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American Morning
Jackson Case Updates; Olympics Updates; Costco Selling Coffins; "90-Second Pop"
Aired August 18, 2004 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: It is 9:30 right here on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And the Michael Jackson case resumes tomorrow. On Monday, the man prosecuting Jackson was on the stand. The one-time "King of Pop" says Tom Sneddon has a vendetta against him, going back to another case you may remember back in '93. But in a moment, we're going to talk to a former detective who worked with Sneddon on that case and get his take on it.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also, you may have heard the news -- warehouse retailer Costco going to start selling discount coffins. Funeral costs certainly can get out of hand, we know that. We'll talk to an editor from "Consumer Reports" and get some tips on how you can keep those costs down.
COLLINS: We'll try to remain upbeat about that conversation, too.
HEMMER: What a wonderful topic that is? Cheery.
Let's get right now to California. A one-day break in the proceedings in Michael Jackson's child molestation case. The judge granted the break for Jackson's lawyers to compile a list of all evidence they believe should be suppressed.
The lead investigator of Michael Jackson's 1993 case is retired LAPD Detective Bill Dworin, our guest now in California. Bill, good morning to you.
BILL DWORIN, LAPD DETECTIVE (RET.): Good morning. How are you?
HEMMER: I'm doing just fine.
The Jackson family says Tom Sneddon, the D.A. in Santa Barbara County, has a vendetta. Based on your experience, can they prove that, and is that the case now?
DWORIN: No, I don't believe so. Mr. Sneddon is responsible for prosecuting an allegation of sexual abuse. And that's state law in California.
HEMMER: Has Tom Sneddon, though, been out to get Michael Jackson for some time?
DWORIN: I don't believe so. I believe he's following the law. There is an allegation made against Mr. Jackson. He's investigated that allegation. He believes a crime has been committed, and he's following up through the prosecution he needs to...
HEMMER: If you go back 11 years, the case that was halted, how strong do you believe the evidence was then?
DWORIN: At that time, we felt it was very strong. Unfortunately, the boy at that time received a civil settlement and no longer wanted to go forward.
HEMMER: If the present evidence that's now being argued this week is thrown out, and still there is this issue out there about this videotape that apparently was found at a detective's office who worked on behalf of Mark Geragos, who is Michael Jackson's attorney.
If that is not allowed into this case, how bad does it hurt the prosecution?
DWORIN: It's hard to say, because we as the public do not know what that evidence is. The bottom line is, is the boy credible? Is he going to be believable? And is there corroborating evidence -- in other words, evidence to show that the boy is telling the truth.
If there is that...
HEMMER: Sorry, can you go on? I apologize for the interruption.
DWORIN: If there is that evidence, then I believe we'll see a conviction of Mr. Jackson.
HEMMER: Yes. Are you able to gauge the evidence at this point and in this current case as to how it is going on behalf of the D.A.?
HEMMER: No. No, it's been kept quite secret. It should be kept secret. It should be presented at the time of trial, not in the public pretension through the media.
HEMMER: And Bill Dworin, thanks, in L.A. watching the case for us. Appreciate your time this morning.
DWORIN: Thank you.
HEMMER: Heidi?
COLLINS: Campaign countdown now: 76 days until the November election. Yesterday, President Bush was campaigning in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Today he heads to two other battleground states -- that's Wisconsin and Minnesota -- before going to his Texas ranch.
Senator John Kerry left Idaho yesterday for Ohio. Kerry has spent the last few days at his Ketchum, Idaho, vacation home. And today, he will address the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention in Cincinnati, where President Bush spoke on Monday. CNN will carry that speech live for you 10:30 a.m. Eastern.
Well, John Kerry, Bob Kerrey - is it easy to get confused? Well, the Kerry campaign claims it was a simple mistake that led its Web site to tout that John Kerry once served as vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, a post once held by former Senator Bob Kerrey.
Senator John Kerry did serve as a member of that committee but not as the chairman. Republicans, though, were less willing to see it as an innocent mistake, and a Republican National Committee spokeswoman said, quote, "It's difficult to take John Kerry's claims about his intelligence experience seriously."
Paula Zahn, meantime, will be having a town hall meeting that we want to tell you about. It's coming up tonight from the battleground state of Ohio. Don't miss it. Once again, live town hall meeting, 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
HEMMER: Almost 25 minutes before the hour. If you're watching the Olympics and you don't want to know any information as to what's happening with the Games right now, turn the sound down at the moment.
If not, the U.S. so far today winning three medals in Athens -- one gold, two silver. And more word today on the fate of those sprinters from Greece who claimed they were in this motorcycle accident.
Still trying to find the truth in this story, Larry Smith in Athens with now -- with more there. Hey Larry, good afternoon.
LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Bill. Good afternoon from Athens.
Yes, hopefully these Athens can now get away from being the scandal Olympics and just simply be the Summer Olympics, which we came to Greece to see.
You mentioned those embattled Greek sprinters, Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou, are now officially completely out of the Games after they withdrew from competition following a meeting with IOC officials this morning. And as you mentioned, we've been wondering since last Thursday why did they miss that mandatory drug test? And as of right now, we still don't have any answers.
Now these two, Kenteris and Thanou, both medaled at the Sydney Olympics back in 2000. They faced expulsion by the IOC, still facing disciplinary action, however, from the International Track and Field Federation. They will meet next week to discuss their fate. However, no decision coming up, though, for them until well after the Games. But keep in mind, they consider a missed test a failed test.
How about the Dream Team? Last night they got the big win, finally, over Greece, 77-71. Wasn't pretty, wasn't spectacular that we were used to with USA and the Men's Basketball NBA players playing for men's basketball. But it was a win. Allen Iverson, 17 points, lead the way despite a fractured right thumb.
Good news as well for Women's Gymnastics. They almost got a gold medal, but were beaten out by Romania, who repeats as Olympic champions. U.S. Women's Team Gymnastics getting a silver last night.
Swimming -- we have to talk about swimming every day because it's been such a great story. Michael Phelps back in the pool today. He has already qualified this morning for tonight's 200-meter individual medley semi-finals. Phelps last night won the 200-meter butterfly, and as well was part of the gold-medal winning 800-meter freestyle relay.
So, he now has three gold medals, two bronzes. He is five for five in medals, trying to become the first swimmer ever to win eight medals in a single Summer Games.
And what price for fame? You may recall the story of that Canadian man earlier in the Games who dove into the pool wearing a tutu and clown shoes. Well, he's been ordered to pay a $3,200 Canadian fine and has sentenced to five months in prison for his actions. However, he walks away and avoids going behind bars because he appealed. That appeal could take two years.
And Bill, he says that he didn't do it for money, just for fame. Just didn't think it would be this bad.
HEMMER: That picture is priceless. Watching him stand on top of that board.
Michael Phelps, three gold, two bronze. We're looking at the guy yet again here, Larry. How many more events does he have -- Phelps?
SMITH: He does have -- he has three more events. He's medaled in every event so far. So, he has the one semi-finals tonight, the finals will be tomorrow night, and we'll go from there.
HEMMER: Got it. Thanks, Larry. Enjoy.
Carol Costello watching the rest of the news at the CNN Center. Good morning, again, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm still laughing about the man in the tutu and the clown shoes.
HEMMER: We all do.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Bill.
Serious story for you now. In Indiana, the Ft. Wayne Airport is closed this morning after a possible contamination. These images are just in to CNN. We got them in the last 15 minutes or so.
Emergency personnel now on the scene. And according to news reports, an unknown substance spilled from a bag that was being unloaded from one of the flights. One worker reportedly feels sick as a result; six others are apparently undergoing decontamination.
In Ohio, dozens of people on Lake Erie's South Bass Island are reporting a flu-like illness. More than 90 other cases were called in. Health officials have documented 78 cases of similar symptoms over the past two weeks. State health department is now looking into it.
Arkansas authorities are now saying there is a very good chance they will find a girl missing since Sunday alive. Officials searching for Patricia Ann Miles say while they can't comment further, there could be a very substantial development in the case today. A woman described as an occasional babysitter is now being held on kidnapping charges.
And in Massachusetts, police are looking for two men caught on a surveillance tape in what appears to be an automatic teller machine heist. You can see the two men on tape sliding an ATM through the smashed door of a Boston convenience store. The machine was loaded with about $3,000 in cash. Kind of a hard way to do a robbery.
HEMMER: It's kind of a to-go order, don't you think?
COSTELLO: How are they going to bust into the machine? That will be interesting.
HEMMER: They have time now.
COSTELLO: True.
HEMMER: Thank you, Carol.
Here's Chad watching what remains of Earl, I believe. Right, Chad? Good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Too hot for me. All right, Chad, thanks so much for that.
Well, you know, it is an unfortunate fact of life: The cost of death continues to rise. Costco, the giant discounter, is test marketing caskets now in two Chicago-area stores. But the best way to save on funeral costs is to plan ahead.
Jeff Blyskal, senior editor with "Consumer Reports" is joining us this morning from San Francisco with advice on how to do just that.
Jeff, thanks for being with us.
You know, it's something nobody ever wants to talk about. But it would be nice not to leave the burden of these high funeral costs with your family.
So talk to us about buying funeral insurance. This is a pretty good idea.
JEFF BLYSKAL, SR. EDITOR, "CONSUMER REPORTS": Well, no. We strongly recommend buying the insurance. There are a couple of reasons. One, is that you are buying something right now that's not going to be used for 20, 30 years from now. It will be delivered to somebody else who can't really insure that you will -- that you'll be getting -- that they'll be getting what you bought. Some of the other problems are that you don't get a discount for the price off the price of the funeral. And the insurance -- the funeral home collects the insurance over the years that they have your money. You pay full price right now.
COLLINS: Wow, so OK, not a very good idea at all then, the funeral insurance. But what is a good idea then is to at least talk to your loved ones about your wishes. What exactly is it that they need to know?
BLYSKAL: Well, they need to know first of all what kind of arrangements you want -- do you want a cremation? Do you want a full- blown funeral? Or do you want just a simple affair? And the -- depending on what you want, the price could be very different.
COLLINS: Also, I know you can comparison shop with local funeral homes, even go ahead and visit them in advance. What should you be looking for if you do decide to go and visit?
BLYSKAL: Well, you want to check out the facilities. But more importantly, what you want to do is compare the prices. Visit three or four funeral homes, and that will give you a benchmark as to what the going rate is. When we surveyed prices in several cities around the country, we found that prices vary anywhere from $1,500 to $4,000.
COLLINS: All right. Also the price of that casket, a lot of people know that that's pretty expensive. But the federal government does require that a funeral home accepts a casket from an outside provider. So we've been talking about Costco. How does all that work?
BLYSKAL: Well, basically what Costco is doing has been going on for several years now. You can buy a casket from -- you don't have to buy it from the funeral home. And what we found, again, was that you can save hundreds to thousands of dollars by buying your funeral -- by buying your casket elsewhere and having it delivered to the funeral home.
COLLINS: All right, giving us a lot to think about in advance. Jeff Blyskal, thanks so much for your time this morning.
And still to come this morning, good news now for travelers. Christine Romans will tell us where all the good deals are.
HEMMER: Also, Bruce Springsteen taking a political stand in October now. Is he going to have to pay for that stand? "90-Second Pop" has a shot at that in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: "Time slips away and leaves you with nothing, mister, but boring stories of glory days," the best line in the whole song.
It's time for "90-Second Pop." Sarah Bernard from "New York" magazine.
Good morning, Sarah.
SARAH BERNARD, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
HEMMER: B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for "US Weekly."
B.J. SIGESMUND, "US WEEKLY": Good morning.
HEMMER: And VH-1 contributor Jesse Klein is here as well.
JESSE KLEIN, VH-1 CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
HEMMER: Good morning to all three of you.
Let's first start with the really, really, really, really late, late, late show.
BERNARD: At 3:00 a.m. I think it's on.
HEMMER: Craig Kilborn, he's going to end the show. And who takes his place?
BERNARD: Well, that's the question of the day. I think we're talking about Amy Sedaris, who is this fantastic improv background, actress-comedian, who made her name really with a show called "Strangers With Candy." And I think the idea of having a woman is so great. This is the first time since basically Joan Rivers was being talked about to replace Johnny Carson in the '80s that a woman has been up for a job like this.
And she really might get it, because actually David Letterman's Worldwide Pants production company produced "Strangers with Candy," and also has the time slot for this show.
HEMMER: So she's got backing then, you're saying.
BERNARD: Yes, exactly.
SIGESMUND: I want to say, I love Amy Sedaris.
BERNARD: She's amazing.
SIGESMUND: She is such a New York personality. I've met her a couple times. She used to be a waitress at this cafe I went to six or seven years ago. But everyone I know...
BERNARD: ... sometimes.
SIGESMUND: Yes. Everyone I know has met Amy Sedaris.
BERNARD: Yes.
SIGESMUND: She's just one of those people. She does a million things around New York. KLEIN: She's a regular person. And, you know, she's the sister actually of writer David Sedaris. My idea would be if we could just create, like, a whole Sedaris channel, so that it's like all Sedaris all the time.
HEMMER: SNN. The producer, by the way, Mark Burnett (ph), says don't believe the rumors.
SIGESMUND: Well, that's...
HEMMER: She's getting...
SIGESMUND: ... one of those things that are out there.
BERNARD: Well, I think maybe there is another one who should be considered. I think Tina Fey from "Saturday Night Live."
HEMMER: All right. I'll go with that.
BERNARD: She's a good writer...
HEMMER: Just do us a favor.
BERNARD: ... a good actress.
HEMMER: That's like the dark side of the moon for this schedule, by the way. Change the show time or change the name.
BERNARD: Did you know that there's TV all night long?
HEMMER: No!
KLEIN: I don't want to cause anarchy, but, Bill...
HEMMER: Yes.
KLEIN: ... at least as funny Craig Kilborn, I would say.
HEMMER: All right, OK.
Let's talk about the Boss. Boycott the Boss is a campaign. Some group in New York is leading it up. What's at issue here?
SIGESMUND: Right. Well, here's the deal, just to back it up for a second. On August 4, a group of 20 artists announced that they were going to tour through some swing states in October on this vote for change campaign. And that includes Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, R.E.M. and few other groups.
Now, this is the first time Bruce Springsteen, very much a man of the people, has ever gotten into the political game over all of his years. But he said that this time he could not help himself. He had to speak up.
So, a conservative senatorial candidate from New York has spoken out and created this ad saying, you know, boycott the Boss, don't buy his music.
BERNARD: But, you know, he's been political. I mean, first of all, "Born in the USA" is a political song. That's actually about coming home from the Vietnam War. And he has that song "American Skin, 41 Shots," which was...
HEMMER: He's always had causes.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
HEMMER: But he's never really attached himself to a particular candidate at this point.
SIGESMUND: Right.
BERNARD: Not a candidate.
KLEIN: All I know is that the people who are asking America to boycott the Boss are making a huge, huge mistake. You don't boycott the Boss. If it was someone like Yanni, something like boycotting Yanni...
SIGESMUND: Exactly.
KLEIN: But, like, I don't care what he says, I need to listen to the Boss.
HEMMER: Good to see all three of you. We'll leave it there, OK. Thanks -- Heidi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Thanks, Bill. Still to come now this morning, is there good news this fall for air travelers? "Minding Your Business" is next. Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: I want to take a moment to check in on the action on Wall Street, and there's word airfares are plunging just in time for all that fall travel. Christine Romans is in for Andy Serwer today, "Minding Your Business."
So markets, some stocks to watch here.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some stocks to watch. Taser is one of them. We'll take a look at the Street first. Dow down 14 points, those record-high oil prices. Again, 9,958 is the level. Taser is a stock we're going to be watching today, got a big order for some stun guns.
This is a company, every time it gets an order, the stock moves. It looks like the stock is rallying here today. We're going to watch. Taser shares, TASR. Every now and then, you see a news report about just how safe these stun guns are, but it doesn't seem to...
COLLINS: They had to use one in Florida.
ROMANS: Absolutely. And the police departments and security departments starting to buy them. So it's a stock, but every time, there is an order, the stock moves, so we'll watch it move today.
COLLINS: And speaking of movers and shakes, if you're a traveler, you can get some deals right now.
ROMANS: There really is no reason, except for Minneapolis, I'm sorry. There is really no reason, where Heidi travels, there is no reason not to get a flight this fall for anything more than the $200 round trip. You can get some fantastic airfares, even with high oil prices even with all of this economic uncertainty and terror warnings, the fares are falling.
New York to Vegas, pretty much any time you want, you can get it for $200 or less. Chicago to San Francisco, $161 on ATA and a lot of other airlines are matching it. New York to Chicago, $145. I just booked one for $125 round trip, leaving on a Friday, coming back on a Monday morning, you know, like weekend-type fares.
Looking at the first week of September for Labor Day, you can go almost anywhere in this country for under $200. So internationally, they're raising some of the fares because of the high oil prices, but domestically, it's a fantastic time to be locking in some really cheap fares.
COLLINS: Friday to Monday in Vegas? That's pretty much all you need.
ROMANS: Exactly, run out of money by then anyway.
HEMMER: Forty-eight hours and out!
COLLINS: Christine, thanks.
HEMMER: There is a really sticky deal right now in Iraq. Jack's got that.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Indeed, the question of the day has to do with this rebel cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr. How should the cleric be dealt with. And I'm sad to say, not all of you have realized the gravitas of this question. Not everybody took it seriously. And actually, those are some of better letters.
Arthur says, "The cleric ought to be smeared with bananas and placed in a cage full of guerrillas."
Lorraine writes, "Capture him, ship him to Athens and force him to watch women's beach volleyball until he agrees to cooperate."
And Jim in Cambridge, New York says, show al-Sadr a picture of Jim McGreevey. He'll fall in love, move to New Jersey, become to the Garden State homeland security director, while waiting for Miller Brewing to issue the 'thugs in robes beer can series.'"
HEMMER: Jim has been watching a little too much of AMERICAN MORNING.
CAFFERTY: I know I can count on you each day, and I appreciate it. I love that.
COLLINS: Coming up now, on CNN, the man at the center of the McGreevey scandal explains why he moved to Israel. That's coming up in the next hour with Daryn Kagan on "CNN LIVE TODAY."
AMERICAN MORNING will be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Before we get out of here, I want to check in with Aaron Brown, preview of what's coming up later tonight on "NEWSNIGHT."
Here's Aaron.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Bill.
Tonight on "NEWSNIGHT," Hurricane Charley's most vulnerable victims. They are the elderly. Many have health problems, and now they are homeless as well. The area hit hardest by Charley is also a retirement mecca. Many of the residents have lost everything. Rebuilding their lives will be a daunting task. We'll tell you their story, plus all the day's top news, morning papers, everything else that makes "NEWSNIGHT" "NEWSNIGHT," CNN tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern -- Bill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Good deal, Aaron.
Thanks for that. See you in about 12 hours. We got to run.
Christine...
ROMANS: Thank you.
HEMMER: Thank you for your help.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
HEMMER: You're not back tomorrow, are you?
ROMANS: No.
CAFFERTY: Who is going to do this tomorrow? Where is Serwer?
ROMANS: Serwer's on vacation.
CAFFERTY: How much vacation time does he get?
ROMANS: That guy has got more vacation than anyone I know.
HEMMER: Oh, just so you know, by the way, there is Olympics all day today again for your program enjoyment.
CAFFERTY: Yes, the only problem is we don't know what network there on. So that's...
HEMMER: They're on every network.
CAFFERTY: The mystery is trying to find a network that has the Olympics.
HEMMER: Here's Daryn Kagan at 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 August 18, 2004 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: It is 9:30 right here on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And the Michael Jackson case resumes tomorrow. On Monday, the man prosecuting Jackson was on the stand. The one-time "King of Pop" says Tom Sneddon has a vendetta against him, going back to another case you may remember back in '93. But in a moment, we're going to talk to a former detective who worked with Sneddon on that case and get his take on it.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also, you may have heard the news -- warehouse retailer Costco going to start selling discount coffins. Funeral costs certainly can get out of hand, we know that. We'll talk to an editor from "Consumer Reports" and get some tips on how you can keep those costs down.
COLLINS: We'll try to remain upbeat about that conversation, too.
HEMMER: What a wonderful topic that is? Cheery.
Let's get right now to California. A one-day break in the proceedings in Michael Jackson's child molestation case. The judge granted the break for Jackson's lawyers to compile a list of all evidence they believe should be suppressed.
The lead investigator of Michael Jackson's 1993 case is retired LAPD Detective Bill Dworin, our guest now in California. Bill, good morning to you.
BILL DWORIN, LAPD DETECTIVE (RET.): Good morning. How are you?
HEMMER: I'm doing just fine.
The Jackson family says Tom Sneddon, the D.A. in Santa Barbara County, has a vendetta. Based on your experience, can they prove that, and is that the case now?
DWORIN: No, I don't believe so. Mr. Sneddon is responsible for prosecuting an allegation of sexual abuse. And that's state law in California.
HEMMER: Has Tom Sneddon, though, been out to get Michael Jackson for some time?
DWORIN: I don't believe so. I believe he's following the law. There is an allegation made against Mr. Jackson. He's investigated that allegation. He believes a crime has been committed, and he's following up through the prosecution he needs to...
HEMMER: If you go back 11 years, the case that was halted, how strong do you believe the evidence was then?
DWORIN: At that time, we felt it was very strong. Unfortunately, the boy at that time received a civil settlement and no longer wanted to go forward.
HEMMER: If the present evidence that's now being argued this week is thrown out, and still there is this issue out there about this videotape that apparently was found at a detective's office who worked on behalf of Mark Geragos, who is Michael Jackson's attorney.
If that is not allowed into this case, how bad does it hurt the prosecution?
DWORIN: It's hard to say, because we as the public do not know what that evidence is. The bottom line is, is the boy credible? Is he going to be believable? And is there corroborating evidence -- in other words, evidence to show that the boy is telling the truth.
If there is that...
HEMMER: Sorry, can you go on? I apologize for the interruption.
DWORIN: If there is that evidence, then I believe we'll see a conviction of Mr. Jackson.
HEMMER: Yes. Are you able to gauge the evidence at this point and in this current case as to how it is going on behalf of the D.A.?
HEMMER: No. No, it's been kept quite secret. It should be kept secret. It should be presented at the time of trial, not in the public pretension through the media.
HEMMER: And Bill Dworin, thanks, in L.A. watching the case for us. Appreciate your time this morning.
DWORIN: Thank you.
HEMMER: Heidi?
COLLINS: Campaign countdown now: 76 days until the November election. Yesterday, President Bush was campaigning in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Today he heads to two other battleground states -- that's Wisconsin and Minnesota -- before going to his Texas ranch.
Senator John Kerry left Idaho yesterday for Ohio. Kerry has spent the last few days at his Ketchum, Idaho, vacation home. And today, he will address the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention in Cincinnati, where President Bush spoke on Monday. CNN will carry that speech live for you 10:30 a.m. Eastern.
Well, John Kerry, Bob Kerrey - is it easy to get confused? Well, the Kerry campaign claims it was a simple mistake that led its Web site to tout that John Kerry once served as vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, a post once held by former Senator Bob Kerrey.
Senator John Kerry did serve as a member of that committee but not as the chairman. Republicans, though, were less willing to see it as an innocent mistake, and a Republican National Committee spokeswoman said, quote, "It's difficult to take John Kerry's claims about his intelligence experience seriously."
Paula Zahn, meantime, will be having a town hall meeting that we want to tell you about. It's coming up tonight from the battleground state of Ohio. Don't miss it. Once again, live town hall meeting, 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
HEMMER: Almost 25 minutes before the hour. If you're watching the Olympics and you don't want to know any information as to what's happening with the Games right now, turn the sound down at the moment.
If not, the U.S. so far today winning three medals in Athens -- one gold, two silver. And more word today on the fate of those sprinters from Greece who claimed they were in this motorcycle accident.
Still trying to find the truth in this story, Larry Smith in Athens with now -- with more there. Hey Larry, good afternoon.
LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Bill. Good afternoon from Athens.
Yes, hopefully these Athens can now get away from being the scandal Olympics and just simply be the Summer Olympics, which we came to Greece to see.
You mentioned those embattled Greek sprinters, Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou, are now officially completely out of the Games after they withdrew from competition following a meeting with IOC officials this morning. And as you mentioned, we've been wondering since last Thursday why did they miss that mandatory drug test? And as of right now, we still don't have any answers.
Now these two, Kenteris and Thanou, both medaled at the Sydney Olympics back in 2000. They faced expulsion by the IOC, still facing disciplinary action, however, from the International Track and Field Federation. They will meet next week to discuss their fate. However, no decision coming up, though, for them until well after the Games. But keep in mind, they consider a missed test a failed test.
How about the Dream Team? Last night they got the big win, finally, over Greece, 77-71. Wasn't pretty, wasn't spectacular that we were used to with USA and the Men's Basketball NBA players playing for men's basketball. But it was a win. Allen Iverson, 17 points, lead the way despite a fractured right thumb.
Good news as well for Women's Gymnastics. They almost got a gold medal, but were beaten out by Romania, who repeats as Olympic champions. U.S. Women's Team Gymnastics getting a silver last night.
Swimming -- we have to talk about swimming every day because it's been such a great story. Michael Phelps back in the pool today. He has already qualified this morning for tonight's 200-meter individual medley semi-finals. Phelps last night won the 200-meter butterfly, and as well was part of the gold-medal winning 800-meter freestyle relay.
So, he now has three gold medals, two bronzes. He is five for five in medals, trying to become the first swimmer ever to win eight medals in a single Summer Games.
And what price for fame? You may recall the story of that Canadian man earlier in the Games who dove into the pool wearing a tutu and clown shoes. Well, he's been ordered to pay a $3,200 Canadian fine and has sentenced to five months in prison for his actions. However, he walks away and avoids going behind bars because he appealed. That appeal could take two years.
And Bill, he says that he didn't do it for money, just for fame. Just didn't think it would be this bad.
HEMMER: That picture is priceless. Watching him stand on top of that board.
Michael Phelps, three gold, two bronze. We're looking at the guy yet again here, Larry. How many more events does he have -- Phelps?
SMITH: He does have -- he has three more events. He's medaled in every event so far. So, he has the one semi-finals tonight, the finals will be tomorrow night, and we'll go from there.
HEMMER: Got it. Thanks, Larry. Enjoy.
Carol Costello watching the rest of the news at the CNN Center. Good morning, again, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm still laughing about the man in the tutu and the clown shoes.
HEMMER: We all do.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Bill.
Serious story for you now. In Indiana, the Ft. Wayne Airport is closed this morning after a possible contamination. These images are just in to CNN. We got them in the last 15 minutes or so.
Emergency personnel now on the scene. And according to news reports, an unknown substance spilled from a bag that was being unloaded from one of the flights. One worker reportedly feels sick as a result; six others are apparently undergoing decontamination.
In Ohio, dozens of people on Lake Erie's South Bass Island are reporting a flu-like illness. More than 90 other cases were called in. Health officials have documented 78 cases of similar symptoms over the past two weeks. State health department is now looking into it.
Arkansas authorities are now saying there is a very good chance they will find a girl missing since Sunday alive. Officials searching for Patricia Ann Miles say while they can't comment further, there could be a very substantial development in the case today. A woman described as an occasional babysitter is now being held on kidnapping charges.
And in Massachusetts, police are looking for two men caught on a surveillance tape in what appears to be an automatic teller machine heist. You can see the two men on tape sliding an ATM through the smashed door of a Boston convenience store. The machine was loaded with about $3,000 in cash. Kind of a hard way to do a robbery.
HEMMER: It's kind of a to-go order, don't you think?
COSTELLO: How are they going to bust into the machine? That will be interesting.
HEMMER: They have time now.
COSTELLO: True.
HEMMER: Thank you, Carol.
Here's Chad watching what remains of Earl, I believe. Right, Chad? Good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Too hot for me. All right, Chad, thanks so much for that.
Well, you know, it is an unfortunate fact of life: The cost of death continues to rise. Costco, the giant discounter, is test marketing caskets now in two Chicago-area stores. But the best way to save on funeral costs is to plan ahead.
Jeff Blyskal, senior editor with "Consumer Reports" is joining us this morning from San Francisco with advice on how to do just that.
Jeff, thanks for being with us.
You know, it's something nobody ever wants to talk about. But it would be nice not to leave the burden of these high funeral costs with your family.
So talk to us about buying funeral insurance. This is a pretty good idea.
JEFF BLYSKAL, SR. EDITOR, "CONSUMER REPORTS": Well, no. We strongly recommend buying the insurance. There are a couple of reasons. One, is that you are buying something right now that's not going to be used for 20, 30 years from now. It will be delivered to somebody else who can't really insure that you will -- that you'll be getting -- that they'll be getting what you bought. Some of the other problems are that you don't get a discount for the price off the price of the funeral. And the insurance -- the funeral home collects the insurance over the years that they have your money. You pay full price right now.
COLLINS: Wow, so OK, not a very good idea at all then, the funeral insurance. But what is a good idea then is to at least talk to your loved ones about your wishes. What exactly is it that they need to know?
BLYSKAL: Well, they need to know first of all what kind of arrangements you want -- do you want a cremation? Do you want a full- blown funeral? Or do you want just a simple affair? And the -- depending on what you want, the price could be very different.
COLLINS: Also, I know you can comparison shop with local funeral homes, even go ahead and visit them in advance. What should you be looking for if you do decide to go and visit?
BLYSKAL: Well, you want to check out the facilities. But more importantly, what you want to do is compare the prices. Visit three or four funeral homes, and that will give you a benchmark as to what the going rate is. When we surveyed prices in several cities around the country, we found that prices vary anywhere from $1,500 to $4,000.
COLLINS: All right. Also the price of that casket, a lot of people know that that's pretty expensive. But the federal government does require that a funeral home accepts a casket from an outside provider. So we've been talking about Costco. How does all that work?
BLYSKAL: Well, basically what Costco is doing has been going on for several years now. You can buy a casket from -- you don't have to buy it from the funeral home. And what we found, again, was that you can save hundreds to thousands of dollars by buying your funeral -- by buying your casket elsewhere and having it delivered to the funeral home.
COLLINS: All right, giving us a lot to think about in advance. Jeff Blyskal, thanks so much for your time this morning.
And still to come this morning, good news now for travelers. Christine Romans will tell us where all the good deals are.
HEMMER: Also, Bruce Springsteen taking a political stand in October now. Is he going to have to pay for that stand? "90-Second Pop" has a shot at that in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: "Time slips away and leaves you with nothing, mister, but boring stories of glory days," the best line in the whole song.
It's time for "90-Second Pop." Sarah Bernard from "New York" magazine.
Good morning, Sarah.
SARAH BERNARD, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
HEMMER: B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for "US Weekly."
B.J. SIGESMUND, "US WEEKLY": Good morning.
HEMMER: And VH-1 contributor Jesse Klein is here as well.
JESSE KLEIN, VH-1 CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
HEMMER: Good morning to all three of you.
Let's first start with the really, really, really, really late, late, late show.
BERNARD: At 3:00 a.m. I think it's on.
HEMMER: Craig Kilborn, he's going to end the show. And who takes his place?
BERNARD: Well, that's the question of the day. I think we're talking about Amy Sedaris, who is this fantastic improv background, actress-comedian, who made her name really with a show called "Strangers With Candy." And I think the idea of having a woman is so great. This is the first time since basically Joan Rivers was being talked about to replace Johnny Carson in the '80s that a woman has been up for a job like this.
And she really might get it, because actually David Letterman's Worldwide Pants production company produced "Strangers with Candy," and also has the time slot for this show.
HEMMER: So she's got backing then, you're saying.
BERNARD: Yes, exactly.
SIGESMUND: I want to say, I love Amy Sedaris.
BERNARD: She's amazing.
SIGESMUND: She is such a New York personality. I've met her a couple times. She used to be a waitress at this cafe I went to six or seven years ago. But everyone I know...
BERNARD: ... sometimes.
SIGESMUND: Yes. Everyone I know has met Amy Sedaris.
BERNARD: Yes.
SIGESMUND: She's just one of those people. She does a million things around New York. KLEIN: She's a regular person. And, you know, she's the sister actually of writer David Sedaris. My idea would be if we could just create, like, a whole Sedaris channel, so that it's like all Sedaris all the time.
HEMMER: SNN. The producer, by the way, Mark Burnett (ph), says don't believe the rumors.
SIGESMUND: Well, that's...
HEMMER: She's getting...
SIGESMUND: ... one of those things that are out there.
BERNARD: Well, I think maybe there is another one who should be considered. I think Tina Fey from "Saturday Night Live."
HEMMER: All right. I'll go with that.
BERNARD: She's a good writer...
HEMMER: Just do us a favor.
BERNARD: ... a good actress.
HEMMER: That's like the dark side of the moon for this schedule, by the way. Change the show time or change the name.
BERNARD: Did you know that there's TV all night long?
HEMMER: No!
KLEIN: I don't want to cause anarchy, but, Bill...
HEMMER: Yes.
KLEIN: ... at least as funny Craig Kilborn, I would say.
HEMMER: All right, OK.
Let's talk about the Boss. Boycott the Boss is a campaign. Some group in New York is leading it up. What's at issue here?
SIGESMUND: Right. Well, here's the deal, just to back it up for a second. On August 4, a group of 20 artists announced that they were going to tour through some swing states in October on this vote for change campaign. And that includes Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, R.E.M. and few other groups.
Now, this is the first time Bruce Springsteen, very much a man of the people, has ever gotten into the political game over all of his years. But he said that this time he could not help himself. He had to speak up.
So, a conservative senatorial candidate from New York has spoken out and created this ad saying, you know, boycott the Boss, don't buy his music.
BERNARD: But, you know, he's been political. I mean, first of all, "Born in the USA" is a political song. That's actually about coming home from the Vietnam War. And he has that song "American Skin, 41 Shots," which was...
HEMMER: He's always had causes.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
HEMMER: But he's never really attached himself to a particular candidate at this point.
SIGESMUND: Right.
BERNARD: Not a candidate.
KLEIN: All I know is that the people who are asking America to boycott the Boss are making a huge, huge mistake. You don't boycott the Boss. If it was someone like Yanni, something like boycotting Yanni...
SIGESMUND: Exactly.
KLEIN: But, like, I don't care what he says, I need to listen to the Boss.
HEMMER: Good to see all three of you. We'll leave it there, OK. Thanks -- Heidi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Thanks, Bill. Still to come now this morning, is there good news this fall for air travelers? "Minding Your Business" is next. Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: I want to take a moment to check in on the action on Wall Street, and there's word airfares are plunging just in time for all that fall travel. Christine Romans is in for Andy Serwer today, "Minding Your Business."
So markets, some stocks to watch here.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some stocks to watch. Taser is one of them. We'll take a look at the Street first. Dow down 14 points, those record-high oil prices. Again, 9,958 is the level. Taser is a stock we're going to be watching today, got a big order for some stun guns.
This is a company, every time it gets an order, the stock moves. It looks like the stock is rallying here today. We're going to watch. Taser shares, TASR. Every now and then, you see a news report about just how safe these stun guns are, but it doesn't seem to...
COLLINS: They had to use one in Florida.
ROMANS: Absolutely. And the police departments and security departments starting to buy them. So it's a stock, but every time, there is an order, the stock moves, so we'll watch it move today.
COLLINS: And speaking of movers and shakes, if you're a traveler, you can get some deals right now.
ROMANS: There really is no reason, except for Minneapolis, I'm sorry. There is really no reason, where Heidi travels, there is no reason not to get a flight this fall for anything more than the $200 round trip. You can get some fantastic airfares, even with high oil prices even with all of this economic uncertainty and terror warnings, the fares are falling.
New York to Vegas, pretty much any time you want, you can get it for $200 or less. Chicago to San Francisco, $161 on ATA and a lot of other airlines are matching it. New York to Chicago, $145. I just booked one for $125 round trip, leaving on a Friday, coming back on a Monday morning, you know, like weekend-type fares.
Looking at the first week of September for Labor Day, you can go almost anywhere in this country for under $200. So internationally, they're raising some of the fares because of the high oil prices, but domestically, it's a fantastic time to be locking in some really cheap fares.
COLLINS: Friday to Monday in Vegas? That's pretty much all you need.
ROMANS: Exactly, run out of money by then anyway.
HEMMER: Forty-eight hours and out!
COLLINS: Christine, thanks.
HEMMER: There is a really sticky deal right now in Iraq. Jack's got that.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Indeed, the question of the day has to do with this rebel cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr. How should the cleric be dealt with. And I'm sad to say, not all of you have realized the gravitas of this question. Not everybody took it seriously. And actually, those are some of better letters.
Arthur says, "The cleric ought to be smeared with bananas and placed in a cage full of guerrillas."
Lorraine writes, "Capture him, ship him to Athens and force him to watch women's beach volleyball until he agrees to cooperate."
And Jim in Cambridge, New York says, show al-Sadr a picture of Jim McGreevey. He'll fall in love, move to New Jersey, become to the Garden State homeland security director, while waiting for Miller Brewing to issue the 'thugs in robes beer can series.'"
HEMMER: Jim has been watching a little too much of AMERICAN MORNING.
CAFFERTY: I know I can count on you each day, and I appreciate it. I love that.
COLLINS: Coming up now, on CNN, the man at the center of the McGreevey scandal explains why he moved to Israel. That's coming up in the next hour with Daryn Kagan on "CNN LIVE TODAY."
AMERICAN MORNING will be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Before we get out of here, I want to check in with Aaron Brown, preview of what's coming up later tonight on "NEWSNIGHT."
Here's Aaron.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Bill.
Tonight on "NEWSNIGHT," Hurricane Charley's most vulnerable victims. They are the elderly. Many have health problems, and now they are homeless as well. The area hit hardest by Charley is also a retirement mecca. Many of the residents have lost everything. Rebuilding their lives will be a daunting task. We'll tell you their story, plus all the day's top news, morning papers, everything else that makes "NEWSNIGHT" "NEWSNIGHT," CNN tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern -- Bill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Good deal, Aaron.
Thanks for that. See you in about 12 hours. We got to run.
Christine...
ROMANS: Thank you.
HEMMER: Thank you for your help.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
HEMMER: You're not back tomorrow, are you?
ROMANS: No.
CAFFERTY: Who is going to do this tomorrow? Where is Serwer?
ROMANS: Serwer's on vacation.
CAFFERTY: How much vacation time does he get?
ROMANS: That guy has got more vacation than anyone I know.
HEMMER: Oh, just so you know, by the way, there is Olympics all day today again for your program enjoyment.
CAFFERTY: Yes, the only problem is we don't know what network there on. So that's...
HEMMER: They're on every network.
CAFFERTY: The mystery is trying to find a network that has the Olympics.
HEMMER: Here's Daryn Kagan at CNN Center.
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