is behind yesterday's massive car bombing in Baghdad.
Meanwhile, Democratic Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards was out of town, out on his own, for the first time.
Speaking in Iowa, Edwards called on President Bush to take responsibility for intelligence failures that lead to the war.
Here in the U.S., the Pentagon is reportedly closing down its child day care center. Officials say the Pentagon is the second most likely terror target in the capitol. Some parents tell "The New York Times" that they're angry about that decision, adding that other government day care centers aren't scheduled to close.
Officials hope to have the center closed by fall.
Police in Beluga (ph) County, Florida got some high-tech help in apprehending some young burglars this week. A friendly resident there was watching a homeowner's web cam from her home in Kentucky and when she was doing that she spotted two youths trying to steal some electronic equipment. She called authorities in Florida who went to the house and arrested the teens.
The police were grateful for the assistance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRANDON HAUGHT, VALUSA CITY SHERIFF'S OFFICE SPOKESMAN: To be able to resolve this case within just a few hours. It was great trusting it to modern technology.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: The electronics were recovered; the young people are now being prosecuted.
And finally, golf's third major tournament of the year, the British Open, is underway. Tiger Woods and the rest of the world's best players are doing battle this week on Scotland's Royal Troon Course.
Tiger is set to tee off for his first round in a few minutes. The highlight so far -- a hole in one by Ernie Ells. He is one of the favorites.
And, Emmy's coming up, so we'll toss it back to you. COLLINS: Very good, Daryn. All right, thanks so much for that. We are waiting momentarily now to go live to California to see who is nominated for this year's Emmy Awards.
Making those announcements, three people that we'll see coming to the podium in just a moment here, Dick Askin, CEO of the Television Academy.
He'll be coming to that podium there in just a moment along with Edie Falco -- you know her name from "The Sopranos."
And, actor Tony Shalhoub from "Monk."
Here now, Mr. Askin of the Television Academy.
DICK ASKIN, CHMN., ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES: Good morning everyone. I'm Dick Askin, Chairman of the Board of the Television Academy.
On behalf of the Academy, welcome to the 56th Annual Prime Time Award Nominations.
To help me present the nominations are Tony Soprano's better half, three-time Emmy winner Edie Falco from "The Sopranos," and our favorite obsessive-compulsive detective, Tony Shalhoub from "Monk."
(APPLAUSE)
ASKIN: Welcome.
TONY SHALHOUB, ACTOR: Yes, thank you Dick.
EDIE FALCO, ACTRESS: Good morning everybody.
SHALHOUB: Go, Edie. Ladies first.
FALCO: All right.
SHALHOUB: Why don't you start?
FALCO: Thank you, Tony.
The nominations in the drama series category are: "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." "Joan of Arcadia." "The Sopranos." "24." And, "The West Wing."
(APPLAUSE)
SHALHOUB: The nominations for lead actress in a drama series are: Jennifer Garner, "Alias." Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." Alison Janey, "The West Wing." Amber Tamblyn, "Joan of Arcadia." And, Edie Falco, "The Sopranos."
(APPLAUSE)
FALCO: The nominees for lead actor in a drama series are: James Gandolfini, "The Sopranos." Anthony LaPaglia, "Without a Trace." Martin Sheen, "The West Wing." James Spader, "The Practice." And, Keifer Sutherland, "24."
(APPLAUSE)
SHALHOUB: The made-for-television movie nominations are: "And Starring Pancho Villa As Himself." "IKE: Countdown to D-Day." The Lion In Winter." "The Reagan's." And, "Something The Lord Made."
(APPLAUSE)
FALCO: The nominees for the miniseries category are: "American Family: Journey of Dreams." "Angels In America." "Horatio Hornblower." "Crime Suspect 6: The Last Witness." And, "Traffic: The Miniseries."
(APPLAUSE)
SHALHOUB: The nominees for lead actress in a miniseries or a movie are: Glenn Close, "The Lion In Winter." Judy Davis, "The Reagan's." Helen Mirren, "Crime Suspect 6: The Last Witness." Meryl Streep, "Angels In America." And, Emma Thompson, "Angels In America."
(APPLAUSE)
FALCO: The nominees for lead actor in a miniseries or a movie are: Antonio Banderas in "Starring Pancho Villa As Himself." James Brolin "The Reagan's." Mos Def, "Something The Lord Made." Al Pacino, "Angels In America." And, Alan Rickman, "Something The Lord Made."
(APPLAUSE)
SHALHOUB: The nominees for lead actress in a comedy series are: Jennifer Anniston, "Friends." Patricia Heaton, "Everybody Loves Raymond." Bonnie Hunt, "Life With Bonnie." Jane Kaczmarek, "Malcolm In The Middle." And, Sarah Jessica Parker, "Sex And The City."
(APPLAUSE)
FALCO: The nominees for lead actor in a comedy series are: Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Kelsey Grammer, "Frasier." Matt LeBlanc, "Friends." John Ritter, "Eight Simple Rules." And, Tony Shalhoub, "Monk."
(APPLAUSE)
SHALHOUB: The nominations in a comedy series category are: "Arrested Development." "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Everybody Loves Raymond." Sex And the City." And, "Will & Grace."
(APPLAUSE)
SHALHOUB: OK, the -- I think we've done enough here.
FALCO: I believe we have. SHALHOUB: Let's bring Dick back to announce our final category.
FALCO: Yes, let's do that.
SHALHOUB: Dick.
ASKIN: Congratulations to both of you, very much -- great.
FALCO: Thank you. Thank you.
ASKIN: Here are this year's nominees for reality competition programming. "The Amazing Race." "American Idol." "The Apprentice." "Last Comic Standing." And, "Survivor."
Good luck to all of our Emmy nominees. We'll open the envelopes when the prime-time Emmy Awards are broadcast on Sunday, September 19, on the ABC television network.
Edie and Tony, thank you very much for joining us this morning.
SHALHOUB: Thank you.
ASKIN: And on behalf of the Television Academy, thanks to all of you for joining us. We'll see you in September. Have a great day.
COLLINS: All right, so, there you go. You heard it here first. Emmy nominations.
Dick Askin, the CEO of Television Academy along there with Edie Falco and Tony Shalhoub. Both became nominees for "Sopranos" and for "Monk."
We want to bring in Toure now to talk a little bit about this.
Any surprises, or is it kind of more of the same?
TOURE, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR "ROLLING STONE" MAGAZINE: I'm a little surprised at "Something The Lord Made," which is a great medical drama starring Mos Def and some others on HBO. That's gotten some nice nominations.
I mean, Mos Def's been doing great acting work on -- on stage and on film for a while. So, he's starting to get that recognition.
Great to see "Sex And the City" who had a great last season start you know getting the -- getting that for them.
I see a...
COLLINS: I'm sorry -- isn't it hard to kind of beat? I mean, there've been a lot of series that have wrapped up this year.
TOURE: Right, right.
COLLINS: But "Friends." No nominations. TOURE: Right. Well, Jennifer Anniston was up there but, I mean, there's not that much for "Friends." I mean, perhaps the last season was a bit jumping the shark a little bit, to use another new phrase. I mean there wasn't actually anything...
COOPER: It was a little surprising that wasn't nominated for best comedy series.
TOURE: Well...
COOPER: Considering...
TOURE: Considering it was the best show of...
COOPER: I wasn't a fan of "Friends," I never got into it.
TOURE: I mean -- I mean "Sopranos" had a great season last year so they got a lot of nods so...
COOPER: Although "Deadwood" didn't get nominated at all.
TOURE: "Deadwood" is not on the radar.
(CROSSTALK)
It's like what are you -- what? Is that a show on HBO? I've never heard of it.
COOPER: It's hugely on the radar.
TOURE: What? Isn't it set like in 1720 or something? It's a period piece.
"Angels in America" got a lot of nods and thrilled to see that because that was extraordinary television. There's no way that it could lose.
And the reality show category. I mean, do any of -- besides "Apprentice" do any of these shows deserve to be nominated? For anything?
COOPER: Oh, come on. "American Idol" was -- "Amazing Race" was very well produced. "Survivor" is brilliantly produced. Still.
TOURE: What are you friends with people on those shows?
COLLINS: Well...
COOPER: Well, clearly you know very little about -- about modern entertainment. You might know about Prince and about -- you know -- go to after parties. But when it comes to TV that people actually watch. I don't think so.
More coming up on the Emmys in the next hour.
Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING some health news. Low-carb products are everywhere. I'm sure Toure knows all about that. But it might be time to cut back on the inventory. Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: So what's the word on America's low-carb diet craze? Is it over?
A new survey says carb counters are moving on. Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is filling in for Sanjay now. She's at the CNN Center with the very latest. What's the deal here? Is it over?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh no, it's not over. It's just that the rate of growth may be slowing.
In other words, the craze may have plateaued. Of course you'd have to be living in a cave not to know that the United States has been in a carb craze for quite a while now. There are so many different products out there; so many different restaurants are offering low-carb alternatives.
But, some new data from an Internet poll shows that perhaps this trend has plateaued. Let's take a look at the survey. It was 500 respondents. It found that 12 percent of Americans are on low-carb diets and that's less than the numbers that had come out previously.
And that 54 percent of people have quit low-carb diets once they go on them. On this survey they also ask shoppers when you look for food, when you're purchasing food, what do you consider important. Forty percent said calories, 37 percent said total fat, and only 30 percent said carbohydrates.
So in other words, carbohydrates came in last in that list. And that's made some supermarket shopping experts say you know what? Manufacturers ought to think twice before they roll out more of these low-carb products.
However, the folks over at the Atkins Diet plan say, look, low- carb diets are still the number one diet plan in the country. In fact, they say at Atkins the number of people who've gone on Atkins in the past year has doubled -- Heidi.
COLLINS: So doesn't really sound, then, Elizabeth like low-carb dieting is going away any time soon.
COHEN: It's not going away it's just that the rate of growth may be slowing. Let's take a look at some numbers from a different poll.
This one showed that in the period of time that roughly corresponds to the first quarter of this year, there was a 95 percent increase in sales of low-carb products but in the second quarter it was -- there was only a 42 percent rise. Now listen, manufacturers -- food manufacturers would kill for those numbers.
They represent hundreds of millions of dollars. Forty two percent is nothing to sneeze at; it's just that it's lower than the 95 percent growth earlier in the year.
COLLINS: OK, so if low carb -- at least a little bit of it is decreasing as a dieting idea, what do you think is going to replace it? What's going to be the hot thing? Anderson and I are voting for the gummy bear diet.
COHEN: Oh, the gummy bear diet, I like that. Yes, just one after another. There you go.
Well, I haven't heard that. We did talk to some trend experts. That one didn't come up. However, what they're hoping comes up next and there's not really a good word for it is just a healthy diet, doesn't necessarily have to be low-fat, doesn't necessarily have to be low-carb, but takes components from many of the different diets and just plain old healthy food.
COLLINS: All right, catchy one. Healthy diet. Love that.
COHEN: Right.
COLLINS: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much this morning.
And later on AMERICAN MORNING the very latest in the Scott Peterson trial. The defense tells the judge it is time to throw out the case all together. That's coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
COOPER: Going to show you some live pictures here, a wildfire that has already scorched more than 7,000 acres in Southern California forestland. Officials there say the blaze is less than half contained.
Nearly 600 homes have been evacuated because of flames. Firefighters battling other fires across the state have been helped by some thunderstorms across the state -- some 21,000 acres have burned so far. That's in Lake Hughes, California. Unbelievable pictures there.
COLLINS: Hate to see that. All right, well, coming up next hour on this AMERICAN MORNING a profile of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden from someone who knows him well, his own sister-in-law. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Authorities on guard, Americans on edge. How serious is the threat of a terrorist attack before the election?
Not many people can say what Osama bin Laden and his powerful family are really like. But the terrorist's former sister-in-law can. We'll hear from her this morning.
Which side is hurt more after an important ruling in the Kobe Bryant case?
And many lives suddenly uprooted after a string of powerful storms rolled through Pennsylvania.
All this ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
COLLINS: Thanks for joining us everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Bill is on vacation this week and Soledad is resting up.
COOPER: And I'm Anderson Cooper trying to fill in for Bill Hemmer.
Some of the news making headlines this morning. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge says the government is providing unprecedented security for the Democratic Convention, which begins of course later this month. Ridge and the acting CIA director were in Boston yesterday.
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Aired July 15, 2004 - 08:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: There were demonstrations of several kinds today in Iraq. Hundreds of Iraqis marched in Baghdad calling for death to Saddam Hussein. The former dictator is due to appear before a criminal court, and many of those who attacked his effigies today lost family members to the regime. But it is the demonstrations by insurgents attacking police stations, pipelines and going after government officials that brought a new initiative from Interim Prime Minister Allawi this morning.
Michael Holmes is in Baghdad, following all of the developments from there.
Michael, hello.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you.
That's right, this news conference was interesting. The main part of it being this creation of a security directorate, a general security directorate.
Basically, it's going to be like the FBI. It's on the ground intelligence gathering. Trying to attack the insurgency from the inside, as it were.
Members of it will be told that they have to get in there and infiltrate these groups. Also, they'll be working with local people. That's something that I've seen with my own eyes that's had great success with, especially, Iraqi military units that go on patrol without any Americans and not only doesn't get shot at, but they get a lot of information given to them that even the Americans say they don't get.
Now, of course, you talk intelligence agency in Iraq and people think back to days of Saddam Hussein and so it's going to be interesting public relations sell to try to convince people that this one is a good idea.
But we heard the interior minister saying those who would be hired to do the job would be well-trained and, in his words, have clean hands.
This is -- I think we have a sound -- some sound now of the interim prime minister and what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (though interpreter): We are determined to eliminate the -- by establishment -- internal intelligence units, called general security directorate -- GSD -- that will annihilate those terrorist groups that will -- we surpassed the idea of establishing a core of civil defense to form a strong army that will be part of the National Guard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Also, we heard the interim prime minister saying that the security situation in Iraq is much improved. That despite a real uptake in violence over the last few days, in particular, of course, a Green Zone explosion here in Baghdad yesterday, Wednesday and then today, Thursday, what we've seen is another car bomb.
In fact, two of them -- one taking place north of Baghdad, Habita (ph), and what happened there was a car bomb going off killing ten Iraqis, wounding 30. Four of the dead were Iraqi policemen.
There was another bizarre attempt in Karbala where Iraqi police got wind of a car bomb. They took off after the vehicle, it drove into an open field and detonated, killing the two suicide bombers, but injuring no one else.
Some more violence also that happened in Kirkuk in the north, a terrible tragedy, mortars were being apparently fired by insurgents at a police station. They missed their mark, 200 meters short and hit a house, killing five people, all members of the same family. Two others were wounded.
So despite what the prime minister says, certainly plenty of violence ongoing in Iraq.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Michael Holmes, certainly sounds like it. Thanks so much for the update from Baghdad this morning -- Anderson.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: We turn now to our "Political Pop" segment, where it is all about positioning.
On the left, political analyst Serena Torrey.
Holding the middle, John Devore, political satirist for "Maxim" magazine.
And on the right, Mark Simone, talk show host at WABC-Radio here in New York.
Good to see you all.
JOHN DEVORE, MAXIM MAGAZINE: Good morning.
COOPER: Let's start off with talking about Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton. Hillary Clinton not given a speaking role at the Democratic Convention, and Bill Clinton, his book signings are about to be turned more into Kerry campaign events. John, what do you make of this?
DEVORE: Little known fact: John Edwards is actually Hillary Clinton in drag.
COOPER: Oh, really?
DEVORE: That's why you won't see the two of them together. It's a huge conspiracy. I broke it here.
COOPER: I see.
DEVORE: But really -- either she's being groomed for 2008, or she's a liability. I think that's why she's been pulled back.
COOPER: Serena, you're shaking your head.
SERENA TORREY, POLITICAL ANALYST: She's going to be at the convention. She's there with her fellow female senators. Remember, she's not the First Lady any more...
COOPER: Well, I'm going to be at the convention, too, -- it doesn't mean I have to -- you know -- play a role.
TORREY: But she's going to be at the podium, Anderson -- not that you shouldn't be. But she's going to be up there with her fellow senators. She's part of team now; she's worked on cultivating...
COOPER: You're saying it's kind of a slap in the face?
TORREY: Absolutely not; she didn't ask to speak.
MARK SIMONE, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: It's a huge slap in the face. Dean is speaking. When someone tells you Dean is less shrill than you are, you know you're a liability.
COOPER: Why do you think they're doing it? Why not let her speak?
SIMONE: She's -- she's a...
COOPER: They say she didn't ask to speak.
SIMONE: She hurts them in the swing states, she's polarizing, and I'm telling you right now she will speak, because the one thing about Kerry -- if you don't like his position, wait a week -- it'll change. She'll end up making a speech.
COOPER: All right, let's talk about Whoopi Goldberg. Now Slim Fast has told Whoopi Goldberg they no longer need her services, they are not -- no longer going to be running her commercials.
This, of course, after her controversial comments at a private fund-raising event for John Kerry. Serena, does this make sense?
TORREY: I can't believe that we're going to start censoring stand up comics now. I mean, Slim Fast hired Whoopi Goldberg, who is known for making dirty jokes. She's been making jokes about presidents for 20 years, and suddenly her political beliefs are keeping her from business ventures? It's outrageous.
SIMONE: It's not her political beliefs. Thousands of people can endorse Kerry and not lose anything. It's the vulgarity, it's being dirty, it's being filthy. I don't know why she was the spokesman anyway...
TORREY: That's what she does.
DEVORE: That doesn't make it right, and you know, the tragic thing here is that I am personally giving up my Slim Fast diet.
SIMONE: Do you know a lot of women...
DEVORE: I'm going back to...
SIMONE: Are there a lot of women who said to themselves, you know, I'd like to look more like Whoopi Goldberg? I mean, why would she be the spokesman anyway?
COOPER: You think she was the wrong choice? But does it make sense? I mean, do you think it's a sensible move from -- by Slim Fast?
SIMONE: If someone can shoot off their mouth in that formal a setting, I mean, why would you want your brand attached to them?
DEVORE: It's really knee jerk of Slim Fast, you got to admit. I mean, really.
COOPER: So, should John Kerry have distanced himself at that event?
TORREY: John Kerry, I think, feels the same way -- that we're not going to censor stand up comics. They -- they're known for -- for talking like this, and John Kerry believes that people should be able to say what they want.
But he did distance himself; he said we don't approve of all of the things that were said. But it's not for us to approve. The government doesn't get to decide how people feel about the president.
COOPER: Doesn't seem like this issue is going away, though. It's still being mentioned on the campaign trail with President Bush speaking about it.
DEVORE: Over and over again and poll (ph) Radio City.
COOPER: All right, let's talk about something really important now in the last 90 seconds here. Music. At John Edwards and John Kerry events, a lot of Van Halen being played.
President Bush's appearances, a lot of "Hail to the Chief," understandably. Serena, are these good music choices? TORREY: Well, you know, candidates and campaigns spend tons of time vetting the lyrics, vetting the tunes, making sure that everything works for a campaign song. You don't want to be embarrassed like Hillary Clinton was in 1999 when she came out with "Captain Jack," which is a Billy Joel song with some questionable lyrics.
You know I was at a John Kerry event the other day and they came out with "This Will Be an Everlasting Love." All about hugging and kissing and loving and teasing -- it was a perfect song for those guys.
DEVORE: The important thing here, though, with John Kerry playing Van Halen tunes, is David Lee Roth Van Halen versus Sammy Hagar...
COOPER: That of course is the dividing line.
DEVORE: That's the very important -- I'm a purist -- so if it was Hagar -- then.
COOPER: I'd say Kerry is probably more David Lee Roth and maybe Edwards is more the Sammy Hagar.
All right.
SIMONE: Kerry ought to use that old Judy Collins song "From Both Sides Now," or, you know actually he's a guy with no message. Maybe just an instrumental would be perfect.
COOPER: Ouch.
DEVORE: I think Bush should use "Danger Zone" from "Top Gun," actually. That should be his.
COOPER: You guys are a tough crowd. But so you think -- you think Bush should go beyond "Hail to the Chief" -- something a little spicier?
TORREY: He's going to have to start getting the crowd riled up. "Hail to the Chief" is a lovely tune, but he's on the campaign trail.
SIMONE: I guarantee right now Cheney is talking with the Ray Conniff singers. They'll do something.
COOPER: We're going to have to leave it there. Serena Torrey and John Devore and Mark Simone, thanks very much.
TORREY: Thanks, Anderson.
DEVORE: Thank you.
COOPER: Heidi.
COLLINS: Just about 36 minutes past the hour now and time for a look at some of the other news with Daryn Kagan sticking with that political theme this morning.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I think we'll do our best to get to the entertainment scene. If the Emmy nominations begin, we will be going to those live, but meanwhile, let's get some more political headlines in right now.
From the campaign trail, that is where President Bush yesterday defended his decision to attack Iraq. The president also said that he thinks that suspected terrorist Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi is behind yesterday's massive car bombing in Baghdad.
Meanwhile, Democratic Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards was out of town, out on his own, for the first time.
Speaking in Iowa, Edwards called on President Bush to take responsibility for intelligence failures that lead to the war.
Here in the U.S., the Pentagon is reportedly closing down its child day care center. Officials say the Pentagon is the second most likely terror target in the capitol. Some parents tell "The New York Times" that they're angry about that decision, adding that other government day care centers aren't scheduled to close.
Officials hope to have the center closed by fall.
Police in Beluga (ph) County, Florida got some high-tech help in apprehending some young burglars this week. A friendly resident there was watching a homeowner's web cam from her home in Kentucky and when she was doing that she spotted two youths trying to steal some electronic equipment. She called authorities in Florida who went to the house and arrested the teens.
The police were grateful for the assistance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRANDON HAUGHT, VALUSA CITY SHERIFF'S OFFICE SPOKESMAN: To be able to resolve this case within just a few hours. It was great trusting it to modern technology.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: The electronics were recovered; the young people are now being prosecuted.
And finally, golf's third major tournament of the year, the British Open, is underway. Tiger Woods and the rest of the world's best players are doing battle this week on Scotland's Royal Troon Course.
Tiger is set to tee off for his first round in a few minutes. The highlight so far -- a hole in one by Ernie Ells. He is one of the favorites.
And, Emmy's coming up, so we'll toss it back to you. COLLINS: Very good, Daryn. All right, thanks so much for that. We are waiting momentarily now to go live to California to see who is nominated for this year's Emmy Awards.
Making those announcements, three people that we'll see coming to the podium in just a moment here, Dick Askin, CEO of the Television Academy.
He'll be coming to that podium there in just a moment along with Edie Falco -- you know her name from "The Sopranos."
And, actor Tony Shalhoub from "Monk."
Here now, Mr. Askin of the Television Academy.
DICK ASKIN, CHMN., ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES: Good morning everyone. I'm Dick Askin, Chairman of the Board of the Television Academy.
On behalf of the Academy, welcome to the 56th Annual Prime Time Award Nominations.
To help me present the nominations are Tony Soprano's better half, three-time Emmy winner Edie Falco from "The Sopranos," and our favorite obsessive-compulsive detective, Tony Shalhoub from "Monk."
(APPLAUSE)
ASKIN: Welcome.
TONY SHALHOUB, ACTOR: Yes, thank you Dick.
EDIE FALCO, ACTRESS: Good morning everybody.
SHALHOUB: Go, Edie. Ladies first.
FALCO: All right.
SHALHOUB: Why don't you start?
FALCO: Thank you, Tony.
The nominations in the drama series category are: "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." "Joan of Arcadia." "The Sopranos." "24." And, "The West Wing."
(APPLAUSE)
SHALHOUB: The nominations for lead actress in a drama series are: Jennifer Garner, "Alias." Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." Alison Janey, "The West Wing." Amber Tamblyn, "Joan of Arcadia." And, Edie Falco, "The Sopranos."
(APPLAUSE)
FALCO: The nominees for lead actor in a drama series are: James Gandolfini, "The Sopranos." Anthony LaPaglia, "Without a Trace." Martin Sheen, "The West Wing." James Spader, "The Practice." And, Keifer Sutherland, "24."
(APPLAUSE)
SHALHOUB: The made-for-television movie nominations are: "And Starring Pancho Villa As Himself." "IKE: Countdown to D-Day." The Lion In Winter." "The Reagan's." And, "Something The Lord Made."
(APPLAUSE)
FALCO: The nominees for the miniseries category are: "American Family: Journey of Dreams." "Angels In America." "Horatio Hornblower." "Crime Suspect 6: The Last Witness." And, "Traffic: The Miniseries."
(APPLAUSE)
SHALHOUB: The nominees for lead actress in a miniseries or a movie are: Glenn Close, "The Lion In Winter." Judy Davis, "The Reagan's." Helen Mirren, "Crime Suspect 6: The Last Witness." Meryl Streep, "Angels In America." And, Emma Thompson, "Angels In America."
(APPLAUSE)
FALCO: The nominees for lead actor in a miniseries or a movie are: Antonio Banderas in "Starring Pancho Villa As Himself." James Brolin "The Reagan's." Mos Def, "Something The Lord Made." Al Pacino, "Angels In America." And, Alan Rickman, "Something The Lord Made."
(APPLAUSE)
SHALHOUB: The nominees for lead actress in a comedy series are: Jennifer Anniston, "Friends." Patricia Heaton, "Everybody Loves Raymond." Bonnie Hunt, "Life With Bonnie." Jane Kaczmarek, "Malcolm In The Middle." And, Sarah Jessica Parker, "Sex And The City."
(APPLAUSE)
FALCO: The nominees for lead actor in a comedy series are: Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Kelsey Grammer, "Frasier." Matt LeBlanc, "Friends." John Ritter, "Eight Simple Rules." And, Tony Shalhoub, "Monk."
(APPLAUSE)
SHALHOUB: The nominations in a comedy series category are: "Arrested Development." "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Everybody Loves Raymond." Sex And the City." And, "Will & Grace."
(APPLAUSE)
SHALHOUB: OK, the -- I think we've done enough here.
FALCO: I believe we have. SHALHOUB: Let's bring Dick back to announce our final category.
FALCO: Yes, let's do that.
SHALHOUB: Dick.
ASKIN: Congratulations to both of you, very much -- great.
FALCO: Thank you. Thank you.
ASKIN: Here are this year's nominees for reality competition programming. "The Amazing Race." "American Idol." "The Apprentice." "Last Comic Standing." And, "Survivor."
Good luck to all of our Emmy nominees. We'll open the envelopes when the prime-time Emmy Awards are broadcast on Sunday, September 19, on the ABC television network.
Edie and Tony, thank you very much for joining us this morning.
SHALHOUB: Thank you.
ASKIN: And on behalf of the Television Academy, thanks to all of you for joining us. We'll see you in September. Have a great day.
COLLINS: All right, so, there you go. You heard it here first. Emmy nominations.
Dick Askin, the CEO of Television Academy along there with Edie Falco and Tony Shalhoub. Both became nominees for "Sopranos" and for "Monk."
We want to bring in Toure now to talk a little bit about this.
Any surprises, or is it kind of more of the same?
TOURE, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR "ROLLING STONE" MAGAZINE: I'm a little surprised at "Something The Lord Made," which is a great medical drama starring Mos Def and some others on HBO. That's gotten some nice nominations.
I mean, Mos Def's been doing great acting work on -- on stage and on film for a while. So, he's starting to get that recognition.
Great to see "Sex And the City" who had a great last season start you know getting the -- getting that for them.
I see a...
COLLINS: I'm sorry -- isn't it hard to kind of beat? I mean, there've been a lot of series that have wrapped up this year.
TOURE: Right, right.
COLLINS: But "Friends." No nominations. TOURE: Right. Well, Jennifer Anniston was up there but, I mean, there's not that much for "Friends." I mean, perhaps the last season was a bit jumping the shark a little bit, to use another new phrase. I mean there wasn't actually anything...
COOPER: It was a little surprising that wasn't nominated for best comedy series.
TOURE: Well...
COOPER: Considering...
TOURE: Considering it was the best show of...
COOPER: I wasn't a fan of "Friends," I never got into it.
TOURE: I mean -- I mean "Sopranos" had a great season last year so they got a lot of nods so...
COOPER: Although "Deadwood" didn't get nominated at all.
TOURE: "Deadwood" is not on the radar.
(CROSSTALK)
It's like what are you -- what? Is that a show on HBO? I've never heard of it.
COOPER: It's hugely on the radar.
TOURE: What? Isn't it set like in 1720 or something? It's a period piece.
"Angels in America" got a lot of nods and thrilled to see that because that was extraordinary television. There's no way that it could lose.
And the reality show category. I mean, do any of -- besides "Apprentice" do any of these shows deserve to be nominated? For anything?
COOPER: Oh, come on. "American Idol" was -- "Amazing Race" was very well produced. "Survivor" is brilliantly produced. Still.
TOURE: What are you friends with people on those shows?
COLLINS: Well...
COOPER: Well, clearly you know very little about -- about modern entertainment. You might know about Prince and about -- you know -- go to after parties. But when it comes to TV that people actually watch. I don't think so.
More coming up on the Emmys in the next hour.
Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING some health news. Low-carb products are everywhere. I'm sure Toure knows all about that. But it might be time to cut back on the inventory. Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: So what's the word on America's low-carb diet craze? Is it over?
A new survey says carb counters are moving on. Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is filling in for Sanjay now. She's at the CNN Center with the very latest. What's the deal here? Is it over?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh no, it's not over. It's just that the rate of growth may be slowing.
In other words, the craze may have plateaued. Of course you'd have to be living in a cave not to know that the United States has been in a carb craze for quite a while now. There are so many different products out there; so many different restaurants are offering low-carb alternatives.
But, some new data from an Internet poll shows that perhaps this trend has plateaued. Let's take a look at the survey. It was 500 respondents. It found that 12 percent of Americans are on low-carb diets and that's less than the numbers that had come out previously.
And that 54 percent of people have quit low-carb diets once they go on them. On this survey they also ask shoppers when you look for food, when you're purchasing food, what do you consider important. Forty percent said calories, 37 percent said total fat, and only 30 percent said carbohydrates.
So in other words, carbohydrates came in last in that list. And that's made some supermarket shopping experts say you know what? Manufacturers ought to think twice before they roll out more of these low-carb products.
However, the folks over at the Atkins Diet plan say, look, low- carb diets are still the number one diet plan in the country. In fact, they say at Atkins the number of people who've gone on Atkins in the past year has doubled -- Heidi.
COLLINS: So doesn't really sound, then, Elizabeth like low-carb dieting is going away any time soon.
COHEN: It's not going away it's just that the rate of growth may be slowing. Let's take a look at some numbers from a different poll.
This one showed that in the period of time that roughly corresponds to the first quarter of this year, there was a 95 percent increase in sales of low-carb products but in the second quarter it was -- there was only a 42 percent rise. Now listen, manufacturers -- food manufacturers would kill for those numbers.
They represent hundreds of millions of dollars. Forty two percent is nothing to sneeze at; it's just that it's lower than the 95 percent growth earlier in the year.
COLLINS: OK, so if low carb -- at least a little bit of it is decreasing as a dieting idea, what do you think is going to replace it? What's going to be the hot thing? Anderson and I are voting for the gummy bear diet.
COHEN: Oh, the gummy bear diet, I like that. Yes, just one after another. There you go.
Well, I haven't heard that. We did talk to some trend experts. That one didn't come up. However, what they're hoping comes up next and there's not really a good word for it is just a healthy diet, doesn't necessarily have to be low-fat, doesn't necessarily have to be low-carb, but takes components from many of the different diets and just plain old healthy food.
COLLINS: All right, catchy one. Healthy diet. Love that.
COHEN: Right.
COLLINS: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much this morning.
And later on AMERICAN MORNING the very latest in the Scott Peterson trial. The defense tells the judge it is time to throw out the case all together. That's coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
COOPER: Going to show you some live pictures here, a wildfire that has already scorched more than 7,000 acres in Southern California forestland. Officials there say the blaze is less than half contained.
Nearly 600 homes have been evacuated because of flames. Firefighters battling other fires across the state have been helped by some thunderstorms across the state -- some 21,000 acres have burned so far. That's in Lake Hughes, California. Unbelievable pictures there.
COLLINS: Hate to see that. All right, well, coming up next hour on this AMERICAN MORNING a profile of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden from someone who knows him well, his own sister-in-law. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Authorities on guard, Americans on edge. How serious is the threat of a terrorist attack before the election?
Not many people can say what Osama bin Laden and his powerful family are really like. But the terrorist's former sister-in-law can. We'll hear from her this morning.
Which side is hurt more after an important ruling in the Kobe Bryant case?
And many lives suddenly uprooted after a string of powerful storms rolled through Pennsylvania.
All this ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
COLLINS: Thanks for joining us everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Bill is on vacation this week and Soledad is resting up.
COOPER: And I'm Anderson Cooper trying to fill in for Bill Hemmer.
Some of the news making headlines this morning. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge says the government is providing unprecedented security for the Democratic Convention, which begins of course later this month. Ridge and the acting CIA director were in Boston yesterday.
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